If you don't care about the story or the lore, then why are you reading and posting in this forum?

 

Because reasons for actions are stupid.

Because reasons for actions are stupid.

^

On the Internet, something doesn't need a reason to happen.

I have seen people putting down romances on most games that have the option. And seriously, while I have no scientific proof to my theory, I believe it is unhappy people that indulge in romance slamming. It probably makes them feel superior and makes them forget that deep down inside they feel helpless and unloved. Like I said I cant prove that, but its my gut feeling.

 

I know in RL I have had quite a career as a romancer, so the "get a girl in RL" is not a valid point. because I already have one. Thing is she is not blue or a drow. Having that opportunity in games give me chance to act out a fantasy. I know I have been a in game romancer since Aeri broke my heart because I slept with her too quickly.

 

The fact that it is fade to black is not a bad thing either, just like when your reading, what you dont actually see can have a powerfull impact on your imagination. The thruth of the matter is you cannot deny that in every Epic fantasy or sci-fi story I can think of, there was a romance, SW, lotr etc. you name it, there was romance. Because when face with death and danger, your emotions are higher, life burns harder inside you. Its a instinctive thing. I know I would never go tank a huge foe in real life and throw my life away for any country or religion or anything. But for a girl I love, I would charge that thing and give it all I got.

 

Now finally for the less romances for girls I agree, I believe in time this will change and you will get more equal treatment (I mean in games in general) but things take time to evolve, when I was younger finding a girl gamer was near impossible, that was just the way it was, it changed and the games will adapt I am sure. Until then you can always come to my cantina and ERP with me (I got all sorts of sexy aliens for you)...

Edited November 7, 2012 by Mateops

Double standards and sexism in video games for whatever reason are lame. If you think the romances are dumb, cool, but they spent all the time to make it a part of the game and then constantly give female characters ridiculously lame and few options in every class on both factions.

 

I don't play this game for the romances, and really I don't think anyone really plays just for the romances or 'pixel boyfriends', that's just ridiculous. I play to stab people with lightsabers, play with friends but I also play for the story and if the story has blatantly sexist inconsistencies in it, it bothers me. When it seems almost obvious that they are neglecting my gender and making the male characters a constant source of male wish-fulfillment, yes, it bothers me.

Double standards and sexism in video games for whatever reason are lame. If you think the romances are dumb, cool, but they spent all the time to make it a part of the game and then constantly give female characters ridiculously lame and few options in every class on both factions.

 

I don't play this game for the romances, and really I don't think anyone really plays just for the romances or 'pixel boyfriends', that's just ridiculous. I play to stab people with lightsabers, play with friends but I also play for the story and if the story has blatantly sexist inconsistencies in it, it bothers me. When it seems almost obvious that they are neglecting my gender and making the male characters a constant source of male wish-fulfillment, yes, it bothers me.

 

It's hard to ignore that there is is a discrepancy between the male and female romance options. Having, by now, played every class, and several to 50, I've been able to see the arcs and options for myself. While I like Aric Jorgan, its rediculous that he's the onlly trooper female romance. Same with Doc for the female Jedi Knight or Lt. Iresso for the Consular - though having Theran Cedrax as a one-nighter is an interesting twist for the consular of all classes.

 

In particular, what I have noticed, is that there are no jedi or sith female romanec options while there are several force users for males. That struck me as particularly odd...really, only female force users can be seduced? lol.

 

Dez

I'm not sure this is true at least as far as companion romances are concerned.

 

No to mention that it's taking there not being a 50/50 split and drawing MASSIVE conclusions about the personalities of real people. Classic example of taking a single fact, drawing an *emotional* conclusion and then assuming that your OPINION is a *fact*.

Others are ok, but I don't understand Gault, he was interested in woman and is much more interesting that that mandalorian.

Others are ok, but I don't understand Gault, he was interested in woman and is much more interesting that that mandalorian.

 

Finish his story and it becomes clear why you can't date him if you're playing a female.

Finish his story and it becomes clear why you can't date him if you're playing a female.

 

I did, he had a girlfriend but then broke up with her in the end.

I did, he had a girlfriend but then broke up with her in the end.

 

It's been awhile since I played my bh, but doesn't Gault think the female pc is gross or something? Lol, I suppose it makes sense that if I think he's butt-ugly he probably feels the same >.>

I did, he had a girlfriend but then broke up with her in the end.

 

Uh, no. There's more going on in both the past and the present on that. You might want to YouTube his character arc.

With all the talk surrounding the same-sex romances, I thought it was time to revive this old thread. Why? Well, because of the fact that same-sex romances happened, and that is a really good thing. And it also gives me hope that maybe they will do something about the disparities between male and female romances.

