In a (Supposedly) Modern Society, Gay Video Game Characters are Still a Cause for Controversy

DualShockers' Tony Polanco writes:

"Bioware recently introduced the world to a character named Dorian who will appear in the upcoming Dragon Age: Inquisition. This character comes from the Tevinter Imperium, which is a country whose ruling class are Mages. In a world where Mages are shunned and hated by society, here is a place where they run the show. A character that comes from such a land is one that I find fascinating.

Although Dorian and his background are very intriguing, this isn’t what people have focused on. There’s controversy surrounding the character because of his sexuality. He is the first “legitimately gay” character to appear in a Bioware game according to series writer David Gaider. There have been bisexual characters and an openly gay one (Steve Cortez) in some of Bioware’s previous titles but Dorian is the first playable party member who is simply a gay man and only prefers to have intimate relations with men."

[Snookies12]

I'm a straight guy that plays games. The characters I play give me a different perspective on things and I'm all for that. I don't care if I'm playing a gay guy, a lesbian girl, a black man/woman, a white man/woman, etc. Just give me a good game.

[Romudeth]

Well said! I completely agree. That's the power of video games. They allow us to see through different eyes and experience things we normally wouldn't.

[slasaru01]

You understand that the power of games can change a growing up man's mentality, which is not always good?

I mean they don't just say: he's gay, but it's ok, people can be different. They make like he's the best choice, the best person and straight guys are just stupid and intolerant. This way is not fair at all.

[Boody-Bandit]

My opinion on topics such as this. Judgmental people need to check themselves in the mirror before passing their opinions on to others.

I don't care about sexual orientation, religion, political affiliation, ethnicity, or if you do or don't believe in global warming / climate change.

Just don't force your beliefs on me as if I'm flawed and you're not because of your beliefs.

I'm a brutally honest (in life as well as on the net) heterosexual man, father of 3, married to 1 and a friend to all. That's my motto.

When it comes to gaming. I don't have brand loyalty and just want to be entertained. That's what this hobby is suppose to be about.

[Snookies12]

@slasaru01 - You seem to be assuming that just because a boy or girl grows up seeing a gay or lesbian male/female in a strong lead will make them gay/lesbian. Which is absolutely not the case.

I grew up watching South Park, but that didn't make me intolerant of other races/religion/sexuality/etc.

[Eonjay]

I already told Dorian, as long as he can hold his own in battle he is welcome on my team.

[morganfell]

The issue is that if Bioware were really interested in making a great game they would be as tightlipped about the sexual orientation of characters as devs are about the resolution of Xbox One games. Let gamers find out about a character as they play.

Instead, waving the "We've got a gay character" reduces gay people to a marketing tool. If that isn't dehumanizing...

The gay community ought to be telling Bioware to just shut up and make the game already.

What could have been a landmark moment in gaming now reeks of a Bioware marketing agenda.

[pixelsword]

Games allow us to see through people's eyes, unfortunately, instead of using the opportunity to learn for themselves and teach others, when some developers could have merely dug a little deeper and employed empathy and got an experience or perspective outside of their own, some of them merely utilized a movie, television, or general stereotype (on the main character or other characters if they are "different") and kept on focusing on the storyline.

Not all developers mind you, but some of them.

[LamerTamer]

@slasaru01

So you mean if a normally straight guy sees a gay guy in a game that will make him turn gay? That is nonsense and laughable. I know they say that kind of thing on places like Fox News but it is ridiculous! It is a thing in the brain. Either you are or you aren't. It isn't a choice or a result of influence, just like it wasn't a choice for us to be straight.

[Kane22]

I wish more gamers were like you.

[hkgamer]

almost everyone doesnt give a crap, its just a tiny little percentage of people who likes to moan about things. not saying they dont have the right to moan about things. i just think its upto the creators to decide on sexual orientation.

its like me being annoyed that you only mentioned white and black and not any other colour/race. should i be pissed off?

now this new character being gay , he is not bisexual. so is there a possibility that i can play a heteral man instead? i honestly dont know but i doubt it. should i complain that this game is being heterophobic. why do i not have the option to make this man straight?

