rbstewart7263:

lechat:
from a programming standpoint it is easier to include same sex relationships in a game than to exclude them
so try and keep in mind every game which has a marriage/sex option that excludes same sex pairings is actually intentionally anti-gay

From the position of a programmer id have to disagree? Thats technically speaking "More work,More code" So how would it be easier?

edit:"At any rate, I don't see how the inclusion of same-sex marriage in a video game furthers the cause of actual same-sex marriage. The fact that it's still news-worthy for them to include it shows just how unequal society still is. I'll celebrate the day when developers include it without waiting for a pat on the back from their fans."

agreed sir agreed.

how do you assume more code?

::refuse gay marriage
marriage()
{
if
bob = male and john = male
or
john = female and bob = female
"you can't get married cause we dont like gays"
return
else
marry bob and john;
}

::allow gay marriage
marriage()
{
marry bob and john
}

apologies for syntax and simplified code obviously but you can easily see you need to add extra checks to exclude certain combinations of characters

dharmaBum0:
I don't understand how this took "a lot more time" to program. What weird data structure dependencies/algorithms did they implement that made changing a trivial binary check break the program?

Large projects like this, obviously, can have lots of weird code issues. But something like this shouldn't be that big of a problem.

i don't know enough about the game to say but you can just imagine the changes to a real life wedding
you may now kiss the bride
ability to wear wedding dress
bride walking down the aisle
i now pronounce you man and wife

lechat:

rbstewart7263:

lechat:
from a programming standpoint it is easier to include same sex relationships in a game than to exclude them
so try and keep in mind every game which has a marriage/sex option that excludes same sex pairings is actually intentionally anti-gay

From the position of a programmer id have to disagree? Thats technically speaking "More work,More code" So how would it be easier?

edit:"At any rate, I don't see how the inclusion of same-sex marriage in a video game furthers the cause of actual same-sex marriage. The fact that it's still news-worthy for them to include it shows just how unequal society still is. I'll celebrate the day when developers include it without waiting for a pat on the back from their fans."

agreed sir agreed.

how do you assume more code?

::refuse gay marriage
marriage()
{
if
bob = male and john = male
or
john = female and bob = female
"you can't get married cause we dont like gays"
return
else
marry bob and john;
}

::allow gay marriage
marriage()
{
marry bob and john
}

apologies for syntax and simplified code obviously but you can easily see you need to add extra checks to exclude certain combinations of characters

dharmaBum0:
I don't understand how this took "a lot more time" to program. What weird data structure dependencies/algorithms did they implement that made changing a trivial binary check break the program?

Large projects like this, obviously, can have lots of weird code issues. But something like this shouldn't be that big of a problem.

i don't know enough about the game to say but you can just imagine the changes to a real life wedding
you may now kiss the bride
ability to wear wedding dress
bride walking down the aisle
i now pronounce you man and wife

"facepalm!" Your right Im an idiot! lol

I thought you said games in general. I looked back you clearly meant games that already include said options and for the most part I can agree with that.

With the generalization I read we may as well indict braid for being homophobic. lol

Aaaaw, still no Mako for my Bountyhuntress?

...
...

I should get out more.

lechat:
from a programming standpoint it is easier to include same sex relationships in a game than to exclude them
so try and keep in mind every game which has a marriage/sex option that excludes same sex pairings is actually intentionally anti-gay

In marriage features like Skyrim sure... All that game cares about is whether the NPC is marriageable and whether you carry a special amulet. Programming in genders would indeed be more work. With a few minor changes you could use the current system to marry that cow in Whiterun, I'm pretty sure the system doesn't differentiate on whether the participants are humanoid either. If you figure out how to give a bucket dialogue you could even marry that!

If you want marriage in a game to have some actual context and meaning though then you don't want to program one generic marriage, you'll want to program a different and specific marriage for each option available. Programming in a new pairing with it's own unique dialog from every NPC who'd respond on marriage would be more work. If a game has a limited number of marriages available it's entirely conceivable they'll spend their time on pairings that the majority of their player-base identifies with. Granted, most of the work is for the voice actors, you don't want bisexual options to refer to both player genders the same. But there's still some additional work for the programmers.

