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The next DRAGON AGE: Behind the scenes at BioWare

Trigger

Trigger

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,897
Atlanta, GA
This was pretty much only for the fans. Anyone who lost faith or hype for the studio/series isn't going to be convinced by this. I'm pretty excited though. I replayed Inquisition recently and enjoyed it more than I remember.

Also, I'm assuming that the blonde woman is the protagonist too. Generic placeholder for the character. She doesn't look like a dwarf to me.
 
WackoWambo

WackoWambo

Member
Jan 11, 2018
1,273
When I was in the shower it hit me, Bioware put out this trailer so fans know the game is real. That way if EA thinks about shutting down Bioware (which is a very real threat in current environment), they will have to consider the fan backlash if Bioware does get shut down.

I was annoyed at this trailer, but once I realized the intent, it made way more sense. Godspeed Bioware.
 
Sanctuary

Sanctuary

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,203
Just started watching the event, and the preview for this game said a whole lot of nothing. Just bullet points for virtually every RPG ever. Hopefully it doesn't turn out to be another Inquisition world layout.
It totally will though.
 
gnarlyxcharlie

gnarlyxcharlie

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,494
Logantxk said:
When I was in the shower it hit me, Bioware put out this trailer so fans know the game is real. That way if EA thinks about shutting down Bioware (which is a very real threat in current environment), they will have to consider the fan backlash if Bioware does get shut down.

I was annoyed at this trailer, but once I realized the intent, it made way more sense. Godspeed Bioware.
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I mean, does BioWare really get to out shit out there without some sort of go-ahead from EA? I wouldn't think so
 
My Blue Heaven

My Blue Heaven

Banned
May 19, 2020
4,828
Logantxk said:
When I was in the shower it hit me, Bioware put out this trailer so fans know the game is real. That way if EA thinks about shutting down Bioware (which is a very real threat in current environment), they will have to consider the fan backlash if Bioware does get shut down.

I was annoyed at this trailer, but once I realized the intent, it made way more sense. Godspeed Bioware.
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LOL at the idea that Bioware formulated this on their own as some sort of rattle of chains and survival insurance strategy against EA when they need EA on their side to do their jobs. Come on.
 

Kal Shintar

Member
Dec 11, 2018
322
disparate said:
unless something drastic happens, I thought the Qunari are the only ones with gunpowder and even they haven't developed guns yet
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The original concept art for Iron Bull had him with a literal Hand Gun, so the intent was that the Qunari had guns. Otherwise there are the Executors/Those Across the Sea whom we know very little about though it is notable that Solas is wary of them.
 
TheZynster

TheZynster

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13,285
My Blue Heaven said:
LOL at the idea that Bioware formulated this on their own as some sort of rattle of chains and survival insurance strategy against EA when they need EA on their side to do their jobs. Come on.
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especially when its been nothing but blunders for years. EA at this point sees Dragon Age 4 as probably a do good or get dumped altogether honestly. EA doesn't like money sinks....and bioware RPGs are not made overnight.
 
Quinton

Quinton

Specialist at TheGamer / Reviewer at RPG Site
Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,255
Midgar, With Love
BossAttack

BossAttack

Member
Oct 27, 2017
42,949
Kal Shintar said:
The original concept art for Iron Bull had him with a literal Hand Gun, so the intent was that the Qunari had guns. Otherwise there are the Executors/Those Across the Sea whom we know very little about though it is notable that Solas is wary of them.
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I want Iron Bull in this game, but I suspect he'll be kept out due to his various end states.
 
nib95

nib95

Contains No Misinformation on Philly Cheesesteaks
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
18,498
Please tell me the next Dragon Age will be next-gen only and not cross-gen? They're on record about how features and graphics had to be cut back with Dragon Age Inquisition thanks to it being cross-gen, and the past-gen versions only accounted for 10% of total sales to make matters worse.
 
anexanhume

anexanhume

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,913
Maryland
nib95 said:
Please tell me the next Dragon Age will be next-gen only and not cross-gen? They're on record about how features and graphics had to be cut back with Dragon Age Inquisition thanks to it being cross-gen, and the past-gen versions only accounted for 10% of total sales to make matters worse.
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There's no chance this comes out before 2022. We're safe.
 

