For what it’s worth, Dragon Age: Origins claimed the RPG of the year award from Spike TV’s yearly gaming award show but the game is getting attention for more than just storytelling and loot gathering. Public figures and other talking heads are weighing in with their opinions on a minute long cut-scene which portrays the main character having a gay experience.
I realize that gay bashing sells and attracts votes, but I’m tired of crusty old men blathering and dithering on about homosexuality. Personally, I couldn’t care less about what someone does in their spare time. Oddly, the people who are so concerned about what is going on in your bedroom are the same people who advocate for less government and deregulation of the financial system. Weird. Further, these are the people who do not play video games. It is highly unlikely that the people making such a fuss about Dragon Age’s gay sex scene have even tried the game but have seen the clip whereas relatively normal people like myself don’t have the time, energy, or interest in pursuing such issues. There are far greater threats to the world than Dragon Age’s bare-chested pixilated men snuggling up next to to a camp fire (ie. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen).
I make this game interesting, no matter what Fox wants to say about our game.
Speaking out against offensive content in video games is so passé and rather than feeling as if they are beating a dead horse, it feels more like a dog chewing on a bone – there really isn’t much meat there but they do it by nature. The relationship between the video game industry and mainstream news is clearly strained at best. In almost all instances where a program’s host has a discussion with a developer, it is routine for the host to belittle or even yell at the developer for destroying today’s youth. The developer usually takes it on the chin and tries to prove that he is a normal member of society with few major defects. Luckily, the damage done by the host is only temporary as their listeners are typically not gamers so winning their dollar was not possible anyways.
Whenever a supposed influential person gripes about something so unimportant to our daily lives, I find it astonishing how quickly some mooks are willing to jump in line and follow them as if they are quoting scripture. If we were responsible citizens then we would hold these fear mongers accountable and quickly discredit anything they say to the point where they become irrelevant. Being that the game is intended for and is sold to a mature audience baffles the mind that someone is trying to cause such a disturbance.
Artists that dare to push the limits on what is considered acceptable are usually remembered far longer than those few pests who got in their way. The most recent example of this is clearly Brokeback Mountain which received such wide acclaim and recalling the names of those who wanted to boycott the film is impossible. In Bioware’s case, they wanted to make the choice available to the player to have a momentary encounter with another male. Being that storytelling and choice are major parts of the RPG genre, the gay experience with Zevran adds to the story and the character’s personal history and I have no problem with that. I suppose growing pains were inevitable for the gaming industry but when the slightest bit of sexual innuendo is met with such hostility, it makes me wonder which of us does not have a grasp on our own sexuality.
Do you guys think games should exclude such scenes from their stories even if it has meaning to it? Do video game have to do something along these lines to prove something to the mainstream? Please let us know by commenting below. No registration is required to post.
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I’m a conservative that is against legalizing gay marriage. I am for deregulation, smaller government and I play videogames.
But, you raise an excellent point. Why do liberals advocate larger government and gay marriage? Why do conservatives advocate smaller government and marriage between a man and woman?
Conservatives have faith in God, and liberals don’t. For more on this, tune into Rush Limbaugh.
Tim you must be hidden-gay…
Shovel that crap elsewhere Tim. Show me where faith in a Christian god = better morals and then I’ll show you the “Conservative Family Values” displayed by your so called defenders of the faith. So go ahead and get off your high horse.
And in regards to Rush Limbaugh, I’d rather commit suicide with rusty barb wire than listen to that racist blowhard’s daily scaremongering.
Chris is my hero. Well said, sir!
Why are people for deregulation, but for regulation against gay marriage and regulations for straight marriage only?
It seems that what they really want is Christian dominance… no government except government established religion. That is ENTIRELY anti-American.
You can find among both conservatives and liberals individuals with faith and those without.
Why are you guys talking about me like that? My life partner Judas has only back-stabbed me once, which ended up with me getting whipped by some big strong men in uniform, and then they nailed me to a cross!
It makes me laugh when I see B.S. of the likes from people like Tim. You want things your way and no other way, double standard galore. Top it off, you want people to change for your betterment, isn’t that against the Bible? Treat thy neighbour as you wish to be treated, I guess you want everyone running your life and telling you what to do? I kind of like free will, it gives humanity it’s diversity. If it scares you, go leap into a hole, I hear the Grand Canyon is pretty vacant.
Celes, you have some great points.
Chris, you have some too.
Tim, stop giving a bad name to conservatives.
