Star Wars Video Game to Allow Characters To Have Homosexual Romances

[maryjk]

I went back to the beginning of the thread to find the problem.

My point is that video games geared to youth should not have characters with homosexual sexual relationships.

This video game is not geared to youth. Not if youth includes 7 year old children.

It is as simple as you, the parent, saying “no” to your child.

It doesn’t have anything to do with the movies I allow my son to see, or the games he plays. It only has to do with your child and what you will allow that child to see or play. If you don’t want your child to play, don’t. But please don’t try to parent my child. He has two very involved parents and he doesn’t need another.

 

[gam197]

originally posted by Maryjk
This video game is not geared to youth. Not if youth includes 7 year old children.

Enough please… I am looking at for a teen but then again just because it is a new game with good graphic and lots of options, I shouldn’t look at it for my son. He deserves a low grade game with poor graphics. This good games can be rated T(teen) but according to everyone they are for adults.

Yet no one here seem to have a problem with their son or daughter hearing two females or males say to each other-
" sexual innuendo (e.g., “An hour. I think I’m insulted. We’ll need the whole night,” “I’ll be sure to make conjugal visits,” and “Come, dear, let’s forgo the nuptials and proceed to the honeymoon.”). "

I can’t see how any adult would really want to play a game with white and purple lighting bolts.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

I think that the point that everyone is really missing here is that just because it is rated T does not make it a game for teens or geared towards teens. It just means that in general the content would not be considered inappropriate. Just because a movie is rated G or PG does not make it a kid’s movie. In fact, it could be an adult movie, go right over their heads, and bore them. It just means that it lacks content that would be bad for them to see.

Just because it is rated T does not make it a game for teens. Anyone who has played it can pretty much attest to the fact that it is an adult game. It just lacks the gritty content that would warrant an ‘M’ rating.

I remain unconvinced that sexual innuendo and mild homo or hetero sex scenes warrant an ‘M’ rating. 13-17 year olds by and large can handle that, and in all likelihood are exposed to worse every day at school.

I’m really surprised that when listing off all of the offensive content no one mentioned the occult stuff. (Maybe no one else played a Sorc.) My class storyline involved my character running all over the galaxy to speak with and harness the power of the ghosts of ancient Sith Lords. She then uses her power to defeat her enemy/master.

 

[maryjk]

Enough please… I am looking at for a teen but then again just because it is a new game with good graphic and lots of options, I shouldn’t look at it for my son. He deserves a low grade game with poor graphics. This good games can be rated T(teen) but according to everyone they are for adults.

He deserves a parent that will look at the content of a movie or game and purchase or not purchase that movie or game based on his maturity level. He has that.

Yet no one here seem to have a problem with their son or daughter hearing two females or males say to each other-
" sexual innuendo (e.g., “An hour. I think I’m insulted. We’ll need the whole night,” “I’ll be sure to make conjugal visits,” and “Come, dear, let’s forgo the nuptials and proceed to the honeymoon.”). "

Because we know that the homosexual aspect is an OPTION. These encounters will only happen in the player chooses to have those encounters.

Know what my son said, when I told him they were adding this option? " Gross" So I am worried about the option in the game? Nope, not really.

I can’t see how any adult would really want to play a game with white and purple lighting bolts.

And yet you want the rating to be “M” which would be the same as saying this game is for adults.

I think that the point that everyone is really missing here is that just because it is rated T does not make it a game for teens or geared towards teens. It just means that in general the content would not be considered inappropriate. Just because a movie is rated G or PG does not make it a kid’s movie. In fact, it could be an adult movie, go right over their heads, and bore them. It just means that it lacks content that would be bad for them to see.

Everyone isn’t missing the point. Most of us get it.

Just because it is rated T does not make it a game for teens. Anyone who has played it can pretty much attest to the fact that it is an adult game. It just lacks the gritty content that would warrant an ‘M’ rating.

I remain unconvinced that sexual innuendo and mild homo or hetero sex scenes warrant an ‘M’ rating. 13-17 year olds by and large can handle that, and in all likelihood are exposed to worse every day at school.

I home school and he has heard worse by simply being alive and in the world.

I’m really surprised that when listing off all of the offensive content no one mentioned the occult stuff. (Maybe no one else played a Sorc.) My class storyline involved my character running all over the galaxy to speak with and harness the power of the ghosts of ancient Sith Lords. She then uses her power to defeat her enemy/master.

Sounds cool.

I have to say, that we don’t own this game. Simply because my son (and husband) aren’t interested in it. They are glued to Oblivion right now.

 

[gam197]

originally posted by Maryjk
Because we know that the homosexual aspect is an OPTION. These encounters will only happen in the player chooses to have those encounters.

Know what my son said, when I told him they were adding this option? " Gross" So I am worried about the option in the game? Nope, not really.

Maybe i am getting this wrong but I thought when you played the game that even if you didn’t choose, when other players do choose then you still have to listen to their conversation and I would imagine if there are a number of players that this wouldn’t just be one isolated moment but would be anytime any place and so it becomes a normal part of the game?

