The first two entries in the Dragon Age series - Dragon Age: Origins and Awakening - while perhaps note quite living up to the promise of a RPG by genre masters BioWare with a traditional high fantasy setting, were strong games. However, many would say that a relatively brief development cycle very much worked against Dragon Age II; something that seems to have been addressed given lengthier period that the studio have been working on Dragon Age: Inquisition. BioWare wants you to know that they've been listening to the fans.
Given that we're now mere months away from the release of the next core game in the series, we're beginning to see more and more of what we should expect from our return to Thedas. In a new interview with Game Informer, creative director Mike Laidlaw and producer Cameron Lee gave some details about 'Skyhold,' the castle which will serve as home base for the titular Inquisition that the player will lead in the game.
When you and your allies first move into the castle, you'll find it in rather poor condition. Mike Laidlaw describes Skyhold at the beginning of your stay as being 'wrecked,' with holes in the roof and portions of the building blocked off by piles of rubble. However, as you and your Inquisition begin to prosper, that will be reflected in your surroundings:
“Over time, as you progress through the story, you get to see it rebuilt and more areas open up. It goes from ‘kind of wrecked castle’ to ‘your castle.’ The walls are fixed. Your soldiers are patrolling. You see your support staff growing in number. Merchants come to set up station. You get that feeling of it becoming a grand, central hub.”
As you revitalize Skyhold, you'll be given the option to customize vary aspects of the building to your own specifications. This is stated to be more of a superficial representation of your decisions and preferences made in the game that a system that influences gameplay—although that's not to say that Skyhold is simply a place for decoration.
One of the most important things that you'll spend your time in Skyhold doing is using the war table to manage your Inquisition on a large scale. You'll send your agents out into the field and have them carry out missions to further your cause, reporting back to you directly upon their return:
“The war table is your central command. You get the sense that that the things you’re doing – from throwing little rocks in the pond to tossing a boulder now and then – the war table tells the story of the Inquisition’s growth and helps you, as commander, make decisions… You start feeling like you have this massive influence throughout the world, and you get these detailed reports back from your advisors.”
Be sure to read the latest on Inquisition's 4-player co-op mode and check out the gameplay demo from E3 if you missed it.
Dragon Age: Inquisition is set for release on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One on November 18, 2014.
Source: Game Informer