David Gaider @davidgaider NPC: "Please find my missing family member!" Aloy: "Nah. They're dead." NPC: "But how do you know?!" Aloy: "I can count on one hand the number of times I've been sent to find someone and they turned out alive. Less dialogue required for quests with dead people."
Miss May @genevrael See also: the Hinterlands
David Gaider @davidgaider Oh, yes. I make the comment about Horizon because I know whereof I speak. 🙃
Emily C Taylor 💉💉💉 pentapod "I'm worried that 'stroke the door for 3 minutes and lick it a little bit' was the first example of how to open a door that came to mind 🤔" "Yeah, me too, actually" "Yes, just licking the door would work" #overheardintheoffice #gamedev
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
It was a beast unlike any I had ever seen. Lupine in appearance, but the size of a high dragon, with shaggy spiked hide and six burning eyes like a pride demon… whatever fear the name Dread Wolf carries, he has earned. — Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights
Whether you commend or condemn the Dread Wolf for his rebellion against the gods, it’s hard not to be feel captivated by his face. It incites fear and inspires awe with six eyes and blood-red maw. It pulls you in, like an invitation to discover the tangle of stories it represents.
Make this captivating artwork part of your style with your Dragon Age Dread Wolf Tee. Its black color allows the illustration’s limited palette really stand out and give the illusion of Fen’Harel emerging from the shadows, as you can see in the gallery above.
Aside from the awesome graphic, this tee offers a light and comfortable feel. Because it’s made with combed and ring-spun yarn, it is smoother, finer, and stronger than regular 100% cotton shirts. This also gives it a drape that feels and looks good even when you wear it under a few layers of clothes. Wear your Dragon Age Dread Wolf Tee whenever you want the elven god of rebellion to be with you in the waking world.
In Jackdaw's most recent DA video, he covers an interview Mark did with Last Stand Media, touching on DA4, BioWare, and EA. A kindly DA fan provided this transcript of that segment!
"Mark Darrah was recently interviewed on a Last Stand Media podcast. It was recorded just before Executive Producer Christian Dailey departed the studio. I'm pretty sure it was recorded on the day that this news was announced on the BioWare Blog, so do bear that in mind when Mark is talking about Dragon Age 4 here. On the podcast, Mark talked about games industry crunch conditions, Anthem's rocky development, Mass Effect: Andromeda, DA2's backlash, and insights on the next Dragon Age. Mark discussed something that BioWare has been struggling with over the years. BioWare is used to small teams back in the early days, and now they have big teams. They used to have a really good process that was good for around 100-200 team members. But since those teams have grown beyond 200 team members, BioWare has struggled to develop and adapt to new processes. This has been a huge challenge for the studio over the years and they've begun to learn to adapt to those larger teams, overcoming this difficulty.
Concerning EA and BioWare's relationship, Mark doesn't think that EA knows/knew what BioWare is, considering the bouncing back and forth of the next Dragon Age game. Shifting between a single player to a live service back to a single player has largely been EA's decision. And there was a huge pressure for Inquisition and Mass Effect: Andromeda to be on the Frostbite engine by EA. In fact, it wasn't even any pressure. Using the Frostbite engine was essentially mandated by EA. BioWare had no other choice. On the other hand, with EA's management over BioWare, BioWare hasn't slipped as much as it used to before EA's acquisition. EA has largely helped maintain the studio.
Now regarding Mark Darrah's departure from BioWare, Mark and Casey Hudson did not coordinate on the departure in December 2020. They were timing things that lined up for both of them to resign. At the time for Mark, it was frustrating. Dragon Age 4 was getting into a primary driving position for BioWare. Mark didn't think that there was anything corporate-related that triggered him to leave. However, he is unsure about Casey's reasoning for his departure.
For those wanting BioWare to return to their glory days, Mark doesn't think that the spirit of classic BioWare is gone from the studio. He thinks it's still there. The thing that makes a BioWare game special are the characters. There is still a pedigree for future BioWare games to have fantastic characters. Now, this is where it gets juicy. In relation to Jeff Grubb's report that Dragon Age 4 is in very good shape, Mark thinks that time-wise, this would make sense that Dragon Age 4 is reportedly in very good shape at the moment. The team would've needed to adapt. Even when Mark Darrah was at the studio in 2020, the team was still expecting a 2023 release window. And Mark thinks that this is still very plausible. Mark thinks that if the team has been able to increase their completion urgency, and bring things to further phases earlier, they could be in really good shape. There was apparently stuff that was getting there when Mark was at the studio over a year ago. If BioWare has been stable enough to keep that stuff, then they probably have a really good foundation to build upon. Mark thinks that they have probably kept those things that were nearing completion when he left. Potentially, for 18 months out of a release window, Mark thinks that BioWare right now has probably done more than they have ever done before on a previous BioWare project. With a tighter core, it will let them go faster. Ultimately, if the team has adapted Mark thinks the team should be in significantly better shape going forward.
The interviewer said that he feels that there is a sentiment online, and in any space really, that BioWare really needs to pull off a win with the next Dragon Age game. He asked Mark what he thinks about this. And regarding this "do-or-die" speculation, Mark said that in a post-Anthem world he thinks that there is some truth to this "do-or-die" sentiment, Dragon Age 4 being the 'end all'. He's not sure if EA would shut down BioWare, but he thinks that retaining BioWare's reputation is more important. If BioWare is making quality and getting people excited, that gives them leeway with EA. And Mark believes that Dragon Age 4 needs to be a good game. But he also thinks that EA knows that now too. He thinks that EA recognizes the blame that they've had in the past for previous mistakes, with Anthem, and with Andromeda. The success of the single-player Star Wars game Jedi: Fallen Order has also changed perceptions internally at EA hugely as well.
