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News Bioware: Shepherd "is heterosexual by choice"

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by CardJoe, 8 Feb 2010.

  1. CardJoe

    CardJoe Freelance Journalist

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  2. liratheal

    liratheal Sharing is Caring

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    ..People are complaining that there's not as much sex?

    Really?

    REALLY?

    You get a bitches button!
     
  3. bowman

    bowman Minimodder

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    But it's totally heterosexual for the chick Shepard to get it on with the blue alien who just *happens* to look like a human female with curly tentacles instead of hair. I'd mention something else in ME2 as well but that game is fairly new so I'll lay off the spoilers. Oh well, who cares, whatever.

    At least my chick Shepard is only into other chicks. They let that happen. :p
     
  4. CardJoe

    CardJoe Freelance Journalist

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    Well, that's strictly inter-species, not same sex. The Asari are an all-female race and, in fact, there's repeated allusions to the fact that they don't look like human females at all and may be tricking different races into thinking they resemble them. Turians think Asari look like them, so do Salarians and Krogan, etc.
     
  5. l3v1ck

    l3v1ck Fueling the world, one oil well at a time.

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    Wouldn't technically be beastiality then? :eeek: [/joke]
     
  6. rimscar

    rimscar What's a Dremel?

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    is it really that important......
     
  7. Guest-16

    Guest-16 Guest

    Asari are a-sexual, they just look female.

    If they looked like Krogan females, I'd also imagine they would go "Tiger Woods" sex crazed given the genophage.

    I'm still trying to get it on with Kelly :idea:
     
  8. Pete J

    Pete J Employed scum

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    I've always hated full-on sex scenes in games - it's just weird. I like the more subtle approach Bioware have taken with the Mass Effect games.
     
  9. Flibblebot

    Flibblebot Smile with me

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    Strictly speaking, xenophilia :p
    Bad news:
    Nothing more than dinner and a cuddle, I'm afraid

    Frankly, I don't see what the fuss is about. It's Bioware's story, it's Bioware's franchise. What right do others have to say what decisions Bioware can or can't make regarding their own product?

    ME2 is an awesome game - what more do you need?
     
  10. D B

    D B What's a Dremel?

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    I too like Bioware's subtle approach
     
  11. Zero_UK

    Zero_UK What's a Dremel?

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    Ffs, if people are wanting to see more sex then open up your browser and search for porn... want to see a load of romance? head down to block busters or watcha soap whilst you game. Problem solved, quit crying and knit picking at action games. The story is amazing as it is, it's their story after all.
     
  12. sear

    sear Guest

    I think this is a ****ing load of ****, pardon my language. If BioWare were truly interested in presenting Shepard as exclusively heterosexual, then why in hell did they create a race of blue all-female hyper-sex goddesses and let your female Shepard romance them? Playing the "they're technically not female!" card is a huge cop-out. The fact is that we get female-on-female action but we do not get male-on-male action; it is a clear double standard, and in my eyes one designed to grab more attention from the mainstream, shooter-oriented, thirteen-year-old male audience they are trying to cater to increasingly with their games; not including any sort of gay options could well be taken as a way to avoid offending anyone. Hell, even the female romantic options aren't very good, but the men get a genetically perfect woman based on a supermodel - yeah, really, don't see anything wrong here?. I really enjoy Mass Effect 2, but I can't help being offended by what is, at best, an extremely obvious oversight.

    As for the other complaints about "not enough sex", I'm pretty happy at the fact that they have toned things down. I do think one of the sex scenes in the game is fairly tasteless, but for the most part they handled everything well enough. If people want to complain about not having enough graphic sex in their space opera role-playing game, let them, but these are the same sorts of people who want to see Janeway get it on with Picard on-screen. Good on BioWare for at least having some class by not pandering too much in this case. As soon as we start reducing sex scenes in games to peep-shows, we cheapen our medium even more.
     
