Dragon Age II Worry

Lately, BioWare hasn't really revealed many specifics about Dragon Age II.  This is leading to all sorts of internet rumors on the subject, such as that the game is completely different, one went so far as to say that the new game will be a hack and slash type game, which is complete nonsense.  

However, a recent develop diary released clear up some of these worries.  A "Making of Dragon Age II" video was recently released on the internet.  It shows that the developers have the player's best interest at heart, showing similar gameplay to the first game.  

http://gamerant.com/dragon-age-2-bioware-making-of-video-part-1-trung-57087/

They go into detail explaining how the new story will work, how the combat differs and such.  They admit that changes make some older fans nervous, the they have high hopes for it.  And after watching that Developer Diary, I have no doubt that Dragon Age II will live up to its hype.

Dragon Age: Awakening

About a year after Dragon Age: Origins was released, an expansion, Dragon Age: Awakening hit stores.  Awakening takes place six months after the death of the Arch Demon and sees the Warden rebuild the Grey Wardens.

The expansion to Dragon Age: Origins

In Awakening, the Warden initiates several Grey Wardens through the joining.  The player is presented with several characters, some more righteous than others, and it is up to the player's judgement if they are going to be accepted into the Grey Wardens or not.

Dragon Age II Preview

Dragon Age II was recently announced for a release date of March 2011.  The game takes a large departure from what fans might have expected.  When BioWare developed Mass Effect 2, they reinserted the first protagonist, Commander Shepard into an all new story, all of your past decisions from Mass Effect 1 carrying over into the storyline of the second game.  While your decisions from Dragon Age and the ultimate outcome are imported into Dragon Age II, your designed character is not the protagonist.  Instead, you play as Hawk, a Lothering refugee who rises to power.  Several characters from the first game return such as Flemeth and Isabella, but for the most part, it seems Dragon Age II aims to tell its own unique story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xx0pU-B_yA

One of the main advantages to having a set protagonist rather than a customizable one is that now, the protagonist will have a voice actor behind them.  This was not the case in Dragon Age: Origins due to the level of customization available.

The combat will remain the same at its core, however, developers are saying they are revamping the entire skill system, along with making combat look a lot better.

Downloadable content

Since the release of Dragon Age, there has been a large amount of optional, downloadable content.  This ranges from anything from new equipment, new quests, areas, and even new playable characters.

The Stone Prisoner
The first released piece of downloadable content, and my personal favorite DLC, is The Stone Prisoner.  The content adds a new quest, a new town, and a new playable character, the golem, Shale.  It begins with the player's party finding a strange item called a control rod.  After asking a local merchant, the player learns that the rod can control a golem.

Shale in 'The Stone Prisoner'

After much investigating in the town of Honneleath, the player awakens Shale, the sleeping golem, and can ultimately convice him to join the party.  Shale can be used throughout the entire game, and has his own personal history and storyline to add.  In addition to this, Shale's presence can also affect what happens towards the end of the game concerning Wynne.

Leliana's Song

Another lengthy piece of downloadable content is Leliana's Song.  This campaign takes place years before the events of Dragon Age: Origins in Orlay, the continent across the ocean from Ferelden.  In Leliana's Song, the player plays as Leliana and her Orlesian companions and follows the events leading up to and following her betrayal.

Leliana's Song

She is living as an assassin/bard and gets caught up in a treasonous conspiracy and is ultimately left for dead by her mentor, Marjolaine.  In Dragon Age: Origins, the player along with Leliana can confront Marjolaine one last time.  Marjolaine can also be killed during this encounter.  The campaign lasts about 3 hours and adds a great amount of depth to the character of Leliana.

Witch Hunt
The final DLC for Dragon Age: Origins is a campaign called Witch Hunt.  The campaign takes place after the defeat of the Arch Demon, and can only be played in the Warden does not die at the end of the story.  It begins with the Warden feeling unsatisfied by Morrigan's disappearance at the end of the game.  It is important to note that if the Warden ever slept with Morrigan, that she will be pregnent by the end of the story, this happens even if the Warden declines Morrigan's offer.  After gathering a small party of random adventurers, the Warden sets out to find Morrigan, the reason for which, can be a variety of things.

