Bioware Lacks Balls

Perhaps one of the most notable traits of a Bioware game is the open-endedness both in the story as well as the creation and development of one's character. Your character can be male or female, you can customize your appearance, and your actions affect the outcome of the game.

In some cases, this open-endedness branches out even further in allowing you to romantically pursue a variety of characters who respond to your actions throughout the course of the story. Gamers tend to gobble these features up, but unfortunately, Bioware seems to lack the capacity to expand upon these features to reach their true and powerful potential: sexual equality in the gaming world.

[overlordror]

So true. Bioware totally retconned what they said. Such crap.

[kaveti6616]

I don't blame them. Homosexuality is still a touchy subject, and male homosexuality is for some reason more touchy than lesbianism. Maybe it's because heterosexual males enjoy watching lesbian porn, so they're cool with seeing that in games. Like I said, I don't blame Bioware for not having a male/male relationship scenario. In a few more years, I pray the world will be ready, but today people just need to cool off.

I think, and this is just me, that I would have rather liked an article critical of Bioware and other developers for not creating more variable scenarios based on what gender the player chooses to be in their games.

This article almost started out that way with this quote, "Bioware seems to lack the capacity to expand upon these features to reach their true and powerful potential: sexual equality in the gaming world."

However, the article immediately went off about the relationship aspect and the controversy behind it. I think we should take baby steps and ask why hasn't Bioware made it so that choosing a particular gender will completely change the way all NPCs will interact with you, and maybe even things like height and weight of your character would change how you interact with the world and its objects.

I think that in and of itself would be an amazing level of variability. These relationship aspects of RPGs don't really go anywhere. I remember playing Kotor (my favorite RPG of all time) and getting into a relationship with Bastila Shan. And it didn't really do much for the game.

Bioware doesn't lack any more balls than any other developer. They have their own style and their own ideas of what to put into a game. They're not as edgy or controversial as Rockstar and maybe that's because they don't want to be. They don't make it a goal to piss off people.

[Tony P]

If they lack balls, then every other dev is permanently disabled.

At least they are *willing* to try. Most devs RPG or otherwise will not even consider it.

[exnihilonihilfit]

A. At least with Dragon Age, Bioware has been far more daring than any other developer, period.

B. The "female" character that you have sex with in ME1 is not actually a female at all. Sure she looks like a typical female of our species, but she's actually a hermaphrodite. On that level, I kind of respect them more because it means that both the male and female versions of commander shepherd are actually having sex with a tranny of sorts. Problem is, most people aren't interested enough in the story to pick up on that. All in all, given that you're not shown all of the explicit parts of the sex scene, who knows who stuck what where?

C. The rationale that the executive provided does partially justify his point, though there's simply no reason why they couldn't have just envisioned Shepherd as bisexual in the first place.

D. Though I love seeing gay characters in games myself because it gives me something to identify with, it just isn't necessary for every game to have the option for gay relationships. Not incorporating gay characters does not necessarily reflect on the progressiveness of the developer.

E. I'm just happy that bioware and a few other studios have been as open as they have been.

[Bigpappy]

If Bioware went that route it could hurt sales. They had put a bit of that in DA. Having this show up in games is okay, but making it a main plot will hurt the sales. The gay community needs to relax with this and leave it to developers. You guys are always pushing this game sex issue. It is a private issue and I think that if it would sell enough some developers will make games with you in mine. The reality is most guys do not have guy on guy fantasies. Most gamers are guys.

[Palodios]

I agree with you Kaveti.

This article is really just nitpicking. Dragon age had more than enough male homosexual scenes, and just a few months later he's expecting more? In our world, the population of homosexuals is well below 10%, and yet this guy expects homosexual romantic oppurtunities to be everywhere.

God of War 3 does the same thing, female lesbian scenes, but(as far as I've seen) no male ones, but its relevant to the game.

[Mahkia]

I still don't understand why Bioware is as popular as they are. It's like no one can see their crap.

[kaveti6616]

Oh really, pal? What RPGs do you like?

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

....

[Tony P]

I can understand if their new stuff isn't as great as their old stuff.

I can understand if their DLCs and expansions sometimes fall flat.

But all around crap? I don't think so, lady.

