Oblivion

Skyrim to feature same-sex marriage options

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Earlier, Pete Hines (the Vice President of Bethesda’s PR department), stated on Twitter that same-sex marriage will be allowed in Skyrim. He responded to someone who called the topic “hush hush” by saying
Not hush hush, just not making a huge deal out of it. You can marry anyone.

He later clarified his previous tweet by posting
Sorry, should clarify. Not any NPC, just mean any male or female. Doesn't matter what you're playing.

It appears that Skyrim is taking after games like Dragon Age and Fable, where same-sex marriages/relationships have always been allowed.

Feel free to express your opinion on this in the comments, but please refrain from trolling, flaming, or anything else that would get you banned.

568 comments

  1. Jumonji
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    A consideration in light of Dragon Age (DA) and Mass Effect (ME): My attempt at a somewhat intellectual psycho-social discussion....


    Great post! You make me think - paganism was primarily Mother Earth -centered and based on fertility rights and such. It's hard for me to reconcile that with gay relationships. I personally am very liberal sexually, but in terms of the game world, does it make sense for the Tamerial society to blindly accept homosexuality?

    Perhaps certain gay individuals should be approachable but you would have to hide it from society just like in recent America? That would certainly be realistic!

    I'm just saying...

  2. Jumonji
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    xx
  3. Jumonji
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    Thumbs Down. The Elder Scrolls has been a unique game. its horrible that they would add same sex marrige simply to keep up with the modern age. The game does not take place in the modern age. Bethesda should take the feature out...


    So I'm male and I play female in D& games. (I like watching my own tush maybe?) And I like to flirt with other females. This option lets me have fun with it - and you think its wrong somehow?

    Get a life. Fantasy is fantasy. Maybe we shouldn't have games with dragons because they're not in the bible?
  4. thiafy
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    STILL PARTYIN'!

    Can't wait to set up my Fightin' Orc Life Partners. Tyvm.

    On that note, I wonder: Will we have furry underthings? This being so far north and all. I want my undies to be both warm and fabulous. And impossible to remove, please.
  5. isailandshoot
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    A consideration in light of Dragon Age (DA) and Mass Effect (ME): My attempt at a somewhat intellectual psycho-social discussion.

    I'm uncertain if many had the same experience when playing through these games as me, but similarly to how men act in real life, I found myself being a bit uncomfortable with, for instance, increasing the approval rating of men in my group (DA) or squadron (ME). I found often that if I was merely being friendly (in order to get group or squad bonuses from loyalty), it would eventually lead to me having to turn them down for a romantic relationship.

    Now while I am unsure if others had a similar tendency within the game world; I am sure that in real life, at least, this sort of feeling tends to manifest itself quite a bit. Heterosexual men tend to act a bit different around gay men; and often feel uncomfortable in speaking with them the same way they would with other heterosexual men. This also plays itself out in physical contact, showering or changing clothes at the gym, etc.

    Perhaps this is insecurity in their own masculinity, irrational homophobia, or some other weakness in their emotional integrity. I, however, personally think it is legitimate to act differently around a man who might be very well sexually interested in me, because I would never want to give them the wrong impression. Permit me to recount from personal experience why I feel this way.

    I have, on many occasions during my youth, been accused of being a flirt. I found that simply speaking with girls in the same casual manner I do with my guy friends would lead them to think I was interested in a relationship. Now, several years later, I find myself tied to a gay community of sorts because one of my family members is gay. At first I treated his gay friends precisely how I would any other man, but soon came to find (by way of my relative) that I was apparently considered flirty (much in the same way that I was considered so by girls back in high school). Apparently some guys had asked my relative if they could ask me on a date, because I had apparently been so flirtatious with them, and he informed them that I was 'straight' and told me to be careful in the way I talk to these guys. When it dawned on me that these men looked at me in the same way as women did (perhaps not the same in a one-to-one correspondence, but similar), I began to become a bit uncomfortable in treating them the same way I do other male friends.

