Very minor SPOILER maybe: core NPCs of The Witcher 2 (TW2) story are often not so very nice people, and many of them shall perish in gruesome ways.

If you do not want to know anything of the specifics, do not read on.

Ok, so one of the bad guys in TW2 is called out obvisously gay: that effiminate robed guy Dethmold (sorry if name is wrong), whom we meet for final confrontation in sordid setting of sex slavery of lesser servant, with sex toys here and there.

We shall confont the cowardly whimp, tell him he has it coming, mutilate his genitalia, and then cut off his throat. I do seem to recall this caracter was too busy begging to actually put up a significant fight.

I must admit this whole characterisation went pretty much unnoticed by me at the time - I recon TW series is somehow original for certain seediness and brutality of the gameworld - but reading piece of quite strongly anti-gay news of the home country of developers made me my mind "click" and reframe that scene into a nasty anti-gay context.

I do not object that one of the evil men were gay, but I must ask the following questions:

- why was this cracter given such particularly demeaning and painful end, as opposed to e.g. that lyncher, rapist king, or de-stabilishing political assassin who gets at least a proper show down?

- why was this guy modelled after all possible effeminate, negative cliches, and not after the positievely powerful "Tom of Finland" types - that certainly would not have been shitting in their pants when the final reckoning came to be?

- notwithstanding the very casual sex content of particularly the first installment, why was gay sex portrayed in such totally seedy way?

I have become now put off from The Witcher because I just really hate when anyone is bullied, or treated in demeaning way. I would have made a different buying decision in hindsight, certainly.

I would much appreciate opinion of other gamers who have played though. Do you think at all the same way? Or would you think I am draving totally wrong, overreacting conculusions? Or if my anti-gay take of this particular characterisation is in fact at all hitting the mark even by margin, even if you have not played it, do you think this should in principle not be ok?

Oh this is silly. And even it is "anti-gay"... what does it matter?

These threads usually don't end well.

Witcher is generally politically incorrect. No one even tried to hide that fact from you in trailers, rewievs and such. If you are easily offended by such content, you are right - you shouldn't have bought the game.

I do not remember that point at all.
Mind helping me out with where exactly this part of the game is?

Did you go with Roche or the other guy?

Roche.

I think I remember now. That was said after that thing happened just near the end of the chapter right? (avoiding spoilers)

I do not find Withcer that politically incorrect in general, just commercilalized in specific kind of politically amibiguous setting that is supposed to set them apart, which does not excuse the double standard, though.

I am not easily offended by such content, at all.

It should be reminded that individuals are still lynched often very brutally - or sentenced to death when constitution should be more politically correct - for being gay still today - but this is most often in parts of the world that would not have the luxury in indulging in gaming, though.

I am disturbed about how this strikes home in context of world today, really. Well, if you recall the scene with all the dildos, lol. I think it did happen towards the end. It is about that evil necromancer guy I think would have been significant character in the army camp in case of Roche alignment.

Well then and now imagine how it was during middle ages which Witcher actually manages to depict quite nicely. Yea I know it's fantasy. Fun fact, do you know that, in books, it was hinted that world of The Witcher is actually set in future of our Earth? This is the kind of stuff why I play this game and think it's worth getting :D

Care to share your views about the specific questions I posed, though, to demonstrate how silly they are?

There is probably a theme in your life that "matters" even if there is no homosexual you need to be concerned about.

Real world history is replete with gruesome executions, expecially for crimes such as high treason and regicide. In medieval England, people were hanged, drawn and quartered - Convicts were fastened to a hurdle, or wooden panel, and drawn by horse to the place of execution, where they were hanged (almost to the point of death), emasculated, disembowelled, beheaded and quartered (chopped into four pieces).

In antiquity, Bessus, killer of Darius III, was not treated kindly by Alexander the Great.

If, in the Witcher millieu, the punishment Dethmold receives is appropriate for his crime(s), then whether he was gay or not is irrelevant.

Oh for F's sake...

no, Witcher 2 is not "Anti-Gay" but even IF it was, I would simply tell you to deal with it and piss off

This is the stupidest thing I have read this month on these forums, take your worthless trash back to the Bioware forums

Now can a moderator please lock this sorry excuse for a thread?

Middle Ages was highly orthodox age, and as far as I know the Czechs are highly unreligous by standard of that day - tortures of the Inquisition fun and fantastic I take it?

It could be about anything that is offensive, in such world. How do you know you would be much appreciated in the future of our Earth?

This punishment was administered in England (United Kindom) for treason against the Crown, and in the final cases, the withnessing crowd was so revolted that this from was abandoned overall. From thence probably comes forward the prohibition against "cruel and unsual punishment" in the US constintution.

The Divine Right to ruling, and hence the trespass against the God himself, is not widely believed anymore. I do not think Australia is so keen to keep the Queen Elisabeth II, nor hang, draw and quarter anyone speaking againsg her.

But what about the double standard in this game??

The king was a rapist and lynchist, but how did his destiny compare with Dethold?

Wow roman5, that's a weirdly strong response to the question. Why should this thread be locked? What's the problem with people having and open and free discussion about it? Strange...