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What will be remembered as The Great Baldur's Gate ShitStorm of 2016

ChnapyChnapy Member Posts: 360
in Off-Topic
It's really a sight to see, all these people disagreeing in unison. Harmony in chaos and all that jazz.
But everywhere I look, I see mostly two camps debating on rather vague points, and I just cannot get a clear image of exactly what that disagreement is about. I'd gladly pay 20 bucks to know it for sure but I'm a bit short on cash those days so I wondered if maybe some nice forumites could enlighten me with the power of Facts.

Now i'm not really asking for opinions. This whole forum seem to be crawling with opinions anyway. You wanna give them that's fine but it'll be a bit off topic. I'd just like to hear about them Facts.

Comments

  • Diogenes42Diogenes42 Member Posts: 597
    This is the real Time of Troubles friends.
  • GrimLefourbeGrimLefourbe Member Posts: 637
    edited April 2016
    You can see the faulty dialog with a transgender character here : Video link removed. Follow the site rules.

    It's "only part of the problem" though.
    Post edited by Dee on
  • DoubledimasDoubledimas Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 1,286
    edited April 2016
    1) Disagreement on a non-joinable NPC that states something about her being transgender. Not the fact that a transgender is in the game itself, but the way it is written into the game irks people.
    2) Disagreement on a line of Minsc, which some players perceive as an insult to GamerGate-members, some others don't.
    3) Those two also link in to the larger ire with political correctness/SJW/etc which some players feel is too much in the game.
    4) Some comments by members of the Beamdog team that some players found annoying.
    5) The annoyance of people of the large scale of downvotes/nonsense reviews on websites for the game due to the points mentioned above.
    6) Actual grievances about the game itself like writing, bugs, multiplayer, UI etc seem to get a bit lost in the chaos.

    Very short summary. Correct me if I missed something

    P.S. I am supposed to mention that people also refer to it as The Irony Crisis.
  • FrancoisFrancois Member Posts: 452
    That does it. I was going to wait until I had more time to play, but I am buying this game now. I am also willing to pay 20$ for a clear answer and conveniently enough that is the price of the game. It better be as badly written and contentious as the reviews say.
  • SilverstarSilverstar Member Posts: 2,207
    I'll clarify for a mere $10. Discount! Aren't I nice? :)
  • InsultionInsultion Member Posts: 179
    Francois said:

    That does it. I was going to wait until I had more time to play, but I am buying this game now. I am also willing to pay 20$ for a clear answer and conveniently enough that is the price of the game. It better be as badly written and contentious as the reviews say.

    All one paragraphs of it.
  • smeagolheartsmeagolheart Member Posts: 7,963
    I think polarization is a big thing these days. Wasn't expecting it to pop up in a DLC/Expansion to a 20 year old game but here it is.

    I've noticed how The internet Age has become a hive mind type of thing. It's fascinating and a bit scary. Thoughts and opinions gain momentum of their own these days. One or possibly two opinions gain hundreds of supporters and differences of opinion are drowned out and buried by the majority. People are also free to join whatever club where they can find sympathetic opinions as well so you are free to form your own reality. Another thing with the Internet Age is that news travels so fast, in the past the morning paper brought the news or whatnot while these days as I mentioned ideas can become juggernauts.

    I feel like I've almost outlined points for a short college paper here lol.
  • ChnapyChnapy Member Posts: 360
    edited April 2016
    GrimLefourbe said:

    You can see the faulty dialog with a transgender character here :
    It's "only part of the problem" though.

