Dragon Age: Inquisition

[Saulus]

Article

For those who haven't seen it.

Hey everyone,

We are going to do things a little differently today. Some of you may not know who I am so to start out, I'm going to tell you a little bit about myself.

I joined BioWare in May of 1997 making this year my 15th year with the Company (So, old…). I am a programmer by training and implemented the AI, scripting, and combat systems in Baldur's Gate. After that, I moved into a lead programmer role on Tales of the Sword Coast, BG2, and Throne of Bhaal. I kept my hands dirty during this time; you have me to blame for the wild mage.

After the Baldur's Gate series, I was the lead programmer on Jade Empire, though I made a brief detour to implement the first version of the DM client in Neverwinter Nights.

Then through a weird series of un-relatable stories, I ended up on BioWare's handheld title Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. I started out as Lead Programmer and finished in charge of the project. Along the way I managed to write a scripting language somehow WORSE than the one in BG, yet at the same time coded a stats system that I am VERY proud of. Fundamentally, the core achievement was that you could not die after you had already; it's surprising how hard that can be to ensure, sometimes.

Finally I moved over to the Dragon Age franchise. I have been the Executive Producer since just before Dragon Age: Origins shipped.

I am part of an active D&D campaign, love collecting pen and paper stuff and like walks on the beach.

Actually I don't like walks on the beach, too smooshy.

Okay, enough about me, why have I called you all here today?

I am pleased to confirm that we are, in fact, working on the next Dragon Age game. Not a big surprise to most of you, I know. We have been working on it in some way for about two years now with the bulk of our efforts ramping up about 18 months ago.

Part of that effort has involved you, our fans, and the feedback you've provided for Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II, and their DLC. We've visited message boards, read reviews, and we've gone to events to have direct face to face conversations with some of our most passionate fans. We've been listening, and we will continue to listen.

Recently, I said that we didn't want to talk about Dragon Age III unless we had something to show. I'm trying to stick to that plan and won't be revealing much today. That said, a lot of information and rumors have surfaced recently and we don't want to hide from them. There are a BUNCH of things that I really want to share with you but I want to do this right, and doing it right requires some more time.

So here's what I can confirm for now:

The next game will be called Dragon Age III: Inquisition.
We won't be talking about the story of the game today. Though you can make some guesses from the title.
This game is being made by a lot of the same team that has been working on Dragon Age since Dragon Age: Origins. It's composed of both experienced BioWare veterans and talented new developers.
We are working on a new engine which we believe will allow us to deliver a more expansive world, better visuals, more reactivity to player choices, and more customization. At PAX East, we talked about armor and followers… Yeah, that kind of customization. We've started with Frostbite 2 from DICE as a foundation to accomplish this.
There's much more to talk about, of course, but it will have to wait until it's ready for the prime time.

We are going to be as open as we can. We will continue to have a dialogue with you and answer what questions we can. Keep providing us with your feedback. I'm excited about what we are working on and I hope that you will be too. I know this is going to be hard to believe, but it is just as hard for me not to tell you stuff as it is for you to wait.

With thanks for your enthusiasm, and your patience,

Mark

My guess is it will be centred around an Inquisition against Mages. A bit similar as DA2 plot but it makes sense given the title.

I think what interests me the most (after a disappointing DA2) is they have been taking design cues from Bethesda, looking to go with a more sandbox style open world... and all they had to say was Frostbite 2 -- the graphics in Battlefield 3 are among the best visuals in gaming.

It's nice to see the talent from Baldurs and NWN still making these types of games, lets just hope they really did learn from DA2 (which to me was a step down in terms of style, story was fairly good).

The pitfall? Frostbite 2 isn't very moddable at all.

[Cornuto]

I have been the Executive Producer since just before Dragon Age: Origins shipped.

Aw shit, the guy responsible for Dragon Age II is making the the third one. Going to skip this turd, ignore all the purchased professional reviews, and wait for fan feedback.

(I made this decision with ME3, which I still do not own, and have no regrets.)

[wangxiuming]

I'm still looking forward to it! Dragon Age 2 was disappointing, but I still thought overall the game was okay. If it had been the first entry in the series, it would have been fine, but I think it kinda buckled under the pressure from its predecessor - as well as some design decisions clearly chosen to reduce development time (recycled areas and the endless waves of falling-from-the-sky enemies).

I was reading Dragon Age 3 won't see the light of day until 2014, so maybe there's hope for improvement.

