Tag: dragon age 4

Mass Effect lead writer on why ME Legendary Edition inspired him to leave BioWare

Former BioWare employee and lead Mass Effect writer Mac Walters explained why he left the company after nearly two decades

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Former BioWare employee and lead Mass Effect writer Mac Walters explained why he left the company after nearly two decades. Walters left the company of his own volition earlier in 2023, though BioWare laid off other long-time writers, including some who worked on the hit space game trilogy with Walters and on Dragon Age as well.

Walters told the MinnMax show that he decided it was time for a change after working on Mass Effect Legendary Edition, the remastered package that brought all three Mass Effect games together for modern consoles (thanks, Eurogamer). Walters said that, unlike BioWare’s other projects, Legendary Edition was comparatively unplanned and only had a “small, scrappy” team working on it, something that reminded him of days gone by.

“That process reminded me a lot of early BioWare, we were a small scrappy team and people wearing lots of different hats,” Walters said. “The way to make that successful was really for me to be little bit rogue, a little bit sort of entrepreneurial in how we were going to build this out with the people we had and people we could get without disrupting other teams in the meantime.

“This is the future – this is how AAA gaming needs to go when you look at how complex and challenging it is,” he said. “And so a lot of that was reminding me of… y’know, call it the good old days, or whatever.”

Walters said he wanted to work on new projects and fresh IP, but that there wasn’t any room at EA for his plans. When it became clear that the opportunities he envisioned just weren’t possible at BioWare anymore, he said he realized it was time to move on.

Walters founded a new studio with NetEase after he left, Worlds Untold, and is currently working on an unannounced sci-fi project. BioWare, meanwhile, is still teasing Mass Effect 5 and Dragon Age 4, both of which aren’t anywhere near launching after several years of development.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

BioWare teases full Dragon Age Dreadwolf reveal in new trailer

A full Dragon Age Dreadwolf reveal is just a few months away, BioWare teased in a new trailer for the upcoming game

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A full Dragon Age Dreadwolf reveal is just a few months away, BioWare teased in a new trailer for the upcoming game. “Trailer” might be a little generous, as it’s essentially just 58 seconds of some artwork and a few voiceover lines, but like the studio’s recent Mass Effect 5 tease, there’s still a fair bit to dig into here.

The news comes over a year after BioWare announced it had a full, playable alpha build of Dreadwolf and gave us a (very) brief glimpse of Dreadwolf lore.

Antiva and the Crows make an appearance in the trailer, which is pretty much what we’d expect at this point. BioWare teased a big role for the Crows and their homeland since the first pieces of Dreadwolf concept art. This time, we hear someone who’s presumably a leader of the Crows saying they fight for everyone and will remain the rulers of Antiva. The trailer switches to a shot of Rivain, as another voice mentions the risen gods and a stylized dragon eye flickers on the map.

Then it’s time for Andefells and a Gray Warden saying he refuses to hide away in his castle before ending with a generic map shot clouded in heavy purple fog and an unknown voice that says “All the world will soon share the peace and comfort of my reign.” Not ominous at all.

BioWare promises a full reveal in summer 2024, so don’t expect anything at The Game Awards. Who on the Dragon Age team is actually left to work on the game is a bit murky. BioWare laid off several high-profile writers and developers who had previously been with the team since the early Mass Effect and Dragon Age days. The studio also laid off unionized contract workers who, as of N7 Day, have yet to receive their severance pay.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

BioWare lays off long-time Dragon Age writers and developers

BioWare announced 50 layoffs, including long-time Dragon Age writers, in a bid to make a more “agile” team

BioWare announced 50 layoffs, including long-time Dragon Age writers, in a bid to make a more “agile” team. Gary McKay, the studio’s general manager, posted a blog post explaining the layoffs and assuring fans that parting ways with some of the studio’s most experienced members won’t delay Dragon Age Dreadwolf or Mass Effect 4.

BioWare had a fully playable Dreadwolf alpha build near the end of 2022. Giantbomb host Jeff Grubb says BioWare internally delayed Dreadwolf from a September 2023 release date to summer 2024, with a high chance of further delays happening.

“In order to meet the needs of our upcoming projects, continue to hold ourselves to the highest standard of quality, and ensure BioWare can continue to thrive in an industry that’s rapidly evolving, we must shift towards a more agile and more focused studio,” McKay said in the statement. “It will allow our developers to iterate quickly, unlock more creativity, and form a clear vision of what we’re building before development ramps up.”

McKay said BioWare will try to find other positions in the company for those affected, though roughly half a dozen – including Dragon Age Origins writer Mary Kirby – are already looking for other job opportunities on social media.

