Dragon Age 2 writer responds to complaint about BioWare neglecting 'straight male' demographic

by Alexander Sliwinski on Mar 25th 2011 10:49AM

For the second time in under six months, Dragon Age senior writer David Gaider felt obligated to step among the Darkspawn in the BioWare Forums to defend the sexual politics of Thedas.

A post on the forum declares that "Bioware Neglected Their Main Demographic: The Straight Male Gamer" in Dragon Age 2. The author's thesis (which you should totally read) posits several interesting arguments. Our favorite: "It makes things very awkward when your male companions keep making passes at you. The fact that a 'No Homosexuality' option, which could have been easily implemented, is omitted just proves my point."

"We have good numbers, after all, on the number of people who actually used similar sorts of content in [Dragon Age: Origins] and thus don't need to resort to anecdotal evidence to support our idea that their numbers are not insignificant," Gaider wrote, echoing previous sentiments in his response.

We think BioWare should seize this opportunity and release some DLC: the big, gaudy, golden "Necklace of Nohomo" that grants +2 against "unwanted advances" -- then donate the proceeds to the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

Via: Phyrra
Source: BioWare Forums

Tags: Bioware, bisexual, David-Gaider, Dragon-Age-2, EA, Electronic-Arts, gay, glbt, lesbian, microsoft, pc, playstation, ps3, queer, xbox

Reader Comments (262)

@VeeDeeVee Why? Did you feel weird and tingly?

@Arsenic13 Maybe he was turned on by it and didn't know how to respond to this new sensation?

@Arsenic13
Nope. Just don't like being hit on by members of my sex. It turns my stomach.

@captcarl
Nope. Oh don't worry I'm well aware of what jokes others will try to make. I'm a member of Mensa and I have 2 psychology master degrees to my name. But as a matter of fact no. It just makes me feel sick.

@VeeDeeVee

All that and yet you're unable to open your mind to the many possiblities life holds.

Sad =(

((Actually, not a dig at you, however, the people i've met and have said "i'm from mensa", are actually rather ret*rded and closed minded........))

@VeeDeeVee Oh yeah? I'm a platinum member of Mensa, and I have 26 psychology master degrees. Your move, creep.

@VeeDeeVee

Wow, I'd have thought someone in MENsa would be above such petty ways of thinking.

@VeeDeeVee
being hit on by the same-sex makes you sick... you need to get out more, the options are there to turn them down in real life & dragon age 2 - even in Dragon Age Origins, Zevran hits on you a little.. I'm not gay, but I so did the Zevran Threesome.. It's just a game.. I'm not going to get the urge to cup a guy's balls the next time I'm in a gay bar

@RyanS Hey leave VeeDeeVee alone. Sure, first it starts out as just letting some guy in Dragon Age 2 hit on you, but the next thing you know you're giving head in the bathroom at Olive Garden

The more you know

@VeeDeeVee
Because god knows that not only can you not lie about your credentials on the internet to try and win an argument, but that even if you did have them, it not only justifies your position, but also explains why we're not smart enough to share it with you in enlightenment. By the way, you don't say you have "2 psychology master degrees" when you actually have them. People who have them say they have a "Masters in" and then the two specific fields they are in. Not just "psychology." That's what people who don't have degrees would say.

@Dopple Boppler

I love endless blowies and pasta at the OG.

@VeeDeeVee Having dual Master's degrees and being a member of Mensa does =/= intelligence

Try again.

@VeeDeeVee
I'm actually a Shiba Inu dog controlling a fog ridden hell hole of a township with a vision mixer console.
They won't believe me either. u_u

@VeeDeeVee

Ah yes, observe, here we have the neanderthal, a species thought to be extinct, but as you can see, it still thrives, poisoning homo sapiens with its moronic beliefs and grunting noises.

@VeeDeeVee

I'm so glad you responded to this post. I have never read more hilarious responses to something so asinine on Joystiq EVER.

I think I might screencap this since it literally made me laugh.

@VeeDeeVee So was Karla Homolka.. what's your point?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karla_Homolka

@VeeDeeVee

This is you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tuEaG-buvo

@Zoot Suit Jedi Grammar Hammer En

That's a fancy Olive Garden you go to... I went and they were only Tossing Salad...