Deleted member 1003

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,638
That was very weird to watch. The last time they did a developer video at a show it was for Andromeda.

Also, coming of how awful Anthem was and Jason's excellent expose last year about the conditions at BioWare...they have a lot to freaking prove. I don't consider BioWare top tier anymore and who knows if the working conditions are better.
 
Kinan

Kinan

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
648
Is it common for Bioware to do voice—overs so early in development? Got my hopes up a bit when I saw it yesterday.
Spring 2022 release — believe!
 
Huncho

Huncho

Member
Jun 10, 2020
1,344
I really wanted to continue with the Inquisitor.
Solas took our hero's arm
But finally happy to know we are going to receive a new Dragon Age. 2021 or 2022, I can wait if the game is promising.
 
Rodney McKay

Rodney McKay

Member
Oct 26, 2017
12,186
I just started replaying the Dragon Age series.

Only just past the intro in Origins. I remember getting the achievement for doing all the Origins, but I think I only ever played all the way through with one or two of them. I'm going to have my Noble female character end up with Alistar and become queen. Sucks that I can't be a mage and do that (it's my favorite class) but oh well.

Besides the fairly ugly graphics (which weren't great even when it came out), it's held up really well. Great voice acting, good characters, and engaging intro to get you invested in what's happening.
My only complaint is that there's no native controller support (like KOTOR 2 got) or a mod that adds it (like Mass Effect 1-3 on PC got).

I know the game's MEANT to be played on PC with a mouse and how much more tactical you can be, but I always preferred playing it behind the back, it immerses me in the world more. I'm playing on easy anyways just to play for the story mainly, but it's still a little weird playing with a control configuration on Steam. Haven't decided if I want to stick with the Steam Controller or a XB1 controller yet.


I want to replay DA2 after this, but with all the DLC which I sadly don't own yet. I can buy it for like $25 on Origin, or get the complete game+dlc on steam for $30, but I might wait for EA's subscription service to launch on Steam (or just do it on Origin) and just pay $5-10 for a month to play through the DLC.
 
Yuntu

Yuntu

Prophet of Regret
Member
Nov 7, 2019
10,669
Germany
FlikBlueLightning said:
That was very weird to watch. The last time they did a developer video at a show it was for Andromeda.

Also, coming of how awful Anthem was and Jason's excellent expose last year about the conditions at BioWare...they have a lot to freaking prove. I don't consider BioWare top tier anymore and who knows if the working conditions are better.
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tbf I think when they talked like this about Andromeda it wasn't "early in development" if my memory serves right. I think they didnt even show gameplay until like 3 or 4 months before release?
 
gogosox82

gogosox82

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,385
Its hard for me to get excited for this when they have restarted this project at least once since that debut teaser trailer. A lot of devs that worked on Dragon Age left and given how disappointing Andromeda and Anthem were, I can't see how anyone can be excited for this were all they showed was concept art (who knows if that is recent since it wasn't specified) and a general idea of what the what to game to be about ( which again was very vague and could mean anything).

The only thing I'll say gameplay, if your not going to do an iso metric rpg where I have full control over the party, then just make the combat snappier like in DA2. Slowly running across a giant ass field in Inquistion to a mage only to have have teleport 50 yards away from me was not fun. Let us run faster in combat or give us better moves to reposition ourselves better. Most of the moves to reposition yourself in Inquistion were painfully slow.
 
SageShinigami

SageShinigami

Member
Oct 27, 2017
30,458
Logantxk said:
When I was in the shower it hit me, Bioware put out this trailer so fans know the game is real. That way if EA thinks about shutting down Bioware (which is a very real threat in current environment), they will have to consider the fan backlash if Bioware does get shut down.

I was annoyed at this trailer, but once I realized the intent, it made way more sense. Godspeed Bioware.
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BioWare's working on 4 different projects for EA right now. They're not going anywhere.
 
