Game Buoy Podcast Episode 7 – LGBT Issues in Gaming

YAAAARGH and welcome to Game Buoy, where Captain Spike and his first mate, Slagkick, talk about gaming news and issues that may not be on your radar, but probably should be.

FOLLOWING UP

Just when things were looking grim in the world of SEGA, the company has announced a NiGHTS into DREAMS… HD re-release for PSN, XBLA, and PC and a Western release for Phantasy Star Online 2! The Podcast Pirates want to know what SEGA IPs you would like to see the company revive.

OMG NEWS

– The same Fez patch that causes issues for a minor percentage of the player base is back on XBLA, because Microsoft would have charged Polytron a substantial amount of money just to fix the patch.

– Ono-san gave a Darkstalkers 4 teaser at San Diego Comic Con and assured fans that they won’t have to thrown their money at Capcom to get the game made!

– Kotaku reported a rumor that Final Fantasy Versus XIII is dead and tons of major gaming sites ran with the story, seemingly ignoring the fact that a Versus XIII song was released as Theatrhythm DLC a few weeks ago. Captain Spike and Slagkick also talk about how cool the gameplay looks, especially as Kingdom Hearts fans.

– Speaking of Kotaku, glitches, and Final Fantasy, Kotaku ran an article about how to get an airship in Final Fantasy VI way earlier than intended!

DISCUSSION TOPIC

This week the Podcast Pirates have a discussion about LGBT characters, issues, and themes in gaming. If you are uneasy listening to talk of LGBT matters, please tune in next week.

Captain Spike and Slagkick start off the discussion by looking at some prominent LGBT characters in the gaming world, covering a diverse range of games including Persona 4, the Metal Gear Solid series, the Street Fighter series, World Heroes Perfect, Guilty Gear, innocent Sin, Enchant Arms, Shadow Hearts, Bioshock, and Valkyria Chronicles.

Rockstar  is highlighted for LGBT portrayals (positive and negative) in The Ballad of Gay Tony, Red Dead Redemption, and Bully; similarly, Bioware’s treatment of same-sex romance in Mass Effect is examined, and how Dragon Age 2‘s approach creates a different kind of character development.

Another interesting phenomenon is that of characters who were changed to transgendered  during the localization process, and in the case of Vivian from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, changed from being a transsexual to just being an ugly witch. Ash from Streets of Rage 3 also gets a shout-out, as he was removed from the U.S. version to avoid controversy in the Western release.

Some notable LGBT plots and subplots are explored. Significant cases include Indigo Prophecy‘s look at homophobia, and how Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix used lesbianism as a selling point for the game.

LGBT recommendations for you include The Ballad of Gay Tony, Persona 4, innocent Sin, the Shadow Hearts series, and Nier – a game with a twist that the Podcast Pirates did not want to spoil for you.

And of course, no gay gaming discussion is complete without a mention of Cho Aniki!

WHAT’S UP

This week, Captain Spike played Theatrhythm Final Fantasy for 3DS, while first mate Slagkick has been catching up with indie classic on Steam – particularly Super Meat Boy and Cave Story+. The Podcast Pirates also mention the Ouya and how it passed the million dollar mark on Kickstarter in a matter of hours.

LOLTAKU OF THE WEEK

Either the New Devil May Cry is Very Good, or the Whiskey Was Really Strong. In this thoroughly unprofessional preview. Mike Fahey got into a San Diego Comic Con event where he got to play DmC, but he was too drunk to tell whether it was a good game or that the alcohol made it more enjoyable.

(As always, we aren’t doing this to be negative Nathans. The guys getting paid to do this and to be our eyes and ears should be doing better. Calling them out is the only weapon we have.)

FAREWELLS AND SHOUT OUTS

As always, Captain Spike and Slagkick invite you to e-mail them and join in the discussion on Facebook and Twitter. Shout-outs are given to Orange Lounge RadioHorde House, and Girls gone WoW – all part of the Voice of Geeks Network – and our buddies over at the Nerdgasm Network. Additionally, the Podcast Pirates say hello to Video Game Outsiders and Captain Spike gives a special non-gaming shout out to an awesome comics podcast called DECOMPRESSED.

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