Thoughts on DA Inquisition and Race-gated Romance

As a fan of the Dragon Age Series and of Bioware (despite some recent fails), I'm going into Inquisition fully convinced that it will be awesome.

Not only has the game been tailored and well developed with regards to criticisms towards Origins and DAII (FYI: I'll do a Logic's Insight on them soon), but much work has gone into making it a strong stand-alone game. The Gameplay looks thoughtful, fun, strategic and action packed; The story and setting retain the stark tone of previous games with the character's actions, both little and small, having gradual impacts on the people and places that they encounter; The main plot appears to be pretty interesting with an invasion from the Fade right in the middle of a war between Mages and Templars that's already tearing apart Thedas; The Role-elements are all strong as always with the nifty addition of horseback riding though it doesn't look like you can actually fight on horseback (minor bummer) and lastly; we have a strong cast of companions and allies with some old characters mixing with a lot of new characters.

So yes, this game is going to be awesome. But recently, I found a tidbit of information that worried me. Like in some past games, Potential Love Interests among some your companions will sexual orientations that lock them to certain Player Characters. I was personally disappointed to learn that Sera, an elven female rogue who hates authority and likes helping common folk, was confirmed as only romanceable by Female Inquisitors. As much of a bummer as this was (she's the first non-mage female elf whose a main companion), I could live with it and respected Bioware's decision.

But onto that tidbit that I really want to talk about...Race-gated Romances. As confirmed by Lead Writer David Gaider: forum.bioware.com/topic/502555…, yes...some characters are going to be restricted depending on the race of your created Inquisitor. Though he did go on to confirm that not all romanceable companions would be "gated": forum.bioware.com/topic/506910…. To quote Mr. Gaider, "And that's fine. Romance options are not candy to be dispensed fairly and evenly."
.............
...................
.......................
(Double Facepalms and Breathes) Damn it Bioware. Why are you always throwing controversy into people's faces? Especially with a tone which suggests that people are in the wrong to be upset about this development? Can you for once make a game and not piss a lot of people off?

The worst part is that somebody had actually posted a locked thread on this very same restriction based on race: forum.bioware.com/topic/484139…. The flame-throwing, arguments, trolling and overall nonconstructive chaos that followed this thread's creation resulted in it's shutdown after 24 pages with Allan Schumacher strongly disapproving of the topic and it's direction: forum.bioware.com/topic/484139…. You would think that with the powder-keg of controversy waiting to blow up, that they would've decided to drop this restriction in pre-planning? After all, race-locking romances hasn't been a thing since balder's gate with various BW games released in the last ten years featuring various amounts of inter-species and interracial relationships.

I don't know the exact quote or where to find it, but the team had considered putting Race Restrictions on romances in DA: Origins, but scrapped it. They did so because it was unnecessary and would've been a roadblock to immersion and character relationships.

So why are they bringing it back for Inquisition? To offset the awesomeness of having multiple races to choose from? To add greater immersion to the setting and companions? For the sake of "realism"? I don't know why they went with this, but I do know several things:

1) I don't like it.

Granted, I'm fairly biased against racism, discrimination, prejudice or anything that may encourage these undertones and overtones. To me, having romance options "race-gated" seems like a discriminatory overtone.

Consider this. Choosing a PC's race is an option that's been brought back after a much loathed absence in DAII. The anticipation for the role-play possibilities are further built up with the addition of a playable kossith (or qunari though they're technically a vashoth) added to the mix. There's even further news that some groups and major organizations will be either harder or easier to recruit to the Inquisition depending on your background. Now that's a decent tidbit of immersion considering the dark background of the series in regards to political and even religious views on the four primary races of Thedas.

So what's wrong with adding this to companions and romance? Simple, it's not fun and adds nothing to gameplay experience. In fact, this is more likely to detract from the experience depending on the race that you've chosen.

