“Dragon Age Has Always Been About Belonging”
Dragon Age 4 finally emerged from the Deep Roads at this year’s Game Awards, leaving fans with many questions. Solas will more than likely answer those questions, but new queries came after fans learned the identity of the game’s narrative director.
In a recent tweet, BioWare’s John Epler jumped ahead of future hecklers and disclosed his beliefs. Not only did he reveal his political stance, he practically admitted that it shall inevitably spill into the game’s narrative. What exactly does this mean? It means we can expect more of the usual, a Dragon Age game with a diverse cast and complex story of systemic violence, whether issues stem from magic or racial animosity (e.g. elves vs humans). That said, there may be a little more this time around?
A few folks telling me, after seeing my twitter profile, not to bring my politics into the game. Dragon Age has always been about belonging – about realizing that family is more than blood and about celebrating our diversity and differences. It will remain so.
— John Epler (@eplerjc) December 7, 2018
Epler followed up on his tweet with a thread, expressing his thoughts about the Dragon Age franchise as a whole.
Ultimately, though – all art is politics. It’s just a hell of a lot easier to ignore it when those politics match up with yours:
— John Epler (@eplerjc) December 7, 2018
We have finite time on this world. I want to spend mine making it a better and more caring place.
— John Epler (@eplerjc) December 7, 2018
Of course, the director’s opinion might not sit well with everyone in the BioWare fandom. According to Newton’s Third Law, a backlash is inevitable. Whether or not conflicting opinions will affect the final state of the game is anyone’s guess. However, if the studio’s direction was destined to draw notoriety, then it was probably smart to throw be transparent early. What are your thoughts? Feel free to comment down below.