BioWare apologises for Mass Effect: Andromeda's poor transgender representation
Calls it "an unfortunate byproduct of the iterative process of game design".
BioWare received a lot of criticism over its portrayal of a transgender character in Mass Effect: Andromeda and the developer has taken this feedback to heart as it's issued an apology for its judgment and will tweak the character's interactions in a future patch.
In Mass Effect Andromeda's current form, players encounter a scientific director by the name of Hainly Abrmas. Upon meeting this NPC, she explains her backstory - including her former name - to Ryder, even though they're a complete stranger to her.
"It feels forced, as if BioWare had to tick off 'trans character' on some checklist," Eurogamer contributor Sam Greer wrote of this awkward interaction.
BioWare agreed with this critique and offered the following statement on Twitter in regards to what went wrong:
"At BioWare we strive to make games that are representative of our players and the broader world around us. We do this by actively consulting with our diverse workforce, as well as speaking with different communities," the developer explained.
"In Mass Effect: Andromeda, one of our non-player characters, Hainly Abrams, was not included in a caring or thoughtful way. We apologise to anyone who interacted with or was hurt by this conversation. This was never our intent, and was an unfortunate byproduct of the iterative process of game design and a change in the structure of the character's dialogue."
To remedy this, BioWare will alter Abrams' dialogue in an impending update.
"We have had several discussions with members of the transgender community, both internally at BioWare and in the broad community, and we are working to remedy this issue. Once the changes are implemented, Hainly will only reveal certain information to Ryder after they have developed trust, and only if the players chooses to support her," BioWare clarified.