Dragon Age's creative director, Mike Laidlaw, has been with BioWare since 2003 and has recently, after 14 years, left the studio to pursue different projects. In a recent interview, Laidlaw explains why he left BioWare after the hugely successful Dragon Age: Inquisition, what he is working on now, his views on current RPGs, and what he thinks is the greatest RPG made in the last 10 years.

Laidlaw has certainly worked on Dragon Age for a long time, perservering through all the controversy with Dragon Age 2, as well as enjoying the satisfaction of having Dragon Age: Inquisition winning many Game of the Year awards in 2015. But in the interview, Laidlaw explains that after working with the studio for so long, he felt the need to experience other games and do other gaming-related projects.

At the time of his resignation, the studio was entering a quiet phase where many developers and programmers would move between working on different games, so he was able to leave without disrupting his team completely. Laidlaw notes that his team really supported his move, even though they have become like a family after working together for so many years. At the moment, Laidlaw is using his 14 years of experience at BioWare to consult with other game design studios, not only on game narratives, which is his specialty, but on other development-related issues too. Laidlaw is also exploring streaming on Twitch, and reviewing games on his Twitch channel as he plays the latest RPGs.

Of course, we are all wondering about the future of Dragon Age. For Laidlaw, Dragon Age has never had just a one-thread plan, so Dragon Age can in fact go in any direction from here. He is confident though that other great people are working at BioWare and whoever takes over Dragon Age will make it really great and interesting. He does admit however that if the new developer for the game had to be announced, he would feel a bit weird for a while.

Laidlaw also gives his views on current RPGs and why it takes so long to produce a good game, especially after Dragon Age 2 took so many years in development.  He says that in gaming, developers don't compete for money, but for they compete for time. As a developer, you are asking people to not only buy your game, but also to give up their time to leave other games they are playing to play your game. Some might agree with Laidlaw that making a quality game, even if it takes long to make, is worth it.

Finally, we are curious to hear what the best RPG made in the last 10 years is for the RPG expert. Unsurprisingly, like many gamers, Laidlaw sees Skyrim as the best RPG made in the last decade.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is currently available on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

Source: Game Informer