323 réponses à ce sujet

[nightscrawl]

I thought it was quite interesting that for the first time we are getting not only gender-gated romance-options, but race-gated romance options.

 

Personally, I have no problem with this (anything that adds more texture to the game is something that adds more texture to the game), but how far would people be comfortable with this type of thing in future entries in the series?

 

Class orientations? (Someone who won't date Mages)

CC Silder Orientations? (Someone who won't date people with Double Chin > 6, or anyone with Freckles)

 

EDIT: For clarification, I'm talking about NPCs being discriminatory about YOU, not about your choice of LIs

 

Of course it would be a bummer to really like a certain NPC that doesn't want to romance me, but I don't really mind as long as it makes sense for that character.

 

That said, I don't agree with CC options. The reason is because that is highly subjective. And whose opinion/preference would it be based on? The DEVS'. These aren't real people. All of their thoughts, desires, opinions, etc are pre-programmed by others. I also don't think that you could look at settings on the CC and decide that some arbitrary number of a certain feature makes a person attractive or not because it is how everything comes together and the whole presentation that decides it.

 

BUT, I could see there being a preference for body type and I think it would be easier to program since it's just one setting (as opposed to multiple points on the face). But we aren't getting multiple body types despite huge clamor for them, so there's no point is going down that path. 

[Azaron Nightblade]

Absolutely not, I'm already upset over the race and gender gating, though I will have Solas and Sera so I guess its less of an issue for me

 

Few can resist those elves! 

[dixophilia]

I thought it was quite interesting that for the first time we are getting not only gender-gated romance-options, but race-gated romance options.

I could have read this wrong, and if that's the case, I'm sorry. But I would like to point out, if it hasn't been already, that Morrigan and Alistair in DAO were gender-gated. If you were only referring to race-gated in that sentence, again, sorry. Excuse my misunderstanding.

 

As for how I feel about the whole thing, I think it adds an interesting dynamic. I am open to other forms of gating, like class gating or perhaps specialization gating. But at the same time, it runs the risk of making a lot of people unhappy. For instance, Cullen and Solas being race-gated didn't matter at all to me because I never intended to romance them. But say, Josephine, couldn't be romanced by a Qunari, I'd be pretty upset. So it's difficult to balance.

 

I think it should be fine as long as the majority of romances aren't gated beyond gender. Furthermore, to abate any potential unrest, there should be an equal amount of romanceable male and female options. "Extraneous" romances, I feel can dabble a bit into various forms of gating to better show that the characters have preferences much like real people in our world. If anything it will help flesh the world out more. No to the CC-gating though.

 

TL;DR: I think various forms of gating are okay as long as there's a ratio similar to DA:I's current romance line-up, but an equal amount of romanceable male and female characters should be strived for.

[10K]

I love the fact they've added both race and gender gates it makes the game more realistic, and gives the feeling that some companions have specific standards for a partner. In the world we live in it's the same way some people prefer someone else from a specific ethnic background, so why not add this into a game that has obvious race tensions. I hope this feature continues in future installments of DA because I think it's great.  

[BraveVesperia]

I'd be fine with class-gating, considering the amount of prejudice and suspicion against mages, it would make sense. Fenris seems like he'd be a good example for that, because even if he was comfortable enough to call a mage (one like Hawke/Bethany anyway) a friend and trust them, it doesn't necessarily mean he'd be comfortable commiting to one for the rest of his life, or even just sleeping with one. A character like that has a lot of potential story with class-gating.

 

I don't think gating by arbitary choices in the CC makes any sense though. I mean, how seriously would you take someone who wouldn't date you simply because of freckles, or brown eyes or something?

[Kaiser Arian XVII]

SO Discriminating.

[Muspade]

I'll romance anyone who is female.

 

<Insert mother joke here>

[HiroVoid]

Only half-dwarf mages.

[Muspade]

Also, I'd like to have a "level" gated romance. 

You can't romance this NPC before level 15.

[10K]

SO Discriminating.

Well the game has discriminating factors in it anyway, the tensions between races is evidence of that. So why not have some companions have standards in whom they find attractive, it's just further pushing DA prospect of feeling like an actual world. 

[PhroXenGold]

I love the fact they've added both race and gender gates it makes the game more realistic, and gives the feeling that some companions have specific standards for a partner. In the world we live in it's the same way some people prefer someone else from a specific ethnic background, so why not add this into a game that has obvious race tensions. I hope this feature continues in future installments of DA because I think it's great.  

 

Yeah. I much prefer having realistic, believable characters, and as a result a more immersive world, than being able to shag whomever I want.

 

One thing I think would be kinda fun is if this was expanded to is characters with less mainstream tastes. Things like elves only liking elves are too obvious. I think it would be great if, say, Josie had a dwarf fetish (of course, only if it actually fitted her character though)...

 

And, just as an aside, while race gating is new for DA, it's not new for Bioware. It was there back when they began the whole romance thing in BG2...

