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Everything We Know About Dragon Age 4 So Far! (2020)


Today I’m delving into every single major news update on Dragon Age 4’s development throughout the year 2020. Last year, I created a huge news roundup on everything we knew about Dragon Age 4’s current iteration from the years 2017 – 2019. The video was highly praised and very well received, so much so, that many of you asked if I could continue creating these yearly news roundups until we actually have Dragon Age 4 in our hands. So, of course, here I am again, obliging with another year of news to round up.


While 2020 as a whole has sucked, we’ve had plenty of Dragon Age updates, content, and reasons to be excited. Like seriously, it’s been absolutely swell from Tevinter Nights to three Dragon Age 4 trailer teases. We’ve truly been blessed!


With that said, this is going to be a LONG video, so get a snack, brew some tea, and join me as I categorically delve into all the major Dragon Age 4 news updates of this year! Are you ready? Here we go.


EA Play Teaser:


At EA Play 2020, June 18th, BioWare revealed three in-engine shots of the next Dragon Age game in-progression. The shots showcased a haunting tree with a gloomy atmosphere, a flooded castle with blight, and a red lyrium enigma surrounded by corrupted fungus.



The environments are extremely detailed and radiate dark fantasy themes. The lighting, graphical fidelity, blooms, shadows, depth of field, and upscaled textures, each add to this darker mood. Also representing the Frostbite engine’s technological improvements.


As a summary of my personal speculation on each of these shots because I’ve talked about them a LOT already. Each shot is dark, brooding, and blighted, probably showcasing the same area. The Ferelden designs and architecture could allude to the shot’s location, or it could show that BioWare are saving time by re-using assets from Inquisition.


More importantly, the gloomy shot of the haunting tree resembles an image Former Executive Producer, Mark Darrah tweeted back in November of 2019, and a shot from the Game Awards Cinematic Trailer. All three shots share the same ambiance: the midnight snow, pine forest, blighted and veil-fire atmosphere.



When this image was teased back in November 2019, each of us questioned if this image was real and representative of the next Dragon Age, and it most certainly seems like it is. Mark Darrah actually revealed the first in-game image of Dragon Age 4 on a whim in a tweet.


When the tease-tweet was posted, a fan asked Mark Darrah, how can this be Tevinter considering the Thedas we know is on the southern hemisphere of the planet, it is impossible to snow in Tevinter since it should be near to the Equator.



Mark Darrah confirmed to that fan that it can snow on the Equator, meaning that it can snow in Tevinter. He sent an article that confirmed it can snow in places like Mongolia which is just above the Equator.


So, what does this mean, Jackdaw? Why are you still yapping on about this? Well, it means that this location is very much unknown at the moment. However, it seems like it’s somewhere close to the Equator like Tevinter, where it can snow and has Ferelden architecture.


That’s (at least) my working theory at the moment. As it stands, these shots are early prototypes that represent a first look of the next game.


Moving on, with the EA Play teaser released. According to Narrative Director, John Epler, the next Dragon Age is “Next gen!”



This means that Dragon Age 4 won’t be knee-capping itself for the previous console generation like Dragon Age: Inquisition, which came out on both the previous and current console generation at the time in 2014. The next Dragon Age will be next gen, utilising very modern technology.


This is something that Mike Laidlaw, the former Creative Director of Dragon Age: Inquisition, and Project “Joplin” spoke about even further. When asked about Dragon Age 4 on Reddit, he said he has “high hopes for a Dragon Age 4 because the team will know the engine they're working on and won't be shipping on split-generations, both of which are HUGE sources of development overhead (and drains on QA and Quality of Life improvement time).”


(November 23rd):


High hopes and less Frostbite technical difficulties are all we can ask for. It seems like now would be the perfect time to start saving up for a decent PC upgrade or a new console.


Associate Animator, Chelsea Fariello stated that they revealed 12 seconds of their game last night, and they wish they could us more. Which is exactly what BioWare did, merely 2 months later.


(June 19th):


Gamescom Behind-The-Scenes Trailer:


At Gamescom 2020 on August 27th, BioWare surprisingly dropped an in-depth behind the scenes look at the next Dragon Age project. I was flabbergasted to see this reveal, because this was the only event I didn’t clown, or stream live on YouTube, and I greatly apologise for that.


