The impact of the value conflict does not end at the closing moment of a quest, however. A game like Dragon Age calls on the player to reflect on past decisions and values sometimes many hours further into the game. In the case of Iron Bull’s quest, the game confronts the player
with its repercussions regardless of which decision was made. At one point, probably after a few more quests or time exploring, the PC receives word that Iron Bull wants to see her on top of the battlements. If the player chose to save the Chargers, shunning the Qunari alliance, the PC approaches to find some assassins attacking Bull. After a fight and a brief exchange about the attempt, this dialogue cutscene addresses Bull’s struggle with the loss of his identity more directly:
PC option: I hoped the Ben-Hassrath would let you go.
Iron Bull: They did. [A bit of sadness or solemnity in his voice.] Sending two guys with blades against ME? That’s not a hit. That’s a formality. Just making it clear that I’m Tal-Vashoth. [Sighs and shakes his head with a grumble.] Tal-Va-fucking-shoth.
PC option: You’ve acted like a Tal-Vashoth for years. That didn’t change you.
Neither does this.
Iron Bull: That was just a role. THIS is my life. As one of those… I killed
HUNDREDS of Tal-Vashoth in Seheron. Bandits, murderers, bastards who turned their back on the Qun. And now I’m one of them.
PC option: Bullshit! You’re a good man!
Iron Bull: Without the Qun to live by…
PC option: Hey! You’re a GOOD man. If the Ben-Hassrath don’t see that, it’s
their loss.
Iron Bull: Thanks, Boss. [Sighs] Anyway, I’ll get this cleaned up and let Red
know what happened. Boss? [Spoken with more emotion.] Whatever I miss, whatever I regret… THIS is where I want to be. [His voice
becomes more jovial.] Whenever you need an ass kicked, The Iron Bull is with you.
Here, we see Iron Bull struggling with the loss of his identity, with becoming something he has been fighting for most of his adult life. While he was initially happy after the decision was made, that was clearly about how highly he values the friendship of his men and how happy he was
they were alive. The loss of his Qunari identity still weighs on him, and the player is prompted to reflect on that here. When choosing between two sets of competing values, sometimes you can’t go back.
If the player chose to save the ship and let Chargers die, the consequences of that value choice unveil a bit more slowly. This choice sees Iron Bull rededicated to the culture of his homeland and resolved not to allow such a conflict of identity to develop again. In this case a similar scene occurs at the battlements (with no assassins in this case), which serves to mourn the loss of lives and show Iron Bull rededicating himself to his Qunari nature:
PC: You wanted to see me?
[Iron Bull motions for the PC to follow him further along the battlements.]
Iron Bull: If you’ve got a minute, yes. Wanted some help dealing with this.
[It becomes clear he has a jar in his hand.] The Bull’s Chargers. What’s left of them anyway. Krem, Rocky, Dalish, all of ‘em. Dead for the Iron Bull. A man who never really existed.
PC option: Should I start calling you Hissrad?
Iron Bull: Nah, it’d just confuse everyone. Besides, you’re mangling the
pronunciation. But I think I’m done leading mercenaries into battle.
PC option: You can still be the Iron Bull.
Iron Bull: I plan to. Chargers or no, it’s a fun role, and I like Orlesian food. But
I’ve been away from the Qun for too many years. This was a good reminder of who I really am. Now I can serve you and the Inquisition honestly.
[Iron Bull and the Inquisitor step to the wall as he opens the jar.]
Iron Bull: Sorry, guys. I don’t know any prayers from the Chantry, or whatever Rocky and Dalish believed in. Ataash varin kata. Asit Tal-Eb.
[Iron Bull dumps the ashes, and he and the PC turn towards each other.]
right now.
Iron Bull: What, like the Qunari don’t mourn their dead? PC option: Not dead outsiders, I’m guessing.
Iron Bull: Yeah, maybe not. But even if this was all just an act, it was real for them. They were mine. For every bloody battlefield, we’ll gladly raise a cup. No matter what tomorrow holds. [A slight sadness creeps into his tone as he speaks these lines. He lowers his head at the last line.] Thanks, Boss. Didn’t want to do this alone.
The resolution is not that the value conflict no longer exists in any way—the feeling of loss remains—but Iron Bull has decided to not put himself in the position where he has to choose again. He resolutely rededicates himself to the Qun and the values of his homeland. At this moment, the player may see this as either a bad or good thing—the scene is ambiguous enough that the player may take a number of emotional/value positions regarding Bull’s choice—yet there is still some resolution here.
