How Overwatch helped me enjoy Blizzard (and understand the importance of LGBT Representation)

General Discussion
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I want to start off by saying this: I know with the Overwatch news yesterday this may add to the clog of LGBT posts as of late on the fourms, twitter etc, but i want to have a calm and -hopefully- positive discussion or post about the recent news and updates. I’m not instigating anything, this is simply my perspective.

Also note that I originally posted this on my twitter, but not in as much detail as I can here.

Before Overwatch, I really disliked Blizzard and I didn’t care for their games. Years before getting serious with gaming, I associated Blizzard with Warcraft and I didn’t like the game -at the time- and I didn’t like the idea of a monthly membership -still don’t, so I disliked them for a petty and what i now see as a frankly stupid and immature reason.

I wasn’t quite up to date with the Overwatch announcements or release, till I was in collage (again) and a friend got me interested. I was curious but not enough to be committed at the time… Eventually I decided to get the game when I got the money, then shortly after, Tracer was announced as being gay.

After that I started to show more interest, mainly in the lore. Although I knew that Tracer being gay had no major bearing on the story, I wanted to see how it would play into things. I got the game Between Orisa’s release and Uprising and I started devoting the lore and making theories and enjoying the game.

I discovered that like Mass Effect, Fallout and System Shock, the world building was freaking solid and had loads of potential. The story was interesting and engaging, it had a colorful assortment of characters, and the gameplay was fun, especially with events that tied into the game’s lore.

It was through this that I learned something: saying a character is gay is part of world building. It gives you insight into a character, helps show what motivates them and how they help shape the world. Saying a character is gay is like giving another character a personality trait or quirk… Maybe even a flaw that they overcame. Take Sombra for instance, after being Orphaned in the crisis, she learned that Knowledge is power, and she works to expose corruption and -from what I gather- she may be using Talon to further her goals until they’re no longer useful to her.

If Blizzard said she was LGBT, I wouldn’t bat an eye because more representation firstly, and secondly, I’m not the only one who see’s her as having partners of either sex (but I digress), or if Blizzard came forward and said “Genji’s straight” again it’s have no baring as many people see him as being Charismatic and being either a ladies man or not being picky… Again however I digress.

I do want to point out that just because someone doesn’t act or seem openly gay, doesn’t mean they aren’t. Not all of us appear gay at first glance. I’ve had a lot of people over the last year (after I came out) ask me if i was gay, because they weren’t sure if it was because i like my hair being short or if i actually was gay.

Let’s also consider this: with every passing year, LGBT becomes more and more common place and accepted (yes there are some exceptions, but please follow me on this). If the story takes place in 2077 (or 2078 I have no idea if another year passed or not in the story’s timeline) it’s more than likely that LGBT is commonplace and generally widely accepted in the Overwatch verse. Again not a huge baring on the story, but it’s logical to assume such.

When Tracer -and now Soldier 75- were announced as being gay, I took it as “Oh cool. Now I need to figure out what’s for dinner.” Why? It’s important sure, but I see it as just another part of life or another part of a normal day.

Even before I came out, when people would tell me what they identified as, what their preference in partners were etc. I did -and do- take a “Yeah so” attitude, because i don’t see anything wrong with it. Race, orientation, language, beliefs etc. don’t matter to me. I treat everyone as a human, and if you’re nice to me I’ll be nice back. If you’re rude and nasty, You’ll get the basic respect of “you’re human, just like everyone else”. It’s as simple as that.

LGBT in games (Like Overwatch) helps give positive representation too, after years of LGBT in games being seen as a negative or associated with villains, inhuman or other stigmas. A lot of people don’t like him or his channel sure (I can respect that), but Game Theory’s “Are Video Games Anti-LGBT?” tackles this fairly well. (I would link it but idk if i have that trust level yet and there are a few grey areas in there -visual wise- that I don’t want to get in trouble for linking to. Just look it up it’s on youtube, starting at the 6m58s timestamp onwards.)

