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EA, stop being so schizophrenic. One moment you're releasing sequel after sequel, the next you're actually doing something good for the gay community. | |
I... really don't get it. Either I'm blind to blatant homophobia in games or it's so little it's pratically not there. The gamers themselves I can see because, well, every other word I hear is a gay slur. | |
Agreed. Its just so confusing. | |
Unbelievable. This makes me sick! Why are we catering to certain groups of people? Just because they complain, then we have to make "special" rules for them? I'm not just talking about queers, I'm talking about anyone: Religions, nationalities, races, etc. No special treatment, and no conferences to discuss how we should cater to the needs of these groups who think that they are some-how more special than the rest of us. I better end this rant before i get the moderators called on me, but it really pisses me off when ignorant stuff like this happens. | |
That sounds freaking gay (wink). | |
EA is doing something GENUINELY GOOD??? I think hell just froze over. ..........I saw a few pigs flying too.......... | |
Yeah because why would you ever listen to people's concerns and try provide services/products which they can use? | |
This makes no sense. How is that schizo? They aren't contradicting themselves or switching sides, so how is that schizo? | |
This is stupid. They shouldn't let being gay get in the way of gaming. What's next? Its hard for someone to be openly Jewish on games like Xboxlive. its stupid. Its not like people are openly straight on games. You don't really talk about stuff like that. EA is gay | |
They can use them. They aren't denied from playing for being gay. Its just a special interest group, thinking that they deserve special privileges for being different. | |
Hell yeah! Thank you! Finally someone with some common sense around here. | |
In other news, the gamers' alliance clamps down on the use of derogatory words implying mental illness: "retarded", "schizo", etc. In the buggy-but-pretty-good RPG "Temple of Elemental Evil", you could actually marry a gay pirate called Bertram if you were playing a male character. Come to think of it, you can do this in a lot of RPGs. Now if you were trying to make characters in games less needlessly misogynistic (one of the very many things that annoyed me about FPS crapfest F.E.A.R) then I'd agree. | |
It really doesn't seem that difficult to me. Allow people to say they're gay in their little profile things, and if gay people are attacked, they can report them through the proper means like everyone else. This isn't the real world we're talking about. Everyone is a jerk to everyone online, no matter what, so it's kind of stupid in my mind to cater to one specific group being attacked when EVERYONE is attacked. | |
On every multiplayer game, there should be a little subtitle at the top of the screen which says: | |
Can you say: "Publicity Stunt?" | |
It's don't have any objection to a frank discussion about concerns of hatred or discrimination in gaming towards a set group. There's a lot of inappropriate hate-speech and slander that occurs during many online gaming experiences. My concern is where a line has to be drawn. I don't think game developers refuse to have gay protaganists because of some misguided notion that it's not an appropriate lifestyle choice. I believe they are trying to create a character and story that is as broadly appealing as possible to all audiences to maximize profit. Also, the more important point, does anyone really get that worked up about it? From a personal standpoint, if there's a game that's well made with an engaging story and great gameplay, the sexual orientation of the player doesn't really matter. I've grown up playing games with female protagonists and don't suffer from any sort of gender confusion, why would I worry about suddenly being gay if the character controlled is? | |
well either way, i think theres gotta be something else out there for EA to benefit from, such as publicity or something, or maybe they were about to get sued, so they had to pull this one outa their hat to say 'hey look we care *ahem*' or maybe they are genuinely interested... time will tell, i guess | |
Now this is where I stopped liking this, we shouldn't be separating from each other we should be trying harder to try to make more people tolerant instead of separating them. It pains me to admit that because I consider myself to be very tolerant, but I've grown up in a 95% white community and for whatever reason I find it a little awkward when I interact with people who aren't white, I know it's pretty bad but that's what happens when people are separated. | |
I dunno about this. I mean, misogynistic characters don't make a game misogynistic. Look at Duke 3D. The titular player character was extremely misogynistic, but given the satirical tone of the work, it was appropriate. I haven't played F.E.A.R., so it's possible that something like that is inappropriate there, but it sounds like it would be more likely to be a minor issue in quality than something that you would discuss at a panel like this. | |
What are you talking about? Special privileges? Like what? Noting being ridiculed for their sexual orientation? Which is, by the way, part of every terms of use for online games (Namely XBL and PSN). So other people break the rules, they complain to get fair treatment, and you say we shouldn't 'cater' to them? | |
They have provided a safe enviroment for every race, nationality and sexual preference. There is anonimity and there is this little thing called the mute button. Heck on XBL you can even block communication. People online don't need to know your sexual preference. You don't walk into a crowd of strangers and holler "I am (insert sexual preference here) deal with it" so why should the internet be any different? And if you are going to announce your lifestyle choice to the world like it matters to anyone but you, you best be prepared for people not to like or agree with it. If you paint a target on your back people will take shots. I don't understand why gay people figure they are above the laws of simple social etiquette. | |
Schizophrenia is an identity disorder in a sense. In they change on the spot their way of perceiving things. | |
I suggest you rethink your definition of ignorant before you start going on a tirade about how great it is to be an oppressed and extremely disenfranchised minority group. | |
