The best Dragon Age Origins character was nearly cut content before a writer’s pigeon trauma saved her: "The pigeons used the HVAC like some kind of sex den. Angry, ugly pigeon sex"

Shale in Dragon Age: Origins.

So many things can keep you motivated through all of life's highs and pitfalls: hobbies, hope, and in the case of Dragon Age: Origins lead writer David Gaider, a profound hatred for pigeons. Gaider's pigeon problem is so deep, so powerful that it almost single-handedly saved a character from being cut from Dragon Age. 

"I don't recall how Shale began," Gaider writes in a recent Bluesky thread. "I have this vague memory of us wanting a 'weird' party member who didn't conform to the normal classes."