Regardless, the trailed showed many gameplay prototypes, concept artwork-pieces and next-gen footage that demonstrated the current production stages of the next game. And, honestly this trailer was everything to me, one of the best things this year was seeing all of this amazing work on the next Dragon Age game.



The first highlight of this trailer was seeing a few of the amazing Dragon Age developers sharing their own insights regarding the next Dragon Age game’s vision and development.


Former General Manager, Casey Hudson stated their using next generation technology, which will be Anthem’s codebase and tools of the Frostbite engine, to bring the world and characters of Dragon Age to life. And the team are still in early production.


Casey Hudson (Former General Manager): “We’ve been using next generation technology to bring the world and characters of Dragon Age to life. We’re still in early production.”


Former Gameplay Designer, Melissa Janowicz spoke about creating bosses and how she helped with many of the creature designs, mostly working on the big threats we’ll go up against.


Melissa Janowicz (Former Gameplay Designer): “We’re very experimental here at BioWare, so we’re always coming up with new stuff. I actually design bosses; I help with the creature design team as well. So, I do all of the big threats you have to go up against.”


Creative Director, Matthew Goldman shared that Dragon Age is all about mystery, and hard-boiled detective stories, all wrapped up in a fantasy setting, with an original world.


Matthew Goldman (Creative Director): “The world of Dragon Age has really got it all, it’s got frontier stories, it’s got mystery, it’s got hard-boiled detective stories. And of course, it’s all wrapped up in kind of a fantasy setting. This is an original world, original flora, original wildlife, original architecture, that makes it fun to explore and discover.”


Former Executive Producer, Mark Darrah shared that in the next Dragon Age, we’re getting an opportunity to see new things, new places, and interact with people who lived and grew up in these new spaces as well.


Mark Darrah (Former Executive Producer): “In the next Dragon Age, we get an opportunity to see new things, new places, and interact with people who lived and grew up in these spaces as well.”

Lead Writer, Patrick Weekes shared about the game they're currently working on, and how they want to tell a very different story about what happens when you don’t have power, what happens when the people in charge aren’t willing to address the issues.


Patrick Weekes (Lead Writer): “For the game we’re working on now, we want to tell a story – what happens when you don’t have power, what happens when the people in charge aren’t willing to address the issues.”


Narrative Director, John Epler spoke on the things we can expect in the next instalment, there are going to be stories that focus on the people around you, and the friends and family you make.


John Epler (Narrative Director): “The things you can expect in the next instalment are going to be stories that focus on the people around you, and the friends and family you make. I just love the possibilities that Dragon Age offers us, and I’m excited to explore a lot more of them.”


Associate Producer, Jen Cheverie shared that something we’ll be able to look forward to in the next Dragon Age are really close relationships with game characters who become real for you.


Jen Cheverie (Assoc. Producer): “Something we’ll be able to look forward to in Dragon Age is a really close relationship with game characters who really become real for you.”


Foundation Technical Director, Jon Renish spoke on how BioWare want characters to either be loved or hated, the best examples of that is Solas. Half of the community wants to kill him, half the people want to marry him, then another part want to do both.


Jon Renish (Foundation Technical Director): “We want characters to either be loved or hated, one of the best examples of that is Solas. Half of the community wants to kill him, half the people want to marry him, then another part want to do both.”


Lead Creature Animator, Esther Ko confirmed that the next Dragon Age is being created using motion-matching technology, that will ensure characters will be as realistic as possible, from the way they walk, move and interact.


Esther Ko (Lead Creature Animator): “BioWare and EA have been one of the forerunners in using motion matching technology, and that makes it way more realistic for when you're looking at the characters, the way the walk and move, and interact in the world.”


Writer, Slyvia Feketekuty spoke on how players want suspension of their disbelief, to believe that the bunch of pixels that make up these characters are actually a living, breathing soul.


Slyvia Feketekuty (Writer): “Players want that suspension of disbelief that this wonderful collection of digital pixels is actually a living breathing soul.”


Gameplay Director, Andre Garcia said that choice is a big part of what Dragon Age is as a franchise, the decisions you make can affect change in the world.