The ultimate consequence of choosing the ship over the Chargers does not confront the player until near the very end of the final DLC (downloaded content) expansion for the game. Such content is generally released many months after the game’s initial release, in this case almost a year, so players cannot be sure the effects of their decisions have been resolved even after beating the initial game. This example also demonstrates how calling back to previous decisions and valuescapes after so much time has passed can still strike an emotional chord with the player. During the interim, the player may spend quite a bit of time in Iron Bull’s presence, and may be under the impression nothing has changed. In this DLC, the Qunari return ostensibly as the key foes this time, but Iron Bull seems to help at every turn nevertheless. However, in the midst of one of the final battles, one of the opposing Qunari shouts a command and Iron Bull turns, betraying the PC and the other companions he has fought alongside with only the words,
“Nothing personal, Bas.” It should be noted that “Bas” is a Qunari word that, if the player has been following the lore presented in the game, she will know is how Qunari refer to outsiders. It literally means, “thing.” The slight difference from “Boss,” which is how Iron Bull normally addresses the PC also makes a statement. But there is no time to process yet, as the player must immediately deal with a very difficult fight. Iron Bull must be defeated, and there is no dying cutscene, no chance for farewell or questioning why as some games might provide in a similar situation. Only in the calm after the fight is the player given time to reflect, and perhaps he will revisit the values negotiated and the moment Iron Bull turned back towards the Qun and away from valuing friendship and loyalty. The lack of dying cutscene, the seeming indifference of the game, makes these silent moments after the battle so striking. It does not feel real, a bewildering betrayal. Depending on how much the player takes a liking to Iron Bull’s character over the course of play, this betrayal and being forced to kill a beloved character may hit hard. In this case it is the lack of cutscene that may prompt reflection, as having no explanation readily given may lead to reflection on all the values and decisions held in relation to the NPC. The uncertainty of the cause (one must either play through twice or consult the Internet to know there was an alternative) may prompt a re-examination of a number of feelings, values, and actions the player has experienced over the course of the game. As with the other consequence, this ending shows some choices are irreversible, but it also shows one may not know the impact of a choice until long after it has been made.
The development of this particular conflict of values accruing around the NPC Iron Bull, realized over the full course of a hundred hour game is only one among many. Through the development of one character that accompanies the PC through the game world, the game prompts the player to morally engage with philosophic values such as individualistic vs.
communitarian societies, emotional values such as friendship and loyalty, and the struggle of living a life caught between two value systems. Such a feat could not be accomplished without the pauses, the in-between points of reflection, yet these would not be so powerful were they not set within a larger flow of gameplay, inserted into the player’s daily life. There are other value conflicts as well, accruing around other NPCs, and occasionally the valuescapes of two NPCs will come into conflict, interacting to create a richer tapestry spread across the game (as noted with Solas’s intervention into Iron Bull’s value conflict). The execution of these techniques in a game like Dragon Age: Inquisition turns a cliché high fantasy tale of confronting an evil wizard into a journey rich with emotional and moral engagement, more revealing of characters than quest goals.
5 CHAPTER FOUR: EVOKING VALUES AND PROMPTING REFLECTION
THROUGH VIRTUAL SPACES
The preceding chapters examined how the temporal arrangement of events, the alternation of pause and action, can emphasize points of reflection on values and, on a larger scale, how valuescapes can form around powerful cues in the form of NPCs over the course of a game. While I asserted that points of reflection and the values conflicts considered therein have an impact that stretches far beyond gameplay goals, my analysis remained closely aligned with the quest systems of these games by necessity. However, another powerful cue—the virtual space or environment of the game—demonstrates the power of moral reflection and valuescapes even outside of the quest system. Certainly, quests play a large role in the value associations that form around the oft-visited locations of game hubs, but even in such cases other factors prove equally important. Both within and outside the hubs, the spaces a player moves through and the
objects within those spaces can not only evoke values but also prompt poignant moments of reflection. In this chapter I will return to memory research to argue that space is an important cue for valuescapes and then build upon previous research on space in video games. My analysis of space in games involves both a macro and a micro level: on the macro level I analyze how valuescapes form around game hubs over the course of play partially through the quest structure but also from other factors, while on the micro level I demonstrate how the particular shape and layout of spaces combined with values attached to objects in those spaces can prompt moral reflection completely disconnected from the quest system.