dragon-age-origins posts (Subscribe to this feed)
Interview: BioWare's Greg Zeschuk on Dragon Age, DLC, and more
by Christopher Grant 
{ Nov 26th 2009 at 3:00PM } 
Joystiq: Dragon Age is the first PS3 game that BioWare's developed. Can you talk about that process?
Greg Zeschuk: We did partner with Edge of Reality, so we partnered with folks who have had the experience, and that was a good process where we actually had some folks that knew how to do it but also, in general, just worked together with them. A lot of it ended up being like we needed a lot of work to get done and a lot of stuff very fast and everyone was very busy on Dragon Age itself. Collectively, on the console, I would say it was very interesting and challenging to take the richness of the PC game of Dragon Age, with all these different powers and everything else, and actually try to transpose it to the consoles. And the interesting thing about that, or where it worked out really well, is that we literally set ourselves a goal: We didn't want console players to fell like we ripped them off by taking anything away, by minimizing or simplifying. We want them to feel they have all the power at their fingertips, but it's very accessible. It's got the multiple rings that sort of have subsets to them, and you can actually pretty much access any power just a couple little joystick twiddles and button presses. And so with that experience, I think we succeeded there.
Another place where we succeeded on both the PS3 and 360 versions: it feels very different from the PC. Where the PC has got the traditional Baldur's Gate top-down [perspective], the PS3 and 360 are over-the-shoulder and they do have that kind of, very KOTOR feel and that's probably what I play, and that's what I feel most familiar with is KOTOR -- and it actually feels more action-y than the PC does, so I think people will find a very different experience. I recommend both platforms actually, PC and console versions.
Gallery: Dragon Age: Origins
EA takes 30 percent off several PC games until Monday
by David Hinkle { Nov 26th 2009 at 12:05PM }
Not everything is on sale, however -- some of the newer titles like Left 4 Dead 2 and the Dragon Age Collector's Edition don't qualify (though the regular version of the latter is on sale for $35). If you're determined to get good deals on some of these newer games, we have a feeling you'll be able to find 'em somewhere.
[Via Big Download]
For more Black Friday coverage, check out Black Friday Deals, Cyber Monday Sales,
And other Black Friday 2009 stories today from Walletpop.com
Direct2Drive offering $10 off Dragon Age: Origins through Nov. 30
by Xav de Matos { Nov 24th 2009 at 2:00AM }
The standard edition is priced at $39.95, while the Deluxe edition is priced at $54.95 for the promotion. With the savings we recommend you look into purchasing the (somewhat controversial) downloadable content already available for the title. If paying for storage space is your thing, that is.
Dragon Age: Origins DLC to 'Return to Ostagar' this holiday
by Justin McElroy { Nov 19th 2009 at 12:58PM } 
Listen, we're as big of fans of Dragon Age: Origins as you're likely to meet, but we have to question the scheduling of this DLC release. It's not that we don't want it, but who out there has played so much DA:O that they're bored of what's on the disc? Seriously, the thing's like 340 hours long!
BioWare considers storytelling challenge of multiplayer experiences
by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 16th 2009 at 2:00PM }
Among the things to be decided is how best to incorporate your party of friends with, well, your party of in-game friends. "It's hard to weave a great single-player storyline into a multiplayer experience," Muzyka said. "It's not impossible." The good doctor insists that it's been done and points to the developer's anticipated Star Wars MMO as proof. "We've done it, and we're doing it again now in Star Wars: The Old Republic. But it is challenging."
PS3 Dragon Age: Origins out in UK this Friday
by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 16th 2009 at 10:15AM }
The tardiness of the title, according to BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka, was due to certification and manufacturing issues. If you're fan of RPGs (especially those in the BioWare mold), go get Dragon Age!
Dragon Age DLC has earned over $1 million
by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 13th 2009 at 11:09AM }
EA has touted that Dragon Age: Origins has already brought in over $1 million in sales of its launch DLC. G4 reports on CFO Eric Brown's presentation at a recent conference, where the EA exec revealed the figure and reiterated, "The game was designed at the outset to have extensive [paid DLC] at launch, as well through the next 12-plus months of its lifespan."
Dragon Age players should remember to blame developer BioWare and its QA department if they felt obligated to pick up the launch DLC, which expands in-game storage space for items. As shady as that sounds, apparently it wasn't enough to deter significant purchases of the optional content.
