8 Mar 2011
11 Mar 2011
Bioware hiring for Dragon Age III
May 20, 2011
RPG Site - Offering the latest in news, previews, reviews and media for all of your favorite role-playing games.
Bioware talks the future of Dragon Age
Posted on August 30, 2011 by Alex Donaldson
Penny Arcade Expo 2011 was a bit of a haven for Dragon Age series news if you knew where to look - there was a panel and fan Q&A session as well as developers on hand for fans and websites to chat to who for once didn't have a specific game to promote - so they spoke a bit about how they felt about Dragon Age II and the directions the team are planning to take for Dragon Age III, a game which they casually mentioned on Twitter a few months back.
On hand at the Dragon Age panel at PAX were Creative Director Mike Laidlaw, Executive producer Mark Darrah, Art Director Matt Goldman and Writer David Gaider.
In story terms the crew commented on how Dragon Age III will shift gears yet again, saying that while Dragon Age: Origins was about stopping the Darkspawn and the Blight and Dragon Age II was about creating a new conflict, Dragon Age III will tell the story of the conflict created by the story of Dragon Age II and will give players the goal of "saving the world from itself."
They confirmed that the world would be at all-out war during Dragon Age III, with the Templar and Mages now battling for control after so many years at each others' throats. In a move that sounds a little Mass Effect 3, the player is going to be traveling far and wide to make allies and try to bring peace to the world. When showing maps comparing the worlds of Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II, the team noted that Dragon Age II's world was significantly smaller. A larger map several times the size of Dragon Age: Origin's was shown, and indicated to as a future direction for the series.
The team said that while the Dragon Age world is Tolkien-inspired the team hopes that it can differentiate itself now it is established and become a standard for fantasy worlds in general. Similarities to Tolkien were deliberate and won't be wiped away, though. The team also confirmed an MMO is not part of their plans for series expansion.
The team also spoke a little on combat, saying that they are tweaking with Dragon Age II's combat for the DLC for the game to try to figure out where to go with Dragon Age III. The DLC will feature some of that new focus, which is on trying to make planning and positioning of where characters are on the battlefield more important.
Another big focus will be on the party you venture into battle with - Bioware wants you to be aware of and make use of the strengths and weaknesses of your party members in Dragon Age III. One way this will be achieved is by having party bonus buffs for having certain characters with you that will encourage you to fight in certain ways when they're with you.
In terms of customization of your party, a sticking point in Dragon Age II for a lot of fans, Bioware is listening. They're shooting for a middle ground between the first two games, offering changing sets of equipment for party members which will change their appearance whilst also keeping 'iconic' looks.
What that means is your party members will still keep an 'iconic' look but there'll be different styles of that look available and unlocked throughout the game. They'll be more cosmetic, as Bioware want players to have the choice of how their party looks. Meanwhile, actual individual equipment slots will return, but equipment placed on party members will only effect them statistically - they'll keep whatever visual 'outfit' you've chosen for them for the ones available.
And who will you be playing as in all this? The team hinted that Hawke's story isn't quite finished with yet, but that could be resolved in DLC. What the team do go on to say though is that there's a chance Hawke and the Grey Warden lead character of Dragon Age: Origins could meet. Overall, though, it was hinted that the future of the series might be with an all-new, unseen hero.
Dragon Age III hasn't yet officially been announced but we'll obviously keep you posted on anything that comes out of Bioware on the title - they're being quite open about it! Stick with us for that and all the latest RPG news.
On hand at the Dragon Age panel at PAX were Creative Director Mike Laidlaw, Executive producer Mark Darrah, Art Director Matt Goldman and Writer David Gaider.
In story terms the crew commented on how Dragon Age III will shift gears yet again, saying that while Dragon Age: Origins was about stopping the Darkspawn and the Blight and Dragon Age II was about creating a new conflict, Dragon Age III will tell the story of the conflict created by the story of Dragon Age II and will give players the goal of "saving the world from itself."
They confirmed that the world would be at all-out war during Dragon Age III, with the Templar and Mages now battling for control after so many years at each others' throats. In a move that sounds a little Mass Effect 3, the player is going to be traveling far and wide to make allies and try to bring peace to the world. When showing maps comparing the worlds of Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II, the team noted that Dragon Age II's world was significantly smaller. A larger map several times the size of Dragon Age: Origin's was shown, and indicated to as a future direction for the series.
The team said that while the Dragon Age world is Tolkien-inspired the team hopes that it can differentiate itself now it is established and become a standard for fantasy worlds in general. Similarities to Tolkien were deliberate and won't be wiped away, though. The team also confirmed an MMO is not part of their plans for series expansion.
