Zevran Arainai and the Importance of Sex and Intimacy, 10.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating

Sex and intimacy from a character that skirts stereotype.

NOTE: The following contains spoilers. You have been warned.

Intimacy is a difficult mountain to climb in video games. Years of hyper sexuality and pixelated pandering have given the culture a stigma when regarding sex and relationships. Most of the time it becomes a contrived plot device for game writers to use, but even then these relationships never go anywhere. But sex and sexuality go hand in hand, because intimacy between people is always more about the individuals and their affection with each other, over the superficiality we typically see.

But there is still hope for intimacy and sexuality to grow beyond the physical. Having characters in video games caring for each other through both troubled and touching relationships is a key to seeing sex in video game becoming a non-issue. And this is where Zevran Arainai, from Dragon Age: Origins, comes into play, as Zevran is a strong example of how sexuality can be done correctly in a mainstream game.

Zevran is an assassin from the country of Antiva, a country notorious for their ruthless assassin guild, The Crows. Zevran and his comrades were employed by Teryn Loghain to kill the player character, known as the Grey Warden, and his companions around the halfway point of Origins, but fail in their mission. After the battle, you have the option of interrogating and recruiting Zevran, and from this we get the first taste of his wit.

Zevran is an entertaining character because he acts like a cross between Ricardo Montalban and Stephen Colbert. His accent is somewhat hypnotic and oozes with sensuality, and his deadpan innuendos and off-color party banter easily make him among the funniest and most robust characters in the party. He is also unabashed by his own past; he makes no bones about being a trained killer and even reflects on his past deeds with a bit of glee. One of the many party banter sections has Zevran deflect the insisting of the elder mage Wynne that he is attempting to atone for his actions by working with the Warden.

Zevran does not hide what he is, at least when you first meet him. Throughout the game Zevran is the least judgmental of the companions, and this is mostly due to his upbringing. He is the son of an elven whore and a woodcutter and grew up with prostitutes until he was sold into The Crows. Because of this he has no scruples when it comes to sex and innuendo, which can explain his more open and wanton sexual advances to the Warden, male or female.

So at first, Zevran comes across as a typecasted character, a rogue that is all about freedom and sex and innuendo, one who has no depth other than wisecracks or even attempting to love. His taste for comfortable things and blatant pandering is a result of his upbringing for sure, but beneath the surface of what we see lies a more complex being, one that, as an individual, is truly more compassionate than meets the eye.