In fact, I'm fairly certain that this will be more restrictive towards qunari and dwarven inquisitors since humans and elves have been more often portrayed as more sexually flexible and liberal despite cultural taboos. Despite these taboos, elves and humans still frequent outside of their race enough to where they're most likely to be "less" race-gated than qunari and dwarven inquisitors.

Dwarves have a low birth-rate as is and they reproduce more for the sake of keeping their race alive rather than for "fun" with it being commonplace for dwarven males to have multiple partners. Surface dwarves are possibly more liberal regarding "pair-bonding", but considering that many aspects of their lives are regulated by old habits from the caste system and dwarven culture, I've seen nothing that suggests this. Furthermore, dwarves aren't exactly considered desirable outside of their race which means that the most likely romance partner for a dwarf would be A) Another Dwarf or B) A companion who bones anything that moves.

Qunari are stated to avoid cross-breeding as they view it as a "pointless exercise in futility" and only ever have sex to procreate. While the Vashoth PC is a character who was raised outside of the Qun, Qunari are regarded as the "enemies of Thedas" and it's possible for a vashoth to be lumped in with other qunari despite not being a qunari. This makes it likely for a qunari to be seen as "undesirable" for anyone except for A) Another Qunari or B) A companion who bones anything that moves.

You see how this could be a problem?

This is a worst-case scenario on whose romanceable depending on race. For many of these, I hope that I'm wrong, but I was wrong for Sera so it's possible.

Cassandra- Human only (Chantry raised and is a devout Seeker)
Vivienne- Humans and/or Elves (Orlesian with an aura high class snobbishness)
Varic- Dwarves only (Doubt that he's romanceable as his heart belongs to Bianca)
Iron Bull- anything that moves (confirmed in profile)
Sera- Humans and/or Elves (Would reasonably come with the background)
Dorian- Humans only?
Cullen- Humans and Elves
Scribe girl- anything that moves (too little information to be sure)
Blackwall- Humans only (doubt he's romanceable, Veteran grey warden and all)
Solas- Elves only (elven cultured apostate? Wouldn't seem open to humans)
Returning Asunder character - no idea...at all (Though if it's who I think it is, he may not be romanceable at all)

Before we even factor in sexual orientation, the race-gate is in danger of baring dwarven and qunari pc's from the vast majority of potential romances. Humans have an upwards of 7 possible romances; elves have 6 romances with dwarves and qunari only having 3 and 2 options. I hope that I'm wrong, but nothing suggests anything more optimistic.

It's the equivalent of giving someone fried chicken and eating all of the skin and most of the chicken. Why bother giving someone any chicken at all if most of it was going to be gone when they got it? Why add in races to pc's at all if half of the possible races are going to be unable to enjoy the full offerings that the other half will have?

We don't need this racist overtone...

2) This is not needed.

BW has already done a similar affect with sexual orientation. And you know what? That makes perfect sense. BW has a growing number of LGBT gamers whom they have been gradually catering to because why not? So while there are those who hate it, having bi-sexual or even completely gay companions did add immersion. These folks can't choose their orientation, so it makes complete sense as to why a gay character would never be romanceable by straight pc's. Bi-sexual companions is also a "safe" method of expanding immersion as well by giving options for a gay pc that don't necessarily restrict a straight pc.

So what do we get from this race-gate aspect?

And I can already hear the people who like this: "People have preferences in real life! This is realistic!"

I beg to differ.

It's true that people do have their own preferences based on upbringing and culture. It's true that some people are more attracted by their own race than by others without being racist. But there's something else that's also equally true.

People can change their minds.

At the risk of throwing myself into the fire, I'll use my own experiences as an example. Growing up as a black male raised in predominantly white schools and communities, I had something of a leaning towards white females. Not because I was racist against my own race or because I didn't believe black women could be attractive, but my experiences merely molding my preferences.

As I grew up, that preference changed. I met many wonderful, beautiful and lovely ladies of black and asian backgrounds. The big part? I didn't even care about their race! They were wonderful women who all happened to have been either the same race as myself or of a different race. My experiences changed my preference to where race is barely even a factor in dating/relationships or so on. Granted, I still have a slight leaning towards white females because of my upbringing and exposure, but in no way does that mean that I've ruled out any other racial background. That's just close-minded and petty.

