[MUD-Dev] Gay Characters in Videogames

[Michael Tresca]

From: Matt Mihaly [mailto:the_logos at ironrealms.com]

> Amusing (possibly) anecdote about gay roles in muds. Achaea's
> administration is -very- intolerant of any sort of
> gay-bashing. (Achaea is the only one of Iron Realms games that I
> have direct in-game involvement with.) I've been known to punish
> players for using the word 'gay' as a pejorative on public
> channels even though the kids using the word that way probably
> don't consciously realize how homophobic an insult that is at its
> core level.

This is a HUGE problem on just about every online communication, I'm
afraid.  I've discovered the fastest way to separate the kids from
the adults is how they use the word "gay."  They're usually shocked
when people get offended.  When we catch it, we make it a point of
discouraging that kind of term.  But it's a persistent issue.

> In any case, despite our extremely pro-tolerance stand on
> homosexuality a group of players has lately begun to accuse us of
> homophobic behavior because we will not permit two men to have a
> child together. Adoption is fine, of course, but we require that a
> man and woman be the ones actually having children that are
> formally registered into their bloodline.

This has come up on RetroMUD as well, although not bearing children,
just same-sex marriage.

> The argument goes that this is a land of magic, and if we can have
> Gods and big fire-breathing flying lizards why shouldn't magic
> allow two men to have a child together? It's tricky because on the
> one hand they're right: Not allowing a gay couple to have a
> biological child is a conscious decision on our part. There is an
> additional line of code put there specifically to prevent same-sex
> couples from having children except via adoption.

The issue is really "Is it within the vision of your universe?"
Achaea is not just some vanilla fantasy game.  I'm wary when someone
references fantasy tropes by throwing out "well dragons can fly and
talk and breathe fire, so anything goes."

The universe should be internally consistent.  Players want a
fantasy experience, not just one or two fantasy elements, and they
certainly still expect the air to be breathable and the water to
flow downhill unless you set an expectation that wouldn't happen
otherwise. In essence, despite the fact that it's a fantasy world,
there should be enough internal consistency to make the world an
immersive experience.  Screw it up too much -- throw in ray guns in
a universe that only uses medieval technology -- and you violate the
tenets of your own universe (Achaea may have ray guns, that's just
an example).

With several openly gay players, we had complaints about how our
marriage system worked.  It was a good point -- why would the CODE
care about your gender?

So we flexed the game's internal consistency to match player needs.
Three guilds can perform marriages: templars, druids, and
cultists. In this case, templars (a monotheistic group of battle
clerics) do not grant same sex marriages.  RetroMUD druids do,
because they have a broader perspective on what's acceptable for
marriage.  Similarly, cultists can marry whoever they want --
because there's no stern religion telling them they can't.

Some players might still find this choice offensive.  But RetroMUD's
not here to reinforce your own social mores.  It has an internally
consistent universe, and I think that's the best you can hope for.
You certainly can't please everybody -- either decision will bring
supporters and detractors.
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