I home school and he has heard worse by simply being alive and in the world.

So your son hears two males or two females suggesting that they honeymoon with each other on a regular basis. Interesting.

I’m really surprised that when listing off all of the offensive content no one mentioned the occult stuff

No it is not cool. I think it would be difficult to find a game without a sorceroror or something. It depends on whether it is major part of the game or not. Even Lord of Rings has that. It is just so very difficult to find good, interesting games with good graphics and options and not some big flop that no one wants to play.

 

[gam197]

originally posted by Marykj
Simply because my son (and husband) aren’t interested in it. They are glued to Oblivion right now.

Your son is 16-

According to ESRB, that game is Mature because of Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol,

Nudity, not only that but later mods increased this, including the sexual acts of Masturbation, actual sex, and for women, breast enlargement mods Sexual references are mostly in books or in dialogue, but most players’ characters in this world can be stripped down to their underwear.

Shows blood and many dead corpses. There is an assassins guild(the dark brotherhood) which u get paid to kill people.

Players may hear words, like hell damn and whore.

I guess it depends on what mods you choose and what you download.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Maybe i am getting this wrong but I thought when you played the game that even if you didn’t choose, when other players do choose then you still have to listen to their conversation and I would imagine if there are a number of players that this wouldn’t just be one isolated moment but would be anytime any place and so it becomes a normal part of the game\QUOTE]

Nope. The only person who hears you romance you companions is you. Those aren’t public scenes. No one can can hear you flirt, see you walk off in to a dark room, or even tell if you’re married to a companion.

If you are grouping with someone and they choose to flirt with an NPC thats part of the quest you get to hear a cheesy pickup line. A game should not be rated ‘M’ because a male character can use a cheesy pickup line on an NPC that you’ll never see again.

 

[maryjk]

Maybe i am getting this wrong but I thought when you played the game that even if you didn’t choose, when other players do choose then you still have to listen to their conversation and I would imagine if there are a number of players that this wouldn’t just be one isolated moment but would be anytime any place and so it becomes a normal part of the game?

Now I am really confused. You planned on allowing your 13 year old to play on line? With people he doesn’t know?

I thought you were only planning on him playing the single player part of the game. My son was 15 before I allowed him to play anything on line. And I only just recently allowed him to respond to other players

So your son hears two males or two females suggesting that they honeymoon with each other on a regular basis. Interesting.

You know, you are getting beyond ridiculous. What I said was even if you home school your child, he will eventually hear sexual innuendos. Sometimes he will hear them between a man and a woman, sometimes it will be between members of the same sex. As a parent, I address those times. Sorry if you don’t.

No it is not cool. I think it would be difficult to find a game without a sorceroror or something. It depends on whether it is major part of the game or not. Even Lord of Rings has that. It is just so very difficult to find good, interesting games with good graphics and options and not some big flop that no one wants to play.

According to my son, a good Star Wars game, rated “T” is Star Wars Battlefront. After checking ESRB, it looks like is has mild violence.

 

[maryjk]

Your son is 16-

According to ESRB, that game is Mature because of Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol,

Nudity, not only that but later mods increased this, including the sexual acts of Masturbation, actual sex, and for women, breast enlargement mods Sexual references are mostly in books or in dialogue, but most players’ characters in this world can be stripped down to their underwear.

Shows blood and many dead corpses. There is an assassins guild(the dark brotherhood) which u get paid to kill people.

Players may hear words, like hell damn and whore.

I guess it depends on what mods you choose and what you download.

And if you don’t download any, you don’t get the sex stuff.

I guess I trust my son. I am sorry that you don’t have that option.

Know what, I am tired of being nice.

You have a problem. And it isn’t this game or me.

I have tried to reason with you. I have tried to help you.

Well, I am done. You are now on my ignore list. Congratulations.

 

[gam197]

originally posted by Maryjk
According to my son, a good Star Wars game, rated “T” is Star Wars Battlefront. After checking ESRB, it looks like is has mild violence.

Thank you

I trust my son. I am sorry that you don’t have that option.

I am not a gamer and don’t know how it works and was trying to find out more about these games. Yes I was looking at online player - one is 16 and it seems very popular but am looking at a T game.

You may trust your son and( I’d say you are above average at least for the age of your son and have tried) but I would also say that so do most parents because there were ten pages of reviews and the average age was between 10-13. A few are 8 and a few were adults. for Oblivion which is an M rated game

commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews/elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion

 

[gam197]

originally posted by BlueEyedLady
Nope. The only person who hears you romance you companions is you. Those aren’t public scenes. No one can can hear you flirt, see you walk off in to a dark room, or even tell if you’re married to a companion.

If you are grouping with someone and they choose to flirt with an NPC thats part of the quest you get to hear a cheesy pickup line. A game should not be rated ‘M’ because a male character can use a cheesy pickup line on an NPC that you’ll never see again.

I am looking for older teens butI thought when you played you could see their profile and so if it was two homosexual married men you’d see that and then there are the chat room online but maybe I am looking at the wrong version. Anyways I will go to the store and talk to a clerk and see if they can help me understand how this game works. Maryjk gave me the name of other game that I will also check into and look at.