Andre Garcia (Gameplay Director): “Choice is a big part of what Dragon Age is as a franchise, the decisions you make can affect change in the world.”


RPG Programmer, Katrina Barkwell spoke on decision-making meaning that a party member lives, or a party member dies. Ultimately, choice making means owning your outcome and reactivity to the choices that you do make.


Katrina Barkwell (RPG Programmer): “Decision-making can mean that a party member lives, or a party member dies. And it means owning your outcome and reactivity to the choices that you do make.”


I absolutely adored seeing a few members of the Dragon Age team, as they shared many fundamental aspects of the next game. Adding to that, it was just as wholesome to see many of the other developers on a zoom call, showing how despite 2020 being 2020. they’re doing all they can to push the development of the next Dragon Age.


The second highlight of this trailer was the amount of stunning concept art, each piece building many moods, themes, story threads and narrative beats that reflect the vision of the next Dragon Age game.


Imagery like:

  • Dwarven iconography and architecture.

  • Grey Wardens, and a Grey Warden Fortress.

  • The Tevinter Imperium.

  • Antiva and The Antivan Crows.

  • The Lords of Fortune.

  • Nevarra City, and it’s Grand Necropolis

  • The Blight and Red Lyrium.

  • Heists-like situations.

  • And of course, ancient elves, ancient beings, and an ancient, prideful elven God.

I’ve already spent 40 minutes breaking down each concept art piece. If you’re interested in the tea on all of these art pieces, check that video out. However, one of the most iconic concept pieces was an epic shot of silhouetted characters in-front of a beaming sun which brought much conversation to the community.


For me, I was swindled by the idea of having a sexy Qunari lady as a companion and love interest, especially considering Patrick Weekes has always wanted to create such a character for a while.


In 2017, a fan asked Patrick about having a Qunari lady one day, and Patrick replied, saying there’s definitely a chance. They like doing character types that they haven’t down before, and a Qunari lady would be a biggie in hypothetical future game.


(2017): Patrick Weekes: “definitely a chance. We like doing character types we haven’t down before, and that would be a biggie in hypothetical future game.”


Just last year, Patrick Weekes tweeted about the idea of a Qunari woman named “Harley Qun” coming up in a meeting. So, while that doesn’t confirm anything, and we’ve just got concept art at the moment, there’s certainly a motivation there for her to exist in the future. Regardless, we’ve dubbed this concept art Qunari lady the nickname “Harley Qun” for the time being.



Following the trailer’s release, Patrick Weekes tweeted about how concept art is used to create a mood, not to out-rightly confirm things, but for a framework. While some concepts may excite you, like “Harley Qun”, don’t get attached just yet because things may, and will change.



Expanding on this more, within BioWare: “In the early stages of any project, before the concept artists are aware of any writing, they like to just draw what they think cool story moments could be. It’s not unusual for the team to then be inspired by those drawings and fold them into the game as the project progresses.” So, many if not all of the concept pieces we’ve seen, have been created without any context given on the next game’s story.


(November, 17th): BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development.


In the past, concept art has been used to “encourage and remind the artists of what the potential of this project could be,” as each developer imagines the finished game. Lead Art Director, Matt Rhodes wanted to “get that on paper, to remind everyone they are making something that could be pretty cool.”


(November, 17th): BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development.


So, we should remain excited about the designs, but always remember the art pieces are representative of a working project.

Other key features highlighted in this trailer are as followed:

  • The in-engine shots showcased the next-gen improved fidelity and quality of the Frostbite engine.

  • Solas’s facial animations indicate more realistic and life-like animations and scenes.

  • Gameplay shots revealed a character playing as a Grey Warden warrior, with a sword and shield. Most certainly, the character is a champion specialisation, indicated by the “Line in the Sand” ability.

  • Prototypes showed the warrior evading, blocking, shield bashing, and preparing to strike.

Thanks to both this trailer, and the Game Awards, I can start to build a list of the next Dragon Age’s confirmed voice cast so far:

  • Jee Young Han - “Bellara”

  • Ike Amadi - “Davrin”

  • Gareth David Lloyd – “Solas”/”The Dread Wolf”

  • Brain Bloom - “Varric Tethras”

And, the final highlight regarding the Behind-the-Scenes trailer, the Dragon Age website was updated straight after the trailer was released. As an FYI for the future, whenever there has been an official Dragon Age trailer, the website has always updated, so bookmark DragonAge.com.

