Here is a great bit of news on the gaming front.
Recently, BioWare released their newest role-playing game, Dragon Age II. In it, you have five companions your protagonist (who can be male or female and any race) can start a relationship with: one is chaste and available only to women protagonists (!), and the other four (two men, two women) are available to protagonists of either sex.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this has caused a stir among gamers for any number of entitled and backwards-thinking reasons. One such complaint showed up recently in the official BioWare forums, where a user claiming to speak “on behalf of straight male gamers” had this to say, in part:
In every previous BioWare game, I always felt that almost every companion in the game was designed for the male gamer in mind. Every female love interest was always written as a male friend type support character. In Dragon Age 2, I felt like most of the companions were designed to appeal to other groups foremost, Anders and Fenris for gays and Aveline for women given the lack of strong women in games, and that for the straight male gamer, a secondary concern. It makes things very awkward when your male companions keep making passes at you. The fact that a “No Homosexuality” option, which could have been easily implemented, is omitted just proves my point. I know there are some straight male gamers out there who did not mind it at and I respect that.
When I say BioWare neglected The Straight Male Gamer, I don’t mean that they ignored male gamers. The romance options, Isabella and Merrill, were clearly designed for the straight male gamers in mind. Unfortunately, those choices are what one would call “exotic” choices. They appeal to a subset of male gamers and while its true you can’t make a romance option everyone will love, with Isabella and Merrill it seems like they weren’t even going for an option most males will like. And the fact is, they could have. They had the resources to add another romance option, but instead chose to implement a gay romance with Anders.I’m certain that some will declare “That’s only fair!” but lets be honest. I’ll be generous and assume that 5% of all Dragon Age 2 players are actually homosexuals. I’ll be even more generous and assume that the Anders romance was liked by every homosexual. Are you really telling me that you could not have written another straight romance that would have pleased more than 5% of your fans?
David Gaider, lead writer of the Dragon Age games, responds with the kind of epic smackdown we might only wish more game developers would give, calling the player out on his privilege and citing (gasp!) facts in defense of the game:
The romances in the game are not for “the straight male gamer”. They’re for everyone. We have a lot of fans, many of whom are neither straight nor male, and they deserve no less attention. We have good numbers, after all, on the number of people who actually used similar sorts of content in [Dragon Age: Origins] and thus don’t need to resort to anecdotal evidence to support our idea that their numbers are not insignificant… and that’s ignoring the idea that they don’t have just as much right to play the kind of game they wish as anyone else. The “rights” of anyone with regards to a game are murky at best, but anyone who takes that stance must apply it equally to both the minority as well as the majority. The majority has no inherent “right” to get more options than anyone else.
[...]
You can write it off as “political correctness” if you wish, but the truth is that privilege always lies with the majority. They’re so used to being catered to that they see the lack of catering as an imbalance. They don’t see anything wrong with having things set up to suit them, what’s everyone’s fuss all about? That’s the way it should be, any everyone else should be used to not getting what they want.
The truth is that making a romance available for both genders is far less costly than creating an entirely new one. Does it create some issues of implementation? Sure– but anything you try on this front is going to have its issues, and inevitably you’ll always leave someone out in the cold. In this case, are all straight males left out in the cold? Not at all. There are romances available for them just the same as anyone else. Not all straight males require that their content be exclusive, after all, and you can see that even on this thread.
[...]
And the person who says that the only way to please them is to restrict options for others is, if you ask me, the one who deserves it least.
Other blogs picked up the response in a snap, pleased to have such a vocal ally. Some of my favorite reaction pieces:
Phyrra: Why Bioware Enforces They Deserve My Money.
No More Lost: “Straight Male Gamer” told to “get over it” by BioWare.
Joystiq makes a sort of Jonathan Swiftian proposal: if homophobes want a “no-homosexuality” option so badly, monetize it!
