Mark Darrah @biomarkdarrah Dragon Age: Morrison (now officially Dreadwolf) probably should have gotten a NEW codename in early 2021
Project Nug-Storm! - Codenames
You may not be ready to put a final name on your project. Time for a codename! But don't jump too fast, you want to make sure you pick something that will be used as a codename but doesn't accidentally ship. So not: XBox or Project Gotham Racing But also not: Nug-storm (sorry)
Corinne “Loghain’s Bones” Busche 🏳️⚧️ @corinnebusche Pssst. Remember when I told you the Dragon Age gameplay designers and animators have a prop weapon table?
P-Trick-or-Treakes @patrickweekes THAT’s where my shiny orange-scabbard katana went! I knew I’d loaned them the claymore but had utterly forgotten about that one. 🤣
Sheryl Chee @sherylchee Fans, seeing this pictures: Are we getting katanas? Sheryl, uncaffeinated, recently brain-destroyed by shonen anime: ARE WE GETTING KATANAS?!?!?!
Dark Horse Direct @darkhorsedirect This Witch of the Wilds and storytelling spymaster are setting off on a journey, from the land of Thedas to your door!
October 20, 2022 Army of Two: The 40th Day Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel Dragon Age: Origins is also shutting its "MP Screenshots Server"?
November 9, 2022 Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
November 30, 2022 Onrush
January 19, 2023 Mirror's Edge NBA Jam: On Fire Edition Gatling Gears Shank 2
EA has the following to say about the server closure process on its website:
"As games are replaced with newer titles, the number of players still enjoying the games that have been live for some time dwindles to a level – typically fewer than 1% of all peak online players across all EA titles – where it’s no longer feasible to continue the behind-the-scenes work involved with keeping the online services for these games up and running."
"In some instances, where the online services for a particular game may no longer be available or supported, the game may still be played and enjoyed offline. Depending on the type of game, and the particular services which may no longer be supported, players’ inventory of virtual currency and/or in-game items may continue to be used, whether or not the applicable in-game store is open or disabled, and whether or not the game is still available for sale to new users."
Andre Santos @andresantoast Today was my last day at BioWare. After an amazing 16 years working on Dragon Age and with so many wonderful people, it is time to say goodbye. I look forward to enjoying the DA franchise the same way our fans do.
David Gaider @davidgaider Question for writers/narrative designers, especially those working in teams:
Have you noticed a tendency among writers hyper-aware of tropes and potentially offensive topics to often spiral into what I call "writing paralysis"? This might require some explanation.
An example of what I mean: you have a group of writers pitch a story. Some bad tropes are identified and potentially offensive aspects identified - which is good, this is work you want to do (along with, you know, "is it good?"). So they revise. Next version? Same thing.
So they revise again. And again. Until it seems like there's no end to the possible tropes or possible offenses... until you start to wonder: is it just me? Is it the entire idea? And you want to toss it all, with proceeding further becoming difficult. This is the paralysis.
I don't want to advise the team to "just ignore all that". The alternative is not to do NOTHING, but honestly? "Inoffensive" is not exactly a great aspiration, creatively speaking. So where do you draw the line?
I know where I stand. Curious about the experience of others here.
P-Trick-or-Treakes @patrickweekes Yep. I feel like it's something that has gotten worse with access to places like TV Tropes. It's easy for people to get paralyzed by the realization that any narrative choice could play into some harmful trope or overused cliché if considered from the right angle.
To an extent, it's good for people to develop that understanding, but they have to then be able to say, "Great, obvious harmful issues avoided, now write something and trust that my unique voice will make it feel like more than just another trope."
David Gaider @davidgaider Trust, yeah - though I think there's an element of coming to peace with the fact that there is, ultimately, no way to please *everyone* on that front.
That and hope you haven't filed all the teeth off what you've written in the process. Or maybe that's just me, I'm not sure.
P-Trick-or-Treakes @patrickweekes Yes. Absolutely. The goal isn’t to make something immune to criticism. A story impossible to criticize is a story with no narrative handholds. The best you can do is make the best version of the thing you want to make.
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw I always go back to Luke when it comes to non-harmful tropes: “Done poorly, it’s cliché, but if you do it well, it’s an archetype.”
DRAGON AGE: THE MISSING #1 A new story leading directly into BioWare's upcoming game Dragon Age: Dreadwolf!
Varric Tethras and Lace Harding descend into the abandoned Deep Roads beneath Marnas Pell in pursuit of a former friend. But the corruption of the blight has infected the walls, and the threat of darkspawn looms heavy in the air . . .
* Dive deeper into BioWare's award winning series!
CREATORS Writer: George Mann Artist: Kieran McKeown Colorist: Mike Atiyeh Cover Artist: Matt Taylor Publication Date: January 25, 2023 Format: FC, 32 pages; Miniseries
Derek Wilks @deremix (Cinematic Desiger) I've been at BioWare for a year now! I can without a doubt say it's the best job I've ever had. I've improved my skills tenfold, and have made some great friends. I can't wait to show you guys the really amazing stuff we've been making!
Don't Start Over - "True" Sequels There can be a tendency to see the differences in your game compared to the one that came before. To discard all of the similarities and focus on what is new. But doing this can lead to discarding a lot of work from the past.
"True" sequels are about a philosophy. To default to the position of similarity. It doesn't mean no changes. Indeed, I would argue that this approach makes your changes MORE impactful because you aren't wasting time reinventing the inventory screen (again).
Don't start over, work with what you have.
- Mark touched on this briefly in a previous video. "True" Sequels, in a nutshell, are games that are largely built upon the same tech as the previous game(s), even if the previous game is in a different series (eg. Fallout <-> Elder Scrolls). So this is looking at it from a developer's standpoint.
ff4 Do you think that Dreadwolf can be seen as a "true sequel", as you define here, to Inquisition?
Mark Darrah No. It’s been too long. The tech has been reset.
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Dragon Age The Veilguard Prime Posts: 3,912 Prime Likes: 9733 Posts: 2,894 Likes: 12,961
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Dragon Age The Veilguard
Heroes of Dragon Age @heroesofda On Nov. 23, 2022, EA will be retiring Heroes of Dragon Age. In-app purchases will be disabled as of Oct. 26, 2022, and the game will be accessible until Jan. 24, 2023.
For more information, please visit forums.capitalgames.com
BioWare & Dragon Age @bioware & @dragonage The Dragon Age team is incredibly excited to announce a huge step forward in the development of #Dreadwolf. go.ea.com/dw-alpha
Mark Darrah @biomarkdarrah There. Alpha Vid. Hopefully it won't torpedo my other video.
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf Declares Alpha - What Does It Mean? What does alpha mean? What does it tell us about when they might ship. Rushing this one a bit to be topical.
