18 replies to this topic

[William Imm]

I'm sure you know about the horror of Imoen Romance, and if you don't, or actually like the mod, this lengthy post on Something Awful, by the VA of the mod, no less, will probably make you want to not touch this mod even with a mile-long barge pole. Here we go:

Spoiler

Some of [the imoincest fanbase] were really just normal people who liked the expansion of her and <CHARNAME>'s story and childhood, and weren't playing for the incest factor. A lot of people really weren't playing for the incest factor, but yes, we had people who were way too into incest, or rape, or hentai, or whatever.

We had a lot of foreign people on there, and unfortunately there was a LOT of inter-team dating. Yes, I did date people from there, yes, I actually married one of them, but I will say that painkillers plus college led to a terrible decision. He's a cool dude and all, just not ready to be in a relationship like that.

Among the crazy, we had one guy who was a black dude from Poland who accused everybody of racism when we told him that his pages-long rant about the EU gaming people banning use of child models in games was insane and creepy. He was pissed that they weren't in there to kill because " MY IMMERSION", and that's it. He was also really really into drawing Chaos Marines before I knew what they were.

One dude who tried to get with me constantly introduced me to [cheap alcohol site] as he is apparently a connoisseur of s***ty alcohol. He was a pathological liar as well, lived in his parents' basement, and stalked a lot of girls from the place by doing internet detective work and digging up phone numbers. When his oh-so debonair self just couldn't seem to get interest out of me, he made up a girlfriend so I would get jealous. Her name was Lexi, she was British, addicted to heroin, and stripping her way through law school. He literally thought I would buy that, but it didn't take much prodding for him to admit that he made her up. After everyone found out, he tried to make "Lexi" look real to THEM by making her a forums account and having her post a couple of times, still maintaining that they were boyfriend/girlfriend.
I think the cherry on the sundae is that the dude easily had 10-15 years on most of the girls.

There was the spergin' dude who I got to be friends with IRL and it turned out that he wrote the worst thing [link removed - it's a shock site]. I believe he lost custody of his daughter in his divorce because of that whole ASSTR page.

As far as the ladies went, it was a toss-up. We had some cool chicks in there who were just fans of the character... and we had chicks with 0 redeeming qualities fantasizing about getting raped by Sarevok and s***. Sh**ting up IRC with links to "hawt yaoi fics", s***ting up the legit play-by-post D&D game I tried to run on there with their supar-sexii kawaii bishounen yaoi with purple hair and a 12inch d****, or s****ting up both there AND the normal forums by constantly talking in detail about sex they would never have.

So, while we had normal people, we also had a bunch of That Guys. It got VERY VERY creepy, because there seriously ended up being this weird idolization of myself and any other VAs who were trying on the series. It got REALLY bad for me, since I had a fancy account with bells and whistles that was all about me being ~*~Imoen's Voice In The Mod~*~ with special titles and avatars and shit, and there was literally a fan-club that popped up around me, and then some other dude who was "opposed" to my fan-club and so HE had one and there were elaborate and frightening signature banners like FYAD and it was all very terrible.

There was a mass exodus after we had literal proof that the mod s*** was all Mirabbo's [mod writer] wank dream. His wife showed up to bawl me and some of the other female VAs out because of the "conversations" she had been seeing between us and him. She said it was the exact kind of roleplay sex fantasy s*** he was trying to get her to do, and she said no, so she thought he was cheating on her with us because we were from the internet and would do just about anything for a fetish.

Those conversations were the f****ing script he wrote for the mod. We ran.

You see? If only the friendship part were there, it would be better - but by how much I don't really know.

(please note that the post was edited to add more clarification, and cut down on the swearing per forum rules. Otherwise, this is the post in it's glory.)

Edited by William Imm, 31 March 2012 - 03:42 PM.

[Dakk]

I'm creeped out.

[Miraz]

I'm confused. That mod never had a voice actress, nor plans for one that I ever remember?

[Kaeloree]

I thought people had more sense than to trust something they read on SA. Seriously.

The Imoen Romance may not be everyone's cup of tea, but that doesn't mean you should believe everything you read on the internet, and then *further* such accusations. Have you guys actually played the mod?

You guys are better than this. The modding community is better than this. Leave that shit to SomethingAwful, because I really don't want it here. Thanks.

[William Imm]

(oh god me)

Well, according to the OP:

• Her voice is never used in the mod, but she has done some test clips for the mod
  
• It was a reply to some goon asking about what people she met while VAing for the mod.
  
• This is per her - she could be lying.
  
• It's still rather sickening to see that though - and the only modding forum that Trent Oster mentioned... *eugh*

[Kaeloree]

The Imoen Romance forums are pretty great, actually, if inactive. TCDale is the new maintainer, and she seems to be doing a great job of updating it.

Whether it's true or not is beside the point. Do we really want the modding community to focus on bad events in the past (of which there are many, this doubtful one aside), argue about them, and generally create a negative space, or would you rather we focus on the pretty great community we have?

I've been in the community a pretty long time. There are many who've been around longer. We choose not to dig up the past, because all it ever brings is more negativity. I don't know about you, but I'd rather spend that energy and time making new stuff.

[Miraz]

She also indicates that she approves of the actual mod, though ... she seems to think its content is good.

