- Status
Hmm but wouldn't sexuality ultimately just be the result of the players actions in the world, you would chose who you wanted to pursue romantic relationships with.. now obviously the NPCs would require a sexual orientation stat, it wouldn't be realistic if all of them were receptive to your advances, they should at least discriminate based on their orientation..
Warning, incoherent ramble incoming..! lol
Would the NPC have a simple binary orientation, or should they include bisexual and asexual orientations? Bisexuality could simply be defined as "receptive to anyone" or.. the NPC could have a more complex disposition towards the player, determined by many factors and statistics (like your strength, intelligence, wealth etc), in which case sexuality could be a floating number between 0 (male) and 1 (female) used to represent NPC bias..
It could actually be more trouble than it's worth to explore this subject deeper in a modern video game, given how controversial sexuality has recently become in our culture..
Warning, incoherent ramble incoming..! lol
Would the NPC have a simple binary orientation, or should they include bisexual and asexual orientations? Bisexuality could simply be defined as "receptive to anyone" or.. the NPC could have a more complex disposition towards the player, determined by many factors and statistics (like your strength, intelligence, wealth etc), in which case sexuality could be a floating number between 0 (male) and 1 (female) used to represent NPC bias..
It could actually be more trouble than it's worth to explore this subject deeper in a modern video game, given how controversial sexuality has recently become in our culture..
Honestly I think it would be really cool to see more variety in buildable relationships including NPC bias and the potential outcomes like this one is only interested in romance under x conditions, sex with y, platonic friends with z, surrogate family bond with q, etc. I think the main benefit of this would be making different characters feel really distinct especially if the options don't always have to require another (like some NPC's might not want romance but do want sex, yes romance, no sex, etc).
Truly the only reason this is controversial is because any time a game company deviates from what every other game does a bunch of very vocal people with limited imaginations think those choices are only based on identity politics. More variety in NPC interactions makes the world feel more real and less formulaic, enjoy that some things represent you and some things don't, because just like in real life characters don't just exist to facilitate your hopes and desires and that's what makes compatibility remarkable.
I don't see the need for any of this. Let the player have sex with anyone who is willing to have sex with them and leave it at that. If they want to be bisexual, they can be. If they want to be lesbian or gay, they can be. If they want to be straight, sure.
The NPCs can and should have their own preferences/"dos and donts," of course. A character who is interested in a male V might not be interested in a female V, because that's kinda how real life works.
Tying sexuality to a stat point is way too "gamey" for me.
The NPCs can and should have their own preferences/"dos and donts," of course. A character who is interested in a male V might not be interested in a female V, because that's kinda how real life works.
Tying sexuality to a stat point is way too "gamey" for me.
I long ago figured out the "best" people with non-traditional sexual preferences are the ones that don't act stereotypically. No lisping, no swishing, no whatever. They act like ... people ... the only way you find out their preferences is if you ask or some innocuous comment (some girls and oogling a guy and a male they're with also comments about him).
So I see zero "need" for such a stat, love who and how you want, just don't such an idiot as to expect everyone else to be OK with it, people are biased, duh.
So I see zero "need" for such a stat, love who and how you want, just don't such an idiot as to expect everyone else to be OK with it, people are biased, duh.
Fully agree with that.
An NPC that has romantic interest in a player character should also express that interest, if it is in character, regardless of the player character's preferences.
Well, a game reason for doing it, to play devil's advocate a bit here, is role-playing.
It's fine to say with whomever however but, well, that's actually a lot of freedom - and people are rarely so free, especially sexually.
I'm not going to go into the biology of it all, because BOY HOWDY do we not want to open that can of worms here.
But, like gender and skin tone and Int and Reflexes, there is an argument to making sexuality a pre-determined choice at character creation. One, it lets you try to put yourself in that mindset, if you've never tried that. I'm pretty straight and playing a gay or bisexual person would be a certain amount of effort and even research. Which deepens my role-play experience.
Two, it makes it easier to code the game-world's responses to you. Now, my preference would be to have the game learn from your preferences, but if you pick, say, Gay at the start of char gen, your Lifepath would reflect that, any starting relationship would reflect, potentially even NPC contacts would reflect that knowledge.
Like playing an Elf or Dwarf in Dragon Age Origins - people see you differently. And treat you differently. Just like being gay or trans or bi. And that's a real thing today, a very real thing. Although hopefully less important by 2077.
Anyway, could make for some interesting role-playing. "Hey, I like that NPC and she's hot to my eyes. But, no, my character is a straight woman, so that's not gonna happen."
Could be cool.
It's fine to say with whomever however but, well, that's actually a lot of freedom - and people are rarely so free, especially sexually.
I'm not going to go into the biology of it all, because BOY HOWDY do we not want to open that can of worms here.
