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[JohnnyTropics]

I am sure 1% of the fan base who buy they game might actually be happy about this. But really at this point, it's non news, it's just advertising for brownie points. If this is a selling point of your game, your introuble. Might be the coolest character ever written, who knows. But please stop virtua signally for the sake of it. With a game with non humans, who cares honestly.

Bruh.

Pinch the screen of your life and zoom out a little bit.

Characters are the medium through which the themes of a story can be felt. What they experience--in relation to the antagonist, the conflict with that antagonist, and the ultimate resolution of that conflict--is their arc, which is the story. What's magical about this process is that these characters need not even be "real" or "believable"--there are no hobbits running around. There are no orcs running around. But because their philosophical and mental makeup is the same as ours, we can imagine a world where Frodo would take the ring to Mordor to save his way of life. We can feel the justification for the risks he takes, the comfort he forgoes, the dangers he faces, and ultimately, the sacrifices he's willing to make. That is what makes compelling literature: because we all go on these journeys every day, whether it's going to work, or going to have a difficult conversation with a loved one, or helping our parents age gracefully--each of us is tasked with our own insurmountable adventures that we conquer like heroes.

What this new media asks us to do, is adopt a mentality that is completely alien to all of us. Which means that these characters will never ever ever be the "coolest ones ever written."

"OK, for this story, I want you to imagine that you are incredibly mentally ill and suffer from gender dysphoria. You are in denial of the body you have been granted for this life, and demand everyone else participates in your delusion. Such demands are rending society apart, and this excites you as you sit wearing lipstick and a dress, staring into a mirror telling yourself that yes, you are the belle of the ball."

The "1% of the fanbase" that you say thinks this is cool isn't just there to enjoy the game--they are there to "bully" the rest of us into participating wholesale with this delusion. To engage with this media, they demand that you accept that state of mind.

"A white elf? How dare you, sir. You MUST be a black elf, and while playing as this black elf, you MUST assume the generational guilt of your race for subjegating the noble African. Denounce your privalege and play this game. Also--drop the pretense of heteronormative privalege at the door: you are a lesbian. Now, let's begin the story."

For as long as humans have talked, we've told stories. They are as essential to living as breathing, eating, or pooping. There are limitless stories to consume, and in any one life, more stories will be left on the shelf than read or played. When a developer tells me

"For this one, we're going to imagine there's no such think as gender,"

I don't play. And as we saw with Concord, no one else does either.

tldr: you can't neuter the characters through butchering their relatability (see what I did there) and expect people to engage with a story.

 

[Ozzie666]

Bruh.

Pinch the screen of your life and zoom out a little bit.

Characters are the medium through which the themes of a story can be felt. What they experience--in relation to the antagonist, the conflict with that antagonist, and the ultimate resolution of that conflict--is their arc, which is the story. What's magical about this process is that these characters need not even be "real" or "believable"--there are no hobbits running around. There are no orcs running around. But because their philosophical and mental makeup is the same as ours, we can imagine a world where Frodo would take the ring to Mordor to save his way of life. We can feel the justification for the risks he takes, the comfort he forgoes, the dangers he faces, and ultimately, the sacrifices he's willing to make. That is what makes compelling literature: because we all go on these journeys every day, whether it's going to work, or going to have a difficult conversation with a loved one, or helping our parents age gracefully--each of us is tasked with our own insurmountable adventures that we conquer like heroes.

What this new media asks us to do, is adopt a mentality that is completely alien to all of us. Which means that these characters will never ever ever be the "coolest ones ever written."

"OK, for this story, I want you to imagine that you are incredibly mentally ill and suffer from gender dysphoria. You are in denial of the body you have been granted for this life, and demand everyone else participates in your delusion. Such demands are rending society apart, and this excites you as you sit wearing lipstick and a dress, staring into a mirror telling yourself that yes, you are the belle of the ball."

The "1% of the fanbase" that you say thinks this is cool isn't just there to enjoy the game--they are there to "bully" the rest of us into participating wholesale with this delusion. To engage with this media, they demand that you accept that state of mind.

"A white elf? How dare you, sir. You MUST be a black elf, and while playing as this black elf, you MUST assume the generational guilt of your race for subjegating the noble African. Denounce your privalege and play this game. Also--drop the pretense of heteronormative privalege at the door: you are a lesbian. Now, let's begin the story."

For as long as humans have talked, we've told stories. They are as essential to living as breathing, eating, or pooping. There are limitless stories to consume, and in any one life, more stories will be left on the shelf than read or played. When a developer tells me

"For this one, we're going to imagine there's no such think as gender,"

I don't play. And as we saw with Concord, no one else does either.

tldr: you can't neuter the characters through butchering their relatability (see what I did there) and expect people to engage with a story.