But Blizzard is making a step in the right direction and after they announced Tracer’s orrientation, i remembered the video and re-watched it and understood what MattPat was getting at.

It’s also worth noting that Overwatch Fanworks containing LGBT content seems to be fine with the community, (People shipping/ proposing that Tracer and Widowmaker or Soldier 76 and Reaper, Phara and Mercy, McCree and Hanzo, etc. as examples), until a character is confirmed to be LGBT then people are upset. I don’t understand the double standard of the community being fine with it until it’s confirmed, please explain.

I’d also like to point this out:
Tracer- Gay (Lesbian)
Lynx 17- Gender Neutral (Non-binary)
Jack Morrison/ Soldier 76- Gay

Micheal Chu did confirm Lynx’s gender identity and prefered pronouns after the “Searching” comic, so technically, there’s 3 LGBT Overwatch characters, even if only 2 are in game. I didn’t see anyone raising a fuss about that however.
and before anyone bring up the “But Omnics are robots, so the terms don’t apply to them!” comments, consider this:

Zenyatta uses male pronouns
Orisa uses Female pronouns
Bastion… Neutral pronouns I guess, as Bastion’s referred to as an “it”
Snowball… again Neutral as Snowball’s also referred to as an “It”
Athena (seemingly) uses Female pronouns
Echo (seemingly) uses Female pronouns
Mondotta uses Male pronouns…

You get the point. At this point, the only difference between Omnics and humans are flesh and blood vs Synthetic body structures.

In short, a character being LGBT doesn’t dictate their skills or talents or how you play them, so just play the game and enjoy it. There’s no need for the hate and we’re trying to fight hate, intolerance, and toxicity with acceptance of everyone, love and understanding.

Again, just sharing my perspective, and I want to thank the Overwatch Team for the amazing story yesterday. Jack mentioned it in passing and showed more depth to his character, but I also enjoyed the added depth to Ana as well.

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Did i was the only one plaing rpg games where was g, l or b options in romance? People for some reason think now it just started, when it was in rpg games for years now…
(look up dragon age)
I dont know where you get this anty lgbt games, there are just less people there from that group because
a) developer didnt care about this
b) they are less visible, because there are less lgbt people out there
c) Its mostly not important for story and no reason to tell random people about what gender you are.

Its is part of any game, no one can stop it

I still dont see this need for representation or how this is changing games for better, its something that should be like fun fact, not something mandatory of haracter of that person. Basicialy why should anyone dress up differend, talk or act because its part of lgbt? No reason, they can do what ever they like.

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I don’t quite understand the very first bit, but I’ll try to get through here.

I’m not saying that LGBT in video games just started, I’m talking about “good and positive representation” of LGBT. Again, I recommend checking out the video i mentioned. There’s few LGBT characters that aren’t seen as villainous, inhuman, unstable etc. And some of the ones that are openly LGBT and positive get censored (either because of fear of backlash, because it was fine in one country and not another, or because “We’ll change it in translation. No one will know” etc.)

Yes some RPG games do allow LGBT relationships- I’m aware of Dragon Age, I’ve yet too play Inquisition however- But that’s because you can choose them, and again, not all characters appear to be openly gay unless you enter the relationship for them.

For example, in Mass effect, if you Play Male shepard and Kaiden’s alive in the 3rd game, you can enter a relationship with him whereas you couldn’t in the first game, making Kaiden Bisexual in Mass Effect 3. Jall, Reyes and Vetra Nyx in Mass Effect Andromeda is Bisexual as well (allowing male player characters to finally romance a Turian, and still allowing female player characters romance a Turian (as there’s no romancable male Turian).

But to use my example, the only three openly gay characters in Mass Effect: Samantha Traynor and Steve Cortez in Mass Effect 3 and Suvi Anwar in Mass Effect Andromeda. Again just examples, however in Mass Effect 3, Steve Cortez’s homosexuality does play into the story/choice paths. His husband died in Mass Effect 2 and you can help him move on. By helping him move on, he survives a fatal crash in the final hours of the game.

