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[DragonRacer]

Okay, folks.

 

As explained in the "Let's Get Organized!" thread update, Flirt Cupcakes can print off our personal messages for the team to deliver with the cupcakes.

 

So, please gather your thoughts and post them here. I will compile a Word document containing everyone's personal messages with usernames to give to Flirt. If you wish to give a personal message privately (rather than post it here), feel free to PM it to me instead and I will add it to the Word file.

 

We have until Wednesday, July 2nd to gather these. By Thursday, July 3rd, we'll need to call in the order and that's when I plan to email the finalized order with messages attached for printing/delivery to BioWare.

 

Below is the "cover letter" I am including with our order, as the starting point (feel free to offer changes/suggestions to it if you like, I do not mind):

 

 

 

Dear BioWare Edmonton Team ("The Start and the Heart of BioWare"),

 

These treats are meant as a BIG, GIANT THANK YOU. Some of it is meant as a general thank you for being you: the awesome, creative developer who has given us countless hours of enjoyment, exploration, pleasure, and influence over the rich and imaginative worlds you have created for us; for allowing us to get to know and love some of the most deeply rich companions written in the video game industry; and, most importantly, for giving us a CHOICE in the type of hero we portray... for being able to choose a male or FEMALE Shepard... Warden... Hawke... and, now, Inquisitor.

 

Most of the reason behind these goodies is as a bigger thank you from many female gamers (and some of our male gamer allies) for taking a big step at E3 in representing the voice of female gamers. Where many developers did nothing or, even worse, explained away a lack of female representation due to money, extra work for creating female animations, or whatnot, instead you chose to be an industry leader and presented both a trailer featuring a human female Inquisitor and one of her voice actors as well as showcase, in the majority of your demos, a female Qunari Inquisitor.

 

By representing both a choice in picking a female Inquisitor and showing her strength alongside men as a potential savior to Thedas, you took a big step in encouraging other developers in the gaming industry to recognize female gamers and our desire to prove that our gender is deserving of recognition and just as capable of saving a world in peril as our dear male counterparts.

 

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for believing in us. For recognizing us. For placing value and merit on us as equals. We have long loved you for giving us validation in the past simply through gameplay, but to take a risk like that, to step forward and declare us as worthy of spotlight on such a large platform for your industry as E3... that was enormous, that took guts and risk, AND WE TOOK NOTICE.

 

We support you and thank you. Please enjoy this small rain of cupcakes, as recognition of what you did to advance us as gamers of equal merit.

 

Also, an additional extra thanks goes to Allan Schumacher, both for agreeing to be the recipient of this reward to distribute to the DA:I team and for being the dev who interacted with us the most in the thread that supported seeing more of the Lady Inquisitor. It was a group effort, we know, but you have been so supportive of us that it deserves extra special recognition. Allan, you are a good soul. Thank you for all your support, encouragement, and representation.

 

Like any good hardcore group of fans, the flavors were chosen both for palates and to represent subtle points of fandom:

 

* Cookie Dough (vanilla cake with cookie dough center & icing) - For Sten, and all other deprived followers of the Qun

* Heartbreaker (red velvet cake with cream cheese icing) - To feed David Gaider's jar of fan tears

* Coffee Date (marble cake topped with creamy frosting & chocolate-covered coffee bean) - For all the dates we hope to go on with our potential love interests

* Wild on Whyte (vanilla cake with fresh strawberry buttercream icing) - For Sera "The Wildcard"

* Fury (chocolate cake with peppermint buttercream icing & a mint chocolate stick) - Because what is Thedas without everyone hating something? (Plus, we think DragonRacer may be squeezing in some sort of ME3MP reference with this one... *eyes DragonRacer suspiciously*)

 

Whatever we were before, we are now... the CUPCAKEQUISITION!

 

 

Contributors:

 

Andraste_Reborn

aTigerslunch

Blue Gloves

Brass Buckles (the original thread creator)

Bugsie

DragonRacer

HuldraDancer

Lady Nuggins

Mes

Nefla

oceanicsurvivor

 

 

Sincerely,

Tiffany Lowe (BSN: DragonRacer, Twitter: @TiffanyMLowe)

[aTigerslunch]

My note to the team of Dragon Age Inquisition,

 

Thanks so much for all this work you do to allow us to be in an engaging and wonderful worlds created by you. My first was Baldur's Gate, ever since then (was black isle, but still) I followed every game that came out after. Thanks so much for allowing us players to play what we want as an avatar (male/female (especially when lack female from other companies)) in a world dreamt from the team. Your all great, and do great work. I look forward to enjoying other games/worlds you all create.

 

I really like to thank you for listening to fans as well. The lady inquisitor was awesome to see and hear, and really appreciate that you had shown her off in E3. I know it makes a big difference to see a couple of my friends picking this up due to showing her off. Your all AWESOME, and the team works great together! 