Others laid off from BioWare in addition to Kirby include John Renish, technical director and programmer who’d been with BioWare for eight years; Tim Griffith, an engineer and narrative programmer who joined BioWare in 2012; and Andre Garcia, director on Dreadwolf with an extensive career spanning 20 years at EA, LucasArts, and Ubisoft.

Lead Mass Effect writer Mac Walters left the studio earlier in 2023. McKay didn’t say how BioWare plans to fill these vacant senior roles or whether they’ll be filled at all.

GamesBeat’s Dean Takahashi also reported that BioWare and EA cut ties with Keyword Studios playtesting group after the latter voted to form a union.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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This TikTok therapist is using Dragon Age to teach emotional growth

A certified therapist with a PhD in human development is using Dragon Age and other video games to teach lessons on emotional growth

A certified therapist with a PhD in human development is using Dragon Age and other video games to teach lessons about emotional growth on YouTube and TikTok. Ryan Earl, who goes by the screenname Dr Mick on social media, believes RPGs and other character-driven games are a helpful vehicle for teaching lessons about communication and understanding others, and his most recent example is Dragon Age (thanks, PC Gamer).

Earl started gaining popularity when Mass Effect Legendary Edition launched in 2021 and gained a following by playing the game from an analytical perspective, using his knowledge and experience as a therapist to inform his decisions. It was a hit with viewers, so Earl expanded to Red Dead Redemption 2, The Last of Us, and other popular games, but decided his next stream would be something different: Dragon Quest Origins, a game he only played once in 2009.

@drmicktok

Reading anxiety by observing pattern change with Sten. #mentalhealth #dragonageorigins #dragonage #bioware #licensedtherapist

♬ original sound – DrMick

Earl hoped the combination of genuine reactions from a newcomer’s perspective and the lack of morality and ethical tags in DAO’s dialogue would lead to something special, and he was right. Earl used examples such as Sten’s seemingly aggressive confrontation with the Grey Wardens to explain the significance of understanding someone else’s position and Alistair preferring to follow than lead as a talking point about the strength of recognizing our own needs, even if they don’t match up with the expectations of others.

His YouTube streams attracted such a dedicated following that some viewers left en masse when he mistakenly incited Wynne to attack him at a crucial point in the game, but he refused to restart and make things right. 

“Videogames in some ways teach bad boundaries,” he said. “They teach people to triangulate themselves in issues and get involved in stuff they shouldn’t get involved in. I think it’s important to know that’s happening in video games because that’s not really how you should operate in real life.”

We’ll probably have to wait a while to see what Earl would make of Baldur’s Gate 3. He’s recently finished Origins’ DLC and is likely going to continue with more Dragon Age next.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Dragon Age creator says AI is a ‘soulless’ waste of time

David Gaider, who helped create BioWare’s RPG series Dragon Age, thinks using AI for quest writing is a waste of time – and for good reason

David Gaider, who helped create BioWare’s hit RPG series Dragon Age, thinks using AI for quest writing is a waste of time – and for good reason. Gaider made the comments on Twitter (thanks, PC Gamer) in response to a piece in The Guardian about Stanford researchers creating a game demo that uses ChatGPT to generate NPC dialogue and create what the team believes are in-depth interactions.

Gaider said using AI for procedural content generation in this way sounds like a dream for some executives – except BioWare already tried it nearly 10 years ago, and it failed miserably.

“BioWare went through several iterations of this: ‘what if we didn’t need every conversation to be bespoke?’” Gaider said. “Unlimited playtime with dialogue being procedurally created alongside procedural quests!”

“Each time, the team collectively believed – believed down at their CORE – that this was possible,” Gaider said in a reply to his original tweet. “Just within reach. And each time we discovered that, even when the procedural lines were written by human hands, the end result once they were assembled was… lackluster. Soulless.”

Gaider said the problem wasn’t just the need for advanced technology or feeding the system more lines to turn into quests or ideas. It was the ideas the AI comes out with, which, Gaider says, are inevitably bland and boring.

“Procedural content generation of quests results in something ‘shaped’ like a quest,” Gaider said. “It has the beats you need for one, sure, but the end result is no better than your typical ‘bring me 20 beetle heads’ MMO quest.”

Even a cursory glance at the article Gaider quoted or the recent Nvidia showcase that unveiled AI technology for procedurally generated quests shows that the same issue still exists. Quests were bland, and conversations were stilted, with little personality.

Gaider believes developers – indie and AAA – and executives will still continue to push for AI in games, but that it will only result in the same conclusion BioWare drew and end up being a colossal waste of time and resources.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Dragon Age 4 release date gets closer as BioWare passes new milestone

Dragon Age 4 passed a major milestone and is now completely playable from beginning to end, but there’s still work to do on BioWare’s new RPG

The Dragon Age 4 release date just got a little bit closer, as BioWare general manager Gary McKay announced in a new blog post that the game has passed its alpha milestone. That means BioWare has a functional Dragon Age 4 alpha build the team can play from beginning to end. 