After Gamescom, a Red Lyrium wallpaper was shown, alongside the slogan: “The world needs a new hero. Will you answer the call?”


Just below the slogan was a tiny synopsis of the next game’s plot:


“Journey into the world of Thedas in Dragon Age™. Discover new adventures full of striking characters, powerful magic, and rich storytelling. Meet an incredible number of Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Qunari in a realm where every decision you make echoes across history.”



The Game Awards 2020 Trailer:


At The Game Awards 2020 on December 10th, with much anticipation, developer teasing, and Geoff Keighley’s confirmation that the next Dragon Age would be shown at the event, BioWare dropped a beautiful-cinematic trailer teasing characters, locations and factions we’ll discover in the next game.



I have many speculative thoughts on this trailer’s overall message relating to the next hero choosing between one of the many factions in Northern Thedas, as well as my theories on the new mural, which I’ve already broken down in a separate video.


Speaking objectively, this teaser featured Tevinter and Antvia heavily as official settings in the next game. Varric narrated throughout its entirety and spoke on finding a new hero, someone they’ll never see coming. As well as confirming that he’ll make somewhat of an appearance in the next game, as demons, dragons, darkspawn and even the Dread Wolf stand in our way. The trailer ended with a new mural painted by Solas depicting evil gods and the destruction of the Veil.


“I’ve faced tyrants and would-be gods. Seen friends lose life and limb, but there’s always someone bent on breaking the world. It’s time for a new hero. No magic hand, no ancient prophecy. The kind of person they will never see coming. We’ve got your back, I’ve got your back. Demons, dragons, darkspawn, even the Dread Wolf. This is your story.”


This trailer received two separate descriptions on YouTube and Twitter, the YouTube one said:


“The world of Dragon Age needs a new hero – someone who can take on the evil forces threatening Thedas. Get a first look at some of the new locations you’ll discover and the factions fighting by your side in the next chapter of Dragon Age.”



Whereas shared on Twitter, the post said:


“The world of Thedas needs you, a new hero. The next #DragonAge will see the return of Solas… and an old friend.”



And with this new trailer’s release, the Dragon Age website was updated with Solas’s new mural displayed as a featured art piece.



On top of that, a new BioWare Blog post launched after BioWare revealed both Dragon Age and Mass Effect teasers at The Game Awards. The blog shared that this Dragon Age trailer gave us a glimpse at the next story as well as some of its characters.


Rich, branching narratives, choices with consequences, and intriguing characters are central to the entire Dragon Age franchise, and BioWare are putting a lot of work into these. You’ll form relationships with companions who will fight by your side when you experience this true Dragon Age saga set in Thedas, a world in need of a new kind of hero.


The blog ended on the notion that BioWare are looking forward to sharing more on Dragon Age and Mass Effect in the new year, as well as other titles the team are working on. Which is most exciting!



Morrison:


Revealed in BioWare’s Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development, we have many preliminary insights into “Morrison,” the current iteration of the working Dragon Age title.


The book showcased a ”Dragon Age: Morrison” retro-themed title, along with this description on the project:


“Tevinter Bound – a sneak peek at the follow-up to Inquisition.”


“As BioWare entered its twenty-fifth year, the Dragon Age team was hard at work on Morrison, the code name of the long-awaited follow-up to Dragon Age: Inquisition. The game, helmed by executive producer Mark Darrah, will take players to Tevinter as events of Inquisition and Trespasser threaten to forever change Thedas.”



Furthermore, this book revealed brand-new pieces of concept art for the next Dragon Age. One of the new pieces showcased The Deep Roads, while the other pieces shown were the same concepts revealed in BioWare’s Behind-The-Scenes trailer, however, this time around, each piece had a small description explaining the artwork.


The most intriguing conceptual piece shown looked like a Lovecraftian sea monster-hybrid, or an evil, mutilated god? Most likely the same figure revealed in the Dragon Age Game Awards trailer, which I believe to be the elven goddess “Ghilan'nain, the Mother of the Halla” who created giants, monsters, and beasts that spanned across the sky, water, and earth.


