The Character Romance thread (Official)

Can't even write shitlord properly. Shameful.

And yet until I called you out, still typing perfectly legibly in chat

you should see the other forum tbh, its a hbit of a shitdosw

I think moving Mass Effect to the backburner was always going to be the outcome - DA4 has yet to be even announced, and the last two BioWare games have taken at least a year (closer to two) from title reveal to release, the new IP still doesn't have a public name, and those are both in active development at the moment, so it'll probably be a minimum of three to four years before they are both out. Any successive Mass Effect game would come after them in terms of being developed. I think this is all mostly just part of the plan, and not as a direct result of bad press or bad reactions. At most, the reaction might have told them this was a good idea, but... I don't see this as the end of the franchise. We're definitely going to get DLC, but that doesn't require the same level of attention and focus a full game does - the majority of the assets already exist, it's only a few hours of game play as opposed to forty plus, tighter story, etc.

Basically, I don't see this as panic worthy. I think people are making it sound worse than it is because of the bad press, but I'm willing to bet that all of this was part of the intentions with the franchise to begin with, that this 'hiatus' exists more because Andromeda does not have the push to complete its overarching story (the Benefactor, the kett, the pieces that make up a metastory for the universe that extend beyond MEA's story) in the same time frame as the trilogy, which was always Shepard's story and hitting up on the point where next gen systems were coming into play when they pushed ME3 out the door.

No worries.  I made an emotional response, realized it was dumb, and decided to get rid of it.

I'm gonna try as best I can to answer this.

Because for me, to call this bias against straight people a "phobia" is putting it on the same level as homophobia, which already has the unfortunate history. Everyone knows there isn't a recorded incident in history where queer people lynched a straight person for being straight. Is there?

In your particular case, when someone told you that your opinions are invalid as a straight person? I call it being an arsehole to straight people. And I don't support the idea of being an arsehole to straight people. But straight people won't experience such things like being in the closet and fearing getting kicked out for their sexuality or knowing that whenever they go see a movie or read a book, there's a good chance there isn't going to be a character with the same sexual orientation or gender identity that would resonate with them. Straight people will say that it's not a big deal, but when little microaggressions in every day life remind you that you're of a lower tier human being based on one facet of your identity (that being sexuality and gender identity), it is a big deal. You know this. So straight people will say or do things ignorant of queer people's realities. They get called out, some learn, some don't, the cycle goes on, rinse, wash, repeat.

On our end, we're resentful that no matter what, straight people will always have the lion's share when it comes to representation and content in the media. That's just how it is. Some of us are gonna be very bitter about it. If provoked, some of us will say some mean things, begrudging you for your luck as a straight person. But as heterophobia? Genuine heterophobia? With all the connotations and the discourse and the awful shit that comes with it? You're not genuinely hurt by these comments, are you? I apologise if you really are. But you can turn off the computer and sleep easy at night that video games will always have straight protagonists. Or straight romances if they include romances at all. They'll always include people like you.

I'm not trying to justify queer people's mean-spirited comments aimed at you for being straight, because I find the idea of attacking someone's identity abhorrent, no matter how much I resent heteronormativity. But perhaps in your particular case, they're said because they're frustrated with your comments, and you cannot understand their reality, no matter how much you try, because you never lived it. I don't know, I wasn't there when someone said that comment.

As for saying that your opinion on romances in general because you're straight? I think that was an arsehole-ish thing to say to you. If you want to call it heterophobic, that is entirely your prerogative. I don't want to compare Oppression Olympics by giving examples of some shitty things said to queer people online (because that has never happened before) and dismiss your feelings as the straight person in question. 

So, to your original question: queer people will hold some bias against straight folk because we're never certain that you'll have our backs as a social minority- in this case, better representation and content for queer protagonists, characters, and stories. There is nothing in this endeavour for you (apart from gaining friends), and you do not understand what exactly we're looking for here, or why, and that's just the hard truth. But heterophobia, as an institution contrived by queer folk to bring you straight people down? I don't think we ever had that power. And we never will.

I think the issue is trying to make them too large, or too numerous. DAI had too many maps without enough to do in them. At least the MEA ones have a clear objective.

Maybe they can mix it up and have a combination. Perhaps one or two larger, open maps that we can really explore and hang around in for hours and hours. And then also have maps that are more linear and less open.

I just realized I want a romance where the NPC broke up with someone recently and you can either romance them or if you don't they eventually patch things up with their ex. Something other than the perpetual single LIs we get or their horde of dead exes.

Deleted mine too.

Bioware? Hugely overcompensating in the face of complaints? I'm not sure I know what you mean.