The hugely popular and critically acclaimed new game Dragon Age: Origins features a scene in which a man and an elf build up to gay sex.
Players of the game can see the graphical representation of a man seducing a warrior elf called Zevran.
Perhaps the only real scandal here is the cheesiness of the chat-up lines ("Can you join me in my tent?", "Is there something in your tent that needs assassinating?","I bet you're good at a lot of things").
"I want to discuss something personal"
It would seem that Zevran is perhaps a little too keen to be seduced, in TechRadar's humble opinion…
Developer BioWare has predictably come under fire from its millions of (largely homophobic) teenage fans online, though TechRadar thinks the company should be praised for including such a straightforward scene of everyday human interaction in its game.
Only website GayGamer.net seems to have been positive in its praise of the move, noting that "with this bare-chested and unflinching portrayal, it feels as if the depiction of gay sex in video games has reached a new level of equal treatment.
"This is more than just a mincing gay pirate or an evasive fade-to-black: there's choreography, tenderness, humor and even an element of sexual politics to Zevran's post-coital conversation.
"Kudos to BioWare for adding a bit of a gay storyline to their game and for dealing with gay romance as even-handedly as they do the heterosexual options."
Dragon Age: Origins is out now on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC
You can see the scene that is causing such a fuss right here and make your own mind up: The game is rated 18 so it's potentially NSFW - your call.
Your comments (5) Click to add a new comment
nitebot
November 25th 2009
5. *** seduction is not new in video games. The male Seattle Minister for Culture will flirt with your male character and ask you to be his chamber boy in Deus Ex: Invisible War.
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mobius
November 24th 2009
4. If there are people immature enough to complain about this then they're probably too young to be playing it anyway. To put it in context, in the UK, Brokeback Mountain has a LOWER age rating (15) than Dragon:Origins (18).
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whalemonster
November 24th 2009
3. I don't think we need to worry too much about the malformed, underdeveloped opinions of a bunch of spotty, insecure teenagers struggling with manhood.
Well done Bioware!
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watcherzero
November 24th 2009
2. Its got a meta review score of 91 so dont be worried, its quite good.
Yeah Zevran wants to jump your bones from the moment you meet compared to Morrigan who is really hard to impress as she takes almost everything soppy you say as an insult (but so worth it).
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caimbeul
November 24th 2009
1. Regardless of all the hot coffee-esq scences. I have the game and have yet to play it but i am in two minds...EDGE only gave it a 5/10...thats bad. GameTM only an 8 but it read more like a 6...I am worried.
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