Regardless, the piece was revealed with a synopsis that provides further context for the next Dragon Age game, as followed:


“The Evil Gods have Thedas in their sights and only heroes can stop them. The shadows of the past stir, and new heroes must rise to fight them.”


Another major insight this development book unveiled regards that enigmatic red “Wolf-Rook" book that Mark Darrah has teased for half a decade.


The red book was an internal guide for developer and publisher eyes only that summarized the vision for Dragon Age: Inquisition’s follow-up, a project code-named “Joplin.” The “Joplin” project has since been revised to such an extent that its code name changed to “Morrison,” but the red book still contains plenty of ideas likely to appear in the next Dragon Age.



The two pages shown of the insides of this book are one of the Qunari with a description on their organisation and their current movements, while the other page delved into many creature designs stating that the next Dragon Age will feature their widest and most varied set of creatures to date.


As someone who hasn’t shut up about “Wolf-Rook” since the creation of my channel, I’m so glad this book is still relevant going forward, somewhat confirming that the work that went into Dragon Age’s previous iteration ‘Joplin’, may cross over into ‘Morrison’.


Production:


Okay so now we get into the tea! As explored in the Gamescom trailer, Casey Hudson stated that the next Dragon Age is currently in its early production stages. The Dragon Age team have endured, and pushed on with their developments, largely working from home. This year, we’ve had plenty of indicators on the production of the next game.


January:


In January, nothing really came to light regarding the production of the next game, start of the new year and all that.


February:


In February, we discovered that the next Dragon Age had working-romance scenes tested and narrated out among the team.


Jon Renish shared that Dragon Age games might be a bit randy, as he was watching a script read. He said it was “sad and sweet and emotional,” he was “not prepared for this rollercoaster.”


(February 28th):


Honestly, truer words have not been spoken describing a Dragon Age romance.


March:


In March, Illustrator and Creative Professional “Mad Bee” returned to work at BioWare, they previously worked on Anthem as an Art Quality Analyst. However, this time around, they are an Associate Producer, most likely working on the Dragon Age.



EA announced all their studios would be working from home because of the world situation.



April:


In April, Mark Darrah shared that the team have been working from home, and they’re about to wrap up a milestone, to then begin the next.



Karin Weekes, Editor at BioWare shared that she was sorting, cataloguing and documenting updates to made-up languages at work. When asked if BioWare could release Qunari, Dwarvish, and Elvhen lexicons in a World of Thedas Volume 3 sort of book, Karin said that it’d be an interesting idea, and she for one would find it a hoot. She said she might send out some feelers to the rest of the team.


(April 15th):


BioWare “Production guy” Alain Baxter shared his BioWare review of content. All he could say was “Scriplet”. 😎



May:


In May, John Epler shared his most controversial opinion of all time being that “large contiguous open worlds are way less interesting than those built out of multiple non-contiguous spaces. The latter gives you a lot more freedom and allows for the best mix of emergent and directed experiences.”



Perhaps this statement is an indicator for the next Dragon Age’s open world spaces.


Animation Director, Mike Jungbluth reviewed something in game that hit "“THIS LEVEL!” He said: “Hot damn, moments like this are what I live for.”



Senior Level Designer, Jos Hendricks shared about building an exciting thing for work and how he was too excited to sleep because he got to continue the exciting thing the next day.



BioWare were hiring a “Senior Outsource Producer” for the Edmonton studio, no doubt, the Dragon Age team, to ensure the growing outsourcing team would remain a robust and comprehensive department that supports the projects in all aspects of development.


(May 9th): BioWare: Senior Outsource Producer Listing.


Hilary Heskett, formerly of Bethesda, returned to work at EA and BioWare with a new role as the Senior Global Brand Manager of BioWare.



June:


In June, before EA Play, when asked on Twitter by “The G0reWh0re” for more information on the next Dragon Age, many developers shared vivid insights in one mega-thread.



Patrick Weekes said that “one of the current plot names is a Muppets reference that Mark hasn't noticed yet, or at least hasn't made me change.”



Melissa Janowicz said that she “made a scary thing go smashie smashie today.”



Audio Artist Presley Hynes said that she “made things make sound.”



