MELBOURNE: Like all modern Bioware games, Dragon Age: Inquisition gives players the option to choose from a wide selection of computer-controlled characters which they can romance. To date, all of these in-game relationships have depicted fairly healthy courtships. However, Dragon Age: Inquisition lead writer David Gaider recently tweeted a sarcastic message about adding an “unhealthy relationship” in the future of the Dragon Age franchise.
The comment sparked a controversy after many Dragon Age: Inquisition fans felt that the statement was making fun of abuse victims. Hoping to clarify the intent of his tweet, Gaider posted a lengthy clarification on his personal Tumblr account on Tuesday.
“I should know by now that some would read more into it. In this case, they evidently believed I was mocking abuse and rape survivors … which was not the case, and for those who saw it that way I do sincerely apologize.”
Dragon Age: Inquisition‘s lead writer went on to explain that, while Bioware’s writing team does strive to fill their games full of interesting story topics, they certainly don’t intend to offend anyone. Gaider revealed that his controversial tweet was merely a jest made between two Dragon Age: Inquisition writers that was misunderstood.
“… and it was a joke. Allow me to clarify, if I may, that we writers would never intentionally put triggering situations into the romances we write. We are, however, in the business of providing drama … and it’s very possible that drama might be interpreted by some as unhealthy or worse, so thus I cannot and will not offer a guarantee that someone will not encounter something triggering in the course of a game.”
Gaider concluded his explanation by once again apologizing to Dragon Age: Inquisition fans and admitting that he should have kept his comments to himself. He pointed out that he is aware his apologies won’t mean much to offended parties but feels that there isn’t much he can do about that at this point.
This is the only time that David Gaider has posted his personal thoughts about writing Dragon Age: Inquisition. As the Inquisitr reported last week, Gaider also wrote a series of posts recently on Tumblr in which he discussed the process behind writing of Inquisition‘s homosexual companions and how his personal experiences made creating certain characters very personal.
Gamers can now pick up Dragon Age: Inquisition on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The game is also available on last-gen consoles. The recently released third installment of the popular fantasy series also adds a new multiplayer mode to the franchise, which Bioware plans to support with frequent updates for Dragon Age: Inquisition fans to enjoy.
