BioWare's action RPG "Dragon Age: Inquisition" has been awarded special recognition in the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's 25th annual Media Awards, according to a report at IGN.
GLAAD is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) media advocacy group that recognizes and honors members of the media industry for their representation of LGBT people in their awards.
"'Dragon Age' is a game that really invites all types of players into a very diverse, inclusive world that I think really expands the very idea of what a blockbuster game can look like," said GLAAD's director of entertainment media, Matt Kane.
The Media Awards don't actually have a category for video games as of yet because the industry hasn't consistently represented LGBT people in a manner that would warrant a competitive category, said Kane.
"It's very rare for LGBT players to both feel welcomed by and represented inside a mainstream video game," he said.
The game gained recognition because players can pick their character's gender and orientation with the ability to engage in romantic relationships...and it also features gay, lesbian and bisexual main characters that interact in a rich, immersive way with players GLAAD hasn't seen before, Kane said.
Many times LGBT characters are represented in the media as one-dimensional stereotypes that are often made the punch line of jokes or defamatory, Kane explained.
BioWare has made several games (including the acclaimed "Mass Effect" series) that allow players to create LGBT characters, but this is the first time a game has been recognized by GLAAD.
"We're very humbled," said Aaryn Flynn, studio general manager for BioWare. "A lot of people put a lot of work in, and they work hard to consider different positions and different perspectives like that, so to have it recognized is really, really gratifying. We're really thankful."
