Game News Bioware unveils 'Dragon Age'

Whipporowill · May 7, 2004

Tags: BioWare; Dragon Age

When announcing their plans for upcoming E3 event, the Codex's favourite developer - Bioware decided to drop the MYSTARY act and reveal "the other game" in development. Here's the skinny (taken from RPGDot, as <a href="http://www.rpgdot.com/index.php#28243" target=_blank>their press release</a> seems to vary from <a href="http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/dragon-age/512337p1.html" target=_blank>gamespy's</a>):
 
 
<blockquote>BioWare is proud to announce Dragon Age, an upcoming PC RPG based on a brand new BioWare fantasy world. Dragon Age will be shown to a limited number of journalists behind closed doors. Many more details will be announced at E3.
 
</blockquote>
 
Well, the name Dragon Age doesn't sound all that inspiring, does it? There's also mention of showing Polish "<a target=_blank href=http://www.cdprojekt.info/thewitcher/>The Witcher</a>" [<a href=http://www.rpgcodex.com/gamedetails.php?id=16>More info on The Witcher</a>] in their booth during the show, as it's also built on the Aurora Engine.
 
 
Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.rpgdot.com">RPGDot</A>

Ausir · May 7, 2004

Heh.. CD Projekt hasn't mentioned The Witcher being built on Aurora yet... all info on it has been actually top secret.

Whipporowill · May 7, 2004

And then Bioware just goes and blurts it out like that? Shame on them! :wink:

Spazmo · May 7, 2004

Were I BioWare, I'd be more ashamed of having made the Aurora engine in the first place. This effectively torpedoes any interest I might have had in The Witcher simply because I hate the Aurora Engine.

Jora · May 7, 2004

I agree. They (CDproject) should have licensed Troika's TToEE engine.

plin · May 7, 2004

is dragon age using the aurora engine as well?

Ausir · May 7, 2004

Unfortunately, instead of making a good hardcore RPG out of the great books, they're making an action-RPG... A waste of great source material. Maybe at least the story will be good, as the lead writer for this game is a pretty good fantasy writer himself.

Taoreich · May 7, 2004

and why license Aurora (NWN) when it's already been upgraded to Odyssey (KotOR)

edit:Hooray- I'm literate after almost a year!

Ausir · May 7, 2004

Because it's cheaper? And the Witcher development started before the release of KotOR.

Elwro · May 7, 2004

Your link to the Witcher web page is broken. Use this:

http://www.cdprojekt.info/thewitcher/

Not that it is much better.

Transcendent One · May 7, 2004

Dragons and other fantasy trash. So typical of Bio. Hell they couldn't even help making KotOR at least a little less fantasy-ish.

Oh and I've always felt like Aurora is superior to Odyssey, but it still sucks.

Voss · May 7, 2004

Considering you go by the handle of Greyhawk, the anti-fantasy stance seems like an oxymoron.

And, they made Kotor less fantasy-ish? What?

undead dolphin hacker · May 7, 2004

Wow, I have no interest in any of these titles at all.

Gromnir · May 7, 2004

Voss said:
Considering you go by the handle of Greyhawk, the anti-fantasy stance seems like an oxymoron.

And, they made Kotor less fantasy-ish? What?

am thinking that greyhawk is saying that kotor is too "fantasy-ish" which is one of the sillier complaints we seen on these boards considering the basis of the star wars mythology.

HA! Good Fun!

p.s. please don't mentions to greyhawk that star wars had magic swords and kindly wizards and orphans becoming heroes and black knights... heck, be sure not to reveal that the deathstar fulfilled the traditional role of the Dragon in the hero myth. might upset him.

Volourn · May 7, 2004

This isn't news. What would be news is if BIo actually made a good game.

Transcendent One · May 7, 2004

Voss said:
Considering you go by the handle of Greyhawk, the anti-fantasy stance seems like an oxymoron.

And, they made Kotor less fantasy-ish? What?

I picked my screenname because at the time I was signing up I couldn't think of a screenname and the ToEE CD's were laying next to me on the computer. Can you blame me for having poor imagination. And I don't want to ask the admins to change it for me because no one would know who I am then.

What I meant by the KotOR comment is that KotOR just felt like a D&D game, not because it used a simplified D&D ruleset, but because it just played like a D&D game, they couldn't help but make even that resemble their D&D junks (not that Star Wars isn't already fantasy, it is, but it's filled with futuristic stuff to make it... different, and when watching the movies I personally have never felt like I was watching some funky D&D movie). With KotOR I felt more like I was playing in a really awkward setting of D&D.