Wii Fit Plus claims top spot in UK sales chart, Dragon Age debuts in fifth
by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 9th 2009 at 10:01AM } 
Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time premiered at the 22nd spot, which is a weaker debut than we had anticipated for the titular duo's final(ish) outing. It'll likely have a stronger showing in the US, though we'll have to wait for the NPD results to see if it lands in the top ten.
Source -- A fitting No1 [Chart Track]
Source -- All formats chart [Chart Track]
Dragon Age: Origins gets patched, tool set released
by Griffin McElroy { Nov 7th 2009 at 7:00PM }
The still-fresh PC version of Dragon Age: Origins recently got a huge booster shot in two delicious flavors. The first came in the form of Patch v1.01a, which, in addition to fixing a few character corruption issues and display glitches, makes the game easier as a whole. The second, much beefier improvement came with the release of the Dragon Age: Origins tool set, which allows users to create their own adventures using the game's extremely adaptable (and powerful!) engine.
Check out the tool set's capabilities in the trailer posted above. To acquire these modding tools -- or the difficulty-reducing patch -- check out the links below.
Download Dragon Age: Origins v1.01a Patch (13 MB)
Download the Dragon Age: Origins Toolset (472 MB)
Download the EclipseRay Lightmapper Source Code (6 MB)
Check out the tool set's capabilities in the trailer posted above. To acquire these modding tools -- or the difficulty-reducing patch -- check out the links below.
Download Dragon Age: Origins v1.01a Patch (13 MB)
Download the Dragon Age: Origins Toolset (472 MB)
Download the EclipseRay Lightmapper Source Code (6 MB)
Don't blame EA for Dragon Age's inventory (or paid DLC)
by Xav de Matos { Nov 4th 2009 at 9:00PM }
According to Zoeller, Dragon Age originally featured a small storage chest in the game's party camp, but quickly became an issue due to story elements in the game that would change the camp's environment; so the storage area was removed. "We decided that it was not really necessary anyway since the item limitation was rather generous compared to the initial designs at least," Zoeller wrote. Later -- during a brainstorm session -- the team decided to include the chest in premium DLC, which was then made available at launch.
Zoeller claims "storage limitations" were never pinpointed as problems by the game's quality assurance team, because "after all, it was part of the design." While the Bioware designer doesn't have an issue with anger toward the decision, he vehemently denies EA was involved for the sole purpose of getting more money out of players. With the DLC already available across all platforms (560
/ $7, or free to deluxe edition players), it's up to players to make their opinions heard by voting with their wallets.Review: Dragon Age: Origins
by Randy Nelson { Nov 3rd 2009 at 10:20AM }
The long wait for a true successor to the fantasy throne ends today with the arrival of Dragon Age: Origins. The latest title from Mass Effect and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic developer BioWare is a testament to the company's mastery of the art of building the worlds, characters and stories that constitute a "classic" -- and that's exactly what this excellent experience is.
Gallery: Dragon Age: Origins
Hungary spanks America in Dragon Age: Origins contest
by Griffin McElroy { Oct 31st 2009 at 8:00PM }
America, however, must have only been slightly peckish, ending up with a disappointing ninth place (or next-to-last place) finish, and getting eliminated in the third round of the competition. This might be a small blow to our egos, but hey -- at least we're still better at dragon slaying than the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Booyah!
[Via Kotaku]
Dragon Age: Origins contest offers $12,500, global dominance
by Griffin McElroy { Oct 26th 2009 at 1:50PM }
The teams will be going head-to-head, receiving points based on the amount of experience and kills they've accumulated, as well as how much of the game they've played through. Low-scoring teams will be eliminated, giving the whole event an Olympic games meets Thunderdome meets Nick Arcade feeling that's really working for us.
PS3's Dragon Age: Origins back on track for Nov. 3
by Ludwig Kietzmann { Oct 23rd 2009 at 2:40PM }
European PS3 owners, however, still need to hang on until "a bit later in November." Don't worry, that brief disappointment will make eventual platform parity feel like something amazing again!
PlayStation UK Blog brings BioWare doctors in for Dragon Age live chat
by Xav de Matos { Oct 22nd 2009 at 9:00PM }
Beginning at 7PM BST (2PM EDT), BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuck will be on hand taking questions about its latest role-playing game. The hour-long event will give fans a chance to ask about upcoming content, exclusive bonuses and what it's like working with