The team also spoke a little on combat, saying that they are tweaking with Dragon Age II's combat for the DLC for the game to try to figure out where to go with Dragon Age III. The DLC will feature some of that new focus, which is on trying to make planning and positioning of where characters are on the battlefield more important.
Another big focus will be on the party you venture into battle with - Bioware wants you to be aware of and make use of the strengths and weaknesses of your party members in Dragon Age III. One way this will be achieved is by having party bonus buffs for having certain characters with you that will encourage you to fight in certain ways when they're with you.
In terms of customization of your party, a sticking point in Dragon Age II for a lot of fans, Bioware is listening. They're shooting for a middle ground between the first two games, offering changing sets of equipment for party members which will change their appearance whilst also keeping 'iconic' looks.
What that means is your party members will still keep an 'iconic' look but there'll be different styles of that look available and unlocked throughout the game. They'll be more cosmetic, as Bioware want players to have the choice of how their party looks. Meanwhile, actual individual equipment slots will return, but equipment placed on party members will only effect them statistically - they'll keep whatever visual 'outfit' you've chosen for them for the ones available.
And who will you be playing as in all this? The team hinted that Hawke's story isn't quite finished with yet, but that could be resolved in DLC. What the team do go on to say though is that there's a chance Hawke and the Grey Warden lead character of Dragon Age: Origins could meet. Overall, though, it was hinted that the future of the series might be with an all-new, unseen hero.
Dragon Age III hasn't yet officially been announced but we'll obviously keep you posted on anything that comes out of Bioware on the title - they're being quite open about it! Stick with us for that and all the latest RPG news.
By using this site you are bound and abide by the user agreement. See legal page for details.
FAQ
Staff
Legal
Contact Us
It's competition time, and accondirg to Master Jin Ye, my taiji dao starts looking more like wushu as I try to fit the whole form into a 4 minute segment. So we talked about a modified form that I could more easily do in 4 minutes while maintaining a more taiji look.This is what we came up with:Section 1 and 2 remain the same.Section 3 miss out moves 51 54(51 退步缠头藏刀式 tuec bf9 che1n tf3u ce1ng dāo shec: step back, wind around the head and hide the sword52 上步卧鱼 she0ng bf9 wf2 yfa: step forward, crouch to fish53 遮膝藏刀式 zhē xī ce1ng dāo shec: hide the knee hide the sword54 迎面刺 yedng mie0n cec: stab to the head)Section 4 unchanged.Section 5, go straight to move 82 换手右撩刀 hue0n shǒu yf2u lie1o dāo: exchange hands, hold up sword on rightSection 6 start with move 90 转环提 zhuǎn hue1n ted: turn the ring and lift and continue to the end.
ReplyN't, so as to the command drive, the toxins were facilely right off prompt. http://acojiet.com
Replyi have only one ? why couldn 't you use a long sword in each hand like DAO in DA2 ?
ReplyPersonally, I liked DA2! My fav character was Carver, because it actually took effort to make him like you! I've played DA2 and DAO waaaaay too many times, and i like the combat system better in DA2. One of the things that bothered me about it was that you couldn't have more then one weapon equipped, where as in Origins you could have a bow and arrows equipped and then another weapon set! I do like listening to Hawke speak, I thought that was really cool, but I feel that if we could have more speech options, then the generic 3 responses, that I would prefer that, even if it means forgoing having a voice. I would also like to actually be able to talk to my companions, I LOVED that about Origins, among like everything else, but it bummed me out when playing Awakening and then DA2 that you couldn't speak to your companions all the time like you could in Origins. I felt that because you weren't able to speak to your companions whenever you felt like it, that you didn't actually have an emotional attachment to the companions, unless you played it waaaay too many times (though i really only had an attachment to Varric and Carver). Another thing I didn't like about DA2 was that there wasn't that many places to go, but apparently that's being rectified times 100 in DA3. All in all i though DA2 was a good game, that could've had some improvements, another being the menu (I don't know what it was about it, but I just didn't like it...missed the DAO menu), and hopefully these misses in DA2 will be fixed in DA3!
ReplySrry, I know I jumped around, little scatter brained, but I hope you all understood what I was saying, and will forgive me for jumbled paragraph....
nope..its not...not the whole thing
Reply"SPOILER"if u stabb her in the chest u can see her fall thrught the mirror.BUT U cant see her dieing accualy
and what with the Half god child? grown up or something??
if u say goodby to her..she go throught the mirror"portal" than what???
if u go with Morrigan u both go throught the portal THAN WHAT???
