With such a significant emphasis on those characters, I asked one of the leads of Critical Entertainment to fill me in on exactly what BioWare’s philosophy on partners in Veilgard is.
“No, that’s the case,” BioWare general manager Gary McKay once asked me if he agreed with this sentiment of greatness. “I’ll start with Dragon Age first – each installment of this franchise is different, so we didn’t plan on making a game that was a sequel or the same game as the first. We really wanted to do something different and we did something Push the envelope in areas, Companions was one of them. Once we got deeper into it, we really realized we had something special with these Companions, again, around the inspirations, the story, And it really started to become the centerpiece of the game.”
The Philosophy Behind Dragon Future: The Veilgard Partners
Game director Corinne Bushe agrees, adding that Veilgard’s partners are “the most fully realized complex companions we’ve ever created.” She also believes that they are the absolute best line of the Dragon Future line. She adds, “They’re complex, they have complex problems and that’s what’s interesting.” “As much as I appreciate companions and the journeys I take with them in previous Dragon Age titles – previously, it felt like companions were going on an adventure with me, the main character, whether it’s the Hero of Ferelden or Hawk, you Name it. But in (Villegard), in many ways, the companions are so empowering that it feels like I’m going on a journey with them, finding out how they think and helping them. ; We are working on solving their problems. They feel like my dear friends and I respect them.”
Bushey says those partners participate in deeper and more positive parts of the game. “We’ve really moved to a place where you can have the highest highs, and it can be colorful, it can be optimistic, but at the same time, you can have the lowest of lows where it gets gritty. It gets painful, it gets quite dark. But in all of it, there’s a sense of optimism and it creates this enjoyable throughline throughout the game.”
When I asked creative director John Epler about BioWare’s philosophy behind Veilgard’s partners, he found a term the studio uses: Dragon Future is ready-made characters, no longer reasons.
“What that means for us is that (…) Let’s take the Gray Wardens, for example – the Gray Wardens are an interesting faction but in themselves, they don’t tell a story, but within that faction there are characters who Let’s do this,” he told me. “And it’s the same thing with other characters in the story. They represent these factions, they show the face of other parts of Thedas and the storytelling is what we really want to do, which is, again, making Thedas this huge , as the diverse living world shows these things going on when you’re not there.”
Epler says that one of BioWare’s considerations when developing Veilgard was that the sector exists even when you – Rook – are not around. There are problems, historical conflicts, grievances and more, he says, that happen even when Rook is not participating in them.
“You get into the ‘media race’ in some of these, so that’s where we wanted to go with the guys,” he says. “They have their own stories. Where might Rook fit into these stories, and what interesting ways might those stories evolve based not only on their own but based on Rook’s presence within them?”
Dragon Future Line artwork director Matt Rhodes says that the partners in Veilgard are load-bearing pillars for the entirety of the game, so “when you’re designing them, it’s not just designing a character; they’re designing their faction.” are the face, (in some cases like Belara Lautara), of an entire region of the world.” From his aesthetic share of partnering at Veilgard as the game’s artwork director, he told me that Veilgard’s characters were (with a little luck) going to present a problem to cosplayers.
“The previous art director had the mentality that we should make things easier for (cosplayers), which I think is a misunderstanding of the cosplayers,” Rhodes says. “We’ve seen what kind of challenges they’re willing to take on, and so we’ve gone up to a level of complexity and detail, in some cases, that I hope many of them are excited to take on. ”
A quick detour: Neve Gallus
Partners, in and out of battle
Rook’s partners in Vielgard have roles both inside and outside of combat, although since I’ve only seen a few hours of the game (which will surely be more than a dozen hours long), I couldn’t wait to ask Rook about those roles. Wanted and the way they play the game. Here’s what I discovered:
in battle
bushsay: “So the partners as explored characters, when we discuss how they perform in combat, we need to get that base up to speed. These are their own populations. They have their own behaviors; They have their own freedom on the battlefield; as their storylines progress, they’ll learn how to use their talents more efficiently, and it really feels like you’re fighting alongside those invented characters in battle. It’s like the credibility of it feels like we’re all in this together.
“However when it comes to strategy, and the development that I can upload, this is where the spirit of teamwork with Rook as the leader of this party comes into play. When I saw the Power Wheel , so I almost feel like we’re getting together, we’re planning an entertainment together, I’m seeing all of Harding’s talents, and I’m seeing all that Bellara is capable of, And sometimes I am also using her. Probably I am moving slow with Belara so that I can face the fearsome attacks with Harding, dodge the enemy and get close to me as Rook. , I can speed up this setup and take advantage of it, there can be a game about enhancing this natural feeling of teamwork.
“Now, there are also more obvious synergy. We have deliberate combos where your teammates can play off each other, you can queue up abilities between them, and each of those abilities will go off and have their own effect. But it’s What results is this huge explosion where you get advanced effects, depleting the entire battlefield, it’s all down to planning and teamwork which is what makes it really cool, you can even include Rooks into that equation. One of my favorite things is to upgrade some of Harding’s abilities so she will automatically use some of these abilities that normally I would have to instruct her to do and she can actually execute that combo. Will prepare my character for this, which will have the explosion effect again.”
outdoor fight
Bushe: “This is supposed to be one of my favorite themes. I mentioned the idea that these are fully explored characters, that they’re very original and relatable. So outside of the fighting, it means that they have their own of issues, fears, distractions, and of course, even their own sanctuary, their own private sphere, at the bottom of our past operations, our partner center, the lighthouse, of each partner have their own room. And what I love about it is that it becomes a reflection of the extra time you spend with them as you work through their arc, The game evolves, their room and their personality evolves and changes to become more complete as they think more of you and you understand them better.
“What’s interesting, you talked about romance, the couples also take shape romantically and I’m not just talking about the main character Rook; I’m talking about every opportunity in the game like this. There are moments where we have two partners each fell in love with the option and I needed to produce some good looking tough potential options because it was so similar to the quest we were on and it made my heart soar, it completely done (editor’s Note: I think Bush is talking about a specific play of Weilgard here – not a fixed sequence of events for each play).
“So I would say, as you’re going on adventures with them, as you’re returning to the lighthouse and getting to know them — all these decisions and conversations and things you learn about them — it makes them that way for you. Love makes me feel like I’ve honestly never experienced it before and sometimes it fills me with joy and sometimes it breaks my heart.”
To learn more about the game, including exclusive details, interviews, video features and more, click the Dragon Future: The Veilgard hub button below.
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