Dragon Age: Origins - A Bunch More

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Dragon Age: Origins - A Bunch More

Post by Shir'le E. Illios »

These topic titles are really getting rather silly; with each post there's so much links and such to post that, beyond "Dragon Age" there's really not much of a unifying theme. But ah well; as promised I've got a bunch more links for you.

Let's start with another interview at [url=http://www.strategyinformer.com/editori ... 3:18rtlu52]Strategy Informer[/url:18rtlu52]. The third part in a series of three interviews this one is with BioWare co-founders Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk. It's a bit more general and not that Dragon Age specific, but still a nice read. Here's an excerpt:

[quote:18rtlu52][color=#606060:18rtlu52]Dakota Grabowski:[/color:18rtlu52] [color=darkorange:18rtlu52][b:18rtlu52]How long before the announcement of Project Natal did you hear about the technology?[/b:18rtlu52][/color:18rtlu52]

[color=darkorange:18rtlu52][b:18rtlu52]Greg Zeschuk:[/b:18rtlu52][/color:18rtlu52] Hmm… sometime before the announcement. It definitely was sometime before the announcement, but not too early.

[color=#606060:18rtlu52]Dakota Grabowski:[/color:18rtlu52] [color=darkorange:18rtlu52][b:18rtlu52]Were you excited about the announcement? Any ideas that you would have implement into Dragon Age: Origins if you were able to have the technology a few years back?[/b:18rtlu52][/color:18rtlu52]

[b:18rtlu52]Ray Muzyka:[/b:18rtlu52] I find the idea of removing barriers really exciting for fans. I like the idea that the platform is continually moving along. It’s great for creators and developers to be able to have a stable platform that they can develop within and continue to deploy content they are familiar with deploying, but in new ways with different entry points for the fans. I think it’s great for the fans.

[color=darkorange:18rtlu52][b:18rtlu52]Greg Zeschuk:[/b:18rtlu52][/color:18rtlu52] I think it’s interesting and almost natural for the interface. There’s the Minority Report scene where Tom Cruise is moving objects with his hands. There’s also a scene in Mass Effect where someone is doing that. So you think to yourself that there could be a scene in Mass Effect 2 and say, “Oh yeah, you could totally use it!” The concept of game interface is going to change and it’s going to be unique. I’m not sure if it’s going to be about a gesture or literally be moving virtual objects with your hands. That ends up being the big impediment. There’s the ability to interact with the content that ends up disappearing. It’s the question of seeing the examples and seeing how it works.[/quote:18rtlu52]
Next up is an interview by [url=http://www.gameplanet.co.nz/xbox/games/ ... /:18rtlu52]GamePlanet.co.nz[/url:18rtlu52] with Dr. Greg Zeschuk. It's a two-page article, with the first one focusing entirely on Mass Effect 2 (which I won't post a separate news post for) and the second page focusing largely on Dragon Age. Here's an excerpt from page 2:

[quote:18rtlu52][b:18rtlu52]GP[/b:18rtlu52]: [i:18rtlu52]Mass Effect had a really revolutionary dialogue system, but with Dragon Age you've gone with a more traditional conversation system - what gives?[/i:18rtlu52]

[b:18rtlu52]Greg[/b:18rtlu52]: It's interesting because we had a lot of conversations about this, as you may imagine. We knew that Mass Effect was a good system, and it was pretty revolutionary in what it delivered, but at the same time we were always feeling - well, we couldn't express it clearly what the difference was, but eventually, funnily enough, we spoke with some people from the press at GDC a couple of years ago, and the concept of first person and third person narrative came into play. And in the sense of Mass Effect, it's a third person narrative, where you're watching Shepard, and you're directing him to do something but he's surprising you with his results. So there's a little inherent game in that, but it's not a feeling of "I am Shepard absolutely, I am directly in control of Shepard". So that's really the third person experience. Whereas with Dragon Age, starting right from the origin, we wanted to put you into that character, that's why there's so many different varieties you can be, and you can have the opportunity to be the one speaking the words, there's no surprise about what you say. I make my choice, and that's my experience. The interesting thing is, when you actually get in and play it, it feels very natural. The worry we had was that when you actually play the game, would it feel strange and unusual given what we'd done with the original Mass Effect? But it actually works really well for the game. And the funny thing is, it's actually faster and the one thing we learned was that it doesn't show as well. So in other words, it's really cool watching the movie-like cinematics in Mass Effect, that's the purpose behind it. But it plays just as well if you skip it. But once you start playing Dragon Age, and you get hands on, you almost completely forget the whole dialogue, it just flows as you go.[/quote:18rtlu52]
Another interview, this time with Senior Product Manager David Silverman, is up at [url=http://www.gametrailers.com/video/overv ... 0:18rtlu52]GameTrailers[/url:18rtlu52]. This is a video interview, showing some console gameplay in the background:

