Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Adult content in BG3

EXACTLY.

I think we're beating a dead horse here now, but one more whack shouldn't hurt... :P

Let's compare to Dragon Age Inquisition which I am currently re-playing while waiting for Patch 5 in this game, so my impressions are fresh. (Apologies for any spoilers, but honestly, it's 7 years old, I think I'm the only person who hasn't finished that game to the end. :P )
In that game, you DO in fact have time to get to know your companions. You get a hidden fortress in the mountains so your enemy can't find you easily. You have as many diplomatic/political missions as you do adventure, which builds both your XP and your power/influence in the world, and allows you time to chat with companions, do their personal quests, romance them etc. And most importantly, the companions in DA:I are there because they believe in you, and they follow your cause, and the cause of the Inquisition. Furthermore, because these people came to join YOU of their own free will, it makes sense that they can become interested in you as a person and not just their leader. Also, they have romantic personalities. Cassandra the fighter dreams of being wooed with flowers and poetry. Solas has his underlying goals but is literally falling in love with you without intending to. Sera is, well, Sera, but she proposes to marry you. Etc.


In this game? COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SITUATION.
You have a group of random adventurers brought together by circumstance. At first, all you have in common with each other is the fact that you have literal worms burrowing in your heads. Literal worms. And all of the companions have COMPLETELY different personalities! They don't follow you because they believe in your ideals or what you represent to the world - they follow you because this accidental rag-tag group is their best hope of dealing with the tadpole problem at hand.

- Shadowheart is the best example of romance done in the way GM4Him ideally wants - her scene is sweet, getting-to-know-each-other, and is not sexual. She does not pounce on you at the camp party, she wants to get to know you first.
- Gale is probably the next closest example of a "hopeless romantic" personality. He is intelligent, has a cat and a library, and fell hopelessly in love with a Goddess. You're there to play second fiddle... no wait, you're there to remind him there could be something to love in the real world. And you do get two very romantic, very flirty scenes with him beforehand, before he starts quoting the Kama Sutra at you.
- Astarion is a vampire. Vampires in books and stories, at least from Bram Stoker's "Dracula" onwards through to Anne Rice, etc, have always been sexual, seductive creatures. They are literally sex with fangs. It's a huge part of why vampires in general, and Astarion in particular, are so popular. There have been a ton of analyses done on vampires in literature and what part of the human psyche they represent. OF COURSE he wants to have sex with you. Furthermore, he has just been "rescued" (his words) from two centures of mental, physical and probably sexual abuse. That takes a lot of time and therapy to get over - he knows seduction, not tenderness. That said, his Stargazing scene is actually very nice and flirty if you play it that way.
- By the time of the Tiefling party, Wyll's goblin revenge problem has been solved, and his demon problem remains - but of course, he wants to relax and forget about that problem just for one night. Also, he's not a knight in shining armour, he is a high-Charisma self-declared "Hero" who talks the talk even more than he walks the walk. Can you imagine how many people have thrown themselves at him in the past, just for his reputation?
- Lae'zel has been thoroughly analysed here previously. :P If you tried to give her flowers or take her for a moonlight stroll, she would a) not understand, and b) just kill you.

With all of these personalities and the situation in this game, it makes complete and total sense for the game's plot, and the sex, to unfold as it does.

We can't - and shouldn't - be trying to impose one single ideal of romantic love on all of these characters.

I don't think many people get the exact romance they want from any story they read/play/watch, but because you empathize with the characters in the story, you're taken along with them during the narrative. When someone says "love leads to sex but sex doesn't equal love" I find it a bit of a non sequitur, we're being told a story with casual sex in it, you only seem to be taking issue with it because we've all been conditioned to expect 'romance' be a part of the game and you're afraid the casual sex is what Larian considers a romance plot-line. I think it is what it seems to be, casual intimacy that may lead to further intimacy between the characters.

We have companions who are happy to have sex with you, and we have companions who aren't, in fact, their interactions during the celebration scene seem to be Larian telling us how each character treats intimacy on these levels.

The above also seems to be in argument for the removal of the depiction of sex from the game, I'll never be in favor of censoring something because if offends someone. But I understand where it comes from. I like comics, for a while they were all-ages fare, but as the stories became more mature and adult oriented, the absence of sex became a hang-up, the comics trying to tell adult stories didn't feel complete without it, comics in other countries which never truly pigeonholed their comics by age bracket are good examples of the diversity of story that could be told in this medium. The inverse is also true, I'm a fan of comics, so I am also well aware of what happens when sex becomes a gratuitous add-on, with little function beyond titillation. That line is something people argue over but I don't think we as fans of RPGs should be trying to tell creators to check themselves like this.

In summary, 90s comics suck...that's what we're talking about right?

I wasn't trying to force my ideals or some sort of single concept of romance on the game. This has all been a monumental misunderstanding. I don't even care that much. As I have said, romance in the game is probably one of the least of my cares.

I was only offering my suggestions and opinions that I thought would make the game better, and I was giving reasons why I thought they were good ideas because some kept asking me to do so. I only responded recently because RagnarokCzD asked me to explain myself.

Sorry about the quote. I actually didn't mean to post that long back and forth. I copied it to try to see everything RagnarokCzD said. I planned on deleting it all after my response and just forgot it was there.

You all disagree with me, so fine. I'm not calling anyone names or getting all mad or disrespectful. I'm not passing judgment or throwing a fit. I was just stating an opinion...an opinion that is obviously not welcomed.

I still think the conversation's been worthwhile

And I think on that note it's time to call it a day. Sorry, folks, but in spite of repeated requests to keep it civil and attempts to clean up this thread there are still some people who can't engage responsibly.