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Dragon Age: Origins

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Dragon Age: Origins
File:Dragon Age.jpg
Developer(s)BioWare Edmonton
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Composer(s)Inon Zur
EngineEclipse
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360[3]
Genre(s)Computer role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Dragon Age: Origins (also known as Dragon Age) is a computer role-playing game developed by BioWare's Edmonton studio. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in North America on November 3, 2009. Bioware has stated that the game will run "very well" on Windows 7.[4]

Dragon Age: Origins utilizes a new game engine named Eclipse.[5] It has been confirmed that a toolset for creation of fan-made content will be included. The game will be single-player only and not provide LAN support.[6] BioWare co-CEO Ray Muzyka describes Dragon Age: Origins as a "spiritual successor" to the Baldur's Gate series,[7] though it is not based on Dungeons & Dragons.[8]

Gameplay

The designers are incorporating 'origin' stories for each race and some classes in the game. For example, a Dwarf Noble will begin the game as part of the royal family in one of the Dwarven cities, and a Dwarf Commoner will begin on the streets of the city. Origin stories determine the background of the player's character prior to the main events of the game's story, forming an introduction to the game world while also comprising hours of game-play. People that the player meets during the origin story may reappear throughout the game, some of whom may be adversaries.[9]

There is no tracking of alignment as in previous BioWare games,[10] but the moral choices of the main character throughout the game will still affect the story. The player may save the world whether choosing to be good or evil, but the decisions that the player makes in the process will change the game world – deciding who will become King, for example, and affecting nations and races and their places in the world. These decisions will also influence the companion NPCs, possibly causing an NPC to leave the party[11] or even attack the player.[12]

As with the Baldur's Gate series, players will be able to issue orders to NPCs in real time or while the game is paused, and queue up actions such as spells and special attacks.[13]

Several of the game's features have been confirmed.[14] There will be three base classes to choose from: the rogue, the warrior, and the mage. These classes can be upgraded later into a specialized class. Some specialization classes are Berserker and Templar for the warrior,[15] and Shapeshifter or Blood Mage for the mage.[16] The six character backgrounds are Human Noble, Human/Elf Mage, Dalish Elf, City Elf, Dwarf Commoner, and Dwarf Noble. The game will use a party system similar to that of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, in that it will feature the main character with up to three active party members, chosen from a large pool of NPC's in the game. The camera will be over the shoulder third person view when zoomed in, and an isometric-style view when zoomed out. The spells in the game will interact with the effects of others. For example, a blizzard spell would put out the flames caused by hitting something with a grease spell and then a fire spell.

Synopsis

Characters

  • Duncan – (Voiced by Peter Renaday)[17] Like many others, Duncan gave up his family name when he joined the ranks of the Wardens: a symbolic gesture of cutting ties. He might say it was a convenience as his father was from Ferelden, his mother from Anderfelds, and he spent his childhood in the Free Marches and Orlais. His people were everywhere and his homeland was nowhere. He serves as a mentor of sorts to the player character. He has been entrusted with the task of leading the Grey Wardens in Ferelden. This is considered a difficult task because the Grey Wardens were exiled from Ferelden 200 years prior.[18][19]
  • King Cailan Theirin – Son of the legendary King Maric Theirin who drove the Orlesian Empire from Ferelden. The young and naive Cailan was the first King born into a Ferelden freed of foreign occupation in three generations.[citation needed]
  • Teyrn Loghain – (Voiced by Simon Templeman)[17]Loghain served as the right hand of King Maric in the war against the Orlesians and now hopes to help guide Maric's son Cailan in defense of the realm from the Blight.[citation needed]

Known party NPCs include:

  • Wynne – (voiced by Susan Boyd Joyce)[20][21] One of the most prominent mages of the Circle of Magi and a powerful spirit healer. She believes wholeheartedly in what the Circle Stands for and has been a vocal advocate that, through discipline and education, mages can learn to control their gifts and use them to serve mankind. The fear of magic often brings forth misunderstanding, Wynne always cautions mages of the innate dangers of calling forth magic as it continually attracts demons looking for hosts to possess. “Earn your place,” she has said, “and you shall not be reviled.” Her peers thought so highly of her that she was asked to become Ferelden’s new first enchanter which she refuses, saying she has no desire to work in the upper ranks. When word has reached her in the tower of King Cailan’s call to arms against the Blight, Wynne readily volunteered to go to Ostagar.[22]
  • Alistair – (Voiced by Steve Valentine)[17] This young warrior was recruited by Duncan from his ill-suited placement into training to become a templar for the Chantry (the dominant religion of Ferelden). Alistair has seen a hard childhood since his mother died in childbirth. He was raised in service of the lord at the castle in Redcliffe. His experiences have hardened him and created a wry and irreverent sense of humor. Alistair is a confirmed romance option.[22][23]
  • Morrigan – (Voiced by Claudia Black)[24] Morrigan is a shapechanging mage, taught by her mother in the wilds of Ferelden. Morrigan is a confirmed romance option.[22][25]
  • Oghren – (Voiced by Steve Blum)[17] A Dwarf from the House of Kondrat who was a once a promising member of the Warrior Caste.[22]
  • Sten – (Voiced by Mark Hildreth)[17] A bronze-skinned qunari giant who is wary of revealing his true name to members of the race his people twice attempted to conquer. Four centuries ago the qunari reached the shores of Thedas, possessed of an alien philosophy and an iron determination to force lesser cultures into enlightenment. They conquered only a small area which in turn only allowed them to study their human foes more carefully, sending missionaries and explorers into the southern lands after the last truce. This could explain Sten’s presence as he was left to rot in a cage and refuses to clarify how he failed his mission. The infidel ways are not his; if he needs forgiveness for his crimes, it is a matter of qunari honor, not of human law.[22]
  • Leliana - (Voiced by Corinne Kempa)[17] Leliana is from the Orlesian Empire and is classed as a rogue. She is a confirmed romance option.[22][25]
  • Zevran - (Voiced by Jon Curry)[17] A male elf who excels in the ranks in one of the most infamous guild of thieves and assassins in all of Thedas, the Antivan Crows. He has accepted a commission for a target in Ferelden.[22] He has been confirmed as a romantic option.[citation needed]
  • War Dog - Mabari War Dogs are a prized and essential part of the Fereldan military. These trained hounds easily break the lines of pikeman, pull knights from horseback and with a pack of Marbari dogs, they can cause panic to even the most hardened infantry soldiers.[22]
  • Shale - Shale is a mighty stone golem that comes from The Stone Prisoner downloadable content pack. Shale will be available freely to all owners of a first-hand copy of the game. Those who purchase a previously owned copy have the option to purchase him for $15 USD.[26]