To critique TOR on not having them considering the huge number of potential marriages available as well as the various statements they've made on the subject is fine. To critique each and every single game with a heterosexual marriage but no homosexual one is kinda dumb.

Oh! FOX news will have a field day with this one, specially since the Lucas arts sellout to Disney.
There will be so many "Games introduce gay sexual content for kids to explore!!!" and how it will destroy the moral fiber of america (I barely got trough the 'moral fiber of America' part 'straight')

This just in: Video game haters and FOX news got something new to chew on and to hate gaming with! /shock horror

Personally I wouldn't even consider an mmorpg where I cant rub beards with a fellow hairy male npc, then bind ourselves in wedlock to display our love to the server.

Jokes aside any new option added to this sort of game is a good option, shame I wont be playing it.

Soviet Heavy:
Not against this by any means, but if Bioware starts bragging about introducing gay couples to Star Wars I will personally throw a copy of Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice at them.

Don't worry, most people understand Bioware hasn't had an original thought in their career and are fine with that.

Avaholic03:
I'll celebrate the day when developers include it without waiting for a pat on the back from their fans.

And fans don't offer one so readily.

It won't save the game - it's that simple.

They need to add new gameplay features. Otherwise the players won't be back. And of course they have to work on their reputation again. At this point there pretty much isn't anything they can do to win me back as a customer....

I am happy for those that have wanted this since launch that they are finally getting it in there, but if its not a companion its not really a "romance". For anyone who has played, the NPC relationships consist of 2 or 3 flirts in 1 or 2 dialogs followed by a fade to black and perhaps an e-mail a couple hours later.

A quick note to those who think it is just a matter of including same-sex relationships by not including a gender-check, you also need to re-dub some of the VO work. For every "You are a handsome man"/"We must go through a friendship ceremony so you can be my soul sister", you need a separate line to be recorded. Not saying it is a HUGE job that couldn't have been done in the first place, but once left undone, is hard to rectify (got to get all the VO actors and actresses back in the studio).

And anyway, I like this game and find it a great way to spend time with my friends online. :P

I still am disappointed they made this instead of KotoR3. THAT would be an amazing game. I so loved KotoR 1+2 (despite obvious flaws in the games).

For a story-centered mmorpg, the story surely was spread thin and pretty bland. The only thing I really liked was the spaceship battles, oddly enough.

I was all set to explain why the whole 'it doesn't require more work to include gays' thing but then everybody else beat me to it. Ah well, dead horse beating is fun!
As a programmer: No, based on pure lines of code work, gay vs no gay is absolutely no effort. However, if you want it to look like anybody actually cared about it, it takes more than just removing the gender check on the player character. Presumably you want marriage that is more meaningful than just your character asking the companion 'wanna get married?' and then they respond 'sure' and that's it.

Of course, if all you WANT is absolutely identical dialog and such, then yeah, it's a trivial change. If you actually care though, you should be glad they haven't taken this route since it's boring and lazy.

KeyMaster45:

Xan Krieger:
OT: Wasn't there an incident that ended up declaring there are no gays in Star Wars? What's the point of making same-sex relationships possible when there are 0 gay characters to have said relationships?

The controversy was over a quip from one of the dev team on how the idea of being gay doesn't exist in the SW universe because everyone pretty much fucks anything with a pulse.

OT: Too little too late? I mean the game was okay despite being a decent single player experience wrapped in a half-baked MMO, but is this their best saving throw after their draconian F2P scheme has sealed the game's ultimate fate?

Well that's....interesting. No gays, no straights, well I guess that's one less problem Star Wars has compared to our world. Their big problem though? Illegal aliens which are actually aliens (the worst kind of illegal aliens, they don't jump the fence, they hyperdrive past it)

Tumedus:
I am happy for those that have wanted this since launch that they are finally getting it in there, but if its not a companion its not really a "romance". For anyone who has played, the NPC relationships consist of 2 or 3 flirts in 1 or 2 dialogs followed by a fade to black and perhaps an e-mail a couple hours later.

So your typical Bioware romance then?

I guess it's nice for roleplaying, but it's not gonna make the game any less of a slog. Cut out 80% of the trash mobs and then come talk to me.

