No stranger to including romantic options in their role playing games, BioWare has responded to the complaints pertaining to the inclusion of same-sex romances in Dragon Age 2. Senior Writer for Dragon Age 2, David Gaider, who also wrote the Dragon Age prequel novels,h stepped up to the plate and defended the decision to include gay romances in the game.
Gaider comments:
“[Romances] of any kind are optional.” … “I would hope that some folks could be sensitive enough to be happy for those players, at the very least out of the selfish notion that they may one day end up in the minority of some content issue and receive the same consideration if nothing else.”
The romance pursuits in BioWare games are notoriously fun and interesting and it wouldn’t be hard to understand why they would choose to include a same-sex option. Going back to what Gaider said, since romances are optional and require investment on the player’s part to see through to the end, it’s hard to make an argument against them. Why ask for the removal of something that won’t directly affect gameplay? BioWare games are about choice and it’s simply a matter of choosing not to participate in the scenario.
A same-sex option did appear in the original Mass Effect game in the form of a female Shepard romancing Liara T’soni, but it didn’t garner as much fervor as the male-male relationship that is presented in the game. Honestly, having that kind of option available makes Shepard’s story much more interesting and immersive. It is a role playing game, after all. The choices the player makes regarding the protagonist don’t necessarily reflect the player’s own beliefs or orientations.
Dragon Age 2 will be romancing whoever it wants to on March 8, 2011 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Just in case you were worried Dragon Age 2 was going to be lacking in action of the violent kind, check out this trailer depicting the combat and this trailer depicting the… more violence.
Source: GayGamer
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Speaking as a gay person myself, I enjoy that Bioware likes to include options for same-sex romance. I just wish I could romance Kaiden with a male Shepard.
It’s a shame that people still feel the need to put so much emphasis on same-sex romances. Bio-ware never advertised it, they simply put it in and there it was, as normal a part of the gameplay as making potions or hacking Dragons. But people had to make a big deal out of it. I really wish people would just accept the fact that homosexual people are part of the world we live in and that shouldn’t be a big deal anymore. And if someone wants to put it into a major release game without any kind of fanfare, then all the power to them.
A part of me isn’t surprised that there are people who complain about same-sex romances in videogames. There’s a large portion of of the gaming public that lack the maturity to deal with this sort of thing. I’m just glad the developer has the guts to include the “choice” of having a same-sex romance in their games.
That said, while I’m glad they’re in the game, I found the romantic encounters in Mass Effect 2 to be kinda awkward. I have yet to play Dragon Age (downloading as I type from Steam) and maybe that does a better job at integrating them into the story.
Good for Bioware, hoefully stuff like this will be a non-issue, Dwayne I agree ME2′s romances weren’t the best.
On a sidenote, How good was the first game? I only got through the first part then the disc broke. Never saw a dragon, I believe I just became a Grey ward if I’m remembering correctly. How good did the game get after that?
…are people seriously complaining about this.?
Eh, they’re all Trolls. Get used to them, they’re also a part of the world now. Sadly. And if you don’t know what a Troll is go here. —-> http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Troll
Aslong as it doesn’t affect my gameplay experience then I couldn’t give a damn about gay, lesbian, bi, straight, necrophilic or beastial! To be honest, i’m all for these options being in game because then I wouldn’t have to keep seeing new “ME3 GAY ROMANCE OPTIONS OR NO BUY!” posts on the Bioware Social Network every few minutes.
I wonder how long it will take for some “educated” idiot, who didn’t and won’t ever play it, to go on tv on a talkshow or the like and talk about how video games are corrupting our youth. Wasn’t it FOX that did pretty much just that with the first Mass Effect? (Which granted, did produce the hilarious FOX NEWS vs. Mass Effect: The Parody)
But, of course nothing like that will happen this time around, or ever again, because we as a society have advanced and grown up greatly since then, right?
Anyday now I’m sure.
Can I have a romance with a dog in the next game?… Or a Dragon?
I too am a gay person and I love it! I think it’s great that Bioware is standing by thier choice to put the option in the games. Now I can’t wait to play Dragonage again!
“A same-sex option did appear in the original Mass Effect game in the form of a female Shepard romancing Liara T’soni, but it didn’t garner as much fervor as the male-male relationship that is presented in the game”
Exactly its a double standard. Lesbians are acceptable not gay men.