Hence why it's not needed in this game. If Bioware wanted to add deeper immersion to romance arc's in this game, then they don't need race gates. This is a dimension that's already been achieved due to including sexual orientation and by changing the fundamental romance progression mechanic.

What you have instead is a strict and universal wall lifted from an aspect of reality that is assumed to be set in stone. Yes, racial preferences are a thing. But preferences can and have changed throughout history and especially in today's society. The realism card doesn't work here for those reasons.

3) This can break immersion.

Beforehand, BW had said that relationships won't develop based on a gift or approval mechanic which I believe to be a good thing. As much as I liked the romance arcs in Origins, mechanically it was somewhat too easy to "pork" your desired love interest. After so many playthroughs, it actually became predictable and non-organic in a comedic sense.

Here's an example from Origins:
Leliana: How dare you defile the Urn of Sacred Ashes! I'll never forgive you! (-20 approval)
Arthunas Amell: But your hair is really red and pretty! (+7 approval)
Leliana: I still hate you...
Arthunas: I also bought you this Chantry-themed dress and corset for you! I believe you'd look beautiful in it (+27 approval)
Leliana: How dear of you! Thank you so much-
Arthunas: I'd ask where it came from, but I slaughtered the merchant who was selling it.
Leliana: What? Why were you so cruel! (-10 approval)
Arthunas: He looked at me wrong. Zapped him with lightning till he cooked.
Leliana: That's disgusting! You have no heart! (-8 approval)
Arthunas: But here is a unicycle! It has the sword of mercy embroiled into it's wheels!
Leliana: Oh....thank you. (+6 approval)
Arthunas: Oh no! Thank the old man who I stole it from.
Leliana: What old man? (-4 approval)
Arthunas: Who cares. He had bad legs so he probably drowned. It was kind of funny to watch.
Leliana: Blood and damnation- (-8 approval)
Arthunas: But look what I saved from a river right afterwards!(Hands Leliana two puppies)
Leliana: They're adorable...(+100 approval)
Arthunas: I hope you'll wear it...later...(seductive smile)
Leliana: The puppy's fur?
Arthunas: No Woman! The dress! The hell is wrong with you! (+15 approval for caring for puppies)
Leliana: Maybe you could...fix me? (seductive posture)
Arthunas: Yeah...I can do that...
Wynne: Disgusting. I pray the darkspawn take you both (Leaves in disgust while Leliana leads Amell to her tent)

In DAII, the Rivalry/Friendship was an interesting take on companion relationships. But the fact that you could have a romance on either end also led to a few nonsensical scenes.

Another example from DAII:
Merrill: What do you mean you won't help me save my people? (+5 Rivalry)
Pro-templar Hawke: That mirror is evil. I won't help you fix it. (+25 Rivalry)
Merrill: Damn you Hawke! Fine! I don't need you! (+10 Rivalry)
Hawke: You mages are a danger to everyone around you! (+5 Rivalry)
Merrill: That's not true and you know it!
Hawke: And you know what! I think that you're an idiot! (+10 Rivalry)
Merrill: I'm doing what I must for my people!
Hawke: So blood magic and demons will help your people!? I don't recall either helping Pol! (+15 Rivalry)
Merrill: More helpful than you were to your mother!
Hawke: At least I have parents! And a home! So I don't have to poop in the woods! (+10 Rivalry)
Merrill: You son of a bitch...
Hawke: You naive little pixie...
Merrill: Templar brown-noser.
Hawke: Frolicking hippie.
Merrill: F#$% you!
Hawke: F!#$ you too!
Merrill: F%@& YOU!
Hawke: F%$@ YOU!
(They intensely stare at each other)
Varric: 3...2...1...(Casually stands up and leaves while Merrill and Hawke passionately kiss and strip)
(2 hours of steamy sex later)
Very nude Merrill: You f$%^ harder than you fight.
Very nude Hawke: And you're still skinnier than a stick. (+10 Rivalry)
Merrill: I love you...Chantry Whoremonger.
Hawke: Love you too...Crazy Blood Mage Lunatic. (+5 Rivalry)