  13. PureSilver

    PureSilver E-tailer Tailor

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    +1, except I don't really like sex scenes in games at all. Some sweating, overworked dude in a cubicle somewhere spent probably five months getting approval on and coding a simulated sex act. Does no-one else find this worrying? The development team probably devoted more meetings and discussion to whether nip-slips would be acceptable than to whether anyone actually wanted to watch their character get it on. Worse, it distracts the media from the good bits of the game (I was going to reference Hot Coffee here, but I hated San Andreas and considered it to have no good bits). I prefer the 'cutscene shows two people walking into a bedroom and shutting the door' approach to 'you need to know your characters are sleeping together' rather than 'cutscene shows two walking into a basement dungeon, and then one attacking the other with a cat-o-nine-tails whilst pouring olive oil all over them.'

    There's plenty of other ways to watch people screw, people screwing other species, other species screwing other species, etc etc ad infinitum on a computer without it intruding into my games. If you think that more people will buy the game because of the sex, you need to question the kind of people you're selling it to. (Fourteen year olds, basically.)
     
  14. CardJoe

    CardJoe Freelance Journalist

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    This is where creative freedom needs to merge with creative ability. I've nothing against sex in games at all, but it needs to be done well - just like anything else. The door shutting bit is the best approach for most developers, but if you've got room to provide more and in a good way, why not? The problem is simply that a lot of developers can't do it well, but do it anyway.

    As for the number of male/female romances in Mass Effect 2, it's always been that way. In Baldur's Gate 2 the men could have Viconia, Aerie or Jaheria but the women only got Anomen - I'd be willing to bet it stems from the fact that most people play as men, so Bioware put more content there. Likewise, as they say, Shepherd is a specific character they have created - and he's a man - so they put most content supporting that character. Dragon Age on the other hand has no established character, so has a fairly even spread.

    End of the day; it's a game and it's full of stereotypes that help make the characters easily understood and memorable. Yes, Miranda is a superwoman (though she isn't the only romance option for men), but so what? Equally, Garrus is a bit of a bad boy stereotype and Thane has the whole monk thing going on. Everyone is a super muscled, stubbly super man or a busty woman in an impossible V-neck.

    Well, except for Tali.
     
    Last edited: 8 Feb 2010
  15. Flibblebot

    Flibblebot Smile with me

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    True. Tali is a busty female in a mask :p

    The main thing, though, is that "romancing" a member of your team is not obligatory, nor is it a required part of the plot. It's a side-mission, if you will. Nobody's forcing you to chat up any of the characters - if you don't want sex in ME2, don't choose those dialogue options.
     
  16. praxis22

    praxis22 Geek

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    [waves hand]

    "These are not the Quarians you're looking for" :)

    I always thought Quarians were of a much slimmer build, even the male commandos & marines seem slight by comparison.

    Though I must say that I was a little disappointed at the choices on offer for female shepherds, Thane, Jacob & Garrus? Though Mordin doing Gilbert & Sulivan was a hoot! As such having met up with Liara I'm guessing I'll be faithful until ME3, or roll a new male Shepherd and do it all over again. Given how miffed Laiara seemed at the shadow broker i'm not sure i like the idea of being up close and personal with "an Asari scorned" I suspect you may not live to tell the tale :p
     
  17. Jasio

    Jasio Made in Canada

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    Bah you pervert! If you played ME1 you'd know she is essentially a teenager "passing into adulthood" ... take that as you will >.> Space Jail-bait! C-Sec will come for you and lock you away!
     
  18. CardJoe

    CardJoe Freelance Journalist

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    Yeah, but she's an Alien.

    Asari like Liara live for a thousand years, so by the time you meet her in the first game she's already a few hundred years old - but that doesn't make it granny-love when you get her in the sack.
     
  19. UrbanMarine

    UrbanMarine Government Prostitute

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    Maybe everyone who complained will get lucky in ME3. Shepard can blow Krogans or maybe Joker. 30+ hours of gameplay and people bring up the sex scenes lol. I vote for a gang bang ....bring in the Council.
     
  20. deftonesmx17

    deftonesmx17 What's a Dremel?

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    Maybe you didnt pay enough attention to what T'Soni said in ME1 because Asari don't "get it on". When aliens mate with Asari they are mind-melding, they are not getting it on. So even if you are a female in the game, you are not having lesbian sex...
     
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