This all is awesome enough in its own right, especially given Gaider’s post came out at about the same time as developers of Duke Nukem Forever were bragging about the genius of a “capture the flag” mode where the player kidnaps and assaults women. (Note: don’t read the comments.) It just goes to show how atypical Gaider’s perspective really is.
And it helps that the game itself is a pretty strong one for feminists, of course! I’m currently on my fourth playthrough and I’m so pleased with how many empowered and multifaceted women characters are to be found here, from heroes to villains, corrupt cops to religious leaders, libertines and breadwinning wives. If you had any remaining doubt that Dragon Age II is doing things pretty differently compared to other major studio games, take a look at some of these response articles that have been written about it.
(Note: some of these include spoilers.)
I’ll get my own articles out of the way first, as I’ve written quite a bit about this game already elsewhere. First up, a look at some things Dragon Age II gets right, especially in the character Aveline Vallen, a refugee and self-made woman who has a really awesomely written interior life that doesn’t depend on the protagonist to enact it for her.
Next up, I want to share this piece I did all about Isabela, a WOC and pirate captain whose dialogue includes overt self-esteem messages to girls and women.
Moving on to others’ writing, Denis Farr has some fantastic articles up in various places, but your first port of call is his inclusivity review for Border House. Dragon Age II might have some great moments, but it falls flat on its face in other respects, and Denis gives both sides a comprehensive look.
Next from Denis over at GayGamer.Net, the case of Dragon Age II‘s romances.
There are a few dissenting opinions, obviously. A petition has been set up by, surprisingly, gay male gamers calling for Gaider’s dismissal, claiming he writes gay stereotypes. GayGamer has offered a rebuttal defending Gaider: Not All Gay Gamers Think Alike!
My take: only one of the four bisexual romance options makes the first move, and he’s historically been shown as very open in his affection. I also find it interesting that players are only complaining about being hit on by a male companion, and only when playing as a man, but that same character hitting on a woman protagonist gets no mention, while Isabela’s passes and sex appeal are a major part of the advertising. Double standard, much?
I don’t think anyone at BioWare expected Dragon Age II to turn into the kind of polarizing discussion point that it has, but it’s interesting to see people’s reactions. How about you? Have you played the game or its prequel? Found a cool article? Feel free to share your impressions below!
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I heard about the BioWare forums post through my shared items on Google Reader, & I was super pleased to read Gaider’s thoughtful response.
mordicai(Quote) (Reply)
You can write it off as “political correctness” if you wish, but the truth is that privilege always lies with the majority. They’re so used to being catered to that they see the lack of catering as an imbalance. They don’t see anything wrong with having things set up to suit them, what’s everyone’s fuss all about? That’s the way it should be, any everyone else should be used to not getting what they want.
I just want to hug that quote. All these years, whenever we complain about movies not only not catering to us, but actually including content that repulses us, we’re told, “Sorry, wish it could be different, but corps gotta chase that dollar. Maybe if you spend more on movies, they’d chase your dollar.” (Which is actually a horseshit rationalization, because if we paid for movies that repulse us, that would indicate to them we like those movies, so they should make more – but I digress.)
The INSTANT the shoe is on the other foot, a person who appears to be articulate and reasonably skilled at thinking fails to apply standards consistently and doesn’t realize it. That’s privilege, and Gaider nailed it.
The truth is that making a romance available for both genders is far less costly than creating an entirely new one. Does it create some issues of implementation? Sure– but anything you try on this front is going to have its issues, and inevitably you’ll always leave someone out in the cold.
Whatever BioWare’s reason, why not assume it’s a business reason? Why assume it’s “PC” just because it’s not the norm, and expect them to prove otherwise? After all, we’re instructed not to assume the deluge of stuff that excludes us is a rampant misogynistic attack on women, right? Gee, don’t take it so personally! It’s just a game!
Curious: what was “exotic” about the two female characters the person is objecting to having a romance with?
Jennifer Kesler(Quote) (Reply)
I was VERY pleased with this as well, especially in the light of previous offensive comments by Biowarians. But Gaider has always struck me as a decent fellow, and his reply to this twit is a textbook revelation and deconstruction of privilege. Thumbs up.
