Bioware and gay romances

If Anders died, Hawke still says that s/he is not happy to leave him alone? But yes, you're right, perhaps only this is the matter, when Inquisitor asked him/her about Anders (I don't have this end, I never kill him even in Tapestry, because I prefer to send Sebastian back to the Abyss with Cullen's army, and Hawke going back to Anders)

Sexuality is matter in they romance because Anders only to male Hawke speak about that he was in love with Karl, and Karl was the first in his life. I think this is important information, because make more personally, and understandable his reasons and reactions (he was too anxious and sad when told, that he not only escaped from Wardens, but have personal reason to come Kirkwall, and when he speak about, that no more letters came from Karl).
Except this, I do not think that other gay romance better written, than straight romances, and this one quite divisive.

Jennifer Hale did voice a couple of romance lines with Tali and Miranda in ME2 (and with Liara in LotSB with FemShep choosing Miranda over her). Even in Geth Dreadnought, Tali and FemShep flirt while Garrus reprimind them. Jack is bisexual although she wasn't interested in FemShep which I didn't mind. These are very specific romance lines and aren't like ME1 Meer who simply voice femshep's lines.

I guess they don't have enough resources or time.

Which is kinda bummer, Garrus and MaleShep have more chemistry together... hehe

I don't mind that Jack have some bisexual history and wasn't attracted to FemShep and I like the polite rejection scene she gave to FemShep. Kinda wish there were more to Miranda/Jack in Citadel dlc.

That doesn't really prove anything. Even if it did. FemShep could always be lesbian or bisexual. That's not new. Doesn't mean Jacob, Garrus and Thane were meant to be available to ManShep.


That third person narrative never made any sense. Shepard can be black or female or lesbian and that changes nothing but somehow making Shepard gay would change everything? Only if you're a homophobe who thinks gay men can't be war heroes and women who go into the military must be at least bisexual or butch. This third person narrative excuse is only ever brought up when the lack of gay characters is explained away by Bioware people. It reeks of a PR.





It's not that Bioware ran out of time before they could make Jacob available to men. They decided not to have any sort of gay character. Most likely this is because their target demographic for Mass Effect was the shooter crowd. It was a time when this shooter crowd was perceived as teenage boys shouting homophobic and racial slurs at each other in Halo Multiplayer. David Gaider talked at GaymerX how Bioware wanted to avoid their games being known as 'that gay game.'
You can really tell that Mass Effect is written for a male perspective. You pick all your female squad mates up by saving them. You save Ash from the Geth. You save Tali from thugs. You save Liara from a trap and Saren's Krogan. The Asari only exist to serve the sexual desire of straight men. Shepard is the hero and saviour. The first two are an excercise in toxic masculinity. It's only in the third game that Shepard is really allowed to have emotions.

For all the good intentions Bioware is a business after all. They want to make as much money as possible. That's why they sold to EA. That's why Inquisition was a open world game trying to be like Skyrim. That's why Mass Effect was a shooter and not an RPG like KotoR, because shooters sell much better. And in 2007 and 2010 Bioware found it better business to have no gay characters rather than risk losing money from homophobes. Only after the majority of Americans supported marriage equality, when it was clear that Mass Effect players were not just straight, white, homophobic, young men, only then did Bioware okay gay romances for ME3. They didn't have to do it of course. They decided yes. But when they did it, it certainly wasn't equal to the straight romances. It's niche content for a niche market segment. FemShep was not the same but similar. Instead of writing Shepard from a less hypermasculine perspective FemShep just takes the same role of the default male Shepard and she is given some romance options and some exclusive sexual harassment dialog (because you can't sexually harass a male Shepard, that would be not cool with the main target demograhpic.) Bioware likes to "capture" niche demographics like female players or queer players. And they are given a devoted loyalty in return. As you can see here. Ask on a gaymer board about their favorite games and Inquisition will come up very high. Even though when you ask about the game itself most didn't like it all that much. Dorian still trumps everything, because major gay characters, gay protagonists and gay romances are so very rare in games.

This is very sad, and possibly true. But what meant is "toxic masculinity"? There are toxic masculinity and healthy masculinity? I don't think so. Not the masculinity or femininity is the problem, the problem is the wrong thinking and behavior. And yes, there are wrong male and female stereotypes, which may be toxic. (This is why I prefer non-stereotipical characters. The stereotypes are existing but be careful with use!)

