One of the big problems is that the programmers don't account for sexual preference in straight male culture. If a male friend hits on you, it is over big time. Bridge burnt. Mandatory distance. Done. Kaput.
This is a really odd thing to insinuate. First, straight male culture is riddled with "bros" flirting, albeit jokingly. But I don't think an innocent pass from a queer or questioning male friend would devastate the average straight male as you imply. Maybe in middle school. Are you... a child? Please don't answer. I agree that the romance setup as it is in the game is a mess, but this post's take on it was... questionable to say the least.
I disagree, and I don't think it's necessary to belittle someone by calling them a child for expressing their culture in broad terms.
For what it's worth, there's quite a bit of truth in what the poster mentioned. I have zero interest in starting a male/male relationship in the game, and it makes me not want to interact with the male companions at all. Solely because I know at some point they're going to start coming on to me. Wyll's dancing scene was unbelievably out of touch with my character.
I understand that you may not like my opinion on the matter. I even understand that you may not like me because of my opinion. All of that is fine. But there are a lot of "me's" out there, and it would be nice if Larian could provide a way to avoid triggering those scenes.
1. An option in settings to turn on particular romance options, perhaps.
2. Obvious [start romance] triggers in the conversation, maybe.
For what it's worth, I've always thought the "playersexual" approach was a terrible idea. It completely strips all of the NPCs of any real sexual identity. it's not at all realistic and thus it detracts from the artistry of the whole.
The reason for me saying that was because homophobia is discriminatory, obviously, and more commonly the opinion of a younger more ignorant person, aka a child, not an acceptable aspect of culture at least not here I assume and hope...
No need to paint out like it was a baseless insult just because you might agree with such sentiments.
I appreciate your intent to focus on the point of the matter which is how it reflects player experience and gameplay matters, though. Personally, I find it unneededly and exceedingly limiting when a game takes the Dragon Age approach and assigns cemented sexual preferences to romanceable characters. What makes more sense is providing the options mentioned to properly open up or turn down the paths that the player is or isn't interested in pursuing in those regards.
First of all a disclaimer. I don't have any problems with gay people whatsoever. I know I shouldn't even need to point that out, but since you're obviously very sensitive I do.
But there seems to be a point you're missing in the original post. It wasn't calling for the eradication of gays or saying they're somehow inferior. I took it as stating a simple fact, not an opinion, in as a simple a way as possible, and to me it came off as quite neutral. I'm going to say the same thing in a more complicated way.
People in the real world can read subtle cues. You take your average straight male, and odds are they're not being hit on by gay people and have never been, even if said gay people happened to be their friends. Why? Because people respect each other's sexuality. It is hardcoded in our biology. You can't make someone straight in to anything but what they are. You can't and nor should you. People who are more open about things aren't straight.
So, the problem here is that straight men in the real world don't give off signals that they're gay, and if they were being hit on by gays all the time even when they don't give off those signals, it will make them uncomfortable, because they are not gays. Now if you have the same thing happening to them in a fictional setting, they're not going to like it either. It means their characters either aren't in their control i.e. they're giving off signals that the player doesn't want them to give OR the fictional characters around them cross boundaries in ways that isn't acceptable. You too could take a time to respect those boundaries instead of calling people children when they only act according to their biology.
Obviously some people have more lax boundaries and aren't as easily uncomfortable, but I assure you, many straight males are and there is nothing that will change a biological imperative like that. There is genuine homophobia in the world, but not wanting to be hit on by other guys isn't enough to fit the bill.
I play female characters and to be honest it'd be weird having all the women hit on my character all the time, but I suppose if every man in the camp wants to sleep with her (while being somewhat more realistic) it is also uncomfortable. Sounds to me like the companions in BG3 are some kind of sexual harassers. It's not easy to end up in a relationship and I see no reason why that should be any different in a fantasy setting, it makes the romances more appealing if you have to work on them.
Dragon Age: Inquisition did it the best, there was no way to get a gay man in bed if you were a woman, but at least you could be a friend with him and you could be just a friend with a lesbian too, without them trying to approach you sexually. I, and knowing something about human biology, vast majority of the players appreciated it being that way. Why would anyone want to force a gay man in bed with a woman? Or should everyone be bisexuals?
'Playersexuality' is a some kind of godhood fantasy where everyone in the world wants you. Most players arent't that narcissistic (narcissism is somewhat rare). Players, I assume, want a simulation of a realistic relationship,whether you're gay or straight, and part of that which comes with it, is being rejected by people who don't share your biological desires, not being harassed by them. It'd be much, much better, not to mention realistic, if Larian would fix the companions in a way that if they happen to have no preferences, as rare as that is, at least they'd respect the fact that most people do have them.
I bet you're tolerant of gays and respect their preferences, how about you do the same with straight people too without insulting them? Every insult here is unnecessary. People just want to enjoy the game and have a right to criticize things that they don't like about it. If someone is being forced to avoid his male party members only because they just want to be friends with them, then there's something very wrong with the game and it needs fixing.