@Dopple Boppler Or playing footsies in the men's room stalls at a Sears or an airport

@captcarl

"being a member of Mensa does =/= intelligence"

That's pretty much exactly what it means. Can you explain to me what you think being a member of Mensa does mean?

@VeeDeeVee

Whoa, Mensa and 2 psychology master's degrees? Your take on the subject MUST be the definitive one. You must be well on your way to your doctorate by now. By the way, why would anyone get 2 master's degrees in the same subject? What measure were you tested on to get you into Mensa?

As a straight male let me just say that Dragon age 2 is a perfect example of how to handle orientation in games. Make everyone bi. That way, people can have whatever kind of relationship they want in their game.

Gay dudes can have their Hawke romance anders (because fenris is lame and anders) and the homophobic set can go back to jerking off to black swan and pretending that they are watching it for the acting.

I didn't feel neglected with DA2, and I'll never cease to be amazed how many gamers seem to feel that an option thye themselves will never use is somehow an affront, and the only parts that should be allowed in games are the ones they themselves like.

@Uberdave
I disagree, but only because of the limitations they place on your textual response cues. I was just being nice to that Warden Mage and all of the sudden, out of the blue he hits on me. I had avoided any 'heart' options and didn't realize the line would be flirtatious. And then, my only option to turn it down is a straight up 'back up off me with the homo-cooties, it's freaking me out yo'. Where's the 'I'm flattered but must politely decline as I'm not actual gay.' option.
I'm just irritated because I got caught in a situation with no good exit simply due to dialogue choices.

@DenebSwift

I see what you're saying. However, the dialogue wheel only has so many slots.

@Uberdave:

Since when does one have to be homophobic to enjoy the Natalie/Mila moment in Black Swan?

Other than that, I get your point.

Wow. How much more homophobic can you get?

@mbarriault

ask Veedeevee, hes in MENSA and has a master degree!

@Draugdraugr

Excuse me, TWO masters degrees. Also, I hear he's very rich. AND a perfectly adequate lover.

This shit is getting ridiculous.

Its a damn game people.

Create that garbage in your mind,just like the game.Its all fantasy anyway,geez.

I wonder if gay people are complaining that the female characters make passes at their gay male characters.

I'm a straight male and I never have had any issues. Look at the great characters in ME2 that you could get into a "relationship" with. These complainers are idiots.

DA2 does seem to have less companions, but the second I ran into Merill I thought she was a cute character (especially how she talks) so i figured I would forgo anyone else and try and build a relationship with her.

That's very interesting. I am a straight female it's BULL that females only play the sims, how about he tells that to my CoD, Assassin Creed, Halo and more. What an ass!

Yeah the romance options for DA2 aren't great for a straight female, Fenris is too annoying, Anders is pretty unattractive and Sebastien is a religious annoyance. But that's just personal, I would never complain like this guy did.

Yeah, straight males play the game most but if you're so neglected and alone that you have to complain about romance options in a game, then get a girlfriend... seriously!

@ehuitema

All right, that's enough out of you. You are a woman so you would have no idea what it's like to experience an unwanted sexual advance.

@ehuitema
They would probably complain to themselves about the lack of real life romance choices. "Ummmm..." and "Fap Fap".

I am going to guess that the reason it is a problem for most gamers is that they are not used to being hit on in the first place, let alone by other guys...

Seriously tho, only people who are really insecure need to to worry about homosexual advances in a video game...

This happened a lot in Fable too, where where the complaints then?

@VeeDeeVee

Why was VeeDeeVee downvoted?

Being gay is not a race, guys.

@VeeDeeVee

How about this then?

America is too damn uptight about sexuality.

@VeeDeeVee
Your loaded language gives away your poor attempt at justifying your homophobia. "Natural" order? Give me a god damn break. Stop pretending that your "credentials," and I use the term with the utmost scorn and disbelief possible, give you any sort of justification for your homophobia, or that it makes you enlightened enough to know better than the rest of us mere mortals who have enough of a heart and brain to treat homosexuals with respect and dignity as people, let alone not to be like you and imply an unnaturalness to them. Seriously, you're not fooling anyone with your Mensa bull.

@Shadowbender

It is a minority, and it is a group that is treated horribly by mainstream culture and unfairly demonized.

@VeeDeeVee If you really had 2 masters in Psy, you would be educated enough to keep up with the fact homosexuality, in a scientific sense, is natural.

If you claim it is unnatural, you are making a value judgement, not stating a fact.

