Unpopular Opinions about Video Games

[Retarded Weeb]

No it's not, it's set in Thedas.

Thedas is basically just Europe smooshed together and flipped upside-down.

Ferelden in the bottom-right is basically England. Orlais to the west of it is basically France. The Free Marches and Nevarra are essentially the German states and central Europe. Antiva is Italian city states. Rivain is like Spain and Portugal under Muslim rule (the Qunari). And the Tevinter Imperium is the remainder of DA's equivalent to the Roman Empire.

That said, my knowledge of Dragon Age is just from the first couple games. I think Inquisition and Veilguard may have started throwing some weird shit around for the places that weren't explored yet (like Nevarra is partially Egyptian or something).

 

[A Sentient Cloud]

I'm not arguing with you; I'm agreeing with your incredibly hot, relevant take that a world with castles and cathedrals is definitely in no way inspired by Europe if you give it a fictional name and it's not a carbon copy of any particular European city.

Nobody smart could find fault with your position.

I don't recall saying any of that but clearly me saying Vivienne is pretty was the pin in the boil that was your feelings about Dragon Age: Inquisition. I hope it feels better!

You know there's a whole Dragon Age thread, right? Still pretty active!

Ackshully it's totally Europe which is totally white I am smart historian words words words

As I said: Simplest reason for why Theodosians are racially diverse is so that the player can create a Warden/Inquisitor with a wide variety of appearances and still fit into the setting.

I am also very concerned about your geographic knowledge if you think that map is "Europe smooshed together and flipped upside down"

 

[Agarathium1066]

Thedas is basically just Europe smooshed together and flipped upside-down.

Ferelden in the bottom-right is basically England. Orlais to the west of it is basically France. The Free Marches and Nevarra are essentially the German states and central Europe. Antiva is Italian city states. Rivain is like Spain and Portugal under Muslim rule (the Qunari). And the Tevinter Imperium is the remainder of DA's equivalent to the Roman Empire.

I know Orlais has been aggressively French since Origins. Antiva I only remember mostly through Zevran's descriptions but he for sure hits the notes of an Italian.

 

[The Ugly One]

Thedas is basically just Europe smooshed together and flipped upside-down.

No, it's a fictional world, so you don't need any explanation for why blacks are there, because there's no Europe and no Africa, maybe people are randomly born black for no reason. Maybe there's a BMW dealer in Rivain. It's fiction, so there are no rules and you're not allowed to find anything dissonant about its design.

 

[A Sentient Cloud]

No, it's a fictional world, so you don't need any explanation for why blacks are there, because there's no Europe and no Africa, maybe people are randomly born black for no reason. Maybe there's a BMW dealer in Rivain. It's fiction, so there are no rules and you're not allowed to find anything dissonant about its design.

You can ask her about it yourself, you know. Vivienne tells you her parents were merchants. Merchants are known to travel long distances, so it stands to reason they were from somewhere pretty far away. Vivienne didn't know them, as was raised in the Chantry as a mage since she was very young.

Did you play the game?

 

[Retarded Weeb]

As I said: Simplest reason for why Theodosians are racially diverse is so that the player can create a Warden/Inquisitor with a wide variety of appearances and still fit into the setting.

You're just being intentionally obtuse. The Ugly One said that black people look out of place in Thedas because it's a fantasy version of medieval Europe. You said "no it's Thedas" as if to argue that's not true. So I pointed out how it's obviously true, down to the developers basically mapping each country in Thedas to a real world country/region. There weren't any black people in medieval Europe, and if one was milling around they would have been extremely out of place. It stands to reason that Thedas, a fantasy equivalent to medieval Europe with equivalents to various countries and their cultures and architecture, would also have people that look like Europeans. Like how if you had a fantasy Japan you would expect Japanese-looking people and not white people. You've now abandoned trying to say that black people aren't out of place because Thedas isn't European to giving a completely out-of-universe reason why Thedas's population doesn't look appropriate in later games, while prenteding like you've still defeated the original argument. They can make the population diverse for this out-of-story reason, but the blacks are going to look out of place despite that because Thedas is so obviously European.

You can ask her about it yourself, you know. Vivienne tells you her parents were merchants. Merchants travel, so obviously they were from somewhere else. Vivienne didn't know them, as was raised in the Chantry as a mage since she was very young.

And now you're throwing arguments at the wall by extrapolating in-universe reasons why the major black character in the game could be there while being intentionally out of place. Which is counter to your argument that they made Thedas's fantasy population diverse so a black player character wouldn't be out of place.

 

[A Sentient Cloud]

You're just being intentionally obtuse.

I'm really not, I think Vivienne's explanation ("My parents aren't from around here") is suitable enough, and meta reason is that the setting is designed to be suitable for a wide variety of appearances since BioWare is all about player customization. All of this MVH EVROPA stuff is you just not liking black people. That's fine, go for it, but we're coming at this issue from two completely different vantage points, and you seem to feel much more strongly about yours.

