Comments on: Unmasking the Gamers: Andrew James – Web Developer, Artist and Non-gamer http://willooi.com/2010/04/unmasking-the-gamers-andrew-james-web-developer-artist-and-non-gamer/ Escaping within the mind, one level at a time Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:19:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Will Ooi http://willooi.com/2010/04/unmasking-the-gamers-andrew-james-web-developer-artist-and-non-gamer/comment-page-1/#comment-1278 Will Ooi Mon, 19 Apr 2010 05:15:37 +0000 http://www.willooi.com/?p=1043#comment-1278 Hey Brendan, thanks for the reply! Apologies for the lateness in getting back to you. I think Bioware really, seriously dropped the ball with the lack of that option in ME2. I suspect its something the developers themselves wanted to implement, but were probably denied the chance to do so by EA. And I just think it's overly catering to the teenage/young adult male demographic and pretty sexist to allow lesbian relationships and not the equivalent for male characters... especially since the feature was (semi-)implemented in Dragon Age... although in saying that it's just as disappointing that the character of Zevran was (well, of course!) bisexual, rather than just homosexual. I would love to see one of those 'macho/alpha male' games like, say, Gears of War 3 drop a realistic-representation-of-society bombshell at the end and reveal that Marcus Fenix is, and always has been, gay. Sadly, it would be a surprise if it happened and I can very easily just imagine the immature and homophobic backlash such a design choice would provoke. As for Left 4 Dead, this was the first co-op game Andrew, Kyle and I actually played together (in 4 on 4 versus mode too!) and I greatly regret not having a question in there about it! Hey Brendan, thanks for the reply! Apologies for the lateness in getting back to you.

I think Bioware really, seriously dropped the ball with the lack of that option in ME2. I suspect its something the developers themselves wanted to implement, but were probably denied the chance to do so by EA. And I just think it’s overly catering to the teenage/young adult male demographic and pretty sexist to allow lesbian relationships and not the equivalent for male characters… especially since the feature was (semi-)implemented in Dragon Age… although in saying that it’s just as disappointing that the character of Zevran was (well, of course!) bisexual, rather than just homosexual.

I would love to see one of those ‘macho/alpha male’ games like, say, Gears of War 3 drop a realistic-representation-of-society bombshell at the end and reveal that Marcus Fenix is, and always has been, gay. Sadly, it would be a surprise if it happened and I can very easily just imagine the immature and homophobic backlash such a design choice would provoke.

As for Left 4 Dead, this was the first co-op game Andrew, Kyle and I actually played together (in 4 on 4 versus mode too!) and I greatly regret not having a question in there about it!