(Now I only hope that future Bioware games will appeal to me again, unlike the ME franchise, DA2 and the Awakenings expansion for Origins …)
Korva(Quote) (Reply)
One was a WOC and the other is an elf, perhaps? Ironically the OP’s opinion seems to be in the minority– most straight male gamers I follow on Twitter LOVE Isabela and Merrill in equal doses.
Kris(Quote) (Reply)
*stands up and cheers*
Attackfish(Quote) (Reply)
It feels like this is being posted everywhere – and I’m not getting tired of it. Gaider’s post is so awesome. :’D
Also, am I the only one who’s enjoying a delicious slice of schadenfreude pie? I mean, it’s not just that this privileged gamer dude was pwnd royally. It’s also that with DAII the tables have been turned in a way that those privileged gamer dudes have to swallow a bit of their own medicine, so to say.
For example: There is one male companion that doesn’t really take “no” for an answer. Either you flirt with him or you get rivalry points. From what I have seen there are primarily privileged gamer dudes that complain about this. Unwanted advanced that make you feel uncomfortable? Y hello thar, welcome to a woman’s ordinary life! Of course this is quite watered down to what women have to experience in real life (including being called a slut and other nasty things) since there are pretty much no negative consequences for the game play after you turn him down. But it’s still kinda nice to see that privileged gamer dudes have to deal with this shit at least for once.
Anyway, I’m really thrilled to see so much positive feedback across gaming blogs and I hope that this is giving game companies a signal that yes, implementing options for everyone, not just privileged gamer dudes, is paying off! Gaider’s post generated a lot of positive buzz and I’ve read several comments of people who are now totally excited about the game and want to buy it although they initially didn’t plan to.
Sabrina(Quote) (Reply)
P.s.: David Gainer continues being awesome and tells that petition dude to GTFO (the consensus seems to be that this internet petition is just plain old trolling)
“I kind of wonder if this is someone’s attempt to stir up more hate against BioWare by claiming to represent a group they’re not even part of? In addition to being misleading, I mean.
Of the characters you can romance in the game, Merrill and Fenris will not make any kind of romantic overtures unless you flirt with them first. Period. Anders, meanwhile, does indeed come onto you in his first quest– if you are nice to him. If you turn him down then, you get some rivalry points (which are not a punishment– rivalry is a path towards a relationship just as friendship is) and that’s the end of it.
If someone wants to paint that as sexual predation or an example of “all gays” when it’s not even an example of all the potentially gay relationships in the game — that’s pretty laughable. But there’s no shortage of ignorance, and evidently no shortage of people with an axe to grind. Which is too bad.
If someone wishes to take out their anger on me personally, I suppose that’s fine. I’m an easy target, speaking as I do on these forums. I’m quite glad I get the opportunity to include more gamers in our content, and I couldn’t do so without the explicit support of my superiors — but that won’t stop some people from being very unhappy in general.
So shine on, you crazy diamonds. But spreading hate on these forums is unwelcome– not just against me, but in general. I’m sure there are other places on the internet where such ignorance is welcomed.”
http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/141/index/6776790/5
Sabrina(Quote) (Reply)
I was meh about Dragon Age Origins. I was not going to get DA II, as I just couldn’t see the series holding my attention.
Now I am going to buy it. And my wife, who hates console RGPs, wants to play it.
All because of the quoted response.
So, fuck yea. Rock on.
Brand Robins(Quote) (Reply)
Most males = white males who don’t like girls who aren’t white. And blond. And have big breasts. And are dumb. And don’t make fun of our tiny little penises.
And none of the female characters in Dragon Age are white, submissive, blond, large breasted, dumb enough to be nonthreatening, and most of them look like they would make fun of my lack of prowess in bed.
Which means that most males wouldn’t like them. Any of them.
Except of course that Isabella is HOTTTTTT.
