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[LectureMaster]

KCD 2 Dev Justifies LGBTQ Relationships In Game; Says They Helped Avoid Sexism Accusations

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2's director says that their inclusion of an LGBTQ relationship was to avoid sexism accusations.

tech4gamers.com

---

Despite being a huge hit, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 had its fair share of controversies. The backlash over “forced DEI” and “wokeness” even led the game’s director to clap back at the fans.

While many thought that the forced DEI was added to the game due to Embracer Group’s involvement with the sequel, the director has a different reason behind it. The LGBTQ relationship in the game was added to avoid sexism allegations.

Why it matters: Video games will always be controversial, regardless of the reasons. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2’s director chose to add LGBT relationships to avoid sexism accusations, which in turn led to even more allegations.



The latest episode of the Czech show saw guest Daniel Vavra, the writer and director behind Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. On the topic of a romance option for the game, which included males too, Vavra said this:

By adding (LGBTQ) relationships to the game, we were able to avoid accusations of sexism against us.

For those unfamiliar with it, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 features several romance options that are not limited to women. In fact, players can romance Sir Hans Capon.

However, doing so is completely optional. It requires discussing the dialogue options over several conversations, with the players making the final choice.

---

 

[LectureMaster]

 

[Gamerfan81]

Appeasement does not work and will never work.

 

[Durin]

All that matters is if you include those identity traits, do it because you organically think it fits the game experience you wanna make.

If you're doing it primarily to appease or avoid conflict from a particular group, you're just being a bitch.

Ubisoft as an example, no one flipped out about Bayek in Origins, but Yasuke was pandering bs.

 

[San Dan Glokta]

The LGBTQ relationship in the game was added to avoid sexism allegations.

In other words: The LGBTQ relationships were added to avoid a witch hunt that would endlessly persecute him so he was coerced to stifle his creative freedom?

Who is the oppressed? Who is the oppressor? Who is the minority?

 

[Calverz]

Weak

 

[calico]

'Creators can make what they want' lol

 

[Nickolaidas]

Wow, turns out the conspiracy theorists were once again correct for accusing him of bending the knee to the woke mob.

Who knew.

Was it worth it, Vavra? Selling out your principles for that IGN coverage of the 'infamous gay kiss scene'?

Vavra: (too busy to answer as he sniffs a stack of money due to the high sales)

 

[Griffon]

 

[GHG]

And people try to tell us these things being added to games is an organic process.

 

[samoilaaa]

Wow, turns out the conspiracy theorists were once again correct for accusing him of bending the knee to the woke mob.

Who knew.

Was it worth it, Vavra? Selling out your principles for that IGN coverage of the 'infamous gay kiss scene'?

Vavra: (too busy to answer as he sniffs a stack of money due to the high sales)

those people still wont admit that we were right

 

[Bojji]

To be honest optional stuff like this is good for everyone. It's historically accurate as well, gay people were always present in society.

Contrast this with over the top bullshit in Dragon Age...

 

[CompleteGlobalSaturation]

And people try to tell us these things being added to games is an organic process.

None of it is organic.

Just like the inclusion of a non-binary cunt in AC Shadows.

 

[Gonzito]

This confession makes him look like a liar, when the game came out he denied pandering to anyone

This guy has talent for making games but he should stop talking to media and customers because he knows nothing about communication

 

[xrnzaaas]

To be honest optional stuff like this is good for everyone. It's historically accurate as well, gay people were always present in society.

Contrast this with over the top bullshit in Dragon Age...

The problem here is that the gay relationship came up completely out of nowhere. Henry was 100% straight in the first game and he and Capon were friends, nothing more. And suddenly there's a romance brewing even though no time has passed since the events of KCD1? It may have been optional and not in your face like in DAV, but they've still handled it horribly.

 

[Bojji]

The problem here is that the gay relationship came up completely out of nowhere. Henry was 100% straight in the first game and he and Capon were friends, nothing more. And suddenly there's a romance brewing even though no time has passed since the events of KCD1? It may have been optional and not in your face like in DAV, but they've still handled it horribly.

Yeah, it was forced in. But like I said, I don't see any problem with optional stuff like shit, this adds more role playing choices into a role playing game (even if it retcons some things about the first game). I think Vavra was smart with what he did.

In Mass Effect my character had gay romance with Liara in most of my playthroughs, hahaha.

 

[San Dan Glokta]

The LGBTQ relationship in the game was added to avoid sexism allegations.

Yeah, it was forced in. But like I said, I don't see any problem with optional stuff like shit, this adds more role playing choices into a role playing game (even if it retcons some things about the first game). I think Vavra was smart with what he did.

In Mass Effect my character had gay romance with Liara in most of my playthroughs, hahaha.

Brother you do know that these allegations completely destroy men's lives? In what context is it optional here?
He changed course from what he wanted to make because the man was afraid.

 

[Nickolaidas]

In Mass Effect my character had gay romance with Liara in most of my playthroughs, hahaha.

And that's ok ... IF the main character's sexuality was never publicly stated to be heterosexual by Word of God, no less.