[Super Drone]

Largely the concept of even more gating will leave us with two outcomes, one of which is likely and one of which is not:

 

The unlikely outcome is even more LIs in each game. This is unlikely because most of the principle cast is romanceable as it is, and romances actually take up time and resources that the devs may want to spend on the other 95% of the game.

 

The Likely outcome is that they decide that it's okay to leave certain PC types with one or zero romanceable companions."Gay male humans have LI options, so gay male Dwarves can not have them because players who want Gay male romances can just roll a human next time."

 

I don't want the second option. I don't want to get the "better luck next time, play through this 150 hour playthrough with your sad Forever Alone character, then roll a new one that may or may not be as fun or fulfilling as the one you got excited to play when you were waiting for the game to come out. You should have picked a lesbian Qunari or a Elf Mage or whatever."

 

I'm not like a lot of y'all, I don't have 15 play-throughs. Origins tops my list of most play-throughs of any game ever at 3 full play-throughs.  To play 150 hours of a game for 40 minutes of Romance content is frustrating. 

[Vapaa]

I want choice gating, if you follow a certain path that cross your LI's line, then it's over, no talking, no manipulating, no dancing around the issue; it's just not possible.

[KoorahUK]

I don't have an issue with race, gender or sexuality gating because these are unchangeable aspects of who PC's are. Its fair (and preferable to me) that npc's have believable and complex reactions to these aspects which mean that yes, some npc's may not be romantically interested in you.

I am less sure that blanket class gating is fair, although I'd be happy if your choice of class made romancing that npc harder.

Your actions should affect this. A templar having to *prove* by deed to a potential mage LI that they wanted to work with mages rather than oppress them would be a good example.

Some combinations should be toxic though especially with extreme specialisations - Cassandra will always despise Blood Magic and I think its right that dabbling in it would horrify her enough to kill any relationship... unless you could demonstrate why not somehow - but this should be very, very hard.

CC option gating is going too far in my opinion. If Cass rejected me purely because I had freckles or a slightly larger nose than some dev arbitrarily decided was within her attraction parameters, there would be some major desk flippage.

[NRieh]

 

I thought it was quite interesting that for the first time we are getting not only gender-gated romance-options, but race-gated romance options.

Aarin Gend never dates an ugly and\or a stupid one. Not that his standards were extremely high (more like the opposite) , but still...

 

THAT is a 'romance-gating' for you. Stat-check! 

[10K]

Largely the concept of even more gating will leave us with two outcomes, one of which is likely and one of which is not:

 

The unlikely outcome is even more LIs in each game. This is unlikely because most of the principle cast is romanceable as it is, and romances actually take up time and resources that the devs may want to spend on the other 95% of the game.

 

The Likely outcome is that they decide that it's okay to leave certain PC types with one or zero romanceable companions."Gay male humans have LI options, so gay male Dwarves can not have them because players who want Gay male romances can just roll a human next time."

 

I don't want the second option. I don't want to get the "better luck next time, play through this 150 hour playthrough with your sad Forever Alone character, then roll a new one that may or may not be as fun or fulfilling as the one you got excited to play when you were waiting for the game to come out. You should have picked a lesbian Qunari or a Elf Mage or whatever."

 

I'm not like a lot of y'all, I don't have 15 play-throughs. Origins tops my list of most play-throughs of any game ever at 3 full play-throughs.  To play 150 hours of a game for 40 minutes of Romance content is frustrating. 

I'm not like everyone either I only have one character for each game, and if I decide to re-play I'll erase my saved game and create that same character over and re-play with him again. They all have the same name also, but anyway I don't think BW would leave a PC out in the cold with no one to romance. They would atleast have one for every type of PC. That's one thing I can say about BW, they are very inclusive when it comes to their content. So I'm not worried so much about that.

[john-in-france]

Gating based on looks...No.

 

Gating based on the written characters own preferences...yes. I like games to reflect personalities, not just my imaginary PC ones, but those of the NPC as well. It makes the game seem more real.

 

For instance Solas, gated for female elves. Maybe he wants a child that he can raise with its mother in their clan. Lots of people complain about this idea, but it is a major driving force in most peoples lives...children. This makes sense.

 

It made no sense for Fenris or even Anders to date a Blood Mage, both had very strong views on the matter, but the game lets you do it. I did however like the fact that as a mage who wanted a friendmance with Fenris, you had to overcome his mage hate.

 

In short I'm pro-gating as long as everyone gets a few choices in game, and that includes straight women. I am also one of those people who felt the male bisexual romances in DA2 felt a little off, but then that is simply the writing romance for different audiences. I have also seen comments from men, who prefer the idea of Dorian being written specifically as a male romance...and that they feel that they would also know the difference. I expect the Sera fans feel the same way. Ask a writer if they would change things between romances for different sexualities and the answer is yes...and that is why we actually need gating.

 

There are 16 inquisitor options including both sexes, there are 8 total love interests...if you choose not to play one of them to romance someone that you are interested in, then it is your personal choice...not lack of options.

 

I may also add that this is the first game where I actually feel that I'd play a male character in order to experience the story arcs of Dorian and Cassandra.

