Exploring Romance and Sexuality in RPGs
In RPGs, developers have approached romances and sexuality in various ways. One approach is to assign specific orientations to each character, like Zevran in Dragon Age Origins being bisexual and Alistair being straight. Another approach, seen in Baldur’s Gate 3, is to have “playersexual” companion characters whose sexualities can adapt to the player’s interests.
According to an interview, Busche, the creator of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, considers the cast to be implicitly pansexual. This means that player identity does not impact the characters’ identities, allowing for diverse romantic interactions within the game.
As a pansexual man, I have mixed feelings about these approaches. While playersexual characters give players authorship over their party members’ romantic attractions, characters with canon sexualities allow for more overt discussions about sexuality within the game world.
Busche has confirmed that Dragon Age: The Veilguard will feature sex scenes with nudity to further characterize the diverse personalities of the companions. The game is set to be released this Autumn, offering players the opportunity to explore romance and sexuality in a new RPG setting.