 

[Nickolaidas]

Brother you do know that these allegations completely destroy men's lives? In what context is it optional here?
He changed course from what he wanted to make because the man was afraid.

He means 'optional' as in 'the player's choice in-game'.

 

[Bojji]

Brother you do know that these allegations completely destroy men's lives? In what context is it optional here?
He changed course from what he wanted to make because the man was afraid.

In the end it's optional in the game, I don't think it's a big issue.
This guy was called a racist for almost 10 years now, I don't think he personally gives a fuck.

He just wanted better reviews and sales for this game. And we know that Metacritc includes bunch of websites that really care about this stuff.
I think game turned out very good in the end.

 

[calico]

I mean, the campaign of accusing him of racism until he bent the knee and diversified his games worked.

 

[San Dan Glokta]

He means 'optional' as in 'the player's choice in-game'.

I know thats what he meant, but I meant for the dev himself it wasn't 'optional' anymore. He barely got away with it the first time as it was...

 

[Ridicululzz]

The guy seemed very gung-ho that the entire thing was his choice and that was the only reason, but now this comes out lol

Also makes me wonder if Musa was put in to avoid racism allegations then?

 

[Nickolaidas]

Also makes me wonder if Musa was put in to avoid racism allegations then?

As well as his 'you Westerners suck, lol' personality.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

Appeasement does not work and will never work.

Exactly. Give them an inch, the take a mile. Stick to principles.

 

[yogaflame]

KCD 2 Dev Justifies LGBTQ Relationships In Game; Says They Helped Avoid Sexism Accusations

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2's director says that their inclusion of an LGBTQ relationship was to avoid sexism accusations.

tech4gamers.com

---

Despite being a huge hit, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 had its fair share of controversies. The backlash over “forced DEI” and “wokeness” even led the game’s director to clap back at the fans.

While many thought that the forced DEI was added to the game due to Embracer Group’s involvement with the sequel, the director has a different reason behind it. The LGBTQ relationship in the game was added to avoid sexism allegations.

Why it matters: Video games will always be controversial, regardless of the reasons. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2’s director chose to add LGBT relationships to avoid sexism accusations, which in turn led to even more allegations.



The latest episode of the Czech show saw guest Daniel Vavra, the writer and director behind Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. On the topic of a romance option for the game, which included males too, Vavra said this:



For those unfamiliar with it, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 features several romance options that are not limited to women. In fact, players can romance Sir Hans Capon.

However, doing so is completely optional. It requires discussing the dialogue options over several conversations, with the players making the final choice.

---

In other words he bended his knees to this leftist and activist just to get good reviews from journalist. In fact he doesnt need bend to his knees to them to since this new era of gamer, most gamers does not give importance that much on reviews, knowing its not reliable and political and agenda base. The game was still be great even without that sidequest. He is not based, but weak easily pressured. But I may not blame since the development time of the game was under a different political climate. He is really pressured to earn a profit and afraid of the prevailing political climate on the time of the games development. Well for appeasement, its optional, but its still there. He should have stayed as based person. Just saying. Anyway, now that its a new political climate and woke is slowly dying, I hope the sequel will change.

 

[pudel]

Just do yr game, Vavra! If I had one wish free for his next game...than pls keep this nonsense out that nobody had asked for....except "gaming journalists" and weirdos who dont even play games. Not every game needs "minority"-issues to be addressed....jeezus!

 

[Pandawan]

The problem is deeper than it seems. I think Warhorse also recruited DEI employees, because KCD2 is quite strongly oriented towards the "modern mass audience" and this is an alarm bell.

Google photo of Warhorse employees. In 2017 there was most men and in 2023 they took a photo where there is only women (probably that is just a photo, i guess there are still more men in Warhorse, but this is indicative of DEI approach of recent Warhorse)

KCD2 is woke in much more ways than just Musa and menloving

For example, the characters in the plot constantly grimace, make unfunny jokes, make faces like the characters of Marvel movies. In KKD2, you can feel the influence of modern culture.

These dull quests, where you follow the characters on foot, like typical quests in modern games, when the NPC plays for you, leads you, and you just follow.

Also, modern developers are simply obsessed with all these metrics, like player engagement, and KCD2 is an excessively long, drawn-out game, as if they specially stretched it to fit these modern criteria.

These DEI developers just don't know how to make cool games, they don't feel it, they are the most dull people, that's why they rely so much on metrics. And in KCD2 you can feel the influance of such approach. Half of the game is still good, but the other half is a boring, drawn out walking talking simulator.

In general, in fact, KKD2 disappoints in almost every way. The first part was simply brilliand. It was so soulful. You really felt for the characters. The gameplay was free from the very beginning, compare the prologue from KKD1, where the player could end up in the cellar and burn there during the attack on the village, compare this with the prologue from the second part, where you follow Mr. Ptachek for 2 hours.

And the second part, in principle, feels half like this prologue. Half, yes, some spirit was still half preserved in the second game. There is very beautiful nature and atmosphere.

It feels like they started making the game with their own team, and in the middle of development they hired DEI employees and reoriented the development to a modern mass audience.

