Baldur's Gate 3 Lord Swen Vincke Unprepared for How Completely Viral That Bear Scene Went

Here we go again... another bear article. Anyways, the game is fantastic and hope ps5 gets a physical release eventually.

The furry community will be snapping this one up lol

I identify myself as a bear and these articles are insulting for me.

The sad part is that this cheap marketing tactic is garnering so much positive reaction, especially from the "journalistic" side of gaming.

Larian can put whatever they want in their game, and can decide to use whatever they want in their marketing. But the way people, and gaming news sites, just gobbled up the story, either for the shock value or because they thought it funny/sexy enough to warrant long articles, is depressing.

Sex sells, we know, and I have personally no issue with "sexy" (I even find it missing a bit too much from AAA games lately).. But if we have come to a point where bear sex is viewed as a positive addition to your 100 hour long RPG warranting its special marketing, maybe it's time to review some of the ways we approach sexual content... just a bit... to see where we stand.

@StrawberryTurtle There is "funny because it's disgusting" (like in South Park) and then there is "funny because it's outrageous and sexy" (like, apparently, it is meant to be here, and it is appreciated by sadly too many people).
Not every "funny" is the same.

@StrawberryTurtle If you really "didn't saw anyone calling this scene sexy", then you didn't watch the livestream with the audience eagerly responding to what was shown, and you completely missed the whole point of this issue.
I take seriously people seeing bestiality as sexy, yes, this is one of my red lines, we each have our own.

@StrawberryTurtle If people enjoy and applaud the inclusion of bestiality in a game they're waiting for, then yes, I take them at their word. At best, they find this inclusion outrageously sexy. At worst, they condone bestiality.
I'm curious, as you've been defending this scene multiple times now : what exactly do you support here? What do you think is good in the scene?
I'm just a bit confused as to what exactly your point is here. It seems to me you just want to oppose views you have deemed "close-minded" without really thinking it over, but maybe I'm wrong and you really are trying to make a point and to defend an interesting and progressive point of view.

You do know it is not bestiality, don't you, @Olmaz? The bear is in fact a Druid, and is in fact a side-affect of him becoming turned on, something that he is incapable of preventing. You don't see the act, you are just supposed to understand and feel empathy for the character. There really is no cause to be offended...

Interesting how we've changed as a society over the years though. Humans getting turned into animals is a big part of most mythology. As is "getting it on" afterwards.

Although saying that, I think the dislike of this subject matter is very much a Western thing. The anime "Fruit Basket" is based around the concept and that is quite a sentimental story in its own way.

@Fiendish-Beaver Not again with the "it's not really a bear" argument, please. Larian knows exactly why they made this scene, why they marketed it heavily and people reacting positively also know why : because a guy has sex with a bear. Find the excuses you want, the essence of what makes this scene attractive/repulsive to people is the sexual act with a bear.

@StrawberryTurtle Some do jokes, some just enjoy the scene. The thing is when we allow sexual perversion to be included in mainstream media content, this has repercussions. And I prefer to say I oppose it as soon as I am aware than to come back 5 years later and notice I've been blind and silent to it.
And please, the effects of the depiction of violence and sexual acts on minds (especially young minds) have been extensively studied and it is not comparable. While watching depiction of fictional violence will generally not make someone violent if they didn't already have tendencies (I hope I don't have to provide sources for this, it has been debunked so many times), watching depiction of sexual acts that include immoral actions (violence, absence of consent, bestiality, incest, ...) has an impact on how these things are viewed, and how likely someone will be doing them.
Here are some studies :
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13178-022-00698-8
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780124662803500099
So yes, the inclusion of bestiality depicted in an empathetic and positive way in a mainstream game should be questioned and it's quite normal that some of us don't think it's a good idea.

No one in here is advocating that people should have sex with animals, @Olmaz. The only person preaching any views is yourself. You clearly have a strong opinion on the matter, and that's absolutely your right, but it is not for you to tell others what they should think, or should or should not find amusing. In all honesty, if I find something distasteful, objectionable or abhorrent, I steer clear of such things. This is a gaming forum, a place that people come to discuss games, not be lectured on the rights or wrongs of things, or to be told how to think.

The article you linked is not even related to the subject at hand. If you honestly believe that this one small, censored instance that can be entirely avoided in the game, is likely to see a sudden increase in bestiality in the world, then I am afraid it says more about you as an individual than the rest of the civilised world.

