“Hope You’re Not Too Elfy”
Simulated Racism and Coded Micro-Aggressions in Dragon Age: Inquisition
Like many other fans, when I first picked up Bioware’s Dragon Age: Inquisition (DAI), I chose to make my playable character (the Inquisitor) a female Dalish elf. However, being relatively unfamiliar with the lore of the Dragon Age universe at the time, I was unprepared for the numerous micro-aggressions my character experienced in the form of racist comments. As my Inquisitor passed by non-playable characters (NPCs), I heard remarks like “knife ear,” a derogatory description of elven pointed ears. During an in-game conversation, one human NPC even went so far as to call my Inquisitor a “halla-rider,” referencing the deer-like animals the Dalish hold sacred. The insult plays on stereotypes that the Dalish are a primitive race who follow a strange religion, othering them from humans. When my Inquisitor asked the NPC what his problem with her was, he backtracked and made a point to say how much he respected halla and wished he could ride one himself. His defensiveness felt very similar to when a white person is called out for being racist and then responds with something akin to “I have a black friend,” as if that fact recuses them of all past and future transgressions. The NPC thinks halla are cool, so he thinks it’s fine for him to call elves halla-riders, even though he would never do the same to a human. These examples, among others, form a kind of racism simulator for the elven Inquisitor, constantly bringing the player’s attention to the fact that they are controlling a hero who is not automatically accepted by the wider population of this world.
Playing an elven Inquisitor also leads to the player suffering a mechanical penalty during a quest line that must be completed in order to advance the main story. The quest takes the Inquisitor and their party to a palace ball, in the land of Orlais. While completing the mission at the ball, the player must maintain the favor of the stuck up Orlesian nobility, or they will be kicked out of the palace, and receive a game over. At the start of the quest this mechanic is explained to the player, and an elvish Inquisitor is also informed that “Orlesian nobility looks down on elves. The court watches you with a critical eye.” The player then begins the quest at 30/100 court approval, instead of the default starting point of 40/100. This quest is also fraught with NPCs making rude comments about the elven Inquisitor as well as about elven servants scattered throughout the castle. Immediately upon arrival to the palace, I could hear an NPC gasp as she saw my Inquisitor and exclaim “An elf savage!” Others expressed similar shock and disbelief that the powerful Inquisitor was a Dalish elf. The common “knife-ear” slurs were thrown around a lot as well, and some nobles called my Inquisitor “Rabbit,” another disrespectful term for elf ears. Additionally, during the exploration of the palace, we discover that the Empress of Orlais, Celene, had a romantic involvement with one of her elven chambermaids named Briala. The scandal here is not that the two are both women, but rather that the human Empress would stoop so low as to have relations with an elf.
Through experiencing these mechanical penalties and micro-aggressions, as well as story-line details of prejudice against elves, the player can potentially connect to the experiences of marginalized racial groups in the real world. I believe this connection can extend beyond gameplay to encourage white players to be critical of, and ultimately not participate in, racist actions in the real world. Since white folks experience the world from a position of racial privilege, we often fail to properly acknowledge instances of racism since they do not directly affect us. By playing an elven Inquisitor, white players get a simulated, albeit surface level experience of what it is like to live in a world that judges and hinders you based on your race and cultural practices.
DAI contains many examples of everyday interpersonal racism, but contains few moments that represent racism as a systemic institution. Most of the content that addresses the systemic oppression of elves is found in letters and codex entries the player unlocks as they explore and progress through the game. However, this content is easily missed or skipped over by the average player, unless you are a lore freak like myself and have an overwhelming need to read every piece of information the game has to offer. Thankfully, there are at least a few instances outside of textual content that signal to the player that racism in DAI is an issue that is rooted in historical erasure and has become institutionalized.
