Hey folks, we’ve got so much Dragon Age news to go over today. In case you haven’t heard, the next Dragon Age has officially been titled, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. I reacted to this news update live if you’d like to see my instant reaction. However, now that I’ve cooled down only slightly, I’ll be inspecting the title, logo, new blog and many developer tweets with greater detail. We’ve also got many stories since May to go over including three BioWare Developer Stories, a report on EA selling or merging, a new BioWare producer joining the Dragon Age team and an update regarding the uncontracted BioWare developers unionising.
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf Title:
So, the next Dragon Age finally has its official title, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, or for short, DAD, or DADDY. I’m personally a fan of the title, I like what it alludes to, that being a narrative regarding Solas as the Dread Wolf following his scheme to destroy the Veil and restore the elven times.
I’d say, Dreadwolf as a title doesn’t allude to as much as Inquisition did, like with Inquisition, it resembled the forces of the Inquisition rising and the new player becoming the leader of the Inquisition as their Inquisitor. All Dreadwolf tells us so far is that the events of the Trespasser DLC are unfolding, as the Dread Wolf sets apart his scheme. Ultimately, I feel that this title refers to what Solas will become in order for his scheme to succeed, that being, taking the mantle, perhaps as well as the physical form of, the Dread Wolf which sparked hope in his allies and fear in his foes back in the ancient times. Solas didn’t want Lavellan to see what he would become for a reason, and I feel like we’re going to bear witness to that in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf with a new hero.
The new BioWare blog explored a section dedicated to who the Dread Wolf is, the emphasis on him being a trickster god. It also announced that if you haven’t met our antagonist yet in Dragon Age: Inquisition, don’t worry, he’ll show himself when the time is right. This confirms two things, firstly, in a large way, Solas is the antagonist of the next game. A lot of us speculate that Solas will be the villain for a fair amount of the game, and someone else will then reveal themselves as the ‘main threat,’ but as it stands, Solas is the next game’s antagonist, full stop. While many of us hope for a villain flip or subversion with Solas’s character, as it stands, we’re fighting against Fen’Harel, the Dread Wolf.
Also, if you haven’t met him yet, i.e, if you haven’t played Inquisition, you don’t need to worry as the game will explain all in time. This probably isn’t as relevant to hardcore fans, but for those who haven’t experienced Solas yet, they don’t need to worry about understanding his goals, his lore and everything about his nature. Instead, the game will introduce Solas as the antagonist as straightforward as possible, i.e, new hero, new ties to this narrative, etc.
The title’s official aesthetic follows a purple theme with a white Dragon Age text, followed by DREADWOLF in neon purple. The neon look has heavy Tevinter vibes, it reminds me of the official establishing shots of Tevinter’s capital city Minrathous and the concept art piece featuring our Minrathous Witch. I’ll touch more on this later, but as a very obvious statement to make, it feels like Minrathous and Tevinter as a whole is going to feature heavily in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. Maybe as a new hub space for our new hero.
Something I am wondering is, what happened to the gold aesthetic the Game Awards trailer revealed?
Maybe purple resembles Tevinter and gold resembles Antiva? Either way, gold and purple are colours of royalty which depict aspects of Dreadwolf’s narrative, i.e, dealing with Tevinter’s Magisterium and Antiva’s merchant nobles.
Lastly, the BioWare blog ended on the notion that Dragon Age: Dreadwolf will not release this year, however, BioWare will be talking about the game more later this year. Maybe the teams will piece together more blog content or maybe we’ll actually see a developer diary or a gameplay trailer with developer commentary. Who knows, as it stands, we will at least hear more about the Dragon Age: Dreadwolf this year!
We’ve got a few more developer tweets regarding Dreadwolf to explore:
Creative DirectorJohn Epler tweeted, “Really excited we got to announce this today. There's lots to come, and working with this amazing team has been the most incredible and rewarding experience of my 15 years in game dev. Can't wait to show you what we've all been up to and what's next.”