Blockquote I dont know where you get this anty lgbt games, there are just less people there from that group because
a) developer didnt care about this
b) they are less visible, because there are less lgbt people out there
c) Its mostly not important for story and no reason to tell random people about what gender you are.

Ok, check this out please. but to summerize it:
Birdo (Mario) villain
Flea (chrono Trigger) villain
Poison (Final fight) villain who was censored in English localizations
Alfred Ashford (Resident Evil: code Veronica) villain and apparently insane or unstable
Magypsies (Earthbound) described as inhuman
Mary Maggie (Banjo Twoie) acted very ditzy from what i remember
Trevor (GTA V) bisexual but very violent and apparently unstable

I could go on but eh.

A. apparently some do care about this
B. Depends on the location/ country/ state etc (8% of Canadian women in a woman’s only survey in 2016 identified as LGBT).
C. Again depends on story. It can give insight into what drives/ motivates a person. With S76, i saw a man who was lonely and had many regrets and wishes.

About Fanworks, yeah I get it. I’m just pointing out what Technically 3 characters (so far) in the Overwatch Story are LGBT and no one made a fuss about Lynx being Gender Neutral (i already pointed out the argument against omnics and them "not having a preference etc.) and how the community is fine with the fanworks involving characters and LGBT but when it becomes an official part of the story, people flip out and lose their minds.

Also the “I’m gay” part may come as an admission (maybe someone asked, or you want to let someone you know personally, know that you are gay), maybe someone’s letting someone know why they’re turning down their advances or becauseyou alluded to it but didn’t come right out and say “I’m gay”.

I still dont see this need for representation or how this is changing games for better, its something that should be like fun fact, not something mandatory of haracter of that person. Basicialy why should anyone dress up differend, talk or act because its part of lgbt? No reason, they can do what ever they like.

Games sometimes reflect things. Overwatch may not exactly mirrior reality -advancements etc.- but LGBT does exist in their universe. No one’s saying it’s it’s mandatory, and as for “it’s something that should be a fun fact” maybe it was meant as a bit of a fun fact but people got upset.

Would you or the community get upset if it was mentioned in a tweet that Hanzo was officially gay, that Reaper was officially bisexual or that Mei was officially straight? I’m willing to bet that many people would ask “Why do we need to know this” regardless of what way a character swings.

Maybe some people want to feel comfortable, so they talk, dress or act in a way that makes them feel comfortable. For example me. I just like my hair being in a short pixie, Why? Because I feel more comfortable, i feel more confident in myself, it’s easier to maintain and because it suits me better. I’ve had short hair for 5 -almost 6- years now and I just came out a year ago.

By seeing more Heroes or good guys who are LGBT, it helps break the negative stereotypes that surround LGBT, especially in games.

Before Tracer or S76 were announced as gay, people seemed to love them and gave them a lot of respect. Now knowing that they’re gay, it seems like people are upset, losing love for a character or “dropping [their] main” because their main is now gay. It shows the shallowness of a society if you’re willing to treat someone -or a character- differently when you find out something about them, that you don’t like. In my opinion, that’s a poor take on life, and no way to treat someone.

My point is this: Representation is a good thing as it shows how we view the world and it also influences how we see the world and see others. By being progressive and positive, we help change things for the better so we can improve our lives and the lives of others and future generations. The opposite can also happen, and hate, ignorance, intolerance, negativity and toxicity only hinders progress as us as a society, from improving ourselves.

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The thing is , despite its good nature , the fact that overwatch decided out of the blue, to make soldier gay is clearly a PR stunt. That is where most of the frustrations are , yes you will find the idiots on the forums bashing the lgbtq++++ community, you always find those , but despite ow trying to cater to the less than 1% , i still see many threads of why there are any Bi characters etc , which also create a bad image and adds to this frustration.
The idea of representation is fine and im down for that, but why is sexual preference needed in a 6v6 shooter, + politics and games should not mix , just look at battlefield, ow may have the same fate

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I don’t think it’s a PR stunt or politics. In my view, it’s only political when someone makes it political.

