Are Games Getting Gayer?
The Advocate has a terrific new take on the gaying-up of games written by site pal and Gamasutra contributor Bryan Ochalla, which examines the increasing visibility of LGBT characters and storylines in gaming while noting how far we've yet to go:
Video games have grown up a lot in the last few years, "but we still haven't seen the kind of normalization [of LGBT characters and story lines] that we've seen in movies and on TV for some time," laments Brenda Brathwaite, a veteran game designer and the author of Sex in Video Games. "We still haven't had our Brokeback Mountain moment."
And yet, there are some almost paradoxical examples of gay content in games that actually outstrips progress in the real world, as pointed out by some talentless douchebag who calls himself tiny dancer:
Another recent release, Fable II for the Xbox 360, takes things a few steps further by allowing players to hit on, have sex with, and even marry members of the same gender."That's a fantasy that hasn't been fully realized in the real world," says David Edison, an editor at GayGamer.net. So not only is the title ahead of the times in terms of video games, "it's ahead of the actual times."
As usual, Sex in Video Games author Brenda Brathwaite sounds an order of magnitude or ten more well-informed than yours tinily, and reminds us that simply adding gay content to the game industry's narrative palette doesn't tidy things up entirely:
"We also have to stop putting things into games that turn off gay players," Brathwaite says. For example, "how many games have you played that put you in control of a male character and then asked you to save a princess?"LGBT characters and story lines shouldn't be slipped into each and every game, she adds, but "in certain circumstances it not only makes sense but makes the game a richer, more enjoyable experience for everyone."
And yet the strides we've taken so far offer up the one thing that is the keystone to LGBT rights, which is LGBT visibility. Whether you're an achievement whore who's forced to decide to kiss boys in Bully or an RPG gamer who has no choice but to find a boyfriend for the son of Fable 2's Farmer Giles, there are now circumstances under which LGBT characters and content are unavoidable.
That level of visibility will get a big raise soon, when Rockstar releases the Ballad of Gay Tony. Then there won't be a single GTA IV fan who'll be able to avoid seeing the word "Gay" in big shiny letters unless they're willing to avoid the DLC entirely. It gives me hope just thinking about the number of otherwise gay-disinterested GTA IV enthusiasts who'll be exposed to the normalizing process of seeing gayness as an everyday part of their favorite activity. In this gay gamer's opinion, that kind of constant, harmless presence goes further to advance acceptance of LGBT people - by its very nature - than a boycott ever could.
Are Video Games Getting Gayer? [The Advocate]
tiny dancer
Posted to Hot Stuff, Miscellany on 27 August 2009
· Comments (7)
Other stuff like this: advocate, ballad of gay tony, brenda brathwaite, fable 2, gay, gay game characters, gay marriage
Interesting.
I always find it a little off-putting in Animal Crossing when one of the characters asks about a female romantic interest or makes a hetero-normative comment. It is definitely minor but it still slightly bothers me.
Awwww... you were doing so well, but then you had to draw a false dichotomy between visibility and boycotts.
We can do both you know. There hasn't been a single civil rights struggle on this planet that revolved around only one strategy.
And I can't think of one that didn't incorporate some kind of a boycott, either.
Eshto: I would be very disappointed indeed if we only relied upon one strategy. Not only can we do both, we can do more, and better. Visibility is the activist equivalent of a steady income stream, that's all. It's certainly not the only aspect of activism.
I find this an interesting article, and I'm somewhat surprised that games with more LGBT friendly storylines weren't mentioned. Bioware has a few games out that include romances/subplots/whatever you want to call them, where characters can romance same sex characters. Though in Mass Effect, it's only F/F or M/F (not M/M), they ... tried. In Jade Empire, however, it goes both ways.
However, at the same time, it seems many companies have tried to both promote and stifle it (ie: Blizzard's previous threats to ban an LGBT-friendly guild a few years back) while also trying to "protect as many minorities" as possible with the same policy. The companies are trying to look out for themselves, but at the same time, they want to keep the income they have up. I'm not sure if I believe games are getting 'gayer' - as a mainstream, I still feel a minority and probably will for a while. That's not to say things aren't going to, or won't, change.
While games are slowly changing to (try to) be more inclusive, I don't expect anything, and I'm not going to change my purchasing habits. If a game has a good story, I want to enjoy the game's story, even if I'm not represented in it. If it's pretty and flashy, I want to enjoy that too. I figure that, perhaps, it's not just my time yet. Maybe soon, but for now I'll just enjoy the games for what they are.
If saving the princess turns off gay players, then we're not very far from criticizing fairytales and speaking of the increasing need for gay themed fairytales.
When I played Fable 1, I didn't understand why gay people praised it - it only allowed me to marry an old, unattractive man who behaved like a girl. I thought it was more offensive than open-minded, but then again, I am one who doesn't understand the success of Peter Molyneux at all.
And I don't see why would we need a barebackmountain moment in games - at least in Europe and Asia, where that moment wasn't needed in movies even.
Asia has its ways of being gay in games, anyway; go play Shadow Hearts 2, and see how it can be done in an entertaining, non-offensive and not gay-rights-activist-smelling way.
Hi all...
I am playing games on pc and i like to more about gaming...
I like this article because it's about gaming...
I am a great fan of ps3. I usually play game when i have nothing to do. I am playing games on my mobile and computer.