When you think of a BioWare RPG, you probably think of the characters you meet along the way. Whether it's KOTOR, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, or any other game from the studio, companions are at the heart of all of them. Better yet, these companions are an especially diverse bunch.

Alix Wilton Regan is very aware of this, having played a range of characters in BioWare games. Starting as Ser Cauthrien in Dragon Age: Origins (Amazing character. Sorry I killed you), Wilton Regan then went on to play Samantha Traynor in Mass Effect 3 - the first lesbian crewmate in the series. Following this, she was one of the voices for the Inquisitor in Dragon Age: Inquisition and Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Dragon Age The Veilguard screenshot of the Inquisitor smiling past the camera.

"I Think People Wanted To See BioWare Fail": Dragon Age: The Veilguard Actor Was Devastated By The Game's Failure

Alix Wilton Regan thinks people "wanted to see" The Veilguard fail.

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By Jack Coleman

At the launch event for True Indie Voice Art (which you can read all about here), Wilton Regan spoke with our own Sam Woods and praised BioWare for its representation.

Alix Wilton Regan And Jennifer Hale Discuss Representation In BioWare Games

"I think what BioWare did was truly groundbreaking in terms of storytelling. Not just even storytelling in games, but actually storytelling, full stop," says Wilton Regan. "Having a femshep to match the maleshep. Having a lesbian character that is just a lesbian and can't go with Mark Meer's character [Male Shepard], can only go with Jen [Hale's] character [Female Shepard]. Putting their flag in the ground for LGBTQIA+ representation. BioWare broke down so many barriers and made everyone feel so invited to the party."

Wilton Regan spoke alongside Commander Shepard herself, Jennifer Hale, who also shared her thoughts on BioWare's inclusion. Like BioWare, Hale is Canadian, and she believes that these roots were the basis for this diversity.

"The Canadian nature of that company - it goes back to the team," says Hale. "It goes back to Mac Walters, Caroline Livingstone, Karin and Trick Weekes, the whole team. I hate naming anyone because I've missed so many important people.

"Their leadership in the storytelling process and their stand for everyone [getting] to come to this party, it's what the world was hungry for. We look at it now, and we may see it as, oh yeah, that's just part of the world. But back then, it was so revolutionary that it p*ssed off several major news outlets."

On that last point, Hale is likely referring to the backlash that BioWare faced over the romances in the first Mass Effect game. Femshep being able to romance Liara came under fire on Fox News, and this was reportedly the reason why there were no queer sex scenes in Mass Effect 2 - something that was thankfully remedied in Mass Effect 3.

Now, we will have to wait and see what the future looks like for BioWare. Layoffs mean that most of the team as we knew it is gone, but Mass Effect 5 is still going ahead.