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