Christ, all I said is that Viv is pretty, which she is.

This argument has derailed the thread enough. If you or the other dude need the last word, please don't hesitate to have it.

 

[Retarded Weeb]

I'm really not, I think Vivienne's explanation ("My parents aren't from around here") is suitable enough, and meta reason is that the setting is designed to be suitable for a wide variety of appearances since BioWare is all about player customization. All of this MVH EVROPA stuff is you just not liking black people. That's fine, go for it, but we're coming at this issue from two completely different vantage points, and you seem to feel much more strongly about yours.

Christ, all I said is that Viv is pretty, which she is.

This argument has derailed the thread enough. If you or the other dude need the last word, please don't hesitate to have it.

>"Europeans are white."
>"Oh, so you're saying you HATE black people?"
Yeah, it was pretty clear from your sarcastic insults before that you were the type to act like this.

 

[The Ugly One]

Like how if you had a fantasy Japan you would expect Japanese-looking people and not white people.

All you have to do is a thought-exercise. I'm making a fantasy game, it's set in a fictional world called Hakkoru. Hakkoru is quite blatantly a pastiche of premodern Asia, not quite exactly China, Korea, or Japan, but there are samurai, pagodas, junks, jade knick-knacks, and so on. Everyone in the game looks Icelandic: Tall, lanky, blonde, and blue-eyed.

How do you think the game media would react? Do you think they'd be okay with it? They'd say, "Ah, well, it's a fictional world, it's not Asia, no reason the people can't all be white!"

 

[demicolon]

Playing Bioware RPGs in 1998:
- make a custom party of green-skinned people
- go kill some orcs
- shout "WE COME IN PEACE" while you're at it
- have fun together

Playing Bioware RPGs in $CURRENT_YEAR:
- make an account on kiwifarms.st
- argue that there were no blacks in medieval Europe
- counterargue that Sicilians are descendant from niggers
- cope & sneed together

 

[Chuck McGill]

Christ, all I said is that Viv is pretty, which she is.

As another example, I don't think people would be nearly as annoyed by the current crop of black female characters if they looked like Vivienne from Dragon Age: Inquisition.

If you genuinely believe these two statements say the same thing, there is no helping you.

 

[demicolon]

If you genuinely believe these two statements say the same thing, there is no helping you.

These two statements don't contradict each other. What I think she wanted to say is that Vivienne looks cool to a young girl as in looks dignified and wears good clothes and doesn't look like a deathfat freakshow dangerhair.

Like, let's say I'm 12 again. I'd like to play a dude who looks like Conan and wears cool armor, not some pencil-necked Scott Pilgrim-esque geek wearing cardboard cutouts with "ARMOR" written on it with a magic marker who came straight from Joss Wheddon's fever dream because so funny haha games are for stupid manbabies amrite?

 

[Hentai-Semitism]

So what's the reason for making them uglier?

I don't care. I've heard conspiracy theories about this very topic and some people seem to believe that developers intentionally make women look worse because it's a psyop or something. It's just dumb. When I play games, I think of gameplay mechanics, controls and overall presentation and not about fictional waifus.

 

[Spud]

So what's the reason for making them uglier?

The HR department believe that women in video games are competition for male attention that should be going to them instead.

 

[Peep Plops]

Everybody who has chosen the attractiveness of video game women as their hill to die on is some stripe of unemployable malcontent that goons it to anime children. Change my mind.

 

[DeadwastePrime]

Everybody who has chosen the attractiveness of video game women as their hill to die on is some stripe of unemployable malcontent that goons it to anime children. Change my mind.

THE DRAGON LOLI IS 9000 YEARS OLD I SWEAR!!!

 

[Jace on ice]

While I'm quite racist and anti nigger I do feel the need to point out that the ugliest character in Dragon Age Inquisition was not in fact black but rather this hideous downie elf.

 

[StacticShock]

While I'm quite racist and anti nigger I do feel the need to point out that the ugliest character in Dragon Age Inquisition was not in fact black but rather this hideous downie elf.

she was the most annoying one too but you are a chuddite if you mention that.

 

[Jace on ice]

she was the most annoying one too but you are a chuddite if you mention that.

Sucks too because she's the only thief/ranger in the game if the Inquisitor isn't one, so if you want one in your party but hate her you're fucked.

 

[Prophetic Spirit]

While I'm quite racist and anti nigger I do feel the need to point out that the ugliest character in Dragon Age Inquisition was not in fact black but rather this hideous downie elf.
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The same fucking game when have Cole, one of the best characters.
Idk man, playing as a chad warrior/knight enchanter i don't see Sera bad. A bit over-the-top behavior thought.