    Thanks for those Facts!
    Opinions!
    I sort of fail to see the real problem with that character (she is trasngender but that isn't really a problem in itself now, is it? and she talks about it in a positive way but considering she IS transgender, that is to be expected. Maybe it'd be best to actually have other points of view on it but I'd say as long as the medium remains neutral about it we're good)


    I'd be interrested in any other factual Facts about the other "parts of the problem" if anyone is kind enough to share them.
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    @Chnapy The problem is in the presentation. This is a soldier who has been hired by the Flaming Fist as a healer, opening up about the most intimate thing to a complete stranger, on duty. It's mental. It's not the only poorly written character, but probably the most glaring one. Plus, in a world where you can magically change gender, the whole thing is a non-issue, and feels quite forced.
  • AutequiAutequi Member Posts: 403
    FinneousPJ said:

    @Chnapy The problem is in the presentation. This is a soldier who has been hired by the Flaming Fist as a healer, opening up about the most intimate thing to a complete stranger, on duty. It's mental. It's not the only poorly written character, but probably the most glaring one. Plus, in a world where you can magically change gender, the whole thing is a non-issue, and feels quite forced.

    Here's something I've been wondering. Isn't magic supposed to be rare and expensive in the Forgotten Realms? In P&P, only the very rich would be able to afford the expense of a gender-changing spell/item. Certainly not your average farmer/townsperson, who gets paid a few coppers a day. Is the economy so different in computer D&D?
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    @Autequi It certainly doesn't look rare when playing the game. But we are not talking about your average farmer anyway.
  • ajwzajwz Member Posts: 4,122
    I'm not sure if I prefer #BaldursGate or #BaldursGateGate
  • O_BruceO_Bruce Member Posts: 2,790
    It should not be remembered by anybody. This whole drama is pointless nad blown out of proportion.
  • PekingduckmanPekingduckman Member Posts: 151
    So Gamergaters are claiming that a transwoman telling you her life story is somewhat shoving down politics down your throat, yet a farmer immediately telling a stranger about his lost cows and how poor he is, is somehow normality.
  • ljboljbo Member Posts: 177
    FinneousPJ said:

    @Chnapy The problem is in the presentation. This is a soldier who has been hired by the Flaming Fist as a healer, opening up about the most intimate thing to a complete stranger, on duty. It's mental.

    Just in the first third of BG I:
    • We enter Mirianne's house and her reaction toward those unsolicited visitor is to tell us about her missing husband. This is mental.
    • Prism the sculptor who tells his manic love story to complete strangers. This is mental.
    • Meeting complete strangers in the middle of wilderness, Eldoth opens up on his love with Skie and the ensuing troubles with no less than one of the great dukes of Baldur's Gate. This is mental.
    Shall we conclude that BG I had an agenda with respect to house wives or people in love? Nope, just tropes. In time LGBT will become a trope too.
  • oldlamehandoldlamehand Member Posts: 39
    edited April 2016
    I think we should remember, that adding LGBT content in games is always tricky and it is almost never good move, unless the story really requires some kind of LGBT character.
    The best result you can achive is you will not upset many people, if nothing goes wrong, LGBT content is well implemented and few of players cares about it.
    The main point is, even if you don't upset many people, there is almost nothing you can gain by adding LGBT content. Except relativelly small group there is nobody, who really desire to have such content in game.

    The worst happens when substantial part of players feels the LGBT content was added as part of political agenda in very unnatural way. Lot of gamers are alergic to games used as tool to promote some real world political agenda.
    It si the reason, why game developers should avoid LGBT content in mainstream games.
    LGBT content brings relativelly big risk and almost no benefits to developers.
    If develepers ignores LGBT withstanding yell of SJW is relatively easy.
    Upsetting part of your player base by unsuitable LGBT conttent is much worse.

    Beamdog wanted to have LGBT content in SoD, so they have LGBT content in SoD. Few SJW are maybe happy.
    The result (probably) is: "Good bye, profit , farewell, Baldur's Gate 3"
    Was it really worth it?
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    @ljbo Are you trying to argue it's a well-written character? Let's agree to disagree lol
  • wraith5641wraith5641 Member Posts: 500
    All of this really sucks :/

    How much longer do you think it'll be until it all blows over?
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,754
    There are a dozen or more other threads about this topic. There's no need for another one.

    Thread closed.
This discussion has been closed.

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