 

Here are the actual number of romances in the game (Makeb not included):

Jedi Knight: male 3 - female 1

Jedi Consular: male 2 - female 2

Smuggler: male 9 - female 6

Trooper: male 3 - female 1 (and a half, maybe)

 

Sith Warrior: male 7 - female 3

Sith Inquisitor: male 4 - female 3

Bounty Hunter: male 4 - female 3

Imperial agent: male 9 - female 6

 

Detailed list hidden for spoilers:

 

 

 

The results are there and the male wins with a whooping 41 (24 for the Empire and 17 for the Republic) while the female only get 25.5 (15 for the Empire and 10.5 for the Republic). Almost half less content...

Worse, the full romances are also totally unfairly allocated with 11 for the males and only 8 for the females.

 

 

Detailed list hidden for spoilers:

 

 

 

NB: Since I didn't go through all the options myself, this is the result of the info I gathered on various sources so if I forgot something or got something wrong, lemme know.

 

To the ones who don't care about romances, good for you. I'm not debating about whether I like romances or not, or if this game should have romances or not. Every one has their own tastes regarding it and this is not the debate here. This game has various content and everyone has different opinions regarding it (for ex: some love PVP others don't). One of them is romances. So, the question here is: Why does my game has less content if I play as a girl?

Edited May 12, 2013 by lanawinst

The game was likely written by straight men for straight men and the straight women's romances were added either as an after-thought or with deliberate care to be "less", because of a couple of reasons (confused attitudes to women's sexuality in the media (that women, though assumed to be interested in romance are not active participants in their relationships or are more discerning/select or steady in their choices, not to mention the backlash of presenting a female character with the same amount of choices a male character has would label her a "****" and that women with an attitude of wanting what is perceived to be a "masculine" ideal towards sexual practices is a bad thing), the idea that a straight guy playing a woman might be turned off by the slightly "gay" aspect of romancing a male companion, etc.) OR there's the more disturbing idea that Bioware's writers just flat-out didn't realise that the imbalance exists. They certainly haven't acknowledged it post-launch.

 

Besides, even with the introduction of SGRA in this game, [Flirt]s and Romance options for the Straight Male Character will continue to outweigh options for all other genders and sexualities, whether combined or separate.

 

I'd suggest you PM your information to Ms. Green or Ms. Woods or perhaps even tweet the link of this post to Mr. Hood and try to drag him into a dialogue on the subject, if you can.

The game was likely written by straight men for straight men and the straight women's romances were added either as an after-thought or with deliberate care to be "less"

 

I remember Jennifer Hepler saying that Corso was written to be the sidekick to the male Smuggler and she had to try several different things to make him "fit" as a romance option for female Smugglers. I'm not sure about any others, but it wouldn't surprise me if all the classes were written with male protagonists in mind.

 

Source

 

Besides, even with the introduction of SGRA in this game, [Flirt]s and Romance options for the Straight Male Character will continue to outweigh options for all other genders and sexualities, whether combined or separate.

 

I'm a straight female, but I was mildly annoyed to find out (spoilers for Makeb):

 

 

 

Corso as a "fit" for female Smuggler romance? Has she met the character she wrote? He's a patronising, borderline misogynist, anti-free-expression-of-sexuality bell-end that I wouldn't mind marooning on an Imperial controlled mining moon.

 

Edit: Found the quote you're referring to:

(Originally by Jennifer Helper)

 

For what it's worth, Corso Riggs was originally designed as the "little brother" character for the Male Smuggler. He was so very clearly the beta male that it was very difficult for me to make him into a credible romance for as strong a woman as the female smuggler. After several failed attempts, the over-the-top romantic was the only real way to make him work as both a in-the-player's-shadow sidekick for the male player and a non-contemptible romance for the female. The romance was definitely written well after all of his non-romance plot dialogue, and after all the planentary romances as well. We write a lot of characters at Bioware; trying not repeat the same ones from game to game will always mean that different ones will work better for different people, and sometimes different games will work better for different people as a result.

 

(Emphasis mine) Lol wut?

 

And, with Lemda, to me her bisexuality was a continuation of the idea of the women in this game being there (or being women) for the sole entertainment of men. As if to say: if she can't be romanced or flirted with, you not just make her a man?

 

I don't want to have no bisexual characters in the game - that goes against everything I've been arguing for in the SGRA threads - but to have the only bisexual character in this game be female just smacks of heterosexual-male privilege/ Likewise, having Lord Cytharat as the only gay character (male or female) in the game and having him be on the faction known for being evil, corrupt and morally questionable and without a reflection in the Republic, regardless of his personality and his morality, implies distasteful things about Bioware's attitudes to gay men and women and homosexuality itself. But that's getting off topic. We're discussing the women in this game, not the men.

 

And I told you to tweet Mr. Hood, but I went ahead and tweeted to him on the subject as well :x May have been a bit passive-aggressive.

Edited May 12, 2013 by Tatile

I loathe this, and yes I am somewhat offended by it. The number of [Flirt] options for most of my female characters is incredibly small and usually limited to using or manipulating people.

