arcade gannon **character spoilers**

T

tortoise

First time out of the vault
i find it incredibly refreshing that we have a cool, non-stereotypical gay character in arcade gannon. not nearly enough of those in games. he's smart, sarcastic, a doctor, and a crack shot with a plasma enforcer -- a shame that "some lucky man [hasn't] scooped this bachelor off his feet." and what a badass in that tesla armor!

anyway, it's kind of interesting that he has to lay low, hiding who he really is (his dad was in the enclave) to avoid persecution (by the ncr). i wonder whether this is intended as a parallel to the current state of gay rights still being less-than-optimal even in some of the most supposedly progressive governments. i'd like to think that a statement is being made, anyway.

thoughts?
 
I just find it great that they have a gay character and his biggest characterization isn't that he's gay.

(Actually, FONV has quite a few gay characters, and insinuates a largely open society altogether. I suppose, when every third person looks like beef jerky, you can't be too picky. ;) )
 
i know, right? good for obsidian, for realistic representation of people who are more than just their sexual orientation.

and i just found out from another thread that veronica is gay, too. also the female soldier who was raped by cook-cook. i also found a gay male prostitute who wasn't interested in joining my female character's list of conquests. :( his loss!
 
tortoise said:
i know, right? good for obsidian, for realistic representation of people who are more than just their sexual orientation.

and i just found out from another thread that veronica is gay, too. also the female soldier who was raped by cook-cook. i also found a gay male prostitute who wasn't interested in joining my female character's list of conquests. :( his loss!
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The rape victim I didn't read as gay but as reacting to trauma.
 
Sure, if you have Cherchez La Femme you can flirt with her, but she's so garishly over-the-top I don't see how you could take that as anything but a defensive tactic.
 
i saw the soldier as a lesbian, but who was acting sexually aggressively (talking about getting into female fiends' pants and such, iirc) because of rape trauma -- trying to sound like a predatory hardass as compensation for feeling victimized. i thought it was sad, really, and [spoiler:71ed5b433d]aside from convincing her to seek therapy, i wish i could have gifted her cook-cook's head as a sympathy gift[/spoiler:71ed5b433d].
 
I also think that this character was great because of how they don't explicitly throw in your face "HES GAAAAY" or anything like it.

I first heard that Arcane was gay when someone on the forum said that, and I really couldn't tell, then I talked with him a little and he said that line you mentioned.

Good thing to see gay people treated with respect.

God knows that I know many of those and people still steer clear of them =/
 
sea said:
Although it's nice to see gay characters in games that aren't defined by their being gay (that is far more than we normally get even in other forms of media, including TV and film), at the same time it's important to recognise the value of sexuality in people's lives. Representation is a good thing, but when that representation ignores the sometimes harsh realities that gays and lesbians go through, it's still part of the problem. I know that the companions in New Vegas are strictly off-limits as far as romance goes, but I think being able to engage in a same-sex relationship with Arcade or Veronica would have fleshed them out as human beings.

Of course, I guess one can make the argument that "in Fallout's universe, gender identity no longer holds meaning", in which case I'd have to concede that it's a valid answer. But it also seems a bit too easy and risk-averse for my liking.
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I dunno I think it's good Obsidian stayed away from the romance route entirely. Not just because I don't think it has any place in Fallout but because it enhances the characters themselves if they're more than just Bioware-esque romance options. If Veronica or Arcade were romance options they'd both be quite cheapened in my opinion because it wouldn't be about creating characters who happen to be gay it'd be about creating gay characters to satisfy player whims and therefore, as others have said, characters who will end up defined overwhelmingly by their sexuality.

Much better this way where it's just an aspect of the character.
 
I dunno I think it's good Obsidian stayed away from the romance route entirely.
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If it'd be anything like what DA:O offered then yes. I can't quite count how many times I've face-palmed at that.

Mind you, I'm not against romance as a part of the story, but it has to be at least significant to the game in general and be well-written. Sort of like romance in PS:T.
 
though I dont know, I would have thought a option to get some sex with the one or other charcter would have been good. If you spend so mch time alone in the wasteland geting known to each other. It doesnt have to be always around love. Just realistic dialogues and authentic situations. Hence why DAO is so stupid as the dialogues and romances feel forces. I agree to represent a "relistic" working romance is hard and requires a lot of skill in writting believable characters and situations.
 
In game time how long does the courier's path take?

Three weeks? Two months if you dawdle?

Much of it wandering, talking and scavenging, as contrasted with your usual action-packed Bioware RPG, where fully-fledged brawls happen every ten minutes.

I can see fostering a relationship in that time, but not necessarily be the focus of the game. And most of the potential companions don't really appear to be looking too hard for one.

I dunno, tho: Like the absence of religion, I didn't notice it and I didn't miss it.
 
If you dress up Arcade in reinforced metal armor and the police officers cap, he starts to look pretty fabulous. I agree the Arcade and Veronica are well done characters though.

I definitely don't miss companion romances, they always come off as too forced.
 
This is a great thread and I'm glad to see such well thought-out discussion as well as the general appreciation of how the gay characters in FNV weren't your typical flaming queens, steering well away from tired old cliches.

Just goes to show what you can do with well-written characters with believable personalities and interesting motivations. I love Cass and Avellone's writing for her and the references to her father in FO2, but Arcade was the real stand-out companion.

I'm also definitely glad there were no relationships in this game ala Mass Effect. With that series it's just turned into a joke: are all future ME games going to have romance subplots? Again?

For me, a video game love interest just spoils the sense of involvement because for all the believable emotions a game can evoke through in-game friendship, admiration or fascination, love itself simply cannot be accurately reflected within the medium. E.g. a game like Heavy Rain can have you play a character looking for his missing son, but that son won't ever feel like he's really, truly yours.

Whereas in a FO game just getting used to travelling with a companion for so long makes for a far deeper but at the same time quite detached connection - even if you're only upset they died because they were carrying 200 pounds of equipment :o And anyway the feelings FO games can conjure; desolation, fear, rejection - the ending of FO1 in particular - are far more suited to the series than a General Hospital/Mass Effect-type of cheesiness. I'd much prefer desperately trying to keep Sulik alive by covering his recklessly wild melee attacks on Enclave soldiers with ranged fire than deciding out who I wanted to 'be with' at the end of ME2.

P.S. I went with Tali, for those interested
 
gumbarrel said:
Like you would know what a "realistic" romantic dialog is :smugoticon:
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Well making everyone a "potential" bisexual like in Dragonage is probably not :P

Not that there is a problem with homosexuality. Just how realistic is it to make everyone one just cause of the Player chose a love relation with them.

Dunno, yeah writing a realistic setup for a believable romance is pretty hard that for sure :shock:
 
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