MASS EFFECT TWO: GIVE GARRUS A HUG

[Mirai Gen]

I'd think they felt like Mass Effect was super-successful so they didn't want to run a risk.

Whereas Dragon Age was an all new IP and therefore could be buried in there a bit, therefore a bit safer.

EDIT: completely a guess though.

[stefan]

Originally Posted by DFM

ME2 they had at the very least a FemShep/Tali romanced voiced a little ways past the "Uh... Shepard I think I'm hot for you." stage.

from various hearsay Ive heard the deal with tali was that the VA didn't want to play a bisexual character and bioware figured it was better to let her refuse freely than to alienate the actress for one of the most popular characters in the game.

[Solid Snake]

Originally Posted by DFM

What gets me is that for both ME1 and ME2 they had goddamn gay romances and then cut them at the last minute. In ME1 you were supposed to be able to romance both Kaiden and Ashley regardless of your sex, they even had everything voiced for it, including the final sex scene.

At the risk of potentially being misinterpreted as insensitive, this doesn't bother me.
Well, the lack of potential gay romance options in Mass Effect bothers me.
...But the fact that some supporting characters actually have secure, inflexible sexualities does not.

I mean it's always somewhat bothered me when I play a game (even a great one, like Persona 4) where your main character can seduce anyone he goddamn wants. Yeah I get that a main character who's supposed to represent the interests of the gamer should have a flexible sexuality. So it makes sense to, for example, give the main character the opportunity to flirt with whoever he or she wants to. But this doesn't mean that every supporting character should be written as not only bisexual but also capable of falling in love with the main character just because.

There should be heterosexual characters who won't arbitrarily change for the affections of a same-gendered main character, just as there should be attractive homosexual supporting characters who won't date you if you're the opposite gender, just as there should be both heterosexual and homosexual supporting characters who won't date the main character regardless of gender just because the main character's personality type isn't a good match.

In specific regards to Mass Effect, there could be additional variables such as characters who won't consider dating you if you go renegade and characters who won't consider dating you if go paragon.

I mean I can understand from a sheer programming perspective why they wouldn't go this route, but consider it a wish list to how games like Mass Effect should be, if they're really aiming for the next level of realism when it comes to LIs.

(And yes, the contradictory argument here is that maybe we don't want realism in our potential LI options in a videogame, but while I'm all for giving Shepard considerably more numerous and attractive dating options than the average gamer would ever have, the nature of the game right now...and other games like Persona 4, which take a similar philosophy...is something like "If she's heterosexual and hot, you can seduce her!" (And they're all heterosexual, and most of them are hot.) Which is just stupid. It eliminates the personalities of supporting characters insofar as they'll all drop everything for a chance to shag you. A few characters shouldn't date you period, and other characters should be a bit pickier and only date the main character when he or she makes decisions they agree with or acts in a way they should find desirable.)

EDIT: Furthermore, neither Kaiden nor Ashley as written in ME1 are written in such a way as to support either being considered bisexual.
I mean I guess Bioware could have written them completely differently to conform them to such a requirement, but I prefer 'em as is.

[Azisien]

Basically agree with you Snake. That being said, if the gamer is given a character with flexible sexuality, they should be able to use it.

I mean maybe the way the cards fall, the only gay NPC is a volus, but hey!

[Mirai Gen]

I'm not sure if I dislike the idea that Kaiden/Ashley would be bisexual and give me a real feeling of overly-perfect convenience, or if that's just my familiarity with Ashley going against the idea that she'd be presented as bi.

Either way I'm kinda happy the way it is now, albeit I'm wondering why no gay dudes.

[CABAL49]

Since Asari are all women, it makes since that they're all bi.

[BitVyper]

I kind of wish the Asari would have been more androgenous. It's pretty obvious (after listening to the bachelor party discussion, that is) that everyone just sees what they want to see when they look at an Asari anyway, so you could still have them look more feminine, but it kind of seems odd to me that they have a concept of gender at all. Their mating process seems like more of a psychic event where the other contributor's sex doesn't even have much effect.

[DFM]

The only thing I really take issue with in Snake's post is saying that neither Ashley or Kaiden were presented as being Bi. Ashley, I'll admit, I don't think I would buy. What with her being the staple racist space conservative. Being able to pull off her being closeted would take a lot more attention than the other romances to portray it convincingly.

Kaiden, though, seriously? Have you seen the porno strut Shepard does when he walks up to him in the mood lighting, and how Kaiden always stands up and slowly wipes the sweat from his brow? It's like you're going to start fucking right there.

As for the not-being-able-to-date-everyone thing, the main problem is you're not even given the option of hitting on them. Femshep can't try and initiate a romance with Miranda, Malshep can't try to hit on Thane, etc. As a player, your sexuality is forced on you by Bioware, not any NPC personalities or orientation.

[Aerozord]

I think what I really like about Tali is approaching her for a relationship feels more deep and realistic. Like she's concerned about complications of them being different species, long term effects, and like Garrus she was in the last game so there is, ya'know good reason for an actual relationship to form. The recurring characters are people you have spent alot of time with, gotten to know, and developed strong bond with before.

Not sure I'd ever be gay for Garrus though, simply because I prefer thinking of him as my best bud and that seems like the relationship they have. Your wing man, the guy you joke about old times flying around and punching out mecha-cthuhlu.

[Mirai Gen]

I'm in agreement with DFM's post. Plus it would make it so like the entire team is ready to sex up any Shepard you make in ME1, and that's one of those 'suspension of disbelief' breakers for me.

I don't mind offering relationship potential in wRPGs - that's pretty much the BnB of them - but I like the limited number of relationships offered in both MEs. Makes it feel more like you have people that mean a lot to you, rather than like the entire known galaxy wants to grope Shepard's Carnifex Hand Cannon/heat clip slot.

Originally Posted by Aerozord

Not sure I'd ever be gay for Garrus though, simply because I prefer thinking of him as my best bud and that seems like the relationship they have. Your wing man, the guy you joke about old times flying around and punching out mecha-cthuhlu.

The word you're looking for is "Bromance."