Sarevok

Sarevok

Member
Jul 13, 2020
173
Trigger said:
This was pretty much only for the fans. Anyone who lost faith or hype for the studio/series isn't going to be convinced by this.
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Exactly this.
I was a huge fan of anything Bioware back when they were Black Isle but nowadays Bioware isn't what it was.
Third disappointment in a row will just be a nail in the coffin.
 

Raigor

Member
May 14, 2020
15,132
Logantxk said:
When I was in the shower it hit me, Bioware put out this trailer so fans know the game is real. That way if EA thinks about shutting down Bioware (which is a very real threat in current environment), they will have to consider the fan backlash if Bioware does get shut down.

I was annoyed at this trailer, but once I realized the intent, it made way more sense. Godspeed Bioware.
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BioWare is currently working on Anthem Next, Dragon Age 4, the next Mass Effect game and SWTOR.

We had people saying that EA will shut down BioWare after Andromeda, it didn't happen.
In 2019 we had people saying that EA will do the same with Anthem, it didn't happen.

Last year they also moved the studio to a complete new office
edmontonjournal.com

New home: BioWare relocates to 75,000-square-foot downtown Edmonton location

Video game developer BioWare has upgraded to a massive new office space in Edmonton’s downtown.
edmontonjournal.com edmontonjournal.com

At this point people are just wishing for EA to close another studio for some dumb reason. It's always the same "concern".
 
Lampa

Lampa

Member
Feb 13, 2018
3,573
Sounded way too much like they were trying to sell us this new IP called Dragon Age. I'll play your game BioWare, but I would rather see the game when it's ready to be shown and not..this.
 
mcruz79

mcruz79

Member
Apr 28, 2020
2,789
i liked they talked about motion matching technology used in tlou2 for animations...
I really hope all the studios start to prioritize animations in development.
Increase in fidelity while keeping animations robotic and bad it really doesn't make more sense to me.
 
BrassDragon

BrassDragon

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,154
The Netherlands
Huh, that was very content-light even for a BioWare vid. I expected at least some insight into the high concept pitch... like Joplin's 'You execute heists in a hostile nation of mages' or Inquisition's 'you assume an ancient religious title and desperate people flock to your banner' or Skyrim's 'the dragons have returned to the world and only you can defeat them with their own magic'.

We know that BioWare has had major issues nailing down the core vision of their past few titles, so seeing a few slivers of tonal concepts doesn't really do anything for me. As a poster upthread explained, a glimpse of Solas is 'whatever' for people without huge lore investment.

If they want to restore some confidence, a rock solid core pitch would go a long way towards that. With any other studio, we would assume that they're saving this for a slow trickle of a marketing campaign but after Andromeda and Anthem, you get the creeping feeling that if BioWare is not showing it, they simply don't have it. That's exactly how the marketing of Anthem and Andromeda went down when they were still floundering.
 
Darmik

Darmik

Member
Oct 25, 2017
685
Those little gameplay snippets looked rather interesting to me. Looked kinda Dark Soulsy with the blocking and dodge roll. But still a bit too early to tell.

I liked the video and I hope the game pans out well. Bioware really need a win at this point. This demonstration reminded me of that first Mass Effect 2 gameplay reveal actually. I remember that basically showing the combat in some grey box sorta stuff and that was when I was really thirsty to see what that game was like. That was a presentation to an audience IIRC.
 
Comrade Grogu

Comrade Grogu

Banned
Jun 20, 2020
4,090
Darmik said:
Those little gameplay snippets looked rather interesting to me. Looked kinda Dark Soulsy with the blocking and dodge roll. But still a bit too early to tell.

I liked the video and I hope the game pans out well. Bioware really need a win at this point. This demonstration reminded me of that first Mass Effect 2 gameplay reveal actually. I remember that basically showing the combat in some grey box sorta stuff and that was when I was really thirsty to see what that game was like. That was a presentation to an audience IIRC.
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I somehow got a good feeling from the presentation. It definitely feels nostalgic, but not in an overbearing sort of way. I'll say this upfront: I think that Dragon Age 4 is in good hands for now, but we'll see how it goes without too much interference from any outside forces.
 
