Dragon Age: Inquisition will be a series of firsts for BioWare in that not only is it the first now-gen game for the studio, but it will also be the first game where a “fully gay” character has been written in from the ground up.
This was announced by Lead Series Writer David Gaider over on the official Dragon Age site where he reveals details about the mage, Dorian Gray.
Dorian is gay—he is, in fact, the first fully gay character I’ve had the opportunity to write. It added an interesting dimension to his back story, considering he comes from a place where “perfection” is the face that every mage puts on and anything that smacks of deviancy is shameful and meant to be hidden. Dorian’s refusal to play along with that façade is seen as stubborn and pointless by his family, which has contributed to his status as a pariah.
Gaider says he’s “glad” to include Gray in the game, even if he knows it might stir controversy.
I suppose this aspect of Dorian will make him controversial in some corners, but I was glad to include it. It made writing Dorian a very personal experience for me, and I’m hopeful that will make him seem like a fully realized character to fans in the end.
While this could be considered a big step in character development in games, Gaider was criticized by fans over on Twitter for the use of the phrase, “fully gay,” to which he replied with:
I meant “legitimately”, sorry. I was trying to be clear–many people consider the bi characters we’ve done to be “gay”.
When asked about using the word “legitimately,” and not just “gay companion” by a fan, Gaider cleared it up by stating:
Many would say, “No, it’s not.” But fair enough–I did not intend to comment on bisexuality, and will leave it at that.
Regardless of what you think of Gaider’s phrasing, this is certainly a big step in gays being featured in video games. Let’s just hope it doesn’t cause unneeded controversy.
[Source: Dragon Age, Twitter via Eurogamer]