I am fiscal conservative, a church goer, and a gamer. I have no issues with any one doing anything they want with whom ever they want as long as it isn’t illegal. It’s none of my business. I also believe in the right of religion and a churches rights.
I don’t care if one man wants to join in a union with another man, or woman with woman.
I just don’t get why they have to take the word “marriage”.
Whats wrong with getting a civil union, or a church wedding where it’s the “churches decision” to perform those types of unions.
Just give us straight people marriage. You guys choose a different name for it.
i was wondering how long this would degrade into a discussion of religion 1 post wow…. it really is time to get rid of that abominable creation of the weak minded
” I realize that gay bashing sells and attracts votes, but I’m tired of crusty old men blathering and dithering on about homosexuality.”
I quit reading there.
I really don’t care what video game blog sites are tired of or the silly cliched mind cartoons they make up about people they happen to disagree with. Sorry. You’re really just another type of self righteous preacher hiding behind a facade of last year’s left over hip topics. I don’t go onto to game blogs epecting to step in this shit. Please come down from Olympus to heal society on your own time and quit using recently released video games as a lame excuse to launch into stiff, tired, one-sided, half baked, mocking diatribes about your pet political topics. The world is already full up to the gizzard with that sort of crap.
^ If you would have read farther you would have seen that he was applauding Bioware’s attempt to tackle a controversial topic. The author pointing out that movies can do it without constantly being featured on Fox or CNN is a fair argument. I think you went overboard.
Religion is a figment of human imagination used when we developed our brains to deal with HAVING an imagination suddenly. Therefore imagination is god. aka who gives a crap if dudes want to bang, you get to decide if you want to bang dudes in the game just like in real life, get over it.
Im not dissing religion though, that is what keeps all the whackos from being lunatic. Some peoples brains just dont want to cope with reality so they believe in “god” “santa claus”. Glad these people ahve religion because without they would probably be bothering us all with their fears.
What’s wrong with being gay??? If a great whopping homosexual like me likes to have sex with men in real life and then would like the option of expressing myself that way in a game what’s wrong with that???
Do you people want to kill me for being gay and enjoying the Hannah Montanna games??? You are not very nice people then…….killing people for being gay is impolite!
This is an excellent article, and well written too.
My opinion is that since some of the people who play Dragon Age Origins may be gay, giving them a love option that suits their real life preference, is enriching the game. It is yet another right thought in an adventure that is all about choices.
If you don’t want to follow that route, you don’t have to. What on Earth can be more open minded and respectful of the player than that?
Knew this would happen sooner or later. *Sigh*
It’s pretty sad that the world we live in has game designers that are more mature about things like sexuality than news stations……so much for that high standard of broadcasting……
but seriously, this is all just part of the larger issue here which is that there is an overabundance of scared 40-year old virgins running the country and influencing people to think that there is an issue to be dealt with, when really they’re just invading people’s privacy, I mean, it’s probably impossible to take a shit without them watching you now. I mean, who cares if you are or aren’t gay? Especially when it comes to running a goddamn country! Just shut up and do your job for Christ’s sake.
Also, well written article, and props to Bioware for being so accepting and mature
wow this a sad world we live in why do people always take so seriously on such small issues as this not so important issue anyway.
There is no reason that straight people should have one word and that gay people should have another word. We KNOW separate but equal is not equal, it doesn’t get you equality anywhere.
One name for all. It’s currently marriage, so marriage I think it should be. Or call it civil unions for all, and change laws away from saying “marriage.”
They do though seem to forget there are lesbian scenes too and only last year they were bashing Mass Effect for having alien side boob all politicians do is go omg it’s goin destroy the youth and all I have to say to them is : ‘No that the education system!’
a mnie to rozsmieszylo
If you want to have gay sex in Dragon Age, you actually need to pursue it. If you do, this says much more about you than it does the game, just as in life.
Liberals aren’t necessarily athiest. Some just think God cares more about thousands of Iraqis and Afghani citizens being slaughtered day in and day out than gay sex.
There’s a reason this is considered a MATURE game. If you don’t want your kids to play it, don’t buy it! It says so ON THE BOX!
Gay nerds should be just as entitled to frustration as any other gamer that isn’t getting laid (either often, or at all).
That said, the lesbian loving was the first thing I unlocked. For, um, research purposes. Naturally.
I also think that those “small government” minded folks have an absolutely awesome case of denial. Trying to tell people how they should or should not live (and make it law)… well, that doesn’t sound like small government to me bub. Sounds a lot like big brother.