Former Executive Producer Mark Darrah tweeted, “Rejected DA4 title (for real (sort of)) Dragon Age: Minrathous Nights (DAMN).”
And Insider Jeff Grubb tweeted, “Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is still more than a year away. But here is the name.”
And many BioWare developers shared their excitement for DAD on Twitter which is fueling so much excitement and happy vibes for Dragon Age! It’s a fantastic time at the moment, and I’m so glad we’re slowly learning more about Dragon Age: Dreadwolf with more info to come this year!
Electronic Arts is reportedly pursuing a sale or merger:
Electronic Arts is reportedly pursuing a sale or merger, and it's claimed that the video game publisher and developer has held talks with Disney, Apple, Amazon, and Comcast. According to news site Puck (via VGC), EA has been "persistent in pursuing a sale"
While it’s certainly interesting that Electronic Arts has had talks with the likes of Disney and Apple, these talks are likely to take years before any concrete details become available. Still, I would be interested if EA merged with either company and what that could mean for the majority of their franchises. Could we actually see a Dragon Age or Mass Effect TV show on Disney Plus? The same goes for Apple with their streaming service Apple TV? Anything is possible, look what’s happened with Lucasfilm since being acquired by Disney. Alternatively, could EA sell to Sony or Microsoft? It’s an interesting prospect, I’ll certainly keep my eyes on this story’s progression in the future.
Benoit Houle, Director of Product Developer Story:
On May 3rd, Benoit Houle, Director of Product Development was featured in a BioWare Developer Story:
“Follow your passions!” That’s the lesson we’re getting from the subject of today’s Developer Story, Director of Product Development Benoît Houle. See, Benoît has been with BioWare for over a decade and a half, which is an impressive stretch on its own. But before joining the studio, he spent nearly as much time doing something extremely different.
THE STORY SO FAR
“I spent 14 years developing personal-finance software,” Benoît says. “Don’t laugh, I know how to prepare my tax return incredibly well!” Yes, it turns out that a degree in computer science can lead down a number of different paths. But after all that time working as a project manager at a personal finance company you’ve definitely heard of, Benoît was looking for a change. “In 2006, a close friend of mine who worked at BioWare told me they were scaling up development,” he says. “I applied instantly. And I’ve been working here ever since—over 16 years now, mostly on the Dragon Age franchise.”
After starting as a principal project manager for Dragon Age: Origins, Benoît quickly moved up to the position of senior development director and co-director of production, then to director of production. In 2017, he took on his current role as director of product development for the studio.
Benoît explains this role as being sort of a holistic one. “I work with our amazing team of development directors and producers to manage how we make our games,” he tells us. “The mission is to balance the needs of our players, our employees, and the studio as a whole throughout the development practices. In other words, we’re continuously working to make the process more efficient while keeping key decision-makers fully informed across the project. At the end of the day, we want to foster an environment where our teams can create wonderful games that delight our players.”
ON DRAGON AGE
Benoît has been part of the Dragon Age franchise since the beginning, having a hand in every game and expansion in the series so far. So of course we wanted to hear his take on what makes Dragon Age so special. And here, too, Benoît takes something of a holistic view. “It’s the whole package,” he says. “A rich world, an immersive story, captivating moment-to-moment gameplay—and also emotional, memorable moments with your companions. There’s a great mixture of player agency, brilliantly sharp humor, and really weighty choices with real consequences—you know, those moments when you need to put down the controller for a bit and really think about your choices.”
When we ask about those emotional, memorable companion moments, Benoît cites Cassandra’s development in Inquisition as a prime example. “She starts off the game very guarded,” he tells us, “very focused on one thing: the mission. She comes across as standoffish, even a little hostile—it feels like she doesn’t care about you. But as you spend more time with her, you start to realize that the reason she’s so guarded is that she cares deeply about everyone around her. But caring is dangerous, and sometimes it hurts, and so she keeps you at arm’s length until you’ve spent enough time with her that she feels like she can let down her guard.”