I'm sorry, I'm just still not seeing how someone saying "There were some creepy people on the forums for that mod" means we should all leave the actual mod alone?

Seeing as I can ask this question again in an appropriate topic, unlike before ... what's people's real problem with the Imoen Romance mod? Is it just the fact that it deals with taboo subjects?

[William Imm]

Mmm, yea. I intended to deter people from getting Imoincest, but whatever you say is whatever you say.

[Kaeloree]

People can probably make up their own minds. I'm not a fan of the mod, I don't like how it presented Imoen as a character, and I don't really like how it handled the romance -- but there are a lot of people who do like it. It's all subjective.

I don't think I need to lock this topic, but I do think that nothing else can be said about this that hasn't already been said, so I'm asking that we let this lie. If you do want to talk about it, feel free to do it on the appropriate forums, but here's not really the place.

[Suslik]

K'aeloree, I sign under each and every your word.

First of all, I personally like the mod, and may I say, it's one of my favorites. Secondly, I think one should at least play it prior to making such accusations, because most of those accusations seem like person made those has not even played the mod and does not know what they're talking about. It is a very delicate theme that was discussed in a very thorough way in the mod. Apparently despite the topicstarter I dont think that spoiling the plot is a good idea, so I'll discuss plot event only under spoiler:

Spoiler

One explanation is that <CHARNAME> and Imoen are not actually siblings, because bhaal's taint has nothing to do with relationship, it's just god's essense inside your body, not genes. But nevertheless, throughout this mod Imoen and <CHARNAME> DO struggle about such relationship, and it's up to you to decide if it's proper or not. And anyway, I'm quite curious how one may consider such relationship "more forbidden" than, let's say, killing children which is allowed in game?

[Almateria]

It's still insanely creepy (though not as much as Saerileth which is literally child porn)

Edited by Almateria, 04 April 2012 - 12:32 PM.

[Scipio]

I played both mods and both were good.

I decided the Imoen romance wasn't incest because she and <CHARNAME> had different mothers, their father is a god who wouldn't have human DNA, and therefore the two Bhaalspawn were as biologically unrelated as any two other random people. That was just a thought that came to me idly, by the way, because the relationship was never an issue for me in a game environment.

The Saerileth romance isn't kiddie porn. The Forgotten Realms echo an era of Western human civilisation when a girl who wasn't married by the age of 15 was a spinster, and marriages were routinely arranged between young teenage first cousins.

I've played as a half-orc and romanced humans, half-elves, elves and a tiefling. Should we stay away from inter-species relationships, which are technically as "creepy" as the Imoen and Saerileth mods?

Heck, I would romance a carrion crawler if it added something new, interesting and well-written to the games I played over and over. They are, after all, JUST GAMES. There was a much higher "porn" content when Janet Jackson's boob slipped out on TV at Superbowl.

** Scipio is a 62-year-old grandfather who considers Madonna to be a young babe. In real life he would no more want to "romance" any teen- or twenty-something than he would take up kick-boxing. Put him in a computer game, however, and he happy assumes the digital persona of a callow swords-and-boards adventurer, a racing driver or a laser-toting commando... because IT'S JUST A GAME, dammit.

[Rhaella]

The Saerileth romance isn't kiddie porn. The Forgotten Realms echo an era of Western human civilisation when a girl who wasn't married by the age of 15 was a spinster, and marriages were routinely arranged between young teenage first cousins.

Sort of agreed. I don't think FR is anything like a perfect mirror of the Renaissance, and its morals are much closer to today's, but 15 year old's are considered adults. I think 15-20 is when Calishites go spouse hunting. (And it's not porn if there's no sex, and I don't think there is.) Now, the fact that a 15 year old is a Chosen of Tyr is more of an issue for me.

Re: Imoen, never played it, but I don't fully buy the incest argument. Even if you go by the "you grew up together and thus are foster siblings" aspect of it, wasn't she raised by Winthrop rather than Gorion? That may be like saying your neighbour is your foster sister.

I've played as a half-orc and romanced humans, half-elves, elves and a tiefling. Should we stay away from inter-species relationships, which are technically as "creepy" as the Imoen and Saerileth mods?

This is actually why I'm perfectly happy with racial restrictions on romances. If two races can't actually interbreed, I think not being attracted to one is at most an orientation issue, rather than racism.

[Eleima]

My opinion is rather similar to Tawny's. I myself wouldn't play the Imoen Romance mod, because I usually just romance male NPCs (I haven't even played the vanilla romances, Jaheira, Aerie and Viconia, only read about them) and have assimilated Imoen to a foster sister (and not just a neighbor's foster daughter). But if other people want to play the mod, why shouldn't they? In the wise words of Scipio, "it's just a game, dammit".

And as K'aeloree said, let's try and keep the discussion in the appropriate forum.

[Delight]

<snip>

Edited by K'aeloree, 14 April 2012 - 06:01 PM.
That's quite enough of that.

[MiLeah]

Woooooooow....Can you say "Drama for your Llama"?. Cause, seriously, the modding scene has waaaaaaaaay too much of it for my taste. Dear word.

[William Imm]

Woooooooow....Can you say "Drama for your Llama"?. Cause, seriously, the modding scene has waaaaaaaaay too much of it for my taste. Dear word.

*** this is why i am not commenting on this ***

[Kaeloree]

Okay, thread locked, post removed. I asked politely.