MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
BioWare has made good on its promise to bring homosexuality to The Old Republic… sort of.
PCGamesN reports that the planet of Makeb will soon be open for business and is the only location in the game where characters are able to engage in romantic options with same sex NPCs.
But the move seems somewhat sort of the equality-driven promise issued by BioWare earlier this month when it vowed to address the sexuality imbalance inherent in the game.
While players can now indulge in gay liaisons, they can only do so on Makeb. No other planets. Just Makeb. And furthermore, access to Makeb is restricted to those who pay for The Rise of the Hutt Cartel premium DLC.
BioWare blames the restriction on the fact that the base code for the game isn’t inherently gay-friendly, so the studio has had to deliberately create over 40 romanceable gay characters for the task in hand. These features are included in the DLC. It’s the only planet where flirtatious dialogue options will appear with same sex characters.
Fans of the game have expressed disappointment in BioWare’s decision to ostracise the LGBT community to some far-flung sleaze planet rather than integrating equality into the heart of the game. Making your way to Makeb with the express intention of indulging in romance is very different to romance naturally blossoming within the natural course of the game.
The Force doesn’t seem especially strong with this one…
Image source: Flicks and Bits
