If the main point was "Make a game that focuses more on the 'Squad-based RTS Lite' as was shown in the first game, and focuses less on minigames and miniplots", then I agree. I really liked the "Loyalty Missions" of ME2 because all that was required for whatever bonus was gained from gaining "Maximum Positive Disposition" from said crew member. It played right into the game's core mechanics. No extra gimmicks required. The "romance" subplot was not necessary for anything but an in-game achievement award, and added depth. It didn't unlock any skills or powers or whatever.

I don't think it's a valid point at all. The costs/time it takes to have a character who is already up and running available as LI for everybody is negligible, specially when the romances are so shallow and the lines and flags to keep track of are so few. It would have been plain wrong to leave a significant number of the fans without romance options just so that 'straight male gamers', the demographics i'm in, could have 3 or 4 LI's instead of 2, and i'm glad that Bioware at least got that one right considering how they got most of everything else wrong in DA2.

The guy tries to work around it but the line "I personally find it (homosexuality) to be disgusting" pretty much gives away his agenda, even if he convinced himslef that he found a clever twist to his approach.

Well, not to start a fire, but is it so wrong that some people don't care for homosexual content in their games? Sure, it's realistic that a person of the opposite sex might flirt with you, but why should a gamer be required to experience a similar situation in his *recreational* game? Is it so bizarre that straight gamers might not consider rejecting the advances of same-sex NPCs to be enjoyable gameplay? Why not have a sexuality toggle or filter ("hetero", "homo", or "enable all options")?

Now, you might ask why the developer should cater to this type of gamer. One might reply that the developer is already catering to homosexual gamers, so why not?

It should be noted that I don't have anything against the right to choose a homosexual lifestyle. I'm remarkably tolerant so long as you aren't attempting to force your lifestyle (sexual orientation, religion or lack thereof, preference between waffles and pancakes, etc) on me. So don't go calling me a hater. It's possible to dislike something but respect another's right to choose it, after all. It should also be noted that I have acute Devil's Advocate Syndrome. :-P

Also, I too dislike the "everyone is bisexual" approach taken with DA2.

Edit: Corrected some awkward sentence structure in the first paragraph; yes, it irked me enough to fix it a day afterwards. ;-)

Once again, if the point was "DA2 is a 'Strategy/Action RPG', not a Dating Sim, so the focus should have been on Strategy/Action. You spread your game too thin by trying to do too much in the time you allotted yourselves to make the game with the money and manpower you had.", then the point is valid. If you want a Dating Sim then play one. Don't play a Strategy/Action RPG looking to hook up with pretend men and women, when you should be focusing on slaughtering baddies.

By combining this argument with his almost subtly overt homophobia, he invalidates himself as a bigot. In short, the point itself is valid, the man is not.

The fire's already started. You're just adding fuel. Anyway, when special interest or minority advocate groups demand more "diversity" in a game or TV show or whatever, because they feel that the lack of a character that represents their group therefore means that show or game is against said group, it begins to erode their credibility. You could have a show or game without human beings in it at all, and some group somewhere it going to find fault with it because they felt they weren't properly represented in it, as if a person's skin colour or sexuality can be determined by their voice or personal idiosyncrasies. I mean, George Lucas has been under fire from everyone because of one particular character or another that wasn't even human, but displayed attributes of a particular human stereotype. And so we end up in a place where producers of entertainment step gingerly over eggshells so as not to wake the ire of the ACLU or whoever and end up being sued for discrimination.

Excuse me, as of the present moment we still don't have the right to marry in most parts of the US, along with a bunch of other rights that come with it. If we had equal rights, then it might be unreasonable to have depictions of this nature being encouraged.

I hardly think that including a minor option like this is some how an example of us abusing our power. I personally would be much more interested in using it to push for actual equality than something so superficial.

As a group we have been asked to put up with a lot of crap so that the GoP can win elections and religious conservatives can continue to take a piss on the bible's intent, I hardly see why this particular instance is so abusive.

It's like our petulant, childish mayor whining because the state is going to be replacing a highway in town with a tunnel instead of his preferred solution.

It's another way in which Origins was better than DA2. There were four romance options. One straight male, one straight female, one bisexual female and one bisexual male. Some people may have moaned that they couldn't romance Morrigan as a female but there was a well established reason for that. Same really with Alistair.

