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[aliasbatman]

When a forum poster decided to criticize the developer for
neglecting the core role-playing game market - straight male gamers -
when developing romance prospects for Dragon Age II, BioWare writer
David Gaider's response was swift and elegant.
BioWare forum poster Bastal obviously feels strongly that the
supporting characters in Dragon Age II were more geared towards women
and homosexuals than they were straight males. In a forum post titled
"Bioware Neglected Their Main Demographic: The Straight Male Gamer",
Bastal spoke his peace.

When I say BioWare neglected The Straight Male Gamer, I don't mean
that they ignored male gamers. The romance options, Isabella and
Merrill, were clearly designed for the straight male gamers in mind.
Unfortunately, those choices are what one would call "exotic" choices.
They appeal to a subset of male gamers and while its true you can't make
a romance option everyone will love, with Isabella and Merrill it seems
like they weren't even going for an option most males will like. And
the fact is, they could have. They had the resources to add another
romance option, but instead chose to implement a gay romance with
Anders.

Even from that brief excerpt you can see the main issue with the
post. Bastal speaks for straight male gamers as a whole. Being a
straight male gamer myself, I Isabella and Merrill were the two romantic
encounters I experienced during my play through of Dragon Age II, and I
was far from disappointed. Of course I am one and not most, but I
wouldn't dream of speaking for most straight male gamers, especially
when it comes to matters of romance.
But Bastal felt it was his place to post this topic not once, but
several times, the forum equivalent of jumping up and down and shouting,
"Hey, look at me!"
BioWare lead writer David Gaider looked, and found the topic wanting. First he addressed the multiple postings.

To the OP: doing the same act repeatedly and expecting different
results is the definition of insanity. What you hope to achieve by
posting the same thread over and over again I can't honestly say.

He followed that statement up by calling out some of the other
posters for calling the original poster a troll, discounting his
opinion. Bastal case was eloquently presented, after all, even if it was
scattered about a bit liberally.
And then Gaider got into the meat of the issue.

The romances in the game are not for "the straight male gamer".
They're for everyone. We have a lot of fans, many of whom are neither
straight nor male, and they deserve no less attention. We have good
numbers, after all, on the number of people who actually used similar
sorts of content in DAO and thus don't need to resort to anecdotal
evidence to support our idea that their numbers are not insignificant...
and that's ignoring the idea that they don't have just as much right to
play the kind of game they wish as anyone else. The "rights" of anyone
with regards to a game are murky at best, but anyone who takes that
stance must apply it equally to both the minority as well as the
majority. The majority has no inherent "right" to get more options than
anyone else.

The problem lies, as Gaider further explains, if the perception that the majority must be catered to.

And if there is any doubt why such an opinion might be met with
hostility, it has to do with privilege. You can write it off as
"political correctness" if you wish, but the truth is that privilege
always lies with the majority. They're so used to being catered to that
they see the lack of catering as an imbalance. They don't see anything
wrong with having things set up to suit them, what's everyone's fuss all
about? That's the way it should be, any everyone else should be used to
not getting what they want.

And suddenly I feel bad for being a straight male gamer. This wasn't
Gaider's intent, of course, but after reading the words of someone
claiming to speak for my demographic turned about in such a fashion, I
can't help but feel a little bit dirty.
While I deal with straight white male guilt, I leave you with Gaider's sharp and poignant parting words.

And the person who says that the only way to please them is to
restrict options for others is, if you ask me, the one who deserves it
least. And that's my opinion, expressed as politely as possible.

Via : http://kotaku.com/#!...xuality-balance

No comments

[John Epler]

And we're done.

Some folks seem unable to discuss this in a civil manner. Let me be clear - homophobic comments and slurs directed against those whose sexuality differs from yours is in no way an acceptable part of discourse on these forums. If you find it uncomfortable, then I suggest you simply steer clear of the threads. If you're unable to discuss this topic without resorting to slurs and insults, then I suggest you steer clear of the threads.

At the same time - ad hominems and insults from the other side of the fence are also unacceptable. We try to let people discuss what they want (so long as it remains on-topic), but this is done with the understanding that they try and keep a civil and constructive forum environment. If you're unable to do so, then I'd suggest you don't post. If someone's being offensive or insulting, let a moderator know. Vigilante forum justice is not and will never be how this forum operates.

Locking. If people want to discuss this sort of thing civilly and calmly, they're more than welcome to. However, this has been neither civil nor calm.

[John Epler]

Let me add that I will be going through the thread and handing out bans and warnings as appropriate. There is a certain level of civility that is expected on these forums - if you can't maintain it, then you are not going to be welcome here.