The first occurs when the Inquisitor enters an area called the Emerald Graves. Whenever a new area is unlocked in game the Inquisitor has a short conversation with their lead scout, a dwarven woman named Lace Harding. The location is the site of a mass grave of ancient elves who were killed during a genocidal religious crusade called an Exalted March by humans. Upon arrival to the Emerald Graves, Scout Harding comments on how sad it is that all these elves died here. An elven Inquisitor can respond by reciting an ancient oath, bringing Harding’s attention to the fact that this history is all too painfully real for Dalish elves. Scout Harding then immediately apologizes, saying that she “spoke thoughtlessly.” The genius of this scene comes from the player’s option to call out the scout for her insensitivity, bringing attention to the importance of listening to and respecting the feelings of people who experience injustices due to their race or ethnicity. However, once an elven Inquisitor begins exploring this same area, they are unable to comment on monuments marking where prominent elves were killed. This is problematic because it detracts from the Inquisitor’s earlier emotional reaction to Scout Harding’s comment and strips them of their virtual autonomy by not allowing the player to react to what would be a potentially traumatizing experience.
In addition to the events in the Emerald Graves, more examples of systemic racism are found during the main quest-line of the downloadable content (DLC) titled Jaws of Hakkon. For this adventure the Inquisitor is tasked with assisting a University professor from Orlais with uncovering the lost history of the first Inquisition that was formed over 800 years ago. Accompanying the professor is his elven student and assistant, Colette. When conversing with her, the Inquisitor can ask Colette about what it’s like to be an elf at a University in Orlais (the same place where elves are typically servants and racial slurs abound). Colette tells us that her University only recently began accepting elves as students and that when it comes to research work, elven students’ contributions are often “not deemed good enough for formal credit.” Colette’s experience is a clear parallel to how people of color have been historically treated by academia and have had their intelligence downplayed, ignored, or co-opted by white folks in positions of power. Fortunately, Colette’s professor seems genuinely impressed by her work and values her assistance in his research, although he does not speak about racialized issues at his University in the game dialogue.
Also in the Jaws of Hakkon DLC, we discover that the first Inquisitor, named Ameridan, was an elven man, despite historical records listing him as human. History has also intentionally forgotten Ameridan’s lover, an elven woman named Telana. The reason for all this historical erasure and revision is due to the occurrence of the Exalted March mentioned previously in this article. Ameridan was close friends with the human emperor of Orlais before the March took place, and disappeared while on a mission the emperor tasked him with. As the years went by and human-elf relations began to deteriorate, the mass genocide of the elven people was eventually carried out by the emperor’s son. After the March, historical records about Ameridan and his followers were expunged or revised to hide that elves were once valued and trusted citizens of Orlais. These revelations make the player realize how deep-seeded racism against elves is in the world of Dragon Age. Again, this story-line parallels with how people of color are often left out of or mischaracterized by historical texts, or have their histories whitewashed by (white) mainstream culture.
The examples I have given here paint a basic picture of how racism is both systemic and institutionalized in DAI; however, they are few and far between in the context of the larger gameplay. DAI’s implied goal of deterring racist actions in white players could seriously benefit from more prominent representation of the systemic features of racism, similar to the numerous instances of interpersonal racism. At the end of the day, DAI is at least making some effort to portray elements of both systemic and interpersonal instances of racism.
As evidenced by its character interactions, NPC dialogue, and mechanical penalties, Dragon Age: Inquisition presents elves as othered, oppressed, and marginalized in comparison to humans. This depiction of elves is outside of the norm, since elves derivative of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy race are usually associated with positions of social privilege. By placing elves, and the elven Inquisitor controlled by the player in this repressive state, white DAI players get a glimpse of what it is like to live as a person who experiences racism in their everyday lives. Through this racism simulator, gameplay can work to deter racist actions and help white players more readily identify instances of racism outside of the game. However, the representations provided by DAI are far from perfect, especially when it comes to characters (elven or otherwise) with darker skin tones. Representations that more thoroughly explore the systemic aspects of racism are sorely needed in order to effectively communicate a more complete anti-racist viewpoint. Despite having substantial room for improvement, Bioware has taken steps towards more diverse representations in their games and has realized the implications of its narratives on the real world its players inhabit.
