FF14: GAY MARRIAGE!

[Telcontar]

Final Fantasy 14 developer Square Enix is at long last bringing same-sex marriage to the massively multiplayer game, two years after first confirming it was under consideration.

Director and producer Naoki Yoshida confirmed the new addition during a live streamed E3 developer talk, stating same-sex relationships will become available in the next patch.

Speaking via translator, Yoshida said: "People within Eorzea will be able to pledge their eternal love and or friendship in a ceremony of eternal bonding. And this will be open to people regardless of race, creed, and gender. Two players...if they want to be together, in Eorzea, they can-through this eternal bonding ceremony."

"We discussed it," he added, "and we realized: within Eorzea, why should there be restrictions on who pledges their love or friendship to each other? And so we decided to go this way."

The company first mentioned the possibility of bringing same-sex relationships in-game in 2012, after confirming these would not be available at the game's launch.

"As for same-sex marriage, this is an extremely controversial topic that has been under discussion in the MMO world for the past few years," Yoshida said at the time. "First we would like to start out with opposite-sex marriage, and then consider the feedback from our players in order to make a careful decision. I can't say whether or not it will be possible at this point in time. I'd like to keep dialog open with our players as we deliberate the matter."

Polygon

 

[Ghost X]

Conservatives heads explode everywhere: "See, homosexual marriage leads to bestiality!"

 

[Fangu]

FUCK YEAH GAY
FUCK YEAH INTERSPECIES

FUCK YEAH LOVE CONQUERS ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!111


I am pleased by this

 

[Tetsujin]

Gay steamroller coming to Eorzea, literally crushing your characters

 

[Splintered]

I can kill raiders, and dragons, and lizard looking people, but watch out, my female elf might marry another female elf. Thank you FFXIV.

Gay marriage coming to destroy family life in Eorzea, the families that weren't destroyed by Bahamut anyway.

 

[Ghost X]

I know next to nothing about FFXIV, but apparently the next updates confirm guns will be banned, all states will become secular, and polyamory, prostitution, adultery and abortions will be allowed. There will be atheist leaders of countries. Affirmative action and progressive taxes will be enforced (making a lot of things free, and making things easier for lower level characters). The climate will also change (so you will have to buy renewable energy devices to power things), species will evolve over time, any supernatural creation story will be retconned with the universe now coming from nothing. Women will be allowed to go topless (and wear functional armour in battle for Occupational Health and Safety reasons), and multiple sexes and genders will be recognised. All news received will be filtered through the mail, run by moogles with a liberal agenda. Also, there'll be lots of regulation.

.

 

[Remnant-of-VII]

Conservatives heads explode everywhere: "See, homosexual marriage leads to bestiality!"

Doesn't even give me a headache. There are much bigger issues going on than gay marriage in a MMO, sir.

A bit odd that this wasn't available till now. Is Japan culturally not into the whole gay marriage idea?

 

[Cthulhu]

inb4 rule 34. Also, there will be lesbians, I guarantee it,

 

[Joker]

A bit odd that this wasn't available till now. Is Japan culturally not into the whole gay marriage idea?

According to the Tomodachi Life fiasco, I'd say no.

 

[ForceStealer]

Well, i dont think the FF14 marriages have even been implemented yet.

 

[Joe]

Well, i dont think the FF14 marriages have even been implemented yet.

This.
There is currently no marriage in the game so it's good to know that same-sex marriage is just a part of the marriage update as opposed to being added later as some extra feature. Wooo Squeeenix does something right.

 

[Celes Chere]

I HEARD ABOUT THIS AND I AM VERY PROUD AND EXCITED !!! ♥♥♥

gay elezen wedding ur all invited

 

[Blade]

If you ask me anyone who believes in getting married in MMORPGs is an idiot to begin with.

What the hell does getting married have to do with fulfilling your QUEST to save the world?

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

What do fishing and botany have to do with it? It's just another option for something to experience, not something you have to do.

 

[Carlie]

While I've never played FFXIV and I have no intention to, it's still nice to see Squeenix doing something right.

 

[Telcontar]

First post has been updated with a polygon article regarding this thing.

Or, you could just click here.

 

[Blade]

Well, having read the article, I think people are jumping the gun and getting too hyped about this.