Morrigan returns in 'Witch Hunt'

Depending of the events of the first game concerning Morrigan, the player can be pursuing Morrigan for a range of reasons.  If Morrigan was the Warden's lover in Dragon Age, and it ended well, the Warden pursues Morrigan because he loves her and wants to see his child.  If the player refuses Morrigan's deal, and never romanced her, the Warden can be pursuing Morrigan to either kill her or ask her questions about her disappearance.  

The Ultimate Sacrifice, Morrigan's Offer, and The End of Dragon Age

In addition to who ends up ruling Ferelden, the final confrontation with the Arch Demon will result in either the player, Alistair, Loghain to make the ultimate sacrifice.  Immediately prior to the final battle, the player is informed that when an Arch Demon is killed, its soul will be transferred to another being with darkspawn blood, and thus it is reborn.  In order to prevent this, a Grey Warden must be the one to defeat the Arch Demon, and because Grey Wardens have darkspawn blood, the Arch Demon's soul will enter the Warden's body.  However, because the Warden is not a darkspawn, this process ends up just killing both the Arch Demon and the Warden.

Wynne battling the Arch Demon

The possible Grey Wardens that can be sacrificed are Loghain, Alistair, or the player's warden.  However, there is no way to have both of them be active members of the party during the final battle, it has be either one or the other.  However, despite all of this, there is a way to avoid making this sacrifice all together, through the means of a blood magic ritual performed by Morrigan.

While, yes this entire sacrifice can be avoided, it is not without a cost.  The method of Morrigan's ritual is that of blood magic, a forbidden school of magic that uses life force to accomplish goals.  Morrigan's offer is that she will have sex with either the Warden (which may or may not have happened already in the story, depending on what the player has chosen), Alistair, or Loghain.

Morrigan's offer

After this, a child is conceived and when the Arch Demon is slain, its soul inhabits the unborn child's body, instead of killing the Grey Warden who slays it. However, this child will ultimately grow up to become a god.  What this really means is hard to say, but it implies something bad could ultimately come of it.


This in combination with the events of the Landsmeet determine the player's ending.

Endings:

"Alistair's Champion"- Alistair becomes king, either with or without Anora, and remains a Grey Warden.  Morrigan's offer is refused.  The Warden stands by his king, and in a great moment of triumph defeats the Arch Demon and sacrifices himself to save Ferelden.  The game ends with The Warden's funeral, Alistair and company by his side.

"Loghain's Redemption"- Anora rules as queen, either with or without the Warden by her side as king.  Loghain is recruited into the Grey Wardens and in a moment of redemption, slays the Arch Demon and sacrifices himself to save the Kingdom.  The game ends with the Warden in the royal palace surrounded by friends and family.

"Loghain's Victory"- Anora rules as queen, Loghain doesn't die, and the player sacrifices his life to slay the Arch Demon.  The game ends with the Warden's funeral, Loghain claiming his victory with Anora over Ferelden.

"The Late King"- Loghain is executed shortly after the Landsmeet, and either The Warden or Alistair sacrifices themselves against the Arch Demon as king.

"The Warden's Champion"- The Warden becomes king, and Alistair makes the sacrifice.

"The Sinister Spawn of Morrigan"- Morrigan sleeps with one of the three Grey Wardens and conceives a child.  This negates the need for a sacrifice, but ends the game in an ominous and worrysome light.

The Warden Becomes King

One of the most satisfying conclusions to the Landsmeet is that the Warden becomes king.  However, this is not easy to arrange, and takes some careful planning to ensure that it happens.

The Warden as King (the warden appears differently to each player)

First of all, the Warden can only be considered for the throne if he is a human noble.  If he is not, there is no chance for him to become king.  In addition to this, the Warden needs to put the idea into Anora's mind for marriage the first time they meet through conversation.  If this is not achieved, the Warden will not become king.  If all of these are met, and the Warden chooses not to execute Loghain personally, the Warden will be able to assume the throne by marrying Anora.