And the fact that Cassandra is willing to let her guard down no matter what kind of character you’re playing points to one of the other things Benoît finds so special about Dragon Age. “I truly love how inclusive our games are,” he says. “This is something that’s very important to the leadership team, and I’m glad that fans appreciate that inclusiveness too.”
ON BIOWARE
That ability to let yourself get lost in the game, no matter who you are, is something that gave Benoît a feeling of kinship with BioWare even while deep in the finance mines. “Even before I got into the industry, BioWare was a tremendous source of escapism and immersion for me,” he tells us. “I spent so much time playing Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic…. To have an opportunity to work for a beloved game developer and be part of creating these amazing worlds and stories has been a dream come true. And I need to provide a huge shout of admiration to our Mass Effect team. They’ve been a constant source of inspiration and have created something truly amazing and remarkable!”
That dream, Benoît says, has come with more than its share of memorable moments—including how the game interacted with celebrities. “I was so thrilled when Inquisition won so many Game of the Year awards,” he says. “And I’ll never forget when we won the best RPG award for Origins at the 2009 Video Game Awards— I was so proud of the team and what we accomplished together…AND receiving the award from Snoop Dogg was definitely a bonus! And I have to say I also really enjoyed working with Thirty Seconds to Mars on the cinematic trailer for Origins.”
But it’s pretty clear that when it comes down to it, it’s not the celebrities or the accolades that drive Benoît, but something much closer to home. “You’re probably hearing this a lot, but it’s true: The thing that makes BioWare special is the people. We have an amazing pool of talent, people with the passion and the commitment to create something amazing—every day! The creativity on display here is just astounding!”
Benoît Houle is BioWare’s director of product development.
BioWare Showcase Day:
On May 13th, John Epler tweeted about a showcase day at the studio, he said, “It's showcase day, my very favourite day. An opportunity to see all the incredibly cool shit the team has done, because games are Big and there's a lot going on all the time, forever.”
Game Director Corinne Busche Developer Story:
On May 27th, Game Director Corinne Busche was featured in a BioWare Developer Story:
Our latest edition of Developer Stories shows how a career path can take you to different places but still lead you right where you belong. Today the spotlight is on Game Director Corinne Busche who’s helping guide the next Dragon Age™. It’s the latest stop on a more-than-15-year journey that started with… golf?
THE STORY SO FAR
Fresh out of college with a degree in digital animation, Corinne wasn’t originally aiming for a career in games. “I expected I’d probably work in film,“ she says, “but while looking for career prospects, I was fortunate enough to land a contract gig doing environment art on the Tiger Woods franchise. I knew nothing—literally nothing—about golf, but I’ll tell you, from my first taste of being part of a game team, I knew I’d never do anything else. I absolutely fell in love with game design.”
Following her time on the links, Corinne moved over to Maxis’ The Sims™ franchise to work as a systems designer. She remained at Maxis for almost a decade, but when the opportunity to move over to BioWare arose, she jumped at the chance. “It had always been one of those dream destinations for me,” she says. “I just adore RPGs that prioritize choice and offer the kinds of relationships that tug at your heartstrings.”
Now she’s helping guide one of those RPGs herself—though she’s careful not to overstate the directorial role. “Game directors are sometimes thought of as big personalities who are singularly responsible for the purity of their creative vision,” Corinne says. “But for me, it’s really about being a steward for the vision that we, as a team, have collectively defined. I get a high-level view of everything as it’s coming together and can steer the project as it does, but ultimately it’s about empowering people to work together, play with ideas, offer critiques, and make decisions, all to help create a cohesive experience for the player.”
ON DRAGON AGE
The Dragon Age franchise has a very special place in Corinne’s heart. In part, she says, that’s because the games are all about possibility. “In Dragon Age, you can be who you want to be, explore the possibilities and consequences of your choices, and build relationships that leave a lasting impression,” she says. “Few games give players that kind of autonomy while also weaving such a rich narrative—I think it really speaks to why our players feel so invested in this world.”