As for Bi characters, there’s a lot of talk of McCree or Genji being possibly bi, though Sombra seems to be a big contender for being the first Bisexual in Overwatch, or apparently Widowmaker. Who knows, I’d be fine either way.

People like to relate to others and that also includes characters. Perhaps Blizzard’s trying to make certain character’s relatable and doing it slowly and when they thing it could add some depth to a charcter’s story.

For example, I play DnD (5e) and in my first campaign, my Half-elf fighter masqueraded as a man while on her quest to find her long lost father. After a few sessions, the rest of my party had pegged my character as gay , especially after another player tried to insinuate something I won’t mention here. Later that session, it was revealed that not only was my character a woman, but she had freaked out about losing her fake beard because she had reluctantly attacked 2 party members 10 years prior.

In a case like that it could be a small fun fact, or it could later be something that plays into a bigger part of the story. It can change perceptions of a character and it can also be important in world building.

As for your Battlefield example, I had to look that one up to refresh my memory… Are you referring to the female soldier thing? I just want clarification so I don’t sound foolish

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i only have one thing to say…Holy Mackerel Batman, that is a wall of text

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I enjoyed Blizzard because they made great games. Like Warcraft 3 and Diablo II. And don’t get me started on WoW. That game was amazing. Then all that changed when they merged with Activision in 2007.

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and yet oddly enough that was the year that activision published one of the most loved call of duty games to come out

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I think MW2 is more loved.

CoD4 was then defiled when they remastered it and put in awful micro transactions.

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if you care for the multiplayer maybe…i played the modern warfare games for their singleplayer campaigns…which were amazing, all of them were awesome

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Pretty much my experience yesterday. I’ll never understand why so many straight people get triggered by gays. My own personal theories are that it stems from either a serious dislike for people or things unlike themselves, ie; a superirity complex either brought on by religion or culture, or alternatively, it might stem from a place of jealousy, sexual repression, and their own desires for homosexual love or connections, which they can’t have, so it manifests outwardly as agression, anger and spite, because the gays are living a life which that person can’t experience.

Similar to the Miami shooter a couple years back, a so called devout Muslim with a wife, but you could tell from all of his photos and selfies that this man definitely wasn’t your typical straight guy. Hanging out in gay bars, picking up guys, beating his wife, a lot of hints that he was indeed a closet homosexual, before he took all those lives.

I’m sure there are other reasons too, but the above two are what always spring to mind when I see heteros being mean or putting down gays.

It’s all quite simplistic and childish. We can all be so much bigger and better than this but we’re too concerned with who the person next door is sleeping with. Simple animals we are.

Despite all of that, I still agree with those who say the timing of this reveal was a mistake. I’m surprised Blizz couldn’t see this.

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those barracks at starcraft might prouduce a gay marine

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My theory is that they just never have any lore advancement and the fact that the lore comes so slow is part of the reason why it seems so out of nowhere.

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If you start throwing preferred pronouns and gender fluid stuff at me in this game, I’m out.

If you want representation show me some non-leftist ideologies in popular media. Where’s my conservative representation? Show me a single OW character who opposes abortion? Is Christian? Doesn’t agree with globalization?

Go ahead. I’ll wait.

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It’s not in game but it was confirmed for Lynx in a tweet that they have preferred pronouns :confused:

I’m not going to touch the rest because that’s a can of worms that i’m not sure anyone’s ready to open nor do i think anyone wants to

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THAT WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT

There is no need to show ther point of wiev (tho in dragon age first game if you talk with one he will made is obvious), And they dont need to appear, or be open to those kind of realationships. Thats how it should work in games and in real world. Why should i be able to gues if someone is let say… bi? Because he look differend? Speak in differend way? Or mayby, i should not know until i gona know this person better?

