Let’s open this little piece up with some song lyrics:
This is the world we live in
And these are the hands we’re given
Use them and let’s start trying
To make it a place worth living in.
Genesis – Land of Confusion
It seems as if the recent release of the new Baldur’s Gate expansion, Siege of Dragonspear has been marred by a group of angry gamers who are upset about some of the characters in the new game. Most specifically is a character by the name of Mizhena, a simple NPC Shopkeeper. Before players get down to business with Mizhena she gives a little story about being raised a boy and realizing she was truly meant to be a woman. Boom… a transgendered character. Now to many of us that’s not a big deal, in fact it’s a non-event. If anything it’s a nod at a much more tolerant world who accepts lovely human beings in all their chosen forms.
EXCEPT IT’S NOT… to a few really angry players.
Accusations and complaints came in fast and furious to developer, Beamdog for their decision to include such a character. Accusations of forcing gender politics into the game were many and a subsequent review bombing by angry gamers hit both Steam and GOG. Complaints have been rampant that personal ideologies are being shoe horned into the game for no reason… as if this effects a single one of the complainers personally. Forums on the sites have very unfortunately had to be locked down at times as they devolve from discussion to hateful and vitriolic comments towards the LGBT community. That’s rather telling in itself… it makes it rather obvious that the outcry is less about ‘forced ideals’ and more about people wearing their hatred on their sleeves like a badge of honor. It seems rather petty to go out of your way to ruin someone else’s work when you could simply choose not to play/purchase the game at all if it bothers you so much. But hey, that’s just me the normal everyday Joe who doesn’t let other people’s personal choices get his knickers in a twist.
One of the game’s writers, Amber Scott, spoke recently about some of the plot directions and characters in Siege of Dragonspear. She talks about trying to keep a balance between the original game’s tone and the new game. The original Baldur’s Gate was a bit saucy for its time and a more modern approach to that same sort of sauciness was something Beamdog looked to achieve.
“In the original there’s a lot of jokes at women’s expense. Or if not a lot, there’s a couple, like Safana was just a sex object in BG 1, and Jaheira was the nagging wife and that was played for comedy. We were able to say, ‘No, that’s not really the kind of story we want to make.’ In Siege of Dragonspear, Safana gets her own little storyline, she got a way better personality upgrade. If people don’t like that, then too bad.”
You can imagine the haters coming out in droves after a comment like that. Further comments from Beamdog Lead Designer, Philip Daigle went on to explain that the inclusion of gay characters, bisexual characters (new companions in the game) etc has nothing to do with shoe horning anything personal as much as it does with giving players from every background options.
“We’ve got four new companions, and then there’s the returned Enhanced Edition companions and then a bunch of companions from Baldur’s Gate 1. There’s a very wide and large roster in this game. You can build whatever kind of party you want. One of the problems in BG 1 and 2 was that it was kind of hard to have an evil party that worked. We put a lot of work into making it so can have an evil party that won’t screw you over, that will work in the game. You can be that evil character you want to be.”
Techraptor reached out to Beamdog for a comment and had the company CEO personally respond to all the controversy. They asked him very specifically about the comments issued by Amber Scott as well as comments he had made on the Beamdog forums.
I find the controversy ridiculous. Yes, we have a transgendered character. I know a number of transgendered people and they are genuine, wonderful humans. Yes, we also have a character who cracks a joke about ethics. The original Baldur’s Gate had a whole sequence about the Bob Newhart show. If this generates controversy it makes a sad statement about the world we live in.
As for my post on the forums, I merely asked people who were enjoying the game to share their positive feedback. I know our fans can become engrossed in their enjoyment and I really don’t want potential fans to miss out on the series because of protest reviews by small minded individuals.
As for Amber’s interview, I also believe in strong female characters and I feel she did an excellent job bringing dimension and interest to Safana with her writing in Siege of Dragonspear. Her “Too bad” comment, I chalk up to a long day of interviews, having personally done such interviews.
If this shows us anything it’s that we have a long way to go world. On a personal note I really and truly hope for the best… but we’ve got a long, long way to go.