Offended Gay Gamer Wants Dragon Age II Writer Fired

Last week we lauded BioWare writer David Gaider for his eloquent defense of the inclusion of love interests for players of any sexual orientation in Dragon Age II. Now one gamer has started an internet petition asking that Gaider be fired for his poor portrayal of gay men. You can’t please all of the Dragon Age II players sexually all of the time; eventually you’d get tired, but David Gaider and the rest of the writing team for BioWare’s Dragon Age II tried their best, filling the game with enough men, women, and elves to please any sexual leaning they could [[link]] imagine. There are men for women, women for men, men for men, and women for women. Such was the variety that the developer was attacked last week in its forums by a player that felt the company had strayed too far from its core demographics: The straight male gamer. David Gaider’s well-written response to this ridiculous claim left a warm fuzzy feeling in the hearts of many a gamer. https://kotaku.com/dragon-age-ii-writer-eloquently-defends-the-games-sexua-5785306 So why are more than 250 players calling for him to be fired? The [[link]] internet petition in questions claims that David Gaider is guilty of stereotyping gay men by creating a dynamic through which the player loses good standing with male love interests by not responding to their advances. From the petition: It felt very odd that my male companions kept making passes at me, when I never found any interest or even flirted with them. This sort of thing shows that gays are unable to be normal people and think nothing about sex. This is the type of garbage that has people believe that gays shouldn’t serve in the military. We are human beings that are the same as everyone else! Of course gays are the same as everyone else. There are gay men that quietly keep their affections in check. There are gay men that approach relationships cautiously. And there are gay men that flirt. Some of them might even be offended if their flirting is taken poorly. As GayGamer’s VorpalBunny points out, only one of the male characters acts this way, and Anders had issues to begin with. He’s pretty much got another man inside him all the time. He’s insatiable. Is this a serious petition, or just a joke? Well I suppose any internet-based petition is a joke, but I [[link]] doubt Mr. Gaider is currently shaking in his books or speculatively packing his things into cardboard boxes. At the rate things are going, however, I wouldn’t be surprised if Dragon Age III was filled with featureless androgynous companions with nothing more than a passing interest in your characters’ penis or lack thereof. Fire David Gaider for Stereotyping Gays [Bureau of Petitions via Escapist]