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  1. #1
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    Gay protagonists in AAA games

    Mod warning - Read before considering posting

    Taken from http://blog.ubi.com/shockingly-short...ucien-soulban/

    The main points that Lucien mentions (he's openly gay btw)

    Oh boy. I think the real question is, When are going to get a gay/lesbian AAA hero(ine) who isn’t a one-off joke?

    Not for a while, I suspect, because of fears that it’ll impact sales. So either we’ll see a bait-and-switch like the original Metroid with Samus Aran where we’ll find out damn near after the fact (PS: And Dumbledore was gay), or it’ll come out of left field with Rockstar, Valve, Naughty Dog or Telltale, perhaps. But when it happens, I hope it’s a serious take on it and not played up for jokes.

    There are people out there for whom the presence of any gay content will automatically render it 'the gay game'.
    Do you think the gaming community is still close minded with the idea of having gay protagonists in games?
    Last edited by Lucetia; 2014-03-01 at 12:56 AM.

  2. #2
    i really dont understand why it should matter the sexual preference of a VIDEOGAME character...

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by shadowstep View Post
    i really dont understand why it should matter the sexual preference of a VIDEOGAME character...
    Eh, I suppose it depends on how it's developed, or even used to make the characters seem more human, like how they did with Persona 4.

    Although I'm sure it will happen eventually, it's just a matter of time.

  4. #4
    After all the comments I've seen on homosexual Bioware characters, including the halt on homosexual companions in the original SW:TOR, I have to say:

    Yes, the gaming community is too immature, too insecure, and often times too fucked up for game developers to have to guts to create a game around a homosexual protagonist.

    Edit: Relevant.


    i really dont understand why it should matter the sexual preference of a VIDEOGAME character..
    Sexuality is a part of one's identity. That's why nearly all video game characters are heterosexual; because sexuality is a part of the character's identity, and homosexuality is still too much a taboo.

  5. #5
    Old God -aiko-'s Avatar
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    If there is never a gay protagonist I would not care.

    I'm bisexual.

  6. #6
    It could become more and more close minded the more mainstream gaming becomes.

  7. #7
    The Insane Revi's Avatar
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    Why should there be? Protagonists in video games are made to be relatable, and since the vast majority of people are heterosexual, and the the majority of gamers are males, that's who they usually cater to. Making a protagonists hetero has nothing to do with being immature, insecure, fucked up, or gutless.

    And really? making them seem more human? because being gay somehow makes you more human than being hetero?

    Sure, the halt on gay companions in SW:TOR was a sad move, but it's a business, if something about your product turns people away from it, you change it.

  8. #8
    This thing used to bug me a little, but you know as i got older it dawned on me it's a good thing.
    We don't need heterosexuals defining what it means to be gay or to create a gay image for us. It just gets too tropetastic.
    *shrug* I am willing to bet you will see Lesbian mains first tho. Lesbians get a certain pass among males..

    Then there is the case of Saints Row and Zimos. People seem to be cool with dildos, gimp suits and clear bisexuality .. so *Shurg*
    "If you want to control people, if you want to feed them a pack of lies and dominate them, keep them ignorant. For me, literacy means freedom." - LaVar Burton.

  9. #9
    While I think the general idea of breaking the taboo is great, I have a feeling that in most video game scenarios it'd probably feel very forced, as if the character was simply built around it. Unless it can be done naturally it shouldn't be done, and for that you need the game to be of a very specific genre, you won't see it in a FPS or platformer since those genres don't call for romances of any kind. It's not like sexuality matters for video game characters anyways.

  10. #10
    Nothing to do with the fact that its taboo. It just doesnt make much sense.
    Most games where it would matter if one was gay or not, would be some sort of RPG, and quite frankly, most people arent gay and hence its just logical to make games catered to the majority, isnt it? Gay people can be as gay as the want, but they'll have to realize they are a minority and with that comes terms they have to accept, such as main chars in rpgs that arent gay.

  11. #11
    Old God -aiko-'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tastyfish View Post
    This thing used to bug me a little, but you know as i got older it dawned on me it's a good thing.
    We don't need heterosexuals defining what it means to be gay or to create a gay image for us. It just gets too tropetastic.
    *shrug* I am willing to bet you will see Lesbian mains first tho. Lesbians get a certain pass among males..

