BioWare: It'd be “Silly” to Not Give Choice About Sexual Orientation in Dragon Age: Inqusition

Continuing with our exclusive interview with BioWare Producer Cameron Lee, we asked him how has the public reacted to this announcement, and whether the public helped shaped that change for Dragon Age: Inquisition.

[Wedge19]

I am all for the option of choice, and the choice of options.

[CloudRap]

Agreed but there is a fine line between acceptance and promotion.

[Timesplitter14]

no

[CloudRap]

@timesplitter
my point is it feels like lately they want to shoehorn homosexuality into every TV show, movie, game, etc. Its getting a bit excessive.
Its cool that gays are being finally accepted but its gotten to the point, where they've made it seem like being gay is cool or something.

[mixelon]

KrimzonSnow: shoehorn homosexuality into every... song? @_@

[Timesplitter14]

homosexuality should be accepted as a normal thing so by default it should be everywhere sexual orientations are in question

[MrPink2013]

So now to please everyone developers have to add homosexuality into games? The vast majority doesn't care one way or another so I disagree with the sentiments when they say the vast majority think it's a good thing to have the option. The vast majority likes being able to customize their characters but I'm not so sure the context applies to choosing the characters sexual orientation. Maybe I'm wrong.

[Man_Marmalade]

I'm gay. It'd be nice to choose whether or not to be gay while making a character.

[Eonjay]

Some games give you the option to choose your gender.

Your response is like saying, "There is a thin line between accepting woman and promoting them."

Its not that deep. You having the choice to play a a female is not the same thing a promoting ultra feminists .

[AndrewLB]

EXACTLY. Bioware has become increasingly pro-progressive agenda the past few years and I guarantee it's going to bite them in the arse, specifically because progressivism is directly harming this country. Never in my life have I seen a sitting president intentionally trying to divide everyone along sexual, racial, and economic lines. All while having Harry Reid block votes on over 350 laws passed by the House and at the same time trying to blame Republicans for the gridlock. The sad part is people actually believe the lying SOB. Useful idiots Lenin called them. Then once his goals were met, he murdered 30 million of them.

[mixelon]

Indeed. It's harmless, and everyone wins. :)

(except people who're opposed to the idea for some reason.)

[Ogygian]

Bi characters rather than exclusively homosexual work more towards that end.

[FullmetalRoyale]

I am totally cool with people having the ability to romance whomever they wish. In DA I only romance a character if I actually enjoy their personality and the "relationship" blossoms naturally. I'm not the "I'm gonna get THAT one!" types. Though there is mothing wrong with that.

However, with all of that being said, what irks me is that there are fewer romance options for me as a straight male than for other people. I'm glad that they made characters that are flat out gay. But if we are going for equality, let us be equal.

But that is just my humble opinion. Inquisition is my most anticipated game of 2014, easily. And there are only a few 2015 games that I am looking forward to as much as DA, so it is not really important to me.

[Bimkoblerutso]

It's never bothered me that the MAIN character can be either gay or straight, but it has always bothered me slightly that every supporting character in the game is made seemingly bi-sexual. There should be gay, straight and bi supporting characters. Making everyone bi just seems like pandering and it inevitably makes some characterization seem forced and inorganic.

Still, it seems like such a stupid thing to argue over.

[TheXgamerLive]

Well, the fact that he said "silly" tells me someone carry's a little lipstick in his murse.
Haha, ok that was wrong of me and i should spank my fanny for it,lol.
Butt, (seriously)......butt ....ok ok...more choices are good of course but gay or not gay seems a strange one to include to me.

[Treking903]

Sounds like we got sum undercovers in bioware....dis game mite be gay 2.....I'm definitely bullsh**ting but come on this is tha stuff that not only impacts the gaming world but also real life....more apples r finna fall off the tree watch

[Xboondocks]

I don't get why there has to be like 10 articles every time Bioware says anything about having gay characters. It's really not a big deal, I don't get why everyone else is so focused on this.

[morganfell]

Because 1.5% of the population has issues and rights which are more important than those of the other 98.5%.

[rextraordinaire]

News related to lgbt subjects do not stop other news from being published. Unless -you- only focus on lgbt news, but then that's -your- choice and problem.

[strangeaeon]

Brave opinion in this day and age.

[morganfell]

Well someone has to say it. You would think the majority of the population is gay - which is what some in the LGBT community would like for you to believe. Or that everyone is secretly in the closet. Neother is true.

