Former Bioware employee Bob McCabe on male-male romance

An email from former Bioware employee Bob McCabe has been revealed on the official Bioware forums homepage. He presents his views on male-male romance in Mass Effect and sheds light on the romantic possibilities in the game.

[cloud360]

I didnt read it. And i dont want to. Am assumign this game is gay

[JsonHenry]

I hope this is optional. I personally don't want to see any "romance" at all, whether it be male-female, male-male, or female-female.

I want this game to be a hanky panky free game.

[socomnick]

I agree I want the sex to be at a minimum but I will sleep with that blue alien chick :P

[ReBurn]

Hopefully if there is no male-male romance people won't politicize the game. I prefer solid story-telling to having to break things up to accommodate specific themes so that people don't get their feelings hurt. I would rather creativity not suffer.

[Vojkan]

Gays can play this, i wont. Not interested in male-male "action"

[tplarkin7]

Thank God!

[Darkiewonder]

Doesn't really bother me much but it's good that a developer is open minded about it. It's just the rest of the gaming world and everyone else [Jack Thomspon?!] may not be able to handle same gendered relationship ;3

[Bolts]

...The Crying Game.

[Jones Miller]

Did you even read the full story? I doubt it...

[Sevir04]

...

[allforcalisto]

Yeah the dude pretty much said that to the best of his knowledge there is no male-male romance.

If there was that kind of storyline in the game it (like many many other storylines) would be optional.
I think if bioware omit this option a part of me will loose respect for them. It kinda seems like their whole mission statement is "enable the player to create their own character and their own experience"
having "alternative" relationships in a game doesnt bloody politicize the game, it makes it realistic; it happens get over it.
I kinda lost respect for them for the way they sold the game as well. I don't like the fact that they had a "default shepard" and pretty much only showed us him; i can imagine a lot of people not actually knowing you can play as a female, if they've just seen the adverts. In a way that kinda gives off a certain message.

@Reburn, i think you may have seen too many gay storylines in soap operas. Little miss sunshine has a character in it who is gay, and it doesnt define them completely. I doubt Bioware would ram down really didactic messages about acceptance down people's throats. I mean you could ruin a straight storyline by loading it with obvious messages about gender norms, women's rights, and the family institution.

I doubt bioware would make brokeback for gods sakes.

[Groo]

I grew up in a allblack neighborhood, whats your point?

[StarsCream]

So many homophobic neanderthals still roam this world. It's almost 2008, and we still have myopic morons against/or afraid to get anywhere near homosexuality. Sad.

(this isnt anti-bioware for not adding the gay, its anti-posters in the comments section)

[okcomputer]

No surprise there. I hate to say it but racism/homophobia is wide spread in the gaming world. You can hardly play a game on live or psn against random opponents without hearing racial and anti gay slurs being thrown around.

[AnalFace]

LOL

[Groo]

Is it so hard to believe that people find gay stuff offensive? I find it very offensive to the point I want to vomit. I have no problem with gay people being what they are, but don't try to force people to accept it or feel comfortable with it if they don't. Gay people have the right to rant and flant their gayness. I have the right to tell you how sick I think it is.

[allforcalisto]

LOL "gayness".

i love how ridiculous your argument is. "oh noes you talk about tolerance, but you should be able to tolerate my intolerance"

dude that's a double standard, it's stupid to think that intolerance can be tolerated by a tolerant society. Btw i'd rather use the word accept, but i'm not naive a lot of people out there like you will probably never accept those different to them.

By your logic idiotic anti-semites should be able to preach hate, white supremacist should be allowed to go into predominantly black neighbourhoods with mega phones screaming at everyone, mexicans should tolerate being called "wetbacks"
so everyone who isn't prejudice should tolerate the tool, but it's ok for them to be intolerant?
how does that make sense

if it does turn your stomach stop crying about it and dont play, or watch whatever you find "sick"

[Groo]

If you you don't like the gay lifestyle, you are an idiot right? btw I do have a few gay friends, they understand sometimes i'm not comfortable when they make certain statements. I never said I hate gay people, I said don't try to make me like the gay lifestyle if I don't.

[Groo]

to just tolerate everything that you don't like or feel comfortable with is coward, speak up for yourself if you don't feel comfortable with something. You shouldn't submit everytime someone gets offended. I don't give a crap if you agree or not.

[Frankenberg]

They could have added the Back Door Achievement!!! Negative 10 points.

[allforcalisto]

do you even know what your point is?

"gay lifestyle" what so every gay guy and girl have the desire to follow stereotypical lifestyles? if that's not what you're insinuating please elaborate.
were we talking about lifestyles? no we weren't einstein.

here's what you posted:
"Is it so hard to believe that people find gay stuff offensive? I find it very offensive to the point I want to vomit. I have no problem with gay people being what they are, but don't try to force people to accept it or feel comfortable with it if they don't. Gay people have the right to rant and flant their gayness. I have the right to tell you how sick I think it is."

you don't have the right to tell anyone you think what they're doing is "sick" that was my point. It's like allowing bigots to go up to an interracial straight couple and tell them, "excuse me, but it think what you're doing is sick" i mean wtf. Ok Groo if somehow you did find a gay couple kissing what would you want them to say in return to your lovely comment?

just reading it again you edited it slightly heh.

if you're point is that you don't like flamboyantly camp people you should have concisely expressed that.

[Groo]

If I see a gay couple kissing, I turn around and ignore it. If they say while I'm turning around, "you have a problem with us kissing?" thats the kind of stuff I'm talking about.

[Imalwaysright]

In 2007 and still censorship??? That sounds like tirany if someone wants to say that the gay lifestyle sicks him/her, he/she has every rigth to speak his/her mind even though someone may like it or not

[allforcalisto]

oooooooooooooooooook i see.

but dude to be honest whenever any kind of couple kiss you're not supposed to look. Although, If that couple were kissing and said that to me EDIT. "you got a problem with this" i'd tell them no and to stfu.

those people you described are the kinda tools that talk about "pride", which ultimately isn't really helping them.

its unfortunate you're so sickened, but i guess thats that really.

[TheMART]

Well at least there is some lesbian sex in there, were we males never complain about :P

I bet the Pope and Bush aren't so keen on this female/female interaction haha

[Enigma_2099]

As far as sex in games goes, it's never forced... it's an option... and by sex, I mean the +25 health boost in GTA... which I gladly use... frequently... who cares how it's implemented. Unless the gamer is forced into it, it's not even a problem... and if the gamer happens to be gay, then they won't have a problem with it, so who gives a s#!+... take Bully, for instance. It was revealed you could have relations with some guys in the game, and no one gave it a single thought... until someone brought it to everyone's attention and made a big deal about it.

I think Henry Rollins summed this up pretty well.

[progx]

No f@ggotry in my Mass Effect.

[Kuest]

with that comment. I almost spit on the monitor.

[Chris_GTR1]

finnaly the comments arent about console wars. lol this news post is pretty gay. LOL

[perseus]

You grew up in New Zealand?