First of all today is the [url=http://www.wardensquest.com/:1eofzbrv]Wardens’ Quest[/url:1eofzbrv] event in London. As I’m typing this it will start in ten minutes or so (and will undoubtedly have started by the time I post). You should be able to follow the event live at [url=http://www.wardensquest.com/:1eofzbrv]the website[/url:1eofzbrv] as I understand.
But to start off IGN already has [url=http://uk.pc.ign.com/dor/objects/682217 ... 9:1eofzbrv]this video[/url:1eofzbrv]:
[center:1eofzbrv][html]<embed src='http://videomedia.ign.com/ev/ev.swf' flashvars='object_ID=682217&downloadURL=http://pcmovies.ign.com/pc/video/articl ... rking="all%"' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' width='433' height='360'></embed>[/html][/center:1eofzbrv]
Next to being a marketing push for the game itself, obviously, it’s also a way for them to promote the social aspect of the game, in particular the [url=http://social.bioware.com/:1eofzbrv]Dragon Age Social website[/url:1eofzbrv]. This social website ties into the game (if you want it to) and allows people to share their experience (as well as being a place for mod developers to get together and share work). Kotaku [url=http://kotaku.com/5390868/bioware-revea ... s:1eofzbrv]has some more details[/url:1eofzbrv]. To give you an excerpt:
[quote:1eofzbrv]"One of the things we started to look at was the way you could share your story," Melo said. "That really ties to the core of the game. The game radically challenges based on the decisions you're making along the way and the party members you have with you. We were trying to figure out how to create these water-cooler moments that people could talk about without spoiling it for people...we wanted to have a way that complements that instead of random [forum] threads."
To help players share their stories, the data-tracking will also snatch details on what the player has accomplished in the game. Those details will be listed as the character's adventure log on the Social site.[/quote:1eofzbrv]
It’s interesting to me to see how many people in the comments don’t seem to get the concept of “social networking”, thinking that it’s interchangeable with co-op multiplayer. Sure, co-op multiplayer might’ve been nice, but that is a [i:1eofzbrv]synchronous[/i:1eofzbrv] multiplayer experience, while social networking is an [i:1eofzbrv]asynchronous[/i:1eofzbrv] shared experience. And that, I think, makes all the difference.
Anyway, back to the news. It seems that BioWare/EA has been sending cases of “Darkspawn blood” to news sites in a move to promote the game. Sending such special packages is pretty standard in the industry and is a little way to draw some extra attention to the game. For Dragon Age: Origins MTV Multiplayer [url=http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/10/ ... /:1eofzbrv]has a brief video[/url:1eofzbrv] showing the potion.
[center:1eofzbrv][html]<embed src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:uma: ... com:449113" width="512" height="319" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashVars="configParams=vid%3D449113%26uri%3Dmgid%3Auma%3Avideo%3Amtv.com%3A449113" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" base="."></embed>[/html][/center:1eofzbrv]
Interesting to note that those boxes are generally sent to give news sites preview copies... and MTV Multiplayer didn’t even seem to notice that there was a preview copy of the game in the box. Noobs.
For some marketing that you might experience yourself it seems, as [url=http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/95486-d ... l:1eofzbrv]GameBanshee reports[/url:1eofzbrv], that a commercial for Dragon Age: Origins has started being shown during some shows (at least there’s a report of it showing during an episode of MythBusters). You can view a version of the commercial video [url=http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php ... 1:1eofzbrv]here[/url:1eofzbrv] (which I can’t find an embed code for).
Then there is the [url=http://www.dragonagejourneys.com/:1eofzbrv]Dragon Age Journeys[/url:1eofzbrv] web-based Flash game. If you haven’t tried it yet and have an hour or two then give it a try, as the first chapter is free and decently fun (for a free game). If you don’t have time then you might read one of several reviews:
[list:1eofzbrv][*:1eofzbrv][url=http://jayisgames.com/archives/2009/10/ ... p:1eofzbrv]Dragon Age Journeys review at Jay is Games[/url:1eofzbrv][/*
1eofzbrv][*:1eofzbrv][url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/10 ... /:1eofzbrv]Dragon Age Journeys review at Rock, Paper, Shotgun[/url:1eofzbrv][/*
1eofzbrv][*:1eofzbrv][url=http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=900 ... 6:1eofzbrv]Dragon Age Journeys review at 1UP[/url:1eofzbrv][/*
1eofzbrv][/list:u:1eofzbrv]I’ll refrain from giving excerpt for those; they’re short enough and you can play the game yourself (no real need for a review). Though I was planning to write a brief review myself, I’m a bit swamped at work so won’t have time for that.For a preview of the main game (Dragon Age: Origins) itself there is one at [url=http://www.thegamereviews.com/articlena ... l:1eofzbrv]The Game Reviews[/url:1eofzbrv] (don’t let the site name fool you; it’s a preview and not a review). Here’s an excerpt:
[quote:1eofzbrv] As with traditional Bioware games, such as Baldur’s Gate, Dragon Age: Origins bases its combat around Dungeons and Dragons’ style die rolling. As with such games, character progression and development plays a large role in the game. Players click a command and that command is then preformed on screen. The effectiveness of this is largely based upon the character’s statistical data. During combat, players can pause the action and switch between any party member, adding strategy and planning to the mix.[/quote:1eofzbrv]
And finally there’s some gameplay videos (on the PC) for you as well from GameTrailers:
[center:1eofzbrv][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 ... 3"/><param name="quality" value="high" /> <embed src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=58073" 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>
<br /><br />
<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=58070" 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:1eofzbrv]
About a week left to go (depending on where you live). Enjoy Wardens’ Quest if you’re watching (which has started in the meantime, though it’s pretty much just showing people playing the game which isn’t [i:1eofzbrv]that[/i:1eofzbrv] exciting to watch).
[[url=http://www.wardensquest.com/:1eofzbrv]link[/url:1eofzbrv]] to Wardens’ Quest website.
[[url=http://uk.pc.ign.com/dor/objects/682217 ... 9:1eofzbrv]link[/url:1eofzbrv]] to Wardens’ Quest video at IGN.
[[url=http://kotaku.com/5390868/bioware-revea ... s:1eofzbrv]link[/url:1eofzbrv]] to “Massively Single-Player” details at Kotaku.
[[url=http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/10/ ... /:1eofzbrv]link[/url:1eofzbrv]] to Darkspawn Juice video at MTV Multiplayer.
[[url=http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php ... 1:1eofzbrv]link[/url:1eofzbrv]] to Dragon Age: Origins commercial at Facebook.
[[url=http://jayisgames.com/archives/2009/10/ ... p:1eofzbrv]link[/url:1eofzbrv]] to Dragon Age Journeys review at Jay is Games.
[[url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/10 ... /:1eofzbrv]link[/url:1eofzbrv]] to Dragon Age Journeys review at Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
[[url=http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=900 ... 6:1eofzbrv]link[/url:1eofzbrv]] to Dragon Age Journeys review at 1UP.
[[url=http://www.thegamereviews.com/articlena ... l:1eofzbrv]link[/url:1eofzbrv]] to Dragon Age: Origins preview at The Game Reviews.
[[url=http://www.gametrailers.com/video/death ... 3:1eofzbrv]link[/url:1eofzbrv]] to “Deathbed” gameplay video at GameTrailers.
[[url=http://www.gametrailers.com/video/shut- ... 0:1eofzbrv]link[/url:1eofzbrv]] to “Shut Up Tree” gameplay video at GameTrailers.
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