 

It's like the writers are threatened or confused by modern female sexuality.

Remember, when she says "non-contemptible" she really means, she found him to be non-contemptible. Just like you bash the male writers for writing as themselves, she wrote it as herself. There also seems to be plenty of both genders who love Corso (I'm not one of them) as he is with the female smuggler.

 

That said, with the one alien females can romance, I'm finding him quite enjoyable! Came off harsh, where I was thinking "*** him?!" but he's grown on me Corso...gaaaah...his attitude is worse than the Quinn betrayal

Male Consular only gets one romance option: Nadia. Jedi aren't really supposed to be off having all kinds of romantic relationships, though.

Male Consular only gets one romance option: Nadia. Jedi aren't really supposed to be off having all kinds of romantic relationships, though.

 

To go with this thought though, it's not just relationships that have this problem. While it feels limited to only two Advance Classes, I never feel my Shadow feels like a Shadow or my Assassin like an Assassin. Both Classes felt roped into the Sage/Sorc advance class with the storyline.

To go with this thought though, it's not just relationships that have this problem. While it feels limited to only two Advance Classes, I never feel my Shadow feels like a Shadow or my Assassin like an Assassin. Both Classes felt roped into the Sage/Sorc advance class with the storyline.

 

Really? I though the Consular storyline worked more with a sage (Healing and whatnot) and the Inquisitor with an assassin (using brute force most of the time).

Really? I though the Consular storyline worked more with a sage (Healing and whatnot) and the Inquisitor with an assassin (using brute force most of the time).

 

I was really hoping to have my assassin use stealth to surprise an enemy (or something like that) in even 1 cutscene, but no. And that felt a little funny to me. But I guess money is the problem in here, again.

I don't want to have no bisexual characters in the game - that goes against everything I've been arguing for in the SGRA threads - but to have the only bisexual character in this game be female just smacks of heterosexual-male privilege.

 

I am in total agreement there. You guys also noticed that in games when there's SGRA, you have way more, and sometimes only, female/female romances? Weird, right? I mean straight guys absolutely hate it. Oh wait, they actually like it too

 

And I told you to tweet Mr. Hood, but I went ahead and tweeted to him on the subject as well :x May have been a bit passive-aggressive.

We're waiting for the input with bated breath.

 

I remember Jennifer Hepler saying that Corso was written to be the sidekick to the male Smuggler and she had to try several different things to make him "fit" as a romance option for female Smugglers.

Why does it not surprise me... As a straight female gamer, I don't ever expect a game to be made with me in mind. It's getting better and sometimes they do realize that we exist and play their games, and buy their games, so they make an effort but it's still a second thought . I do understand that they want to sell, and that there's probably more male gamers than female gamers in SWTOR (if it's anything like Mass Effect 3 with 82% male shepard and 18% female shepard), but these stats are to be taken with a grain of salt. 82% male shepard doesn't mean 82% male players especially since female play male characters pretty regularly (maybe because we got used to it, otherwise we wouldn't play a lot of games, now, would we...). And I'm going to stop ranting there. Sorry

Male Consular only gets one romance option: Nadia. Jedi aren't really supposed to be off having all kinds of romantic relationships, though.

Nope the male consular does get two "romances" , Nadia and a hook-up (

). That said, while I do agree that jedis aren't supposed to entertain romantic relationships, but not only hook-ups aren't really forbidden as long as there's no sentiment, I also think that because you are not supposed to do something doesn't mean that the opportunity doesn't present itself. Even more, it's the choice to refuse to go that path that makes it worth something. If you don't do something only because of the lack of opportunities, it seriously reduces the meaning and impact. As a jedi you should be given that opportunity to stay true to the jedi ideals or not.

But that was actually a bit off-point as the matter is not the amount there is for each classes, but for each gender, and as I listed earlier, even for jedis, there's no equality with 5 for the males and 3 for the females.

Edited May 13, 2013 by lanawinst
edit for add

Really? I though the Consular storyline worked more with a sage (Healing and whatnot) and the Inquisitor with an assassin (using brute force most of the time).

 

That's what I said, my Shadow doesn't feel like a Shadow.

 

I felt my Assassin felt more like a Sorc. I kept flinging (great as it was mind you) lightning. I liked my Deception build because I used Lightning AND the saber. And I see no reason a Sorc can't use brute force when it comes to force abilities.

Nope the male consular does get two "romances" , Nadia and a hook-up (

).

 

I'm only speaking of class specific options, not ones that are open to everyone in the faction.

That's what I said, my Shadow doesn't feel like a Shadow.

 

I felt my Assassin felt more like a Sorc. I kept flinging (great as it was mind you) lightning. I liked my Deception build because I used Lightning AND the saber. And I see no reason a Sorc can't use brute force when it comes to force abilities.

 

True but assassins CAN use lighting. And I don't know I always saw Sorcs as more thinkers and knowledgeable about DS lore which...the SI isn't really.