Brand Robins(Quote) (Reply)
I had a feeling it was race. He may be someone who doesn’t believe in interracial relationships and therefore can’t even enjoy one in a game. And while I doubt the elf is serious unattractive to him, I think he’s miffed that he only has ONE choice of mate (due to his own personal restrictions, not the game’s), and had enough self-awareness to realize “But there’s only one potential lover for me!” really IS whiny in the face of people who rarely have ANY mate choices that suit their preference in games.
Jennifer Kesler(Quote) (Reply)
Oh man, I hope this means they finally figured out how to get gay male Shepard in Mass Effect 3.
Tristan J(Quote) (Reply)
I think this doesn’t even qualify as mere privilege, the opening couple of sentences of our “straight male gamer’s” email amount to basically an open declaration of war against all perspectives other than his own. It’s active, conscious discrimination against people he thinks less important than himself. Kudos to the BioWare writer for kicking his ass (now if only BioWare could make some decent PC ports. The PC version of Mass Effect is almost unforgivable).
Although the mention of “political correctness” (in sneer quotes, where it belongs) brings me to something I’ve really come to realize in the past couple of months:
Political correctness does not actually exist.
Political correctness is when someone accuses you of being offensive and you object to the accusation. When you accuse someone else of being offensive, that’s just being offensive. It’s a snarl word (often used by people who say things that are genuinely offensive) thrown about to try to shut down accusations of being offensive (rather than attempt to demonstrate how there is no real case for such and such comment being seriously offensive, like a rational person arguing in good faith would do). The term is handy for bigots and privileged majorities because it allows them to dishonestly turn the tables and present themselves as being the ones who are treated unfairly.
Also the Duke Nukem Forever thing is appalling. At least with Duke 3D you could laugh at Duke’s total stupidity and buffoonery and hope that maybe, just maybe, the joke is actually on people who look up to Duke as a role model. But THIS? ARE GEARBOX OUT OF THEIR FUCKING MINDS?!
It makes me want to throw up.
Harrrison Murray(Quote) (Reply)
Wow! Gaider’s response is just…awesome!
Dani(Quote) (Reply)
okay, a few things about that Duke Nukem thing really bug me…
1.Everyone seems to claim that its only a joke. I always hear that “jokes” like this are funny (if the women were replaced with a race of people; they probably wouldn’t be as funny). However, no one can explain the punchline to me. Why? Because there is nothing funny about it.
2. Everyone claims that the “humor” is meant to be edgy even though everyone makes “jokes” like this. How long can this continue to be edgy? Because its really getting annoying.
As someone who wants to be a cartoonist, I can’t see how any of this is seen as funny!
Dina Bow(Quote) (Reply)
This reaction is awesome but its really not surprising if you do a close read of the game itself, which is basically a 40-hour-long deconstruction of privilege; particularly if the PC is a mage (even the issue of “passing privilege” gets addressed in-game; most people assume it’s a case of bad/lazy writing, but later on it’s obvious that it’s quite deliberate).
If I had to make a guess, I’d say someone at BioWare had a “hey, how can we do a portrayal of social oppression without resorting to tired good/evil cliches”, investigated the issue in the Really Real World, stumbled across Social Justice 101 then buried it deep underneath exploding corpses and dragons and sex.
Good on them. May my purchase dollars happily pad their pockets in encouragement of future journeys down this path.
Dee(Quote) (Reply)
I’ve liked what I’ve tried of Bioware’s output before (mostly Neverwinter Nights and expansions) and I’d already picked up Dragon Age: Origins for the XBox. However, realising that the developers for the Dragon Age series are actually capable of telling the differences between chairs, invisible pink unicorns, and people who don’t happen to inhabit the One True Demographic[1] (chairs are furniture, invisible pink unicorns don’t exist, people who aren’t part of the One True Demographic are still people) makes me a lot more enthusiastic about buying more of their product. In fact, it’s bounced them straight up onto my list of “game companies to look out for in a good way” (a short list, which has now doubled in length[2]).
