125 réponses à ce sujet

[FERMi27]

I don't get it. Are the statistics indeed so bad? Am I wrong when I presume that  threads like "%NPC_NAME% love/romance/appreciation/fans" are born within solitary hearts? But I thought this game's fanbase doesnt consist only of young people. Well, I suppose I'm wrong anyway. This game is too deep in order to be favoured by only a strict age category. And that renders a very pessimistic chart. Huge numbers of people, adult people, have replaced their real-life partner with a fictional one. What a mess!
I'm sorry if I hurt anyones feelings, but I find no other explanation to such a wide, unhealthy I'd even say, interest in pixeled characters. I'm not a newbie to the forums, and I've been through a lot of them, but Mass Effect is the first game on my memory to trigger this kind of human enthusiasm in such a ridiculous scales. And I'm not even sure if that's a good thing or a bad one. On the one hand, the developers deserve respect for creating a game that can get that deep. But on the other, people forget about real life, and become obsessed with fictional characters.
I'd like to hear what some of "indoctrinated" people think about their disease themselves.

[Collider]

It's not the discussion about romance that is the problem.
It's how it's discussed.
It's one thing to say that you like romance in Bioware games. It's another to insult people over which virtual boyfriend and girlfriend is better. That is what is bad.

[Eveninglost]

You obviously have never been to other threads dedicated to a character before. This isn't exclusive to Mass Effect at all. This happens in every form of fandom.

[Raiil]

Because they're a part of an immersive experience.


Why does anyone care about Samwise Gamgee?
Why does anyone care about the Winchester brothers?
Why does anyone care about Hermione Granger?

Because through writing, we become attached to characters. LI have some extra pull, mostly because we get interested via writing and through controlling our Sheps. This isn't something unique to video games, or fictional characters; some of the 'fanart' (and I use the term loosely) that someone showed me regarding fans of the boyband Backstreet Boys is a total mindf--k in ways this forum could never hope to match.

Trust me, until someone here starts talking about how they're married to Liara on the astral plane, we've got nothing to worry about.

[AshleyS3]

I think it's an enjoyable part of the game experience that adds immersion. I very much doubt even the most devoted people here are hurting their real life relationships.

It's similar to reading a book or watching a movie and really liking a certain character.

[Gterror]

Yeah i agree with you OP on that.
Some ppl just take this stuff too seriously like insulting others who choosed  a different LI in ME2 than they did(prime example is Tali haters).

Modifié par Gterror, 14 juin 2011 - 03:50 .

[Mims]

Mass effect fandom is actually surprisingly tame compared to other fangroups I've seen; especially since Shepard's 'canon' is up to the player to decide. In games/shows/movies with a direct canon? Where little fangril/boy hearts are broken by a shows whim? That's when **** gets ugly.

[mya11]

for me it's just a game, I like the character but I have a real life ! The romance is game is fun but it's not the very most important ! scenario,  graphisme, son, history, needs for a good game.

The option it's just an option for more emotions in the game.

Modifié par mya11, 14 juin 2011 - 03:59 .

[wildannie]

Lighten up! it's just a bit of fun! Romance is fun in movies, books and in games. Chatting about the romances doesn't equal solitary hearts, it certainly doesn't for me.

[FERMi27]

Eveninglost wrote...

You obviously have never been to other threads dedicated to a character before. This isn't exclusive to Mass Effect at all. This happens in every form of fandom.

Em... Nope. Give me an example.
I can give you one. Alyx from HL2. HL2 at the time was... well, you know what it was, I guess. And Alyx is quite recognizable nowadays. Yes, I've seen a lot of discussions regarding this character, but less than 5% of them were love-oriented. It was more about combat and plot.
The only exceptions would occure when somebody would post some fresh fake pics(and you do get it what I mean, I'm sure), and thus excite all the juveniles across the forum.

[Xeranx]

FERMi27 wrote...

I don't get it. Are the statistics indeed so bad? Am I wrong when I presume that  threads like "%NPC_NAME% love/romance/appreciation/fans" are born within solitary hearts? But I thought this game's fanbase doesnt consist only of young people. Well, I suppose I'm wrong anyway. This game is too deep in order to be favoured by only a strict age category. And that renders a very pessimistic chart. Huge numbers of people, adult people, have replaced their real-life partner with a fictional one. What a mess!
I'm sorry if I hurt anyones feelings, but I find no other explanation to such a wide, unhealthy I'd even say, interest in pixeled characters. I'm not a newbie to the forums, and I've been through a lot of them, but Mass Effect is the first game on my memory to trigger this kind of human enthusiasm in such a ridiculous scales. And I'm not even sure if that's a good thing or a bad one. On the one hand, the developers deserve respect for creating a game that can get that deep. But on the other, people forget about real life, and become obsessed with fictional characters.
I'd like to hear what some of "indoctrinated" people think about their disease themselves.