The thing is, Bioware claimed that they would move on to creating games in their own unlicensed worlds, and it's funny how the first PC game they announce from that category is set in what seems like a D&D clone.

I suppose I should've wrote D&D instead of fantasy in that one post. Cause D&D is really the type of fantasy I was referring to.

Gromnir · May 7, 2004

"The thing is, Bioware claimed that they would move on to creating games in their own unlicensed worlds, and it's funny how the first PC game they announce from that category is set in what seems like a D&D clone. "

and you base this conclusion on nothing more than a title?

...

am not gonna say nothing.

HA! Good Fun!

Dgaider · May 7, 2004

Greyhawk said:
The thing is, Bioware claimed that they would move on to creating games in their own unlicensed worlds, and it's funny how the first PC game they announce from that category is set in what seems like a D&D clone..

Wow. That's a lot to divine from simply the name and genre. You are very knowledgeable.

Volourn said:
This isn't news. What would be news is if BIo actually made a good game.

What? At least these other guys are consistent, Volourn. Shut the hell up.

Voss · May 7, 2004

Oh, well I'm glad you can tell its a D&D clone from the word Dragon.
:roll:

And Volourn, I've been meaning to ask... whats with the one line Bio-snark lately? Its seems somewhat tongue in check and vaguely mocking, but I'm starting to wonder...
Have you been reformatted to Codex standards?

Edit: Wow, a triple.

triCritical · May 7, 2004

Dgaider said:
What? At least these other guys are consistent, Volourn. Shut the hell up.

Maybe you are not so bad after all...

Shevek · May 7, 2004

I wonder if it would be at all possible for Bio to pull the camera back in their upcoming title to offer larger and less claustrophobic area design and movement than what they gave us in KoTOR. Similarly, Im curious if they will expand on the whole evil/good thing they began to explore in KoTOR or if they will again take the stance that multiple paths are a waste of design time. I doubt the combat will be awe inspiring but hopefully now that they will be basing their next title around their own fantasy property they may be able to come up with their own ruleset that may lend itself better to their pause/play style combat and now standard Bio epic level play. Who knows, maybe they will at least attempt to better support diplomatic play or give us a character development system thats decent. Time shall tell, I suppose, but, though I am skeptical, the lack of well funded CRPG projects on the horizon makes any upcoming release from a major developer well worth watching out for.

Gromnir · May 7, 2004

the "bio-snark" appears to be vol sarcasm... is his way of saying that folks here has a knee-jerk negative reaction to all things bioware, at least that is how Gromnir has taken it... but am just guessing and don't know.

HA! Good Fun!

Whipporowill · May 7, 2004

A fantasy game that markets itself with dragons in the title... well, at least you are trying to hang on to the same basic premise this far, or you would have chosen something that stood out more from D&D, wouldn't you? Not saying that the actual game will have anything in common with said license, but it's a bit clumsy (or cowardly) to not stick your neck out more.

Gromnir · May 7, 2004

*shakes head sadly*

pathetic.

repost:

the best fantasy novel Gromnir has read in the last few years was simply entitled, "Knight." when we think 'bout it, we has a hard time recalling titles for fantasy or sci-fi books that we would call great or even good. "Neverwhere," was okie dokie as far as titles goes... but "American Gods," not reall grab us. "The Land of Laughs," was an okie dokie title from johnathan carroll... "All the Bells on Earth," and "Gun With Occasional Music," weren't bad... is some phillip k. dick and heinlein titles we like..."The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch," "Flow my Tears, The Policeman Said," and â€œJob: A Comedy of Justice," is a few that comes immediately to mind.

now try to come up with crpg games with great or good titles.

*shrug*

Gromnir wrote a novella in grad school (was fiction, not fantasy,) called "The Hero's Myth," and for years we thought it were a pretty good title...

*groan*

HA! Good Fun!

end repost.

furthermore, you ever read â€œHour of the Dragon,â€ by Robert E. Howard? was his only conan novel. book gots traditional dragons in it? gots tolkienesque or d&d world?

bah.

am happy to criticize bio... but to do so when all you got is a maybe title?

HA! Good Fun!

Anonymous · May 7, 2004

triCritical said:
Dgaider said:

What? At least these other guys are consistent, Volourn. Shut the hell up.

Click to expand...

Maybe you are not so bad after all...

I dunno, he thinks he worked on good games.

Game News Bioware unveils 'Dragon Age'

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