]]> By: brendan http://willooi.com/2010/04/unmasking-the-gamers-andrew-james-web-developer-artist-and-non-gamer/comment-page-1/#comment-1225 brendan Wed, 07 Apr 2010 20:37:01 +0000 http://www.willooi.com/?p=1043#comment-1225 Will, great interview! there are a few really interesting topics in here, most interesting to me being the issue of sexuality in games, the view of a relatively non-gamer in respect to games, and the seemingly inescapable issue of (terrible) voice-acting in games. did you happen to catch bioware's recent (lame) attempt at explaining why ME2 has the opportunity to pursue either a hetero or lesbian relationship with other characters, but draws the line when it comes to guy-on-guy action? its pretty disappointing, they basically say 'we just had to ask ourselves how much game we could put into code...' yeah right...i do have hope that games can, as they mature, mature their treatment of sexuality as well. relative to the age of the medium, portrayal of gay lifestyles has been a comparatively new phenomenon in mainstream movies. if movies can change their tone, why not games? games themselves are relatively new on the scene, and still in a very plastic stage of their development (i think); NOW is the time developers should be addressing these changes and implementing gay characters in a way such as Andrew describes (we could basically assume that, of course some of the characters in any given game are gay; and further, it should be matter-of-course enough that it's not worth mentioning or making any fuss over when it happens). its sad to think of the other 'of course' that would go along with such inclusion - that of course some idiots are going to react adversely, and obnoxiously if history is any indicator. but without that inclusion, those same idiots are never given the chance to see just how idiotic they are... @Andrew - i loved the interview! it was a real treat to 'meet', or in some way otherwise become acquainted with, one of Will's friends =) i just picked up BC2 a couple days ago, and after playing MW2 free-for-all for so long, it was a real adjustment to get back into squad-based gaming again. once you get into it though, there's nothing quite like it online. i particularly like that each member of the team brings their own unique ability and weapon set to the table, making teamwork all that more important. and unlike MW2, you NEED to work as a cohesive team; no one person can carry an otherwise poor team. if you liked BC2 (as someone just getting into games, here and there anyway), i would also recommend left 4 dead 2. much like BC2, its all teamwork, and while playing the infected, each player brings their own special skill to the table; each skill is also best used in tandem with the skills of other infected on your team, making the need for team cohesion that you seem to enjoy all the more important... Will, great interview! there are a few really interesting topics in here, most interesting to me being the issue of sexuality in games, the view of a relatively non-gamer in respect to games, and the seemingly inescapable issue of (terrible) voice-acting in games. did you happen to catch bioware’s recent (lame) attempt at explaining why ME2 has the opportunity to pursue either a hetero or lesbian relationship with other characters, but draws the line when it comes to guy-on-guy action? its pretty disappointing, they basically say ‘we just had to ask ourselves how much game we could put into code…’ yeah right…i do have hope that games can, as they mature, mature their treatment of sexuality as well. relative to the age of the medium, portrayal of gay lifestyles has been a comparatively new phenomenon in mainstream movies. if movies can change their tone, why not games? games themselves are relatively new on the scene, and still in a very plastic stage of their development (i think); NOW is the time developers should be addressing these changes and implementing gay characters in a way such as Andrew describes (we could basically assume that, of course some of the characters in any given game are gay; and further, it should be matter-of-course enough that it’s not worth mentioning or making any fuss over when it happens). its sad to think of the other ‘of course’ that would go along with such inclusion – that of course some idiots are going to react adversely, and obnoxiously if history is any indicator. but without that inclusion, those same idiots are never given the chance to see just how idiotic they are…

@Andrew – i loved the interview! it was a real treat to ‘meet’, or in some way otherwise become acquainted with, one of Will’s friends =) i just picked up BC2 a couple days ago, and after playing MW2 free-for-all for so long, it was a real adjustment to get back into squad-based gaming again. once you get into it though, there’s nothing quite like it online. i particularly like that each member of the team brings their own unique ability and weapon set to the table, making teamwork all that more important. and unlike MW2, you NEED to work as a cohesive team; no one person can carry an otherwise poor team. if you liked BC2 (as someone just getting into games, here and there anyway), i would also recommend left 4 dead 2. much like BC2, its all teamwork, and while playing the infected, each player brings their own special skill to the table; each skill is also best used in tandem with the skills of other infected on your team, making the need for team cohesion that you seem to enjoy all the more important…

]]> By: Randy M http://willooi.com/2010/04/unmasking-the-gamers-andrew-james-web-developer-artist-and-non-gamer/comment-page-1/#comment-1219 Randy M Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:16:17 +0000 http://www.willooi.com/?p=1043#comment-1219 The only other gay character in the videogame that I can think of that wasn't overly stereotypical was Gay Tony from GTA4. He was a little out of control at times but for some reason Luiz thought of him as a father figure; a gay man as father figure! It's a shame that only Rockstar is the only developer who tries to shake up mature story telling in videogame stories (Recently article at 1up explains why there isn't any same sex relationships in Mass Effect 2). Bad Company 2 is great online game, it one of those team based shooters where being apart of a team really mattered. The only other gay character in the videogame that I can think of that wasn’t overly stereotypical was Gay Tony from GTA4. He was a little out of control at times but for some reason Luiz thought of him as a father figure; a gay man as father figure! It’s a shame that only Rockstar is the only developer who tries to shake up mature story telling in videogame stories (Recently article at 1up explains why there isn’t any same sex relationships in Mass Effect 2).

Bad Company 2 is great online game, it one of those team based shooters where being apart of a team really mattered.

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