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News & ArtsTuesday, November 24, 2009
Homo "Is there something in your tent that needs assassinating?"
Posted by Dan Savage on Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 9:39 AM
Gay sex gets "equal treatment" in Dragon Age: Origins...
Man, those warrior elves—they're all bottom-for-'em-and-leave-'em types, huh? In other gay news: Lambda Legal is suing the city of Atlanta, Atlanta's police chief, and 48 officers on behalf of the patrons who were roughed up and detained at the Atlanta Eagle when the city raided the bar looking for sex and drugs and found only gay guys drinking beer, watching football, and playing pool. And Adam Lambert did something same-sexy at the American Music Awards which is not okay since he's actually gay and not just foolin', a la Britney and Madonna. Details on the controversy here.
3
Oh god, that video. Between the puerile, "Titanic"-inspired soundtrack and the "fine Corinthian leather..." accent on that douchebag bottom, I hope the elf community burns down the world.
And I'm not an elf. But I support their cause in this regard.
And I'm not an elf. But I support their cause in this regard.
4
When Elvis first started out, the right wing tight asses were just outraged with the way he swung his hips. How dare he!?! The more things change, the more they stay the same.
6
you know... after watching the View ladies talk about the performance, I was really expecting to be more shocked when I watched the video. It was pretty tame compared to what most female pop stars bring to the amas or vmas!
7
@3 I wouldn't diss them too much. These same developers pushed the envelope with a lesbian romance two years ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-58E7Iuz… Gay sex isn't totally unprecedented in video games but these guys should be commended for taking the furthest and most respectful strides, especially in the west. Even if it seems Fabio should be on the cover.
8
One more note: though the average age of gamers is over 30 these days, there's a notoriously homophobic contingent. Putting anything gay into a game is a real threat to profit, especially since word-of-mouth is so vital to the industry.
9
Dragon Age is fun. You can corrupt a templar if you're a straight female, seduce either a bisexual elf or human, or go evil and sleep with a human female mage. Or you can sleep with a demon. Everyone gets the same stupid sex music though.
10
What about the Sims and Bully? Obviously, these aren't the games that hardcore male gamers usually choose, but they are pretty damn popular. I always wonder how so many of my extremely homophobic friends manage to play the Sims without cringing.
11
@7/8: Point taken. But god if that music wouldn't kill my wood faster than a dip in the Arctic Sea.
12
This particular game isn't likely to appeal at all to the "racial slurs and homophobia on Xbox Live" crowd in the first place, since it's a single-player only fantasy RPG that can be nearly 100 hours long if you do everything in the game. There's some overlap of course but it wouldn't appeal to people with 5 second attention spans born with a copy of Halo 1 in their hands. Ta-Nehisi Coates has been blogging about it some.
Might be worth nothing that the developer is Canadian (though a subsidiary of mega-colossus Electronic Arts, so kudos to them for publishing it).
I was disappointed that this elf dude is the only one you can gay it up with, I wanted to bone Alistair the former altar boy :(
Is there really something in real life called "the elf community"? I'm pretty well versed in these things but I hadn't heard of that one and a cursory google search didn't turn up much.
Might be worth nothing that the developer is Canadian (though a subsidiary of mega-colossus Electronic Arts, so kudos to them for publishing it).
I was disappointed that this elf dude is the only one you can gay it up with, I wanted to bone Alistair the former altar boy :(
Is there really something in real life called "the elf community"? I'm pretty well versed in these things but I hadn't heard of that one and a cursory google search didn't turn up much.
13
@8, while that's somewhat true, much of the anti-gay atmosphere you'll find in certain videogames, particularly those with online components, (Halo series, CoD Modern Warfare), is fueled by young teenage boys.
Bioware is particularly commendable for its portrayal of sex in their games because it's always backed up with good writing, never too over the top, and they are a BIG gaming company, respected by a large portion of the community.
Bioware is particularly commendable for its portrayal of sex in their games because it's always backed up with good writing, never too over the top, and they are a BIG gaming company, respected by a large portion of the community.
16
I think they did a really good job with the gay stuff (and the gender stuff) in this game. It's not just random sex; I don't know if there is video footage of it, but I thought it was pretty awesome when Leliana (a female rogue) came out to and hit on my female character without waiting for me to make the first move. There are also other gay NPCs; the blacksmith in Denerim and his servant are pretty obvious (though they do play to stereotypes a bit there, especially with the blacksmith's voice), but they're not the only ones.
