I don't think it added anything more or less to the narrative than it would have had the characters and relations been heteronormative.
To me it just felt like a part of the story.

The game contains several narrative fouls. The most glaring one was when Akara asks you whether (in a future mind-control utopia), you would like women to be still oppressed.

You have the options: "Yes", "No", and then you can express your belief that women are no longer oppressed today (which is a very debatable topic, since there are studies proving that in todays feminized school system, it's males that are opressed). And when you express this opinion in the game, Akara just says: "I did not know you were so stupid".

That is a narrative foul, because the autor of the game pushes his own agenda by putting it into the mouth of an omniscient entity in the game (how would you like a story where for example Jesus Christ would start persuading people that black people are inferior?). The foul is reinforced by the fact that Akara patiently argues all her points, but here, suddenly, no arguments are given, only a derogative, ad-hominem attack.

And that is a method fanatics often use when they feel their arguments are lacking.

Well-written Kamamura. That response also could have been worked in better with the 'oppression of women' being a heavily debatable topic (especially when comparing the conditions of places, IE: Germany to Saudi Arabia). That line also didn't fit the narrative well, seeing a contradictory image was being portrayed in this game. Personally, words like "stupid" should have no place in dialectics...it took a bit away from the experience.

the LGBT side of this game was honestly a fresh of breath air, it's not forced down the player's throat or preached about. it's honestly rare to see in media (especially games) a presentation of a gay relationship that isn't forced into the spotlight or played as a big deal. likewise, the game presented the issue of a trans person being derided by a co-worker in a very tasteful way without going tino a rant about how terrible it is, whilst also not normalising the behaviour. i also have to give the game points for presenting a trans character in a manner that doesn't highlight them as such until a specific point it becomes pertinent to the plot.

it's unfortunate I then have to add a 'but' to this praise. the scene about women being oppressed comes across as incredibly forced and disjointed, as the posters above have said. whilst I would agree that things aren't entirely egalitarian in modern society, things have massively been improving in recent years with regards to gender equality, and i could definitely believe it will become a non-issue in the next few decades in western countries. the fact the character expressing the opinion that someone is an idiot for believing gender equality isn't a major issue anymore is also an omniscient pseudo-god makes it definitely stand out as the developer pushing politics in an otherwise great game.

it doesn't sour the experience for me, but i definitely feel the line was a poor conclusion. the third dialogue option wasn't needed to begin with, had it been yes/no like the other options it'd be far less of an issue.

Who's the trans character ?

Originally posted by Maldoran Straken:

Who's the trans character ?

Larissa is trans.

Originally posted by Kamamura:

The game contains several narrative fouls. The most glaring one was when Akara asks you whether (in a future mind-control utopia), you would like women to be still oppressed.

You have the options: "Yes", "No", and then you can express your belief that women are no longer oppressed today (which is a very debatable topic, since there are studies proving that in todays feminized school system, it's males that are opressed). And when you express this opinion in the game, Akara just says: "I did not know you were so stupid".

That is a narrative foul, because the autor of the game pushes his own agenda by putting it into the mouth of an omniscient entity in the game (how would you like a story where for example Jesus Christ would start persuading people that black people are inferior?). The foul is reinforced by the fact that Akara patiently argues all her points, but here, suddenly, no arguments are given, only a derogative, ad-hominem attack.

And that is a method fanatics often use when they feel their arguments are lacking.

This puts me off buying the game completely. I can't stand forced narratives, at all. Especially ignorant ones like you just stated.

I was put quite off as well when i saw the third option for the sexism question and knew immediately what the reply to that choice would be. it just seems so out of character for akara to just call you stupid instead of mentioning in universe facts or just the real world fact that women are still second-class citizens in many societies.

tbh i don't mind larissa or the gay relationship, especially when larissa's surgery and subsequent hormone therapy offer insight into her personality and offer an excuse to get her voice.

Gender and sexuality are important pieces of the transhumanism puzzle. Having everyone be heteronormative would be carving out a sizable chunk of the discussion. So respectfully disagree.

Originally posted by Clock Codes:

Gender and sexuality are important pieces of the transhumanism puzzle. Having everyone be heteronormative would be carving out a sizable chunk of the discussion. So respectfully disagree.

For who/what? Life? The game? Not for me, and looking at the comments & reviews not for a lot of people. I'm not interested in it in the slightest, and I want my games to be free of social justice rubbish. Still, that's not to say those games can't be made for those who are interested in it, but pushing an agenda should be left to those who want to dye their hair blue and whine on youtube. There's no "puzzle" to it, there's just science.

Originally posted by Izziee:

Originally posted by Clock Codes:

Gender and sexuality are important pieces of the transhumanism puzzle. Having everyone be heteronormative would be carving out a sizable chunk of the discussion. So respectfully disagree.

For who/what? Life? The game? Not for me, and looking at the comments & reviews not for a lot of people. I'm not interested in it in the slightest, and I want my games to be free of social justice rubbish. Still, that's not to say those games can't be made for those who are interested in it, but pushing an agenda should be left to those who want to dye their hair blue and whine on youtube. There's no "puzzle" to it, there's just science.

if you think a game having gay people in it is 'social justice rubbish' you may want to reconsider your views on gay people somewhat

Originally posted by Coldflame:

Originally posted by Izziee:

For who/what? Life? The game? Not for me, and looking at the comments & reviews not for a lot of people. I'm not interested in it in the slightest, and I want my games to be free of social justice rubbish. Still, that's not to say those games can't be made for those who are interested in it, but pushing an agenda should be left to those who want to dye their hair blue and whine on youtube. There's no "puzzle" to it, there's just science.

if you think a game having gay people in it is 'social justice rubbish' you may want to reconsider your views on gay people somewhat

You're incapable of following a thread I see. You keep trying to push an agenda, I'll keep ignoring it.

Part of a great story is that it is relatable. There is nothing relatable with 2 gay men screaming they love each other as one falls to their death. I didn't feel sad, or care about the dude dying. I just wanted the awkward scene to end. Maybe I would have cared more if their relationship was shown from the start, and they built upon it throughout the story. But they laid it on you at the end, and I just couldn't care. Story would have been 100x better if they left it ambiguous, so players could draw their own relatable conclusions. I liked them better when they were just friends.

Originally posted by Mavloc:

Part of a great story is that it is relatable. There is nothing relatable with 2 gay men screaming they love each other as one falls to their death. I didn't feel sad, or care about the dude dying. I just wanted the awkward scene to end. Maybe I would have cared more if their relationship was shown from the start, and they built upon it throughout the story. But they laid it on you at the end, and I just couldn't care. Story would have been 100x better if they left it ambiguous, so players could draw their own relatable conclusions. I liked them better when they were just friends.

The last scene was quite touching IMO even if the rest of the trans things was unnecessary

Originally posted by Mavloc:

Part of a great story is that it is relatable. There is nothing relatable with 2 gay men screaming they love each other as one falls to their death. I didn't feel sad, or care about the dude dying. I just wanted the awkward scene to end. Maybe I would have cared more if their relationship was shown from the start, and they built upon it throughout the story. But they laid it on you at the end, and I just couldn't care. Story would have been 100x better if they left it ambiguous, so players could draw their own relatable conclusions. I liked them better when they were just friends.

they flirt with each other the entire game and are quite clearly extremely close, the fact it's not explicitly spelled out till the end of the game doesn't mean it came out of left field.

i don't see how a relationship being less relatable because it's homosexual is a valid criticism of the game.

without being rude, i get the impression from this post you'd just rather not have gay people in your games at all? i can't see how a gay relationship can be inserted into a game better than this one did it, honestly.