My advice is simple; don't bother telling others what to think when they are not even thinking the way you believe they are, and if you find such matters so objectionable, steer clear of such articles. Further, if this matter offends you so greatly, communicate with Larian. Tell them what you think, at least they are in a position to do something about it. The rest of us just see this for what it is; a game that can and will be enjoyed for that alone...

@Fiendish-Beaver At no point did I tell anyone what to think, I really can't even understand how you came to that conclusion... I say what I think, which I can, about a game, on a gaming forum, and specifically about a scene that is over-mediatised. You really see an issue with this, or is it simply because you disagree with me.

On the second part, you missed the point. The point is not that this specific scene will make people go crazy and corner every bear they see, but that the normalization of deviant sexual acts in mainstream media should be something we are careful about, since multiple studies show this can have negative effects, especially on young people. Now, I can't cite any study specifically about being subjected to content including bestiality, as I am pretty sure until now nobody even submitted it should be acceptable to present bestiality in any other way than deviant/disgusting/immoral. See the first episode of Black Mirror for example.

And if you honestly believe the way we depict sexual acts in media has no impact whatsoever on our sexual practices, well, "then I am afraid it says more about you as an individual than the rest of the civilised world"... ; )

Who told you I didn't reach Larian about it?

Again, I'm not telling anyone what to think about it, I'm expressing my thoughts about something that I deem concerning and that is being reported on and defended repeatedly these last weeks. Why should I "stay clear" of content I find objectionable? Isn't expressing your disagreement with something a legitimate way to engage in conversation? You obviously may and can disagree with my views, so what is exactly your issue with me expressing my thoughts here?

Also, may I know what exactly is your point here? Is it that I am misinterpreting the motivation of the devs or the people reacting positively to the scene? Is it that I am overestimating the impact of the depiction of such sexual acts in media? Is it that you think it's a good thing to depict such acts?

@Olmaz It's a mature-rated game. If parents were doing their jobs as parents, young minds shouldn't even have access to this game.

Let's be clear about this, @Olmaz, the article is not glorifying sex with bears. It is legitimately reporting the way that that one scene raised interest in the game, not because people want to emulate that, but because of the quality of the content and the fact that the game allows you to do that.

To be clear, the game is estimated to be around 200 hours long to complete. This one scene is unlikely to occur in the vast majority of gamers playthroughs, and if they do encounter it it will be because they have chosen to do so. They will also find the scene to completely fade to black. Nothing will be seen, just inferred, and will be over within 10 seconds. That is a 10 second unseen moment in a 720,000 second game.

I don't know you, but I can tell you that in the mid 90s we were being told by so called experts that Power Rangers was going to corrupt our children and make them all hyper-violent. It didn't happen! It was just being sensationalised by the media because just like sex, violence sells. It's not new, but it gets people talking. This is one small clip that has amused people, but is not one that is going to influence people's actions. People speaking about it simply reaffirms the fact that the act is abhorrent. Just as violence against women is abhorrent, and speaking about it reaffirms that.

I'm probably a lot older than you, and I spent 28 years in the Police. I dealt with numerous crimes against women, men and children. Indeed, I was even called to investigate a case of bestiality once where a man was caught having sex with cows. So I have first hand knowledge of these things. I'm not citing journals or reports, but lived experience. However, that does not mean that I am incapable of understanding the difference between real crime and depicted art. This simply causes some mild amusement that will quickly be forgotten by all those that see it for what it truly is. Only those that choose to be offended will be so, and the chances of this normalising bestiality are absolutely miniscule. There are far worse things that can easily be found on the internet by those that choose to do so, that are much more likely to corrupt the mind...

@GamingFan4Lyf On that I agree wholeheartedly, but sadly we don't live in a world where most parents do care about the games their kids play. The number of middle school kids (11 to 14 yo) I've seen who played GTAV (among other mature games) in the last 10 years is, to me, depressing...