An exaggeration, but I hope that my point stands. Romancing companions was a bit too easy for even the most novice Role-Player and typically most ethical dilemnas or situations involved tended to have easy solutions that made everyone happy. If you picked the worst option, it was typically because the PC was role-playing as a dick.

Inquisition reportedly had a more event-driven aspect to the romance arc. A way of building the relationship more organically depending on the PC's character and the decisions that they make throughout the game. To be fair, this sounds like a great system. An inquisitor who mass-murders innocent people wouldn't be as attractive or appealing to more noble or kind-hearted companions; An inquisitor who always tries to do the right thing even when it's hard likely wouldn't be able to attract a more pragmatic or self-centered character; and so-on and so forth.

Despite my minor qualms with romance in past DA and BW games, I still liked them. Their strong points rested on having a character open up to and bond with the PC. You learned about their hopes and dreams, their beliefs, their experiences, their scars, and all while encountering a unique flavor with the character's personality. Morrigan was a self-sufficient and survivalist character; Alistair was humorous, but also deeply wounded; Leliana sought redemption and embraced her faith; Zevran was shameless and charming; Anders was driven and passionate; Isabella took life by the horns and rode it for as long as she wanted; Fenris was scared and had little hope for his future; Merrill was focused on finding the lost secrets of her people and willing to risk her life to do so and Sebastion was a devout man, torn between faith and family duty due to a tragedy. That's what made all of these characters great (even if Anders took the idiot ball in Act 3).

Here's why the race-gate breaks immersion.

It's an arbitrary restriction to bonding with a companion on a deeper level. In a game where a companion is supposed to naturally bond with the pc and become interested based on the pc's actions and decisions, I just don't see how race has a meaningful factor. Do you honestly expect me to believe that these companions, most of whom are already crossing cultural and social bounds by working with you, won't even give you a chance because of your race?

It also makes the companion in question appear to be a weaker character.

This is why fantasy writers should be careful about how much realism that they'll draw into their fantasy setting. Remember, most people are into fantasy as a means of temporarily escaping from the harshness and unfairness of reality. In reality, racism is an ugly topic with an ugly undertone and overtone that continues to permeate multiple societies. Even now, there are still lots of people who despise anyone who isn't their race and will disown any child who so much as dates someone whose outside of their race. It's ugly and when this ugliness is put into a fantasy setting there are certain lines that should be drawn.

That's what made Origins great. There was racism in the setting, especially in the elven and dwarven backgrounds which added their own tones and stuff to the pc's who came from said backgrounds. An elven PC could choose to let this racism affect them and make them hateful in turn to humans or they could choose to rise above this hatred and even open themselves to a romance with a human companion. The latter is especially noteworthy considering that the city elf origin involves the pc's cousin being gang-rapped by a human noble and his friends on their wedding day. Being able to look past this horrific event and seeing that not all human's are bad gives strength to said-pc and all without saying that race doesn't matter. It does matter, but not as much as everything else does.

Here, I see a wall.

So what you're telling me is that my Inquisitor could be the best damned warrior and champion of goodness. They can save hundreds of puppies and orphans and always uphold virtue. But because they aren't a certain race, they'll never be able to hook up with a certain companion? Even if said companion and the pc pretty much get along on most if not all topics? Instead of strengthening the character in question, it instead makes them appear to be weaker. It makes them seem close-minded, bigoted, unfairly biased and prejudiced.

And when's the last time that this made a character likeable?

Now if this was going to be something different, like where companion romance arcs would progress differently depending on the pc's race, that would be interesting. So much potential for organic conflict and reconciliation, so much room to find common ground and build on it, so many chances to break down barriers and bond closer together, and it would all tie into the key theme of this game. Whatever the members were before, they are now members of the Inquisition.

