14 DAY TRIAL // BioWare has revealed that one of the characters in the upcoming Dragon Age: Inquisition will be the first fully gay playable party member in the video game, and many of their fans have criticized the company for the way it phrased the announcement rather than for its actual content.
David Gaider, the leading writer in charge of creating Tevinter Imperium mage Dorian, has then used Twitter to try and clarify his position and to make sure that his company does not become a long term target for criticism.
Fans are mainly concerned that the use of the phrase “fully gay” was disrespectful.
Gaider states on the service that “I meant ‘legitimately’, sorry. I was trying to be clear--many people consider the bi characters we've done to be ‘gay.’”
Even after this clarification, a number of potential Dragon Age: Inquisition buyers stated that the new phrasing was no better than the initial one, and that the developer should have simply stated that he was creating the first gay character and leave it at that.
Then Gaider went on to add that “Many would say, ‘No, it's not’. But fair enough - I did not intend to comment on bisexuality, and will leave it at that.”
Dorian is a powerful magic wielder who is coming to Orlais from the Tevinter Imperium, which has long been one of the states that has dabbled in blood magic and has used slaves in order to probe the Fade and test the limits of spells.
The new party member is now seen as a pariah by his family, but he still believes that in the long term changes could be made in his home country, although he is currently focused on the more important task of defeating the hordes of demons that are pouring into the world through the breach in the Fade.
BioWare has long been known for its portrayal of romance and sexuality in its games, and the studio has promised that it will offer a more nuanced portrayal of both in the coming role-playing game.
The core story will be linked to the Fade and the breach that needs to be closed by the Inquisition, but gamers will also have to deal with plenty of side quests, including one that ends the war between the Chantry, the Mages and the Templars.
Dragon Age: Inquisition will be launched on October 7 on the PC, the PlayStation 4 from Sony, the Xbox One from Microsoft and current-gen consoles.