I haven't watched the video yet but i pose this..

What purpose would homosexuality serve in video games?

It depends sort of the implications and the level that it would be operating on.

Let's take two scenarios.

Let's say i play Doom. Doom guy is pretty much the only character in the game (excluding the demons/hell spawn and i don't want to think about a kinky relationship with them). When i play this game i don't assume that he has some sort of sexuality. Also why would it matter if he was straight or gay. It just wouldn't.

I can appreciate that it's bringing more awareness of homosexuality but is it really needed?

Like think of Harry Potter when Rowling was like "Oh by the way, Dumbledores gay."

That may be slightly different as it was sort of tacked on at the end and it sort of came out of nowhere.

There were two responses to this development:

1.That it doesn't make you think any differently about his character, it's not like he made advances on people or anything in the book, there's no real reason for it and this is what i mean regarding doom guy. It isn't important.

2. Outrage. People who dislike homosexuals will not like this and this means they may not buy books with homosexuals, protest etc.

This is a pretty major point here.

Just because there is a homosexual character doesn't mean people will be sympathetic or like homosexal people.

Consider this logic, in this case this is what i presume people who want homosexuality to be in video games think:

Player likes Character
Player finds out Character is gay
Player thinks, hey if like said Character and he is gay, i like gay people.
Player now likes homosexuals

I don't need to emphasise this anymore. Just because there is a homosexual character in game, it doesn't mean people who are anti-homosexual will turn around and accept homosexuals.

What would most likely happen is:

Player likes Character
Player finds out Character is gay
Player doesn't like said character anymore

For most people they won't even care that he is gay (so the point of making him gay is pointless) or in this case of extremists they will be like "OH MY GOD HE IS GAY, I HATE HIM NOW"

The other scenario is that there are multiple characters and characters having relationships.

This is different to the other scenario, that there could be gay people having relationships. In this case it would probably depend on how it's written and if homosexuals are being stereotyped or not (i don't stereotype).

E.g. Pick any action game and make the protaganist gay. Would the game work if i took the stereotypical approach (which i don't endorse) that he was a "poofter" and extremely flamboyant. Would this fit in with a sort of hardened action persona? No, it would look like satire...

and the counter to this is the dumbledore thing, if he is gay, why does it matter?

Relationships in this way is the same. Say Niko Bellic (even though they are related, i can't think of another example) was in a relationship with Roman. It isn't really relevant, though that is probably because the story isn't written that way.

If a story was written with homosexual characters, i wouldn't see the problem. Though how it was portrayed could be problematic. If it's just a "oh by the way, i am gay" it wouldn't matter (or would it..? I'm sure there would be SOME people who wouldn't play a game cause the character was gay), if it's part of a story then at least it's relevant, though i can't really think of a scenario in a game that being gay or for that matter straight would be relevant.

TL;DR

I don't see how sexuality in games is important or would really fit in a game and if it was in a game in what scenario would it be relevant?

mechafuhrer wrote:

Wait, so Rowling just randomly said "Dumbledore's gay"? Was she drunk or something? Or did you just make that up as an example?

Oh it's true.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7053982.stm

Quote:

Last Updated: Saturday, 20 October 2007, 12:59 GMT 13:59 UK JK Rowling outs Dumbledore as gay Harry Potter author JK Rowling has revealed that one of her characters, Hogwarts school headmaster Albus Dumbledore, is gay. She made her revelation to a packed house in New York's Carnegie Hall on Friday, as part of her US book tour. She took audience questions and was asked if Dumbledore found "true love". "Dumbledore is gay," she said, adding he was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, who he beat in a battle between good and bad wizards long ago. The audience gasped, then applauded. "I would have told you earlier if I knew it would make you so happy," she said. "Falling in love can blind us to an extent," she added, saying Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down" and his love for Grindelwald was his "great tragedy". "Oh, my god," Rowling, 42, concluded with a laugh, "the fan fiction". JK Rowling Rowling said her books are a "prolonged argument for tolerance" Fan sites have long speculated on Dumbledore's sexuality as he was known for having a mysterious, troubled past. Rowling told the audience that while working on the planned sixth Potter film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, she saw the script carried a reference to a girl who was once of interest to Dumbledore. She said she ensured director David Yates was made aware of the truth about her character. Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell welcomed the news about Dumbledore and said: "It's good that children's literature includes the reality of gay people, since we exist in every society. "But I am disappointed that she did not make Dumbledore's sexuality explicit in the Harry Potter book. Making it obvious would have sent a much more powerful message of understanding and acceptance." And a spokesman for gay rights group Stonewall added: "It's great that JK has said this. It shows that there's no limit to what gay and lesbian people can do, even being a wizard headmaster." Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Daniel Radcliffe plays Harry Potter in the films Rowling also did a brief reading from the seventh book in her best-selling series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, as part of her Open Book Tour of the US - her first there for seven years. She said she regarded her novels as a "prolonged argument for tolerance" and urged her fans to "question authority". But she added that not everyone likes her work. Christian groups have alleged the books promote witchcraft. The author said her revelation about Dumbledore would give them one more reason. The seventh Potter book broke sales records on both sides of the Atlantic when it was published in July, selling 11 million copies in 24 hours. The fifth film adaptation of the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released this summer. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is due for release late next year.