You do get that most of times both gay and straight gona have the same motivations just because of differend people? Like if gay person gona lose someone close to him, its the same like it would do straight one. This gender stuff is added to make haracter as SEPARATE BEING in the world, but you need to lisnen to see that. Thats is good, we dont need to be thrown at as forced everyone’s gender just like people in real life dont throw at you their motivations in life because you work in the same place until they know you better.

I would not be upset
But community would be, and what is fun part LGBT people would defend this stuff saing “why you care about gender in game” when the same people would not write this if it was other way around, like in theory if some hero who everyone thinks is gay would end up straight, the same people would propably be silent or complains.

Again, im sure a lot of LGBT people look like anyone, and can dress just like others. I dont get that part, only i think T part might be differend? I dont know for sure tho im not expert in this stuff.

Anyone can have short hair… that is not something that define you what is your buisnes.

I didnt played yet game where LGBT people was only “bad” thats why i dont get you at this point. And most of villans dont even have info on that stuff… because why you need to know this about someone who is just trying to kill you for some reason? It could be added to story but it change almost nothing.

Just like i said at some place about tracer on this forum: her being L change nothing in story, her having someone she care about, no matter what gender, was important part. This is what define her, this is what show us for who she might wona fight, to who she gona come back to. It was another woman? Soo? Is that supposed to make people see tracer differend? No, LGBT and straight should see her still the same.

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Don’t take this the wrong was as i mean no disrespect, but it’s a little hard to understand what you’re saying.

I’ve never played the first Dragon game, so i have no idea who exactly you’re referring to. Usually in the games, you can’t even flirt with a gay character unless you’re the same gender as them. In Mass Effect 3, Steve Cortez tells you that he’s gay without any flirting (from my experience anyway, I played as Femshep).

Sometimes, people tell an interested party “I’m gay” so the person takes the hint and leaves them alone. It doesn’t always work however, as some people refuse to let things go and that leads to things getting worse. Trust me, I’ve been there and no matter your orientation, some people don’t care what way you swing, they’ll keep pestering you and harassing you to date them. Also someone who’s LGBT will let you know if they’re comfortable or when they feel that it’s right.

From what I gather on this point, it’s almost like you’re saying that someone doesn’t need to be gay or be open to those relationships. Again it’s hard to understand what you’re saying. i’m not saying everyone has to be open to having a relationship with LGBT even if they don’t want to, that’s not what I’m saying at all. I was talking about in video games/ RPGs where the choice is available, not in all games or in real life.

The second point of yours… I’m not sure where the point is honestly. Sure I guess, it sepends on the situation.

A character can say outright what he’s motivated by, no barring on his orientation. He could say “I’m scare of losing someone who’s close to me.” Well who is that person? What are they to you? It raises more questions.

A. “I’m scared of losing my loved ones.” Ok, this has importance in his life… Wife, kids, family? More questions.
B. “I’m scared of losing my dog.” Raised more question, but more in the line of “is this dog all he has left?”
C. “I’m scared of losing my husband.” Ok, he’s gay, but this may be the only person he has left. Maybe this was a well kept secret because he feared his husband being a target? Maybe his husband is the only person who’s close to him in his life?

Your identity or orientation does not make you a “separate being” (whatever that is). No matter what your orientation is, you are still human (or omnic if the case may be in Overwatch) and you still deserve to live and not be harassed. Motivations only come up if they’re brought up.

The third point I think you missed a bit. I specifically stated that if Hanzo, Reaper or Mei were announced with their preference in partners, people would ask “why do we need to know this” Even if a character was confirmed as straight, though now that I think about it, if a character was announced to be straight, no one would probably care, and people wouldn’t bat an eye.