To Sab187..
Separate but equal…that is a good idea, it has worked so well in the past…..
Anyone not married under the Bible I belive in just shouldn’t be allowed to say they are married…all thoes Hindus, Jews, Muslums why don’t they pick annoter word for it also…
I have a few points which I think haven’t really been discussed.
First: there was nothing in his post about liberals vs. conservatives, yet the majority of the responses have been little more than a flame war about such. This debate is timeless, meaningless, and futile. People will believe what they want to believe, or what they are told to believe, and telling them they’re stupid will change nothing.
Second: In the grand scheme of things [or even in the minutial scheme of your daily life], it doesn’t matter one bit what content a game like this has in it. None of the gamers I know [and there are a *lot* of them] will play a game based on the cutscenes. I’ve also never met anyone that will *not* play a game because of the cutscenes. The game is not cutscenes, and cutscenes are not the game. It’s really that simple.
Third: it doesn’t really matter how well one writes [and it was well-written, in my opinion], it’s that the “mainstream media” is not going to consider kokugamer a “viable news source”, until you amass so numerous a following that they are forced to take notice, at which point you become a “left-wing extremist website known for providing child pornography” [read: Bill O'Reilly on 4chan], or other such suitable slander. You [kokugamer, or any other dissenting site] will never be mentioned except to discredit. Deal with it.
But of course attempting to have an honest debate on the internet is silly of me, what was I thinking ?
There is a distinction between marriage as a religious concept and marriage as a legal right. If gay folks are legally denied the right to join in “marriage,” they become second class citizens. The word marriage is critical is as critical the set of rights that the word signifies.
Marriage is a basic human right and it must be a legal right for all, regardless of gender. Religions can decide what marriage means within the context of their own organization. Fortunately, there is a separation of church and state in this country, and that is part of what makes America a good place. In 100 years, this argument will be as embarrassing for America as slavery and the oppression of women seems in retrospect.
My 2 cents.
I think it’s fair to say that we all agree that Tim is a hidden gay
Also, having played through most of it, Dragon Age is a masterpiece of CRPGs. Lesbian and gay relationships are a very minor part of this game, but it is refreshing to see this in mainstream media.
It’s not like the game even requires you to follow either romantic story. The game goes on pretty much unchanged whether you bone the dude, chic, or neither.
This game is clearly intended for and marketed to adults, and oh my gosh, it just happens to contain adult content. News: video games, as a whole, are NOT universally intended for kids, so the “think of the children!” argument is completely invalid and ridiculous.
Also, the game in no way forces you to be gay. Ever. There shouldn’t be a problem and the article speaks truth: it’s absurd that people are upset over this. Seriously.
It’s wonderful to see the video game industry maturing and evolving to incorporate this sort of thing into storytelling. It’s realistic, it’s fair to certain audience demographics, and it’s progressive. Props to Bioware all around.
I agree with SAW.
It seems like online authors are using every small chance they get to get up on the pulpit and preach their views.
I suggest that authors should just simplly do their job and stop going into political discussion. Just rate the game and save me your political views, we hear enough of politics daily.
Or if you’d like to speak more on the subject of politics you should start a blog so people can read your whiny articles on there and stop using this site as your personal journal.
Don’t worry though, mentioning this at a party will earn you extra cool points.
Anyone criticizing this clearly hasn’t played games for years, and really doesn’t have any right to comment on it. As for the very first commenter- surely having played games you understand that to actually get to such a scene within a Bioware game you have to make hundreds of choices, that only a few lines of dialogue poorly chosen will result in no such romantic encounter. I don’t understand why the news is picking on a tasteful scene such as this, while they ignore games like the Sims, allowing gay relationships since ’00…
The first commenter wasn’t being serious.
I’m pretty sure it was just someone that commented in way to start discussion. Maybe the author’s friend? Hah
The thing about the word “marriage” is that it is not solely a religious institution. In the course of human events marriage’s status as a legal construct is far more important, and religious people need to stop pretending they own the word or have the authority to deny it to groups they don’t like.
“I just don’t get why they have to take the word “marriage”.”
Well, I don’t get why the word marriage is so coveted by the Christian populace.
Not all marriages are even a Christian thing, you realize that, right? I can have a justice of the peace marry me and my significant other completely unconnected to any religion and we are MARRIED, not “civil union”-ed or whatever you would like to call it.
The homosexual community should have the same rights as everyone else, including access to all the same institutions.
Being gay is a sickness of the mind!
