#66765 - sgeos - Fri Jan 13, 2006 11:46 am
Disclaimer: If something comes seems offensive, suggest a better wording and I'll "fix" the post. Nothing has intentionally been worded in an offensive manner.
To what extent do you think the inclusion of overtly gay characters in a game would affect commercial sales? Overtly transvestite characters? Does it matter if the the character is a PC, NPC, primary or sub character?
Personally, it would have a neutral to negative effect on my purchasing decision simply because I can't relate to the content. I don't object to the inclusion of "gay" content, but being forced to deal with any content I can't relate to or that I'm not interested in tends to bore me. I don't buy baseball games because I'm not interested in baseball. There have been times where I have thought it would be really cool to fight a dragon. I've never wanted to fuss over make up, nor have I ever want hit a bases loaded home run (or a home run for that matter).
In a nutshell I think less conservative people will buy the game, and more liberal people will buy the game. Homophobics will probably avoid the title and might think poorly of the publisher depending on how much they have to interact with character. I think that overly transvestite characters will have a greater impact simply because they are more overt. Even if one really wants "gay" content, quite frankly I can't see it being the reason to buy game A over game B unless the features are comparable. Then again I'm fairly conservation. I'd like to hear what other people think.
-Brendan
#66768 - pure_ev1l - Fri Jan 13, 2006 12:26 pm
depends on how much a part of the game the fact that they are homosexual / transvestite.
if its a shot-em-up with a transvestite then I dowt it would make any difference. but if its just about being a tranvestite then it would have to be a good game, I wouldn't pick it / not pick it on the basis of there sexual oreintation, rather the gameplay / game type / reviews
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-Rory
"Planning makes for a boring life, but a good game"
#67078 - keldon - Sun Jan 15, 2006 11:29 am
Ang Lee(Crouching Tiger) has recently released a gay western love movie. There are lots of gay TV presenters and comedians on the air nowadays and the homophobes I know are happy watching it because it is still going to be funny and entertaining whether or not they are straight.
The only thing that I think would deter people are the elements of the gay culture which are not popular to the people. It is a little like asking about a game where the main character was a drug addict / dealer / asylum seeker, or from some other set of outcasted people.
I have no thoughts on whether there has to be any relevance to the characters background and history. We for example, did not ask why lara croft was a man; why the prince had to be from persia; why the plumber had to be italian; or why the hedgehog had to be blue. Blue is a colour associated with homosexuality. Could we have already a market?
#88734 - Dracker - Wed Jun 21, 2006 2:00 pm
Didn't hurt the American release of Super Mario Bros. 2.
Look up Birdo on Wikipedia.
#129246 - Karatorian - Mon May 21, 2007 12:58 am
My thoughts on the matter is that it could range from problematic to a non-issue, depending on the game and it's relationship with the character's sexuality. In general, I don't think it would have that great of an impact on the game by itself. There would be some conservatives that'd raise a stink about it, and some activists that'd praise the game for it, but I think the average gamer is going to care more about the gameplay than the sexual orientation or gender identity of the characters.
As an example that's not directly homosexual or transgendered, but that is similarly nontraditional is Voldo from the Soul Calibur series. While no real mention of his sexual orientation or geneder identity is made (to my knowledge), his costume has him dressed like a bondage freak. I don't think this has really gotten the game any signifigant negative (or positive) feedback. I have heard some players complain that they dislike playing him or playing against him because he is so weird, but it's hard to evaulate exactly why this is. Besides his outlandish attire, his moveset is rather unlike the other fighters in the game, so it's hard to tell which is the real cause of the discomfort. In truth, it is likely a combination of factors. In addition, the fact that he is scantily clad and some of his moves have sexual overtones makes it difficult to disentangle, but he was the only character I could think of off hand that was at all similar.
Another example I've remembered is that in FF7, at one point, there is a bit of a dating simulator miningame. In this game it is supposedly possible for Cloud (the main character, a male, who the player controls while choosing the dates), to go out with Barret (another male character). As I recall, it garnered nothing more that a few raised eyebrows. Of course, this is a minor feature a good distance into a large game that the player may not even encounter. (I never got the option.) Furthermore, the FF series is so well established that I doubt any level of outcry (or acclaim) would really effect sales. So, once again, it's hard to draw any conclusions.
In a more general sense, I don't think it'd have a major impact, except as a main protagonist. The problem here is that many game designers choose thier main character for one of two reasons (or a combination of them). These are a character that the player can identify with on some level, or a character that is visually appealing to the player. Now, it's a sad demographic fact that a large number of games are targeted at males, and even more predominatly made by males.
This means that two types of main characters dominate many games (discounting cute cartoon animals/monsters for now). These are a fairly typical male for the player to identify with, or an attrative female for them to ogle. In the first case, I think that a homosexual protagonist may be a bit of a stumbling block for the average heterosexual male to identify with. While it may not matter to a large extent, I seem to think that most straight males would be more interested in rescuing thier character's girlfriend than his boyfriend.
As for thoes attractive females being homosexual, I don't know how that would turn out. A lot of such characters are single, which ties into the titlation factor. Some straight males have a facination with lesbians, so it might work out. (Althought it might be better to make them bisexual, to leave the male players thier fantasies.) On the other tentacle, it might be a turn off for others. It's hard to say.
I realize that a lot of what I've just said could be construed as very sexist, and I admit it is, but that seems to be one of the driving factors in a lot of video game character designs now-a-days (especially females). I think that sexuality is pretty warped in video game character design already, so it's hard to say how these issues would effect it.
How females would react to a homosexual protagonist in a game, I've got less insight into. (Primarily because I'm a straight male and most of my friends are too.) I've heard that females tend to be more tolerant of homosexuality than males (and have a higher incidince of bisexuality), but I don't have and evidence of this and it wouldn't surprize me to find out that it's just a baseless rumor.
As you move from main characters to side characters, I think it becomes less and less relevant. Only the staunchest homophobe is likely to get offended at the game manufacturer because of a side character, even if they don't particularly care for that NPC. Then again, it would be likely that groups who've never even played the game would start some sort of media hub-bub over it, so who knows?
Moveing from homosexuality to transgendered individuals, it's much of the same, only more so. The transgendered make up a smaller portion of the population and are more likely to garner a negative reaction. In the end, I think the considerations would be similar.
One thing that may be of interest to note is that there is a fairly large number of homosexual, bisexual, transgendered, and cross-dressing characters in anime and it doesn't seem to have had much effect. I don't know for sure, but I suspect there is substatial overlap between gamers and anime fandom.
I think the most important point would be to consider why the character is written to have a particuar sexual orientation or genderer identity. It's important to decide wether the character's preference should matter to the game at all. In some games (dating sims, interactive fiction, many RPGs) it could have important plot implications. However in others (action games, racing games, FPSs), it's not as likely to have as much influence. In the end, I think it's a bad idea to make a gay character simply to have one in your game, the character's sexuality should flow from the rest of the character, not be the basis of it.
#129255 - Dwedit - Mon May 21, 2007 3:17 am
Remember, Chrono Trigger had the transvestite Flea.
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#129266 - keldon - Mon May 21, 2007 9:08 am
Voldo is disliked as opponents for the same reason that Eddie Gordo and Dalsim were, they're the most annoying characters to play against as their combos are easily pulled off and their attack reach is long.
In short depending on how you present the game it could come across as any other game, or it could come across as a/the 'gay' game.