"END SPOILER"
in either case u DONT KNOW what happend with the child...or with Morrigan...or with u caracter,Morrigan,and the child!!!!!!....its not explain it......its not good enough,for me at least
Everyone commenting about Morrigan and her baby, Witch Hunt DLC explains what happens to them... T_T
ReplyI really loved both games. Origins being my favorite of the two. The one thing that I don't like is the fact you have to be a human in dragon age 2(not that I don't love hawk). DA2 also lacked the a lot of the emotion that Origins had. In Origins I got all teary eyed in a few parts. Like when I found Sir Gilmore and the priest in fort drakon (I think that's how you spell it) dead. "My favorite race are the dwarfs". In DA2 the elves do look a lot better, you can actual tell their elves regardless of their hair style. One thing I do love about DA2 is the response option and how they are set up. Sarcastic hawk is the best. Although I would have liked to choose her voice( I Play as female hawk). sorry I'm all over the place with my topic focus lol. Please bioware put all the races as character options back into the game.
ReplyTwo words. Morrigan's baby.
ReplyDAO and DA2 are differant games yes the same franchise but DA2 was made as a set up 4 DA3 DA1 was not made 2 set anything up that said i think they are both gr8 games
Replythink of George. R. R. Martin game of thrones... you think DA3 is the end? i seriously doubt it.
Replythe pieces are just being set on the board.
just look at what the warden and hawke have done... they didnt "end" anything. they'r just starting something.
Catalysts so far...
and im loving it.
If they are going to do another Dragon Age, can they please put back the wonderful experiences that were in Origins, but were sadly lacking in DA2. Instead of it being in one boring flat city, can it have a world map with various different cities to explore? Can the graphics be as good as they were in DAO (the old characters, the ogre, even the dog were just plain ugly in DA2) (yet another really fun ally was my mabari, another interesting character chucked out in this dreadful sequal) and can we have back the smart and witty remarks that were all the way through DAO? Also, the sex scenes and the brothel were so hilariously funny, yet in DA2, they were so boring, you wouldn't waste your coin visiting the brothel. I found DAO and DA2 to be two completely opposite on the scale gaming experiences. DAO was broad and full of clever, witty conversation with engaging and interesting characters, whereas the characters in DA2 were bland, flat and dull. The only thing that was improved was the fighting, that was all. I'd rather have a character with no voice in an interesting game with a clever storyline than the uninteresting and repetitive experience of DA2. And unless I read several good reviews on a DA3, I won't be buying it.
ReplyYes, I'm completely with the Guest comment of November 3! DAO was my first RPG and I immediately fell in love with the whole story. I've played it through 3 times und will do it again with full pleasure. DA2 was such a disappointment because it wasn't only far too easy, but really shallow in character building and storyline. While DAO still makes me dream of being part of this wonderful world, DA2 just puts me off. I didn't like the characters (Fenris being the only exception, at least he was interesting), I didn't like the the world (or rather the city), and yes, I missed the heroic feeling, that simply is a MUST for RPGs. And I HATED the extreme reduction of character interaction. In DAO you could have really interesting und funny conversations with all your characters at each and every moment , in DA2 you got just standard phrases during the game play and had to visit their houses at fixed intervalls to get a short conversation (3 at the most if I remember correctly). As was mentioned in so many comments before: DAO was a great RPG, whereas DA2 is a typical boring console game for 10 year olds.
ReplyPS: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GIVE US A CHARACTER WITH SUCH GREAT PERSONALITY AND HUMOUR AS ALISTAIR AGAIN!
Replysry for the double post,but i forgeted something..
Reply11:Make the Full Grapics available on Dx9 an not just Dx10-11 well...thx
Hey guys i played both DAO and DA2...and DA2 is FAR MORE WORST than DAO
Reply1:Who said a mage cant use swords/daggers like in DAO...that pissed me of a LOT
2:Why is that in both DAO and DA2 the Character cant BECOME EVIL u know Hated and Feared by everyone
3:the inventory suxxx
4:the Fighting system so booring in DA2(Nightmare)....i killed almost anyone with RIGHTCLICK...lol
5:the story....i think everyone know from DAO that the mages HATE templars,and they fighting for their freedom
i dont understand why needed to expain that in 55hours(for me in Nightmare) of "gameplay"...ihats rich
6:the explorable area is so small compared to DAO,and why need to repeat smaller areas,i think that not to
much work to create smaller areas/dugeons without repeating the others
7:The Character creation is poor...i always wondered:where the Hell are the male Long Hair...u know like Arthas
from Warcraft
8:WHERE THE HELL ARE MORIGAN AND MY DAMNED(half god) CHILD
9:what i liked in DA2 is my caracter has his own voice..i liked that...but the conversation panel was poor too
10:pls make a Dragon Age 3 wht is mor RPG game than an Arcade game with poor storyline...thx
i wish you could choose to play as the warden or hawke.. and i want fenris, anders and alistair.. T_T
ReplyWow, sometimes you guys make me feel like I'm the only one who really enjoyed DA2 -- and that I'm stupid for it.