Unfortunately, like most sicknesses, there is no cure. So if you’re plagued with it, keep it to yourself – don’t put it into my games or movies.
Thanks,
Josh
Something to point out, if you want this experience to happen in the game it takes time there isn’t just some random gay sex button. So its kinda funny if your the kinda of person who gets offended by gay sex you’d have to spend a good deal of time showering the male character with gifts and hitting on him. If your shocked by what happens after that well, you are either really dense or a total closet case.
and about gay marriage, I’m all for it and well if you are against it then don’t get one. Plus the idea of what marriage is has always been changing. not to long ago, it was illegal in many states to marry some one out side of your race, It wasn’t until the 1960 the last of those laws were overturned (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-miscegenation_laws).
One thing I keep noticing is that people jump from the question asked to another topic. Granted marriage for the LGBTQI community is related, especially because the same people trying to legislate against equality are trying to censor media, but the question was whether or not the games intended for a mature audience should exclude scenes despite the context.
No. They should not. I applaud that they have added the one scene and I actually think they should add more and realistic homo, inter, and transsexual content in the hopes that people will stop “othering” such lifestyles.
I haven’t played the game (Christmas present) so I am not entirely sure of the circumstances beyond what is seen of the cut scene on youtube. I wonder how many people played through the scenario because it was funny instead of thinking it was plausible or natural for the characters.
Hi. I’m a gamer. I’m not religious, nor am I particularally interested in politics and on behalf of all the people who want to ignore politics, please stop bringing them into places where they’re not needed.
We’re not exactly sure how gay elves are connected to your personal rights, nor do we particularally care. We come to talk about games.
And failing that, you can always go and say hi to the landover guys. I’m sure they’re talk politics and religion with you until the cows come home…
Oh, and the gay option made me lul. It’s nice to see a games company with a sense of humor.
I came back from the dead to suck dick and play DA:O.
Hey Tim, are you the same Tim Larkin who does audio/sound for Valve?
I’m a conservative (mostly fiscal but I have some conservative social beliefs, too), but if BioWare wants to put an optional romantic sidequest involving a member of the same gender, then more power to them. It’s not hurting anyone, and aside from putting in ridiculous regulations to limit what game developers can or cannot do in their own damn products. Don’t like partaking in gay storytelling? Fine. Don’t do the sidequest. Don’t like the idea of gayness? Sucks to be you. Dragon Age: Origins is the best RPG of 2009 (arguably the best game of the year), and avoiding it just because there’s a pair of bisexual characters in it is like throwing away a kitten because its fur is a color you don’t like.
What is surprising to me (and maybe it shouldn’t be) is that the “talking heads” are up in arms about a man-on-man experience but aren’t vocally upset about the girl-on-girl scene. They both have the same implications, but the one is considered “hot” while the other one is considered “wrong”.
No, I don’t think video games should exclude various story arcs just to please a few, loud individuals.
Thank you for the article; I found it interesting!
I hate how believing in God is considered weak minded. And how those who have no faith are oh so much more enlightened for not believing. Truth is you guys are just lazy and self-righteous. It’s a lot more self serving to say you don’t believe in God, because the truth is that any God you find will probably require you to change from the person you currently are. Having faith is more about giving your life over to a higher power than it is about anything else.
A lack of faith is nothing more than a celebration in laziness and selfishness.
I fully support this article.
Furthermore, do these homophobic idiots realize that not only is the romance with Zevran OPTIONAL but even if you do persue it for the achievement you can SKIP any sex scene (like I do with all of them. I don’t need to see my pixilated hero bump uglies)
Ron Paul supporters seem to be gamers, and the one at the top of this list seems to be quite good at it.
http://www.gametracker.com/server_info/68.232.174.233:7777/top_players/
Funny.. the game also has a lesbian scene, but no mention of it?
So I take it no one has issues with that?
Aside from the ridiculous debate people have over LGBT rights and whether it’s “sick and wrong” or just a lifestyle, I believe this content should stay in ALL media forms. Not just gaming but movies too. The more people are exposed to it, the more they will begin to accept it. Will it be a pleasant change? No, but it’s needed.
Here’s a monkey wrench:
I’m a Conservative, relatively young (mid 20′s), and non-religious gamer. Digest that…
I don’t care who chooses to marry whom or what words they use to describe their union. What I do care about are shitty articles purporting to be about gaming when really its just a shameless political plug taking cheap shots at conservatism and its associated values that are haphazardly assumed to be shared by all in the faction.
