In RPGs, there are several ways in which developers can deal with romance, especially sexuality in romance. The first way is to give each character a specific orientation. For example, Zebulon in Dragon: Age Origins is bisexual, while Alistair is straight. [Astarion and Karlak are Orthodox, at least attracted to men and women], but they are never specifically set in stone, but adapt to the player's interests regardless of gender.

"Dragon Age: The Veilguard" apparently looked at these two routes and decided on a third option: making the entire cast and crew pansexual.

According to the interview, Busche has seen player-sexual characters created in "really uncomfortable" ways, where the characters adapt to who you, the player, are. However, according to the interview, Busche considers the entire cast of Dragon Age: The Veilguard to be implicitly pansexual.

"I might play a straight male character who flirts [with Harding], but I'm not going to pursue romance. She may end up with Tash. So my perception, my identity has nothing to do with their identity, and that comes across very strongly."

It is... It is certainly an interesting third option, and as a pansexual male myself, I have mixed feelings about it. While I think it's fair enough to speak to what Boucher says about the uncomfortable nature of orientation changes at the whim of the players, I would also argue that in a game like this, orientations that are not consistent with the sexuality of the players are never set in stone. [For example, Astarion and Karlach in Baldur's Gate 3 are canonically bisexual or pansexual - Astarion has liked men in the past, but also flirts with Lae'zel. Gail, on the other hand, has only had experience with women (unless you missed the secret scene where I look at the camera and say, "I swear to Mystra, I love men"). However, it has never been confirmed that he is only into that.

As for the playersexual or canonsexual debate, I personally don't care either way, and I think there are pros and cons to both. The player-sexual companion leaves some of the authorship of the character to the player and allows for bridging the gap between the romantic attraction of the party members. Player-sexual companions allow players to express themselves and what backstory they want to include in their setting.

There is also canon sexuality as in Dragon Age and Inquisition: canon sexuality as in DragonAge:Origins and Inquisition, though with less player authorship, more overt discussion of sexuality in the text and worldview. It also tends to be stronger when considering why and how representation matters. I love Zevran dearly, but he is very promiscuous and flirtatious, which is a negative stereotype.

In any case, I won't know how I feel about the approach in Dragon Age: The Veilguard until I see it for myself, but I can't help but feel that this is just a player-sexual character taking it a step further. I also fear that the result will be both ends of the spectrum: not only will there be no player authorship, but there will also be no interesting discussion of sexuality. I'll reserve full judgment until the game actually comes out, though.

However, I do think the idea of characters falling in love with each other is fun.

Boucher also confirms that there will be sex scenes that incorporate nudity, which will further distinguish the cast: "Like in real life, our companions have diverse personalities. Just as in real life, our companions have diverse personalities. For example, there is the more intimate and sensual gentleman necromancer."

Unfortunately, we won't be boned by Emrich, the necromancer, until the game comes out this fall. Until then, Harsin is always waiting for you with his optional fluffy arms.