BruceVC

http://news.yahoo.com/gay-marriage-advocates-victories-kansas-south-carolina-010308837.html Some good news, I see both Kansas and South Carolina will be allowing same sex marriage. This means there are now 33 states that recognise this type of civil union. This is a progressive step. Well done USA

"Best game ever. The romances were so well done I even kissed my monitor ?" -BruceVC "Too much romance and not enough fighting in tunnels" - Monte Carlo "Better than Twitcher3" - Hoon Ding Talking about Monte where has he been? Probably in a fallout shelter, expecting western civilization to collapse with the release of DAI... Funny enough Monte has said he is impressed so far with DA:I and has given Bioware recognition around the fact they do seem to be wanting to address the grievances in previous games

Its not the same thing, there was a huge controversy when Kingdom Come was first KS I haven't seen anyone complain about Tomb Raider because the main character has always been female and that's part of the accepted narrative of the game Or maybe is because guys aren't supposed to complain, nagging is a female trait that I would hope equality will do away with. Also, developers are allowed to have a vision for what their game will be that doesn't agree with everybody's taste. Why is that cause for complaint? Every argument for female representation on video games is as easily refuted now as it was when Tropes vs. Women first came out. Why you think that criticizing apples for not being oranges is a good thing is beyond me. Okay fair enough, I agree with the whole vision concept that developers should be able to have The only consideration that I would expect you guys to ask yourself is how come it seems that the only prominent development company that has openly supported GG is one that is linked to controversy? I am not going to suggest why that is, I'll leave that with you to ponder

Its not the same thing, there was a huge controversy when Kingdom Come was first KS I haven't seen anyone complain about Tomb Raider because the main character has always been female and that's part of the accepted narrative of the game

Of course not, but Warhorse Studios has a controversial history when it comes to inclusivity in games?

Yes that's a valid point and may be the reason

I've had some really exciting news. Next year in January I have been invited to a technical conference in London around the software I support. And my work said its fine I go because we have to pay for the flights and accommodation. So I'll be taking 3 days leave after the conference and staying in our family flat in London. So I'm off to London again next year

Nah, this post has totally unconvinced me My question was a simple one and just requires a simple answer. What prominent Development companies have publically aligned with GG. And please provide links to substantiate your point Daniel Vavra from Warhorse Studios (Kingdom Come) has been very outspoken about his position in support of GG. There aren't any corporate statements but there are some devs that have come forward. Ultimately, Volo is right; developers are going to err on the side of the consumer. Yes that is one example that I know about But that studio is the same one that didn't want to give fans the ability to play a female character because it " was unrealistic " due to the historical accuracy of how they wanted game to be portrayed Says something about them don't you think?

You make some good points that ultimately this is a consumer revolt. But end of the day wouldn't the entire movement achieve more if the actual developers were behind these changes that the consumers say need to happen? Aren't the developers and gamers inextricably linked when it comes to these types of campaigns? Obsidian, Bioware, Ubisoft, Bethesda or any developer that you know about that is part of the industry and has created games. Like Sid Meier?

AGAIN, that is only true if the dev team is void of writing talent and are unable to explore the vast, vast pool of interpersonal communication...and, you know, other human emotions. I hate to repeatedly cite Bioware (because they're hardly the only guilty party) but, again, they have evolved to the point where they must use Romance as a crutch, because they are not able to create deep, engaging NPCs without it. And Exhibit A of this is Dragon Age 2. the 4 party members that aren't romances are: 1) Your Sibling, 2)Aveline, 3)Varric, and 4) Sebastion. All 4 of them have remarkably dull plotlines, and despite the fact that their occasional one-liners can be humorous and flavor-full, there's simply nothing to those NPCs. On the other hand, the Romanceable NPCs are far deeper and much more engaging. This is not a coincidence, and DA2 is hardly an exception to the rule. I hear you and I don't think you are completely wrong with your criticism of DA2 Romance But that's why I am very keen to see how Romance is done in DA:I, be honest Stun you can't tell me you aren't just a little excited to see the Romance arcs in DA:I ?

