Magic must serve man, not rule over him. – Canticle of Transfigurations 1:2
Science has made us gods even before we are worthy of being men. – Jean Rostand (1894-1977)

Mages in Ferelden have it rough. But that was entirely intentional when BioWare built the world of Dragon Age:Origins. Mike Laidlaw, lead designer on DA: O, said:

Take a look at the first-level D&D spell, Charm Person. You’re a hard-working merchant, trying to make a living and some mage comes in and wants a discount. You’re not really interested, but one simple spell later, and you’re giving him everything he wants. That’s terrifying. Mages are friggin’ terrifying. So, when we were looking at Dragon Age, we said, ‘Right, let’s take that to the next level.

Mages have power that terrifies the average Ferelden merchant, but they pay a hefty price for it, said Laidlaw.

The mages are susceptible to possession by demons, so they have these holy knights whose job it is to make sure the mages don’t slip the leash. Their tower includes giant armoured figures whose job it is to cut your head off if you rebel.

One faces some interesting choices as a magic-using Grey Warden; whether to believe the Chantry’s take on magic and succumb to their rules, whether to dig deeper into all possible sources for power in the fight against the darkspawn, whether accepting the help of fade spirits is a one-way ticket to abomination-hood or not.

For me, that instant tension between religion and magic in DA:O takes my thoughts directly to so much of the current state of science funding, and the push to make faith part of public education in North America. While 78 per cent of American households have computers, it’s unlikely that most of them have any real idea about the processes that make their technology function. In fact, in an era when only 53 per cent of Americans could correctly answer the question, “How long does it take for the Earth to revolve around the sun,” a grasp of the actual machinations of science may as well be magic.

In that ignorance, fear is built. If we examine some of the reasons that many people have a knee-jerk reaction about new scientific discoveries in this fast-paced world, and place them beside the Chantry’s prejudices against magic, DA:O offers gamers some interesting parallels.

• Fear of what we do not know.
The majority of Fereldens have no magical power. They don’t understand how it works, they just know that someone can do something they can’t. (This is pretty much how I feel about the IT guys in my office. If they came to my desk and shook magic bones over my monitor, it would make as much sense to me as rebuilding my profile.)

• Fear of human finite-ness.
In a world with an absent god, mages and magic users in Ferelden have access to a completely different level of mortality than those around them. While many of the NPCs in DA:O talk about going to the Maker’s side, they’re all content in the belief that the Maker has turned from the world and has no active role in the lives of worshippers. Mages, on the other hand, can not only extend their own life spans, they also have an immediate and direct influence on the world around them – on nature, on pain, on life, on people. (We tend to have similar relationships with medical professionals – we expect miracles from them and if they fail, we want to blame them. We revere the power they hold over our health, but have multiple legal systems in place to hold them accountable should they not perform to our expectations.)

• Finally, fear of ourselves.
We are human. And, if nothing else, we understand that humans fail. A lot. We fail at decency. We fail at self-control. We fail at compassion. We know that human beings can and will misuse the power that technology puts in our hands. As we progress in the ability to do good, we also gain more ability to do evil.
And, for the most part, evil is just…easier. It’s easier to destroy an entire city with one bomb than it is to build a home for one family. It’s easier to use Blood Magic to release Arl Eamon than it is to clear out the Mage’s Tower and save him from the Fade. It’s easier, perhaps, to call upon the services of demons than fight an advancing army – or darkspawn hoard – alone.

Even as we examine these gut-level fears – whether of magic or science – the fact remains that, in both worlds, knowledge and the ability to overcome lies in the hands of those who understand the workings of the power at the fingertips of a few individuals. Governments may advocate public policy requiring creationism to be taught in public schools, but those same governing bodies sure aren’t throwing funding at churches to combat an H1N1 flu outbreak. And Fereldens who need healing aren’t going to the Chantry for a blessing.

Now, my own personal ponderings about magic, science and faith certainly aren’t meant to instruct anyone else’s point of view on the topics. They’re just questions and observations that have materialized in my consciousness as I’ve taken a closer look at the world presented to me in Dragon Age, and made in-game decisions based on my own, personal answers. But they lead me back to the same question over and over again – when a ‘game’ can present us with these fundamental issues, why do we continue to judge video games on a separate level than other forms of entertainment and media?

Liked the article? Support us so we can bring you even more high quality content.