    Then there is the case of Saints Row and Zimos. People seem to be cool with dildos, gimp suits and clear bisexuality .. so *Shurg*
    So much this! I think this is one reason that I don't care. I feel like if they made a homosexual main character he/she would be stereotypical and fake. Or catered to male gamers...I can't wait to see lesbian couples in a game who make out in skimpy clothes.

  12. #12
    Titan Maxilian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Revi View Post
    Why should there be? Protagonists in video games are made to be relatable, and since the vast majority of people are heterosexual, and the the majority of gamers are males, that's who they usually cater to. Making a protagonists hetero has nothing to do with being immature, insecure, fucked up, or gutless.

    And really? making them seem more human? because being gay somehow makes you more human than being hetero?

    Sure, the halt on gay companions in SW:TOR was a sad move, but it's a business, if something about your product turns people away from it, you change it.
    The one who said that the gamers comunity is immature, insecure, fucked up, or gutless, because when you put them a gay character they... well start act immature, insecure, fucked up, or gutless, not that giving a protagonists hetero character is immature, insecure, fucked up, or gutless.

  13. #13
    Over 9000! zealo's Avatar
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    Some games have had protagonists where the option to be gay existed without the protagonist being a joke, Bioware's Mass Effect 3 comes to mind here.

    Other than that i do not care if the protagonist is gay or not, the only games where it matters even in the slightest to me is in dialogue heavy RPG games.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Stir View Post
    After all the comments I've seen on homosexual Bioware characters, including the halt on homosexual companions in the original SW:TOR, I have to say:

    Yes, the gaming community is too immature, too insecure, and often times too fucked up for game developers to have to guts to create a game around a homosexual protagonist.

    Edit: Relevant.



    Sexuality is a part of one's identity. That's why nearly all video game characters are heterosexual; because sexuality is a part of the character's identity, and homosexuality is still too much a taboo.
    Im sorry but if the game is good and has a good history i dont really care if the protagonist is gay, straight, alien, deformed, mutant ,male , femaleetc.... its a game..

    im a straight male and i dont have that kind of closed mind, i would play ANYTHING if it has GOOD gameplay and then GOOD history and char development...
    while i understand what you are saying and knowing that some people find hommosexuality a taboo,
    i still dont believe that sexual preferences should matter on a videogame...
    Last edited by shadowstep; 2014-02-28 at 03:22 PM.

  15. #15
    It will not happen that way I think.

    Only in the way it does in RPGs aka you get a choice to be whatever you want.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Revi View Post
    Why should there be? Protagonists in video games are made to be relatable, and since the vast majority of people are heterosexual, and the the majority of gamers are males, that's who they usually cater to. Making a protagonists hetero has nothing to do with being immature, insecure, fucked up, or gutless.

    And really? making them seem more human? because being gay somehow makes you more human than being hetero?.
    Humans are diverse. Showing this diversity makes them seem more human.

    Also: You can't relate to people who don't share your sexuality? Really? Huh. Fancy that.
    Also: You're suggesting a vicious cycle. 'Our audience is homophobic males, so all our protagonists are straight males. Our audience is insecure, so all our protagonists are powertrips. Therefore, our audience will remain that way.'

    Great. Just what we needed. More entitlement.

  17. #17
    The gay SWTOR romances/flirts really angered me. Why?

    Because I accidentally flirted with one too many guys. PUT A DAMN WARNING ON IT BIOWARE.

  18. #18
    There are a lot of lesbian characters in GW2. There is a very important Sylvari (plant woman) one in the personal story, and just now afking after the lion's arch event there is this lesbian couple talking about cuddling around a fire, I have no idea how important those 2 are.

    I can't recall any male gay characters in any game really. There are subtle hints in plenty of games, but never very important male characters.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by shadowstep View Post
    Im sorry but if the game is good and has a good history i dont really care if the protagonist is gay, straight, alien, deformed, mutant ,male , femaleetc.... its a game..

    im a straight male and i dont have that kind of closed mind, i would play ANYTHING if it has GOOD gameplay and then GOOD history and char development...
    while i understand what you are saying and knowing that some people find hommosexuality a taboo,
    i still dont believe that sexual preferences should matter on a videogame...
    Then congratulations to you, you are not the standard person of the gaming community. Join our little club of 'we like quality.'

    You have to understand that our little club is the minority, here, however.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Thelxi View Post
    I can't recall any male gay characters in any game really. There are subtle hints in plenty of games, but never very important male characters.
    Persona 4 came close, one of the characters was struggling with the fact that he thought he was gay, and it carries through most of the game actually.

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