When it was announced that Dragon Age II would be more approachable, many fans of Origins’ deep RPG elements scoffed at the idea of “dumbing down” the game just to attract more players. While Dragon Age II was able to find some middle ground amongst fans and newcomers alike, especially with the DLC quest Dragon Age: Legacy, developer BioWare has come out to say they want to do better next time around.
Though not outright saying Dragon Age III is in development -- though a job posting suggests it is -- BioWare’s Ray Muzyka has started talking about how the developer would approach a sequel. In an ideal situation, BioWare would like to take what gamers loved about both games, Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II, and marry them into a more engaging, and satisfying experience.
There were a lot of things to like about Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II so it makes sense to borrow the good from both and leave out the bad. Here's Muzyka's thoughts on the topic:
"I think the team are going to have some things that will surprise and delight both set of fans - our core fans and our new fans - with a marriage, best of breed from both games, Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II. We'll look forward to talking more about that."
Obviously BioWare isn’t willing to comment on how they plan to “surprise and delight” fans, but we hope it incorporates a deeper RPG experience that can be tailored to a faster-paced player, if need be. BioWare’s other marquee franchise, Mass Effect, has taken three iterations of testing the waters, and then backtracking, to get it right and unfortunately a similar situation is taking place with Dragon Age.
Probably the best quality the folks at BioWare exhibit is their willingness to listen and learn. While some developers can sit back and churn out titles that fail to evolve despite serious fan feedback (i.e. Call of Duty), BioWare takes what critics say to heart. Oftentimes it does end up hurting the next iteration, like with Mass Effect 2 completely abandoning all of its predecessor’s core RPG elements, but it’s still great to see evolution at work.
The verdict is still out on whether or not gamers will even see Dragon Age III, but from what Muzyka and the team at BioWare envision, it sounds like it may be the definitive version of the game.
What elements would you like to see BioWare borrow from Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II for the third game? Do you think a Dragon Age III will get made?
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Source: CVG