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Gay marriage possible in AoC EU with My.com being a Russian company?

Does anyone know if My.com will allow gay marriage in AoC EU? I know Russia has very strict anti-gay law going on. My.com, being a Russian company, will probably have to adhere to Russian law. What are your thoughts?
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Comments

  • My.com is the publisher for EU, Mail.ru for CIS.
    Last time I checked Europe wasn't part of Russia  ;)
  • I ask the question because My.com is a subsidiary of mail.ru. Mail.ru kind of owns it, right? And since they are a Russian company maybe My.com also has to follow Russian law even though they operate in Europe?
  • Considering IS will have complete creative control of the game, I HIGHLY doubt mail.ru will have any say in the matter. 
  • Maybe gay marriage won't make it to CIS, but it's highly unlikely there's any influence on EU in this regard.
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    edited August 2018
    It may be banned in Russian as their laws require it but everywhere else should be fine
  • Killing someone in Russia is against the law just as it is in Europe, but I can still kill someone in game. Any company operating in Europe would need to follow European law and/or the local laws of the country they are based in. Worth noting there are currently only 15 countries in Europe where gay marriage is legal. 

    Just like killing someone in game is not reality nor is marrying someone in game. 



  • Neomir said:
    Killing someone in Russia is against the law just as it is in Europe, but I can still kill someone in game. Any company operating in Europe would need to follow European law and/or the local laws of the country they are based in. Worth noting there are currently only 15 countries in Europe where gay marriage is legal. 

    Just like killing someone in game is not reality nor is marrying someone in game. 




    You don't quite seem to understand how laws in other work.

    Monster Hunter World is no longer for sale in China because Regulators have pulled its license. 

    (https://www.polygon.com/2018/8/13/17683722/monster-hunter-world-china-ban-tencent)

    Why?    Well, because China can.  Some of it has to do with issues between Tencent and the government, but also it received a lot of complaints about being offensive due to skeletons.  Yup, that's right skeletons

    Wrath of the Lich King was also banned in China originally, until they covered up the skeletons

    (https://www.businessinsider.com/new-world-of-warcraft-banned-in-china-2009-3)


    Revelation Online has a marriage system, but can't have gay marriages in the Russian version



    Check the last line.     


    Now, my.com may find it offensive, but since the EU doesn't have a law preventing it, you'll most likely see it in the EU version.

    The Russian version however would have to have it removed, or Russia (like China) will just say no you can't publish this game.   Probably won't see mail.ru with 2 different versions of the game (but you could, anything is possible)
  • I really hope they have to follow European law. It is still a fantasy game and of course it isn’t real. You can fight dragons, summon creatures and kill people. Compared to
    this, being able to marry a same sex character is nothing. If the EU game does NOT include this possibility it would actually hurt the fantasy aspect of ‘everything being possible’. Also for reasons of character identification it is important to have this option. Not everyone is straight and being able to live a ‘gay life’ in game adds to the immersion of role players.
  • @Jahlon You seemed to have missed my point completely.

    All Russia or China could do is prevent the game being published in their own countries. The same would apply to anyone else that is not part of the EU/EEA. Even if the parent company is Russian as it is in the case for my.com. The publishing company my.com is registered in the Netherlands and subject to European law. 

    You could argue the Russian government via the parent company would want to apply pressure to remove gay marriage from the game as it does not conform with "their values". 

    On a personal note I dont know why we would want to subject anyone to the misery that is marriage in game whether it was gay or straight, but I am live and let live so each to their own :smiley:

  • Due to the fact that IS will have control over the game I think my.com can't do anything against gay marriages. Russia could be a problem, they even blocked the sims for same sex relationships. But I don't live in Russia so I don't care about this problem.
  • Seems to me that Steven is highly unlikely to remove same-sex marriages from the main game. He might disable that feature in regions where it's against the law.
  • Why does it matter?  You can role play anything you like...…

    I suppose the question is:  "Can two male or two female toons get married in game?"

    Again, either way it goes, this would surely be a small, tiny  part of the overall gameplay experience.

    Would more than a handful of people actually quit playing a game they otherwise enjoy over and issue like this?  Particularly if the designer & publishers hands are tied by a country's law(s)?

    Games are supposed to be for escaping reality.  I try not to drag real life social issues into my games.
  • @Crymoar It's not an issue until you make one of it. I never claimed it would be gamechanging. I just don't believe in limitations.
  • Real life social issues are inherent to video games - especially RPGs.
    If an RPG has gender-locked classes and roles, that intrinsically impacts real life.
    If RPGs exclude real life races, the way Asian games often exclude black people, that intrinsically impacts real life.
    Equality and fair representation of diversity is important for all mass media entertainment.
    Not dragging "real life social issues" into your games indicates you have the privilege of being a member of a demographic that always has adequate representation in mass media entertainment.
  • Is this really a big deal for people (I'm not trying to troll.)?
  • Do you think it's a big deal to have the option to play as a female as well as a male or do you think it's fine to just have only male characters in this game?
  • Methios said:
    Is this really a big deal for people (I'm not trying to troll.)?
    Yes.

