Dragon Age: Origins - Various Bits

[Shir'le E. Illios]

I've got more Dragon Age: Origins for you. But before I start I'm going to make a small change to the way I post news. In the past if I had bits on several games to report I'd just put them all in one news post. I'm changing that so that each game gets its own, separate news post. And I'll try to have the title start with the name of the game so that you can easily skip any posts you're not interested in. A single post might still refer to several different articles/videos for that one game though (as you'll see below).

Perhaps you're tired of hearing about Dragon Age: Origins by now, but if not here's a number of bits to (temporarily) slake your thirst on.

To start TenTonHammer posted two article regarding the game. The first of these is titled "[url=http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/74513:1gvjqtwv]Forever Fantasy: The Philosophy Behind Dragon Age: Origins[/url:1gvjqtwv]" and is the results of a talk with Executive Producer of Dragon Age Mark Darrah about BioWare's philosophy behind creating this game. As far as I can tell the article is spoiler-free. Here's an excerpt:

[quote:1gvjqtwv]“In our experience,” Darrah stated, “there’s a great breadth of fans,” and this opens up the opportunity to offer players more of the [i:1gvjqtwv]Dragon Age[/i:1gvjqtwv] experience than just the game.

In addition, the swing of current gamer flavor needs to be considered, but not in the way one might think. “You have to be careful to not chase the trend of the day. Paranormal, werewolves, and zombies are pretty hot today. The problem is that with the amount of time it takes us to build an IP up from scratch, and introduce it into the market, the trend would probably be long gone. Fantasy goes through cycles, but there’s always an audience for it. There may not always be an audience for post-apocalyptic zombie worlds. It could be a popular genre right now, but in five years, who knows?”

Even without brain-eating zombies, BioWare seems to be aiming the title to a more adult audience than some other fantasy games.[/quote:1gvjqtwv]
The second article is titled "[url=http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/74596:1gvjqtwv]Dragon Age: Origins – Swimming in the Dangerous Waters of the “Mature” Rating[/url:1gvjqtwv]" and is TenTonHammer's take on what the mature rating might mean for the game and its sales. This too is spoiler-free. And here's an excerpt:

[quote:1gvjqtwv]If you took little more than a perfunctory glance at the warning label, the argument could be made that it could prove disastrous for both developer and publisher alike. The reasons listed for the game’s mature rating are "Blood, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity, and Sexual Content". This list alone has the volatile potential of a nuclear bomb to send parents and moral conservatives into fits of instant hysteria. While I think the types of reactions we've seen to such things in the past have bordered on the purely ridiculous ([i:1gvjqtwv]GTA[/i:1gvjqtwv] hot coffee, anyone?), both BioWare and [i:1gvjqtwv]Dragon Age: Origins[/i:1gvjqtwv] are cut from a different cloth than those that have come before them and they've proven it on multiple occasions.[/quote:1gvjqtwv]
The third article is an interview that Crispy Gamer had with Dr. Greg Zeschuk titled "[url=http://www.crispygamer.com/interviews/2 ... x:1gvjqtwv]BioWare Boss Greg Zeschuk Talks About Story As Reward[/url:1gvjqtwv]". This is more a general interview looking at all of BioWare's current (know) products in development, but I do get the impression that it looks more at Dragon Age than any other game (again spoiler-free). Here's an excerpt:

[quote:1gvjqtwv][b:1gvjqtwv]Crispy Gamer:[/b:1gvjqtwv] There's a move toward revision in fantasy storytelling -- at least, if you count the popularity of George R.R. Martin's books as a movement. What's happening in [i:1gvjqtwv]Dragon Age: Origins[/i:1gvjqtwv]? Is it more classic than, say, [i:1gvjqtwv]A Game of Thrones[/i:1gvjqtwv]?

[b:1gvjqtwv]Greg Zeschuk:[/b:1gvjqtwv] We always talk about how it's "dark, baroque" fantasy and it really isn't classic. We've always had this historical view of dwarves who are happy, gruff guys who go mining, drink a lot of beer, and like fighting; whereas the dwarves in [i:1gvjqtwv]Dragon Age[/i:1gvjqtwv] are really, really nasty to each other. They're backstabbing, political.

[b:1gvjqtwv]Crispy Gamer:[/b:1gvjqtwv] The elves feel a little different as well.

[b:1gvjqtwv]Zeschuk:[/b:1gvjqtwv] They're barely surviving in the [i:1gvjqtwv]Dragon Age[/i:1gvjqtwv] world. And they're subjected to all kinds of racism and they're put in these ghettos. It's a really different spin on all these things. In a sense, it's another form of revision -- a reimagining of the traditional images. In some ways, bringing them into a more contemporary setting. In the comics space there's the whole Ultimates thing -- taking all the old franchises and recasting them so they're more relevant to today. I think, in some ways, that's what we're trying to do with [i:1gvjqtwv]Dragon Age[/i:1gvjqtwv].[/quote:1gvjqtwv]
GameReactor also has an interview, but this time a [url=http://www.gamereactor.de/grtv/?id=5639:1gvjqtwv]video interview with Dr. Ray Muzyka[/url:1gvjqtwv]. They talk a bit about what kind of game Dragon Age: Origins is and what the future might hold for Dragon Age and such (all spoiler-free as far as I recall). Though they don't seem to offer the option to embed the video, so you'll just have to [url=http://www.gamereactor.de/grtv/?id=5639:1gvjqtwv]follow the link[/url:1gvjqtwv].

And finally BioWare [url=http://dragonage.bioware.com/game/product/:1gvjqtwv]put up[/url:1gvjqtwv] a wallpaper and half of the first chapter of the next Dragon Age novel (by David Gaider), The Calling. Here's the description for the novel:

[quote:1gvjqtwv]Having reclaimed the throne, King Maric finally allows the legendary Grey Wardens to return to Ferelden after two hundred years of exile. When they come, however, they bring dire news: one of their own has escaped into the Deep Roads and aligned himself with their ancient enemy, the monstrous darkspawn. The Grey Wardens need Maric’s help to find him. He reluctantly agrees to lead them into the passages he traveled through years before, chasing after a deadly secret that will threaten to destroy not only the Grey Wardens, but also the Kingdom above.[/quote:1gvjqtwv]
Since the first book was quite entertaining I'll definitely be looking to pick up this one once it has been released.


[[url=http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/74513:1gvjqtwv]link[/url:1gvjqtwv]] to article about the philosophy at TenTonHammer.
[[url=http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/74596:1gvjqtwv]link[/url:1gvjqtwv]] to article on the mature rating at TenTonHammer.
[[url=http://www.crispygamer.com/interviews/2 ... x:1gvjqtwv]link[/url:1gvjqtwv]] to interview with Dr. Greg Zeschuk at Crispy Gamer.
[[url=http://www.gamereactor.de/grtv/?id=5639:1gvjqtwv]link[/url:1gvjqtwv]] to video interview with Dr. Ray Muzyka at GameReactor.
[[url=http://dragonage.bioware.com/game/product/:1gvjqtwv]link[/url:1gvjqtwv]] to the wallpaper and first half chapter of The Calling novel.


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Shir'le