In one respect, it’s slightly frustrating to find it takes so very little for a game company to stand out from the norm – all they have to do is be willing to step slightly outside the prescribed range of options for the One True Demographic that the marketers and bean counters get all nervous about protecting. As a long-term gamer (approximately 20 years now) I’m finding the contraction of the product range on the shelves (as the marketing and accounting departments get more and more power over what can and can’t be created) rather frustrating to start with – it gets annoying when the only thing I can find out there are three variants of the same plotline, each dressed up by increasingly skimpy costumes by the visual design team in an effort to disguise the lack of variety available.
[1] Straight white suburban middle-class Christian-identified American male 15 – 25 years of age; the demographic so much of the entertainment industry appears to believe is the only one out there, or at least the only one which legitimately owns money.
[2] For the curious, the other company on there was Square Enix, the behemoth behind the Final Fantasy series of games.
Meg Thornton(Quote) (Reply)
The thing about being forced to flirt with that companion, however, is the fact that the conversation in question happens in Act I, if I remember correctly, and flirting doesn’t initiate romance until Act II. In this case, it’s just an easy way to gain friendship (or rivalry) points. They could have just as well replaced the romance icon with the diplomatic or humor one on those two replies, and it’d amount to the same thing. Except the homophobes would have had to find something else to complain about, I suspect.
So, yeah, much ado about nothing.
Azzy(Quote) (Reply)
I’ve stumbled over this discussion somewhere else, and there was talk about Merrill being tattooed, quick Google fu shows, that her face at least is. I don’t play DA2, so I don’t know if tattoos are standard elvish apparel ingame, but I gathered that was what made the other choice of female companion equally undesirable for this douche.
Elee(Quote) (Reply)
Correction: Everyone who doesn’t care about sexism and oppression thinks its a joke.
People also claim it is a parody on existing sexist society because it is so over the top. Except it is … not. Because a parody doesn’t reinforce the same old stereotype, no matter how over the top.
Elee(Quote) (Reply)
The term is handy for bigots and privileged majorities because it allows them to dishonestly turn the tables and present themselves as being the ones who are treated unfairly.
And calling it “political” taps into the general disdainful view of politics/politicking as detracting from real concerns, and obscures the fact that the derided position is usually based on a sense of moral correctness.
SunlessNick(Quote) (Reply)
However, no one can explain the punchline to me. Why?
For the same reason that when they tell you you’re taking it out of context, they can never explain what the context is. Because imagining a real woman being abducted and slapped is the punchline and is the context. But we’re supposed to pretend that it isn’t, so they can have their laughs in peace.
SunlessNick(Quote) (Reply)
The race issue has come up a few times, and it’s baffling and distasteful to see. PC versions of RPGs always get mods, some neat, and some the entirely-predictable nude mods–but fairly quickly after its release, someone made a mod to make Isabella white.
http://www.gamersfiles.com/file-directory/dragon-age-ii/dragon-age-2-mods-a-more-beautiful-white-isabela/
http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/307/index/6686736/1
It hurts my heart to see that kind of behavior, and these are the same folks who would yell ‘it’s just a game!’ if people protested a lack of POC.
Lindsey(Quote) (Reply)
Interestingly, the term “political correctness” originated among liberals as a term for conservatives who talked the talk about racial tolerance but did not walk the walk. It has since been appropriated as the trump card for creeps, a claim that they are only dispensing righteous truth that is suppressed by political forces oppressing the poor hapless majority.
Lindsey(Quote) (Reply)
40% of gamers are female, according to the ESA’s own numbers, and they play for 7.4 hours a week versus 7.6 hours for the boys. The initial ‘privilege’ poster was perhaps aware of this and tried to qualify it as ‘RPG Gamers’, but that seems unlikely when the RPG is the most story- and character-centric genre. He certainly didn’t cite a source.
