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Video Games: The Dragon Age

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1. Introduction It is widely known that the media reflects and has an effect on human behaviour. Books, newspapers, music, and more lately movies and videogames show us where we are as a society, but also help shape our development. For this reason, it is important that they are analyzed and critizised, so that they do not perpetuate outdated ideas that could be harmful to the public. While videogames are a relatively recent form of media, they have become extremely popular, especially amongst young people, whom they greatly influence and towards whom they are normally marketed. According to Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Smith and Pajares Tosca (2013), "For the younger generations, especially, games are crucial to the way they express themselves artistically …show more content…

It is a fantasy saga based on the fictional world of Thedas, which has a medieval atmosphere complete with nobility, merchant and lower classes, and a powerful clergy, called the Chantry, that controls a military order, the Templars. There are also three inteligent races besides humans: dwarves, who spend most of their lives underground and dedicate themselves to mining; elves, who live either as servants or slaves or in nomad clans, and Qunari, a race of giant warriors with very strict rules. Dragon Age 2 in particular focuses on the life of Hawke, a human farmer whose home town has been invaded by monsters known as "darkspawn". Hawke flees to the city of Kirkwall as a refugee, and tries to gain access to the city (prologue), buy the estate that once belonged to Hawke's mother's family (first act), rise to nobility (second act), and put an end to the civil war between the mages and the Templars (third …show more content…

For this reason, it would be interesting to see how the language used by the characters in a popular game fit into the stereotypes of hypermasculinity (exaggeration of "macho" behaviours such as strong sexual advances on their romantic interests, inclination towards physical violence, or a desire for danger) and hyperfemininity (submissiveness, dependance, and sexuality) (Scharrer, 2004). 3. Methodology 3.1. Data collection The data for this dissertation will consist of a part of the dialogue from the game Dragon Age 2. The conversations analyzed will be those that take place between the controlled character and the companions Isabela (female), Merril (female), Fenris (male) and Varric (male) in the following quests: Isabela: "Fools rush in" (first act), "Isabela's Ongoing Search” (second act), “Isabela's Apology” (second act); Merril: “Welcome Home” (first act), “Mirror Image” (second act), “A Talking To” (third act); Fenris: “Fenris Recruited” (first act), “Speak to Fenris” (second act), “Speak to Fenris” (third act); Varric: “Questions and Answers” (first act), “Plans for the Future” (second act), “The Storm and What Came Before It” (third

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