Vaan. "Gay"
Kratos. "Heterosexual"
Why?
Discuss.
Male Game Characters
Vaan. "Gay"
Kratos. "Heterosexual"
Why?
Discuss.
One's built like a twink? Only those with the utmost of either masculinity or boobage earn the people's love. Isn't it usually that way?
:O!All male viddy game characters should be gay, and the ladies lesbians.
Which Kratos? Of the two that I can think of, they both actually had sex with women and produced offspring. Not that homosexual males can't do that, but it's not exactly in character.
Pretty much this.One's built like a twink?
really it's because any man who is outwardly effeminate in anyway is determined by heterosexists to not be masculine enough "to take" a woman sexually and therefore must be a homosexual.
Vaan is a typical JRPG bishounen which means that he is a bit on the androgynous side in his looks.
Kratos is an American creation, based on the Ancient Greek mythos and the target audience is American male teenagers. While the Greeks may have been open to homosexuality, a young male American audience is less so. They have Kratos with a minigame to know over a vase while having sex "off screen" with a woman.
This may be a going off on a tangent.. but since the examples known to me (Vaan being one) of 'gay' male video game characters aren't explicitly homosexual, has there actually been a male video game character that was openly gay?
To answer the original question though, different cultures are perceived to expect different things from their male leads in video games. Big, built, macho men are the norm in Western developed games, particularly in a game like God of War where it's played out like an action movie. Maybe up at Squenix HQ, they thought players would be able to better fill the shoes of someone scrawnier and not particularly strong looking (because immersion in an RPG is arguably more important than in an action game). Characters like Vaan, Tidus, Zidane, Squall etc. all rise from fairly obscure beginnings to save the world and the players are supposed to feel like they are the protagonist and Squenix may not reckon that a Kratos-esque character design would achieve that feeling.
A few. Lots of lesbians. Transfolk even, sometimes.Originally Posted by Mo-Nercy
None of them are portrayed in a very respectable manner at all, though.
Sort of like in comic books, but with less AIDS vampires.
there's some weapon dealer in shadow hearts that's homosexual.
everything is wrapped in gray
i'm focusing on your image
can you hear me in the void?
Gay =! Homosexual.
Beyond that, he looks way too feminine. The general American audience will find this a bit awkward. I've seen a few video game characters that are gay males, but the few that exist are portrayed in the most cliche and stereotypical/generic mannerisms than you can possibly think of. Makoto from Enchanted Arms is an example of this. Just once I'd like to see a gay guy in any JRPG that acts like a "normal" guy [I use this term loosely, I think it's easy to figure out what I mean]. Zevran from Dragon Age is an example, though I'm irritated by the fact that he's so amoral, and it isn't a JRPG. Still, it's a baby step in the right direction I guess. I don't want to digress too much. Such a JRPG character may exist, but I haven't seen it yet.One's built like a twink? Only those with the utmost of either masculinity or boobage earn the people's love. Isn't it usually that way?
:O!All male viddy game characters should be gay, and the ladies lesbians.
You can't judge a character based on how they look. Zelos from Tales of Symphonia looks like a flamingo, but he can't stop flirting with anything that has boobies
The Other Kratos I was alluding to.
Go take it to GLAAD so they can put out an ACT UP! bulletin and we can all freak out that John Mayer used the F-word too.
The sad truth is that gay issues are not as a big deal in Japan, especially in politics. While you may have depictions of homosexual pairing in yaoi/BL they tend to be problematic for most gays. The whole seme-uke binary that is popular is a problem. I mean you also have bara but that hardly has the fanbase that yaoi/BL seems to have. So I'd say you'd be holding your breath if you want a good display of a gay character from Japan, unless they get CLAMP to write the plot then it will just have homosexual sub-text.Beyond that, he looks way too feminine. The general American audience will find this a bit awkward. I've seen a few video game characters that are gay males, but the few that exist are portrayed in the most cliche and stereotypical/generic mannerisms than you can possibly think of. Makoto from Enchanted Arms is an example of this. Just once I'd like to see a gay guy in any JRPG that acts like a "normal" guy [I use this term loosely, I think it's easy to figure out what I mean]. Zevran from Dragon Age is an example, though I'm irritated by the fact that he's so amoral, and it isn't a JRPG. Still, it's a baby step in the right direction I guess. I don't want to digress too much. Such a JRPG character may exist, but I haven't seen it yet.One's built like a twink? Only those with the utmost of either masculinity or boobage earn the people's love. Isn't it usually that way?
:O!All male viddy game characters should be gay, and the ladies lesbians.
As for Zevran, sexuality aside, he is pretty amoral to begin with. So it is natural that he is a bit of a slut. The problem is that is the only male Romantic option for a male character, which was taken with a mixed reaction (I wanted to dirty Alistair so badly...). Oddly enough, as far as I can recall, all same-sex pairings are with characters that are bisexual, none of them to date from Bioware are completely gay or lesbian. I suppose bisexual is a bit better than none at all, especially considering that Bioware's HQ is in Edmonton, Alberta (Alberta is one of the more reluctant provinces to accept gay marriage, in general you could sorta think of Alberta as Canada's Texas
Yeah I know. Don't get me started on this one.
Oh, I don't really mind the fact that he's so willing to have sex. I just found his character to be a little dry in terms of being a "romantic interest"... yet that's all us gay guys get stuck with. Oh well, it could've been worse.
Me too! He's a bit of a sweetheart.
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