 

Sincerely,

Joshua Campbell (BSN: aTigerslunch, Twitter: aTigerslunch)

[Blue Gloves]

To Bioware; specifically the DA team:

 

Thank you, sincerely, and from the bottom of my heart for the countless hours of enjoyment your games have brought me.  For a wanderlust ridden individual who has been able to decide neither what she wants to be when she grows up, nor where she might finally settle and attempt to grow some roots, there have been very few constants in life; but from the moment I plugged in that first Baldur's Gate 2 disk to my beloved, clunky, old Dell nearly 15 years ago, I have had you. 

 

Over the years, you've allowed me to escape into fantasy worlds as a strong, competent heroine every bit as capable as her male counterparts.  I've been a Bhaalspawn, a reformed (or sometimes not) Sith conqueror, a follower of both benevolent and malevolent, mystical martial arts paths, a savior of Galactic civilization, a slayer of darkspawn, a power behind the throne, a ruthless villian, a hero who made the ultimate sacrifice, a ruler of a city-state, and so much more; and I did all these things without being made to feel as if my gender and sexuality made me exceptional in any way.   It’s all well and good for an individual to say “Girls can do anything boys can do, and vice versa!” but Bioware actually puts its money where its mouth is, and for that, I’m grateful.

 

Thank you for making games that have become so much more than games; thank you for having the courage to acknowledge your female and LGBTQ fanbases along with the more traditional players; thank you for spending long, hard hours to craft experiences that fire my imagination and inspire my own creativity; thank you for helping to show the industry that female gamers matter too at E3, both this year and in the past; and most of all, thank you for doing all of that in the face of soul-crushing amounts of criticism and negativity, sometimes from those of us who claim to love you best.

 

Thank you for making this game for us.

Amanda Weber (BSN: Blue Gloves)

[Nefla]

Dear BioWare, thank you so much for showing not only a trailer staring the lady Inquisitor at E3, but also using a lady Inquisitor (and a Qunari even! ) in your demos and interviews. It really means a lot to me as a female fan to be told that I matter as much as the guys. In a sea of same-faced dudebro protagonists, the lady Qunari really stood out in a great way! She was interesting, unique, and best of all she wasn't there as sexualized eye candy, she was the hero. This almost never happens in games and it really made a huge difference in my morale as a female gamer and long time BioWare fan. I'm more excited than ever to play Dragon Age: Inquisition! Thank you so much for showing the lady Inquisitor and thank you for making such awesome games!

 

To Allan specifically, thank you so much for being a constant advocate for respect and equality and for your support and humor You will always be a friend to the ladies of the BSN

Alicia Stowell (BSN: Nefla)

[oceanicsurvivor]

Bioware,

I really don’t even know where to begin with ya’ll. The impact your games have made on my life since I first popped Mass Effect into my brothers 360 has been astronomical. You showed me what games could be; that there was depth, storytelling, and connections in gaming that a person can’t get anywhere else. (And I am only now realizing my awful space pun, so I apologize). There are only a handful of games I can point to which actually made me feel, actually taught me something. Every Mass Effect game, every Dragon Age game is on that list. You are leaders in an industry that often seems backwards -whether it be in relation to women or queer issues- and I am oh so grateful for that.

 

So thank you for showing the female Inquisitor at E3, thank you for leading from the front. Thank you for Sera, for Isabela, Leliana, Anders, Aveline, Cassandra, Vivienne, Zevran, Kaidan, Ashley, and everyone else. Thank you Patrick Weekes for the very lovely dedication in The Masked Empire (and really for that book in general). And a very special thank you to Allan Schumacher for being such a fantastic presence on the Bioware forums. He has been an amazing ally; working tirelessly and putting himself out there time and time again, both to educate himself and in the hopes of educating others. Knowing that there are people in gaming actively working to not only make the industry but themselves better is truly humbling and gives me tremendous hope for the future of gaming.  

 

Trying to help drag the industry forward as it kicks and screams at you can’t be easy work and I know you hear a lot of negativity because of it, but hopefully this serves as a small (and tasty) reminder that there are even more people grateful for all of your hard work. And we’re all rooting for you.  

 

Best of luck on the rest of development. I sincerely cannot wait to get my hands on the game this fall,

 oceanicsurvivor

[Mes]

Dear Bioware,

 

When I first picked up Dragon Age: Origins in 2009, I was living in an unwelcoming foreign country and frankly miserable. It's no exaggeration when I say that this game literally changed my life. Not only did it lift my spirits in a dark time, but it made me realize that I didn't have to be a man to be strong, or capable, or... well, a hero. It's a difficult revelation to put into words. Of course it's "just a game," but playing it re-awakened this realization in me that I could have just as many adventures and be just as interesting as my male counterparts, a notion I had lost somewhere along the way as I grew older.

 

The Dragon Age series is bloody brilliant, and I have never in my life looked forward to a video game as much as I look forward to Inquisition. These games have brought me joy, have brought me to the Bioware forum where I've been very privileged to meet some amazing people, and now finally here I am adding my contribution to the Cupcakequisition! 

 

Special thanks to Allan for being an incredibly welcome contributor around the forums. Allan I appreciate ALL of your posts, even the very few that I disagree with. You always come across as intelligent and level-headed... Hopefully I can one day be more like you!!

