Game Characters: Interpretive Sexuality?

Recently I’ve seen several instances of videogame fans arguing over the sexuality of characters in their favourite digital offerings. Whether that’s because their sexuality has been left open to interpretation, or it’s been stated explicitly, it’s got me asking - how important is character orientation?

A great game will have its fanbase enthralled by its inhabitants, theorising about their past stories, potential futures, and even creating alternate tales for them in the form of fan fiction. That’s perfectly natural, and with the freedom of the internet, people can go as wild as they like with their inspired creations. The question is, how okay is it to alter the sexuality of your favourite? If someone has been created with a set preference in mind, it’s part of their story, and should people practice restraint when modifying them?

I’ve actually been through this “wanting to change” process myself when I played Mass Effect 2. As soon as I met Jack I knew I was going to romance her. 100%. Only, I couldn’t, because I was playing as FemShep and Jack is straight. In fact, she even references her same-sex adventures in the game, so not romancing another woman is ingrained in her history. I’ll admit I was gutted. “But she’s so gay!” I’m ashamed to admit I thought. It took me a good few days of annoyance and searching for game mods before I realised how much of an asshole I was being. I was pissed because a certain character didn’t swing my way? Wow, Emsey - hope you’re not like that in real life! Ultimately I accepted my inability to woo Jack, and ended up with Thane (the love of my life), who broke my heart in a way the rejection from the former could never have done.

There are a lot of cases though, where people aren’t accepting this rejection and are going out of their way to change the game in order to serve their fantasies. One of the characters this bothers me the most with is Dorian from Dragon Age: Inquisition. The amount of gamers out there modding DA:I to make him romanceable by a female inquisitor is actually really bloody high. The massive issue I have with this is that Dorian’s sexuality is a HUGE part of his story, and changing it seriously detracts away from his personal journey.

In the Dragon Age universe there is a procedure where magic users can be made “tranquil”, which is essentially stripping the person of all emotions to protect them from becoming tempted by demons, or possessed. It’s generally thought of by the community as a disgusting practice because... duh, and I can’t understand why those who are against it would be happy with changing a character’s sexuality. In my mind, it’s essentially the same thing. Dorian is gay. There’s no other way around it.

Another case where people’s reactions to someone being gay has infuriated me is in Red Thread Games’ Dreamfall Chapters. Before you say anything - yes, I know I’m talking about Dreamfall again, and no I don’t think I mention it often enough. The franchise is known for being wonderfully diverse, and one of the main protagonists, Kian, is definitely gay. He comes right out and says it during the course of the game. There’s a lot of debate despite this though, because of a scene between Kian and another character in which you can choose to let her kiss you, or reject her.

When I first experienced this scene I thought it was fantastic because it perfectly mirrors real life. Whilst the plot around Kian does not wholly focus on his orientation, it is a part of him, and it goes to show that feelings are not always reciprocated. Many fans argue that because you can choose to accept the kiss that he is at the very least bisexual, but Red Thread have confirmed here that “the kiss has absolutely NOTHING to do with Kian's sexual orientation”. So from the mouths of the creators themselves has this conundrum been addressed and yet it’s *still* being debated... I mean, fucking hell.

So why am I accepting of people writing fan fiction and not of people using mods to mess with characters’ sexualities? Well, I’m glad you (okay, I) asked. The difference is that people are always going to fantasize, and therefore create literature to reflect that. It’s not something I’d necessarily do myself, but I can accept that it happens. When you are changing the actual game itself, you are screwing with the presentation of the character, the way that they have been written. I’d compare it to drawing a moustache on a painting, it’s kinda vandalism, and definitely disrespectful to the artist that created it. Fan fiction though, is more like replicating the painting with your own alterations. It’s inspired by, but ultimately no longer the original.

If you’re reading this and you’re someone that *does* make changes like this to their characters, whether in the game itself or through personal creative outlets, this is just *my* opinion on the subject. I’m not saying “stop what you’re doing right now!”, I’m asking to start a conversation about it, let’s take gaming as an actual artform (an argument for another day) and think more about whether the actions we’re taking are appropriate or not. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this issue, so please, drop me a comment below!