ZeoVGM

ZeoVGM

Member
Oct 25, 2017
76,089
Providence, RI
A nearly pointless video presentation to put together.

I can't with the development videos of developers in random areas looking off into the distance dramatically.

Stop doing these.
 
Jegriva

Jegriva

Banned
Sep 23, 2019
5,519
logash said:
I would do anything for a Dragon Age collection... But I guess if that were announced before a Mass Effect one people would riot.
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Especially since console releases of DAO and DAI were sub-par for various reasons.

DAO on PS3 couldn't hold the franmerate, on X360 (which is BC on One) they cheapen out on a 2-discs-release and they had to lower the texture resolution to keep the game on just one DVD.

DAI is not Pro or X enhanced.

BAD said:
That would be a ridiculous amount of time after Inquisition. I doubt they are that far from having this assembled.
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They had to scrap the first iteration of the game.
 
Vareon

Vareon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,812
Comrade Foster said:
I somehow got a good feeling from the presentation. It definitely feels nostalgic, but not in an overbearing sort of way. I'll say this upfront: I think that Dragon Age 4 is in good hands for now, but we'll see how it goes without too much interference from any outside forces.
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Has EA released a single-player only game after DA:I? Something like The Witcher 3 or the Assassin's Creeds? I feel like Dragon Age is some kind of pet project who needed its flag-bearers to keep justifying its existence, like Beyond Good & Evil 2, while EA just wanted Anthem for Bioware.
 
Comrade Grogu

Comrade Grogu

Banned
Jun 20, 2020
4,090
Vareon said:
Has EA released a single-player only game after DA:I? Something like The Witcher 3 or the Assassin's Creeds? I feel like Dragon Age is some kind of pet project who needed its flag-bearers to keep justifying its existence, like Beyond Good & Evil 2, while EA just wanted Anthem for Bioware.
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Dunno. I don't think so. This is more of a hunch on my part.
 

rras1994

Member
Nov 4, 2017
5,742
Vareon said:
Has EA released a single-player only game after DA:I? Something like The Witcher 3 or the Assassin's Creeds? I feel like Dragon Age is some kind of pet project who needed its flag-bearers to keep justifying its existence, like Beyond Good & Evil 2, while EA just wanted Anthem for Bioware.
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It's not even the last single player game that BioWare did, never mind EA as a whole. They released Mass Effect Andromeda in 2017.
 
Yuntu

Yuntu

Prophet of Regret
Member
Nov 7, 2019
10,669
Germany
Vareon said:
Has EA released a single-player only game after DA:I? Something like The Witcher 3 or the Assassin's Creeds? I feel like Dragon Age is some kind of pet project who needed its flag-bearers to keep justifying its existence, like Beyond Good & Evil 2, while EA just wanted Anthem for Bioware.
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DA:I had multiplayer as well. But in general DA:I was a big sucess for EA and BioWare, and if there is one thing EA likes then thats money.
 
Vareon

Vareon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,812
rras1994 said:
It's not even the last single player game that BioWare did, never mind EA as a whole. They released Mass Effect Andromeda in 2017.
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Oh right, I remember Jedi: Fallen Order.

Andromeda's reception kinda proves EA's disinterest in big budget single player games, no? (which led to Anthem, which led to why some are worried with Bioware's fate). This is why Jedi:Fallen Order was kind of a big deal to me because it's basically a licensed, big budget single player game--something I don't see much from EA. But maybe I'm missing a lot of things.

Yuntu said:
DA:I had multiplayer as well. But in general DA:I was a big sucess for EA and BioWare, and if there is one thing EA likes then thats money.
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Correct, but corporate wants more money. Say DA:I sold 4 million, corporates like EA don't want the next installment to sell more or less the same when development cost is rising, it has to grow.
 
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