PC Gamer - Bioware and Sex

PC's Gamers Richard Cobbet has penned an editorial about how Bioware handles sexuality
in their games. At first, he talks about Dorian, the first full gay character in a Bioware
game. Cobbet writes that:

I don't want to reduce the character down to just his sexuality, because as you'd expect from both Gaider and Bioware, it's not particularly what defines him - nationality, magic, friends, family all play a far larger role in his conversations and snarking, as you'd expect for a world where nobody particularly cares who you sleep with as long as it doesn't create a terrible god-baby. Sometimes not even then.

Another comment from Cobbet is this:

The fact that Bioware's push for inclusiveness and increasingly not defining characters by their sexuality first makes for better and more well-rounded games though isn't the real reason we should be glad that they do it. The big advantage is that in doing it, it demonstrates to the rest of the world that it can be done……The result of this is that smaller, more vulnerable companies get to see directly that even if someone does make a flap, it doesn't actually mean a damn thing, as well as being able to point to an increasing range of high profile examples of different character types, sexualities and storylines.

Do you agree with Cobbet?

More information.

In partially-relevant Gaider-related news, avoid his twitter today if you don't like spoilers.

Sex? They don't know it.

Sex with robot chickens

Dragon Age: Gay Pride!

Pushing the homosexual agenda for the sake of population control since 2014!

Originally Posted by 1969 speech from Dr. Dunegan
Girls would be discouraged from playing with dolls so they wouldn’t think about babies. They would be encouraged to get out on the soccer field instead.

Homosexuality will be encouraged – anything goes.

Families will diminish in importance. People would be encouraged to live alone.

Entertainment will be used to mainly change and program the young people.

Like comedians that rely on racism or profanity for their comedy Bioware shows how weak they are at generating a story by including sex in the Dragon Age storyline.

A genuinely good RPG story does not need sex to make the story good. EA is simply using this as a crutch to bolster up a poor story.

Do I believe in equality for all races, creeds, and sexual orientations? Sure..

However, games are for enjoyment and should not be used for pushing the current agendas of various belief groups.

I'd rather not have sexual politics in my games. What I do want is fairly simple. Fantasy monsters to slay, dungeons to explore, and treasure to loot! And strange lands and places to explore, with ancient and magical things to discover. Yes, please.

Rpgs with political correctness lessons of the day to teach and instruct me. No thank you.

Originally Posted by Arkadia7
I'd rather not have sexual politics in my games. What I do want is fairly simple. Fantasy monsters to slay, dungeons to explore, and treasure to loot! And strange lands and places to explore, with ancient and magical things to discover. Yes, please.

Rpgs with political correctness lessons of the day to teach and instruct me. No thank you.

It's an innocent and silly hobby, even when it comes to "mature" games like Fallout which are basically about this very thing and the "mature" content is only for flavor.

Let's keep it that way. Sex, especially when used in a propagandist manner by mediocre Albertan writers from academia, has no place in videogames.

The Biowarian crowd who is regaled by the emphasis on sex and developing relationships might as well play an eroge instead and leave our RPGs alone.

It began with innocent romantic relationships in Baldur's Gate 2, to now describing a "treesome" having taken place seemingly to push the envelope. At some point it's just weirdly out of place and doesn't even succeed at normalizing out of norm activities and preferences when it is done in such an hackneyed, poorly written and awkward manner.

I'm a bit puzzled by why this should be perceived as "political correctness lessons of the day to teach and instruct."

Sex and sexuality are clearly part of the human experience, and appear throughout drama and all the arts. Why would they not be represented in games, and when they are, why should we assume it has some didactic intent?

Lots of us watch "Game of Thrones" a fantasy yarn with dragons, wizards, warriors, and rogues, etc.. It's wall-to-wall with sexual congress and nobody thinks twice about it. I really don't see the difference. And, unlike GoT, the sex is purely optional (i.e., you can choose to have that stuff in your game or not). I've never had a problem with it in other games (like the Witcher) and I don't have a problem with it here.

I agree with you Ripper but I'm also puzzled why ingame romance (gay, bi or straight) causes controversy. Triggering a romance requires certain actions by the player and Witcher and Bioware games can be played without triggering any romance/sex scenes whatsoever.

EDIT - you beat me to it Falchor

I'm just giving my personal preference. I'm not interested in rpgs that are about these kinds of things. I don't think a rpg game or character even needs to have sexuality involved to make a good or interesting game or character. Other people can have different preferences. (shrug)

Originally Posted by Arkadia7
I'm just giving my personal preference. I'm not interested in rpgs that are about these kinds of things. I don't think a rpg game or character even needs to have sexuality involved to make a good or interesting game or character. Other people can have different preferences. (shrug)

That's fair enough. There's plenty of great drama that is romance-free - Cormac McCarthy's The Road springs to mind.

But, you didn't just state your preference - you went on to say it represents "political correctness lessons of the day to teach and instruct." And I'm curious - why do you interpret it that way?