BioWare’s update follows a recent tease where the narrative team shared a few enticing snippets of Dragon Age 4 lore and discussed how they approach creating the RPG world and those who live in it.

The milestone is significant in itself, but even more so considering McKay said the game only entered production in February.

“It’s… exciting to finally be able to bring our fans to parts of the world that we’ve previously hinted at, but never been able to fully explore—like the city of Minrathous, the capital of the Tevinter Empire,” McKay said in the post. “We’ve talked about Minrathous in previous games, and now you’ll finally be able to visit! It’s a city built on and fuelled by magic, and the ways in which that has come through in its visual identity, and what that looks like in comparison to previous cities we’ve visited in Dragon Age, are pretty spectacular.”

Meanwhile, BioWare is still working on the next single-player game in the Mass Effect series – one Shepard won’t be reappearing in – and continues work on new updates for Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Dragon Age 4 is officially titled ‘Dragon Age: Dreadwolf’

Bioware’s next big fantasy RPG gets a new name.

Well, Dragon Age 4 has a new name.

developing…

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Dragon Age 4 is in the ‘middle’ of production, says Bioware

Executive Producer also leaves the project.

The latest Dragon Age 4 development update from Bioware states that production is plugging along nicely, though a senior member of the team is leaving the project.

Over on Bioware’s official blog, studio general manager Gary McKay said that Dragon Age 4 is currently in the middle of production, which lines up with reports that the game is still over a year away. Currently, Dragon Age 4 isn’t even in an alpha state yet, but McKay states the team feels great about the progress. However, it seems as though executive producer Christian Daley isn’t sticking around.

“As we continue our journey, we wanted to wish Christian Dailey a heartfelt farewell from BioWare,” McKay said. “Christian started with us back in 2018 and has been a big influence on our games and leadership team, most recently as Executive Producer over Dragon Age’s development. The games industry is ever-changing though and sometimes folks want to go and try new things – we understand, but we will miss him as a friend and as a colleague.”

Daley is only the latest high-profile name from Bioware to leave the company recently, though he had some encouraging parting words for colleagues and fans alike.

“I wanted to pass on the news that I am leaving BioWare. The next Dragon Age is in great hands,” Daley said on Twitter. “Looking forward to cheering on the team and playing as a fan. Please follow my friends on the latest and greatest moving forward.”

We still don’t know a lot about Dragon Age 4 other than it’ll focus on single player.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Dragon Age 4 is reportedly more than a year from release

The highly-anticipated RPG is still a ways off.

It’s tough being a Bioware fan. Mass Effect  gets  nothing but vague teasers  these days, and Dragon Age 4  is nowhere in sight — not in 2022, anyway.

On Thursday, video game industry insider Tom Henderson said  on Twitter  that the ever-mysterious fourth entry in the Dragon Age  series isn’t coming out this year. Then, a report by Venturebeat  not only corroborated Henderson’s claims but went on to state that Dragon Age 4 will not release until the summer of 2023 at the earliest. Not exactly what fans want to hear, given  excellent western RPGs  aren’t coming out left and right.

The good news is Bioware is taking its time with Dragon Age 4, even reassuring everyone that it’ll  emphasize single-player  first and foremost. Details outside of that are scarce, other than the fact that  Yuri Lowenthal would love to play Sandal  again. There was some concern when senior creative director  Matt Goldman left Dragon Age 4  in November, but Bioware claims his departure was for the best.

It’s hard to say when Dragon Age 4 will materialize, as it’s reportedly in development since 2015 and gone through several reboots. There’s always the possibility that it could show up at E3 this year, but that’s only a guess.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Dragon Age 4 will focus on single player

Solo adventurers rejoice!

Bioware confirms that Dragon Age 4  is, first and foremost, a single-player experience. 

Seven years have gone by since Dragon Age: Inquisition, the last game in the series, came out. Since then, Bioware has yet to reveal much about the fourth installment in its beloved high fantasy franchise, though anyone concerned Dragon Age 4  might be a multiplayer affair can rest easy, according to a  blog post  from the development team. 

“We want to let you all know that we’re still hard at work on building the next single-player focused experience for Dragon Age,” Bioware said. “We’re excited for next year when we can talk more about what we’re working on.”

Rumors were floating around some time ago that Dragon Age 4  would emphasize co-op and multiplayer similar to  Monster Hunter. So it’s good that Bioware took the time to specify that single-player will still be part of the new game.

Aside from the fact that  Yuri Lowenthal would love to come back to play Sandal, we don’t know a whole heck of a lot about Dragon Age 4. Matt Goldman, senior creative director on the series, recently  left Bioware for reasons that were not made public. Besides that, there’s not been any recent news about the game. It could show up at  The Game Awards, though.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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