What we have instead...is a wall.

4) Whatever intentions that Bioware had are going to backfire. Badly.

Remember the Race restriction thread from earlier? This as a game topic that is going to have people ripping into each other probably well after the game's release. Those who like it tend to like it on the grounds of "realism" and those who hate it do so for reasons similar to those that I've just mentioned.

Thus far, the cons of this decision appear to outweigh the benefits.

So why did Bioware do it? Whatever their reasons, I doubt that it will be worth it. They're really touching somewhat close to a topic that still gets people's blood to boil even hundreds of years later. And deciding to take a somewhat conservative angle despite taking other strides towards making an enjoyable experience for all genders, backgrounds and orientations seems like a step back and seems counter-productive to their intentions.

Hell, what's making this worst is the tone with which they're addressing the fandom. They're treating their fans like ungrateful brats and there's a hint of disapproval towards people who disapprove of this move. It looks another "artistic integrity" angle and the damage from ME3's ending is still too fresh in people's minds to let something like this go unchallenged. As if they're making a preemptive strike in response to a backlash that they know is coming. Now if this was for a more important aspect of the game such as something with a plot development; a consequence from an import from a previous game or a companion dying in the plot regardless of pc input, I'd probably understand.

But this? This is asking people to cancel their pre-orders.

I've even seen posts from folk who've already done exactly that. In short, there is simply no worthwhile pay-off to pissing off a good chunk of your fans with this development. Gaider even joked about releasing a chart eventually though it likely won't occur till closer to release. Great, so now the pessimism from this backlash is going to grow and fester, gradually distracting folks from the other good stuff in the this game. Which in turn will hurt sales and critical responses.

Remember, Bioware is still on hot water after Dragon Age II, Mass Effect 3's various issues including the Ending fiasco (May or may not do an insight on that, unsure), and The Old Republic (May also do an insight here) that some folk now refer to as the TORtanic. This really isn't a great time to start throwing fuel onto the fire, especially when it's simply not necessary and adds nothing worthwhile or positive to gameplay experience.

5) In Conclusion

BW will probably make the concept stomachable, but I just don't see how and the whole concept seems unnecessary. BW's had plenty of interracial/interspecies romances in the past and most of them were well-received and well-written (Any Talimancers out there? Whoot!). Mainly because they focused more on the characters rather than the character's race. In fact, the very fact that most characters in the past were willing to romance your pc in spite of racial/species boundries made them appear more open-minded and stronger. Therefore, while on the surface most players weren't thinking about it, your brain may  have subconsciously given these characters a brownie point.

This race-gated romance concept just seems like a chore and a needless restriction on both gameplay and story immersion. Am I saying that it's unrealistic? No, though I'm not going to say that's a good thing or something that should be emulated. Is this a nitpicky complaint? Probably, though still appropriate in a detail-heavy setting which has handled romances arcs well enough for race-gating to be a valid step-backwards. We'll just have to wait and see closer to release as to how far this race-gated romance concept is going to go.

But I'm not hitching any bets.

For anyone who hates when people complain and so they complain in turn, allow me to address you for a brief moment. I'm not what you'd call a whiny gamer. I'm open to different and new ideas as well as challenges. All I ask is that these new challenges, ideas and changes be done well and make sense to actually exist.

I hate sounding like a pessimist in regards to Inquisition, because despite this major complaint, I still want to pre-order and play it. But I've got to call it as it looks and this race-gated romance aspect honestly looks like it will suck. It sucks to have that one naggy flaw in what is otherwise shaping up to be a great game. That one imperfection and issue that can be done away with and isn't even need to stay where it is. But it's still there and you can't ignore it.

But since Bioware seems deadset on keeping this flaw in their game and it's too late for them to change anything anyway, this will just have to be one point off what will otherwise be an awesome game.

Which sucks.

THE END.