‘PBS Game/Show’ Explores Empathy and the Importance of Gay Characters in Video Games

In the latest episode of the series, PBS Game/Show host Jamin Warren explores empathy and the importance of gay characters in video games. Specifically, Warren points to the mage Dorian Pavus in Dragon Age: Inquisition as an example of such a character that helps breed empathy in those who may not share his more realistic experiences.

As games mature, they are sometimes tasked with tackling issues and themes in the greater realms of society at large. The portrayal of gay characters in games is one of these such issues, and one that games all too often fail to portray in a light that doesn’t condemn or mock. However, there are some bright lights! Bioware, in their expansive RPG series’ like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, exist on the opposite side of the spectrum in that their portrayal of gay characters is done in a way that makes them neither stand out or disappear, but instead appear like normal parts of the universe. But why is it so important for us to have the option to play as gay characters in videogames, and why is it that Bioware is one of the few companies to provide that option?