Mass Effect has had its ups and downs critically speaking, but has managed to find praise in its same-sex romance options in the final installment of the series. While same-sex characters and their portrayal in video games has been cause for heated debate, Mass Effect 3 writer Dusty Everman doesn’t seem to think it’s that much of a big deal.
“I believe that by the 22nd century, declaring your gender preference will be about as profound as saying, “I like blondes.” It will just be an accepted part of who we are,” Everman, the writer leading Steve Cortez’s subplot said in an interview on the BioWare blog. “So I tried to write a meaningful human relationship that just happens to be between two men.”
The blog post focusing on the writing behind Mass Effect 3’s same sex relationships, interviewing both Everman and Samantha Traynor’s lead writer, Patrick Weekes, was published earlier today — and is both a refreshing and insightful perspective.
“I’m a straight white male – pretty much the living embodiment of the Patriarchy,” commented Weekes, detailing the care taken during the writing process. “…I really wanted to avoid writing something that people saw and went, “That’s a straight guy writing lesbians for other straight guys to look at.””
“I also really wanted the romance with Traynor to be positive… I wanted to avoid any kind of tragic heartbreak, to make this a fundamentally life-affirming relationship… at least, as much as possible within Mass Effect 3′s grim war story.”
Everman then went on to address the role feedback from previous games played in shaping the stories. “Some players have concerns over being “ninja romanced” – where a relationship shifts from friendly to romantic to the player’s surprise – and those concerns seem greater for same-sex romances.”
Interestingly, BioWare has left the comments on the post closed — which, let’s face it, was probably a good idea seeing how quickly discussion on these topics can go south. While it certainly won’t stop any possible backlash, it at least gives you more chance to form your own opinion in peace and quiet before you take it to the forum or posting ground of your choice.
Did you feel Traynor and Cortez’s stories were well written, or would you have done it differently? Let us know.