 

Bioware, thank you thank you thank you for showing us the Lady Inquisitor at E3. To say it means a lot is an understatement. This company has become like a safe haven for me, an oasis, making me feel comfortable and appreciated where most other companies actively alienate me for my gender. 

 

Needless to say, I am a fan for life!!

 

Much love,

Anna, a.k.a Mes

[Brass_Buckles]

Dear Bioware (especially the Dragon Age team),

 

I'm thrilled that you chose to promote your game with the female qunari mage at E3--and later several of you mentioned playing as a woman on Twitter.

 

You didn't give excuses, you didn't call female protagonist characters a “feature” that you didn't have time/resources to implement. You didn't quail at the thought that including important characters (or protagonists) of color or who were LGBT. You added them in, because it mattered. And then you showed a female protagonist in your demo at E3.

 

That is what makes Bioware an awesome company, so THANK YOU. Thank you because it matters—to me, as a woman, and to other people as people of color and members of the LGBT community.

 

I especially want to offer my thanks to Allan Schumacher for being level-headed, intelligent, and reasonable, even when I don't agree with everything you're saying. You represent the company well, and I've come to respect you, or what little I know of you.

 

I also offer a wholehearted thanks to the marketing team, who actually decided to use women protagonists in their campaign this time.

 

You people are great!

 

Thank you again for putting in the effort to be inclusive, and enjoy the cupcakes. You've certainly earned them!

 

 

Sincerely,

Brass_Buckles

[Andraste_Reborn]

Dear Bioware,

 

Because it's hard to send fan tears all the way from Australia: cupcakes!

 

I've been a BioWare fan since 1999, the first time I made a druid Bhaalspawn and set off from Candlekeep. While that initial character didn't make it past trying to rescue Dynaheir (stupid Gnoll Pit!) I persisted and made another one. Several years later, I imported my paladin into the sequel. Eventually, she renounced godhood and her saga ended.

 

That was just the start of my adventures, though. Since then, I've followed the journeys of many more Bhaalspawn, a couple of heroes from Neverwinter and Hilltop, a very surprised Darth Revan, a Spirit Monk, a space marine, a slave turned Sith Inquisitor ... and seven Wardens followed by seven Hawkes.

 

While I've played the BG and Dragon Age games often enough that I've made some male protagonists just for variety, my first time through each new game is always as a woman. You have always made that possible.

 

With Inquisition, I'm delighted to see that the marketing seems to finally be catching up with what has always been the reality of your games - female Inquisitors are right there in the trailers and the demos, being talked about and promoted.

 

In just over three months, my dwarf lady Inquisitor will be joining the ranks of my BioWare protagonists. I can't wait to make her. Thank you for all the stories I've already enjoyed, and thank you in advance for the new one.

 

Andraste_Reborn

 

P.S. Not actually the prophet.

 

P.P.S. Or the dragon, either.

[DragonRacer]

Lovely letters, one and all!

 

Also, making this post the 24 Hours Last Call to anyone wanting to add a letter or edit a currently-existing one. In 24 hours time from now, I'll collect all these and prepare them for send-off!

[Bugsie]

Dear Bioware,  despite being a gamer for some time and only having started playing your games on the release of Mass Effect I, they have had a huge impact on me and got me through some tough times when my health was poor.  I’d also like to say thankyou for being a leader in game design that values diversity and equality in your games.

 

I’d also like to Thankyou for inspiring me to write and draw (despite those things being of dubious quality and content!) and for introducing me to a great bunch of people – who I have connected with beyond your games and beyond your forum.

Thanks especially to the Dragon Age team – who took a leap of faith in representing both women and LGBT characters without stereotype and with great care.

 

Come October I shall be enjoying my bugquisition with my awesome lady Inquisitor.  Enjoy the cupcakes!

 

Bugsie

[Lady Nuggins]

Down to the wire.  This is harder than I thought!  If only that Cupcakequisition graphic could be printed out in colour so I could let that speak for itself. 

 

***

 

To Bioware and the Dragon Age team:

 

Thank you for creating the stories and characters that I never knew I was craving.  As a woman, as a queer woman, I’ve become so used to seeing myself only in background characters that I never realized how validating it was to get to play the hero.  Thank you for creating games that are not only fantastic, they are pushing the boundaries of the genre.

 

With the inclusion of women in Inquisition’s marketing, the hero I wish to play is visible outside the game as well, and this means so much.  The female Inquisitor is not the hidden alternative option to the “real” Inquisitor.  Thank you so much for listening to us and making us feel represented, for making us feel like we are worthy of being the “face” of your games alongside the male hero.  I want more women to know the amazing storm of emotions that is a Bioware game.  I want them to see that female Inquisitor in trailers and on posters and feel as drawn to her as I do.  

 

Thank you for Sera, and Dorian, and all the LGBT characters who came before them (and all the ones we don't yet know about).  Thank you for continuing to create a diverse range of female characters who are neither objectified nor reduced to helpless damsels. 

 

I hope these cupcakes can express how thankful we are for the sweat, tears, and tainted darkspawn blood you have shed to make this game.  The women (and men) of BSN salute you.  May the sugar rush carry you through to October.

 

Robin, a.k.a. Lady Nuggins