But, like gender and skin tone and Int and Reflexes, there is an argument to making sexuality a pre-determined choice at character creation. One, it lets you try to put yourself in that mindset, if you've never tried that. I'm pretty straight and playing a gay or bisexual person would be a certain amount of effort and even research. Which deepens my role-play experience.
Two, it makes it easier to code the game-world's responses to you. Now, my preference would be to have the game learn from your preferences, but if you pick, say, Gay at the start of char gen, your Lifepath would reflect that, any starting relationship would reflect, potentially even NPC contacts would reflect that knowledge.
Like playing an Elf or Dwarf in Dragon Age Origins - people see you differently. And treat you differently. Just like being gay or trans or bi. And that's a real thing today, a very real thing. Although hopefully less important by 2077.
Anyway, could make for some interesting role-playing. "Hey, I like that NPC and she's hot to my eyes. But, no, my character is a straight woman, so that's not gonna happen."
Could be cool.
deeper character customisation affecting gameplay = good
sexuality being a stat point = not so good
unless being bisexual lets me teleport through space, them im fine with that.
sexuality being a stat point = not so good
unless being bisexual lets me teleport through space, them im fine with that.
Nah. Don't agree. It's not the game's job to force me into the shoes of a gay or bisexual character. It's my job to roleplay how I want.
And I'm most certainly not going to research a sexuality if I decide I want to have sex with a man in 2077 out of the blue (or, rather, I don't feel an obligation to do so - not talking down to anyone that wants to). Indeed, you certainly can if you'd like. Nothing against that. But I don't think it's a valid argument for a design limitation like this.
Not to mention, a lot of people boast the whole "fluid sexuality" thing, so they should be able to choose whoever they want, whenever they want, without restriction (except if that person is of a specific orientation).
Any "determined" sexualities should be entirely based on the player's own roleplay, not hard (HA! Get it?) game mechanics.
You can roleplay a gay character without having the game force it at the start (and what if you decide halfway through a playthrough that would be a fun thing to do?), even if you're straight in real life. Heck, I'll probably try a lesbian character for my female playthrough (will most likely be my first), and a gay character for a future playthrough. As you say, could be fun.
But... TL;DR... I don't want a pre-set decision at the start dictating my romantic options down the line - that should 100% be on the player to decide.
Well, the player is deciding. At the start of the game. Totally up to you. You can pick straight, gay, bi, fluid, whatever. But, then like your choice for Int and Body type, you have that attribute. Not like people get upset about the unfairness of picking a 3 (out of 10) Attractiveness and then being treated as less attractive, right? That's pretty standard game mechanic: choice - consequence.
It's just an argument, I can see both perspectives, although people who are deplorably singular in our inclinations, we don't choose as we go through life. Or do we? I dunno. Certainly if you wanted to choose, tick "bi" or "fluid" on the chart of this mythical chargen and there you go - choice as you play. Otherwise, yeah, it's like height, race or reflexes: picked at the beginning.
This does come down to the playing as your character vs yourself argument, too - most people play as themselves in these games. And add in a dash of do-what-I-want-because-I-can-reload.
Er... I apologize. I think I completely misunderstood what you were asking for. I don't really have a problem with this and I'm not sure how I didn't wrap my head around it.
I guess I was also sort of playing devil's advocate. I don't agree with a lot of... certain people's... viewpoints on these subjects, but I was mostly arguing in favor of having a "fluid" sort of system where you can choose as you go - but I suppose, if you wanted that experience, you'd just pick bi at the beginning and no harm, no foul.
Hey, no biggie. Like I said, I was definitely Devil's Advocate myself. I prefer to generate through choice, too - for one thing, if I determine to be gay at the start, it takes a certain RP discipline to stick to that, right? Like playing a killer or a pacifist or a stealing/no stealing playthrough?
I would find a point for orientation in a game...odd. Not impossible and certainly defendable, because it is a huge part of our lives. But it would amuse me a LOT imagining all the people who suddenly pick "bi" on a character sheet. Bet they didn't think they'd be doing that in an RPG, huh?
I wasn't really sure about it but this is a really good point and now I want it. I would also like to see it for ethnicity too though, playing a Black or Latino character would be a different experience than playing a white character.
Yep. Again, hopefully not as much in 2077 as in 2018, but yes it would be. Going into those waters - or the sexuality waters - is a bold, mine-laden choice though. You'd have to walk carefully.
Please Note To All: Modern Politics and Issues are not a subject for these boards. Pro or Anti. Please be kind and respectful to others at all times.
Now I want the option to pick "Gunsexual" and have it so my character hits on every person openly carrying a firearm.
You know, there are things (often relating to sexual preferences oddly enough) one is better off not knowing.
A stat (or a perk) like that might be useful for opening specific dialog options related to the subject that weren't otherwise obtainable.
If they've changed their mind about stat/skill checks in dialog, that is....
If they've changed their mind about stat/skill checks in dialog, that is....
- Status