I learned nothing from this article about Dragon Age that the title didn’t already tell me, it was a waste of time to read and if there were any means of remonstration besides voicing how much of a douche the author is I’d gladly waste more time to satisfy its ends. And no the climate summit is not a big deal… only for the idiots…
why do people go on and on about Zevran, but not Leilana??
I think there is a double standard where Man on Man is considered creepy / disgusting but everybody secretly applauds Girl on Girl.
you know, what goes on between two consenting adults in the privacy of their own home is their business. When gays start having parades where they literally fellate each other in the streets, talk about it on tv non stop, and try to ram their way of life down my throat, i get a little irritated. but thats besides the point. heres the thing: i love dragon age, its an awesome game. in fact, i have a purchased copy in my dvd drive right now. at the same time, i dont really appreciate having sex scenes in the game, gay or not. sex is a private thing and it really doesnt add anything to the game. unless of course your the type you like to watch cartoon elf men have sex, but im sure theres porn for those people on the internet somewhere. we all know that it was just included in the game to generate controversy and sell copies, and i think that in future it would be better for gamers if developers relied on the strength of the gameplay to sell copies, rather than shock value. just my 2 cents. gavin, i think you need a punshing bag man, you need to take some of that anger out. fox news isnt responsible for the world’s ills lol. im not a crusty old man by the way, im 17.
co ty kurwa robisz na komputerze??, w pracy mialesz bycz
wybieracz grzybow!!! kurwa macz
what the fuck are you doing on computer too??? you think your special??, go help your brother piotrek pick some mushrooms at the mushroom farm for fucks sake
Josh, sexual orientation, whether heterosexual or homosexual, is a sickness of the mind. There is no evidence to suggest any such thing.
Sexuality is just a natural part of being human, and there is no way to change humans into asexual beings. We are all “plagued” with sexuality, and that doesn’t need to be kept to ourselves. Like all other aspects of our humanity, expression into games or movies is very appreciated by many, if not by all.
If you don’t like any certain topics about humanity, then you have the freedom not to play, watch, or purchase any video game or movie… in which case they would not be placed into “your” games.
Thanks for nothing, Josh.
“There is no reason that straight people should have one word and that gay people should have another word.”
Thats so absurd. Marriage is and already has been defined for thousands of years as being between a man and a woman. Its religious in nature and origin. If its ok for homosexuals to legally force others to accept their unrealistic version of marriage, then how about Christians be allowed to redefine “gay” with something homosexuals do not agree with. While we are at it, why not just redefine “vegetarian” to include eating cattle so we can be more inclusive to vegetarians who crave more beef in their diet. I would really like just one homosexual to tell me exactly what responsibility I have to accept their lifestyle. I have yet to have one that could answer me that question. All they can do is attack you for your beliefs and never defend their own.
Sab187, feel free to choose a different name for your religious ceremony. Wiccans call it “handfasting”.
The term “marriage” has a specific legal definition and case law for marriage may not be applicable to “civil unions”, especially across state lines. This creates a situation where a couple could be de facto divorced and lose custody of their children simply for choosing to live in another state. This is unacceptable to most people.
These arguments against gay marriage are identical, almost word for word, to the arguments made against interracial marriage and the sentiment is similar. The arguments made by those trying to ban gay marriage are 100% slurs, such as the “gay agenda” infiltrating schools and making children gay somehow (i.e. black boys dating your daughters and turning them into whores, like all the black girls your sons might date).
Having never had a gay experience in my life (apart from communal baths after football, and the tongue kissing when one of my teammates score a goal),I probably will take the option to have a gay fling in the game just for the hell of it. Sweet!
Tim Rocks!
Sab187, the reason for wanting the word marriage has more to do with social aspects of the union. Legally, a marriage and civil union is generally the same(at least that’s the goal), but there are social aspects given to marriage that aren’t given to a civil union. For instance, let’s say that a couple is married and one of them is severely injured and needs to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance. In this situation it would be inexcusable to deny the spouse to ride with them and would create outrage from the public that this happened. Now take the same situation where they are simply in a civil union instead of married. In this case they can and some will deny the partner from riding to the hospital in the ambulance and the public won’t generally notice.
I’m conservative and all, but don’t you get a secret acheivement for that?
I need to up my gamerscore. The game is still pretty awesome in my opinion and I will strive to get all the acheivements.
