Trans characters in Mass Effect Andromeda

No, and there wasn't anything to remember besides that "feature"... he had an absolutely stereotypical "banished legacy" story, any lazy writer could come up with in 5 minutes. The only difference was the reason he was banished, and that only worked because BW did disregard earlier established Qunari lore.

...and - by the way - the reason you FEEL about this topic the way you do, is why more and more people these days are annoyed by it.

Right. How dare I FEEL empathy for other human beings, and hope for a world where people are no longer judged/marginalized/ignored and get kinda pissed when that's not the case. I'll try to keep those feelings to myself from now on to avoid being annoying. 

Well that pretty much applies to every thread here, so no talking until the game is out then?

It may sound weird, but I find civil discussion of such matters unproductive. Because people just circle and circle around with same generic responses which are remarkably similar to those in other threads and even sites. But less civil discussion is not a way of our comfy forum, so it's a kind of a deadlock.

Thinking back to BSN Prime, these discussions did run until they got heated and then were invariably locked.
BSN Prime had a reputation for being 'toxic' after all.

I'd wish to differentiate between a discussion being 'civil', i.e. not insulting other posters,
and 'un-challenging', i.e. avoiding challenging thoughts and concepts.

If a poster wishes to challenge orthodoxy, and do so with rational argument, but without name calling, then that does not have to be 'comfy'.

There are also considerations of 'free-speech' which is great, but is not protection from such speech being mocked or challenged.

I have a question... and its something which is confusing me right now

...

Why are people acting like it matters???

It's not always these genders that make people complain, as much as some parties often want to believe.

I find my own verisimilitude stretched more than a bit when I have a relatively small group of adventurers around me, and yet this group manages to have a representative from every real world minority group imaginable. This is often what prompts people to complain. It's not the representation itself, it's how it's executed. A little bit goes a long way. Too much, while done with the best of intentions, can distract and detract from the actual story being told.

DAI felt a bit heavy-handed, in this regard; but it also had some very good characters. So, what is the right balance? BioWare has clearly set this "cast diversity" as a priority. They must work to find the right balance between representation and believable presentation.

Alright... *takes calming breath* I actually wanted to address your post, then got distracted by other stuff that got me all worked up and I forgot

I actually do get where you're coming from, and would even say I agree. But, I also look at at like this -  Because Bioware, is, unfortunately, one of the few major gaming companies (or was, until very very recently) that actually tries to be inclusive I feel like... hmmm... how do I word this? I think they as a company feel like they almost have to 'make up for' the fact that no else is really doing it, which is why it sometimes comes across as a touch heavy-handed. So as a result you end up with this sort of over-the-top diversity that reads a bit like a T.V. show from the nineties

I think television has since found its way for the most part, so that representation feels more natural now. Back in 199X, when there was a gay character, it inevitably became a 'teaching moment' of sorts, because it was such a novel thing back then. A good example would be Ricky Vasquez in My So-Called Life. He was a great character, and his role in the show was way more substantial than to just be 'the gay kid.' But there's still moments in the show where his story line can a feel a bit 'quaint' by today's standards. Because fast-forward to 2016, and I really wish I had an example to share that's a 'young people show' but I'm no longer young and watch that sort of thing, but... The Walking Dead. It has a diverse cast that features gay characters, and their inclusion is totally seamless, they fit right in, no 'teaching moment' required because so what if they're gay, we have zombies and Negan to worry about! But, shows like My So-Called Life, and Ellen, Roseanne, Dawson's Creek, Will and Grace, all paved the way (though those portrayals might make us cringe a bit now) for a show like the Walking Dead that does it better.

The problem is that games, as a medium, are way behind in this regard. Female and black protagonists, and even major NPCs, are disproportionately rare. LGBTQ characters even more so. Now, let's take our notions of diversity even farther... when was the last time you saw a positive depiction of a Muslim character? Or, one with a physical disability? Here's one that relates to me personally - I have Asperger's. But I can barely find realistic portrayals of autistic (mildly or otherwise) characters in film and television, much less in gaming.

So, the gaming industry has a long way to go. And as one of the pioneers of inclusion in the industry, it's up to Bioware to 'shove it in people's faces' as those television programs of yore were accused of doing before T.V. started getting it right. And to receive the angry backlash, along with the constructive criticism (like the perfectly valid opinions that the conversation with Krem could've used some tonal improvements, or that Dorian's personal quest could've used a touch more subtlety and just, more, in general). So while I would agree that it comes across as a bit silly when we have a small cast where one person is black, one is asian, one is hispanic, one gay, one trans, one female, one -enter minority group here-. But I would also argue that for now, it's necessary. And that it's just as unrealistic that in a small group of fighters willing to join the cause, you have a perfectly balanced ratio of soldier/biotic/tech or warrior/rogue/mage. Or human/dwarf/qunari/dwarf... But no one starts threads complaining about that, now do they?

Edit: cuz I accidentally deleted stuff 

Now that fialka mentioned Dorian's personal quest - I found that was a huge wasted opportunity. Dorian is one of my favorite characters - he is a man with a cause, to redeem his homeland Tevinter singlehandedly if he has to, and he has a great sense of humor that just makes it enjoyable to spend time with him. I don't like him because he's gay, or despite he's gay or anything, his sexuality is never part of the equation (though that may be just me).

I would have loved a personal quest that had something to do with his cause. Maybe something about infiltrating a group of Venatori spies, something that serves as a preparation for his post-Trespasser activities, just me and my Tevinter buddy who just happens to be gay. Not the quest we got, which gave me the impression that the game felt the need to remind me of his sexuality in case I had forgotten. Come on, guys... give your players a bit of credit, okay?

Ummm.... YEAH. Hair does matter. If I gotta look at my character for 40+ hours it's not too much to ask for them to have a decent-looking hairstyle. And while I'd love to talk about how awesome Squadmate X seems so far, we don't have much to go on. But I do know hair. 'Cuz I have some. I even style it sometimes!   

And talking about weapons is boring. I like using them in the game just fine, but I don't get why people would want to talk about them. Which is why I don't go into weapons threads. Not even to tell the people there that their topic of choice is pointless because I personally don't see the point.