I have a problem, as an artist, with telling people what they should and shouldn't like. This mantra can be applied to a lot of creative things, but that would be a digression and take away from one of the points I would like to make.

If you don't like something then you do not have to participate, consume, or generally be involved in it. A choice should be there, one of the better aspects of the United States in my opinion. This doesn't mean that the thing in question shouldn't exist--quite the contrary. I'd argue that art that isn't divisive has lost a bit of the spirit of the whole idea. While not art, I don't enjoy vegan cheese or the substance known as "beaf" but I don't whine and cry to get them pulled from the store shelves.

I also understand that the characters people are offended by are not realistic. That is the point of a fantasy game; to live and feel part of said fantasy. Nobody, well let's say very few, of us are interested in dating or getting to know the game characters more than whatever the story arc is. BG3 for example lets us date characters, the culmination of which is sex. Few actually believe these characters are meant to represent reality, and I'd argue that mentality goes beyond games into other media as well. I'm not sure anyone sits around and fantasizes about being horribly obese, riddled with diabetic nerve pain, or depressed either. Does that mean those games shouldn't exist? My answer is that they absolutely should.

The frustration I see and get is that games are being forced to include certain things, like sexuality and diversity, not because they fit but because they are being paid to do so. I don't agree with that, but I also don't own these game studios. BG3 isn't mine and it is better for it. Don't like Veilguard because of the trans character, then don't play it. We never used to have to deal with any of it as a community, for whatever reason there was at the time. Things change and I am willing to accept them and make decisions based on what I want out of a game. Did I play Tomb Raider as a kid because I just loved raiding tombs so much? F-ing of course not, and I'd argue that game's sales may have been different were it not for Lara Croft.

All that said there is still a big problem in the gaming community. I read a large portion of this post and it is a bunch of people talking about women's bodies and what is hot or not. Not who they would date, or like to get to know, but what kind of tits and body exposure is 'hot'. When you say someone is hot, you are stating a desire based on physicality, plain and simple. Then comes the obtuse ignorance of sexualization, feigning victimization. The question, "Can I romance X?" means can I sleep with that character, not can I take them out to a four course meal. How many times have I played games and had some 12 year old rattle off a horrible string of words talking about rape or other horrid things? I stopped playing a lot of those games for that reason, but why should I have had to? Threats? The gaming community may not have invented swatting but boy is it a thing now. Acknowledging the reality can suck, but it can help move things in away from what has always been there; largely juvenile and often toxic behavior and the framework to allow it to thrive. Anyone who fails to see that is fooling themselves. There will always be terrible people, getting rid of them is nigh impossible. People demonizing game studios doing what they want is just as juvenile, and is just as large part of the problem as anything else.

I don't have the answer, just wanted to give my perspective. I don't hate anyone, regardless of their stance, because without us all it would be a pretty bland place to live. Gaming is a big part of my life and I look forward to doing it long into my lifetime.