I believe that's their point; no special treatment, no being used as a slur, no being harassed at every turn. For everyone, not just WASP males aged 14-34. Frankly, one thing driving me out of the online game community is the rampant bigotry and incredible idiocy on it... and if GLAAD and EA can help get rid of that crap, so much the better for everyone and not just gays. -- Steve | |
What characters were (needlessly) misogynistic in FEAR? | |
I never liked GLAAD. Maybe if they would shut the hell up and stop forcing their views down our throats 24/7, I would tolerate them. But they don't, so I don't | |
This has turned into a real hate-train. It won't affect anybody at all, yet we somehow over-react when all it is is that a minority wants to be discriminated against less. What's wrong with the conference? A group of people get bullied for no reason when they payed for a service. So shouldn't they be able to use it like every other person? | |
I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, I mean, Homophobia is still a problem (even though people say that it's getting better, it doesn't feel like it is, I still suffer from homophobic bullying in everyday life), but then again I have no idea how bad it is online, as I never play online (or at least hardly ever), so I don't know, it could be really bad and people could be getting bombarded with message saying "U FAG" or something, or it could just be some guy going "GUYS, I'M GAY" over the mic on online games and annoying the heck out of people. Something just seems like EA are doing this... well, so they look good or something like that. | |
"Safe spaces for LGBT people online?" Are they going to set up homosexual only game servers? | |
And people wonder why folks at EA are hosting a panel on this. *sigh* -- Steve | |
Damn this is really far from where i live and i live in california! Id love to go, this is a really good idea. | |
I think it's more to do with the gaming community (players) rather than the games. | |
Erm, ok, here's the problem. I think that gay people are being a little to sensitive here. I mean, if you are talking about things like your sexual preference, religious or political views, or any such characteristic about yourself on a online game, you are not playing the game. I do not play a game of Halo to debate Obama's policies. If I want to talk about stuff like that, I talk to the gamers I actually know, have played with for a while, and find myself calling online friends. The people who I talk with the subjects online on are people I often play with and usually talk to on a daily basis. If you find yourself in a game of Halo saying you are gay, you are just asking for someone to tell you off. Let me explain. If you were gay, and had just met someone in real life, would one of the first things you say to them be 'I'm gay, just so you know, I'm gay'. No. Now turn this the other way, say someone you just met immediatly stated they were gay to you like that. Would you not feel like that subject was pushed onto you and in a quite rude manner. The only time I really see that topics like this should come up is in a natural way of conversation, not automatically forced out into the open to have people start making judgements. That way prejudices can not be made on a person without getting to know them on a personal level, instead of a shallow one. Rephrased: Erg, that rant came out a little bit longer and messier then I had hoped but the ending point is still there. And upon rereading I'm sorry that I jumped around all over the place. My basic point is that subjects like this are not meant to be talked about in front of strangers. They are meant to be talked about with people you know and like. If someone came up to me and started saying how much they believed in God and stuff like that, I would start makings judgements against them and probably not want to talk to them anymore. It alienates people and puts judgements and ideas in a person's head that may not be true. If I got to know someone on a personal level, and actually had a friendship of some form starting with a person, their religious, sexual, and politcal views would have less of an impact on me and it would be much harder for someone to have prejudice against the other for it. | |
Really, this is stupid. | |
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EA Hosting Panel on Homophobia in Gaming
Electronic Arts and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) will host a panel discussion on homophobia in gaming this weekend with panelists from Maxis, Linden Labs, Microsoft and more.
Homophobia is something of a hot topic in the gaming community nowadays. Everybody knows that it's not easy to be openly gay on services like Xbox Live, but recent news has shown that the issue of how to handle homophobia, and homosexuality in general, isn't just a concern when it comes to gamers themselves but game companies as well.
Some of those companies, then, are coming together this weekend to discuss the issue of homophobia in gaming and the problems surrounding it. "Homophobia in Virtual Communities Panel" is a panel discussion hosted by Electronic Arts and organized by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) that "brings together gaming industry insiders and LGBT gamers in a conversation about combating homophobia online."
Panelists include Stephen Toulouse of Microsoft, who was recently in the spotlight during this spring's "gay Gamertag" controversy, Flynn DeMarco, games journalist and founder of GayGamer.net, and folks from the ESA, Maxis and Linden Labs. The panel will be moderated by Justin Cole, the Director of Digital & Online Media for GLAAD.
"Panelists will be addressing such issues as how to provide safe spaces for LGBT people online, how to ensure the best policies are in place to prevent virtual attacks against LGBT people and how to educate the users of online communities about the effects of homophobia," GLAAD wrote.
The panel is open to the public and will take place at EA's headquarters in Redwood City, CA, and take place from 11 AM to 1 PM. It should be an interesting discussion, so if you're in the area and interested in these issues, check it out. If you can't make it, GLAAD says the event will be recorded for distribution, so we'll probably hear what comes out of the panel sometime soon.
[Via GamePolitics]
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