Summary
Character creators in video games have been getting much more inclusive in recent years, with some big releases letting players choose their gender identity separately from their appearance. This is quite the progression from characters creators of old, which made players pick between male and female, often locking you into body types and even hairstyle options based on what you chose.
Now,Dragon Age: The Veilguardis taking it even further. On top of allowing you to have any kind of body you want, you can now establish that your character is transgender. Whereas other RPGs have let you reasonably roleplay that your character is trans, The Veilguard lets you make it loud and clear and even lets you bring it up in conversation.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Takes Trans Character Creation Even Further
This is a very different approach from some other titles. Previous pushes to be more inclusive have been pretty focused on physical appearances, as many games gave us free rein over body types and genitals. Then, some went a step further and let us choose our characters' pronouns, withBaldur’s Gate 3andStarfieldletting players be non-binary too.
The Veilguard openly using the phrase “trans” is pretty significant too. There have been trans characters in the series before, with Krem fromDragon Age: Inquisitionbeing the best-known example. However, he was referred to by the in-universe term “aqun-athlok”, which is used by the Qunari. This term didn’t only refer to transgender people though, so The Veilguard comes in and establishes that yes, the people of Thedas do use the word trans too.
Of course, all of the character creator options you’d expect are here too. We also saw in pre-release footage that you can add top surgery scars, further helping players create trans characters. And of course, you can choose anything you want regardless of the character’s gender identity.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
WHERE TO PLAY
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the long-awaited fourth game in the fantasy RPG series from BioWare formerly known as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. A direct sequel to Inquisition, it focuses on red lyrium and Solas, the aforementioned Dread Wolf.
