Dragon Age: Inquisition

[Heaven Angel]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbfuLuHh678

[pbpoovannagamer]

Dragon looks fierce and intimidating!! cant wait to kill it and forge a bad a*s dragon scale armor set or something similar!!

[ALPHA17]

Building A Dragon Age Rivalry: Mages Versus Templars

 

Many narratives thrive off their rivalries, and Dragon Age is no different. Tensions between the Templars and mages reached a new level with an all-out battle in Dragon Age II, with Hawke having to pick a side. Dragon Age: Inquisition throws you right into the aftermath, and the two groups are still at odds.

 

Finding The Catalyst

 

 

What if magic actually existed in our world? So many fantastical settings immerse themselves in the supernatural property, but few touch on how odd it would be to have people walking around with powers. When the Dragon Age team sat down, it was something they couldn’t ignore.

 

The conversation started off lighthearted as the group quickly recalled the Dungeons & Dragons spell “charm person,” which allows you to make someone your friend until the spell expires. The spell sparked some telling questions. “What if you met a mage and you could never be sure you [actually] like them?” asks lead writer David Gaider. “Do [you] like them because they cast a spell on [you]?”

 

According to Gaider, Dragon Age: Origins was about setting up this dilemma. As the team moved on to Dragon Age II, the focus shifted; “Then it was, ‘What would it take for that to come crashing down?’” Gaider recalls. As we all know, peace and order are constantly challenged...and maybe the mages are tired of being looked at as outcasts.

 

Choosing Sides

 

As seen throughout our own history, all it takes is one dominant group to forecast something as a threat and people will follow. Dragon Age’s asset is its two viewpoints people can relate to, and it set the stage for a tense rivalry fans latched onto and passionately defended on message board forums.

 

In fact, even within BioWare’s own staff, team members disagree about who’s in the right. These two disparate concepts drove players to think about magic in greater complexity. “It just seemed like such a juicy argument to dive into,” Gaider says. “Dragon Age has always been about hard decisions, where there’s not necessarily a clear moral path. But the idea is that if we can successfully argue either side of an issue and not feel like a sociopath doing so, then that is a good avenue for us to explore.”

 

In Dragon Age II, BioWare deliberately presented both groups at their worst, as creative director Mike Laidlaw puts it, “kind of accelerating or turning the volume up on each of their extremisms.” Instead of letting you watch, the game ended with you finally voicing support for one group or the other. “I think by letting the player put a stake in the ground with Hawke as your avatar was something that we needed to do, having been presented the increasingly loud evidence,” Laidlaw says.

“Dragon Age II is always about Hawke being drawn into events perhaps outside of his or her control, and we wanted to give the player the opportunity to see the conflicts start,” Gaider adds. “I think that was more at the heart of it than the player actually deciding, because it’s too large of an issue to resolve in a snap.”

 

Read the complete article @Game Informer.

[ALPHA17]

Bioware's Vision For The Future Of RPGs

 

 

Dragon Age: Inquisition marks the legendary studio's first foray into the next generation of gaming, and we gathered key figures from Bioware to talk about their vision for the next-generation of RPGs. General manager Aaryn Flynn, Mass Effect's executive producer Casey Hudson, and Dragon Age's executive producer Mark Darrah joined Game Informer's Joe Juba to discuss what they have in store for fans.

 

For the video and more Dragon Age Inquisition news, head over to Game Informer.

 

Will link YouTube video as soon as available.

Edited August 27, 2013 by ALPHA17

[Aftrunner]

What is he carrying? A rocket launcher? O.o

[ALPHA17]

What is he carrying? A rocket launcher? O.o

 

Some sort of mechanical contraption that reminds me of a cross between a ancient Chinese rocket launcher and a crossbow with a handy crosshair thrown in for good measure.

 

Another look at the same device,

[Heaven Angel]

 

[ALPHA17]

^^ Sorry I did not get the joke here.

[Aftrunner]

Yeah I dont get it either.

[dylanjosh]

It's a baby dragon from the game. (I'm talking about the second screenshot. no idea WTF the first one is.. a skinned rabbit?)

 

The dragon does look cute though.