The fact that homosexuality has been observed in multiple species, not just in humans, must just slide right over you huh?

And why do you care? I don't particularly like eating Peanut Brittles, but I dont act like a dick when someone offers me one.

@GreenElf "America is too damn uptight about sexuality."

THIS TIMES INFINITY +1

@Shadowbender

No one said its a race, how could it be when people of all races are born gay. Being gay isn't a choice. Being an idiot is; seems you chose to be one, good job.

I'm glad Gaider is sticking to his guns. His short answer is basically this: I wrote it. You have a problem with that? PFFFFTTTTTTTT!!

Gaider is a smart guy. He writes well, and makes believable characters. Like someone above stated, it's ROLE-PLAYING. Making a character (especially the PC) bisexual just adds another dimension to that. It means you can pursue whatever (and whomever) you want.

This is what I wrote on another site about this:

As a strait male gamer, I am not bothered by the fact that your character can sleep with any main character, what I have problems with is how lazy it is. Some(most?) should be strait that you have to work hard to win over. However, I was freaked out that just being nice and all the guys tried to sleep with my male character. WTF?!?! On top of that, I did feel that the game was a bit of a sausage fest and whoever wrote the romances was leaning heavily on the male on male fantasy action.

@Ender7 Dudes can't hook up with Fenris. So really in the game there is only one guy that a male character can hook up with, not counting the DLC character. Far from a sausage fest.

@cbartell77 Nope, fenris is also a male romance option. The only character who swings one way is Sebastian, the dlc exiled prince, for girls only

@cbartell77
Actually both male and female Hawke can romance Fenris. It's only Sebastian who is restricted to women only (and it's not really a romance compared to the others).

@Ender7
There's only one male character who hits on you (excluding the prostitute - it's his job) and that's Anders. He does so once in the whole game, and if you turn him down, he never hits on you again.

Fenris flirts only if you flirt with him first by picking the heart dialogue options, and in his brief cameo Zevran only propositions you if you flirt with him. Unless you've been running around flirting with all the men in Kirkwall, none of them are trying to sleep with you.

"It makes things very awkward when your male companions keep making passes at you."

Uh... because it IS very awkward? One day you're getting you hair cut and the next you're being asked to come back after the barbershop closes! I just came here for a cut, old man! I don't need the insecurity this brings to my liiiiiife!

@Batzarro The worlds WOrst Detect
Did you even play the first one? Zevran did nothing else but make passes at you? Or did you just expect it to be Mass Effect in Medieval times?

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Dragon Age 2

Dragon Age 2 writer responds to complaint about BioWare neglecting 'straight male' demographic

Reader Comments (262)

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:11AM Arsenic13 said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:18AM captcarl said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:18AM VeeDeeVee said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:20AM VeeDeeVee said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:31AM Shiz said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:38AM RadiantViper said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:40AM RyanS said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:42AM Mazrael said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:50AM Dopple Boppler said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 12:10PM Athena said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 12:19PM Zoot Suit Jedi Grammar Hammer En said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 12:53PM captcarl said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 1:08PM foxhound said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 1:11PM Xoxaan said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 1:38PM Wiizer said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 2:11PM Rocketboy said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 2:14PM NinjaJesus said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 2:14PM GreenElf said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 3:06PM Suspiro said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 3:52PM Jenks said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 6:16PM h311r47 said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:03AM Uberdave said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 12:53PM DenebSwift said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 3:33PM ouijedanse said

Posted: Mar 31st 2011 10:48PM Alan Strangis said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:09AM mbarriault said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 6:44PM Draugdraugr said

Posted: Mar 26th 2011 4:29PM Raster said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:10AM southernpredator said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:14AM cbartell77 said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:16AM sammo21 said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:17AM ehuitema said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:32AM copa said

Posted: Mar 27th 2011 11:44PM The Only Girl said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:19AM GreenElf said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:44AM Shadowbender said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:58AM GreenElf said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 12:02PM Athena said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 12:26PM Colin said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 12:28PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 12:52PM captcarl said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 1:18PM Xoxaan said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:21AM captcarl said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:22AM Ender7 said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:30AM cbartell77 said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:38AM TheDarkWayne said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:42AM Selidor said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:46AM Selidor said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:28AM Batzarro The worlds WOrst Detect said

Posted: Mar 25th 2011 11:51AM Dehnus said

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