Nah, this post has totally unconvinced me My question was a simple one and just requires a simple answer. What prominent Development companies have publically aligned with GG. And please provide links to substantiate your point

It was free for a limited time. How would I describe it? I get to fulfill my dream of world domination. Mount and Blade was still free as of 10pm EST. It's in my library right now. I've also just added it, thanks for the reminder. I was wondering how I would get it for free

I have to say this begs a very important consideration, why haven't any serious Devs or Development companies publically aligned with GG? It leads directly to the credibility of the movement and whether people want to be associated with it ?

More precisely, it can do so. Whether or not it does depends on how you do it, as with anything. 100 %, whether Romance enhances your party interaction will always be a subjective question Like every feature in every RPG

Okay I relented and bought the Mount & Blade series on GOG, its an excellent price

"Best game ever. The romances were so well done I even kissed my monitor ?" -BruceVC "Too much romance and not enough fighting in tunnels" - Monte Carlo "Better than Twitcher3" - Hoon Ding Talking about Monte where has he been?

So wait, it's the truth "purely because putting God of War's combat into every RPG would be a terrible decision"? Because, if it's not, then methinks you didn't get the point. No one's arguing that romance is necessary in an RPG. Lephys is right Stun, we know that Romance is not necessary. But it enhances the interaction between party members

Not free but you get 75% off the whole series, I've never played these games. Should I buy them...how would you describe them?

Great comment...very funny I love your enthusiasm when you are excited about a game, its infectious

Enoch please listen to me, don't play DA:I straight away. Wait a month or so before you play it, that's what I'm doing. Its the most prudent course of action, trust me on this one

If that's an attempt to put us off Romance....it almost succeeded

Yes you are spot on, most people acknowledge that Bioware can improve on that type of Romance implementation

We've made our people aware of better alternatives, which means even when this ends we'll never ever be looking at reviews from the sites we're fighting now, we've gotten a few sites I expect we'd otherwise be fighting to adapt acceptable ethics policies, though we've yet to see if they follow them, and we're bleeding the sites we're fighting of advertisers by showing the advertisers what terrible people they are. We've accomplished part 1 of the 3 things I said we needed to accomplish regarding games journalism, we're well on our way with part two, I haven't seen much work on part 3 yet, but part 3 is the hard part. Okay and just be clear what are the better alternatives when it comes to gaming websites? As you know I use websites like RPS and Gamasutra but if there are other options that offer the same information I would be interested in hearing what they are. ( And of course there are dozens of gaming websites but I am looking for the ones endorsed by GG ) And final point question apart from Intel and Gamasutra what advertising has been pulled from any particular website due to the endeavours of GG?

Sheikh I'm surprised you are asking " why do people like Romance" When someone asks that question I tend to think " well if you are genuinely unsure then you probably won't understand " ....but then I realize..." No of course he will understand, someone just needs to explain it to him" So let me give you my Romance synopsis Romance is part of the interaction aspect with your party members. But it offers more than just getting to know your party members. It gives us a more realistic and immersive aspect to interaction. Romance allows us to build a certain bond with party members in a RP perspective. As I have often said imagine a scenario where you are on this epic quest to save the world from some sort of diabolical entity where everyday could be your last, you have this group of people who are prepared to die for, you face daily tribulations and there is a mutual attraction between yourself and someone else. Now you spend many nights around a campfire reflecting on the days trials..why wouldn't Romance flourish or at least be a consideration ? I maintain this is completely normal and to be expected when it comes to human emotions. That's why I like Romance in RPG, it adds to the realism and depth around the overall RPG experience

I think Sarex's point is that it's higher than their DA:I score which is indeed rather funny because even BioWare grudgingly admitted they had cut corners in DA2 and with DA:I they're supposedly going "all-out". I understand his point but the DA2 review was 3 years ago and wasn't made by the same person as the DA:I review So we can't assume the DA:I review is inaccurate even if its the same website