 

Source

https://twitter.com/machinimated/status/372049329344630784/photo/1

 

Honestly it looks like something straight from Kinectimals

Edited August 27, 2013 by Dylanjosh

[(A)Kira]

The first screen looks like the abomination that arose from a hairless rabbit and rhino.

 

And the baby dragon looks, cuddly is the best word I can think of now.

[dylanjosh]

I don't have the heart to kill it

 

Will probably let my party members kill it while I look somewhere else

[ScrewyAurum]

Its called a nug. I remember a quest in DAO where you had to catch a few.

 

[ALPHA17]

^^ Yeah! It was in the Dwarven underground if I recall correctly, they eat its meat.

 

But I still did not get its relavence and why Joe face-palmed after posting the images?

Edited August 27, 2013 by ALPHA17

[ScrewyAurum]

[ALPHA17]

Managing The Future Of Dragon Age

Watch the video to hear Laidlaw discuss story accessibility, how Dragon Age compares to Game of Thrones, making the conflicts potentially last forever, and the art of tying up loose ends.

 

We thought that fans would appreciate hearing his current thoughts on the lore of the series and the studio's plans for the future.

 

Source: Game Informer

Edited August 30, 2013 by ALPHA17

[ALPHA17]

Putting The Dragons In Dragon Age

Dragon Age draws its name from the period of time in the world that the franchise chronicles. An age spans 100 years, and each is named for significant events occurring at the time. In this case, after being hunted nearly to extinction, dragons began reappearing in the world thanks to old clutches of eggs finally hatching.

 

Seeing a dragon fly over the battlefield isn’t just an intimidating sight in the world of Dragon Age; it means something. “The Dragon has always been this agent of change and tumult,” Laidlaw says. “It’s almost like an astrological sign – except rad.“ This symbolic importance of dragons plays a major role in Inquisition. It may not be set during the turning of an age, but more dragons exist in the world than any during any previous Dragon Age title, which can only mean a shake-up of the current order.

 

“They’re emblematic – not symptomatic – of the change that’s sweeping across the nations,” Laidlaw says. “As the dragons come back and become more prominent…the world is getting increasingly unstable. Through its own forces, through blights – you name it.”

 

Apart from what they represent, an influx of dragons presents another problem. Unlike the classic Dungeons & Dragons versions of the beasts – intelligent, magically gifted – the dragons of Thedas don’t have nuanced personalities or complex motivations. They are hunters, first and foremost. “Our dragons are basically apex predators,” Laidlaw says. “They are about as intelligent a very smart dog. We’ve compared them to the mabari [hounds].”

 

For the complete article, head to Game Informer.

[dylanjosh]

Finally gameplay footage

 

 

 

I like the new art style, and frostbite looks amazing!

 

EDIT: He says they're bringing back Tactical camera. Pretty sure that will make lots of people happy.

Edited September 1, 2013 by Dylanjosh

[Heaven Angel]

Just gameplay:

 

 

 

"PC is basically our lead platform because we all develop on the PC," producer Cameron Lee told VideoGamer.com earlier this week. "We have these mind-blowing, powerful PCs that are just incredible.

 

"So we develop on that first and foremost and then we keep the other platforms up and running to make sure they don't fall behind."

http://www.videogamer.com/pc/dragon_age_3_inquisition/news/pc_confirmed_as_lead_platform_for_dragon_age_inquisition.html

 

[dylanjosh]

RPS preview about the combat:

 

 

And yes, you can relax back in your seat. The combat has its vital strategic elements back too. I’ve waited a thousand words to tell you, just like BioWare waited about 30 minutes into their presentation before putting my mind at ease. The ridiculous choice to take away the paused combat and party commands from DA2 is history, and it’s all back as it should be here. But boy, did they push their luck with that. My notes about combat read, chronologically:

“Combat appears to be VERY generic, real-time.”

Then later,

“Can pause combat, but looks perfunctory.”

Until finally,

“Tactical mode back! Top-down if wanted.”

Phew. That earlier combat they showed was very ordinary third-person melee bashing, and had me properly worried. However, having seen a battle orchestrated by an overhead flying bird sergeant (it is my assumption that all overhead battle instructions are given by a bird with military training), I looked back on the bashing and was rather glad to have it as well.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/08/31/eyes-on-dragon-age-inquisition/#more-167039