    I hope it makes sense, then, why it is that Bethesda might do well to put a 'limit' on the number of NPCs which might enter into a homosexual romance. As you can see, it is not merely an issue of "Oh, well I could romance Newheim the Portly, but since I choose not too I will still be able to view him in the same light." No, in fact; I will be unable to view said Portly individual in the same light by merit of knowing that romance is possible with him. So when I say 'limit' I don't mean simply to limit the scope of same-sex romance to those with whom the player chooses; but rather to make most individuals patently straight, some other's patently gay, and some bi-sexual. I think this will satisfy the appetite for 'gay role-playing' of many gamers and give a sense of normalcy and realism to the player who has no desire to engage in nor be offered same-sex marriage; and the smaller portion of NPCs which are programmed with this tendency will not overwhelm the normalcy provided. By the way, I use the term normalcy as a descriptive term pertaining to the current society in which we live. Perhaps in 50 years or more this trend will change altogether.

    Lastly; and this has little to do with the first point I've made in this discussion; I think if there are to be marriages in Skyrim, and apparently children (I believe I've read that somewhere; that there will be children), it might be good to note that from an economic perspective, particularly in an agrarian medieval form of society dominating the theme of this game (fantasy though it be), that heterosexual marital union is the most beneficial (I'm NOT speaking morally at this point; merely economically). During the middle ages people made their living *by* their families; sons, daughters, man, wife, all working together to produce what just a man and wife could accomplish (or man and man, respectively). In addition to this, children were the only form of social-security in those days; as it was a child's responsibility to care for their aging parents. I'm not certain how deep Skyrim desire's to go into such realisms as this (I realize realisms isn't a word, but you get my point); but I think there is something to be said for the majority of a populace/civilization in a game such as this to be built upon a predominately heterosexual preference in marriage; by sheer necessity to produce and train up children into citizens.

    Lastly, and I've been trying desperatly to come up with a good 'Smith of Bliss' reference to add into this discussion, but nothing is coming to mind... But non-the-less, here are my two-cents concerning the religious matters that have been popping up on this thread: I have my own personal religious convictions concerning homosexuality in the real world. Now I understand that the majority view of Christians is that homosexuality does not fit the standard given by God; however, I would ask these Christian gamers to consider that The Elder Scrolls franchise does not operate on the assumption of one God perfectly and sovereignly creating/upholding/guiding the created order; but is rather purely pagan and polytheistic. So then; why press the ethos of the Triune God onto this pagan system? Isn't that a bit odd?
  6. Kajex
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    Bethesda forcing me to have same-sex marriage during my gaming experience is different than an active and voluntary action such as downloading and installing mod/content that features this.



    These are the words of someone who is so anal about real life that they start whining when it happens in fiction. Get the hell over it.
  7. cpocurtis
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    People are still talking about this? lulz.
  8. Dualies
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    They aren't forcing anything on anybody, I don't get why people seem to see it that way, I think its just that "its there" in the game so it bugs them.

  9. BoloDigby
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    Bethesda forcing me to have same-sex "marriage" during my gaming experience is different than an active and voluntary action such as downloading and installing mod/content that features this. If the former than I would probably not purchase and play; if the latter ("Free will"/choice) then this is a non-issue, and quite surprising it made it to the forums at all, based on the predicable incendiary nature of the subject matter.

    By the way, the classical definition of 'Tolerance' is basically, "putting up with that which you disagree with."Internet-age 'Tolerance' is defined as, "involuntarily being forced to agree with something you do not agree with." In the former case, though my internal thought process disagrees, I will voluntarily extend grace and mercy towards someone with whom I disagree. In the latter (false tolerance) I am asked by an external controller to agree with something that I internally disagree to. Some folk may not see the difference, but there is one and it a strong one.
  10. Blacckkfire
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    XD

    I may be speaking against right now, but I admit, that was funny :3