Wow this is like a review of lord of the rings, rings of power. But no lies detected.

 

[Jose92]

I hope this game flops hard.

 

[Renoir]

notice how this page mentions nothing about wanting to create a fun videogame, but 2 paragraphs + about the person's genitals and sexual preferences. that's how you know this game is gonna be fuckin' good.

Also notice how they always have the same speech... every single time. "finally my kind in the game"

 

[The Cockatrice]

I hope this game flops hard.

Ill prolly play it since I played all of them and I wanna see the story end, but I hope it flops as well. why is your tag [Membe lmao, I never noticed it.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

She is ugly as fuck but this is from the official EA Dragon Age website. Hopefully the game director was just being his stupid ass self in that video.

 

[Fabieter]

I believe it's not an issue in Western RPGs. These games often aim to include relationships, so having an option like this makes sense. One of the most important aspects of RPGs is having choices and making decisions. If it's well-designed, I think it works fine for this game.

 

[Mister Wolf]

She is ugly as fuck but this is from the official EA Dragon Age website. Hopefully the game director was just being his stupid ass self in that video.

I believe the director's own words in this case should take precedence over the website's writeup. He knew what he was saying when he used "they". It wasn't an accident, especially when in the same video he described the other companions as him/her or he/she.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Well at the very least that'll be a companion I never take with me.

 

[MMaRsu]

The director is trans so I'm wouldn't doubt it

Wtf is this for real?

 

[MMaRsu]

She is ugly as fuck but this is from the official EA Dragon Age website. Hopefully the game director was just being his stupid ass self in that video.

 

[MMaRsu]

Cant have something like this anymore

 

[Mister Wolf]

Wtf is this for real?

It's a true story. Look at the first video on page one.

 

[peek]

Purple colour scheme and appealing to modern audiences is a winning strategy for sure, proven time and time again just this year alone.

Godspeed, Bioware. Not long now until you’re of put out of your misery.

Oh yeah youre right... reminding me of saints row reboot. Something about that color scheme in this game. Just unappealing

 

[Complistic]

Well at the very least that'll be a companion I never take with me.

They've already said they're going to force companions to travel with you for different parts of the story. You don't always get to choose.

 

[RCX]

Keep selling to that modern audience.

I'm sure they'll show up at some stage....one day....possibly

 

[RCX]

The game is beyond fucked..

Btw how dafuq they coded him/her inside the game if he/she is non-binary?

The character will be ugly and intensely boring. That's how you know.

 

[ssringo]

 

[Roman Empire]

They learned nothing from Andromeda and Anthem. Let it burn.

 

[nemiroff]

Contrived.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

If i misgender them do they leave my party?

 

[Eesha]

Man, this year is crazy, is like a line of Domino's falling one after another

Thank God never liked Dragon Age in the first place, sorry for the fans of the older games

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

Was this proven false? I didn't see any of it in their character things released the other day. Just saw they all said he/him/she/hers . . . unless I missed something.

 

[ebevan91]

Was this proven false? I didn't see any of it in their character things released the other day. Just saw they all said he/him/she/hers . . . unless I missed something.

Yeah it was clarified that Taash is "she/her".

 

[Krathoon]

Is this totally true? There has to be some non binaries in gaming history.

I don't believe it. There has to be some dieties that are like that.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Yeah it was clarified that Taash is "she/her".

This is the director of the game speaking. He is intentionally using "they". Notice how he has no problem saying he or she with the other companions mentioned in the video.

 

[Eszti]

Next flop mark my words.

 

[Dirk Benedict]

ITS XA'AM

More like Xanax.

 

[ebevan91]

This is the director of the game speaking. He is intentionally using "they". Notice how he has no problem saying he or she with the other companions mentioned in the video.

Interesting. I said that too because the VA is the one that clarified it and also identifie as a non-binary person so you'd think he/she would call the character the "proper" pronoun.

 

[yansolo]

the game looks like garbage from what theyve shown anyway

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Another skip.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Is this important to anyone? Someone is excited for a non-binary character, in a videogame?? Where am I right now, am I awake? Someone pinch me. Please.

 

[PeteBull]

If i misgender them do they leave my party?

worse, they wanna talk to ur manager like here

 

[GHG]

I thought you were kidding but nope, you’re right:

Developer Story: Corinne Busche

Our latest edition of Developer Stories shows how a career path can take you to different places but still lead you right where you belong. Today the spotlight is on Game Director Corinne Busche wh…

blog.bioware.com

And the idea of being who you want to be carries a particularly special meaning for Corinne. “As a queer trans woman,” she says, “I have a perspective on the games that not everyone has. Dragon Age has long been a place where LGBTQIA+ folks can see people like themselves, represented respectfully. It’s inherently very queer, and it’s such a rare thing for marginalized communities to have representation where we feel proud and powerful in how we are depicted. It’s so deeply meaningful for so many. I often get emotional when I think about what it would have meant for a younger version of myself to see someone like her in a game, and as a hero, no less. I hope we can be a safe place for our queer players to know they are not alone, that they are brilliant and worthy, that they are not only welcome but celebrated.”