ReplyI admit, that there are some things from DAO I would like to see incorporated into DA3, but for the most part I, personally, liked the general direction and aesthetics of DA2 -- Hawke was an awesome character, and while the custom hairstyles stink so bad that I'll ALWAYS choose the default -- it fits, because the game was MADE for Hawke -- his/her appearance is just part of him/her, so... I didn't mind not being able to customize as well as well as we used to. Of course, I WOULD like a better range of customization, because as much as I feel it's Hawke's story (Or another main character) It's also OUR story. I'd like to put a little bit of myself in there.
Anyway. I appreciate all the work put into making these games, and unlike some people I LIKE political-social situations. So, thanks.
im with you ;)
ReplyPlease dwarf females.
ReplyI agree with Syn, DA 2 was utter bulshit, it's an RPG not an arcade game and i defo agree with RYNO, life's not worth living without Morrigan. DA 3 should defo be about this war between Templars and Mages, they've set it up perfectly, but they should keep Flemeth out of the war, she needs to stay our cameo-role playing shaman.
Replyfull customisability is really important, I hate how they make it so it's really hard to make a cool looking guy so you just end up shoosing the original Hawke look and the map needs to be bigger and much less repetitive, I don't care how long it takes, Bioware, JUST MAKE THE BEST RPG EVER, push the boundaries and mix the old with the new and if there's ever gonna be a DA 4, it should be, AN ELVISH REVOLUTION!!!!!!!!!!! thankyou goodnight.
P.S DO NOT FORGET ABOUT SANDAL FEDDIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!
I actually think Dragon Age III is going to be good...
ReplyForget everything about middleground. DA2 feels like a dumbed down console game, really really boring. Small world, less control of equipping other party members and teleporting backstabs lol. Forget about making DA3 for 12-year-olds. Make an epic game with many more options and many more rpg elements from fantastic games like Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights.
Replyand i want the finishers and original darkspawn back!! not some stupid exploding effect on some cheap classles looking darkspawn
ReplyAmen to that! We want the original characters from Dragon Age Origins as well. They need to combined the two stories together, so that in Dragon Age ll (Hawke) will know what the hell is going on. If they don't bring in Morrigan and tell what she was up too then the story line to me not worth playing. A change is good to some extent but, if they are going to make changes then they need to bring all of it together so it will make sense. I love Dragon Age Origins, didn't care for Awakening and D A ll is ok. Yes, they need to put in the romance scenes like they did in Origins. Why, is it that you have to have a romance with only the character team-players. Why can't it be with other characters as well, cause some of them you don't want to sleep with like (Oghren). NOte: I think we should all write them and tell them about how we feel and express our concerns before Dragon Age lll comes out.
ReplyIf ever a bioware employee or person in charge of development shoul come along,PLEASE,FOR THE LIFE OF EVERY GAMER THAT ACTUALLY ENJOYED DAO,BIRNG THE AWESOME PHYSICS BACK!!!! with a little tweaking, Seriously, i hated the half ass engine used in two,really glicthy,and skipped animation dont make for a better fighting system,theres absolutely no point in selecting any other class apart from the warrior cause of how quick and powerful they are,and the stupid repetitive dungeons,WHAT THE HELL,how cheap can you get!!!!!!! what,they thought we wouldnt notice?? COMMON!!!! DAO is like 10 times bigger than DA2,its like they gave some dumb team the quarter of the budget and told them to shit out the best game they could!!!,and they want to hit middle ground with DA3,MAJOR FLOP!! i agree with the first dude,FIRE the idiots that did DA2 and get some fresh hardworking new guys to work with the original team.
