In our penultimate BioWare story, we told you what the studio thought about the mainstream reactions to sex in videogames. Since the developer is no stranger to erotic digital liaisons, we also asked how important the sex was to games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins, and whether it was just sex for sex's sake.
"It's not crucial for a roleplaying game to have sex, by any means," answers Mike Laidlaw. "I think what it does is certainly provide a point though. You don't have to have it. If you do have it, what is crucial, in my opinion, is you do it in context. Where it fails is when it's just tacked on. 'We threw it in there for no good reason, your character doesn't have any reason to do it, it's just there for straight gratuitousness.' At that point it's just kind of lame.
"Where it works though, is when you're trying to build up a world that has characters that are deep enough and interesting enough that they could interact with your character realistically in this way, that they have a reason to grow in affection, maybe you save their life, maybe you help them with a problem, maybe they're just really nice and they like the way you walk, I don't know.
"Sexuality in general can be very compelling elements in story because on top of just titillation, it creates an investment, a bond between two characters, and letting that play out and knowing that your experience is going to be different from someone else who maybe playing a female and wants to sleep with a guy or something, knowing that it's kind of customized for you gives you this extra layer of care about the characters and how things turn out for them. And when you're dealing with a world this dark, and at times, unrelenting, it can be really, really strong to have that level of investment in anybody."
That's it for our coverage from BioWare and our chat with Dragon Age: Origins lead designer Mike Laidlaw. I hope you enjoyed our stories and keep reading Destructoid because we have plenty more original content from our chats with developers coming very soon.
Contest:
2:20 PM on 09.10.2009
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They were there just for the sake of it. And as generic and liquified as possible.
That must be what dorks think sex is like. Or what they actually do in the bedroom. Horrific shit.
Make THAT a romance sub-plot in ME3.
But yeah, I thought the issue was handled very well in Mass Effect. I appreciated the subtlety and context more than the act itself, which I don't think I've ever felt from a video game.
BlackDove, are we talking about the same game, dude? It was just a few brief glances of the woman getting into bed and them kissing. Were you looking for a fully motion-captured animation of Shepard going balls-deep?
FIXED!
while I do agre about not having same-sex partners for either gender, I believe the Blue chick is meant to be a "Female" choice for both.
Plus, it would not make sense if Ashley (The female human soldier that's also a ractist) would "turn" gay for a female Shepard but not for a threesome with that blue chick and male Shepard.(Funny scene!) The same could be said be for Kaiden (The one that I always sent with the away team).
Maybe in Mass Effect 2; A bigger pool of recuitable guys, gals, and "others" can open that window for intergalactic same-sex... sex.
So basically he's calling Mass Effect lame, or he is delusional into thinking that the sex in Mass Effect wasn't tacked on.
The problem I had with the sex in Mass Effect is that, despite Mr. Laidlaw's claim, it is just tacked on. You save Ashley's life during the first section of gameplay not once, but twice. But, because the game designers wanted to build in the sex sequence as a "choice", you have to wait until the end of the game, until after you've met the other potential partner and had the opportunity to decide between one, or both of them. This is not the way that actual relationships I've been in work.
While it's not as tacked on as say, the awful sex scene in Darkwatch, it's still very much just tacked on. Mass Effect's sex scene is basically stamped there as a plot point.
What should have been happening, if Bioware was hoping to portray relationships and sex somewhat realistically, is do what Star Trek's done. Kirk and Picard weren't the only ones on the ship or the series who had urges. But in Mass Effect, there are only three people in the entire galaxy who have a shot at making woohoo. What if Kaidan thought he should get in on some of the action? How awkward would the ship chemistry be then? How does that affect the choice you have to make as to who goes on that suicide mission, and how the people involved view you afterwards? Why doesn't Shepard even have the option of "baiting" the reporter with sexual quid pro quo? Nope. It's like Shepard waits until the 80% mark of the game, and then decides to go to the gas pump of sex. "Hm... Do I want human, alien, or premium?"
Sex and relationships complicate things. To have it portrayed as this lovey-dovey thing that only happens between two (or three) people when a specific oddly-crafted moment arises and doesn't affect daily life is pretty laughable. To have them sitting there talking like they're the experts on how to portray this stuff just seems a little odd.
This is why I'm amazed that you'd be thinking that way, Gains. I mean, if they're this far off-base with man/woman relationships, what makes you think they'd be anywhere close to portraying a male/male relationship with grace?
Anyway, that's just my two cents.
@linfosoma: YES! A romance subplot with Wrex and Shepard, along the lines of the one in "Let's Go to Prison". That would be fantastic.
If i'm not mistaken Jim visited BioWare recently.
Oh and like Clayton said, they should make sex more available. Like in Fable II where you can bang prett much everyone and everything,but you can't bang your dog or your kids(damn prudes!). I think the problem is that in Fable II you don't have any emotional connection with your partner, and i'm glad Bioware is working on that.
Sure a more natural path would make more sense, but trying to fit player choice in as well creates barriers.
Yeah: http://threepanelsoul.com/view.php?date=2007-12-29