Anora rules as Queen

Another possibility of the Landsmeet is that you strip all power from Loghain and allow his daughter to continue to serve as Queen.

Queen Anora

This may occur if Anora objects to marry either the player or Alistair for whatever reason.  The player also has a lengthy interaction with Anora before the landsmeet.  Interaction with her there will determine her willingness to accept a king.  This outcome puts the player at a great disadvantage, as the player will have little to no power over Ferelden in the days following the Landsmeet.

Also, having Anora be Queen will result in either one of two things for Alistair, his execution or the relinquishment of his birthright.  After Loghain's defeat, Anora still feels threatened by Alistair's right to the throne, so she will deal with it in one of those two ways, her decision of which can be influenced by the Warden's decisions.

Alistair becomes king

The most obvious way to seize power of Ferelden is to have Alistair claim his birthright as king of Ferelden, much like Aragorn does in Lord of the Rings.  This can be done one of two ways.

Alistair as king of Ferelden

One can have Alistair marry Queen Anora, creating two birthrighted rulers ready to seize power from Loghain.  However, depending on what you have done throughout the game, Alistair might not be willing to do this.  For example, if you are playing a Female Human Noble and are involved in a romance with Alistair, he may be more inclined to marry the player and have her serve as queen instead of Anora, which is completely possible.

Dragon Age Endings

Faced with the ultimate task of slaying the Arch Demon in Dragon Age is no easy task.  In addition to being gruelingly difficult, it can also happen a number of ways in the end.  The first factor in determining a players ending is the result of the Landsmeet event.

The Landsmeet

The Landsmeet is an event that occurs toward the end of the game.  It is a gathering of nobles that must determine who will rule Ferelden now that the king has been slain.  At the start of it, Teyrn Loghain and his daughter Anora are in power, acting as Queen and General, respectively.  However, the player must work to challenge this through a number of means.

Bush

While although not as concrete, some would argue that President Bush's shortcomings lead to the events that occurred on September 11th.  While radically different scenarios, it's the same basic principle here.  A leader made unfavorable choices that lead to a huge tragedy.  Now, could this simply be a coincidence?  Or was Loghain modeled after President Bush's presidency.  It's a possibility, and something to think about.

President Bush (the bad guy in America)

President Bush...Dragon Age inspiration?

The bulk of production during the making of Dragon Age: Origins was done during President Bush's presidency over the United States, and of course, the war in Iraq was in motion at the time.  When one considers this, knowing the story of Dragon Age: Origins, a parallel can be drawn between President Bush, and the primary antagonist of Dragon Age Teyrn Loghain.

Teyrn Loghain (the bad guy in Dragon Age)

At the start of the story, Loghain is your ally.  The player first encounters Loghain at Ostagar, a Grey Warden stronghold.  He is introduced as a General in King Cailan's army, and is shown to show personal and political resentment towards the king.  Shortly after meeting him, he abandons the king and the Grey Wardens during a crucial moment in battle against the dark spawn.  This leads to the death of all the king's forces in addition to the death of all Grey Wardens, save the player and Alistair.  After this, he declares all Grey Wardens to be traitors to the king, and declares war on the Grey Wardens.

To be continued in my next blog post

Dragon Age Combat

In addition to the rich and immersion storyline, Dragon Age also shines when it comes to combat.  At its core, its essentially World of Warcraft combat mixed with the structure of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.  The way that spells are cast are exactly like the action bar in WoW, and it takes after KoToR in the sense that you can stop time in order to plan out your next spell, and you are also able to switch party members and give each of them specific tactical orders.

A typical fight in Dragon Age

Dragon Age

The following is my blog for the Dragon Age series, for Video Games and Culture class at Hartwick College.  This blog will serve to research and examine everything about the Dragon Age series.

The first installment of the series: Dragon Age: Origins, was released in November, 2009.  It was developed by BioWare, the same developers of the Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect Series.

Dragon Age is a fantasy role playing game.  The player assumes the role of a customized hero known as the Warden.  The world of Dragon Age consists of several different races (human, elf, and dwarf) of which the player can choose to play as.  There are also three classes (mage, rogue, or warrior) to choose from, and of course, the player gets to pick their gender.