[Rainstorm81]

Bioware = Current RPG Kings

Who else even competes??

[Nike]

Bioware has been the king of RPGs. Unlike most other RPG developers, they don't lay claim to the throne with one game and constantly boast about it for years and years. They consistently deliver on quality from Baldur's Gate 2, Neverwinter Nights and Star Wars: KOTOR to Jade Empire, Mass Effect, Sonic Chronicles (yes, it was a very, very solid and entertaining RPG) and Dragon Age. Even their expansions and add-ons like Throne of Bhaal, Dragon Age: Awakening and the ME2 DLCs are of high quality.

To say they produce crap is no different from saying every single game from Square-Enix is a masterpiece. How many FFVII fans can honestly say they liked FFX (and X-2)? How many of those fans can say they liked FFXII? How many of those say they liked FFXIII? Hell, how many can say they like SaGa? -__-

The only company that ever came close to Bioware was Black Isle Studios (RIP).

[kancerkid]

@ Raiinstorm81

Atlus...
Tri-Ace...
Bethesda...

[Abriael]

"Waaaa! Bioware doesn't write their characters accprding MY sexual tasteees! It's a slight to gay rights I say! I have the RIGHT to be gay in a videogame!!!"

Call the waaambulance before he floods us with tears.

[anonymouse111335]

I agree, they need to get over it, it's only a matter of time before someone sues a game developer for not having a route for all sexual preferences, and with what we've seen in lawsuits it wouldn't surprise me.

Or a bill trying to mandate male and female relationship options for both sexes in games that have relationship options/side quests

[DelbertGrady]

Perhaps he wants Mass Effect to be more like Final Fantasy. Maybe Bioware should ask Leona Lewis to do their theme song. And make all characters look like pre-teen girls. Commander Shepard with spiky hair and big, big blue eyes lol.

[Strelnikov]

From the article: "Curiously, Bioware has yet to give a satisfactory response on any of the issues presented."

Bioware CEO Ray Muzyka: "Dragon Age is a first person narrative... It's fundamentally about defining your character... In Mass Effect it's more a third person narrative, where you have a pre-defined character who is who he is, or she is... So they're different types of narratives, and that's intentional."

This is a perfectly acceptable response. Jade Empire had guy on guy action. The author's point is moot.

[Imallvol7]

I am so sick of hearing about this. So what if there is no homosexuality. May be no one on the ship was a homosexual even if you wanted to be. STFU. I get so tired of the incessant complaining.

[Tex117]

Interesting point, poorly written article.

From a developer's standpoint, here is how it probably goes down.

1) Marketing throws them a folder saying key demographic is 15-28 or whatever...(Young men)

2) %of them that are homosexual as in standard proportions to the whole population...(i dunno...like 10% or something like that?)

3) Hmmm small number says CEO.

4) Yeah, lets stick with the 18 year old sexual fantasy and make lots of money and not worry about being "aware" or "correct"

5) Ok sweet.

Its not that the lack balls, they just understand who is playing their games.

[kraze07]

If Bioware lacks balls because of this then most other devs out there lack balls and a shaft.

[PS360_37]

To be perfectly honest, the majority of the buyers of this game are straight men. The majority of those straight male players are not going to be interested in following the male homosexual path. Since I'm assuming that is the case, then why put it in the game?

Its all about the demographic. Its not that hard to see.

[Darkfiber]

I find it funny that SOOOOO many gamers are homophobic (just go play Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox live for 5 minutes) yet they always cry about not being able to f*$% some gay alien in the ass in Mass Effect. Yeah I get the "equality" and blah blah blah but the majority of us DO NOT CARE. Nothing to do with lacking balls or anything like that, it's their game, they can put whatever they want in it. When YOU start making triple A GOTY material RPGs then you can put in whatever you want. You can't tell them that they are making the game wrong or anything, they have a right to put whatever they want in their game, it's called freedom of artistic expression. Don't like it? Don't buy it.

The only thing I can conclude is that a lot of gamers are closet homosexuals and want to live out their gay fantasies by sodomizing their way across the galaxy. If you want to have sex with a guy, go do it, who cares what other people say, but don't blame Bioware because you're too scared to come out of the closet.