While it used to be, and in some cases still is, a struggle to find a game with a character creator that included a diverse range of hairstyles, newer games are getting better at providing styles to represent folks on the kinky / curly hair spectrum where a lot of people of color reside. However, the new struggle is getting those hairstyles to look and act natural. I remember looking at all the hairstyles in Horizon Forbidden West and being bemused that the dreadlocks on Varl looked like they were made out of foam, while his beard was simply straight hair without an ounce of kink a Black man like him typically has. So it was refreshing to see that BioWare put so much effort into not only including diverse hairstyles but also ensuring that hair behaved authentically.
EA’s blog talked about how its Strand Hair technology, “combines physics with real-time rendering to simulate believable modeling of human hair.” According to the blog, Strand Hair technology was already in use for EA’s sports titles where rendering human hair correctly is important in order to accurately portray the real people represented in those games. But because Veilguard features characters running through waterfalls or surrounded by magic particles — activities you won’t see in Madden ‘25 — the Strand Hair tech needed further refinement.
“A major difference between Dragon Age: The Veilguard and existing Frostbite [EA’s in-house game engine] titles that have shipped with Strand Hair is the sheer variety and quantity of visual effects and transparent objects,” EA’s blog reads. “From magical spells to smoke, fire, and fog, the technology needed to blend seamlessly into the environment and magic of Thedas.” You can see Strand Hair in action in a video here.
The result is beautiful, luxurious-looking hair the likes of which I haven’t seen in any game I’ve played. I’m notoriously picky about hair in video games and I was suitably impressed by Veilguard’s offerings. I initially choose a cornrows / ponytail style for my Rook and was impressed that the choice came with styled baby hairs — a common component of Black and Latinx hairstyles that get frequently overlooked by all but the most dedicated of hairstyle modders. These developers really did their homework. But while the technology and variety was a refreshing change of pace, I do think the tech works a little too well.
Black hair moves, but not as much as it does in Veilguard. About midway through my playthrough, I decided to change up my hairstyle (which you can do at any time, so don’t worry if you have character regrets after starting the game). I went from cornrows to a short, slightly curly style kinda like Zoë Kravitz’s hair in The Batman.
In real life, short, close-cropped hair like that usually stays in place, but this style moved with literally every slight motion my character made. It was too goofy, like jiggle physics but with hair. I deeply respect and appreciate the amount of technical work that went rendering something as simple but deeply culturally significant as hair. It’s one of those little things that makes Veilguard a big improvement over previous Dragon Age games.
