Subj : Shadowheart's Baldur's Gate 3 arc is a queer "allegory" says her
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Fri Dec 01 2023 17:45:04

Shadowheart's Baldur's Gate 3 arc is a queer "allegory" says her voice actor

Date:
Fri, 01 Dec 2023 17:31:47 +0000

Description:
Jennifer English, the voice of Shadowheart, opens up about the queer 
experiences at the heart of her performance.

FULL STORY
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Jennifer English, the voice of Shadowheart the brooding Cleric in hit fantasy 
RPG Baldur's Gate 3 has shed more light on her performance, stating that the 
character's arc is a "trans allegory." 

In an interview with TRG , English revealed that she approached the 
performance from a queer perspective. "There's been talk a lot about the 
trans allegory of Shadowheart which I was certainly aware of in recording. I 
wanted to honor that." 

When it comes to approaching the character from an LGBTQ+ perspective, 
English went on to say that "it's something that, perhaps, I can't not infuse 
from the beginning - whether I consciously thought about it or not. [...] 
It's not something I shoehorned in." 

The explicit framing of Shadowheart's arc as a queer coming-out story marks a 
new step for the character. Shadowheart's willingness to forsake her past and 
attempt to embrace a future that's more her own resonates with many queer 
fans, myself included. 

For those not in the know, in addition to being attracted to the player 
character regardless of their gender, Shadowheart has a mysterious hand 
injury that flares up throughout the game - a vulnerability that makes her 
all the more relatable as a character. 

As a queer woman herself , English is well placed to offer this kind of 
performance and to provide the kind of nuance that LGBTQ+ people deserve from 
queer characters in video games. 

English went on to discuss other aspects of the character that echo with fans 
from marginalized groups. "There are a lot of people that resonate with 
[Shadowheart's] religious trauma. Theres a huge amount of that. And, 
obviously, the queerness and also things like PTSD [... and] chronic pain. 

"I certainly resonate with [these themes] and wanted to be really careful 
around [them]," concluded English. 

In other news, Baldur's Gate 3's latest patch dropped yesterday (November 30) 
bringing with it brand new epilogue scenes, as well as promises from 
developer Larian Studios that it would improve animations across all of the 
game's romances. 

 Looking for more immersive stories? Our lists of the best story games and 
best single-player games have you covered.



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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/gaming/consoles-pc/shadowhearts-baldurs-gate-3-arc-i
s-a-queer-allegory-says-her-voice-actor


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