In addition to picking these things about your character, you also get to pick an origin story for your character.  This determines the character's past prior to the events of the game.  The first hour or so of gameplay completely takes place in your origin story.  Based on your race and class, different origin stories become available.

There are two for dwarves:
Dwarf Noble
Dwarf Commoner

Three for elves:
Wood Elf
City Elf
Mage (requires mage class)

Three for humans:
Human Noble
Human Commoner
Mage (requires mage class)

However, in Dragon Age, if you are a mage, you are required to choose the mage origin story.  Origin stories not only determine the first hour of gameplay, but have a massive effect on the future of the game's storyline, and in turn, shape your entire Dragon Age experience.  For example, if you play as a human noble, you can eventually become king of the land due to your birthright, whereas, other origins would never be able to do so.

The story of the game revolves around  a group of people called the Grey Wardens, a group of warriors who fight to protect the world from an evil force known as the Dark Spawn.  The player joins this organization right after their origin story.  Soon after that, all the Grey Wardens except the player and one other warden are killed.

There are also many playable characters that can join your party throughout the game.  Most of these characters are optional and can be dismissed or otherwise completely avoided.

*Alistair- Alistair joins your party towards the beginning of the game and serves as your mentor and guide.  He is a warrior and mainly is meant to use a shield in combat.  He is also the illegitimate son of the disposed king, giving him the potential to claim the throne later in the game, should the story unfold in that manner.

*Morrigan- Morrigan saves the player and Alistair from death during the Grey Warden massacre.  She is an apostate, which is a mage that is not regulated by the state.  Her mother is a legendary witch, who plays a large part in the storyline, and her involvement with the player is a crucial part of the story.

*Leliana- Leliana is a priestess turned rogue, and an assassin by trade.  She is a light hearted girl, and is more of an auxillary character to the main storyline, but presents her own minor storylines throughout the journey.

Dog- you can acquire a canine companion at several points in the game.  The dog serves as a melee fighter in combat and provides little to no story advancement.

Sten- Sten is a qunari (a race similar to humans) who has committed a heinous slaughter against an innocent family.  Meeting him is completely optional, and the player can miss out on it completely.  If the player chooses to meet Sten, they can hear out his story and decide if they want to recruit him into the Grey Wardens or not.  Sten is a warrior that mainly uses two handed weapons to crush his enemies.

Wynne- Wynne is an older woman who is an experienced mage.  She is extremely helpful in the gameplay aspect because she is one of the few mages.  Her story is mainly separate from the main one, but it offers a lot in terms of content.  It begins by her having a close call with death, and having a helpful spirit guide her throughout the journey.

Ogren- Ogren is a dwarf warrior who plays an important role during the Dwarf City portion of the storyline.  After this, he can join the party if the player so choses.  His storyline is also mainly separate from the main one.

*Zevran- Zevran is an elf rogue that attempts to kill the player and their party.  He is a hired assassin that the main villain of the game hires.  After killing his men, the player has the option of hearing his story, or just killing him.  After that, you can actually recruit him onto your team for the rest of the game.

*Potential character love interest

Another interesting aspect of Dragon Age is the romance system.  Alistair, Morrigan, Leliana, and Zevran all can be romanced throughout the game, each romance will ultimately change the events of the game.  For example, if a female player were to romance Alistair, the events of the end of the game would be drastically changed should Alistair ultimately become king.

In addition to adding to the storyline, romance also has a profound impact on gameplay.  Each character in your party has an opinion about the player's character, and based on the player's actions, that opinion will change throughout the game.  For example, Leliana is very religious, so if the player commits a sacriliege in front of her, she may become upset and her opinion of you will drop.  At various points in the game, these opinions can be vital, as they can cause your allies to leave the party permanently or even attempt to kill you.

Also, characters who like you more will perform better in combat due to being inspired by your leadership.  If you show Morrigan that you agree with her ideals, she will gain more magical power and will help you more vigorously when you need her help most.

In my next blog entry, I will cover the combat aspect of the game among other things.

-Jack Bauerle