ReplyIDC What They Do. They Bring Morrigan In And The Game Will Be Epic!!! And I Mean It Couldnt Hurt To Show Some Boobage
ReplyBasically what this tells us is that these four are planning a horrible finale to ensure that DA is crap. They are going to-yet again build a closed, linear script based game, with all the story line decided by them, zero actual exploration, but an appearance of moving about (as in Origins) as you click icons on a 'big' map with less actual content than a handkerchief. You won't actually explore anything. You will click from cut scene to cut scene. and you will have very limited choice about building your own character or telling your own story. You will tag along for the ride with characters and NPC's that have been totally pre-scripted. you will also end up with a fully voiced character (Hawke, Shepard) enjoying another stupid repeat of the same old Templar-Mage story they already bored us with TWICE before. The exact same crew that made the horrible mess of DA2 are preparing to do it all over again. They have zero idea what was wrong last time, and they still think that the 4.2 in metacritic for DA2 wasa problem not of a game that was fit for the furnace, but of 'misaligned expectations'. What ever happened to incompetents getting fired and replaced by competents! Since their employers are the main incompetents I guess that's not going to happen in this case. Even if the game ends up to be good (big if) the IP will still be a joke. 3 games that have nothing in common, full of stupid, game destroying modifications (DA2) and then REPLACING superficial systematics (inventory) while failing to repair the major flaws (no exploration, player determined outcomes, inter-game connectivity). What kind of morons have to read user complaints to understand flaws in their games? What kind of morons could have PUBLISHED DA2 and imagined it was GOOD, and was going to win them love and prizes? Precisely what kind of playtesting/quality control/soul searching did they go through prior to publishing? How could they have thought it was better? How! Police test these men for illegal substance abuse! arrest them! If they give us a game with 200 hours of content I will forgive them. Another 30 hours of crap like DA2 (which seems pretty likely) would be too screamingly, impossible bad for words.
ReplyPretty much. I've lost ALL Respect for Bioware, and Mike Laidlaw in particular. Used to love anything they did, even the experimental Jade Empire.
ReplyEverything since Mass Effect has pretty much been full-on sell out, unfortunately. Even with it's amazing reviews, ME2 itself pretty much stepped on traditional RPG gamers and bioware certainly didn't care about their opinion the matter - they were too busy listening to the sound of the console kiddies money flying into their pockets to hear any complaints.
And DA2? DA2 is proof that sometimes, the fans are right, and the developer is dead wrong. Bioware thought that they could get on the console-cash train with DA2 just like they did with ME2, but all they ended up with was a flat-out piece of shit that neither traditional PC/RPG gamers -or- console gamers liked.
And it wasn't only because of the mechanics, which have been gone over in such detail that I don't see any need to add my own voice to the endless complaints. I do, on the other hand, think that people have been so caught up in hating the games mechanics, Bioware has gotten off easy on another front; they told a terrible story in DA2. A terrible, meandering, hole-filled story that no one really wanted to hear. Yes, Thedas was based heavily on Tolkien. Anyone could see that. And it's why a lot of people loved it. But all the wonderful world-building, depth, drama, intrigue, and heartache that made DA:O so gripping were thrown away in DA2, in favor of a ham-fisted socio-political tale that barely even touched on the richness of the lore they created. And now, it seems that all that world-building is once again thrown away in DA3, as Bioware has determined that what their customers REALLY want, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, is to continue the linear, shallow, and frankly asinine plot of DA2, focusing on the most juvenile and obvious plots (oh, the templars and mages don't like each other? Who'd have figured. IT'S SO DEEP.) rather than giving their fans what they, and fantasy fans in general, want - deep mysteries and the slow unveiling of the answers. No, rather than learning about the dwarves, and the golden city, and tevinter, and all those mysteries, we get Templars Vs. Mages, Round 2.
Oh well. Bioware had something special on their hands with DA:O. But clearly, it wasn't what they wanted, and it feels at this point as if they set the bar too high for themselves in the story and world building department, and they know it. I guess it's better to just be dissapointed now than later, at least.
You do realize, of course, that just because they want to continue a story that needs a little of finishing doesn't mean the world is coming to an end, right?
ReplyDAIII doesn't need to be the end of the franchise -- there's so many possibilities in the world they've created that they could go on, and on, and on and have a LOT of games. Five, six, seven -- I don't see Dragon Age ending anytime soon. That being said, they have enough time to figure out how to make the games exactly what the more aggressive fans -- Like you, I take it -- want. Then again, demanding a tailor made game exactly to your desires sounds a little selfish, as I for one quite enjoyed the story to DA2 -- Of course, I'm sure you're call me asinine for having an opinion that differs from yours, but, no matter.
Also, when you consider the fact that a lot of time and effort were put into these games, the whole insulting all the people who could fix it to your liking probably isn't that good of an idea, and is, in fact, rather rude. In my line of work, I tend to ignore the people who tell me that I have no idea what I'm doing while practically cursing every breath I take, and instead listen to the people who tell me that I have no idea what I'm doing POLITELY. But that, once again, is just me.
Make Varric a LI!
ReplyIs this the Bioware cycle or something? Look at ME and DA - they make a great, but flawed game. Then make a really tight game that is missing some of the features that made the first great - and then on the third entry get the middle ground. Still, all good games in the end...
ReplyDo want if they do hit between 2 and 3.
Reply