[MysticStrummer]

Most gamers don't care, but when the biggest gaming market is made up largely of people who believe the Bible over science, stupid controversies like this are the result.

Not that other cultures aren't against homosexuality, because some definitely are, but the controversy and coverage of it most likely come from the west and usually the US.

[mep69]

Well I'll be play a female elf so I don't have to worry about this character hitting on me. But if his voice is annoyingly faggy I hope I get a choice to kill him.

[LamerTamer]

@MysticStrummer

In the US though many states are now allowing marriage equality. Even some of the reddest states are having anti-gay cases thrown out of court. It isn't illegal here like it is in Russia and some other countries. The younger generation here mostly doesn't care. As the older crowd dies off these "controversies" will too mostly.

Even religiosity is on the decline but they do seem to yell the loudest

[iDadio]

In the grand scheme of things such as killing dragons, it becomes pretty irrelevant where my character likes to stick his peen right?

Having such characters shouldnt even be highlighted as different because that again just shows its out of the ordinary and different which in this day and age it really shouldnt be.

[madcowz64]

This is probably the smartest comment I've seen all day. Since when does sexual preference, gender or race matter in video games? They're about having fun and every article like this just brings uneeded controversy.

[Sharingan_no_Kakashi]

He says this as if everyone is just automatically supposed to accept gayness (which is beyond arrogant).

If you want to talk about tolerance you need to be tolerant of the fact that not everyone accepts the things you accept. It's a two way street. It's not always about hatred or bigotry as some would have you believe.

I don't think being gay is a good thing for many different reasons, and I'm sternly unapologetic about it. And if you expect me to keep my beliefs to myself you'll be sorely disappointed. And no that doesn't make me a bigot.

I don't stand for bullying or polarizing anybody, I just think we need to start calling a spade a spade.

[SpinalRemains138]

What about your kids.

That's why this is a concern.
There are a lot of conservative ppl to whom homosexuality is taboo. They definitely don't want their kids to play as Big Gay Al I imagine lol.

[LamerTamer]

Well if the kids are straight it shouldn't matter. They wouldn't WANT to play a gay character. It is not like having one in the game will turn them gay, it don't work like that. Why expose them to it? Well they are going to encounter it in real life. I am sure there are allot of liberal people who think homosexuality is taboo too. Who cares.

[Rbeasley123]

If non of that information matters, and non of it holds any meaning or value whatsoever then why do we have any culture information in a game at all? The bottom line is because all that information, religion, race, sex, orientation all does hold a meaning and a message, meaning it is significant. You want to devalue it all and just want a "good" game, whatever that is. The only way we can discern value/meaning or as you say "good" is through information. Bioware is sending a message, communicating a progressive agenda, and some people are gonna disagree with that, not everyone has a....nothing has value mentally like you.

[rbailey]

Awesome article. People need to stop being worried about the sexual preference of a character and be more concerned about the game itself. I still don't get the uproar over Ellie and Riley's kiss in The Last of Us: Left Behind. People need to get a life and enjoy the games rather than be critical about stuff like this.

[Romudeth]

That scene from the Last of Us was great because it was so natural. It's sad that people got so worked up over that kiss. Society still has a lot of evolving to do. Especially gamers.

[UnHoly_One]

I didn't know that was a thing.

Seriously, I havn't played the DLC and this is literally the first time I've heard anything about a controversial kiss.

[Yahdaree]

Wish I hadn't read this post. Haven't played Left Behind yet........

[JBSleek]

Just because it's 2014 doesn't mean people are tolerant. Also the internet allows people to get away with many things they wouldn't say in real life.

[HotMess]

Sick stache, yo.

[InMyOpinion]

I'm all for diversity in video games, as well as in real life.

[slasaru01]

Gosh, i hope dealing with him will not be mandatory, like the scene in mass effect, where whatever you say to the crying guy, it will be you supporting homosexuals. I mean we are having them too much provocative in the industry now

[JBSleek]

Like...Are you serious?