And the idea of being who you want to be carries a particularly special meaning for Corinne. “As a queer trans woman,” she says, “I have a perspective on the games that not everyone has. Dragon Age has long been a place where LGBTQIA+ folks can see people like themselves, represented respectfully. It’s inherently very queer, and it’s such a rare thing for marginalized communities to have representation where we feel proud and powerful in how we are depicted. It’s so deeply meaningful for so many. I often get emotional when I think about what it would have meant for a younger version of myself to see someone like her in a game, and as a hero, no less. I hope we can be a safe place for our queer players to know they are not alone, that they are brilliant and worthy, that they are not only welcome but celebrated.”
ON BIOWARE
Corinne has found a similarly welcoming environment at BioWare itself, she says. “I transitioned during my time at BioWare,” she tells us, “and I reflect all the time on how supported and seen I felt through that process, and how lucky I am to be surrounded by people of this caliber. It really speaks to the values of this team, and their commitment to inclusion in their works and their lives.”
And she’s found that this welcoming mindset extends to the fans. “My favorite part of working at BioWare and on Dragon Age specifically is how much we get to interact with, and learn from, our players and fanbase. It always brings a smile to my face when a tweet from a fan gets posted in our Slack channels and sparks discussion. I think our fans would really be surprised if they could see how influential they are in our day-to-day discussions.”
Of course, Corinne is a fan herself, of many kinds of gaming experiences. Board games are a big draw for her, for instance. “I love board games,” she says. “I’m just fascinated by them as a game designer because they really are the craft distilled down to the fundamentals. And I love the social experience.”
Naturally, she also plays a lot of video games—“way too many,” she says. “I’m especially fond of RPGs, action RPGs, and strategy games. Most recently I’ve been playing Elden Ring, Fortnite (don’t @ me!), Slay the Spire, and of course another playthrough of Inquisition.”
And when playing a role in those role-playing games, she remains unabashedly herself. “I guess I play my characters like I behave in real life: rarely mean, sometimes snarky… and always thirsty.”
Corinne Busche is the game director for the next Dragon Age. You can find her on Twitter at @CorinneBusche or seated at a table covered with dice, cardboard, and rulebooks.
Dragon Age QA Developers Union Update:
Last month, I reported on an IGN story regarding a group of quality assurance testers working on Dragon Age 4 filing an application to unionise after being asked to work in the office during the Coronavirus pandemic. There’s since been an update. According to Eurogamer:
A group of game testers working on the upcoming Dragon Age game are no longer being ordered back to work in BioWare's offices.
The group, part of contracted game services company Keywords Studios, were recently told they would need to begin working in BioWare's offices full-time from this week. This sparked calls of unfairness from Keywords staff, who compared their lot to BioWare's own staff - who are allowed a hybrid work from home option.
Keywords workers have now been told they can continue to work from home "until further notice", The Verge reported.
François-Xavier Labescat joins BioWare:
On May 24th, François-Xavier Labescat joined BioWare and the Dragon Age Team as an Associate Producer.
Production Director Mac Walters Developer Story:
On May 30th, Production Director Mac Walters was featured in a BioWare Developer Story: Production Director:
Friends, it’s time for another Developer Story, where we meet the folks who make the games that make BioWare what it is. Today we sit down with another member of the Dragon Age™ leadership team: Production Director Mac Walters. Mac has been with BioWare for… wait, 18 years? That can’t be right. Oh, here we go: 18 and a half years.
In some countries, Mac’s time at BioWare would be old enough to vote.
THE STORY SO FAR
With such a long tenure here, it may surprise you to learn that before joining BioWare, Mac wasn’t in the video-game industry at all. In fact, he’d spent most of his life up to that point thinking that wasn’t even an option. “The first time I realized that there were teams of people who made the games I loved, I thought, ‘I want to do that one day,’” he says. “But growing up, everyone said, ‘Video games? That’s not a real job. You can’t do that.’ So I pursued a bunch of different things that weren’t my passion.”
