Mass Effect 3, the latest installment of the M-rated Mass Effect video game franchise, has a new feature, which has many video gamers up in arms. What’s the new feature? Players, who play as a male, can have a same-sex relationship with another male. (Same-sex relationships were already allowed when you played as the female Commander Shepard.) While the new feature is included in the game, it is only an option. It isn’t mandatory. Players get to choose their character’s sexual orientation. If you don’t want your character to be gay in the game, then you don’t have to play the game that way.

I love that this new feature integrates lesbian and gay characters into the gaming culture. The creators of Mass Effect 3 are now acknowledging that heterosexual relationships aren’t the only ones that exist. However, comments made by some gamers on the YouTube page of a clip that was leaked before the game’s release are filled with outrage and blatant homophobia. The uproar shows just how unaccepting some people in the gaming community can be. Others, though, think it’s great and they love the idea of a gay character in a video game. I agree with them and think it’s awesome. After all, heterosexual people aren’t the only people who play video games.