Jon Renish added that he “recently completed an engine integration.”



UX Designer Asa Roo’s said she “made a flowchart!”



Allan Schumacher said that he “made a thing show up on a webpage today. It was very exciting.”



Chris Anderson said that he “tracked down a set of IDs needed to make a thing build, then wrote a bunch of documentation.”



Scylla Costa added that he “may have played a video from Harry Connick JR during a team meeting with the entire studio.”



Karin Weekes said she “tracked down a bunch of old things to use for reference when making new things. Maybe.”



After the EA Play reveal, Product Director, Gabe Heiland shared about her role at BioWare, which entails gathering data from a variety of places, and giving the team feedback. In a poll, she asked Twitter if they wanted to date the tree shown in the reveal. The majority answer being “If it has a tragic past.”



Former Boss Specialist, Melissa Janowicz shared on playtesting her own content. Probably bringing her creations to life, so they can attack the player.



July:


In the very quiet month of July, Mark Darrah shared a couple of updates on the next Dragon Age. He said the team are working from home on the next game, which has been harder, however, they are making progress.



August:


At the end of August, we received the Gamescom Behind-The-Scenes trailer which revitalised many of the fanbase. However, I’ve already discussed the contents of the trailer relating to the game’s production.


September:


And September was also very quiet with no major updates on the production.


October:


In October, a few of the talented developers at BioWare hosted a “Gamers for Groceries” stream, in which a few members of the team were interviewed about their passion and work. The event as a whole, was super enjoyable, it’s not every day you see Patrick Weekes and John Epler flex their incredible muscles.


Apparently BioWare may plan more of these streams in the future.


(October 6th): Thank you again for supporting those in need and be on the lookout for our next stream.


One of the most interesting highlights I picked up on regarded Gabe Heiland talking about data and lore, as she compared which is more important. Karin Weekes chimed in and said that “data helps the team inform them that the right kind of lore is created!”


So, Broodmother romances when????


EA had an in-force patent regarding “ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BASED VIRTUAL OBJECT AGING”, that is going to be incorporated in future EA Games, considering every studio other than Respawn and EA Original titles are using the Frostbite engine.

The abstract of this A.I is as followed:


“The virtual object aging system can utilize artificial intelligence to modify virtual objects within a video game to age and/or deteriorate for a certain time period. The virtual object aging system can be used to determine erosion, melting ice, and/or other environmental effects on virtual objects within the game. The virtual object aging system can apply aging, rust, weathering, and/or other effects that cause persistent change to object meshes and textures.”


This patent was filed on the 27th of March, 2019, and was granted on the 27th of October, 2020. So, the teams within EA can certainly begin to use this technology from here on out.


(October 29th):


November:


In November, Gameplay Designer, Melissa Janowicz decided to leave BioWare after three years. She said It was an honour to entertain myself and the fandom between games. 🙁 I know I speak for everyone when I say we wish her great success on her future endeavours at The Coalition.



BioWare’s Secrets & Stories of 25 years of Game Development released and provided many insights into BioWare’s past and present projects, as I’ve already mentioned. However, Casey Hudson, the former General Manager shared the vision of the studio going forward.


To paraphrase, Casey said that BioWare can’t go back to where they’ve been – the way that they worked with crunching projects for six weeks. That’s not where the studio is headed. BioWare used to exemplify humility and integrity with a passion for excellence and courageous creativity. However, they were courageous because they didn’t know better.


The team would try things and fail and try something else until they got it right, it was very experimental. Once they met the consequences of failure, they discovered they could very easily start retreating. And at that point, they realised it takes courage to put yourself out there and try something new.


BioWare are not super young and inexperienced anymore. They do know better, but they still have to try and do some crazy stuff anyway.



December:


In December, BioWare General Manager & Executive Producer Mark Darrah retired from BioWare, with Christian Dailey moving into the Executive Producer role. Mark shared a few words that he’s confident the next Dragon Age will show that BioWare remain committed to this kind of game. The team have a lot to show us.



As Casey departed, Gary McKay, Sr. Director of Development Operations, took over as BioWare’s interim Studio GM.



