This! This!
I shan't repost the entire thing here, but I encourage you to click through the link to give Ben Kuchera and The Penny Arcade Report some love. It's a thoroughly persuasive, eloquent article.
Why should gender equality and same-sex couples be an issue in role-playing games? That's actually a really good, and important question. This is an important subject, and worth exploring, especially when the developer brings up the issue of gender equality and how it fits into the game's world.
The whole thing really struck home to me because when I play a game, with rare exceptions, the hero looks like me. I'm a straight white guy. Video games are usually made for me, and demographically I'm guessing they feel like they're made for you as well. The problem is I've talked to so many people who tell me that they've played little to no games where the hero looks like them. When it happens, it's remarkable.
Gaming enjoys a diverse group of players in terms of gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, but we have heroes who are predominantly white, male, and straight. I don't see any problem with asking, since the idea of social norms changing over time was brought up, about the appearance of same-sex relationships in the game.
This isn't a “media trend,” it's part of the reality that the world is changing, and same gender marriages, relationships, and families aren't rare, hidden, or anything to be ashamed of. Seeing that reality reflected in our games is a good thing, and self-funded indie games, especially role-playing games, are in a unique position to provide that sort of content for a very large population that isn't being served by most games.
Imagine growing up and only playing games where you see same-gender relationships. Nothing else. You would long for a game that reflected your own desires, reality, and experiences. I always think it's amusing when people say we beat this drum too hard, or that they're tired of this “politically correct bullshit.” It usually tells me that there's a guy on the other end of the comments who doesn't really understand, or empathize with, what this situation is like for so many gamers. They don't see a problem, because they're taken care of. Games are aimed at them. The problem is how many people we leave out, and that doesn't have to be the case in games, especially in games like Torment.
Friends, this is pretty much EXACTLY why Geeks OUT was created and what we're about.
Slow clap, Ben Kuchera. Slow. Clap.