@Fiendish-Beaver First, I don't think you're that older than me. At least I wouldn't consider myself young in any way! : )
But if we go with "lived experience" (how I hate this pleonasm!), I have almost 20 years of teaching experience in secondary school, and I can tell you there has been a normalization of certain sexual practices along kids due to porn access and pop culture in these years that are frightening. One good example is incest and Game of Thrones. Never before the series started would have I even imagined my students talking about incest in any positive way, but now it isn't as taboo or viewed as abhorrent (as you say) as before. Pop culture does influence how people, and especially young people, think and view some things. It's not a 1:1 influence, of course, but it's not nothing.
When you say "People speaking about it simply reaffirms the fact that the act is abhorrent.", I think you are being very optimistic. If the general reaction around this scene had been disgust, criticism, or even mockery, I would have agreed with you the scene wouldn't matter. But seeing the number of people lauding the boldness, the openness about sex of the devs, people going to great lengths to rationalize the scene ("it's not really a bear") irks me... a lot. The same way people rationalizing incest in Game of Thrones ("they're loving consenting adults") or underage sexualization in anime ("it's not a child, it's a 100 year old vampire") irks me. This makes me think it's not really about the "freedom of choice" the game gives its players....
Don't get me wrong, I love smut. I enjoy exploitation movies, violence and sex as much as any other man. But the point in these content is that you know you're watching something you shouldn't. You know the acts you see are terrible. My issue here is not about the inclusion of such a scene, but about the fact that the scene is viewed as something positive and that the devs thought it would be good marketing materials... and that they were apparently right, since people are seemingly ready to see these things as ok or, worse, good.
Of course this small scene in a 200 hour long RPG will not make society shift towards bestiality, I never said that. But shifts in cultural perception can happen slowly, and the fact this scene has been reported this much, and has garnered that much defenders shows that we should be careful about the way we include these things, and how we talk about it, especially around young ones.
And to end on a correction : I've never said this article "glorified" bestiality, I don't even get where you took that from. I get the sense you arguing a bit against someone else's views, I hope I'm wrong.

I was not suggesting that you were saying that the article was glorifying bestiality, @Olmaz, merely pointing out that the article is indeed not glorifying bestiality.

As for incest, not only has the practice been around since the dawn of mankind, but poking fun at it has been a thing since I was a child in the 60s and 70s. Indeed, I live in Devon, England, which borders on the County of Cornwall. Cornwall was the perceived hotspot of incest through the ages and indeed, the not too distant past. It is, I believe, where the expression, 'keeping it in the family' came from. It is certainly where I first encountered the expression, and indeed, where I first dealt with such cases. My point being, that whilst you may have been unaware during your upbringing of such practices, or indeed, whilst at school that such things went on, that is not to say that others were not fully aware, and indeed sniggering about it. So, whilst you may well be right that children saw incest as 'okay' due to Game of Thrones, that is not to say that is the only place where they may have encountered the notion, and unless we see any significant rise of reported cases then the probabilities are that GoT has had a minimal, if any, impact on the subject. Pornography, and the ease with which it can be accessed is far more likely to lay behind such things.

I absolutely agree that the proliferation of pornography is something that should concern any parent, and that the access to the same is shaping the views of the young minds that watch it, and I certainly would not wish for my grandchildren (who are nearly 11 and 9) to see such content. However, there is an enormous assumptive leap from hardcore pornography to a completely censored scene in a game. Any adolescent seeking titillation from BG3 will leave sorely disappointed...

@tameshiyaku literally made a entire comment about this in the Kamiya Article from a couple days ago, you totally get it my friend hahahahahaha.

@Czar_Khastik I thought you identified as a Stranger Of Paradise.

@Ryne-Gaia That's also true. I identify as multiple classes depending on what CHAOS I'm trying to defeat.

@Ryne-Gaia generally I think much higher of Japanese games than over western games, but in case of FF16, I just can't get on board. FF16 is in the unfortunate position of being wedged between Zelda tears of the kingdom and Baldurs Gate 3, both of which have extremely deep and thoughtful gameplay systems, while FF16 is one of the most shallow games of recent memory. Even if I'd just take the story into account, I do not appreciate its "hommage" to game of thrones. I find Square Enix showed better writing and pacing within a western fantasy setting in the superb triangle strategy, probably my favourite game of 2022.

As for the discourse around Baldurs Gate 3, I think the problem lies more within lazy sensation seeking gaming media outlets (like this site) and the entire juvenile internet culture where if you don't like it you're a prude that doesn't get a little fun and if you do like it you condone bestiality...
The studio showed it off once as one of the many possibilities the game gives you. In the meanwhile the internet had a field day with it, making this masterpiece look like sleazy dreck to many.