Not Every Companion Should be Bi

[Graydon]

It's a ridiculous immersion breaking implementation to make a handful of loud mouths satiated.

I see no reason why some companions can't just be straight, some are bi, and some are LGQTB. But everyone of them bisexual? It's annoying every companion wants my goods and hits on me.

Make it better. Implement the queer activism all you want Larian Studios, but let's be real about it.

[kbiz]

Originally posted by Tomas Mac Mordain:

'Blank' characters are poor characters.

Agreed. The bottom line is Larian wanted to make every companion sexable by every player. But how do we sell it to the world? Hello player-sexual.

The problem with player-sexual companions is they live in a quatum state at the start of any given game. They are not complete characters. And they can't be complete characters when they're player-sexual. They don't have a defined sexual orientation. That creates a suspension of disbelief.

To make all companions sexable you have to suspend disbelief because companions don't possess something as fundamental as sexual orientation at the beginning of the game.

The other option would be to actually make all companions bisexual as their sexual orientation - which they are ex post facto anyway. It's more honest. And it gets rid of the first suspension of disbelief - that companions possess a quantum state sexual orientation.

The problem make them all 100% bisexual is that is you have to admit they're all bisexual. And that requires a suspension of disbelief as well - since we all know bisexuality is a tiny minority in any given real-world population. Nowhere near 100%. Heh.

So, we create this circular world of 100% bisexual vs 100% undefined bios in which to argue back and forth from different vantages. In reality, they both require suspension of disbelief. To get what? 100% sexable companions.

Should all companions be sexable by all players? I say no. I prefer defined companions with their own sexual orientation. But that's just my opinion.

Given that all companions are romanceable, my problem is that all the companions make the first move. For example, say you create a male character and bring along all male companions, every one of your male companions will hit on you. What are the odds of that? And what are the odds they are all gay?

The problem with romance in BG3 is both romantic and platonic favor is bundled into one (1) variable called Acceptance. Players have an incentive to increase Acceptance for platonic reasons too - like aligning morally, building trust, building loyalty, etc. Having both romantic and platonic favor bundled into one variable means you're going to get romantic advances when you never wanted or encouraged them.

An easy solution to this problem would be to initiate romance instead of reject romance. Simply add a dialogue option for each companion that allows the player to pursue the romantic path. All romance outcomes remain the same.

Another solution would allows players to select their sexual orientation in the settings.

With regards to representation, I think representation is fine. The question is how much representation. If 96%+ of the population is hetero, what should the percentage be in the game? When does representation become over-representation?

[Pyromaiden]

Originally posted by Orion Invictus:

Originally posted by Hellsteeth30:

Sadly this is the way to avoid a large portion of the playerbase moaning that can't nut certain characters.

Can you imagine the outrage if Shart was straight only? Or Gale was unkillable?

The wokies are a minor nuisance compared to that nonsense.

I can imagine the outrage if Shadowheart was a lesbian. It'd be like the people complaining about Judy in CP2077.

I've never seen bigger outrage than the most attractive woman in a game being homosexual. But maybe you and I have different experiences.

Shadowheart definitely would've been a lesbian if she wasn't coded as playersexual. All these goofballs who think she's hetero and trad... nah, she's got big gay energy. Even her voice actress is gay.

[GriffinPilgrim]

Originally posted by Pyromania™:

Originally posted by Orion Invictus:

I can imagine the outrage if Shadowheart was a lesbian. It'd be like the people complaining about Judy in CP2077.

I've never seen bigger outrage than the most attractive woman in a game being homosexual. But maybe you and I have different experiences.

Shadowheart definitely would've been a lesbian if she wasn't coded as playersexual. All these goofballs who think she's hetero and trad... nah, she's got big gay energy. Even her voice actress is gay.

She's bi. (Shadowheart, not the actress). Because she is not playersexual. Go visit Sharress' Caress while romancing her and, regardless of player gender, she is very happy for attention from both of the drow twins.

[Big Boss]

Cant all this stuff be modded>

[Moonlight Knight]

I don't even LIKE playersexual characters and yet the obsessive and pedantic way you guys rail on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on about them makes me want to defend it.

[Pyromaiden]

Originally posted by GriffinPilgrim:

Originally posted by Pyromania™:

Shadowheart definitely would've been a lesbian if she wasn't coded as playersexual. All these goofballs who think she's hetero and trad... nah, she's got big gay energy. Even her voice actress is gay.

She's bi. (Shadowheart, not the actress). Because she is not playersexual. Go visit Sharress' Caress while romancing her and, regardless of player gender, she is very happy for attention from both of the drow twins.

I'm talking about pre-development. I know the game sets her up as bi as is.

[GriffinPilgrim]

Originally posted by kbiz:

With regards to representation, I think representation is fine. The question is how much representation. If 96%+ of the population is hetero, what should the percentage be in the game? When does representation become over-representation?

So you keep saying. The answer is never. The orientation of a group of characters in a fictional story in no way needs to match demographics. What percent of the population are skilled adventurers with personal backstories that link in with the events of the plot?

