SGRA's

[Raiellyn]

What the hell are you two on about?

 

In a previous thread about the same topic, I lamented the fact that my trooper is destined to either be celibate or forced to shack up with Jorgan the Catman.

 

Many tears were shed.

 

To expand the discussion a bit, romance options can be disappointing no matter your orientation. Fortunately I went smuggler and have Risha, but some of the other classes...yeesh...

 

Very, very true. I am actually a fan of Corso's character, but I'd prefer Risha, if it were possible. =/ But some classes have it much, much worse.

 

Like Bounty Hunters.

*glares at Torian Caldera*

No thanks.

[krisslanza]

Like Bounty Hunters.

*glares at Torian Caldera*

No thanks.

 

But Bounty Hunters get a Jawa as a companion.

[Raiellyn]

But Bounty Hunters get a Jawa as a companion.

 

Exactly. But he is not romancable.

 

And yet he still shows up every romance-option for Bounty Hunters!

[krisslanza]

Exactly. But he is not romancable.

 

And yet he still shows up every romance-option for Bounty Hunters!

 

True, he isn't... but he's still pretty cool...

 

Totally unrelated, but yay I got my Legacy on Rubat. Too bad that's not your server though...

[Couac]

I seriously doubt there's some bigot or man behind the curtain pulling strings at BW Austin to keep SGRAs out.

 

BW (being based in AUSTIN) would be the last company to cut SGRAs. Perhaps Stephen Reid is actually telling the truth, and there are simply other issues on the table right now that are more pressing to the day-to-day running of the game.

 

Maybe not one person, no, but if a company gets benefits from a certain quarter, it might have some effects. It doesn't have to be very dramatic or visible either, like outright bribing or force use, but more like an outlying direction that has begun already when a company is founded.

 

Besides, SGRAs were a popular discussion topic looong before last summer. To say "we didn't realize" is a lie. Why? Because you couldn't even write the words 'gay' and 'lesbian' without getting an infraction. This was widely reported in gaming news and it caused so much uproar that BioWare AUSTIN finally had to give in and sack the former community manager. There's no way they couldn't have noticed.

Edited December 31, 2011 by Couac

[LornMarkus]

If I might offer an alternative theory to why these are only coming after the release, I'd like to suggest it was a deal with the devil. I have been concerned about the status of Bioware's SGRAs in their games every since their merger with EA back in the day. After it happened I wondered what exactly would come of it and whether EA would force it out. Skipping all the individual accounting, my own observations are that EA does place some pressure on Bioware to downplay SGRAs in games above a certain exposure level (example: Dragon Age 1, which had few expectations, had more options than any previous games whereas Mass Effect 2 ended up not letting you reconnect with Liara until DLC). However, Dragon Age 2 and statements made by Ray and Greg indicate that they're not allowing themselves to be ruled by EA.

 

My suggestion is that they offered delaying work on that content until after release, thus keeping it from delaying the release itself, in exchange for being allowed to do it without further complaint. It falls in line with what has previously happened (Lair of the Shadow Broker) and ultimately seems far more realistic than one of the most progressive game companies out there right now up and deciding to just quit on what has basically been an agenda for them. The only downside to my theory is that it would more than likely mean that little to no work had been put into the SGRAs prior to release and thus it is all being done now. My apologies that it doesn't exactly brighten up the prospects of a quick release, but I did want to at least put a theory out there that was less negative in regards to a company that has done immense good in the past.

[Couac]

My suggestion is that they offered delaying work on that content until after release, thus keeping it from delaying the release itself, in exchange for being allowed to do it without further complaint. It falls in line with what has previously happened (Lair of the Shadow Broker) and ultimately seems far more realistic than one of the most progressive game companies out there right now up and deciding to just quit on what has basically been an agenda for them. The only downside to my theory is that it would more than likely mean that little to no work had been put into the SGRAs prior to release and thus it is all being done now.

 

An interesting theory, could be. How about Sims? They have had same sex romances for a long time and it is one of EA's biggest merchandises?

 

My speculations are largely based on previous versions of this same thread. I don't know how many followed these forums six months or a year ago, but I guess not very many?

[LornMarkus]

An interesting theory, could be. How about Sims? They have had same sex romances for a long time and it is one of EA's biggest merchandises?

 

My speculations are largely based on previous versions of this same thread. I don't know how many followed these forums six months or a year ago, but I guess not very many?

 

True, I'm not a Sims player so I hadn't taken that into account. However, I believe the days of controversy of that sort of content being in the Sims is long past. Plus, SGR in Sims takes no special effort on the part of the developers (I've never played them, so if I'm wrong about this, please correct me) aside from setting a value in the code that lets the Sim fall in love with either gender. No need for expensive voice acting, SGRA-specific animated scenes or anything else that would cost a chunk of change.

 

That much is also true, I have not really read any of the previous threads on the subject nor anything aside from the information linked in this particular thread. Still, I figured throwing in an outsider's perspective might even out the debate a bit.

[Faerieheart]

Let's go with the not quite comformed assumption that only new companions will have sgra's. This would essentially mean that all players desiring sgra's would have to wait till current endgame just to begin to have such plots. I would not consider this a very fair implementation of sgra's.

[SkybladeDarkstar]

Still waiting for word from BioWare on this issue. I have now progressed my Class Quest up to Belsavis (Consular here) and am finding myself holding off for fear that if I get Nadia and work with her as a companion, I will lose her romance option because I will have missed it by the time it is added (and I am very much hoping that they choose to make the current ones bi, rather than just adding more).

[RadricTycho]

I think a deeper question is: Why does BW feel that the game needs any romantic relationships with companions?

 

I see several problems with the idea of romantic story arcs:

 

 

• The romantic story ends with max affection of the companion
  
• There is no game mechanic that benefits from romance
  
• The companion is just an computer generated character and it raises some real questions about us that we feel a need to have a "relationship" with it.
  
• The RP aspects are limited since the companion acts no different if it is married to you or hates your guts.
  
• The fact that it is opposite-gender-only creates a bunch of activism in response
  
• If you allowed same-gender "relationships" you would also create a backlash against the game from families who don't want their children acting out same-gender relationships online.
  

 

 

The real solution is to remove romantic relationships entirely. It was a bad idea to start.

[Moitteva]

Hello everyone,

 

In the interest of keeping your feedback consolidated we will be closing this thread and asking you to continue the discussion in the ongoing same gender relationships clarifications thread.

 

Thank you for your understanding.