A chance encounter changed his perspective dramatically. “I happened to meet Ray [Muzyka], one of the founders of BioWare, at a conference,” he says. “He was there talking about how BioWare was a business, how he and Greg [Zeschuk, co-founder] got their MBAs—and I know that doesn’t sound exciting, but I was like, ‘Wait a second, this is a real business? You can do this for a living?’ So I carved out part of my schedule every day to work on a submission to BioWare. That was a long time ago… but it worked out in the end.”
And as for why he looked at BioWare, specifically? “Every time I fall asleep, I’m creating a new world in my head,” Mac tells us. “I’ve been that way since I was a kid. And the worlds that BioWare was building—at that point Neverwinter Nights™ had just come out—those worlds really excited me. They released the Aurora toolset for Neverwinter Nights, which let players create their own RPG stories; I could build those worlds myself. I spent a lot of time playing with that. And there weren’t a lot of companies that were so strongly focused on telling interesting stories and having amazing characters.”
Coming off Mass Effect™ Legendary Edition as its project director, he’s taken on the role of production director for the next Dragon Age, and that role is… well, what, exactly? “The easiest way to think of it,” Mac says, “is to take the two key components of that title and map it to the film or TV industry: imagine someone who’s both producer and director. So you have the vision for a product you’re helping to uphold—something you and the team want to do—but on the producer side, you are also responsible for figuring out how you’re going to support the team in creating that vision. And then you work with the team to actually execute that vision.”
ON DRAGON AGE
This isn’t his first leadership position at the studio, though. During his time here, Mac has held high-level roles across multiple franchises. But he never forgot his very first look at a BioWare game in development—because it was love at first sight.
“When I started at BioWare, I didn’t know what project I was going to be on immediately,” he says, “so I was kind of just wandering around, chatting with people. And I remember someone showed me a super-early concept of Dragon Age: Origins, and there were all these characters having a battle beneath the bridge, with all these arrows flying up and everything. And I was like, ‘Oh, my God, that looks incredible, I want to work on that!’”
He was fated for a different path, however: he started as a writer on Jade Empire™ before moving to the Mass Effect franchise, graduating from senior writer to narrative director and then to creative director, most recently serving as project director of Mass Effect Legendary Edition. But things have a way of coming around. “Eighteen and a half years later,” Mac says, “I finally get to work on Dragon Age, the one I saw literally on the first day I was at BioWare.”
And what is it that makes that franchise so special? “For me,” he tells us, “it’s exploring a deeply magical world, alongside incredible characters who really make that journey, that exploration, impactful and meaningful. And it’s the diversity of characters, the ability for players to really see themselves in that heroic role. Dragon Age really lets you lean into that. It allows anyone to play the role that they want to play, in a way that they can see themselves as the hero of the story, whatever that means to them. I think that’s one of the great things about BioWare games in general, and specifically the Dragon Age franchise.”
ON BIOWARE
Talk to enough folks at the studio, and you’ll start to notice a common thread that runs through the developers’ feelings about BioWare, something that you’ll see in all kinds of artistic endeavors: The people who make BioWare games make them because these are the kinds of games they want more of in the world!
“I assume if you’re reading this blog, you’re probably a fan of at least one of the franchises,” Mac says. “So imagine going to work with a bunch of people like yourself who are fans of the same types of games, who are passionate about making them—and then getting the opportunity to build more of those games. I think that’s what BioWare is; we started as fans of the games that we’re building.”
And that’s kept at the core of everything the team does. “One of the questions we often ask ourselves is, would we want to play this?” he says. “Is this exciting to us? That’s what leads us to develop the games and franchises and worlds that we do. And I think that’s one of the things that makes it so much fun to work here. It is work—but it’s also getting to do something that you’re deeply passionate about.”
Even after 18 and a half years, Mac doesn’t seem at risk of losing that passion. “The franchises, the worlds themselves—they’re so big,” he says. “Like I said, I go to bed every night thinking about new stories to tell and new places to explore in those worlds. There are so many stories yet to be told.”
Mac Walters is the production director for the next Dragon Age. He can be found on Twitter at @macwalterslives or on his road bike. Or his mountain bike. Or his fat bike. He likes bikes, is what we’re saying.