This has become dictatorship by a minority because far too many people fear to exercise a basic right - freedom of speech. It doesn't mean you do not respect them, or that you do not believe they have rights. Just that their minority wants should not outweigh those of everyone else.

Neogaf bans people for saying they will not buy a game that has a lead gay character. That's it. Nothing nasty or attacking, rather that simple unadorned statement. Now there is discrimination.

[AndrewLB]

Thank you!! Good to see someone with the balls to stand up to the velvet mafia. I've really had enough of their in-your-face crap to last a lifetime.
I live in Long Beach, CA which has one of the largest gay populations in the country and even though they're a fraction of the city, a few years ago they managed to get rid of the Veterans Day parade on Ocean Avenue resulting in the only Parade each year being their gay pride parade, which is more like a public gay orgy. It's so bad that had these been straight people, they'd have all been arrested, charged with public indecency, indecent exposure (to minors too), and would have to register as a sex offender. But they get a complete pass on their lawlessness.

Even my gay friends can't stand what most of the population does, but they're actually normal people. They pretty much despise the crowd who has to act like a flaming queen and make sure everyone in the room is well informed that they're gay.

And to anyone who feels the need to resort to the knee-reaction pushed by the leftists and call me a homophobe, just know you're entitled to your stupidity.

[PiNkFaIrYbOi]

It doesn't really matter either way to us. Just depends on what the story the devs want to tell and stuff.

[Ogygian]

Surely exclusively gay homosexual characters provide less choice than bi characters?

And they aren't "representing diversity" very well when IRL only 5-7% of people are LGBT. I'm still irritated that the straight males who make up the majority of the playerbase have as many choices as gay and lesbian players both, despite this group making up 5-7% of the population *combined*.

They're free to do what they want, but they're not "representing diversity" or even making rational decisions based on their market.

[mixelon]

Their market is 0% elves. Lets not include those either. ;)

It's good to have as many options as possible, for everyone, but I think it's interesting to have some fixed sexuality characters *if* it influences their writing in some way. Having everyone be totally up for anything must be a bit limiting from a writer's perspective.

[Ogygian]

That's quite true. I mean I can see how some characters might be made deeper through being homosexual, and it adds new story potential to the game.

What I worry about though is that this is going to be a trend in Bioware games, where parties end up looking more like LGBT rights rallies than believable groups of interesting people trying to save the world.

What I'm saying is that I'm fine with them including a gay character in DAI and a lesbian in ME4, or for the, to include both in DAI and none in ME4, and then mix it up for the next round of games, just so that gender demographics don't get completely crazy.

As for elves...it's quite different in that the only real difference is pointy ears and a slender body. Gender is different because we are able to empathise more with stories of our own persuasion, and gender does affect mental makeup (race generally doesn't, as all have male and female variants speaking the same language as us).

[mixelon]

spartanlemur: blargh I was being facetious about the elves, lol. :D

I can totally see your concerns there. I suppose their argument, if they have one, is this fantasy environment can be as LGBT'd as they like, and doesn't really have to reflect anything about what we'd expect in RL.. So it might seem alien to us, but it could still be believable. Maybe.

Like some native american tribes (among others) had accepted non-binary gender systems, where it was totally fine to be between http://en.wikipedia.org/wik... - that would seem strange to us. I'm pretty sure Bioware aren't going to try anything that interesting though. XD

[Ogygian]

@mixelon

Their argument is indeed correct: they can make it as LGBT as they like.

But surely over-representing a biological demographic constant throughout the entire human race is no better than under-representing it?

I mean they have a right to do that if they want, but unless they create extensive backstory to justify why that's the case, I just don't really see what the point of it is.

I mean I fully support providing at least one option to gay and lesbian players each, whether they be bisexual or homosexual, but IMO there's no logical reason to have more LGBT character beyond this (except in the odd game), unless it makes the world itself more interesting.

[DragonKnight]

This literally doesn't matter. Why do people have to make a big deal about someone's sexual orientation? Why does anyone play a game in order to start, and I emphasize start, a fictional homosexual relationship as though it has any legitimate bearing on the game at all.

The absolute most anyone can get from this is the "well, I started a gay relationship in Dragon Age Inquisition" and that's literally it. You won't derive any fulfillment from it, you can't start a life with that fictional character, have a fictional family with that fictional character.