WHY IS THIS NINTENDO X-STATION TRYING TO TURN OUR GOOD CHRISTIAN CHILDREN INTO RAGING HOMOSEXUALS? INSTEAD OF LETTING YOUR KIDS PLAY WITH THOSE HORRIBLE SEGA TAPES, WHY NOT DROP THEM OFF AT MY CHURCH AND I CAN SHOW THEM A REAL “AWESOME” GAME, IT’S CALL JESUS!
@everyone replying to Tim Larkin
C’mon guys, don’t feed the troll.
Sab187 — It depends on the person. I don’t care about the word marriage, I care about the right to be married and the legal rights that entails. Seperate is not equal. — The question is, are you willing to make your Marriage a religious ceremony and have all legal unions be called civil unions?
There’s also another angle to this. Leaving the legal implications aside, our culture does not recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships as valid relationships. The word marriage carries with it a cultural weight. Trying to exclude or prevent any subset of those relationships from using the word is supporting the cultural emphasis that those relationships are less or different than the rest.
Why does two men or two women being married cheapen or weaken your marriage? How is that taking something away from you?
@Backlash Wave : You have no responsibility to accept my lifestyle. You as a person have no responsibilities other than those you’ve accepted. — That said, our government and our society as a whole has the responsibility, laid out in our founding documents, to treat each citizen and member of this country equally.
On a related note: Marriage has also been a form of keeping women as property for thousands of years. That continued until the 20th century when we decided it was wrong. Marriage, for thousands of years, was often performed between early teenagers. That also stopped fairly recently in the west and still continues in many places on earth. We decided that was wrong. — Attempting to use thousands of years of history doesn’t hold water, since humanity has a long legacy of violence and human rights abuse.
Further: Marriage is not historically defined as between one man and one woman. Historicaly polygamy was very common, with one man having multiple wives. Even when a man only had one wife, his wife was his property, and she did not need to consent to that marriage.
Hey Tim! if Samurai Jack were here he would Neuter you with his sword
Jesus Christ never married a woman. I wonder why.
“Marraige should be between a man and a woman.” There are many problems inherent in such a position. Here is a glaring one.
Many don’t realize this, but 1% of humans are born as hermaphrodites. (This is a established statistical observation in biology … here’s one of thousands of sources that document this http://8e.devbio.com/article.php?id=266). What about these souls that are neither strictly men nor women? Should 1 out of 100 people be denied this basic human right to couple and love and have a family? That’s a huge number … 3 million people in the US of A alone. Moreover, between 5-15% of the US population is openly gay (it varies between studies), but that’s another 15-45 million people in this country who apparently don’t deserve a basic human right.
The important and ultimately pragmatic point is this: Laws won’t stop people from being gay and having families. Laws won’t change people’s gender. The LGBTQ culture have families. They always have and they always will. No matter what the law says, this will reality will not change. It is outrageous and inhuman to deny people who are, in every other sense, married the legal protections and rights that the other 85-95% of the population enjoy.
Queer people have been a part of the human experience as long as humans have been having sex. It is a normal and unchangeable aspect of human sexuality. To hate gay sexuality is to hate humanity, and hate yourself.
/rant
Because gay is bad amirite?
Yay let’s reject nature!
…I feel like I should have known better than to start reading the comments…
Penises
Kevran is actually a woman you fools. He got a sex change.
This is definitely not the game for those frightened of the idea of micromanaging a game to the point where a large portion of it will be spent in a pause screen. However, as the sort of guy that has lovingly played an Infinity Engine game at least once every year for the past decade, I can think of no higher praise for this throwback than to say that Dragon Age.
Looks like Bioware is taking another blow in the war against video game maturity. In my opinion the media and public have taken the videogame industry as their new flavour of the decade, forgetting some of the crass, vile and physically distubing imagery found in a lot of films nowadays.
I guess it’s just the industries coming of age, or some kind of weird trial by fire. It seems clear from the majority of post replies to this article that as gamers we have a full understanding of what we’re getting ourselves into and in most cases are playing games like Dragon Age for the experience and story molded by our own choices. Now as long as the developer in question is conscious enough to know where to draw the line, then we shouldn’t be blaming anyone but ourselves.
Dragon Age is a mature game and therefore shouldn’t be picked up by any minors. If that’s the case then when did we need the media or people who don’t even take the time to experience the scene, tell us what is wrong with the game we chose to spend our money on.
I just think it’s especially sad when taking a game as thougtful and considerate as this. It’s not their intention to make the mass market think this is a game that invovles homosexuality without choice. Whereas a game like GTA (which i’m not knocking) will allow you to pick up a girl or questionable virtue, drive to a quiet spot, and then proceed to test the suspension of your vehicle. Even worse, that is a game that is widely played by minors.
