• Durandal@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    I’ve only had a couple of characters, one’s I would expect to flirt with me, try to flirt with me on their own. Everyone else you have to seek it out in my experience. This really smacks of the “it’s because of your search history dude” trope. Stop choosing flirty dialogue and getting fauxfended when they flirt back. I agree it seems a little easy to pursue some of the romance trees, but it really isn’t in your face as much as these stupid articles would make it seem.

    • dreadgoat@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      It reeks of immaturity in general, or maybe more cynically, the perception of a bunch of nerds that have never had a sex life. There are so few games that handle sexual and romantic relationships realistically, and now that we have one nobody knows what to make of it.

      Some characters take things slow. Opening up gradually, sharing some wine, holding hands and enjoying a single kiss on a night alone together. Eventually this ramps up naturally.

      Some characters on the other hand are like, “you ready to fuck? I’m ready. Love? Never heard of it.”

      Both of these are normal and it’s cool to see both represented in the same world.

      • Reva@startrek.website
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        1 year ago

        How the hell is this “realistic”? Everyone being playersexual, animal sex scenes around every corner?

        • Blubber28@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          You know you can turn off nudity and such, right? You know you can choose not to flirt with the origin characters, right?

  • Maple@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I love how this game handles sex and romance, it’s unashamed with a sex-positive mindset, something that just seems natural to me but I guess I’m just weird.

    • Apolinario Mabussy@lemmy.calvss.com
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      1 year ago

      Weirdos of the world unite! I’m all for equal-opportunity horniness lol.

      I guess it’s unnatural for a large group of people, since a lot of people aren’t sex positive due to upbringing or some other factors.

      I’m personally mostly okay with how the game handles sex and romance, and I also have friends who are completely okay with the game’s nudity as well (heck we even have a multiplayer character running around naked in camp lol). But I do have some other friends who were taken aback when character customization came up and genital customization was a thing.

      • Maple@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Yeah! Glad to see so many people agree with our point of view as well. Religion and other factors have done so much damage to so many people, it’ll be a slow process I’m sure but maybe games like these will help fix our culture are reverse those puritanical and prudish views.

        • Reva@startrek.website
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          1 year ago

          Truly, we will only reach a peak progressive egalitarian society when we are back to treating women like sex dolls. So right bestie.

          • Maple@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            What the hell? I just want people to be able to be open about sexual topics and be okay with displaying their bodies without getting attacked or shunned. And for people to play games with anywhere from a little or a lot of sexual content without the fear of it being censored and them being called perverts and weirdos and whatever else, BG3 is a shining example of this.

            And if you think that it’s about treating women like sex dolls then I feel like you should take a good long look at yourself.

            • Reva@startrek.website
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              1 year ago

              Your entire account is video game porn mods catering to horny men who are afraid of or disgusted by real women.

              It’s not about “being comfortable with people’s bodies”, it’s about shaming women as “prudes” if they do not feel comfortable the power dynamic that often comes with sex in hetero society (especially with straight men) being shoved in their faces and told to participate. “Stop being a prude” is the equivalent of “smile more (for me)” or “start wearing less”.

              I do not have to participate in men’s power fantasies about fictional women because they never talked to a real woman and think that boob armor and 2B’s design are the pinnacle of womanhood and “liberating sexuality” while the only thing it does is making them into sex objects to be stared at and thirsted after like some kind of predator-prey dynamic or product to buy at the market. There is nothing liberating about it.

              Y’all just want to jerk off to women. Just admit that you just want to jerk off to naked women. It has nothing to do with “being open about sexual topics”, or about sexual liberation, it has everything to do with getting your dick hard and thinking it’s some kind of political statement at the same time. Male (or male socialized) savior syndrome.

              BG3 clearly, obviously caters to sweaty D&D neckbeards’ fantasies about “smeggsy” women, mid-tier fantasy writing and fulfilling their power fantasy of murdering, fucking indiscriminately, and avoiding responsibility at the same time. It’s the entire concept of the game. It is made by and for typical Redditors. There is nothing liberating about a porn game. There is no authentic romance, no negotiation of consent, no talking, no connecting as human people, there is only “playersexual” NPCs handcrafted to get predatory men horny who think they’re entitled to women’s (and these NPCs’) bodies and attention. It’s a power fantasy.

              • Maple@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Right off the top you made a super bold assumption about my account and about me thus I won’t give you the time of day. Not like I could change your bigoted ass point of view even if I wanted to. Good bye.