[center:18rtlu52][html]<div style="width: 480px;"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shoc ... on=8,0,0,0" id="gtembed" width="480" height="392"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap ... 0"/><param name="quality" value="high" /> <embed src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=57900" swLiveConnect="true" name="gtembed" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" allowFullScreen="true" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="392"></embed> </object>[/html][/center:18rtlu52]
Another such interview is up at [url=http://uk.gamespot.com/shows/today-on-t ... 0:18rtlu52]GameSpot[/url:18rtlu52]. Though in this case it's part of their "On The Spot" program and contains a few other things as well; the Dragon Age stuff starts at about seven minutes in.

[center:18rtlu52][html]<embed id="mymovie" width="432" height="362" flashvars="playerMode=embedded&movieAspect=4.3&flavor=EmbeddedPlayerVersion&skin=http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/cn ... ight%3D362" wmode="transparent" allowscriptaccess="always" quality="high" name="mymovie" style="" src="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/cn ... oteus2.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"/>[/html][/center:18rtlu52]
Back to text articles there's a brief preview up at [url=http://www.gameplanet.co.nz/xbox/games/ ... /:18rtlu52]GamePlanet.co.nz[/url:18rtlu52]. Here's an excerpt:

[quote:18rtlu52]When swords are drawn, those familiar with BioWare’s past catalogue will note the similarities to both Knights of the Old Republic and Baldur’s Gate. Dragon Age uses turn-based combat and live pause, allowing you to issue orders to party members before unpausing to execute. The game also features robust character scripts that let you determine how your party will respond to particular events (right down to defining at what health percentage, for example, the party’s healer will cast a particular spell). And if that sounds too nuanced for your tastes, there are also script archetypes that strip out micromanagement.[/quote:18rtlu52]
The Polish site [url=http://crpg.iml.pl/dragon-age/wywiad-z- ... g:18rtlu52]Insimilion[/url:18rtlu52] has an interview with BioWare's Jay Watamaniuk (former community manager). The interview is posted both in Polish and in English. Here's an excerpt (with some Mass Effect 1 spoilers):

[quote:18rtlu52][color=darkblue:18rtlu52][b:18rtlu52][Marta "Oceansoul" Najman]:[/b:18rtlu52] And what about some moral choices, like for examples in Mass Effect? We had some difficult problems, involving losing members of our party.[/color:18rtlu52]

[b:18rtlu52][Jay Watamaniuk]:[/b:18rtlu52] Did you kill Kaidan on the planet? Or Ashley?

[color=darkblue:18rtlu52][b:18rtlu52]MN:[/b:18rtlu52] I killed Kaidan. I had to, I had romance with Ashley![/color:18rtlu52]

[b:18rtlu52]JW:[/b:18rtlu52] Me too!

[color=darkblue:18rtlu52][b:18rtlu52]MN:[/b:18rtlu52] But I saved Wrex.[/color:18rtlu52]

[b:18rtlu52]JW:[/b:18rtlu52] You saved Wrex? That's okay, then you're fine. I'll keep talking to you.

So, Dragon Age: Origins is a world of fantasy, a world of swords, sorcery and monsters. It's really difficult to have a good guy and a bad guy, because the world is a tough place, it's very grimy, it's very dark, so the choices you have to make are going to have to be quite that. In Dragon Age: Origins you are essentially at war with the Blight, with the Darkspawn, and when you are at war you have to make some pretty tough choices. If you are out recruiting people to join your army, you are expecting these people to die for your cause, so in order to do that - people just don't do that likely - they will ask you for something in return, for your loyalty. Unfortunately, when there's this group of people and this group of people, you're going to have to make a choice. This isn't bad guy, this isn't bad guy, but I need one of their armies and these two are at war, that means I'm going to have to help one army to destroy another, so I can have at least one army out of this two. So there are some big choices like that. There are some really ugly choices, where there is no right answer, there is just a choice that has to be made.[/quote:18rtlu52]
Jay has another interview with another Polish site, named [url=http://polygamia.pl/Polygamia/1,101109, ... l:18rtlu52]Polygamia[/url:18rtlu52]. This one too is published both in Polish and English, with the English version in the column to the right. It talks a fair bit about Mass Effect, but there's some Dragon Age in there as well. Here's an excerpt:

[quote:18rtlu52][i:18rtlu52]Rhianna Pratchett said that one problem is that developers often bring story writers in only during the very late stages of development. How does it look at BioWare?[/i:18rtlu52]