17
Damn, that game looks pretty good.
Fallout 3 would let you hire the female prostitute whether your character was male or female. And Mass Effect.
So yeah.
Fallout 3 would let you hire the female prostitute whether your character was male or female. And Mass Effect.
So yeah.
18
^.^ Gay elf sex! Finally a RPG that's accessible for teenage girls!
Meanwhile, @12: EA also publishes the Sims, which has always had the Gay Sex, though to my knowledge they still don't allow the Gay Marriage.
Meanwhile, @12: EA also publishes the Sims, which has always had the Gay Sex, though to my knowledge they still don't allow the Gay Marriage.
19
Fallout 2, released way back in the dark ages of 1998, had gay sex and gay marriage! There was a "farm" with both a son and a daughter that your male character could hook up with only to be interrupted for a literal shotgun wedding, no matter which gender you chose.
20
Damn, that game looks pretty good.
Fallout 3 would let you hire the female prostitute whether your character was male or female. And Mass Effect.
So yeah.
Fallout 3 would let you hire the female prostitute whether your character was male or female. And Mass Effect.
So yeah.
21
Logic dictates that this game will be completely ignored by the slashers. We're so used to working on subtext, that I suspect we won't know what to do with canonical gay sex.
But Yay!
But Yay!
22
It may just be me, but I don't think there should be any kind of sex shown in video games, gay or otherwise. I am not in to those kinds of games, but I sure as heck don't play them so I can watch a couple of cartoons get it on.
24
@18, The Sims DOES allow Gay Marriage. Gay couples can also adopt. It was big news a few years ago, freaking out the fundies.
25
@22, it's an M rated game.
And most of the sex isn't random or done to get a rise out of the player. It's very story driven and a large part of the game is building relationships with your party members, friendly or otherwise.
It's also a game with very good writing.
And most of the sex isn't random or done to get a rise out of the player. It's very story driven and a large part of the game is building relationships with your party members, friendly or otherwise.
It's also a game with very good writing.
26
Oh snap!
I'm playing Dragon Age right now and I was aware that there were lesbian options, but not gay. Man. That's pretty cool.
I'm playing Dragon Age right now and I was aware that there were lesbian options, but not gay. Man. That's pretty cool.
27
@22 It is M but in some places it is rated MA15+ which means that fifteen year olds can get their hands on it and if they can, you know that elven and twelve year olds are also playing it. I guess they expect parents to be at least content with the fact that they at least show straight sex scenes and that basically at the end the villain is destroyed when a child is conceived by a couple. Being that this is a Microsoft creation you know they could've gone even more distorted fairy tale with the game and have the two dudes have a child (by magic or whatever) or a wedding, so take it as you may.
29
Dan, that was perhaps the hottest animated gay sex scene I've ever had the pleasure of watching. LOL
What game is that?
What game is that?
31
@27 MA15+ isn't an ESRB rating. The "places" that have it rated as that is Australia. Let them deal with it.
32
Dan, any and all video games mentioned in slog should have the "nerd" tag. Please make a note of it...
33
Dan, any and all video games mentioned in slog should have the "nerd" tag. Please make a note of it...
34
This is pretty awesome. Other games give you the option of having a same sex partner (Sims, Fable II) but I haven't seen such a sex scene before. There's kissing, kissing!
Now if only the lust interest weren't a fey elf twink.
Now if only the lust interest weren't a fey elf twink.
35
Pretty much every Bioware game in recent memory has had the possibility of same-sex romance arcs. Romance is completely optional, whether it be opposite or same-sex, so don't worry about the chil'rens.
Also, Dragon Age is awesome.
Also, Dragon Age is awesome.
36
@27, actually, that 15+ rating isn't even in the US and there are multiple endings, not just the one you mentioned.
Also, spoiler, that child you mentioned is conceived in order to be turned into an elder god.
Basically a pagan god of that fantasy world.
Also, spoiler, that child you mentioned is conceived in order to be turned into an elder god.
Basically a pagan god of that fantasy world.
38
Zevron is a ho. Alistair would be a much more adorable bottom, but unfortunately he's straight :( and his voice actor is rather sexy: http://media.photobucket.com/image/jason…
42
If you had all the right fan-made "extras" to the Sims (first version) you could watch hot man/man action too. Nothing as tasteful as that scene, but entertaining.
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