On Mark's final exit blog that was posted on BioWare's website, the interviewer asked Mark how much of that was true and did he actually share his final sentiments that this game is in very good hands at the moment. Mark said that if it is on the BioWare website, it has gone through somebody to approve a message, but Mark does believe what he wrote went out in the BioWare Blog post in December. He believes that at the core the DA team remains strong. There are definitely people on this team who know how to make a great game, they know the IP and he thinks that they are well-positioned to do this."
Christian Dailey @christiandailey Last day at BioWare. Thank you to my friends and teammates for being amazing people with crazy talent, making some crazy cool games. #Anthem and #DragonAge please follow my friends @corinnebusche @eplerjc @macwalterslives for all the latest and greatest 💜 Cheering for you... 💜
Blair Thorburn @oiblair My day to day hasn't involved much direct interaction with Christian, but over the last few years that I've been with BioWare, his positive impact has been hard to miss.
I've never met another EP like him in 13 years, and I wish I had.
Thank you for setting us up so well 🙌🏻
Corinne Busche 🏳️⚧️ @corinnebusche I want to offer the most heartfelt thank you to @christiandailey. What you may not realize is his impact in championing the single player #DragonAge you’ve been asking for, and allowing us to build a team focused on safety, creativity, and respect.
Crystal McCord @mrscmccord Milestone planning + end of year feedback reviews + end of year self summary + Women’s History Month event planning + Coverage for sick team Leads = the absolute most difficult last two weeks. Can I sleep for the next two weeks please? #gamedev #production
Okay, to be fair this time last year we were finaling the Mass Effect Legendary Edition. That was difficult but in an entirely different way!
We love EA Play Live as it's our way of connecting with our players and sharing what’s new with all of you. However, this year things aren't lining up to show you everything on one date. We have exciting things happening at our world-class studios and this year we’ll reveal much more about these projects when the time is right for each of them. We look forward to spending time with you throughout the year!
BioWare Gear Store @biowaregear Let the three advisors from the Inquisition guide your every move as you face new challenges through uncharted territories with the #DragonAge Advisors Dice Set.
elle tchi 💙💛 | 🔜 GDC @elenatchii we have a super cool tech anim thing at work and my favourite part is watching non-tech animators be in disbelief when we explain that "yes it's real, yes it works"
i need to make a "trust us, it works" meme to post in slack ad-nauseam
my amazing lead who made the cool thing is not on twitter but i shall sing his praises when we're allowed to talk about it
Mark Darrah @biomarkdarrah Tomorrow let's keep going with DAO. (8:00am PT) We'll start Redcliffe but I expect it will take at least 2 streams...
Miss me? Let's see how far into Redcliffe we can get... The plan is to go do Mage Tower once that becomes relevant but I doubt we will reach that point...
Postcards from Thedas 📪 @starfinderjenn omg I just went into the Hanged Man and they did the "HAWKE!!!" thing 😂 #dragonage2
David Gaider @davidgaider I'll take "Somewhat Dated Pop Culture References" for 300, Alex. 😅
After I put "I did it all for the wookiees" into KotOR and made an entire quest in BG2 an ode to the Blair Witch Project, the DA writers started giving me the hairy eyeball whenever this particular madness overtook me.
Every now and again, however, it was too contagious.
Richard Cobbett @richardcobbett ”I like big boats, I cannot lie” was the perfect balance of ‘Oh god’ and ‘Oh god…’
David Gaider @davidgaider I'm pretty sure @sherylchee did that. Maybe even the "Hawke!" thing, too? I was so proud.
Sheryl Chee @sherylchee I did the boats thing but @biomarykirby did the "Hawke!" thing?
Mary Kirby @biomarykirby I did the "Hawke!" thing. It was Chris Corfe's specific request. How could I refuse?
When my level designer comes to me and says, "I have a terrible idea!" My only possible reply can be, "I support this 300%."
Sheryl Chee @sherylchee Oh, yeah! Corfe had some great ideas. Like "Hey, can you put in a line for if someone kisses Blackwall thirty times?" And for Andromeda: "So what if we put a giant cheese wedge in space?"
Mary Kirby @biomarykirby I want to visit the Space Cheese...
- From "The Hybrid Office", a recent video from Mark Darrah. A kind DA fan transcribed the segment where he talks about the challenges BW faced working-from-home.
"And then we suddenly all found ourselves working from home and every single studio became a distributed studio, without a lot of thinking or foreplan or forethought or systems put in place to regulate that. So now you have a team of 200 people in 200 different locations, in most cases still in the same timezone because they were still in the same city, because that was what happened, and you move to doing meetings online. Work was independent and you used Slack for communication and you had Zoom for your meetings. And over 2020 most of you [were] kind of figur[ing] out how to make that work okay.
But a lot of things were lost. Certainly, my leadership strategies, my leadership policies that I'd built up over 10 years did involve a lot of informal observation and communication that essentially became impossible to do because everyone was talking to each other through a strand of spun glass. So what happened in early 2020s is that suddenly the number of meetings exploded and then everyone figured out that that was terrible and then tried to do other things, and all kinds of things happened. I think most places have found something that is stable.
I'm not gonna get into an argument about whether or not people are more or less efficient in a work-from-home environment. I think it's very dependent on the team, the culture of the team and the individual involved. And I think when you are measuring individual performance that's the wrong measurement. The only thing you should care about when you're measuring velocity is the velocity of the team as a whole. And while I think you can make the argument that distributed development might even improve individual velocity, my experience is that it decreases team velocity.”