  • inexplicablehaddock@lemmy.loungerat.io
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    1 year ago

    I’m gonna be honest, from what I’ve played, it honestly seems like the people complaining about the party members hitting on them too much have just been clicking options without fully reading them. It kinda sounds like the writer here inadvertently started romances with every single party member.

    Yes, if you get their opinion of you up high enough, they will open up the possibility of romance- but you can tell them that you’re not interested in them in that way, and the topic will never be brought up again. And yeah, the game is considerably more sexual than a lot of other RPGs. I don’t think there’s any denying that. But the author does make a good point in that it disrupts the usual structure of sex in video games. To me at least, in a way, sex in BG3 feels like it’s part of the world; rather than something that just exists for some late-game cutscenes.

    • caseofthematts@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Seriously. Gale started hitting on my friend because he would interact with him regularly. And my friend just picked the “you misunderstood, we’re just friends” option. Gale was like “sorry pal, let’s keep being good friends” - hasn’t brought up wanting to take things to the next level since.

  • bouh@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    “I’m no prude” and then rant at how too horny BG3 supposedly is… Yes you are very prude fellow.

    • PsychedSy@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Nah. I’m a prude: I prolly won’t play BG3 now. I’m big on sci-fi and I’ve never liked overtly horny interactions. The Culture novels handle it well and it didn’t annoy me. Vernor Vinge had problems deciding if he was writing scifi or rape fantasies.

      I’m here for motherfucking space lasers.

    • Reva@startrek.website
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      1 year ago

      I don’t want every one of my games to be turned into porn. I am not a teenage boy who was taught that sex was the epitome of humor and life enjoyment. I want a little more mature writing than that.

      Besides, the way that these game developers write sex scenes and romance could not be further removed from my lived experiences.

  • CaptPretentious@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I do think it should be a bit harder to romance in this game. Because you don’t need to even try and to me that’s kind of a problem. Like I got people just sitting at camp who haven’t been in any quest with me or you just met and they’re already down for the dirty. Ready for the horizontal cha-cha. A little of the devil’s dance, a little campsite rodeo… I think a little effort isn’t asking too much. But they all acting like the Absolute is in my pants and they’re ready to get blessed!

      • Fisk400@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        There is also no way to just be friends. The friendly option are also the fuck options so if approval gets too high you need to actively be an asshole to them.

        • Magusbear@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          That’s the actual problem I think. Imo it’s fine for them to try to flirt with you, but almost all the non flirt options in those situations are kind of mean. There are also some options were I’m just not sure if I am being nice or starting down the relationship path.

          Is this hug going to comfort them or is it already sexual? I don’t know. Which is all the more hard for me because I’m playing a kind old dwarfen paladin who just wants everyone to get along and be happy.

    • Wololo@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      My first playthrough I sent lae’zel straight to camp, never spoke to her again. At some random point before even act 1 ended, her romance dialogue came up.

      My theory is the tadpoles ramp up sex drive to absurd levels, unless you’re shadowheart apparently. Illithid orgies must be incredible.

      • pory@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Unless you’re shadowheart? I told her I didn’t hate her god and the next day she was hitting me with the “I’ve never had a confidant quite like you… You’re very special to me…”

        • Nepenthe@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          She hadn’t even told me about the religious stuff yet when the option came up. Although if you read her mind about it as a woman, not only is she dead serious, she’s deeply confused and embarrassed to be realizing she’s bisexual.

          No interest in doing a male file in order to find out whether Gale, Wyll, etc. would react with the same awkwardness, but I felt that. Normally, the devs just address it by making everyone openly bi from the get-go, and I appreciated the smallest shred of realism.

          On one front, if not the other. I’m not really interested in a lot of her fighting style, so we’ve barely spoken.

      • melonpunk@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Aaah, so it’s a homage to Cronenberg’s 1975 movie Shivers

        Hobbes had developed a parasite that was “a combination of aphrodisiac and venereal disease that will, hopefully, turn the world into one beautiful mindless orgy.”

            • Nepenthe@kbin.social
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              1 year ago

              Xenophobia isn’t really my bag. It comes off bordering vicious puritanism and I’m left wondering whether it’s the result of being ignored, or just the reason. I sat and did my work too, but goddamn.

              I think the whole thing is fine, just…progressing way too fast to be believable, and hard to be “friends” without being cruel.

              If we’re talking about the nudist option, I’ve been continually asking myself why that exists when we already know why. It’s eyebrow raising but if I wish it were the worst thing happening to me today. I can grumble and move on.

