It wasn't a serious question, but I did ask it.
And they answered.
I was talking to BioWare co-founders, doctors Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka, about a lot of things during an interview earlier this month in Las Vegas. The query just popped into my head. Maybe it all crosses over. Here's how the conversation went...
(One bit of set-up that you need to know: People at this site have long needled the BioWare chiefs for using the phrase "emotionally engaging" many more times in a conversation than is normal. Zeschuk was in on the joke by the time we did this interview. Muzyka was not, but caught on during the conversation as Zeschuk started to keep a tally—they got to 7 during our half-hour conversation.)
Me: I've seen armor from one BioWare game appear in the other. Do any of these games take place in the same universe? Are Dragon Age and Mass Effect in the same universe? Would that break a rule?
Ray Muzyka: I did wear my Dragon Age blood dragon armor for a good period of Mass Effect 2.
Greg Zeschuk: I don't… Is Mass Effect the past or the future?
Muzyka: Maybe [Mass Effect hero Commander] Shepard enjoys the look. He just enjoys the aesthetic. He has a TV in his cabin. So he gets to play great games and decorates his armor with...
Me: So you're telling me Dragon Age is a video game series within the Mass Effect universe. I like that idea. Shepard is playing Dragon Age.
Zeschuk: In the future, it's the greatest franchise ever.
Me: I like it. I think every game should be played in one of the others. And it should just telescope out.
Muzyka: Maybe we're in a game right now.
Zeschuk: Think of all the emotional engagement we could have.
Muzyka: And I'll tell you one thing, Stephen, if that's not emotionally engaging, I don't know what is.