So let me get this straight - this is a man, who was attracted to women, but then decided to make himself a woman, and yet he is still attracted to women?

 

[mdkirby]

I am sure 1% of the fan base who buy they game might actually be happy about this. But really at this point, it's non news, it's just advertising for brownie points. If this is a selling point of your game, your introuble. Might be the coolest character ever written, who knows. But please stop virtua signally for the sake of it. With a game with non humans, who cares honestly.

I think a big reason, many are against this crap has nothing to do with there being a black person, a gay person, a non binary person etc, but you can almost always tell immediately via the presentation, accompanying language, statement from devs as to if it’s just a natural occurrence in the game, or them following an agenda/tick list. In the latter, it’s generally the case that the agenda/ideology is the priority, and the gameplay and writing are secondary. The “agenda” then feeds into both too, and whilst yes there can be great commentary to be made in regards these topics, which we do at times see in cinema, typically games writers, particularly those who seem to be “activists”, simply aren’t good enough writers to subtly weave these things naturally into their writing/characters. As a result they feel disingenuous, poorly written, and have the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the groin. So it’s highly unlikely for the character to be “the best character ever” etc.

Astarion in BG3 is an excellent bi character
Judy in cyberpunk is a superbly written and interesting lesbian character, with a great and complex (for games) romance quest line.

Both games whilst containing many things that would isolated by some be stamped with the woke label, neither felt “woke” in the derogatory sense we typically ascribe, principally in my view because they were well written and not lead by activists trying to make a point. But rather “make a great games” with great writers came first. Those great writers then also created some characters and narratives that cover DEI subjects. This is DEI done well, and how it should be done.

 

[Trunim]

I don't really care. I'm pro HBTQ, so the more people like that, the better. However, I don't like the term "they", I think it doesn't make any sense and sounds stupid. But that's all there is for me. It's not going to stop me from buying the game, if it gets good reviews.

 

[GymWolf]

Why do I need to know that my companion is non-binary?

It is informative so you don't waste money on train tickets to go somewhere if the dude is in your party.

 

[Mister Wolf]

So let me get this straight - this is a man, who was attracted to women, but then decided to make himself a woman, and yet he is still attracted to women?

Don't look for logic when dealing with insanity.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Both games whilst containing many things that would isolated by some be stamped with the woke label, neither felt “woke” in the derogatory sense we typically ascribe, principally in my view because they were well written and not lead by activists trying to make a point. But rather “make a great games” with great writers came first. Those great writers then also created some characters and narratives that cover DEI subjects. This is DEI done well, and how it should be done.

DEI is activism, it's never done right. The "right cases" are not DEI, because actual writers think of the character and story instead of ticking boxes. That's not woke regardless of the identity of the character.

DEI means that you assign roles before thinking of any story, which is the opposite of a real creative process.

For example, in my books I have diverse characters and they all play an important role in the story, occupying a space that none else would since they are all complementary. Having a full cast of interchangeable "pan" characters is the opposite of writing. These people arent creators.

 

[GymWolf]

Id hold your horses chaps, we've been starved of a decent western RPG since BG3 so if this is anyway decent it'll do extremely well regardless of gender politics, personally I hate all that shite but if this is a 85+ game I'll probably buy it to play something new in a genre I really like

I usually buy every open world action rpg, even stuff that scores in the 6\10, but i swear the colors, ui and combat in this game are absurdly off putting, if really look like a mobile game through and through.




Not even the graphic is salvageable.

 

[moniker]

So let me get this straight - this is a man, who was attracted to women, but then decided to make himself a woman, and yet he is still attracted to women?

Isn't that how it usually works? Who you're attracted to probably doesn't change just because you chop your dick off.

 

[Dorfdad]

 

[mdkirby]

DEI is activism, it's never done right. The "right cases" are not DEI, because actual writers think of the character and story instead of ticking boxes. That's not woke regardless of the identity of the character.

DEI means that you assign roles before thinking of any story, which is the opposite of a real creative process.

For example, in my books I have diverse characters and they all play an important role in the story, occupying a space that none else would since they are all complementary. Having a full cast of interchangeable "pan" characters is the opposite of writing. These people arent creators.

Yeah that’s kinda what I was getting at. But we do and will reflexively ascribe any of those naturally occurring (ie written because the writer just wrote the characters they wanted to write) to DEI, regardless of if they were following a prescribed playbook. effectively having gay/black character IS diverse and inclusive, so thus is DEI done well, ie unintentionally.