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Controversial Character Issue
Author
Two of the characters(www.gamaforge.zeroconcept.net/characters.html) in my game are non-human, and genderless, is it too creepy if one of them has a near sexual fascination with men? I don't mean has sex with them, since it has no sexual organs, but have a fascination with them? Also if you could comment on other characters that'd be great.
EDIT: Mass amount of typos.
You mean he's just "flirty" with men? Obviously there isn't as much freedom for homosexual expression as we see on television but I don't see how you couldn't make him clingy toward the men that are around. You don't have to make him drool or anything, right?
*snags Marion Zimmer Bradley's The World Wreckers off a shelf and waves it around*
Not only does the gender-ambiguous non-human have a romantic/sexual relationship with a generally-straight human guy, the guy perceives it as being essentially male... despite the fact that he eventually gets him pregnant.
*checks the copyright date*
1971. Incidentally. My copy is from a sixth printing, in 1984, so apparently the nature of the central romance didn't turn too many readers off.
Setting that aside: Yes, your genderless characters will be perceived as male by most people -- you're not helping by calling them "he" and "him," but even an "it" will get mentally assigned to male, in most people's heads. Therefore, any attraction on their part to male character(s) will be perceived as homosexual. As to how "creepy" it is, well, it depends on exactly how you portray this "fascination"... and how homophobic your audience is.
Not only does the gender-ambiguous non-human have a romantic/sexual relationship with a generally-straight human guy, the guy perceives it as being essentially male... despite the fact that he eventually gets him pregnant.
*checks the copyright date*
1971. Incidentally. My copy is from a sixth printing, in 1984, so apparently the nature of the central romance didn't turn too many readers off.
Setting that aside: Yes, your genderless characters will be perceived as male by most people -- you're not helping by calling them "he" and "him," but even an "it" will get mentally assigned to male, in most people's heads. Therefore, any attraction on their part to male character(s) will be perceived as homosexual. As to how "creepy" it is, well, it depends on exactly how you portray this "fascination"... and how homophobic your audience is.
Vamp in Metal Gear Solid 2 was bisexual, hence his name. He had an intimate relationship with Scott Dolph, a marine commandant. No one raised hell about that. I think you'd be fine in doing it, publicity-wise.
You could also define it slightly different in that the fascination with men is not of a romantic nature but more of a curiosity with man's position socially in society. Being as the character is sexless, it's first hand experience with the virtues (and frustrations) of women would be an obvious interest. You would need to define some sort of reason that the same fascination does not extend towards women however.
In Star Trek - Data's character is a great prototype of this paradigm. You could extend this further or in a more precise manner, to meet your design needs.
#dth-0
In Star Trek - Data's character is a great prototype of this paradigm. You could extend this further or in a more precise manner, to meet your design needs.
#dth-0
Quote: Original post by orionx103
Vamp in Metal Gear Solid 2 was bisexual, hence his name. He had an intimate relationship with Scott Dolph, a marine commandant. No one raised hell about that. I think you'd be fine in doing it, publicity-wise.
I think the reason this issue of vamp's sexual orientation didn't create a media stirr is because the topic wasn't even made known to the player throughout the game (from what i can remember).. It's been a while since i played the game last but i'm sure that nothing was even made apparent of this at any point in the story of the game.. in fact i can't even remember how you can find that out in the game which means that most people who probably played the game would have missed this information all together..
In relation to the original post, i agree with logodae.. most people will probably see your character as male in there eyes (unless 'it' has a very feminine look to the characters physical appearance..) so i guess it all depends on the audience..
The fluffy, bouncy side of me says go for it - if people are offended by it, screw 'em!
Unfortunately, the "how would this affect sales?" side of me says that, whilst it might increase sales in some circles, the overall effect on sales would be negative. Taking TV as an example, I've noticed that in sci-fi in particular, the use of lesbians is popular - most likely because of the strong majority of male viewers. Yet I can't recall a TV sci-fi series which even touches on the subject of gay men...
I think that's all the more reason to include it.
Unfortunately, the "how would this affect sales?" side of me says that, whilst it might increase sales in some circles, the overall effect on sales would be negative. Taking TV as an example, I've noticed that in sci-fi in particular, the use of lesbians is popular - most likely because of the strong majority of male viewers. Yet I can't recall a TV sci-fi series which even touches on the subject of gay men...
I think that's all the more reason to include it.
One of the funniest shows on TV these days has to be Will and Grace (personal opinion, using to make a point). This is also a very popular show, and its on Prime Time. The show centres around a gay man and his one time fiance. So I really don't think it will be much of a problem, since the show is for the most part widely accepted.
There are going to be some people who will be like "wtf is this?" but that's more likely going to be because they are immature than anything.
So don't plan on making everyone happy, cause you won't succeed. Just make the story the way you want it made, because if you don't it won't be the story you invisioned and it also won't be the best work you can do.
There are going to be some people who will be like "wtf is this?" but that's more likely going to be because they are immature than anything.
So don't plan on making everyone happy, cause you won't succeed. Just make the story the way you want it made, because if you don't it won't be the story you invisioned and it also won't be the best work you can do.
Lets also remember that in a format such as Will and Grace, though homosexual-centered events occur, the majority of the episodes revolve around things that anyone can relate to, regardless of sexual preference. I think its important that while we have gay characters, that their lives in which we see them through episodes of the show are put forth in ways so that any audience member can at least laugh and relate.
If your entire story or game is going to revolve around your character having sexual urges for another man, then I think your screwed and only going to have success in the small applicable market that is the gay community. If you have a much more broad scale of events taking place and really driving the story, than who care about the 5 minutes of creepiness that occurs from your character having those urges..
If your entire story or game is going to revolve around your character having sexual urges for another man, then I think your screwed and only going to have success in the small applicable market that is the gay community. If you have a much more broad scale of events taking place and really driving the story, than who care about the 5 minutes of creepiness that occurs from your character having those urges..
He's not saying that the entire story revolves around the facination one of his character's has with the male gender. What he's saying is that there will be moments in the game where the attraction that the character has is fairly evident. I'm semi-guessing here but I assume that what Ataraxis is attempting to do is use that as a comic relief every once and a while.
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