Christian Dailey was BioWare Austin's Studio Director working on Anthem 2.0, he shared that he has big shoes to fill as he joins the Dragon Age team, however, this decision was made easier with the talented Anthem leadership and team in place.



Already fulfilling the shoes of Mark Darrah, Christian Dailey shared an amazing piece of concept art for the next Dragon Age game on Dragon Age Day. I know we can confidently trust in BioWare that they have the right person for this job.



The Edmonton Journal reported that Casey Hudson’s final day was December 11th, whereas Mark Darrah agreed to stay on until February 2021 to help with this transition.



Dragon Age Day brought plenty of exciting news. The Dragon Age website was updated with 4 new short stories, each with a beautiful art piece. The story titles were: The Next One, Ruins of Reality, The Wake, & Minrathous Shadows. Three of the four stories actually featured returning characters from Tevinter Nights, with the art pieces showcasing a few of those characters in detail.


(December 4th): https://www.ea.com/games/dragon-age/dragon-age-day-2020


Another synopsis appeared on the website, which said:


“Welcome to Dragon Age. Enter Thedas, a vibrant world of rugged wilderness, treacherous labyrinths, and glittering cities. The Dragon Age is a time of warring nations, savage combat, and secret magics. Now, the fate of this world teeters on a knife's edge.


Thedas needs a new hero; one they'll never see coming. Forge a courageous fellowship to challenge the gathering storm. Friendship, drama, and romance abound as you bring striking individuals together into an extraordinary team. Become the hero and light the beacon of hope in their darkest moments.”


Biance Andreea Poroliseanu announced that she is joining the Dragon Age team as a Level Designer in January. She said she’s “excited to help them build out the next chapter of this amazing universe! This is actually the biggest dream come true.” Which is so awesome to hear, honestly!



And of course, on December 10th, we received a BioWare double-whammy at The Game Awards, with both the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect respectably revealed. A perfect way to wrap up this turbulent year.


Following the release of the Dragon Age trailer, Karin Weekes more or less confirmed that the next Dragon Age will have an official title... eventually.



With that, we’re up to date on the current production stages of the next Dragon Age. Currently the release window for the game is still sometime between April 2022/2023, hopefully the developers have ample time to create an epic title, while working non-crunch hours with Casey Hudson’s new vision set for the company’s future.


Story:


Touching on other story and narrative-related news. If I paraphrase and combine each of the plot synopsis’s we’ve received so far:


The next Dragon Age will feature a new hero. Someone Solas will never suspect. Many striking, courageous characters ranging from Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Qunari will join our tumultuous journey where every decision we make echoes across history.


Rich storytelling, powerful magic, treacherous labyrinths and glittering cities abound. The Dragon Age is a time of warring nations, savage combat, and secret magics. Friendship, drama, and romance are pillars of this adventure. Our new hero will travel to Tevinter, Antiva and many other new locations.


As many factions fight by our side, the Evil Gods have Thedas in their sights, and only heroes can stop them. The shadows of the past stir, demons, dragons, darkspawn, even the Dread Wolf stand in our way as the fate of this world teeters on a knife's edge.





(December 4th): https://www.ea.com/games/dragon-age/dragon-age-day-2020



Narrative Inspirations:


There have been many pop-culture references to books and media that’s inspiring the next game’s narrative.


Mark Darrah teased “The Book of Numbers” as a narrative inspiration, which is the fourth book of the Old Testament in the Christian Bible, the book encompasses the Israelites rejecting their promise land.



Patrick Weekes teased “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” as a narrative inspiration, which is a CW show all about DC heroes visiting iconic eras and historical figures, uncovering greater evils that threat humanity as they know it.



And, John Epler teased “Final Fantasy XIV” as a narrative inspiration, an MMO that can be summed up with dragons, adventure, evil gods, giraffes, evil empires, corrupt governments and a goblin Illuminati?



Characters:


Patrick Weekes mentioned that the next cast of characters have made a mess in their camp, with coffee grounds spilled everywhere and the couch inexplicably on fire after a drinking game gone wrong. Antiva is renowned for its unparalleled wines and coffee, it sounds like we’ll most certainly have an Antivan Crow companion.



John Epler tweeted a picture of Mr. Burns from the Simpson with a very statuesque and buff body, being worshiped by Smithers. John said that he referenced this in a meeting, followed by the tweet “The Shred Wolf.”