[Gtdef]

The only reason I think gating is a viable solution is because there are only so many things you can put in a game. I don't think that its makes much sense as far as realism is concerned, especially in a world where you can pretty much be perfect. I feel that it's a disconnection. 

 

I consider gating as a device to allow the writers to focus on details instead of making everything generic. If this wasn't a problem, I'd prefer that everyone was open to everyone but requiring certain criteria which would be tied directly to the player's actions. I don't mean this in a "everyone is bi" sense. More like an alternative reality. If this is truly "our story" then it should react to our presence. 

[DameGrace]

The only reason I think gating is a viable solution is because there are only so many things you can put in a game. I don't think that its makes much sense as far as realism is concerned, especially in a world where you can pretty much be perfect. I feel that it's a disconnection. 

 

I consider gating as a device to allow the writers to focus on details instead of making everything generic. If this wasn't a problem, I'd prefer that everyone was open to everyone but requiring certain criteria which would be tied directly to the player's actions. I don't mean this in a "everyone is bi" sense. More like an alternative reality. If this is truly "our story" then it should react to our presence. 

 

A bit off-topic, but I can hardly call Dragon Age "the world where you can be perfect". And I'm not just talking about DA being a dark fantasy, with most installments presenting stories with no "perfect happy ending"; even gameplay-wise, your character is hardly "perfect". 

 

(The second paragraph is not specifically aimed at you, Gtdef. Just my opinion connected to the word "realism" and it's usage in the context of this topic)

 

I agree that "realism" is not the word to be associated with a fictional fantasy setting. I prefer "consistent". I think it's consistent to have an elf who will only date elves in a world where elves are second-sort people facing negative discrimination from humans; where elves had lost their civilization, most of their culture, their pride; where elven genes are recessive and the only way to repopulate the elven race is to procreate with other elves. I prefer consistent fantasy world to the "realistic" fantasy world. 

[Caelorummors]

As much gating as possible really, so long as it makes sense to the character. It adds depth to a character.

[daveliam]

....but anyway I don't think BW would leave a PC out in the cold with no one to romance. They would atleast have one for every type of PC. That's one thing I can say about BW, they are very inclusive when it comes to their content. So I'm not worried so much about that.

Straight and bisexual men and women have always had choices in their games. Gay men and lesbians have not. In fact, there have been MORE games where we didn't get a single choice than games where we had even one. There have only been three games ever where we had more than one choice. Granted, those three games were three out of the four most recent games so maybe times have changed. However, I'd like to point out that SWTOR very much refutes your statement that they will give everyone a choice. Out of 18 romances, I got zero. And that game is only a few years old. I'm not confident that if there were race, gender, AND class gating (let alone the awful CC choice gating), that there would be choices for every combination. The more gates, the less 'choice' in this respect.

[10K]

Straight and bisexual men and women have always had choices in their games. Gay men and lesbians have not. In fact, there have been MORE games where we didn't get a single choice than games where we had even one. There have only been three games ever where we had more than one choice. Granted, those three games were three out of the four most recent games so maybe times have changed. However, I'd like to point out that SWTOR very much refutes your statement that they will give everyone a choice. Out of 18 romances, I got zero. And that game is only a few years old. I'm not confident that if there were race, gender, AND class gating (let alone the awful CC choice gating), that there would be choices for every combination. The more gates, the less 'choice' in this respect.

I'm talking about now, I'm not talking about their old games when they didn't recognize their gay and Lesbian players. I doubt in any future games BW release with romance options they'll just forget about a part of their player base. So refute me all you want.

[Jagrevi]

"I'm not like a lot of y'all, I don't have 15 playthroughs"

 

As the one to initially raise this topic, I should probably confess that I only ever play through these games once (I only have my 'canon', although I do spend a fair bit then watching others play through). That being said, I don't think talking about other types of gating necessarily means a more-gated outcome, in the same way that new types of food do not necessarily imply over-eating. There seems to be a fair amount of concern in the thread about not wanting an "overly-gated selection", and while I think that's fair, I don't think that's at the heart of the matter, as different types of gating doesn't necessarily imply strictly more gating.

[daveliam]

I'm talking about now, I'm not talking about their old games when they didn't recognize their gay and Lesbian players. I doubt in any future games BW release with romance options they'll just forget about a part of their player base. So refute me all you want.

SWTOR

[Direwolf0294]

I think they've only done it because of animation issues. It's cheaper to just restrict someone like Iron Bull to being Qunari only rather than trying to animate him bending down to kiss a dwarf. I can understand that. I understand that game development has limitations, and they've got to budget time and money and not everything can be in the game. However, I think it is absolutely disgusting. It's racism of the highest order, and it's shocking that such a progressive company like BioWare is okay with having it in their games. Yeah, yeah, they're fantasy races; but the message it's sending is that it's them verse us and you shouldn't co-mingle. I'm really hoping it's not a trend that continues into future games, be they Dragon Age, Mass Effect or other.