By Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, and Dragon Age: Inquisition narrative director David Gaider favors RPG ensembles where not everyone is instantaneously attracted to you – and ensembles where certain characters aren’t available for romance whatsoever.
Romance in RPGs was somewhat rekindled by Baldur’s Gate 3‘s excessively amorous approach where the entire main group was player-sexual. Essentially, all of the party members were accessible for romance regardless of your character’s gender identity, a characteristic also present in Dragon Age 2 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, most recently.
And it’s a subject Gaider has discussed previously, but when he was inquired about it during a recent conversation with GamesRadar+, the developer mentioned there’s a “distinct divide in the player community” between individuals who desire to freely pursue romance with all characters and those who prefer a more realistic approach to rejection.
“This is a situation where you can’t cater to both sides,” Gaider explained. “Yeah, it’s got to be one or the other. And those gamers who fall on either end of this debate are never going to be satisfied with what’s happening on the opposite side.”
To start with, Gaider emphasizes that, despite its title, player-sexuality as a concept doesn’t actually designate a form of sexuality – like heterosexuality or homosexuality – it serves as a gameplay feature. Characters do not alter their sexual preferences; they simply are open to intimate relations with your character no matter your gender.
And it’s something BioWare experimented with in Dragon Age 2 but quickly dismissed by the time Dragon Age: Inquisition arrived. “That was my decision and my choice,” Gaider remarked, “because I believe it detracts from an element of agency for the character, and, I mean, there are players who absolutely favor player-sexuality, and it’s entirely understandable.”
“However, I think you do gain something in exchange for that, as when a character is player-sexual, it seems like every romantic option is perpetually available. It necessitates you to construct a narrative for this character where romance is a possibility, which restricts the variety of stories you can tell. They must always be someone who might ultimately engage romantically with the player. That’s quite constraining.”
Gaider contends that, sometimes, it appears as if particular characters exist merely to be pursued romantically, which diminishes a portion of their depth. “I wanted characters who possessed their own aspirations [and] perhaps I had to earn their trust,” he remarked. “Maybe there’s an alternative path… where they might distrust me, or we could be rivals. They could have their own goals that didn’t align with mine… And I appreciate the concept of characters with agency, where romance could be an option, or maybe they have their own relationships.”