TheBelgianGuy:
I still am disappointed they made this instead of KotoR3. THAT would be an amazing game. I so loved KotoR 1+2 (despite obvious flaws in the games).

For a story-centered mmorpg, the story surely was spread thin and pretty bland. The only thing I really liked was the spaceship battles, oddly enough.

Obsidian still wants to do a real Kotor 3. Maybe some Disney exec liked 2 enough to make it happen. That's my dream. Galaxy was non-cannon, right? This can be too.

Disney needs to dust off the 99% complete Battlefront III and release it now, before the new consoles!

I can not see the point, its just pandering really. Im a single, straight guy and i have zero interest in relationships in games. Its just not important. So all this gay relationship stuff is pandering to get more gay people to get the game. Cos gay people (like straight people) wont give a shit about this game cos of the relationship additions. A gay gamer isnt going to buy a game just because they can date same sex in it. Thus, its insulting.

lechat:
from a programming standpoint it is easier to include same sex relationships in a game than to exclude them
so try and keep in mind every game which has a marriage/sex option that excludes same sex pairings is actually intentionally anti-gay

I wouldnt say that, just because you they didnt include gay marriage and sex doesnt mean that they are anti-gay. 10 years ago games with gay sex would be bashed by the media, shit, even just hetero sex was enough (Hot Coffe and Mass Effect 1 shitstorm for example). Most of the time it just means that they are trying to avoid PR problems not becoming the hot topic of the week, like this
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/108826-Gay-Gamers-Want-Dragon-Age-2-Writer-Fired

Nowadays its more open but these things evolve slowly so just because a developer chooses to not include something like this it may only mean that he will opt to go the safe path and avoid any kind of additional PR issues. Its a sensitive issue that some may not be prepared to tackle so they prefer to stay away from it.

It kinda strikes me as tacky in a DA2 sense. Are they just gonna have all the romance options suddenly declare themselves bi? What about characters that were previously established as strongly hetero? Will they react to other same-sex characters? Is there going to be any difference in the romance aside from gender?

Fasckira:
"Finally" coming to TOR? Was it a big issue then? Not trying to get anyone's backs up if so, just wasn't aware that this had become some sticking point. Dont get me wrong, its great that the option is being made available for those who want it.

It came up often enough to merit a stickied thread in the TOR forums.

OT: Too little too late IMO. This should hve been in the original release. In fact, this entire game should have just been a single player RPG with warzones and other multiplayer content added in later for fun. Don't even get me started on their Free-to-Play-but-just-barely policy.

Cos gay people only play games with same sex relationships. If i was gay i would be insulted. They play games like everyone, for story or for fun. They would play Halo 5 without the need to see Master Chief screw another member of the army. Its like saying a game has to be pink just to make girls love it.

yes, now the mediocre and outrageously boring jedi path will be more exiting..

SonOfVoorhees:
Cos gay people only play games with same sex relationships. If i was gay i would be insulted. They play games like everyone, for story or for fun. They would play Halo 5 without the need to see Master Chief screw another member of the army. Its like saying a game has to be pink just to make girls love it.

you might be right but there are still some people that cant enjoy a game when they cant stick their virual penises in another (male, female or unnown sexuality) NPCs holes.

thats why we have erotic fan fiction..

I'm not the biggest fan of SWTOR out there and I have quite a few problems with it, but I'm actually inclined to believe this isn't some sort of last ditch effort to get people to come back to ToR.

This most definitely was a feature that was promised before launch. Straight up we will have this in eventually promised and they didn't deliver on it. Now that they're not in a massive state of upheaval they were in previously, I can see how comin back to somethin that was in fact highly requested is a bad thing.

So, I won't be able to make my Sith Warrior make out with Quinn? Nah, I'm not interested then.

With the current montisation model the game resembles a giant milking machine with a Star Wars logo on it. Adding gay romance options isn't something I'd focus on if I were in charge of TOR. But oh well, who am I to judge? I'm no suit-wearing executive, I'm just a simple gamer, and I've already voted with my wallet by keeping it shut and away from EA's reach. I'd better stop whining now and get back to playing games I really enjoy.

That's good, I suppose out of the 12 people still playing SWTOR at least one of them will want to play a gay character.