First allow me to be someone that says the following before being bashed:
I Like, Jory and Kas, a lot, and hell I even like Taimi.
The voice acting is good, the story is decent and I did enjoy the jory/kas romance build up.
But:
I also have to say that these characters all three of them and also Braham as well, come across as offensive to me personally.
How are these characters offensive?
The simple truth is that I am mentally disabled IRL, and I have also got a physical handicap called Tendonitis that has a vaguely similar condition to Taimi’s which honestly I do not like being represented in a video game no matter how tempting it is to do so.
Some like the idea of their disability and personal standing being represented, but I myself do not like them at all because at the core of its universe guild wars is a FANTASY setting where by the problems of REAL LIFE should NOT apply to people in the same way it does in a virtual game that has no relevance on reality.
So whats the problem then:
Taimi is a disabled Stereotype
Your going by the idea that Taimi is disabled so we have to pity her, this actually is increasingly offensive to people that “are” disabled who despise being pitied in the first place on account we try very hard to cope with our day to day disabilities and the last thing we want, is to be reminded they exist in a world outside the real one.
I don’t need a character to remind me that I have problems I cant overcome without finding alternatives, and the fact she has a Golem to fix it actually makes it worse because by that definition your giving false hope to the physically impaired by making the character into a paragon.
Its downright inconsiderate.
Braham is a feminist view on males
Braham, hurts me, even looking at him I am treated as a man like an idiot being reminded that this guy is incompetent at anything because all he does is think with his muscle.
Have you ever considered some men actually don’t “have” muscle to think with and thus have to depend on other aspects of their abilities, or the fact we have the capacity to “think” with a brain.
This form of writing is forced dialogue to make a character seem like a stereotypical depiction of a gender, its the jar jar binx syndrome that made JJB so hated by the star wars fans.
You don’t get to do that to men and not expect backlash for it.
Jory and Kas relationship is enjoyable, but forced
When it built up to the kiss it was something special, now, unfortunately it looses its flare because we no longer have a purpose to serve other than to remind you that “aww we have a lesbian couple in our game”.
That, is a bad way to tell a plot.
If you want good story writing remember that your characters are “characters” in a “fictional” world where reality has no relevance or meaning, bringing political ideas of what people represent in a game is just a bad way to make a point.
I, hope, that the characters in future will slowly shift out of their comfort zones into more edgy, daring and interesting progressions that don’t just keep them stereotyped to their cliche but actually change the very nature of their persona.
Why cant we have a darker Taimi? Why cant Jory and Kas relationship have problems? Why does Braham have to act like an idiot when he could clearly have some development from some wisdom through Eir.
I want to see some “genuine” character development from the GMPC’s that shows they have changed by their experiences and that those changes will guide the direction they take from now on.
I don’t, want to see forced ideologies and politics make its way into a fantasy world, where they don’t belong.
Stop making a statement about life, and start making a statement about Tyria.
I want to know what Tyria’s world is like, not what Tyria’s connection to Earth is.
Because as far as I am concerned, it should have none what so ever.