I’ve also heard the the claim that guys “pay for most of the games” despite being a shrinking majority; the same ESA numbers contradict that notion in stating that only 54% of purchases are made by men. http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_Essential_Facts_2010.PDF has the data.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/first-personmarketer/7964-First-Person-Marketer-The-Business-of-Manipulation is a gaming marketer who might have some level of clue, and writes exasperatedly about the fixation on the mythical 18-25 male in an industry whose average consumer is closer to 35, and with a growing female component.
Geider’s response was an excellent understanding of the actual data of his industry, as well as being a firm stance against unearned privilege.
Lindsey(Quote) (Reply)
So he has problems with…interracial relationships and tattoos.
I’m tempted to ask him what the weather’s like in 1950.
Isabel C.(Quote) (Reply)
It’s the same numbers coming from the same uncited sources as the film industry’s been spouting for years. It’s just rationalizations based on lies, because some men have found that spouting lies followed by, “It’s just numbers! Numbers don’t lie! I have spreadsheet, REAMS of spreadsheets!” is enough to intimidate some people into shutting up. Me, I just always asked them to show me the spreadsheets and, amazingly, that data was not for public viewing. Oh. Right. Gotcha. Well, I have a giant invisible ogre who protects me – trust me, I have spreadsheets to prove it.
Interestingly, when they first started with the mythical “18-25 male”, my generation was about 18-25. Now we’re about 35-42. This clearly suggests that if there was ever any truth to it, the truth is not that all 18-25 males are a good audience, but that my generation consumed pop culture like we were on a mission. And that was probably because the 80s economy was largely founded on pop culture: blockbuster movies, MTV and the birth of music videos as something seen outside British pubs, the second British invasion, cheap shitty clothes that sold strictly because of whose name was slathered on the back pockets, Nancy Reagan never wearing the same hugely expensive gown twice, etc. It was a decade of opulent consumption and waste, and I think it influenced us.
But since then, pop culture makers have just assumed 18-25 male is the demographic to target, and clearly that’s not really warranted. In fact, I don’t think there’s ANY single demographic that’s really reliable as consumers anymore. Smart companies like BioWare are widening their nets. Stupid companies like Warner Brothers are not going to be here in another 30 years unless they figure out they need to entertain more people to get more profit.
Jennifer Kesler(Quote) (Reply)
I’d say at this point they may need to pursue a fleeting, ever-changing age group to replenish customers after all the people they’ve pissed off by treating as criminals by default with their “intellectual property” schemes. Or maybe I put too much faith in people not to buy from companies that screw them.
Harrrison Murray(Quote) (Reply)
The sad thing is, people are differentiating between the “type” of slap. They say something to the effect of “If it would be a slap on the face, than that’s not cool, but I heard it’s just (JUST?!) a slap on the rear, so that’s okay.” My favorite was the “Well, I slap my girlfriend’s butt, and she slaps mine, and we both like it, so it’s okay.” They have no understanding of context, and no understanding of consent. The idea that it’s okay to invade a woman’s space and spank her, as long as it’s on a “socially appropriate” part of her body, is absurd to an infuriating degree; add onto that the idea that it’s okay to to slap a woman to shut her up when they are forcefully KIDNAPPING her, as long as it’s not on her face and…this is just really disturbing and depressing.
Dani(Quote) (Reply)
I read this somewhere else first and was JUST thinking it would be an awesome thing to post on Hathor, and HERE IT IS!
Daivd Gaider makes me squeeeeeeeeeee. MOAR EPIC BIGOT SMACKDOWNS! The bit about privilege shows that he actually GETS IT. Too bad he isn’t writing for Mass Effect or I’m sure he would’ve pushed for same-sex romances there too. DA and ME are two entirely separate, self-contained teams (for anyone who wondered).
Cinnabar(Quote) (Reply)
I also hear it’s supposed to be funny because it’s so over the top sexism that it’s funny. Which is bizarre because Katheryn Bigelow was slapped on the butt by Adam Baldwin at the Oscars.
Tristan J(Quote) (Reply)
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