Right to the point: in a game all about choices and roleplay, it seems really odd that the game locks you out of entire animation trees during sex scenes based on what body type you choose at the start of the game. From what I've read from others and tested myself it seems petite body types = bottom, large = top regardless of genitals. There's no warning that this is going to soft lock you when making the character.
I put an additional 40-60 hours into my Dark Urge playthrough, getting really into roleplaying, but then got jumpscared by my character being forced into a bottom role. No matter how many times I quick saved and reloaded there was absolutely no way in game for me to choose how the sex scene went -- aside from stopping it. Instead it was chosen for me because of the body type I picked?
Don't get me wrong, I've plenty of characters I've made already who I'm happy to go down that animation tree with. But my choice to decide if that's what I wanted for this character was taken from me, entirely souring this playthrough and making me wildly uncomfortable.
So, my suggestion: add a dialog option to all sex scenes that allows you to dictate which animation tree you go down. If needs be it can be locked behind an intimidation roll, that's fine, but I see no reason why we can't chose that in a game literally about roleplay. I understand there might be some weird jankyness to some scenes, i.e. Astarion picking up a jacked character, or a skinny one picking him up, but I'm fine for a little jank as long as I'm the one to make that choice.
Yeah dude, they should make being gay like picking a class and then you subclass into being a top or a bottom.
Not to be problematic, but I think picking sexuality would be more like picking a race, while picking sexual and relational dynamics would be more like class and subclass. Anyway, some classes get way more options than others, so people would complain about balancing.
Remember the human (This is a forum for a video game):
I think it would give us more immersed roleplaying. I was wondering why i am always on the bottom, that explains it. I do want to have a choice in the matter.
okay... I gotta be real, and I have to give you a life talk here.
Tops and bottoms are basically a fiction, in the vast majority of sexual relationships the sex can or should be mutual in all regards. At most the idea is a joke, and a fun little game people play.
And in relationships where there is a dominant/submissive power dynamic, these power dynamics cannot and should not be determined by who is pitching and receiving so to speak.
This idea is an outgrowth of the extremely offensive idea that in a homosexual relationship there needs to be someone assuming the role of a man and woman, and it used to be an extremely offensive idea.
But ever since 50 shades of grey came out, people have been treating the idea of tops and bottoms like its an engrained scientific fact about biology, that everyone is one or the other.
I cant stress enough, how incredibly problematic your viewpoint is... if you cant wrap your head around what I am saying, try to wrap your head around this.
Being the receiver, does not mean you are not the "top" if you can wrap your head around that idea, you are going to have a better life trust me. And for the love of god get off tiktok and tumblr.
This is the first game I've played that has romance and sex. I really liked it, I wish there were more scenes where I could explore this side with the characters and not just at certain points. Act 3 has few romance scenes
okay... I gotta be real, and I have to give you a life talk here.
This is a very bizarre post. "Top" and "Bottom" are just coded language to refer to whether someone is the pitcher or the catcher, it doesn't have anything to do with BDSM. And while many people do both there are also definitely plenty of people who very much prefer to only do one or the other, for a variety of reasons (pleasure, medical, etc).
As for whether the game needs an option to pick for individual scenes I don't really care one way or the other. Larian certainly has other more important things to fix in the game right now.
Clearly there's a bit of playful exaggeration when discussing the top-bottom dynamics, even though I've recognized the roles of top versatile and power bottoms. Just to clarify, I'm joking. As for adding more agency in sex scenes, it might not be the best idea, but perhaps it could find a place on Nexusmods.
okay... I gotta be real, and I have to give you a life talk here.
This is a very bizarre post. "Top" and "Bottom" are just coded language to refer to whether someone is the pitcher or the catcher, it doesn't have anything to do with BDSM. And while many people do both there are also definitely plenty of people who very much prefer to only do one or the other, for a variety of reasons (pleasure, medical, etc).
As for whether the game needs an option to pick for individual scenes I don't really care one way or the other. Larian certainly has other more important things to fix in the game right now.
Its really not bizarre, and its really not the implication of the coded language. And its not jsut BDSM.
the terms Top and Bottom come with intrinsic implication, and outright demand, of an uneven power dynamic during sex... receivers should not be considered the "lesser" in a sexual situation, this isnt 1950s america where husbands get to have fun but the wives dont.
Dominant/submissive power dynamics are ridiculous, sex should be mutually pleasurable for both parties... And even in relationships where people want this power dynamic, there should not be this expectation that the dominant person is the pitcher/top, and the submissive is the receiver/bottom.
Thats just a full insane continuation of old ass stereotypes and harmful cultural norms given cute names.
One that has led to many people who desire to be dominant to do things they normally wouldnt find pleasurable, because they want to be dominant or submissive in a relationship.