This is the definition of fluff, and the fact that people consistently make an issue out of this smacks of poor priorities in what they want from games.

[mixelon]

I guess people enjoy the romancing side of the gameplay.. It's pretty pure RPing in some ways. Dating games are kinda fun sometimes too, so ones which are also epic fantasy RPGs seem cool.. It just helps a lot of people get into it.

I dunno, you could also say games in general aren't fulfilling, it's not like you're actually going on a heroes journey, etc.

I spent far too much time playing "surviving high school" ?! I think because I enjoyed the dating/rping elements. It's sort of a bit sad, but can't really cast judgement. It's weirdly compelling watching virtual relationships. The Sims, etc.

[DragonKnight]

Games that are designed to have the relationships be at the front and center of the game, or a major component, are very different from every other game that shoehorns it in.

[Batnut00]

Oh my god, I have found someone else who plays "Surviving High School!" I love that game, mostly for the characters and stories myself.

[Fireseed]

If this is the definition of "fluff" then why the heck are you so bothered about people wanting a simple option like that?

Seriously, why?

And on a another note, please channel your feelings about what others should and should not derive fulfillment from to the appropriate section, your damn self.

[DragonKnight]

Way to reach Fireseed.

[Remy_Chaos]

Hey Bioware stop being silly and focus where it truly matters, you know gameplay and story! Relationships, sure they're nice to have in games, but it definitely seems like that's been the focus lately. How about redeeming yourselves first for your recent games that have been below expectations, instead of trying to bring in a new audience.

By the way, this is nothing against sexual orientation or such, I just want a Bioware game back up to their legacy standards.

[Pintheshadows]

Well said. Whilst this is a nice extra to have in a game it should never shift focus away from the fundamentals of what makes a game.

It does seem like Bioware has a point to prove with Inquisition though. And from what I have seen so far it looks like they are going a long way to proving it.

I am excited. It looks to be what DA2 should of been.

[Remy_Chaos]

Indeed, the game does look more promising and I hope it delivers. However EA is EA, that's the major worrying factor.

[Gore-Content]

Yes! I want to play as a female lead and be able to have a romance with another female character.

[Scatpants]

I hope in the gay love scenes they make loud manly grunting noises.

[greatcrusader44]

It seems like 90% of the news I hear from this game revolves around romances and such. I mean I appreciate the option in Bioware games cuz I think it adds a bit to my player Characters story but they seem to be focusing too much on that aspect media-wise.

I know the actual game won't be a dating sim and only be a small part of the game but IDK it just seems weird that I know more about my companions sexual orientation than anything else atm.

[Pintheshadows]

As long as there are more options than in the overly restrictive DA2 I am down with whatever.

[karlowma]

Bioware is overtly bi-aware.

It hardly feels natural that they force this issue in every game they make now.

[Fireseed]

Oh and by "natural" you mean an exclusively straight cast in a game? Cause you know in games where you meet hundreds of aliens, monsters, species, races, not a single one of them would ever be gay right? Real natural.

[karlowma]

By "natural", I mean a co-existance, not a society of designations.

HEY LOOK! I'M STRAIGHT!

OH HI! I'M GAY!

This is the same problem I have with the whole LGBT movement in a nutshell. Do what you do, be who you are, but don't feel the need to advertise it to the rest of the world. Don't seek my approval, or society's. Just be comfortable with yourself.

It almost seems like Bioware uses this as a selling point in their catalogue. I get appealing to new demographics and all, but the whole "Hey look, GAYmers, you can be GAY in our game!" take is quickly becoming trope.

[Omnisonne]

Truth be told, i really dont care either way. Its not a relationship simulator, its an action RPG. I dont understand why some ppl get all riled up about this, they got options, thats cool.. But none is forcing you to choose

[mananimal]

@Omnisonne

The reason we get riled up is cause we see Sodomy for what it truthfully is and we see the Agenda by evil Lucifer worshipping World as trying to push it on Society as normal and acceptable. When really it destroys the mortality of a society.

Call me whatever. I DON'T CARE, it's wrong period. There's nothing good about it.

Bioware and EA are Losers.

[mananimal]

Anyone who thinks Sodomy is normal is insane.

Yeah it's a part of life, but it's destructive and morally wrong. Every Empire that has embraced Sodomy has been destroyed by God.

Sodomy is a cancer.