Most of the content of Dragon Age Central has been developer posts to the official Dragon Age forums, first opened in May 2004. But all things must come to an end, and these forums were shut down on 2nd November 2009, the day before the game’s release in North America.
Since I haven’t had time to add much other content to the site for most of 2009, I’ve decided to also shut down Dragon Age Central as it was, leaving it here as an archive.
The new Dragon Age Central is now a much simpler (and fully automated) website dedicated to making developer posts to the new official forum (on Bioware’s social site) easier to find and search through.
It’s been interesting running this site, and in a way I’ll miss it... but hopefully I’ll be too busy finally playing the actual game to care :)
Dragon Age Central
Updated: Monday, 02 November 2009 02:07PM | Synced: 444371 mins ago
Forum posts were made by game developers. Please do not take posts out of context. While these individuals will have special insight into certain game-related questions, they are by no means the final authority. Please read the full topic and all its replies before forming an opinion. Remember, all things are subject to change.
-{ 2006 }-
Forum Post
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David Gaider ~ Lead Writer Categories: Quality:
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Thread: And the award for most kills goes to... [+7]
Date: Monday, 06 February 2006 01:05AM    
It's a party-based tactical RPG, much like BG. At the start of the game, you only make the one character and any party members you gain you do so during the course of the game. |
I have heard you make your own party right from the first time I heard about DA? 
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David Gaider ~ Lead Writer Categories:
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Thread: How do backgrounds work? [+0]
Date: Monday, 30 January 2006 09:49PM
That's about right. Once you've chosen your race and class, you get to choose your background from amongst the options that apply.
No. Backgrounds are race-specific or class-specific. |
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David Gaider ~ Lead Writer Categories: Quality:
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Thread: Will DA allow you to roleplay a truly evil character? [+5]
Date: Tuesday, 03 January 2006 09:45PM
Well, if there was something dramatic about your past that was worth hiding then I could see writing dialogue around keeping it hidden from your party members -- but otherwise what would the point be, exactly? Again, you don't have to talk about yourself, but since the backgrounds are a matter of location and social standing and not "I am evil and mysterious" they're not really a source of drama in the sense that you seem to be expecting. |
-{ 2005 }-
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David Gaider ~ Lead Writer Categories:
Quality:
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Thread: Why levels [+0]
Date: Friday, 02 December 2005 07:50PM
Skill-based systems aren't a new thing, and they are replete with their own drawbacks just as level-based systems are. It's an old argument, and making a choice between the two is pretty fundamental to whatever type of rules system you're developing.
We've chosen the level-based route. This doesn't mean it's D&D-style, though, as some believe -- there's quite a variety of level-based systems to choose from. |
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David Gaider ~ Lead Writer Categories: Quality:
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Thread: NPCs and Backstories [+0]
Date: Monday, 31 October 2005 08:59PM
No. Party members are available to all players, though their relationship with you might be different based on your background.
It varies. Sometimes it's very minor, sometimes you get entirely different dialogue and even different plots or different rewards. Essentially what we want is for the player to feel the recognition of their race/gender/background at least a little bit everywhere they go. In one area you might just have one or two characters that bring it up, in another it will be very different for everyone, but the idea is for it to be at least noticeable throughout. |
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David Gaider ~ Lead Writer Categories: Quality:
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Thread: Character Backstories [+17]
Date: Thursday, 20 October 2005 08:20PM
The backgrounds are pretty detailed and story-oriented... they involve beginning the game in a unique area and have an entire section of gameplay devoted just to that background. They also affect many things in the rest of the game.
So being able to pick-and-choose various elements inside of that background would be difficult without changing the story completely (and thus requiring a new background entirely), unless the changes were fairly minor. As it is, there's much more involved than the stat-affecting backgrounds in Arcanum. And I should add that the backgrounds are only class-specific when that class has special requirements -- otherwise the backgrounds are race-specific and involve having cultural options that would be available to someone of that race. |
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David Gaider ~ Lead Writer Categories: Quality:
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Thread: Yet another question from yours truly... [+2]
Date: Thursday, 31 March 2005 03:14AM
If you want to compare the two, the ToEE vignettes were pretty short. Pretty much it just set up a quick backstory for the party that gave them a reason for coming to Hommlet that conformed with their alignment. The DA origin preludes are much, much longer. Unique areas. Plot. Combat. Lots of dialogue. Essentially a small chapter. They also have a big affect on the rest of the game, both in terms of dialogue as well as plot (like, say, characters from your past showing up later on). They are also not the tutorial. Not except in the story sense in that the world is introduced to the player therein. |
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David Gaider ~ Lead Writer Categories: Quality:
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Thread: Races of Dragon age [+2]
Date: Thursday, 17 February 2005 11:01AM
There will be less races, not more.
The trade-off is that being that race will have an actual effect throughout the game. If you are an elf and you meet other elves, they treat you differently... perhaps have entirely different dialogue or plots. Since all dialogue is recorded, it isn't enough to just insert a <RACE> token into a line anymore. |
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author: Doug Trueman interviewees: Unknown Categories: Quality:
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Source: E3 2005 Game Guide: Dragon Age
Date: Saturday, 01 January 2005 12:00AM
[...]
Dragon Age is an open-ended RPG which features a top down party-based "combat mode" and a third person camera exploration mode. The game contains both single player and multiplayer campaigns. BioWare states that the storyline in Dragon Age will change the game’s opening chapter and thus the subsequent missions and quests that are available to the player. Like many modern RPGs, the player’s actions will affect how the game develops. Players can choose to either liberate hapless peasants from the oppressive rule of malevolent dictators, or they can enslave the people themselves and spend the game fending off and quashing rebellions. The developers are going to such lengths to create an original world that they’ve even enlisted the help of a linguist to create a language and a backstory that predates the player’s adventure by five thousand years. [...] Warfare in Dragon Age will take place in real-time and will feature party-based combat and is based on a proprietary set of rules created by BioWare. You will be able to choose traditional races (elves, dwarves, humans, etc.) and customize your character’s sex, class, abilities, magic and weaponry. [...] |
-{ 2004 }-
Forum Post
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Darcy Pajak ~ Associate Producer Categories: Quality:
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Thread: Combat System Question [+5]
Date: Thursday, 20 May 2004 05:03PM
We're currently testing the rules system in a simulator. The idea is that speed, strength, and skill are the biggest factors in hitting, and damaging your opponent.
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