[AusGre]

Hello,

In truth, I enjoyed both Origins and DAII, both were pretty good games and both had pretty good storyline from what I played. Of course, they may have been pretty static and Origins combat was slow as hell (So slow, I can't play it again, since I've played DAII haha), but it was a good game none the less. DAII was no different, there were a few flaws in it, mainly the relationship between Hawke and his sister (Not a fan of incest, but how they talked to each other they really shouldn't have been bro and sis), plus how it ended.

Although, I am wondering how people believe that the other games weren't based on the Mages, in both games the Mage was the most powerful class and it made much more sense if you were playing a mage. (Carver is much cooler than your sister, gotta say!) I'll pick it up as I have the others, I like those games, I just hope EA doesn't ruin it.

Another game to be excited for: Bioshock Infinity!

[Cornuto]

I'm still looking forward to it! Dragon Age 2 was disappointing, but I still thought overall the game was okay. If it had been the first entry in the series, it would have been fine, but I think it kinda buckled under the pressure from its predecessor - as well as some design decisions clearly chosen to reduce development time (recycled areas and the endless waves of falling-from-the-sky enemies).

I was reading Dragon Age 3 won't see the light of day until 2014, so maybe there's hope for improvement.

There were intentional and obvious cut-corners with that game. Its more the string of dissapointments on what used to be really good titles... DA2, KOTOR, ME3.

I remember reading an article about ME3 prior to launch where the dev team was talking about how in the previous games they had to restrict outcomes/freedom/player choice because they had to account for those variables later in sequels, but since they were making the final game in the series they were totally free to let the player take the game in any direction they wanted with choice having a drastic impact on how the story unfolded. From what I've heard this is the opposite of what was delivered.

Again it seemed like the company made a concious choice to cut corners, and has really abused the consumer trust that was created on the strength of their earlier titles.

[thaelis]

There were intentional and obvious cut-corners with that game. Its more the string of dissapointments on what used to be really good titles... DA2, KOTOR, ME3.

I am the biggest KotOR fan in the universe! (unless you're talking about the MMORPG?)

It had its down points, such as everything but the final battle being laughably easy, but the story was sweet! KotOR 2 was a little disappointing in comparison, so I hope you're talking about that one

[Cornuto]

Yeah, I meant the MMO. KotOR was the really good title I was referring to. The MMO was the disappointment.

[ManUtd4Ever]

I am not sure if I can bring myself to spend the money to buy anymore Dragon Age installments. We all agree DAII was a complete failure, but what I hate more is that Bioware sells you access to better armor, feats, expansion quests, etc... but they rarely work. In spite of being logged in and setting up the appropriate profile. Epic fail IMO.

[Catastrophe]

I don't think da2 was that bad honestly. The story was fun, though the ending was fairly rail roaded. It also made me sad how the same maps were used a lot. But I like the dragon age series and weep still play the third.

[wangxiuming]

On a side note, I actually loved ME3 - right up until the endings. Those I took issue with only because I felt like they kinda came out of the blue. Thematically they were different than what I expected the endings to be about, and (in my opinion) the story's greatest strength: Shepherd's relationships with his/her crew. Instead, the endings kinda pulled a curve ball twist that didn't feel to me as though enough buildup had been established to effectively resonate as satisfying.

But ... what do i know! I've yet to play through the extended cut endings, so maybe those helped.

[Mournas]

This post reminds me of this game I have been spending a lot of time on lately. Its absolutely amazing. Old School RPG Mechanics Similar to Diablo, the biggest difference would be that dialogue and decision making plays a very important role as well, you're actually investigating and uncovering what led to series of mysterious events, so expect to be talking a lot, asking a lot of questions, and collecting evidence. Speaking of Collecting evidence ... have you ever wanted to torture someone until he spits out everything he knows? You actually can in Inquisitor. And what if you catch some ill-doers that require punishment? Yes, there's a lot of burning at stake going on as well. A bit sadistic, maybe, but it goes well with the overall dark tone of the game.

A LOT OF READING involved with this game. If you seriously want to try it out let me know, I can get you a DRM FREE version of the game.

[Saulus]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO2h4qUNJ60

Say what you will: This game looks FUCKING GOOD. Battlefield's Frostbite engine was in no way mis-used by this game.

If the story is any good, this just may be one of the best RPGs in years (don't forget Witcher 3 was delayed so it will come out AFTER )

[gamestarmike]

still playing through the first game, is pretty fun, playing the dwarf noble son!

[Nyssis]

I wonder how many differently colored endings this Bioware game will have.

[wangxiuming]

I am cautiously optimistic!

As long as there arent any more mobs falling out of the sky for no reason, and 50,000 recycled maps ...