The sooner that they leave the games industry alone, the sooner all these people will realise that interactive media is just as it states.
Why do republicans want control society? Whe do they even CARE if a dude puts his dick in another dude’s butt? Why do they want to prevent them from getting tax breaks but give MORE tax breaks to people with great income? Why they fuck doesnt everyone pay the SAME amount of taxes?
Because we are all assholes who either only care about ourselves or want to control how others act.
Backlash Wave said “Marriage is and already has been defined for thousands of years as being between a man and a woman.”
That’s a pretty ridiculous statement. The word marriage has not been defined for thousands of years. The entire English language (and indeed the nation of England itself) has not been around for thousands of years. The word came out of latin or greek via the diaspora of medieval european languages into middle english. As every other word, its meaning and usage is altered by different cultures – it is not an inerrant absolute concept.
Thank you, JoshK, for also bringing up the intersexed… something people conveniently forget and then never address during their “marriage is strictly between man and woman” arguments.
There is no legal backing, only personal opinion to that, and that’s why it won’t stand… especially when they let it be ignored in the case of the intersexed.
My pleasure, Alex.
I don’t live in the US but I must ask… what’s all this obsession with gay people. I mean, while playing MMO, chatting online, kids, teenagers use the word gay a lot. This is gay, that was so gay… gay… at the beginning it was funny but now I’m beginning to get a little worried about all this.
Not only for the discriminatory problem… now everything that shows some feeling is labeled as gay, like: You love your mom and dad and you showed that in public… GAY! Awww… you bought you girlfriend a nice present… GAY! Lol some people is really lost.
Dear JoshK:
You are quite clearly a 15 year old or a gay fanboy. How in the name of all that is holy is do gay people have kids……?
The whole point of marriage is to raise a family. The people that are raising hell about gays adopting that word are concerned that you gay fanboys are going to intrude into their lives and do crazy things like adopt kids and start your own little catholic priest sessions – the fact is that you can be gay and I don’t care. I just don’t want to hear about it. I don’t go around shouting that gays suck or that HEY I’M NOT GAY. So the point of this rant…. go be gay in the corner over there and shut the hell up or I will have to spank you again.
Deal with that gay fanboy………..
Funny how I hear no one complaining about the lesbian love scene you can have with Leliana in this game. Double standards ftw I guess.
Poor, sexy Zevran.
I’m so soaked in heterosexual culture to the point that it is no longer stimulating. The same-sex situation in Dragon Age threw me off but I am intellectually mature enough to handle it – unlike these pansies in this comment section.
Why does the christian church keep opposing anyone using the word “marriage” without their explicit written consent? It’s not like they are the ONLY religion that marries people.
Yes. I said it. OTHER RELIGIONS HAVE MARRIAGE TOO!
It’s not so much the term “marriage” as it is everything that comes with it. There’s only a small handful of states where “civil unions” are recognized between two members of the same sex, and none of the rights heterosexual couples get from marriage are conferred. Worse than denying two homosexual people our laughable idea of eternal love is taking away the rights and benefits that come with being legally recognized as a family.
So much for keeping the church and the state separate, yeah? I’m glad Bioware aren’t too world-weary to give players the option to have a homosexual character.
When a religion that supposedly preaches about the love of god *obsesses* over a form of love which is inherent in some of his creations, when the son of god they worship themselves didn’t even mention one word of spite against the said people, I begin to question just WHO these people are worshiping. Seems more like a god of hate to me.
When a religion that has better things to do in a world gone mad with religious intolerance (even though the fanatics killing each other all worship the SAME god), poverty, hunger, and war still seem to think that giving people the same legal right to love who they wish to love as they have themselves as a matter of life and death. When what these said people do actually have no consequences on their own lives. Their god begins to seem more like a god of hypocrites and sycophants than of mercy.
When a religion that supposedly eschews wealth and power is practiced by people who unabashedly tread on the lives of other people in pursuit of money all the while spouting sanctimonious declarations of piety, you begin to realize their god is Mammon, the god of greed.
When a religion who even after Jesus himself became enraged at the Pharisees (in one of the only two instances he ever got angry) for having the gall to judge who and who may not enter heaven, went ahead and built a whole new clergy, a whole new system, and a whole new way of picking out who in their opinion will burn in hell, I begin to see that they worship their own personal god and not everyone’s god. For these people think they know what god wants, and that they have the right to impose hell on earth on those they *think* are bound for hell. Even when the said ‘sin’ is not their choice at all, a ‘sin’ imposed on someone upon birth with no hope of escape or repentance other than to live a miserable lie or to burn in hell seems more like something a god of accusation, guilt, and tyranny would do.
