Navagon: Especially when they seem to forget that not everyone as their freak animal fetish thing going on and they forget to act 'normal'.

frostcircus: Almost every single game I play, no matter how much I enjoy it, forces me to play a role that is diametrically oppposed to my own beliefs. The situations that come up in these games bear no relevance to my life at all, and I don't expect to ever play a game where they do.
There's simply no way I'm alone in this. Take the most clear-cut example of populist macho heterosexual idiocy, Gears of War - no matter how much somebody enjoys the experience of playing that game, I refuse to believe more than a small percentage would genuinely identify with what's going on. It's pure, silly, escapism.

frostcircus: And that's why it makes perfect sense that gay people would feel alienated as they play games. It's because they're people playing games. It's a form of entertainment that is inherently based around role-playing. You're never yourself when you play.
I share the wish for more LGBT themes in games, but only to diversify the incredibly narrow field of subject matter, to demonstrate the maturity of the industry*, and because I believe that such themes are in danger of becoming taboo, which is a terrible thing.

phanboy4: Are Games Getting Gayer?
No, just the Japanese ones.

El_Caz: No, and they shouldn't. People should understand that most games aren't really sexually based (well, the ones you find in your average gaming store at least). If you ended up making a game that doesn't have adventure or shooting or strategic warfare thinking and come up with an idea where social skills and dating and romance is involved, then by all means, make it gay friendly also.
On games where you control a character that is not of your making (most RTS's qualify) the game's hero has clearly defined objectives that are almost always not sexually based. On RPG's where you create your own character you'll sometimes find a comment or two regarding physical attraction but rarely will you end up shacking anyone (there are examples out there though. I don't mean they're non existent).
Sexual preference should not be a factor if the game's main purpose is not social interacting, but more like adventuring and tossing the player into a fantasy world where he or she is the hero destined to save it or what have you. If social interaction with NPC's and relationships with them played a factor, be it for realism sake or because it is an important part to moving the plot along, then by all means, there should be a couple of gay or lesbian characters around or do it like the Sims, where everyone is bisexual and it's really your choice who you go after.
I just don't agree to adding sexual factors where they don't belong. A prince saving a princess does not mean a man saving his lover, we just see it that way. There are many, MANY missions in all sorts of games where you end up saving another dude and it's never suggested you're saving a lover, but a friend (though in reality, we're always doing it to move the plot or the adventure forward).