It Was a Mutual Decision... heterocentric?

[Nev the Deranged]

 I was thinking about which of my friends might be interested in playing, and I realized not all of them consider a male/female dating relationship standard. So I'm just wondering if there's a recommended way of handling choosing teams. I mean, I'm fine with saying "this game is about a hetero couple, play Breaking the Ice if you don't care for it" if that's the case, but then would I just let everyone pick the team they most identified with genderwise? (or most identified not with, for this game). Or should I enforce the biological male/female split regardless of people's dating preferences?

 I don't think it's a huge deal, or that it'd cause any major snafu, I was just wondering if it'd come up before. and/or if there was a recommended dillyo or anything.

[Ron Edwards]

Hiya,

The official rule is, "Handle it as you see fit."

My personal application of the rule, which is not a recommendation but merely communicating about myself, is to have the story be about the fictional het couple, and have folks line up for the teams based on men (for the woman) and women (for the men), without reference to the real people's sexual preferences.

My application relies on the notion that gay or straight or whatever are all people (or rather, what people do), and that people like to play games together, and that this one happens to concern a het couple. I go to the movies with my gay friends, and we can see a het-romance or a gay-romance without it being a thing, not because I'm ohhh so tolerant, but because, you know, it ain't a thing.

The other issue that crops up immediately in some folks' minds, based on questions I've received, concerns tranny-dom. I consider this a totally different, independent issue. And in that case, it so happens that I consider my (for instance) transitioned-to-men friends men, and would have them on the men's team, playing the woman.

But again, the official rule really is, "handle it as you see fit," which if you think about it, is the same rule/guide that people use in deciding who to go to the movies with, and what to see with which people.

Best, Ron

[Nev the Deranged]

 Cool. It so happens your suggestions mirror exactly the way I'd figured on handling it. Just figured I'd bring it up in case it had (or hadn't) crossed anybody else's mind as well.

 Can't wait to play this one again, man... ^_^

[John Harper]

I asked Ron about this as soon as the game came out at Forge Midwest. The answer I got was... confusing... but that may have had something to do with trying to communicate from opposite ends of a long table, not to mention the amount of bourbon I had in me.

Ron, your answer here makes good sense to me. I was going to post about what I *thought* you said that night at the pizza place, but there's probably no point to that.

[Ron Edwards]

I'm glad it makes sense to you, John.

Best, Ron