IoCaster wrote...
CulturalGeekGirl wrote...
And that's how change happens - something gets put in the first time which offends a lot of people, letters get written, people get disgusted, but then the world entirely fails to end, and the ten year old who sees it grows up to think that the world was always that way, that women could always be commanders, and that's freaking beautiful. That's the beauty of the future, of science fiction, and of art.
That's why putting an openly gay person who cannot be toggled off into a game is good: it starts a road to people accepting such a thing as normal. Being able to turn it off is like selling a special TV that goes black when Mary Tyler Moore wears pants, or when Kirk and Uhura kiss.
This is just an attempt to justify social engineering in a video game. It's not as if homosexuality is hidden from sight in our everyday world. Whatever form of media you consume (TV, Books, Film, etc,..) there's plenty of homosexual representation included.
Why is it such a problem to some that a player would have a choice to toggle off content that they have no interest in? If you have a gay squad member and the player has no interest in triggering a romance they might very well choose not to ever talk to that character. If they're assured that the subject of romance never comes up in the typical ham-fisted fashion in these games then they would be more willing to explore all conversation options without any concern. What's so inherently wrong with giving a player that type of choice?
First, I just want to quote Tycho of Penny-Arcade's
post on the subject. As a straight male, he can talk about this kind of thing from a different position than I do. You may have more reason to listen to him, or feel some sort of fellow feeling.
Tycho wrote...
For example, David Gaider is being called on the carpet for not catering to "straight male gamers," but there is also a petition going around to get him sacked for having the temerity to write gay characters who are interested in sex. You really need to read that first link, there - it's incredible. This is why you don't ****** off a writer on the Internet. In a medium defined by text, a writer is the closest analog we have to a sorcerer. But there is really no victory for him, is there? He made an imaginary world, but it either doesn't conform with enough specificity to people's baggage, or it conforms too well.
I've made it pretty clear that I tend to play women in Bioware games - Shepherd is not now, nor has ever been, a man. I don't know who the dude traipsing around in the commercials is; a jerk, most likely. That's why I never picked up on either of the above criticisms, because that whole band of data isn't likely to (for lack of a better word) penetrate. I often don't know what to do with these persistent, unwelcome proclamations of affection from others. And having sex with them would involve taking off my armor, and I don't know if you've played Dragon Age 2, but it's a dragon a minute around here. Place is lousy with ****ing dragons.
Indeed, Merril kind of wont leave me alone. It makes me uncomfortable, actually, but I like it in a way. It reminds me of when I first saw Samus Aran's face in Metroid: Prime, my face, flashed inside the visor, saw my eyes, which were her eyes, blinking at the brightness. These are truly alien experiences for me, and I'm exposed to them and enriched by them because I didn't have to fill out some questionnaire before playing the game to make it aware of my sacred boundaries. I wasn't given the option to check the "No Homos" box, or to choose an elf with a less bewitching accent. Instead, I was dropped hip-deep into the Inferno Round of a moral quiz show. I just want to shake these people sometimes. Hey. That feeling, the one that you're feeling?
That is the game.
RPGs are all about getting yourself into situations you wouldn't encounter in real life, and seeing how you deal with them. Do I kill the scary bug monster? Do I tell the council to screw off? Do I let innocents die or let the bastard escape?
In my mind, unwanted affections are just another one of those "what would you do?" moments. Every time Thane calls me Siha, I cringe a little, and let him down easily. When Liara tells me how fascinated she is with me, I tell her "no thanks." Sure I feel a little bad... I don't like hurting someone's feelings. But in real life when I have to tell someone I'm not interested in them romantically, it makes me a little uncomfortable too.
Some people don't like to be "forced" into making that diving rescue of Liara in Lair of the Shadow Broker. Some people don't like having to participate in the end of Arrival. Some people don't like having to let Vido go or let the hostages die.
If you want to eliminate everything that makes you uncomfortable from a game, I understand that. But it's not any more reasonable than me requesting a "No virmire, and no tough chioces" toggle. I'm uncomfortable when someone from my team dies, or when I can't save the day flawlessly, But those experiences are part of the game, and how my Shepard deals with them is part of playing her role.
Modifié par CulturalGeekGirl, 18 mai 2011 - 07:20 .
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