The world is a very different place today. Twenty years ago, if you were working at a company like Atari or Nintendo (or just a regular office job), being gay was probably something you’d keep under your hart. Now, we see more “out” people working in all industries.
David Gaider (BioWare lead writer) recently gave his thoughts on what it’s like to be homosexual in the world of entertainment, and how he approaches it from a work standpoint. “…It’s not easy to figure where your responsibility lies. I contribute my viewpoint to the mix like anyone else, but it’s hard to find a mix between pushing for things you feel are right to do and being ‘that guy'”, he reveals.
Gaider acknowledges that not everything is a walk in the park for the gay and lesbian community, even with increased representation in gaming. When it comes to those who find such content in their titles off-putting, Gaider says: “… the mere existence of a gay character, or a plot that deals with gay subject matter, really anything that forces them to acknowledge that homosexuality so much as exists, is going to be a personal insult…it’s not too much to demand a bit of tolerance and compassion from the portion of the audience for whom this content is not even intended.”
In the end, Gaider states he doesn’t feel like a “gay developer,” but simply a developer who happens to be gay.