[FunAndGun]

I hate to break it to ya but I'm sure there are many real world products and services you use on a daily basis from companies that support homosexuals. Are you using a Microsoft OS, an Xbox, or searching with Google?

I just find it funny that your concern is "supporting" homosexuals within a video game.

[Romudeth]

He's a party member and one who will provide important context to the story. You'll have to deal with him. I hope that doesn't offend you.

[slasaru01]

It's not that. I do not want to trigger an unwanted homosexual event in the game, but devs are doing it deliberately. If someone wants - this is their choice and I don't want mine to be forced. That's all.

[AgentSmithPS4]

So having homosexuals in games will somehow destroy our enjoyment of games and/or destroy our society? I wish you could make a video or flash animation explaining this.

I support diversity in games but that also applies to things like you mentioned. You should have the option to be mean, punch him in the face, etc and then he and the game world could potentially react to that.

[Amorist89]

If the emphasise is on a homosexual character then there needs to be intrigue surrounding the storyline that would offer something completely different. Having a homosexual character thrown into a game for the sake of it would be a missed opportunity, exploit the positives of having a whole new angle or simply don't involve a characters sexuality into the equation.

[Geekman]

As long as it doesn't get into things I don't wanna see (Such as two men making out) I have no problem with homosexual characters.

[Summons75]

There are a ton of Gay characters... The real contraversy is why don't the Transexuals or Hermaphrodities get any love? Compared to what they go through in life, homosexuals have it easy.

[AgentSmithPS4]

Yeah and I hope there's Magisexuals in the game, I'd like to see two attractive females, one with a magically attached penis, doing things together :).

[hkgamer]

bioware are heterophobic. why are characters only gay or bi. why can they not only be hetero.

:@:@:@

ok, not sure if i am right about not having a purely hetero character but my point is that some people like to make a fuss about everything.

[Romudeth]

That makes no sense. There are certain people who WON'T buy this game because it has a gay character. Your logic is flawed.

[hkgamer]

im just saying this is an argument that no one can win.

make a heterosexual character and people complain why they cannot choose to be gay, hence making that character bi. now that they make a gay character that is strictly gay and not bi. why is that? is there going to be someone in game that is strictly straight?

anyway it is upto the designer to decide on sexual orientation and if people dont like it then it is your loss.

now people not buying gay character was like when people didnt want to buy san andreas because of a black guy. its stupid.

[Ogygian]

Perhaps five people, as the rest probably don't play games in the first place.

Most gamers are quite a tolerant bunch, and Anders for the male Hawke was for all intents and purposes gay (he didn't mention much his interest in women). Zevran was the same.

These games didn't suffer because of it. If Dragon Age Inquisition suffers it will not be because they included homosexual characters, but because they are both already statistically overrepresented (around 5% of the population are LGBT looking at recent data; Bioware changing this figure indicates that they would prefer it if there were more or less LGBT people in society, both of which are intolerant views towards Straight and LGBT people respectively) and made such a big deal of to an extent that it has become embarrassing (gay characters in games should not be this big a deal).

I am considering not buying Inquisition at launch, but it has nothing to do with having two homosexual characters. Rather, I dislike the heterosexual female romance options, which means that my romantic subplots are not going to be as enjoyable for me and us that the game is only 80% as good as it could be (for me) with this element in the game. I'm still going to buy it, but as it is only 80% as good IMO I will only pay 80% of the RRP.

[Kennytaur]

What BS, the only controversy is the one that Bioware tries to make for marketing purposes.

[TheTimeDoctor]

well said

[joshuatobi]

I don't like the fact that its a gay character I just hope he isn't the only choice of character and that you can play as somebody else.

[Gunstar75]

Why is that? Why is this a problem for you?

[joshuatobi]

Because its weird to play as a gay person it feels wrong because I like to play as characters I can relate to and trying to relate to this dude is not happening. It may not be a problem to you but it is for me that's why its great I live in America and I can choose to believe what I want because of religious reasons.