    • geno@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I have a bit conflicting thoughts about this. On one hand yes, the “let’s fuck” option comes a bit too easily: simply talk to them a few times, ask about their day, don’t be an ass and you’ll get laid on day 3.

      But on the other hand, the game is also filled with situations where you make a single wrong comment and the conversation instantly turns to a fight, which ends up in a bloodbath.

      I guess these balance each other out. The game is just generally fast with getting to a (quite extreme) conclusion in both ways, and I don’t really have a problem with it.

    • Nepenthe@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I find the writing for each more or less appreciable, but I do think they need to slow their damn roll, definitely. Not only do all but two of them want me, somehow I ended up reaching this point at the exact same time with all of them and we might as well have solved the whole thing by massive camp orgy and called it a day.

      I’m quite sure some of this can be gated behind specific plot points so the progression makes sense. I’m over here completely ignoring the plot for the side quests in Act 1.

      Asterion says he “knows a place,” which is predictable because Asterion would bang a tree if it weren’t for the cock splinters. But he also very specifically said that same day that he’s never been to the underdark before, and he literally can’t know a place. We just passed an NPC that told us not to make the slightest perceptible noise or we’d attract ravenous monsters and we’re going to be murdered.

      Maybe we should wait to offend god until after we get outside, perhaps?

      • CaptPretentious@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Asterion would bang a tree if it weren’t for the cock splinters

        Oh please, I get the feeling Astarion could make a Cenobite blush…

  • Meowoem@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    When you swap underwear with another character they don’t even mention it, no options to seduce NPC’s for fun or profit, sex doesn’t go into a turn based mode with various special traits and action options based on class and alignment…

    I’m just saying if I made it then it’d be far hornier.

  • Meowoem@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    How am I supposed to identify as my character and get immersed in being them if people want to have sex with them?

  • youRFate@feddit.de
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    1 year ago

    Horniest RPG? The armors in this game are the least sexy I’ve encountered in years.

    • Katana314@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I guess it makes for a better “dividing” of the experiences. For instance, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 took it all the very wrong way. It might have a very compelling storyline and great character moments, but I’ll never know because 90% of my time spent playing would involve a subservient girl dressed in micro-shorts whose breasts are each the size of her head. Plus, it has a ton of pervy scenes that are pretty much mandated for the story.

      At least in BG3, the nudity/sex/lingerie seems to be somewhat optional to focus on, and doesn’t generally distract from the experience.

      • youRFate@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        Yes, I like the way they did it. They could also (maybe they already have) add some more underwear options.

  • echo64@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    crazy how we went from Mass Effect to No Sex Please, We’re Gamers.

    • Reva@startrek.website
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      1 year ago

      Some of us grew up. The others insist that “mature writing” means “haha sex penis”.

      • echo64@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        ugh, ‘growing up’ doesn’t mean ‘no sex please’,

        growing up is understanding how complex narratives about the human experience sometimes include a sexual nature, and that some people just enjoy that aspect in general and that’s okay.

        I don’t know if this an American puritanism revival thing or what, but it’s odd to see the absolute rejection under the banner of i guess “that’s just for kids”?

        • Maple@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Sex-negative mindsets are dumb. It’s a core functionality of our nature. People mistook modesty for anti-sex and here we are.

        • Reva@startrek.website
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          1 year ago

          I don’t mind sexuality and romance, not even in my games. I do mind what amounts to fan service porn and constant sex shoved in one’s face. The article makes good points.

          • Andrenikous@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            constant sex shoved in one’s face.

            How is it shoved in someone’s face when it can be easily avoided? Turn off nudity and avoid making horny comments to the companions. The game is just a reflection of the players actions. The article is literally projecting their own hangups with themselves.

  • IamLost@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I was thinking that it was the horniest game I’ve ever played, but I didn’t see it as a problem. Also, a bit of topic, but the steam reviews from mad players who “accidentally” did the nasty with the unintended persons is hilarious. They should have selected the nohomo dialog option.

  • Trantarius@programming.dev
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    1 year ago

    I think the relationship threshold for the sex stuff needs to be higher. In my playthrough, I was propositioned by at least 3 different characters, and I was literally roleplaying a serial killer. I made no attempt at all to get them to like me. I think that stuff should only happen if the player has been seeking it out. And I don’t just mean the sex scenes themselves, horny dialogue and thinly veiled suggestions should happen less often and later in the story (like at least halfway through, certainly not in act 1). It especially stands out since the rest of the writing is pretty good, so an obvious “hey Player, wanna see a sex scene” moment is very out of place.