BioWare sees no reason not to include any non-binary characters in its games
We speak a lot here at Gayming Magazine about the need for authentic representation of LGBTQ+ characters in video games. This is still an area where the majority of mainstream games are severely lacking, however BioWare has always been a company who does do well with diversity in its games. It’s refreshing to hear that it has no plans of stopping pushing the envelope any time soon!
As first reported by PCGamesN, BioWare UX lead, Åsa Roos, was speaking at the Sweden Game Conference and took a question on the difficulty of implementing trans or non-binary characters in video games generally. His reply was generally positive although shone a light on why its tough to implement.
He said: “If you add, for instance, a non-binary player character, you also have to add the dialogue for a non-binary player character. That’s a lot of content, so in some cases I think it’s a question – it’s crass, but it’s true – it’s a question of content. However, we’re working on that.”
He went on to clarify that it is not a tough choice on principle and stated that inclusion does not hurt anyone’s experience, clapping back at groups who regularly criticise companies for inclusive choices damaging the game.
“I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t want to support the most marginalised groups and then ignore the groups who are going ‘oh my god, what are you doing’, ‘social justice warriors’, and blah blah blah,” Roos explains. “‘You’re so politically correct’ and ‘you’re just doing it to get more audience’. I say, well, ‘these people are marginalised, they don’t really have anything to represent them from the start. So, having one person who is non-binary or trans in the game is not, really, impacting on your gaming experience.’”
Despite BioWare having a strong approach to diversity in its games to date, particularly in their Mass Effect and Dragon Age series with their same-sex romance options, Roos believes that even more could and should be done.
He said that BioWare is actively working to improve its diversity even further: “I think we should spend more time trying to be more inclusive,” she said. “And I think that, at least, BioWare as a company is trying to. We’re trying.”
We already love Mass Effect and Dragon Age games, but now we love them just a little bit more!
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