The Importance of Speciesism in BioWare Narratives
When crafting a game world — particularly a role-playing game — including cultures that have complex histories and hierarchies helps to create a more believable and in-depth experience. Players buy into the politics, the long-held antagonisms, and shaky alliances that have shaped the various in-game regions. These usually tie into the narrative in interesting ways and provide meaningful stakes that have consequences. One way that BioWare accomplishes this type of world-building in its series like Mass Effect and Dragon Age is through the use of «speciesism» — a term to describe the often prejudiced interactions between different races.
Pitting certain races against each other or showcasing distrust and discord not only makes for a useful storytelling tool, but also helps to paint a more complete picture of what the worlds were like before the games take place. Racial prejudices are also an all too real problem in real-life societies, and reflecting these in games with sci-fi and fantasy settings helps to reflect the player's world back to them without being too heavy-handed with an explicit depiction. Games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age are particularly prominent examples of where in-game cultures are undeniably shaped by speciesism and their stories impacted by the consequences of these attitudes.
Dragon Age: Every Possible Result for the Hero of Ferelden Before DA4
The oppression of certain races and the oftentimes antagonistic relationships between them is a key cornerstone to the overarching narrative in the Dragon Age games. Character motivations are sometimes shaped by these dynamics as well, and the race that players select in Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age: Inquisition has impacts on the story and their
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