[Gunstar75]

Oh.... lol

Do you ever play as an animal / alien /humanoid / robot / Italian plumber?

Fair enough if your out-dated religious convictions are at odds with homosexuals, but experience suggests that religion is just a load of hypocritical, selective crap.

Live and let live. Experience reality.

[Ogygian]

You act open minded yet condemn another's right to choice.

I've been an atheist since 12 and been in favour of gay rights since my peers were still bandying around the term in school as an insult.

Yet I prefer to play straight characters, as I am straight. Do you think that gay people who prefer to play gay characters are intolerant? If not then you are indeed prejudiced yourself, affording gay peope this right but not heterosexual, and if so, I think there are probably more people in my camp who are at peace with their desires than people who probably live their life in perpetual guilt at being who they are (thus wanting to play other characters unlike themselves more often than not).

[SilentNegotiator]

Interracial couples would have this much "controversy" if journalists turned every forum post and comment from a small, unimportant person or group about it into a controversy, too.

If Bioware didn't purposefully stir up artificial controversies with every game they released, we wouldn't have half of the discussion on the topic.

[Ogygian]

My thoughts exactly. I'm not sure there ever was a controversy, as the people in active opposition to this character don't seem to exist.

There are people who are a bit disappointed with Bioware's lack of attention to heterosexual characters (myself included), but I haven't seen anyone attack Bioware just for having homosexual characters.

And for some reason on message boards the argument has turned into "if you don't enjoy playing homosexual characters, you're an intolerant judgemental person" which seems like hypocrisy to me.
I thought the inclusion of these characters was actually so that homosexual people could have a deep story they enjoy as much as heterosexual people, given a natural predisposition to feeling more empathy towards romantic subplots of one's own gender.

It seems that we've been hijacked by people who want others to feel guilty for naturally wanting to play people like them, which to me seems not far off being as morally atrocious as the people who think they can "correct" homosexuality, where both fight against natural, biological desires.

[leemo19]

I could careless if there's a gay character in a game, I just don't want it shoved in my face like the news media has been doing lately.

[mysteryraz11]

why would anyone wanna be gay? When you see big breasted super models and video game chicks like lara croft, looking at another guys junk isnt hott

[Yahdaree]

Give me a break with this. When people make games (or movies, or music for that matter) if the content sells well then it was what people wanted. If devs put more "gay" content in games and it sells then cool. People talk with their wallets.

[Gh05t]

Wait! You cant say there is a ton of controversy and not show any of it. This is whats wrong with gaming journalism, didn't these people take any formal classes in writing.

I haven't heard a thing about this until this article and this article doesn't present any of the supposed problems they are trying to fight against.

Second they used a picture (that isn't even cited mind you) of what appears to be a protest of gay "Marriage." That is a whole different argument and one that isn't addressed in this article either.

I wanted to see who is spewing all the hate for a character being gay and I didn't find one source to be mad at from this article.

"A game like Ultimate Gay Fighter is a prime example of a title that should get people riled up due to its depiction of gay characters"

Why should this get me riled up? You just said it should you claim there is a depiction but you don't tell me any information to convince me. As far as I am concerned to get riled up over a game featuring stereotypical gay people is just as bad as getting riled up over a non stereotypical gay person... Both are fine and shouldn't give offense unless your being overly sensitive from either side.

There are so many flaws in this writing and the fact that there is this "Special thanks to Emily Lemay, Johnathan Gibbs and Ryan Bates for helping me with this editorial." is just sad when I think three people read this editorial and didn't show how many holes and open ended points that the author left in this piece.

[Elda]

WHO CARES!!...what really matters is...just develop a good game we all can play & enjoy!

[Pintheshadows]

I am just happy Freddie Mercury is finally in a videogame.

[bub16]

If being gay has an effect on the story then OK cool. If it has no effect do we need to know what sex they prefer. We don't see games like cod advertising straight characters.

[Yahdaree]

This is a good point, if it is just to be controversial and get attention then its just lame.