Dragon Age News Thread

Derek Wilks @deremix
literally me every other day since coming back from vacation

new images from the vinyl.

also nothing at SGF opening showcase.

Gynedroid @gynedroid
Ok Dragon Age community: who is the finest liar?

1. Varric
2. Solas
3. The Iron Bull
4. Impossible Choice

Patrick Weekes @patrickweekes
With no canon intended, I would go with Bull. Varric is great at business lies or clean-conscience lies, but I think Bull has the edge in emotional compartmentalization and holding a cover.

Update: I have been informed that some of you were voting based on a much different interpretation of "FINEST" than I was using, and this explains a lot. 🤣

David Gaider @davidgaider
One narrative design issue I've run into is what I call the "lyrium problem" (for obvious reasons). If you have something in your setting which can technically do anything ("magic" often qualifies, also eezo in ME) then it will, eventually, do *everything*. And that's not good.

Why is it not good? Because it becomes this shiny, easy solution for every issue that prevents the team from doing the work to do anything *else*.

Weird thing happens? Lyrium.
Need a mechanic for a cool gameplay thing? Lyrium.
Something that breaks all existing rules? Lyrium.

You can try to put limitations on your Anything Thing, but for many members of your team it's SITTING RIGHT THERE. It's the equivalent of narrative jazz hands... why do we need to restrict ourselves to a stupid box when anything is *technically* possible, right?

"The multiverse" is another current example. It can do anything. We can tell any story. We can resurrect characters, break every existing rule of the universe... and what other explanation do we need? Multiverse. Easy peasy.

Thing is, eventually you turn around and that Anything Thing has turned into narrative crack filler. It's lost all meaning on its own. So be careful if you use it. It needs strict, clearly-communicated limitations established from the outset or it will grow like a weed.

David Gaider @davidgaider
Since it's come up in the replies, I should mention that this issue doesn't automatically render settings with an Anything Thing bad or unenjoyable. People like magic. It's fine... for a time. The problem is with long-term narrative cohesion.

Eventually, once your Anything Thing becomes the answer to everything, suddenly it's a task to explain why it *isn't* the current answer. You have "It's Not Lyrium This Time I Swear" and it's cousin "No Lyrium Is Not the Solution" to contend with if you try to do anything *else*.

"No, we can't go to the multiverse to bring this character back because... uh, reasons."
"No, magic won't help you solve this riddle because... uh, reasons."
"No, the holodeck won't give you the answer this time, even though it did last time, for... uh, reasons."

I don't claim to be better. I created the "lyrium problem" for myself in Dragon Age, as I was the Lead Narrative Designer. I agreed to everything each step along the way. It was a trap I fell into by inches, mainly because convenience was the Order of the Day. 😅

All I'm saying is that, if you want to save yourself long-term headache, you need to put in the work on cohesion early... assuming you have the support of the rest of your team. Sometimes they don't want to be bothered by your narrative nonsense, and who can blame them? 😉

Patrick Weekes @patrickweekes
I am enjoying all the new Star Treks now that I have the streaming service to watch them in Canada, but my lord, two thirds of any episode's problem could be solved by re-doing something the transporter did by accident years ago.
"We're low on this incredibly rare resource!"

"Uhhh, have you considered beaming it somewhere and doing whatever got you two Rikers that one time?"

Star Trek: Lower Decks at least ACKNOWLEDGES this before noting that it won't work this time. Nobody else does.

CorbynRed - "Hey, Henry's come to see us!" @corbynred
There's the opposite of this though: our Warden and our companions can take Lyrium and have no after effects whatsoever - most likely due to programming limitations.

David Gaider @davidgaider
That's easy to explain, actually.

Me: *explaining all the narrative things involved with lyrium use in the lore*
The Rest of the Team: Or not.

David Gaider @davidgaider
Look, when you gently try to explain to a stressed-out team member why the Cool Thing they just made doesn't actually comply with the lore as-established, and it needs to be redone even though there is No Time, sometimes you gotta accept "just fuck OFF" as the final answer.

Trick @paladinbard@wandering.shop
"I think we can solve this by using emotional manipulation."
-Patrick, Narrative Designer

Hard Drive @harddrivemag
Game With Dialogue Wheel Adds ‘Damn That’s Crazy’ Option
A recent update for the beloved action role-playing series Gravity Warp has added a dedicated “Damn, that’s crazy” option to all dialogue wheels, sources have confirmed.



Patrick Weekes @patrickweekes
Damn it, Gravity Warp just stole our thunder. Gonna have to do a whole refactor now to get “lmao mood” in to up the ante.

Mary Kirby @biomarykirby
There's still time for the Paris Hilton, "That's hawt," pass to go in....

blog.bioware.com/2023/06/27/bright-future-for-swtor/


As we look toward the future, BioWare is focused on being a leader in developing immersive, emotionally charged, single-player games, with teams primarily in Austin and Edmonton. This means a renewed focus on our two key franchises: Dragon Age™ and Mass Effect™. For Dragon Age, we continue to build, polish, and tune an exceptional experience we know our fans will love. We can’t wait to share more on this soon. For Mass Effect, we continue pre-production with a core team of veteran storytellers who are bringing the deep franchise history forward in a spectacular new way.

I’m excited about the opportunities that lie ahead, and Keith wanted to share his own thoughts about the transition.

Stay well,

Gary McKay

General Manager, BioWare

I just realized they updated the cover as well...




Also...

source

Jon Renish @jonrenish
Happy to have a three day weekend coming up, next week's schedule is almost booked solid.

[Image description: a screenshot of Jon's weekday work schedule for next week July 3-7th; Monday is a holiday, and then he has 'full play through', ostensibly for DA4, scheduled Tuesday-Friday.]

Jay Watamaniuk @jaywatamaniuk
Alas, my 21 year journey with BioWare has come to an end. I wanted to thank the exceptional team of writers who taught me the business of creation with empathy, patience and humour. Whatever the future holds, my work will be forever shaped by their lessons. It was a privilege

BioWare @bioware
Caption this image!
#DragonAge