I am a big fan of the Dragon Age franchise due to their great storyline and gameplay as well as their incorporation of real-life historical and social parallels. For some time, I've come to wonder whether the mages in Dragon Age are meant to represent people with neurodevelopmental differences, including ASD. Here are some of the parallels I have observed:
Mages are highly powerful, but also vulnerable to becoming corrupted and causing great danger and destruction. Those with neurobehavioral differences are often highly intelligent, but have difficulty functioning in the larger society.
Mages are required to be taken from their families and forced to live in "circles." The developmentally different are often forced into special education schools, programs, and residencies against their own will.
In the world of Dragon Age, mages are feared at worst and pitied at best. That speaks for itself.
If a mage gets "out of hand," they are made tranquil, stripping them of their ability to have emotions or to think for themselves. This reminds me of the use of prescription medications which are often given to "unruly" people with neurodevelopmental differences.
Any other Dragon Age fans have similar thoughts on whether Bioware intended to pain the magi to represent people with neurobehavioral differences?
28 Apr 2014, 10:35 am