I still see no reason to put this into the game. It just normalizes gay relations to many teens and I think that is the underline purpose if not by the make then certainly by the LGBT community. Thanks for your help.

 

[PrayerShark]

Why don’t you just buy the game, play it yourself and see whether or not you find the content suitable for you son.

Case closed.

 

[gam197]

originally posted by PrayerShark
Why don’t you just buy the game, play it yourself and see whether or not you find the content suitable for you son

I wish I had the money so I could personally look at the games. Cost of games are ridiculous so not possible for me. I’ll go to Game store and see if I can get a clerk who is not busy?

 

[maryjk]

Why don’t you just buy the game, play it yourself and see whether or not you find the content suitable for you son.

Case closed.

Shoot, I don’t even do that.

We joined Gamefly for a while. My husband checked a bunch of games, then we allowed our son to play the ones we approved. Then we cancelled the membership. You can join month to month, cancel at any time.

Now, we either talk to the guys at Game Stop, they are great, or we find a friend that has played.

We don’t waste money that way.

 

[PrayerShark]

I’m not saying go and buy EVERY game, just this particular one considering the consternation it is causing you. If your son isn’t old enough to play it (which he isn’t anyway), then give it to your husband and he can sink some of his free time into it.

As for the price of games. Have you looked at buying online? You generally avoid sales-tax (at least I do in Australia) and the prices are lot cheaper than you would pay in store.

Also, how many times a year are you buying games for your children. For me, growing up, the rule of thumb was: one game at Christmas, one game at birthdays. Any more and I’d have to save up pocket/present money or get a job.

 

[Armyvet007]

gam17-

I would only suggest SWTOR for a junior or senior in high school who has a firm understanding and foundation in the faith. One of the key features of the game is a reward system [the light and dark side point thing] in which you get rewarded for making a “good” or “bad” choice. The problem is that this system isn’t based on anything a Catholic would call moral *. It’s not a game for someone still learning morality and its importance.

If you are looking for an online game, I highly suggest Lord of the Rings Online. It switched to a free to play platform [you get the basic game free, pay for add ons, etc], has a friendly community, it sticks to the books for the most part in terms of lore/content, and, from the short amount of time I played it, seems rather tame in regards to content.*

 

[nesguy]

I read most of the posts here, so hopefully I’m not restating anything.

First of all, we have to remember that this game is not specifically geared toward any demographic other than fans of Star Wars. In fact, Bioware is likely trying to cater to every possible demographic they can. From a secular perspective, adding same-sex romance options can only add to your subscription numbers. We should not be surprised by such actions, even if we disagree with them on moral grounds.

Secondly, no online game of any kind is suitable for totally unsupervised consumption by a child. I don’t care if that kid is 7 or 17. In a world where there’s a sex-offender in practically every county, we should be very careful about who we let our children interact with over in the anonymity of the internet. Whether it’s Star Wars or Hello Kitty Online, you should be keeping tabs on your kids. Every online game has a chat function of some kind, and the companies that run these games do very little to monitor what goes on over that chat.

As to the specific game at hand, it’s really not for anyone under the age of 16. I have spent a lot of time playing The Old Republic, and the romantic content is present, though quite minimal. There are innuendos of off-screen sex, but no actual sexual content thus far that I’ve encountered. There is a significant amount of violence, however, including options to kill enemies in cold blood. I had to stop playing a dark side character because the choices to continue on that path gave me the creeps as a player. The game very much caters to being “evil”, even if it’s only digitally. I think most adults should have no problems recognizing it for what it is, a game, but less-discerning teens probably don’t need any more “dark side” encouragement.

All in all, there are worse games out there to play, by far. If you feel your older teen is mature enough to handle the unfiltered content that pours through the chat-window, and has a firm foundation in their religious principles not to be taking pleasure in the dark-side choices or same-sex romance options, it’s an engaging and entertaining game to play. There is a lot of content to enjoy, so you certainly get your money’s worth, although if you aren’t careful, it can pull you in for more time than you intend to spend on it.

 

[Rhubarb]

The game already had images and scenes of torture, killing, dismemberment, substance abuse, criminal activity, revenge killings, and discusses genocide.

The controversy only starts when sex is involved.

I play the game. Played through several of the classes stories. You cannot be included in the romance options of other players. You cannot be made aware of what choices other players make vis a vis romance story arcs. You can even go through the game without any romance at all if that’s how you play your cards, straight or gay. Romances arn’t even central to the plot.

 

[Havard]

Star Wars jumped the shark for me a long time ago…

All I can do is hold on to the memories. :bighanky:

 

[nesguy]

The game already had images and scenes of torture, killing, dismemberment, substance abuse, criminal activity, revenge killings, and discusses genocide.

Interesting point, but it bears noting that the movies had all of that, as well (although not all of it was on screen). The movies did not have homosexual romance, however, and I think that deviation from the established formula could have as much to do with the outcry as the actual substance of the change.