Who is your god? Is it this warped image of mankind? All the greed, hate, intolerance, xenophobia, jealousy, pettiness, selfishness, cruelty, anger, hypocrisy, indifference, all the taints of man present in him.
A man-made god, and not the other way around. Made for the sole purpose of justifying one’s hatred toward something they can not understand nor wish to.
I am agaisnt hmosexuality.We have been created as Adam and Eve.Sodom and Gomora has been burn to ashes due to lots of sins.Why does Arc of Noah been???nothing more and nothing less.Maybe,the game just reflects the real world now.Its up to us what we decide in the game or in life.The hero may succed or fall upon the decision that we made.Let them do whatever they decide.No more debate on this topic…Great interactive game…graphics are good for EA and Boware…
“”Why does Arc of Noah been created?”
To the mysterious poster known only as “Thinks JoshK needs to grow up”:
Argumentum ad hominem is not the most potent bit of reasoning around which to frame a philosophical position, I’m afraid.
Since you’re so interested, allow me to divulge a little bit about myself. I’m a white (privileged) heterosexual male. I live in San Diego. I tend to be rather lucky with the ladies. I’m in my 30′s. I am a scientist. I’ve been playing videogames and roleplaying games since the early 80′s. I may well be a Star Wars fanboy, an Alan Moore fanboy, a Tolkien fanboy, and maybe even a Bioware fanboy … but that’s about where my fanboyhood ends.
I am, above all, a secular humanist. I deplore racism, sexism, and homophobia in equal measure. I am convinced that every single person deserves basic human rights regardless of race, gender, religion, creed, class, or sexual orientation … even the impolite.
Anytime the marginalized are subjugated, it offends me as a human. Striving toward equal rights for all is both admirable and necessary. I feel this way not (just) because I’m in a position of privilege or because of white guilt or what have you, but rather that it is the only decent way to conduct one’s self in the world, as a thinking and feeling human being.
Although I am not religious myself, I have devoted some time to the formal study of religion and estimate that these ideals are ones that Christ himself might champion, were he in a position to offer his current opinion on the matter. Unfortunately, it seems only a minority of Christians have the insight to perceive the thrust of Christ’s message. The things said and done in his name would put him off his mulled wine and goat cheese, to say the least. But I digress!
I did find your less than charitable guesswork as to my personal stats to be rather amusing. Thanks for making me smile, cutie pie. However, if “growing up,” as you suggest, entails abandoning these dear principles then I soundly refuse.
It is indisputable: people of all sexualities raise families. It is not mysterious how this happens. Some people have children the traditional way before boarding the train to Gayville (chugachugachugachuga … choo! choo!) Others adopt or craft arrangements with willing breeders. There are multitudes of gay households that are successfully raising healthy children. To imply causality between queer sexualities and child abuse is not just ignorant, it is despicable.
My 2 cents. Now, have a magical day!
@JoshK: I think I love you, mister.
Awww … shucks. Thanks, JWP.
(double post)
Chris, you have some too
I think homosexuality should stay out of mainstream media.
first of all, Tim really wasn’t being a troll, all he did was state his opinion
second, the game in question is rated M, for Mature, and is intended for MATURE PEOPLE; it is also an RPG, and mature people sometimes want to roleplay mature behavior
the people who made the game are not intending to undermine young people’s morals; it is aimed at 17 and older
finally, the sexual things need not be followed if they bother you; being OCD is not always a good thing
games for mature people should be enjoyable to mature people; if it’s rated M, it shouldn’t be something kids can handle
adults should be left alone with their personal choices; however, marriage is very closely tied with religions, and if you practice a religion that is opposed to gays getting married, and you are gay, and you want to get married, you have a problem
I think they should separate marriage from the civil benefits;
have some generic term for couples as far as the law is concerned, and let everyone benefit, all sexual orientations, then have a separate personal term based on faith for the relationship
all that matters is a solid relationship
anything else is belief
a kid whose parents are gay but love each other, and the kid, will be better off than a kid whose parents are straight but hate each other even if they love the kid
marriage is only good if you have love
Wow, thats some of the coolest graphics I have ever seen!
Lou
http://www.anonymous-proxy.us.tc