In general, Musa and Ptachek's orientation are not even the main Woke shortcomings of this game, this is just the cherry on the cake.

2017:

2023:

 

[Hoho for breakfast]

OUTRAGE!

What kind of puppet is actually upset about this?

 

[Mister Wolf]

He bent the knee to his new bosses once the company got sold. We all knew the gay relationship option was forced due to how adamant they were in the original game about Henry being a defined character including his sexual proclivities. Now that the game is a success he decides to be honest about the situation.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Moral of the story:

There will always be people who complain, so just do what you think is best.

 

[Braag]

And this is why these sort of things piss people off in today's gaming. It's so incredibly easy to see when the writing is genuine and when it's not.

My favorite companion in DA Inquisition was Dorian, a gay dude, he was my bro in that game. His backstory, personality, voice, everything was great, I loved that dude. But we don't get queer characters like that anymore. We get forcefully added queer characters which are insufferable and are only added into the game to quiet down the smallest group of people who are the loudest online.

 

[Toots]

Adding something instead of censoring for fear of whatever is a nice change for once.
The political discussion behind it is tiresome as usual.

 

[EviLore]

The problem is deeper than it seems. I think Warhorse also recruited DEI employees, because KCD2 is quite strongly oriented towards the "modern mass audience" and this is an alarm bell.

Google photo of Warhorse employees. In 2017 there was most men and in 2023 they took a photo where there is only women (probably that is just a photo, i guess there are still more men in Warhorse, but this is indicative of DEI approach of recent Warhorse)

2017:

2023:

Studio is much larger now. Not even necessarily a larger percentage of women. Are they not allowed to have a female employee photo op without people being triggered?

Re: your other points, KCD2 can feel bloated at times yes, with too much following people around like a GTA game. I prefer the story and quest design of the original too.

 

[Nickolaidas]

Retconning something out of fear of whatever is a nice change for once.

"Are we the baddies?"

 

[Nickolaidas]

Are they not allowed to have a female employee photo op without people being triggered?

Yes, because devs adding a huge number of new female staff members has worked so well in the past.

 

[shinevisual]

So...

This guy pisses off his side of the culture war when KCD2 comes out and there's an optional LGBT option and black side character.

After a successful launch, he needs to keep them for his studio's next game, the Director is now claiming to be a victim and forced into adding stuff he didnt want into the game?

 

[Topher]

How does a gay scene avoid sexism accusations?

 

[Nickolaidas]

So...

This guy pisses off his side of the culture war when KCD2 comes out and there's an optional LGBT option and black side character.

After a successful launch, he needs to keep them for his studio's next game, the Director is now claiming to be a victim and forced into adding stuff he didnt want into the game?

He wants his cake and to eat it too.


Fact is that the game is legitimately good. One optional gay scene forcefully included by mob pressure will not be enough to hurt the game, it just makes Vavra lose some of that basedness that he accumulated in the first game.

 

[StueyDuck]

Basically i read from that, invested partners wanted certain things to reach certain quotas.

(if Vavra is telling the truth)

 

[EviLore]

Yes, because devs adding a huge number of new female staff members has worked so well in the past.

Studio size of 250, 19 women. 7.6% female, 92.4% male. Very scary stuff.

The first photo has 55 people, 5 of whom are women. 9.1% female, 90.9% male,

Oh no, they became even less Woke, better call Kotaku.

 

[Kikorin]

It can feel forced and useless, but at the end of the day the game had a better Metacritic score because of this gay stuff, so it made sense for the studio. If is optional, I don't see the problem.

 

[Nickolaidas]

Studio size of 250, 19 women. 7.6% female, 92.4% male. Very scary stuff.

The first photo has 55 people, 5 of whom are women. 9.1% female, 90.9% male,

Oh no, they became even less Woke, better call Kotaku.

Cool. Now do Insomniac, Ubisoft and 343 Industries and keep pretending people have no reason to have pattern recognition.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

I don't like this approach, he would have been better off not saying anything. Adding this kind of stuff in a game just for the sake of it being there is the worst approach in my opinion.

 

[nkarafo]

That's literally forced "diversity".

 

[EviLore]

Cool. Now do Insomniac, Ubisoft and 343 Industries and keep pretending people have no reason to have pattern recognition.

Proportions, how do they work

 

[pudel]

It can feel forced and useless, but at the end of the day the game had a better Metacritic score because of this gay stuff, so it made sense for the studio. If is optional, I don't see the problem.

People need to stop looking on these corpo scores. They lost all credibility imho.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Damned if I do, damned if I don't.

Not talking about KCD 2 specifically, but it's sad that people's creative visions are compromised (one way or another) because they fear backlash and criticism.

 

[Wandering Leopard]

If these are direct quotes it's weak reasoning that can't be defended, seemingly only added out of the fear of negative press. And then they reveal this news after the game's success, a 2nd example of being fearful.

I can't respect the studio, at minimum these studios should have the courage to stick to their vision - whatever the outcome.

 

[realcool]

He made the protagonist bisexual to avoid sexism accusations?