NSFW Video: Dragon Age Shines Equality On Gay Love (Spoilers!)
Attention: This is Not Safe For Work! With all the negative hoopla surrounding Infinity Ward's grenade spam video I was beginning to lose all faith in gays being shown in a positive light in the world of gaming. I got a treat when I spied this clip of Dragon Age: Origin's gay romance. Read: Spoilers! Here we have what has to be one of the most well-realized representations of gay sex in a video game to date. The scene walks us through a dialogue tree that leads to a graphically romantic tryst with the male protagonist and Zevran the assassin.
After hearing about BioWare's inclusion of a gay relationship, I'm sure many were prepared to be bored by some half baked, heterosexist pandering a-la Mass Effect's alien/lesbian rendezvous. Here it feels deliberate and respectful. In fact, while there are differences between the straight love interests and the gay male option, the romantic scenes of both orientations are given equal diligence.
With this bare-chested and unflinching portrayal, it feels as if the depiction of gay sex in video games has reached a new level of equal treatment. This is more than just a mincing gay pirate (Temple of Elemental Evil) or an evasive fade-to-black: there's choreography, tenderness, humor and even an element of sexual politics to Zevran's post-coital conversation. Kudos to BioWare for adding a bit of a gay storyline to their game and for dealing with gay romance as even-handedly as they do the heterosexual options.
ROCsteady
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 11 November 2009
· Comments (25)
Other stuff like this: bioware, dragon age: origins, equality, gay, gay sex, infinity ward, romance, sexuality, video, zevran
It's a pretty dynamic treatment of sex and romance. I like that, at least according to the strategy guide, Zevran will stop having sex with you if he starts to fall in love with you. He cools things so he can figure out his emotions. Art imitating life?
That video was yucky. To borrow a phrase, they look like stiff reanimated corpses. Is there nothing the uncanny valley cannot ruin?
I agree with ParsnipSoup, it was a bit creepy, and I prefer to see more of the irresistible dwarf, he looked like he was getting in a much more fun position in the Pearl >:D
LOL, the Pearl, which is the brothel in the game is a riot because you can go in and the madame lines up a group of guys, girls or a mixture of both to choose to have sex with. The line up of guys has someone to suit every taste. I cracked up when the muscular dwarf crawled on the bed growling "MMM...hardened warior...". The gam, happily, does not shy away from homosexuality - I've played thru once and found many examples throughout the game.
I was really concerned about this before the game. I was really impressed that Jade Empire had a male/male romance option, but Bioware took a step back by not having one in Mass Effect. Like the author, I figured IF DAO had homosexuality it would be adolescent fantasy lesbians, and IF it had male/male, it would be handled really poorly.
But I was so so positively surprised.
Zevran's story is well developed, and his character is actually written as gay/bi-sexual. Despite what some of the other sites have said, other than another character telling me she wants me a threesome with me and "my Zevran," he hasn't been the promiscuous wandering character some sites have been talking about. Maybe he can be based on your conversation choices, but so far in my game, Zevran is just as dedicated as a lover as either of the females, in my opinion (AND that of the other characters, I love LOVE LOVE that they have comments about my relationship.) And I'm just. Wow. Really impressed. Really really impressed. So thanks Bioware! For one of the most well done, balanced, developed, and honestly pretty explicit (you do see the player character clearly BEHIND Zevran) gay relationships in any video game ever. I hope they continue this trend in ME2.
And sidenote, I wish Alastair was gay too lol.
About it looking creepy... it's a game. It's not supposed to be real or arousing. I think Bioware's accomplishment shouldn't be judged based on technical limitations. I thought it was wonderful and well done. I just wish it was't once and then just kissing. Everytime you say you wanna go to your tent they should show it! lol.
Still sad you can't romance Alistair as a guy.
Where's the replayability?
What insentive do I have to do a romance the second playthrough, if the only opotion I have is to do the exact same one I did in my previous playthrough?
Straight people get two choices afterall.
Don't think I'm one of the Zevran-haters though. I'm looking forward to romancing him. I'd just like to be able to do the same to hunky Alistair.
I think this says it all for me:
"Don't think I'm one of the Zevran-haters though. I'm looking forward to romancing him. I'd just like to be able to do the same to hunky Alistair."
/agree
I know how Alistair truly feels in his heart and no one can take that away from me. :(
I lol'd at the music though. Deliberate and respectful is one thing, but when your pick-up line is something like "I've got something in my tent that needs stabbing if you know what I mean wink wink" then I'm fairly certain bom-chikka-wow-wow is more appropriate.
I hope it's as cold, stiff, and disturbing as the sex in Mass Effect!
I'll stick with my Fable 2 sex thanks.(That's right, I WILL show you my curly mustache)
omg do I really want o play a game and get blown off by a scrawny elf bottom. geese lol
Awww, I didn't know that you couldn't romance Alistair as a guy. That's disappointing. They really should have made that "licking lampposts in winter" conversation path go somewhere. :(
Well, here's to hoping that someone uses the PC toolkit to remedy that problem!
OMG quit bitching at least there is sex this time. People bitched cause there was no gay male sex and now there is bitching cause there isn't enough god if I wanted hours of gay sex I would watch a porn not play a game.
mick said:
OMG quit bitching at least there is sex this time. People bitched cause there was no gay male sex and now there is bitching cause there isn't enough god if I wanted hours of gay sex I would watch a porn not play a game.
good point. all I have to say is holy shit
Funny. I didn't see any actual BITCHING anywhere in this comment section. Except for yours, mick. May wanna keep to yourself unless you have something constructive to say. :]
Wow. Just wow.
Now I'm buying that game.
Well, at least the uploader of that video made a hunky player character.
If you start as a human noble you can seduce the male son of your mother's friend (at least with the rouge, not sure about the warrior).
Oh and if you pick "a little of both" at the pearl you get a "elf 'female'" obviously a trans-gender elf.
Yes. I'm "In Bed" with Bioware right now ;-)
I'm hoping the same thing about the PC toolkit SZK.
It's part of the reason why I'm playing my 'evil' character first. He'll probably alienate Alistair anyway.
I'm just disappointed that the achievement for romancing Zevran is called "Easy Lover" and he's bi. More unfortunate stereotyping bi-sexual individuals as easy sluts.
Still, it's a step forward in gaming!
...D: This is so gay (Stay away from me, Hilary Duff.). Crappy Enya music while we romp is not my cup of tea...
anyone else got the tranny dwarf at the Pearl when asking the owner to "surprise you" ?
SPOILERS ALERT...
A couple of interesting things... Gramma Wynne initially disapproved of my relationship with Zevran, but eventually came around and said that it seemed we had something special. It was very sweet and touching.
On the other hand, the ending was handled somewhat clumsily by Bioware. At the end, I chose to leave and I asked Zevran to go with me. In the slides during the ending telling what became of everyone, it talks about Zevran going with me but refers to my male main character as a woman a couple of times. After all of the effort they put into the same-sex relationships, it was very jarring and disappointing to see such a clumsy mistake at the very end.
AAALLLLISSSTTAAAIIIRRRRR!!!!!!
*Hunky redheaded Dalish Warrior pines as Alistair leaves to be king.*
We could have been sword mates...
;)