Your first mistake is to assume that people have forgotten their loved ones here. 

Your second mistake was to make a post why people are concerned with virtual LIs and then to label them as young people collectively. Because a person of any age can't tell the difference between fact and fiction, correct?

Your third is to state that you're sorry if you hurt anyone's feelings despite the fact that you suspected that you might do so.  That's not an apology by any means.

Your fourth mistake is to assume people are indoctrinated therefore alluding to the idea that they're brainless.

Four mistakes in one post, but you're trying to find out why or at least the thread title seems to be asking that question.  No one should respond.  This is clearly flame bait. 

Move along.

Modifié par Xeranx, 14 juin 2011 - 03:56 .

[Collider]

You can't romance Alyx in Half-Life 2. There's really only hints that she may be attracted to him at best. Bioware games are on a whole different scale.

[Labrev]

Answer: because we don't have any real ones of our own.

There, thread closed.

[Raiil]

Dude, if you're looking for the perfect storm of fandom character f--kery, you have a lot of options. Harry Potter has epic drama, Full Metal Alchemist is scary as hell, and let us not forget the ten year (and holding) grudge matches from the Final Fantasy fandom. Mass Effect is fairly tame since a lot of us are content with whatever we chose (hell, I'm glad we got options), and while we have some, ah, extreme fans, the MEverse has not created the astral plane marriage, the 'seriously, we're married in another universe' marriage, or the broken relationships because they could never be as awesome as my digital romance.

[Ryzaki]

FERMi27 wrote...

Eveninglost wrote...

You obviously have never been to other threads dedicated to a character before. This isn't exclusive to Mass Effect at all. This happens in every form of fandom.

Em... Nope. Give me an example.
I can give you one. Alyx from HL2. HL2 at the time was... well, you know what it was, I guess. And Alyx is quite recognizable nowadays. Yes, I've seen a lot of discussions regarding this character, but less than 5% of them were love-oriented. It was more about combat and plot.
The only exceptions would occure when somebody would post some fresh fake pics(and you do get it what I mean, I'm sure), and thus excite all the juveniles across the forum.

Dragon Age
Dragon Age 2 
Kingdom Hearts (by god Kingdom Hearts do not mention who Sora is better with. Just don't.) 
Harry Potter (by god they have SHIPPING WARS that put BW games to damn shame)

Those are just the ones I'm familar with. 

[FERMi27]

Xeranx wrote...

FERMi27 wrote...

I don't get it. Are the statistics indeed so bad? Am I wrong when I presume that  threads like "%NPC_NAME% love/romance/appreciation/fans" are born within solitary hearts? But I thought this game's fanbase doesnt consist only of young people. Well, I suppose I'm wrong anyway. This game is too deep in order to be favoured by only a strict age category. And that renders a very pessimistic chart. Huge numbers of people, adult people, have replaced their real-life partner with a fictional one. What a mess!
I'm sorry if I hurt anyones feelings, but I find no other explanation to such a wide, unhealthy I'd even say, interest in pixeled characters. I'm not a newbie to the forums, and I've been through a lot of them, but Mass Effect is the first game on my memory to trigger this kind of human enthusiasm in such a ridiculous scales. And I'm not even sure if that's a good thing or a bad one. On the one hand, the developers deserve respect for creating a game that can get that deep. But on the other, people forget about real life, and become obsessed with fictional characters.
I'd like to hear what some of "indoctrinated" people think about their disease themselves.

Your first mistake is to assume that people have forgotten their loved ones here. 

Your second mistake was to make a post why people are concerned with virtual LIs and then to label them as young people collectively. Because a person of any age can't tell the difference between fact and fiction, correct?

Your third is to state that you're sorry if you hurt anyone's feelings despite the fact that you suspected that you might do so.  That's not an apology by any means.

Your fourth mistake is to assume people are indoctrinated therefore alluding to the idea that they're brainless.

Four mistakes in one post, but you're trying to find out why or at least the thread title seems to be asking that question.  No one should respond.  This is clearly flame bait. 

Move along.

