Dragon Age News Thread

I don't really agree with this, Weekes made it a point to tell us that the next game will conclude the story of Solas, so Bioware is well aware they've set up the next story. I think what they consider "contained" is the Inquisition. I don't totally agree with them, but I wouldn't conflate their opinion on the conclusion of the Inquisition story with them unaware they've set up expectations for the next story. They know we're all waiting to see what happens to Thedas and Solas. 

Aidan Scanlan ‏@aidanscanlan
Apparently Crate & Barrel has nug ornaments

While ES and Skyrim fans want the new shiny -- totally understandable -- I don't think it's really the same if we're comparing game worlds. The plot, story, and characters aren't the main reason people play those games, whereas that is the core draw for Dragon Age. The Skyrim fans don't have that sense of "WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN??!?!" that we have with DA, and they can basically just continue playing their radiant quests, modding their games (for console now too!!) to make them look how they want, until the next game is released.

I'd compare it to waiting for the next Song of Ice and Fire novel, to be honest.

^ The change of setting is a major plus for me for exactly that reason. DAI went way overboard with its carryovers and cameos.

But in terms of the story connection, the DA series has gotten more and more connected with each installment. DAI didn't introduce a "new" anything -- even Hawke came back -- except Solas. We had Corypheus from DA2, Samson from DA2, and the mage/templar conflict from DAO and DA2. No, you don't have to have played DA2 or the Legacy DLC to "get" DAI, but I think the experience would have been extremely lacking without it. Also, David Gaider said that the entire plot arc was cut in half. With the DAI post-credit Solas reveal, we saw how he was the instigator of it all, so it's not like they shoehorned Solas in at the last moment; he's woven through everything. Regardless of the state of the Inquisition as an organization, with Trespasser, we have a very clear lead-in to the next game. To me, that says, very clearly, that the next game is going to continue on that same story.

How the Inquisitor will be involved is anybody's guess, but they will most likely be involved in some manner. Not only does the final Trespasser scene show their personal investment, but PW said that he wants to give Solas/Lavellan some sort of closure, and you can't have that without the Inquisitor present. ... Unless, you know, Solas just dies, then that's certainly "closure" of a sort.

I'd prefer if they just embraced the serialized format, to be honest. You can still have new characters, and even a new protagonist, without the need to rehash various things like the Chantry, mage oppression, elf oppression, Evil Tevinter, conquering Qunari, the Wardens and darkspawn, and so on.

"Here is our world. Our players know what goes on in our world. So here are some new people in that same world you're already familiar with."

At this point, with a potential fourth game, I think it will be more harmful to the game as a whole to continue to cater to new players. Heck, the title alone has the potential to do that. Even if "four" isn't stated outright, they're usually marketed as "the latest installment," "the fourth game in the series," and so on. Most new players will buy the game knowing it's a fourth game and have already made the decision that they will either not know what's going on, decided to roll with it, play the previous games, or do some reading before hand.

Sanshee ‏@teamsanshee
It has been a very cute day full of very cute plush! 💖



Brianne Battye ‏@bbattye
Soon one of you will be mine...

I hope they don't do that. Since that would be a complete waste. Like why even bring up the inquisitor/Solas relationship as a focal point in trespasser if they are immediately going to shelve it? As far as I am concerned they made their bed and now they have to lay in it.

So go full ME trilogy, but with new PCs each time? That would be my preference as well, but after ME3, they might be a bit gun-shy about connecting the installments too tightly. It builds up expectations too much. Whereas if you kind of only loosely connect them, they have a bit more freedom to introduce new arcs and phase out old ones, spreading out the fandom outrage over multiple installments. I wonder if some of the odd reversals and downplaying of old arcs seen in DAI, like the GW and the world-ending threat of the next Blight, was intentional for exactly that reason?

A video game in a place like Charles de Lint's Newford would certainly be interesting for me! ^-^ 

RockLoveJewelry ‏@rocklovejewelry
Handcrafted sterling @dragonage #Qunari Dragon Tooth Necklace, a few remain on @bioware Store www.biowarestore.com/accessories/dragon-tooth-necklace …
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RockLoveJewelry, Ahnzo Shepard, Dragon Age and ThinkGeek Denver

To be honest it always seemed strange that they did tie off the Inquisition after only 2 DLC plus Trespasser. Given 2 years was meant to have passed since the end of Corypheus, that left plenty of potential for short story plots involving the Inquisitor and their team. Instead, if you did JoH and Descent before confronting Corypheus, then apparently the Inquisitor was really just twiddling their thumbs and doing paperwork until the Exalted Council was called. Actually I always do both of the DLC after the main game for the simple reason that I feel they make more sense there, particularly JoH, since because it was wholly unconnected to either Cory or the Venatori, there seemed no real reason why you would take time out from hunting him in order to pursue a vague lead concerning the former Inquisitor. (Plus Cory would have been way too easy with a level 27 Inquisitor).

If what DG said was true and they had only told half the story thus far that was originally intended for DAI, then it would seem the overall plot is already all there and just needs to be told. That may well make development quicker than anticipated considering they will be working with an established game engine as well. Here's hoping anyway.

BAH HUMBUG! 

Oooo, that makes sense for the season.