BioWare - Progressive Sexual Politics

Originally Posted by txa1265
Political agenda? Sorry - human rights and equality are core values of our country (US), assumed as basic precepts of our founding … and not an 'agenda'.

So true, just ask the slaves, Indians, black, women, gays , lesbians, transgendered, I'm sure im missing some others that have been legally discriminated against by our country that was founded on equality and human rights.

All of these issues have been used as political agends at some point in time so I'm not sure why everyone is getting offended.

That's why political correctness is so rampant these days to overcompensate for the years and years of mistreatment and discrimination people have suffered.

Don't get me wrong I am proud to be an American but we've never practiced human rights and equality for all and have tons of room for improvement in those areas.

The world is made up a group of people that really don't like each other on any level. Though by being force by special interest groups and laws we are forced to live within the same space as each other. I really think the people of serpent isle had the right idea.

Originally Posted by Ripper
But that's yet another different argument.

Yes, if you bought a game to entertain you, and it had things you don't like in it, that would be a problem - for you. But why do you attempt to extend your subjective distaste for something to an objective criticism of its quality?

I'd say it is objective that games are a mindless distraction and an escape from reality and that is how 99% of the players view it as. The ones who don't are people who have ulterior motives.

I am exposed to enough propaganda in real life all day as it stands. I don't really like seeing being covertly inserted in yet another area, one which was supposed to be meant for solace. And with the popularity of the Gamergate movement, it's obvious I'm far from being the only one.

It's one thing to include some characters who happen to be homosexual in a story. It's another to make many heavy-handed and painfully obvious attempts at "teaching a lesson" to an unsuspecting audience, so much that they might as well flash ***MESSAGE** on screen while it happens. It's presumptuous to assume that your audience is obviously evil and not smart enough to know how to think and how to act, and thus their hobby must be used to "veer" them the "right" way.

…but including a whole cast of overtly heteronormative characters in a game isn't a political statement. Gotcha. I'm glad that one was cleared up.

Originally Posted by sakichop
So true, just ask the slaves, Indians, black, women, gays , lesbians, transgendered, I'm sure im missing some others that have been legally discriminated against by our country that was founded on equality and human rights.

All of these issues have been used as political agends at some point in time so I'm not sure why everyone is getting offended.

That's why political correctness is so rampant these days to overcompensate for the years and years of mistreatment and discrimination people have suffered.

Don't get me wrong I am proud to be an American but we've never practiced human rights and equality for all and have tons of room for improvement in those areas.

At least you can recognise the overcompensation aspect, which is really the problem. Not in itself, but the fact that people confuse it with a smart or productive way of dealing with real issues.

It's like when you've had a long-term relationship with someone, and you promise yourself that the most important thing in the next relationship - is that the person you end up being with does NOT have the same traits that you ended up disliking in your previous partner. It's our nature to react aggressively against something experience has taught us is bad for us - and we often forget which part was actually wrong - and what was actually perfectly alright about the rest of it.

So, we end up overcompensating and at the very first sign of such a trait in a future partner, we react immediately - and the poor person doesn't really get a chance.

You all know what I'm talking about, I'm sure.

It's much the same thing when I see people going crazy against something that could be interpreted as discrimination, even if it's anything but. It's an emotionally aggressive reaction - and a defense mechanism.

But smart or productive? Nope, and quite often destructive - I'm afraid.

Originally Posted by Humanity has risen!
It's presumptuous to assume that your audience is obviously evil and not smart enough to know how to think and how to act, and thus their hobby must be used to "veer" them the "right" way.

You're not really complaining about preaching of evil and how to act, and of trying to steer people to the "right" way? You have seen your signature (which is on a hobby forum)?

Anyhow, you seem to make a different argument with each post. Are you now saying that your only complaint is that the writing is heavy-handed and preachy? I don't know if that's true, but in theory that could be a reasonable complaint. So, you don't now object to the inclusion of sex or homosexuality generally, just the way that Bioware happen to have written this game?

The "message" is reality. There's no "agenda". And in DA:I, at least, it's a very light touch.