They said they'd try opposite sex marriage first (which is traditional) and see what players think. That may take a while (since lots of players are traditional RPers to begin with).

I think people just need to be patient here and understand that not everyone agrees with Gay Marriage and getting upset about them "not agreeing with you" is the same as them getting upset that you don't agree with them.

Besides, it's game play, and not really that important compared to real life issues.

 

[Fangu]

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Is cheating with multiple partners, breaking hearts and wrecking marriages allowed? Because I think that would be more fun. I lead a life of such tedious rectitude in my daily existence, I'd like to be a bad person in a game.

 

[Lex]

I think people just need to be patient here and understand that not everyone agrees with Gay Marriage and getting upset about them "not agreeing with you" is the same as them getting upset that you don't agree with them.

Except it's not the same, at all. Because opposition to gay marriage is based on a religious institution that is a choice for any individual, and laws such as tax benefits and medical rights afforded to married couples should be afforded to all couples. Go and watch Bridegroom.

Besides, it's game play, and not really that important compared to real life issues.

Which completely flattens your point. Gameplay, which is fantasy, is supposed to be an escape from real life. What an escape indeed if a male character can't marry another male character. wow how fun

 

[Carlie]

I think people just need to be patient here and understand that not everyone agrees with Gay Marriage and getting upset about them "not agreeing with you" is the same as them getting upset that you don't agree with them.

Except it's not. Getting upset because people don't agree with you that gay marriage is wrong involves bigotry. Getting upset because people are discriminating against what should be a right to every person is not exactly an unreasonable reaction to have.

 

[Telcontar]

They said they'd try opposite sex marriage first (which is traditional) and see what players think. That may take a while (since lots of players are traditional RPers to begin with).

That's what they said a long time ago. They've now confirmed that marriages will be for everyone.

 

[Blade]

Opposition to Gay Marriage isn't just involving Religion, it involves social and political values, cultures, and traditions that many people accepted for many years, and breaking those traditions and values is like turning some people's worlds upside-down and inside-out.

Being so quick and eager to destroy people's beliefs and values they believed in isn't very considerate at all, even if you think it's the right thing to do, even if you think those people are bigots (because not all of them are knowingly, and throwing that term around perpetuates hysteria and fascism).

And even in something as simple to change as a Game's Rules, you're bound to have a backlash of people who will simply stop playing the game if things change too drastically for them.

"Escaping from real life" doesn't always mean you're allowed to do completely opposite things that you'd do in your real life, either (even if you want to, some lines you just don't cross, hence the ESRB rating system). You do what you like up to a certain point, sure... exploring and goofing around is one thing, but going against your own real life values in a game setting isn't something people do naturally.

I'm sure there's other games out there that people feel uncomfortable playing due to one aspect or another.

That's why Square-Enix was doing a gradual process of feedback of the idea, while providing understanding and adjustments.

That's why I'm saying people are getting too hyped about it.

 

[Lex]

I'm working really hard not to be glib with you here. This:

You do what you like up to a certain point, sure... exploring and goofing around is one thing, but going against your own real life values in a game setting isn't something people do naturally.

Is nonsense. What's the most popular genre? Is it shooters? How many people do you kill and blow up in shooters? Real life values my ass.

Whether or not a person's "traditional values" are violated by equality means fuck all to me. When people can see with their own eyes that discrimination is happening and choose to perpetuate it because they were brainwashed, that's a conscious choice to make others second class citizens. We are all human, we are the same. Anyone who thinks differently is the fascist here. We are due the same rights.

Homosexuality was not an issue anywhere until religion entered the mix. It's all religion. Look at the history of any pre-biblical culture and find me evidence of homophobia.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Regardless of religion's role, no one's rights have ever been impeded by another person having equal rights. Any person who thinks so is full of shit, whether knowingly or no.

People alive today do not have to accept being told "Wait a few generations for it not to offend anyone's sensibilities." Black people walking around free/voting/marrying White people offended sensibilities, but those people needed to get over themselves.

This bears reiterating: No one's rights have ever been impeded by another person having equal rights. Freedom of religion, for example, also implies freedom from religion, meaning everyone gets to believe how they want, not that the rest of the world and other people have to reflect only a certain desired belief.