Oh-k, I suspected it was only a matter of time. But it's been like 4 minutes, and I am already starting to see affected people.
You've just proved my words regarding a large scale of indoctrinated people. And, I didn't mean to offend anyone, I just wanted to approach this topic as gently as possible. Still, you're the only person so far that makes me feel like I've failed in this.

[FERMi27]

I'm happy with your examples folks, but none of these games was able to generate such a variety of page-dense threads in a limited amount of time. I am still convinced that ME is unchallenged regarding this theme.

[Eshaye]

wildannie wrote...

Lighten up! it's just a bit of fun! Romance is fun in movies, books and in games. Chatting about the romances doesn't equal solitary hearts, it certainly doesn't for me.

^ This, yup many of us are happily commited to a real life companion, dating and have real life friendships. But it's nice to talk about your favorite characters and romances tend to inspire more loyalty and fascination. It's not more different then talking about other topics on this forum. 

Though sometimes we seem to get out of hand with our sexy fan art, we know it's all for fun. And I would rather have a running fantasy with an imaginary pixel person then with a celebrity that's a real person. THAT's actually weird to me. :S As a teen I never understood my friends who would lose their minds over boy bands, favorite athletes or actor and such... Pixel boys and girls that I can get behind, they are not real and never will be.

Modifié par Eshaye, 14 juin 2011 - 04:06 .

[Eveninglost]

http://www.narutofor...isplay.php?f=32

This is the most perfect example of how it can be so much worse. At least here we don't have groups dedicated to hating characters or pairings.

[wright1978]

It is like saying why do people want to play the character of Shephard. Are they not committed to their real life job/studies? Romances are part of good storytelling. They help immerse me in the game world and as the character. As with all other aspects of the game players want their decisions to matter and for continuity in relationship development in the next game so they get passionate about them.

[goofyomnivore]

FERMi27 wrote...

I'm happy with your examples folks, but none of these games was able to generate such a variety of page-dense threads in a limited amount of time. I am still convinced that ME is unchallenged regarding this theme.

Well Mass Effect includes nine romances. Dragon Age has eight romances. I would say the two are pretty equal in sheer numbers in terms of support. The two largest threads on this forum I believe are Fenris and Anders support/romance threads.

[Raizo]

Valentia X wrote...

Because they're a part of an immersive experience.


Why does anyone care about Samwise Gamgee?
Why does anyone care about the Winchester brothers?
Why does anyone care about Hermione Granger?

Because through writing, we become attached to characters. LI have some extra pull, mostly because we get interested via writing and through controlling our Sheps. This isn't something unique to video games, or fictional characters; some of the 'fanart' (and I use the term loosely) that someone showed me regarding fans of the boyband Backstreet Boys is a total mindf--k in ways this forum could never hope to match.

Trust me, until someone here starts talking about how they're married to Liara on the astral plane, we've got nothing to worry about.

Pretty much this although I would also like to add that in the ME games buliding bonds with your squad mates been so integral to the overall rpg experience especially when it comes to you Shepard's LI. This is especially true in ME2 where the rpg elements were virtually non existant, the only things that made ME2 seem like an rpg was how your Shepard interacted the world and the character he met and how they intereacted with them. It might not be important to ME3's overall story but having a LI to interact with in ME3 can help many gamers personalyse thier rpg experience.

[Raiil]

FERMi27 wrote...

I'm happy with your examples folks, but none of these games was able to generate such a variety of page-dense threads in a limited amount of time. I am still convinced that ME is unchallenged regarding this theme.

lol, a lot of the romance threads get updated every hour or so. The Harry Potter ones, in their heyday, a) had a lot more dedicated forums, threads, webpages, etc and brought fandom catfighting to unholy heights. Here, sometimes people pick on the Talimancers or the Jack vs Miranda fans disagree. This is nothing, NOTHING, compared to the dickery that went down between the Harry/Hermione and the Ron/Hermione fans. 

[GreatPhail]

Welcome to Bioware Social Network. No romancers allowed!

Just kidding, could you imagine?

[KBomb]

It’s a little odd at times. Especially to see someone saying character x shouldn’t be seen as a sex object, then to see their counterpart so sexualized. It makes me giggle. However, it’s harmless fun that doesn’t hurt anyone and it’s a nice break from the usual threads of ****ery, nastiness and hyperbole. Don’t try to be a turd in the sandbox for them, let them have their fun.

And whoever said Full Metal Alchemist--I agree. These threads are extremely tame compared to some of the things I have seen from that show. Things I can never, ever, ever un-see.

And OP, all romances are optional--as is reading threads.