Also

So us asking why people are causing a fuss and getting upset is funny? that’s what I gather from your comment. Also if people thought a hero was gay and they turned out to be straight, it most likely would be silent. Know why? because “oh we were wrong, oh well. Nothing wrong with being straight.” Why?

Being Straight or Being LGBT is normal and there’s nothing wrong with either. The only thing wrong here is hatred.

You going on about the LGBT and how they chose to dress so they’re comfortable… you completely missed the point.

I was providing information. Just because you haven’t played those games or didn’t notice it doesn’t mean it never happened. Also Wikis forums, fan sites and now discords usually either contain the information of host discussions about it.

Again you missed the point on the last one. Yes is shows someone she cares for, someone who’s close to her heart. But people say her differently. There was enough salt on the forums and else where to kill a grizzly when news broke that Tracer was gay (but hey, at least the flamingos and horses were happy for the salt).

People were screaming that it wasn’t fair and that they were no longer Tracer mains and that they were leaving the game etc. because she was gay. Like i’ve never seen a saltier community than when Tracer was announced as gay, and history seems to be repeating itself now with S76.

And let’s be realistic here. there are COUNTLESS stories of people being disowned, kicked out of the house, and even hurt in various ways because they were LGBT. They were shown love, by people around them but as soon as they come out or someone finds out, they’re shamed and suddenly treated poorly.

My mother LAUGHED and made cruel jokes to her friends and some members of her family (she was never a nice person to begin with but still) and dad has his own oppinions about the LGBT and how it should be “kept in private or in the bedroom. I’m fine with it, as long as they’re not shoving it down our throats.” How can I hope to ever come out to him if he’s not accepting like that? I can’t until I can support myself and move out, otherwise i’ll have to deal with him treating be differently.

And that’s where Overwatch and positive LGBT comes into play. I was in the middle of Soul searching and asking myself why I was dating guys when I have no interest in them. I knew the reason but I had been raised in an environment filled with LGBT intolerance. Seeing Tracer as a positive helped me realize that I shouldn’t let those stereotypes and perceptions control me or define me, and that if I was positive and helped others, I could prove to others that there’s nothing wrong with me and that i still deserve the same level of respect that any other human deserves.

Overwatch has helped me out of some Dark places, and since I accepted another part of myself and i know it’s normal, that’s one step closer to me healing from some of the things i’ve been through in my life, and i can accept that i can find happiness in the form of a romantic interest when the time comes.

It’s helped me accept who I am and who I can become.

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Welp, im sure of one think, you realy dont understand me, propably my broken english.
Its funny, because if there will be the same storm about someone other way around, someone say “i would not defend it” when they defend this using “gender should not bother you in game” argument. Even if the same argument should work, if it would ever happend other way around and make it mess like this forum did with soldier, they would not defend devs from angry mob called players. It was hypotical question from my side about it, and i got answer for it alredy.

or because of many other reasons, you dont need to be lgbt to be kicked out. There are many world wide famili problems, also games not gona fix your family (if you had similiar problems) or others view on that.

I realy dont understand how games are supposed to have that effect. This is fictional story, in fictional world, there is no reason of it reflecting our problems like that and helping them. This is story, that you play as a hero from it, but it have nothing good to do with world you or I or anyone else live in.

You dont get my point, i say they should wear what they like, what is usualy anyway what others wear, and there are people alredy asking for skins for soldier showing how LGBT he is for no reason to be honest. DO gay have to wear something diffrend especialy old soldier to show off this?

Welp, being laught by your mather must be hard, at this i can get you, but your father idea is not wrong. At least to some point, after all why there is need for you to show that to people you dont know? Non, other than if you at party but jerks heppends there a lot, and ruin not only fun for people with differend gender, but the same goes if they are straight and get harrased anyway with many reasons. People like that dont care about this to be honest and ruin time for everyone.

In short if you dont understand something because of how bad i write sorry
I think bouth sides of this stupid conflict overreact to stuff like those. Just accept it and move on. There is no need for big deal from any of that.