[Pyromaiden]

Originally posted by Moonlight Knight:

I don't even LIKE playersexual characters and yet the obsessive and pedantic way you guys rail on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on about them makes me want to defend it.

ditto

i think playersexual is a massive cop-out myself and would rather see more genuine diversity of sexuality among companions for better representation

[Boombastic]

Originally posted by Big Boss:

Cant all this stuff be modded>

there are romance mods, so there is actually zero reason for all these threads. But, unfortunatey, you cannot mod the brains of all these whiners (these would solve so many problems) :-)

So they will continue complaining complaining and complaining about something that affects the games of other people and not theirs as they have the freedom of choice not to follow certain paths. But why not complain about everything that doesn't fit to their narrow minds, right?

[Narky]

Originally posted by GriffinPilgrim:

Originally posted by Pyromania™:

Shadowheart definitely would've been a lesbian if she wasn't coded as playersexual. All these goofballs who think she's hetero and trad... nah, she's got big gay energy. Even her voice actress is gay.

She's bi. (Shadowheart, not the actress). Because she is not playersexual. Go visit Sharress' Caress while romancing her and, regardless of player gender, she is very happy for attention from both of the drow twins.

Not really, the actress has said, and what happens in-game stipulates that she's inclined toward women. She falls head over heels for Karlach when you first meet her—her ex is a transwoman, and both the actresses of Lae'zel and Shadowheart implied that Shadowheart and Lae'zel might actually be canon over Twitter. Further with the implicative "kissing" update with Lae'zel and Shadowheart.

There's nothing to suggest that she doesn't prefer the female Drow in the brothel over the male when you engage in it. In-fact, the male kind of just stands there. There's no actual scene—it's totally blacked out.

Besides that, the official orientation for all of the characters is pansexual. Not bisexual. Yet it still doesn't change that all of her interactions in the game of this nature that she's inclined toward women.

[Orion Invictus]

Originally posted by GriffinPilgrim:

Originally posted by Pyromania™:

Shadowheart definitely would've been a lesbian if she wasn't coded as playersexual. All these goofballs who think she's hetero and trad... nah, she's got big gay energy. Even her voice actress is gay.

She's bi. (Shadowheart, not the actress). Because she is not playersexual. Go visit Sharress' Caress while romancing her and, regardless of player gender, she is very happy for attention from both of the drow twins.

They don't like bisexuality either, so she'd have to be a lesbian.

[Moonlight Knight]

Originally posted by GriffinPilgrim:

Originally posted by kbiz:

With regards to representation, I think representation is fine. The question is how much representation. If 96%+ of the population is hetero, what should the percentage be in the game? When does representation become over-representation?

So you keep saying. The answer is never. The orientation of a group of characters in a fictional story in no way needs to match demographics. What percent of the population are skilled adventurers with personal backstories that link in with the events of the plot?

Not to mention the actual main characters of the story are a ridiculously small number of the actual characters in the story, let alone the characters that can be assumed to exist in the region.

[Maj. Grumpy]

I think you should be forced to take a High School biology test before allowed to play this game. Or at least middle-school sex ed class. And PASS IT.

[Pyromaiden]

Originally posted by Black Magic:

Originally posted by GriffinPilgrim:

She's bi. (Shadowheart, not the actress). Because she is not playersexual. Go visit Sharress' Caress while romancing her and, regardless of player gender, she is very happy for attention from both of the drow twins.

Not really, the actress has said, and what happens in-game stipulates that she's inclined toward women. She falls head over heels for Karlach when you first meet her—her ex is a transwoman, and both the actresses of Lae'zel and Shadowheart implied that Shadowheart and Lae'zel might actually be canon over Twitter. Further with the implicative "kissing" update with Lae'zel and Shadowheart.

There's nothing to suggest that she doesn't prefer the female Drow in the brothel over the male when you engage in it. In-fact, the male kind of just stands there. There's no actual scene—it's totally blacked out.

Besides that, the official orientation for all of the characters is pansexual. Not bisexual. Yet it still doesn't change that all of her interactions in the game of this nature that she's inclined toward women.

I don't think her and Nocturne were more than friends tbh. It doesn't feel that way imo.

[GriffinPilgrim]

Originally posted by Black Magic:

Originally posted by GriffinPilgrim:

She's bi. (Shadowheart, not the actress). Because she is not playersexual. Go visit Sharress' Caress while romancing her and, regardless of player gender, she is very happy for attention from both of the drow twins.

Not really, the actress has said, and what happens in-game stipulates that she's inclined toward women. She falls head over heels for Karlach when you first meet her—her ex is a transwoman, and both the actresses of Lae'zel and Shadowheart implied that Shadowheart and Lae'zel might actually be canon over Twitter. Further with the implicative "kissing" update with Lae'zel and Shadowheart.

There's nothing to suggest that she doesn't prefer the female Drow in the brothel over the male when you engage in it. In-fact, the male kind of just stands there. There's no actual scene—it's totally blacked out.

Besides that, the official orientation for all of the characters is pansexual. Not bisexual. Yet it still doesn't change that all of her interactions in the game of this nature that she's inclined toward women.

No offense to the actresses, both of whom I think are amazing as both actresses and as people, but actors do not decide plot, writers do. And there is no canon relationship or indeed canon plot to BG3 unless WotC decide to make one (dear gods I hope they don't, after what they chose for BG1 and 2).
Shadowheart likes women, certainly, but she also likes men (the description from the drow twins things has both doing the same thing to her at the same time).