Then I forget that, thanks. Interesting decision of developers.

This may be a bit redundant if you happened to see my post on the "what was your first 'wow' moment" topic, but since it applies to this topic I'll go ahead and explain it again.

I purchased Mass Effect 3 for Wii U for $6.99 to kill time before Xenoblade Chronicles X was released. I knew literally NOTHING about Mass Effect when purchasing it and had never played ME1 or ME2. I'm sure it's hard to imagine even understanding ME3 having not played the other games prior to it, but let me tell you, I was fully immersed and enthralled by the ME universe by the time Shepard was leaving Anderson on Earth. My love for most characters was almost instantaneous.

When meeting Kaidan, this wasn't the case. It was obvious that there was tension from past experiences, but I didn't know what had happened. All I kept thinking is, "what's this asshole's problem?". By the time Kaidan was injured on Mars, it was quite clear to me that Shepard cared about him to some extent despite whatever may have come between them. While visiting him several times in the hospital, I grew an attachment to him. Shepard and Kaidan were able to reestablish the trust they had lost, and it gave their friendship a renewed feeling. We've all experienced a situation where we almost lose a friend after a bad fight... and it's a wonderful feeling to mend those friendships. I think it is part of the reason I felt so strongly about Kaidan at this point (as a friend).

This all leads directly into the moment on the Citadel when you are facing Kaidan at gunpoint... the trust you'd just rebuilt is about to be tested, and it's an incredibly tense moment. After talking him down and seeing that he does indeed trust you, he joins your team and the friendship has reached its peak... or so I thought.

I would like to reiterate that I had no prior knowledge about Mass Effect when this happened, so after Kaidan sent the email asking to get lunch/dinner/whatever on the Citadel, I was taken completely by SURPRISE as a watched what unfolded before me. He began going on about his regrets in not finding someone, then describing the kind of person he would want to be with... "O_O Dafaq is happening here?" I thought to myself... the person he's describing sounds like Shepard... but I'm a guy... Surely he's not about to proclaim his love for me... Then when Kaidan said "Someone?" and Shepard answered "You, Kaidan" I just about fell out of my chair. I was amazed! As a gay gamer, I had never experienced this kind of heartfelt, genuine and well written gay romance in video game! I didn't know it even existed! It sent chills down my spine and gave me goosebumps.

Fast forward to carrying an injured Kaidan back to the Normandy and telling him you love him, then to watching as he places your name plaque on the memorial wall within the Normandy... tears were shed. Not like... a single tear adorably dripping down my cheek... I was blubbering like a baby without a pacifier. Through my tears, I ordered the trilogy for my Xbox 360 so I could experience the story from the beginning. I was not disappointed.

I am well aware that this story exists to some extent if you play as Femshep and romance Kaidan (and to a lesser extent if you romance Ashley as BroShep) but for a gay man who loves video games, THIS story: Kaidan and BroSheps is the absolute best romantic tale of two men in a video game... actually I would hazard to say in ANY form of media (that I've experienced) and is further enhanced by viewing the entire length of their up-and-down friendship throughout all three games in the trilogy - which was pointed out as being "the way the game was programmed" by an earlier poster, which is obvious... but when seen at face value for what it is... it's truly an amazing story.

OH, in conclusion, I don't know if Bioware's gay romances are necessarily the best written out of the available romance options, but I DO know that if you are seeking a story about two men falling in love, that Mass Effect 3 has the best one there is.

Of course it's good to have those options available right from the start. I played Dragon Age before Mass Effect and was really surprised and disappointed that there were no same sex romance options (I don't count Liara, she's not really a female).

One thing that bothers me about Dragon Age is that, if you romance someone it kinda feels like you'll be stuck with them forever. Like my Warden and Morrigan. In DAI she's very sweet when she explains how happy they are, but honestly I think if my Warden ever found out that Kieran no longer has the Old God soul, he likely would not be returning home anytime soon. In ME-trilogy you could pretty much start a new romance when ever you wished or end pre-existing one if you didn't feel like it was gonna work. That was good and natural.

I like your idea of a starcrossed romance where the romanced party doesn't start out as a member of your squad. Loved these kind of romances in SWTOR. Thana Vesh, Darmas Pollaran, Hunter - just to name a few favorites. I liked those romances much more than the real ones.