Gay Sex in "Dragon Age: Origins" Finally Prompts a Conservative Backlash

We mentioned back in October that the new fantasy role-playing game video game from BioWare, Dragon Age: Origins would have some optional gay sex scenes. The anti-gay World Net Daily has finally got wind of it. Would you be surprised to find out they're clutching their pearls?

BioWare is no stranger to controversy. Two years ago they released Mass Effect, a game that offered an optional lesbian romance, including a love scene. After one conservative blogger exaggerated what the love scene was like, the story grew until it was was being described as the point of the game. With that experience in mind, BioWare fans braced themselves for a repeat controversy with Dragon Age: Origins. With WND noticing the game, that firestorm may be on the horizon.

Zevran: Yeesh. I have some dirt on my cheek and WND calls it 'dirty gay sex.'

I'll give World Net Daily credit at least for looking beyond Dragon Age's tame same-sex love scene. They also noticed that the game is rated for mature customers and that it includes other mature themes. For example, at one point a player must decide whether or not to kill a child that is possessed by a demon.

One thing WND missed: Bisexual elf Zevran isn't the only character open to a same-sex romance. Female bard Leliana is also a romantic option for both male and female characters.

But no matter. Girl-on-girl action doesn't raise conservative hackles nearly as much as man-on-man (or in this case man-on-elf) sexuality. Drawing attention to Zevran gives World Net Daily more than enough opportunity to plug The Marketing of Evil, one of the book titles available via their online store. And that's probably the main point of their interest in Dragon Age: Origins.

Check out the love scene featuring Zevran and a male player character below. What do you think? Is this the "marketing of evil" or just canny marketing? Was Bioware intentionally courting controversy by including this in the game, and if so, how will sales be affected?