    I remember getting married way back in the original Everquest to my (then) real life girlfriend.  It was pretty cool and a big deal to us.

    If I was in a same-sex relationship and couldn’t be married in game that would suck. :(
  • For others it is a situation of if they are willing to compromise on something like that, what will they compromise on down the line. Will females not be able to ride mounts or travel without male characters on the Middle Eastern servers? (extreme examples of "mah cultural values overrule yours"). 
  • Dygz said:
    Do you think it's a big deal to have the option to play as a female as well as a male or do you think it's fine to just have only male characters in this game?
    It's a MMORPG not a marriage simulator.  Honestly, I think it's just one more thing for people to complain about with My.com. I get people want that choice but I personally don't find it that big of a deal.  You are taking it to the extreme.
  • Interesting question. I would imagine this would only affect a Russian server?  Not entirely sure how Russians laws work. 

    But I can see how this would be very frustrating for the players affected. 
  • Methios said:
    Dygz said:
    Do you think it's a big deal to have the option to play as a female as well as a male or do you think it's fine to just have only male characters in this game?
    It's a MMORPG not a marriage simulator.  Honestly, I think it's just one more thing for people to complain about with My.com. I get people want that choice but I personally don't find it that big of a deal.  You are taking it to the extreme.
    As an advocate for LGBTQ , I want to extend my deepest regrets to those who are still persecuted even in a fantasy game online. 

    I know steven is 100% supportive of the marriage system for all. 

    To say you personally don't find it a big deal does not mean it's not a big deal to those who live with the persecution/discrimination in the real world but then to have that same oppression translate over into their virtual world is a demeaning experience. 

    Though it is a video game, it's a social platform as well.  It's our duty to educate. So if nothing comes from it, at least stand for social reform and a betterment within your own community of gamers. Support one another. 
  • lets hope for the best, which means that it will be allowed everywhere and for everyone.

    Though past has shown that it can be a really difficult thing in certain regions. Good luck
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    edited August 2018
    @Methios
    MMORPGs are about roleplaying characters in a world which includes social activities like marriage. If there are mechanics for male/female couples to marry in the RPG, those same mechanics should apply to same-sex couples.
    I wonder why an RPG that excludes women seems like an extreme to you, but an RPG that includes marriage for male/female couples while excluding marriage for male/male couples or female/female couples does not feel like an "extreme".
  • I mean we know gay marriage is in ashes so there is no problem on that side and as Steven has said they will have 100% creative control so anywhere where the laws allow gay marriage will be present.
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    edited August 2018
    To be honest I'd rather no marriage system at all. Seems unnecessary to the game entirely.

    If people want to marry in the game they can. Role playing is a totally acceptable way to accomplish this. However I do not think they should delegate much in terms of system/mechanic designs towards this.
  • Glory said:
    To be honest I'd rather no marriage system at all. Seems unnecessary to the game entirely.

    If people want to marry in the game they can. Role playing is a totally acceptable way to accomplish this. However I do not think they should delegate much in terms is system/mechanic designs towards this.
    This kind of takes the issue off the table doesn't it?
  • Methios said:
    Dygz said:
    Do you think it's a big deal to have the option to play as a female as well as a male or do you think it's fine to just have only male characters in this game?
    It's a MMORPG not a marriage simulator.  Honestly, I think it's just one more thing for people to complain about with My.com. I get people want that choice but I personally don't find it that big of a deal.  You are taking it to the extreme.
    @Glory has a great suggestion.  Just take the in-game marriage system out of the game and let people that actually role play do what ever they want to.

    Seems easy.
  • yeah, change aoc, and take systems out that could be confusing to other people. then redesign the game into some battle royal, cause who need roleplay anyway - and et voil'a everyones happy
  • Roleplay whatever you like and keep it 'in character'.

    For instance I don't want to see any real life political chat.  I want to see Node chat as in, "Those a-holes from the other Node keep intercepting our caravans and now we have a shortage of cloth, leather, and metal resources."

    Or "The current ruler of our Node is too passive; let's overthrow him/her"



  • Dygz said:
    Real life social issues are inherent to video games - especially RPGs.
    If an RPG has gender-locked classes and roles, that intrinsically impacts real life.
    If RPGs exclude real life races, the way Asian games often exclude black people, that intrinsically impacts real life.
    Equality and fair representation of diversity is important for all mass media entertainment.
    Not dragging "real life social issues" into your games indicates you have the privilege of being a member of a demographic that always has adequate representation in mass media entertainment.
    I'm really thinking more about in game chat with political debates raging and dominating general chat.  I'd rather see Node chat ( see a couple of posts above).

    I stand by what I said.  I'd really like to, in this instance, just take the in game marriage system completely out of the game and just let people who role play pretend what they want to pretend.

    We will be having in game Node v Node conflicts and in game elections to govern the node.  Let's just keep it at that and move on.
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