We at BioWare create certain types of games. There is no way we would begin to develop a game without being very clear on at least the first iteration of the story is. We're not going to throw technology, resources and money on something we're not clear about. That is why Casey Hudson, lead producer, Mac Walters, lead designer, they'll sit down and figure out what the story is. They'll bring in Derek Watts, art director, and decide how it 's going to look, feel. The story has to go first, since it's going to dictate where people go, dictate the art, dictate what gameplay features we want. It all comes from the story.[/quote:18rtlu52]
Next to Dragon Age: Origins there are some more things coming out in the Dragon Age franchise, one of which is a Flash-based browser game called [url=http://www.dragonagejourneys.com/:18rtlu52]Dragon Age Journeys[/url:18rtlu52]. The website [url=http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/212 ... /:18rtlu52]GamePro[/url:18rtlu52] has a brief article up detailing a few things for the Flash game, including that the first chapter will be released today, that the first chapter will be free to play and that there are a couple of pieces of content that you can earn for use in Dragon Age: Origins. Sounds like it could be a fun diversion before Origins is released. Here's an excerpt:

[quote:18rtlu52]Addressing the most obvious question of "why a browser game?" both Spenner and Hawley were quick to describe their vision for how the games market is evolving. "We think the browser is the future of gaming," Spenner told me. "We are not stopping at reaching 5 million players through a boxed product. Our aspiration is to reach 100 million players through high quality, accessible games available in the browser. In that sense, Journeys is very much a standalone game, not just part of a promotional drive - that's what you'd normally tend to see from Flash games based on IP, but not here."[/quote:18rtlu52]
For another product in the Dragon Age franchise there's the tabletop roleplaying game developed by [url=http://greenronin.com/dragon_age/:18rtlu52]Green Ronin[/url:18rtlu52]. The following podcast gives some more details about that game, including that it should be available around the time of Origins' release (so that would be sometime two weeks from now); at least as a digital product first. I'm quite curious what the game will be like.

[url=http://greenronin.podbean.com/mf/web/d5 ... 3:18rtlu52]Green Ronin podcast[/url:18rtlu52]

And finally BioWare have announced that they'll have a Dragon Age: Origins [url=http://dragonage.bioware.com/game/event/:18rtlu52]event in London[/url:18rtlu52] next week. Pre-selected teams will be playign Dragon Age: Origins for 24 hours with a chance to win a lot of money. They should have a live video feed available of the event. Here's an excerpt from the event page:

[quote:18rtlu52]Teams have been selected from around the globe made up of Dragon Age: Origins fans from Canada, Poland, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Czech Republic and Hungary, France, the Netherlands, Germany, the United States as well as a team composed of fans chosen directly from the BioWare Community. Team members are being flown to London England, put up in a posh hotel and given access to play Dragon Age: Origins before it is available in stores and have a chance to be the final team of Grey Wardens who will win and share $50,000.[/quote:18rtlu52]
Also, I'm expecting a "Gone Gold" announcement any day now. It's less than two weeks before the NA release so they're starting to run out of time; Chris has hinted on the forums that they haven't gone gold yet as they haven't made a big announcement of it yet. I hope that the game won't be delayed again.


[[url=http://www.strategyinformer.com/editori ... 3:18rtlu52]link[/url:18rtlu52]] to interview with Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk at Strategy Informer.
[[url=http://www.gameplanet.co.nz/xbox/games/ ... /:18rtlu52]link[/url:18rtlu52]] to interview with Dr. Greg Zeschuk at GamePlanet.co.nz.
[[url=http://www.gametrailers.com/video/overv ... 0:18rtlu52]link[/url:18rtlu52]] to video interview with David Silverman at GameTrailers.
[[url=http://uk.gamespot.com/shows/today-on-t ... 0:18rtlu52]link[/url:18rtlu52]] to "On The Spot" video at GameSpot.
[[url=http://www.gameplanet.co.nz/xbox/games/ ... /:18rtlu52]link[/url:18rtlu52]] to preview at GamePlanet.co.nz.
[[url=http://crpg.iml.pl/dragon-age/wywiad-z- ... g:18rtlu52]link[/url:18rtlu52]] to interview with Jay Watamaniuk at Insimilion.
[[url=http://polygamia.pl/Polygamia/1,101109, ... l:18rtlu52]link[/url:18rtlu52]] to interview with Jay Watamaniuk at Polygamia.
[[url=http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/212 ... /:18rtlu52]link[/url:18rtlu52]] to Dragon Age Journeys article at GamePro.
[[url=http://greenronin.podbean.com/mf/web/d5 ... 3:18rtlu52]link[/url:18rtlu52]] to Green Ronin Podcast.
[[url=http://dragonage.bioware.com/game/event/:18rtlu52]link[/url:18rtlu52]] to Wardens' Quest event in London.


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Shir'le
F'sarn natha tithaur wun l'su'aco.

-= Shir'le E. Illios =-
Chosen of Eilistraee
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