Dragon Age: Origins Will Have Possiblity For A Gay Sex Interest
Via Kotaku, Demian Linn at Bitmob has a lengthy article going over the experience he discovered in his review copy of Dragon Age: Origins-- specifically, the variations of sexual encounters a player can have in the game. Aside from the expected heterosexual encounters, there is also room for gay, lesbian and apparently even transgendered sex scenes.
It seems a little silly to make such a big deal out of this inclusion, but I have felt in the past-- with respect to the sex scene in Bioware's other title, Mass Effect-- that if you're going to have a same-sex scene available for players who create a female character, there's really no reason to not make one available for the male characters as well. I guess I didn't quite expect Bioware to pull out all the stops to facilitate that one.
Demian's entry has extensive (and rather unsafe for work) images screenshotted from the liaisons, although the article itself goes to great lengths to avoid revealing any spoilers about the plot. His ultimate conclusion is that it's a good start, but the representation seems to validate stereotypes negatively:
What you learn about the characters, however, isn't so interesting -- all of your romantic prospects adhere to parochial stereotypes. Both females seem wildly different at first, but are ultimately only interested in monogamous relationships, while the gay male character prefers a no-strings-attached open relationship.
So what's the point of all this? Good question. Sex is a very difficult game design challenge, no surprise there, and Dragon Age does it right when it incorporates sex directly into the narrative (the aforementioned spoiler I don't want to reveal). But the casual sex, which could be used as a tool to deepen your understanding and empathy for the other characters, tends to reinforce the idea of women as alternately jealous, catty, smothering, and weak-willed (easily taking back a lover that has strayed), while perpetuating the stereotype of the promiscuous gay/bisexual man. I guess what I'm saying is...the sex could be better.
mixvio
Posted to Hot Stuff on 29 October 2009
· Comments (22)
Other stuff like this: bioware, dragon age origins, mass effect, sex, sex in games
Hurray for ANY kind of gay sex in a game - especially one I've already pre-ordered!
It sounds like a broader range of options and responses from male and female characters would have been nice. And, admittedly, probably very difficult to implement, especially if the relationships are actually part of a storyline.
That said - and I know I'm conforming to a stereotype myself here - if I could just have some quick fun guy/guy hookups between adventures, that's probably what I'd do. (Although I did like getting married, repeatedly, in Fable... "Now I see why they call you a hero!" Thanks, handsome. Same to you.)
All i'm sayin' is, i'm not complaining.
Well, just going by the screenshot there of a fellow in armor, it sort of makes sense that a professional warrior wouldn't really be interested in settling down.
But do professional warriors kiss?
Damn, I'd hoped the male flexi-sexi romantic NPC would have been the one that wasn't the 'hey, gay guys like legolas don't they?' guy :(
That armor is a lot of protection...so I guess that public service angle is covered.
There's so much that I want to say on this subject, but I don't know how well I can say it in an extended post, so I'll just sum up my feelings thus:
Yay that you can have a gay relationship in Dragon Age: Origins. Also yay that there's some male bisexual representation in videogames, something that is even more rare than gay characters. Too bad he's a promiscuous ho.
"I guess what I'm saying is...the sex could be better."
Isn't that what everyone thinks after their first time?
Sounds good to me. Adventuring types don't tend to settle down anyway. If a romance is a major story arc (Pince of Persia) then sure spend time on it but I think there is some world-saving that takes precedence in Dragon Age. So I give this news two thumbs up!
And well... if we wanted games to be closer to true life then the lesbians preferring monogamy and the gay guys not preferring it... well that's about right.
To be fair, instant monogamy would be widely out of character for Zevran. From what one can see from the official character trailer, he is an assassin who was trained in seduction, and was raised on the streets of Antiva by whores...
Also, it is clear from the review that the player abandoned the Zevran romance mid-game. There might be later developments we do not know about yet.
All in all, I am very happy Bioware decided to take the risk, especially in light of the big Fox News hysteria about ME.
Whether the romance is written well remains to be seen.
What did you expect from Orson Scott Card?
As someone heavily into monogamy, I like being given my gay girl monogamy choices, but perhaps they could have had two for each; one monogamous and the other open. That's how I would have done it.
Still though, this is insanely progressive for any sort of media. Can't wait to play!
@Boycott Nintendo:
Orson Scott Card had nothing to do with the writing of the game. He's only working on the spin-off comic book.
I'm not sure where people are getting the idea that there are lesbian monogomy choices in Dragon Age Origins based on this article. There very well may be, but the player from Bitmob says in his article that he was only playing as a guy, so the female relationships mentioned are both straight ones.
So I guess this means there is no M/M Alistair romance?
I suppose I should give Zevran a go before passing judgement, but he seems so... obvious.
Hello again,
just wanted to post a little addendum to the post.
Over at the official forums, people were discussing this article as well and game writer Sheryl Chee jumped in and gave us this little tidbit:
"Here's my take on this article. I think the writer was trying to sleep with characters as early and as frequently as he could. (That's okay, it's a valid way to play the game.) Some characters will sleep with you much earlier in the relationship, just like some people in real life. There is nothing in this article that says you can't have a meaningful, monogamous relationship with Zevran. Because you can."
So let's wait and see, yes?
@Poltergasm
I was hoping for a male/male fling with Alistair as well, there's just something about his personality that would have made that such a... interesting scenario.
---
On the topic of the whole male/male thing. I find it interesting that people still just compare it to Mass Effect. Hey anyone remember Jade Empire? It was released years before ME, and it had male/male as well as female/female pairings. Sure there was no real 'sex' scenes in that game, but there was still romancing options. And you could even sway your lover to your side, being 'evil' or 'good'.
I compared it to Mass Effect both because that was the most recent Bioware title and because of the controversy Mass Effect's female/female sex scene caused.
Didn't Jade Empire show more of their M/F relationship than their M/M relationship though?
I've never actually finished JE, but I remmeber reading something to that effect.
I too wish you could have a relationship with Alistair.
Not because I think Zevran is too Legolas-like though, but because of additional playthroughs.
Why do the same relationship yet again (I'm sure there'll be slight diferences depending on your choices, but still)?
And there are more then one women to have a relationship with, so why not give those who want one with a man the same range of choice?
Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to get it at all. Especially after ME. It would just be nice if they offered equal options.
There wasn't a sex scene in Jade Empire whether you had a heterosexual or homosexual relationship, but if you were "straight" there would be a kiss between your character and love interest towards the end of the game. If you were gay, the camera would pan away before they kissed, though it was still implied.
You could also be bisexual and have both a male and female love interest, in which case it was implied that you went off with them for a threesome. o_0
So in other words, a gay relationship = something not to be seen.
IMO that's fairly offensive.
It's also a strange thing to do. Surely people that would bother to get to that point wouldn't be bothered by seeing the end result.