Mass Effect 2 had everyone straight which was incredible given the setting and Bioware copped a lot of flak for that. Liara was added in with Lair but does that really count with a species that doesn't have a male?

DA2 is an over reaction to the flak given over ME2. Let's make everyone bisexual! On paper it's great and includes everyone but I do think the characters themselves suffer for it as they lack that aspect of their identity.

I can't argue with that. Although, I could bitch about why bisexual folks end up being depicted as whores when the developers bother at all.

I agree with you. It's why I like Leliana. She is Bisexual but certainly isn't a whore. Isabela and Zevran though, guilty as charged. I don't understand why Bioware don't make more characters like Leliana. Attracted to both sexes but they require a little wooing before the boots come off.

I agree, Having everyone of your party members in the game bisexual doesn't make any sense. Is everyone in real life gay; no is everyone in real life bisexual; no is everyone strait in real life no.

making everyone Bi-sexual is just lazy and stupid

By the very nature of that sentence, it should be obvious that you do.

By the way, when did you choose to be straight?

Well, duh. Whenever anyone, especially me, says "not to start a fire" they really mean "Burn, baby burn! Burn until you consume all that is!" :-P

See, that's where a LOT of people are in the wrong. Being disgusted by homosexuality doesn't make you a bigot. Maybe he was raised that way, or maybe it's just natural for a straight dude to think it's pretty disgusting for one dude to put his *blank* in another dude's *blank*. Either way, nurture or nature, he's not a bigot unless he chooses to act on those feelings and actively discriminate against or persecute homosexuals. Throwing that word around in a careless and hateful fashion is just as bad as religious extremists peddling their own brand of hate. Similar situation with racism.

Think about it like this: Do you find necrophilia or bestiality disgusting? If so, do you consider yourself a bigot? Do you want to experience these things in your games?

Agreed. This is why we have white characters being recast as black, for example. Questioning this state of affairs, however, almost always results in being called a racist, whether you are one or not.

Not really. I don't know whether it's nature or nurture that creates homosexuality. To the best of my knowledge, it hasn't been *proven* either way. I don't care. Its origin doesn't relate to its morality for me. So.... ha. :-P

Made me smile, but don't miss the point: I'm not arguing against homosexuality (or even its inclusion in games) but instead referring to the overuse of the word bigot there.

You're not listening. Dragon Age 2 is an Action/Strategy Role-Playing Game, the endgame goal of which is to kill an arch-demon after slaughtering countless monsters. It's not a Dating Simulation. Saying that because BioWare afforded themselves so short a time to complete the game that they should have dropped the romance mechanics entirely in favour of focusing on the character building and skillset training and overall Action/Strategy aspects is perfectly reasonable. If BioWare had given themselves another year to work on game mechanics and plot development, they would have been in a far better position to make a more "well-rounded" experience.

The manner in which he stated this, along with the homophobic comments, is not reasonable.

I never said word one about "rights". I'm talking about "stereotypical depictions". Stay on topic.

Let me state for clarity that I'm not in the "Entertainment for Straight WASP Males only!" boat. That said, so-called "white" shows aren't the only ones to come under fire for racism or bigotry. So-called "black" shows have token "white" guys, and Dave Chappelle has been called out for "racism" against whites and Asians and whoever else. Like I said everyone has something to complain about.

You may recall that I had a problem with PSA about not saying "gay" when calling something "funny" or "stupid". I have yet to see a similar PSA telling people not to say "retarded". There are people in this country who are under just as many discriminations and come under just as much ridicule as homosexuals. Mentally handicapped individuals, even if they get married, are often prohibited from having kids. And what about certain interracial couples? They may not be subject to any less rights than an ordinary WASP couple, but we live in a country with people who still believe in eugenicist ideals (and yet these same people don't believe in evolution, the very foundation on which eugenics theories are based, which in and of itself is a paradox).

Eh, it's pretty well established that people can't choose their orientation. Otherwise, why on Earth would anybody choose to have a tough time in that fashion and to expose themselves to that sort of bigotry?
You're the one that brought up the ACLU and all that at the end of your post, if I misunderstood you, then forget I said anything.