Originally Posted by Ripper
That's fair enough. There's plenty of great drama that is romance-free - Cormac McCarthy's The Road springs to mind.

But, you didn't just state your preference - you went on to say it represents "political correctness lessons of the day to teach and instruct." And I'm curious - why do you interpret it that way?

It's a pet peeve of mine. I don't want to get into it, but I see an increasing number of messages put in all forms of media, and now its starting in rpg games too. Basically, its political correctness overload, and its telling people what they should think. I am sensitive to these things, and its a form of thought control in my opinion. This is much more of a political topic, so I will leave it there. But I can see this influence all around, and its a personal concern of mine, even in the supposedly land of freedom and free thought, America.

OK. I just can't identify where, in the inclusion of human sexuality in a drama, we can point to evidence of an agenda or attempt at thought control. I'd have said that such portrayals themselves fall within the realm of "freedom and free thought".

The term "politically correct" tends to imply a progressive mindset, but taken literally, it doesn't have to. I suspect that it's in some of the objections to this material that the political correctness lies, just with a different idea of what is "correct".

I don't like how Inquisition was softened compared to previous DA installments, kisses for romance scenes instead of foursomes, no more tits, no desire demons, no prostitutes, damn.

Originally Posted by Ripper
I'm a bit puzzled by why this should be perceived as "political correctness lessons of the day to teach and instruct."

Sex and sexuality are clearly part of the human experience, and appear throughout drama and all the arts. Why would they not be represented in games, and when they are, why should we assume it has some didactic intent?

There clearly is a didactic intent, the BioWare writers and developers have consistently gone on record on Twitter and other mediums on how they intended to make "progressive" games, and some of the content of DAI speaks for itself:

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/1…me-together/2/

Among the newcomers, the sex-positive Qunari mercenary/spy who goes by the title The Iron Bull is a particular favorite. The seven-foot-tall, horned-eye-patch aficionado is a devout follower of his motherland's super-communist manifesto. Engage him in conversation and he'll tell you all about its exotic, often seemingly despicable workings while admitting it's not for everyone. If things move to romance, however, you'll discover his proclivities for BDSM—presented as consensual and healing, rather than for laughs or "shock value."

As it so often does, BioWare uses the diverse cast to explore a whole new swath of social commentary through fantasy metaphor. Thedas has always been a fairly approving place—women and men are generally treated equally, race (as in the color of one's skin) isn't a discriminatory issue, and the existence of homo/bisexuality is never really remarked upon. That's absolutely fine. This is a fantasy, after all, and there's nothing wrong with a fantasy reflecting a happier, safer, better version of reality (ignoring the dragons and subterranean monsters, of course).

But that doesn’t mean the game is subtle about casting a lens on real-world social issues. Without navigating into spoilers, suffice it to say that two characters in particular face challenges when roaming in areas of Thedas that are less accepting of challenges to the norms of gender identity and sexuality.

As Arstechnica itself say, they certainly aren't subtle in the least in what they are trying to do, that's the least that can be said.

Videogames are about the gameplay, not the story. Everything about the story is tangential and ancillary in comparison. Bioware takes it to the nth degree and it becomes a gigantic distraction.

It's inappropriate in regards to what players of RPGs want, which is to enjoy a real RPG and a real game without indoctrination like they always did.

I vote for flirting with characters. Sex is unneeded. Fallout 1 2 did a good job on sex: Blackened out screen and just a short voice indicator.

Originally Posted by Humanity has risen!
Videogames are about the gameplay, not the story. Everything about the story is tangential and ancillary in comparison. Bioware takes it to the nth degree and it becomes a gigantic distraction.

It's inappropriate in regards to what players of RPGs want, which is to enjoy a real RPG and a real game without indoctrination like they always did.

You just can't help yourself with those sweeping statements can you? It's one thing to have an opinion but you don't have opinions, you have statements.

The fact that they include a wide range of sexuality in their drama, when it clearly exists in reality, is hardly evidence of their advocacy of anything in particular. There is also quite a lot of butchering people with sharp implements, but I don't take this as evidence of Bioware's attempt to influence me in this direction.

The extent of their "progressivism" appears to be refusing to let anyone tell them what they can put their work, which is what any worthwhile artist would do.

You misrepresent what Ars says about the subtlety of intent:

But that doesn’t mean the game is subtle about casting a lens on real-world social issues. Without navigating into spoilers, suffice it to say that two characters in particular face challenges when roaming in areas of Thedas that are less accepting of challenges to the norms of gender identity and sexuality.

Again, "casting a lens on real-world social issues" has always been one of the principle aims of art, and does not require advocating a particular position.

Originally Posted by Humanity has risen!
Videogames are about the gameplay, not the story. Everything about the story is tangential and ancillary in comparison.

I would disagree, and a recent poll on this site shows a story is of high importance to many people. In this poll, the highest importance.

Originally Posted by Humanity has risen!
It's inappropriate in regards to what players of RPGs want, which is to enjoy a real RPG and a real game without indoctrination like they always did.

You speak for all "players of RPGs"? And what is the "doctrine" you refer to?