(June 22nd):


Solas is going to be jacked in the next game, protein shakes, low-carb diet, that sort of thing to keep his muscles in check, right?


Romance:


Patrick Weekes is very much aware that the Dragon Age fandom have a lot of sexual desire. They certainly know their fans well... and our preference towards wanting to bang literally everything.



Programmer, David Mergele gave me some hope for a Dwarven Broodmother romance, he said in a tweet: “We will now choose romances purely based on internet polls; not logic, character backgrounds, or specific player choice. Let's just check the latest polls and... dwarven brood mother it is. John Epler and Patrick Weekes. Let us begin"


Patrick replied: “Thanks, awfully, David.”


Gabe Heiland came in to the conversation with the stats, she said that “the fandom have already voted yes on both sexy tragic past tree and handsy spider.”


And John Epler finished the conversation with the Star Wars “I love democracy” gif.



Comics & Future Media:


While the next game is currently in development, we’ve had, and we’re going to receive more Dragon Age comics, books and other non-game related content.


In August, Dragon Age comic writers Nunzio DeFillippis & Christina Weir posted on Tumblr about the next comic that would’ve come out in 2020, hadn’t the industry close down. However, if and when there is another comic book it will wrap up the story they’ve been telling since Knight Errant, after that, they will aim to tell more stories in the Dragon Age Universe, but one thing at a time.



In November, Nunzio DeFillippis tweeting about seeing a new layout for the next comic that made him and Christina cry. Artist Fernando Heinz Furukawa is a genius and a joy to work with.


Hopefully, we’ll have our first look at this new comic in the coming year.


In other news, back in 2016, Mark Darrah asked Twitter if fans would be interested in a Dragon Age tactics game, the majority vote being “Yes!”


On June 19th, this year, Mark Darrah tweeted that one of his most viral tweets ever was a poll asking about different styles of strategy game and the DA franchise. They aren't planning anything ATM.



Teases & Future Reveals:


Before the EA Play tease in June, the biggest indicator that we were going to see something at the event was, Luke Barrett, a developer who is working on RPG/Progression for the next Dragon Age. He posted on the unofficial BSN: “Get ready for all the very ambiguous tweets coming (just wrapping a big showcase meeting).”



And following his words, we had a sneak peek at the next Dragon Age a couple of weeks later. So, watch out for him on BSN going forward, when nearing an event. He may just say something...


Regarding what’s next for Dragon Age, and when we can expect to see more, many developers have shared that they’re excited to show things off, and when they can, they will absolutely show off as much of their work as they can.


John Epler said: “The moment they let us, I’m gonna be a fire hose of information. But for now, I’m suuuper careful about what I say. Even something seemingly innocuous might be misconstrued or give something away! It’s a hard line to walk, and it’s why I currently largely post egg memes.”



Adding to this, Patrick Weekes said: “When we DO announce something, I will not be subtle about letting you know.”



And wrapping this one up, Karin Weekes said: “Info on upcoming games is planned at a very high level, and we all work together to follow those plans”.



And as mentioned before, a new Dragon Age comic is coming in the new year. And we’re going to have many Christain Dailey teases in the future, as well as what the BioWare Blog post said about the team looking forward to sharing more about Dragon Age, Mass Effect and other titles in the new year.


“We look forward to sharing more about Dragon Age and Mass Effect, as well as the other titles the teams are working on here at BioWare in the new year.”


(December 10th):


Expectations:


All in all, while this year has sucked, I’ve had a ball on YouTube in 2020. This year has been full of tremendous surprises.


Patrick Weekes knows me, and has seen my videos. Which is INSANE!


A few of the BioWare dev’s watch my videos, and actually follow me on Twitter, which is incredibly humbling and shows that I’m at least doing somewhat of a good job.


I was able to receive Dragon Age Tevinter Nights early, my entire YouTube dream has been to receive BioWare promotional content early, and it’s actually been fulfilled.


And I’ve grown more than ever this year, compared to any previous years on YouTube. It’s truly been amazing. So, I just want to end this by saying thank you so much for the love and support, your time and care are the reason why I create videos like this, as long and consuming they are to make. So, thank you so much.


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