This week, we couldn't simply choose a single article as our Story of the Week. Rather, we have chosen a topic, in this case Bioware and Star Wars: The Old Republic, and a pair of stories that created a veritable swarm of discussion on our forums.
Bioware & the Same Sex Relationships Controversy
We're not the only site around the 'Net this week hit with a ton of commentary about an off the cuff remark from Bioware's Corey Butler. In the video interview, Butler stated that there would be no same-sex relationship story arcs included in SWTOR:
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In a video interview posted on YouTube by KAEmpire, Star Wars: The Old Republic developer Corey Butler says (about ~2.30 into the video) that the game will not feature same sex relationships. The Bioware forums are afire with a fifty-one page discussion of the issue and a community poll.This thread is for discussion relating to the suggestion of Same Gender Romance Arcs in STAR WARS: The Old Republic. Because the discussion is meant to be about whether or not you would participate in one and how they would relate to The Old Republic through lore, gameplay mechanics, or story, we ask that the community keep all replies related to The Old Republic and on topic.
Read more about and participate in the same sex relationships thread(s) on the Star Wars: The Old Republic forum.
Later in the week, MMORPG.com Managing Editor Bill Murphy offered a few thoughts about the controversy and the ensuing discussion:
But in all honesty, I guess I just don’t get the hubbub. I won’t go into the reasons BioWare has for not including this option (did they give one?), but I’d like to comment on why it’s such a big deal in the first place. I’m straight, not narrow. And while there wasn’t (that I know of) any same-sex relations in either trilogy, I’m willing to bet there have been a few instances of such things in the bazillion books which have been written. Is there then precedent?
With over five hundred comments alone on our forums, this topic is a shoe-in for Story of the Week.
But WAIT! That's not all!
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SWTOR & Gamescom Disappointment
Hot on the heels of the same-sex controversy came Mike Bitton's analysis of Bioware's SWTOR presentation and news (or lack of it) that came out of Gamescom 2011:
We learned practically nothing of note at Gamescom. The two major points were the unveiling of “Huttball,” the second Warzone to be featured in the game (and this Warzone has shaped up to be quite controversial thus far), and a live demo of some of the previously announced Eternity Vault Operation (raid) content. The latter is certainly appreciated, and expected, but as they say, "Where’s the beef?" Gamescom is the biggest gaming event of the year in Europe, and really only second to E3 overall. I feel like this sort of information could have easily been dropped on us in a Friday Update.
As a small side note, SWTOR's latest developer walkthrough video of the Eternity Vault has somewhat less than popular with our readers as well. Folks are looking for release dates and more.
So there you have it: Bioware was big in the news and is a worthy candidate for Story of the Week!