Plot

The company has described this game as being a 'dark heroic fantasy' story that will be told on an epic scale with mature themes.[27]

The player will begin his or her journey in one of the six Origin stories which serve as an introductory point for the players and present the world from their personal point of view. The Origin chosen determines who the character is and by the same measure how NPCs (party and non-party) will react to the player. Elves for example are often viewed as second rate citizenry.[27] The developers have cited 'realistic' fantasy fiction such as George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and fantasy paintings by artists such as Frank Frazetta as inspiration for the game.[28]

Development

System requirements
Minimum Recommended
Microsoft Windows[29]
Operating system Windows XP with Service Pack 3 or Windows Vista Service Pack 1
CPU Intel Core 2 Duo 1.4 GHz, (XP) or 1.6GHz, (Vista) AMD X2 (or equivalent) running at 1.8Ghz, (XP) or 2.2ghz, (Vista) processorIntel Core 2 Quad 2.4 GHz processor or equivalent, AMD Phenom II X3 Triple-Core 2.8 GHz or greater
Memory 1 GB (XP), 1.5 GB (Vista)2 GB (XP), 4 GB (Vista)
Free space 20 GB
Graphics hardware ATI Radeon X850 128MB or greater, NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT 128MB or greater (XP), ATI Radeon X1550 256MB or greater, NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB or greater (Vista)ATI 3850 512 MB or greater, NVIDIA 8800GTS 512 MB or greater.

Dragon Age: Origins was first announced during E3 2004 as Dragon Age.[30] On July 10, 2008 the title was changed to Dragon Age: Origins.[31]

The PlayStation 3 version of the game was first delayed, however BioWare later retracted that statement and announced that, in North America, it would release on the same day as the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows versions.[32]

Dragon Age Character Creator was released on October 13, 2009 ahead of the game's release, allowing players to create a character in advance and to import it into the full game.[33]

BioWare will release a 'developer-grade' toolset (the same one that they used to make Dragon Age: Origins) to allow extensive modification and customization of the game.[34]

It has also been announced that the retail version of Dragon Age will not use the SecuRom copy protection software used by other EA games, opting instead for a standard disc check.[35]

Downloadable content

Bioware announced on 8 October 2009 that two pieces of downloadable content will be available on the game’s launch - The Stone Prisoner and Warden’s Keep.

The Stone Prisoner

Downloading The Stone Prisoner adds Shale to the game, a stone golem and a party member. Shale is a powerful character and has a large backstory, with extensive voice acting, and a unique quest attached to him. The Stone Prisoner also adds new locations and items. Every new retail box contains a promotional code to receive The Stone Prisoner for free (digital purchases will have the code e-mailed to the purchaser). The content will cost $15 to unlock without the promotional code.[26][36]

Warden's Keep

The Warden's Keep downloadable content adds the fortress of Soldier’s Peak to Dragon Age: Origins, granting the player the opportunity to understand why the Grey Wardens were exiled from Ferelden. The player can set up a base of operations with an area to store party members' surplus equipment. New talents, spells, achievements and items are also unlocked with the purchase. Warden’s Keep is available as a paid download for $7. Warden's Keep also comes with the Digital Deluxe edition of the game which costs $15 more than the basic game.[36]

Blood Dragon Armor

The Blood Dragon Armor downloadable content will provide access to a unique set of armor that will be accessible in both Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2. The code for this product will be shipped along with every new retail copy of the game and will be e-mailed to people who purchased digital versions. The code will work across all platforms, meaning players can buy Dragon Age: Origins for the PC but use the code for the Xbox 360 version of Mass Effect 2 or vice versa.[36]

Adaptations

The Dragon Age setting and story have been or will be explored in other media, including novels, a Flash-based game, and a tabletop role-playing game.

Novels

There are currently two novels set in the Dragon Age universe. The first, Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne was released March 3, 2009.[37] The second Dragon Age novel is titled Dragon Age: The Calling. It was released on 13 October 2009.[38][39]

Flash game

An episodic flash game spin-off by EA 2D is under development, entitled Dragon Age Journeys. The first chapter of the game, The Deep Roads was released for free. Players can unlock achievements in the game, which will unlock unique items in Dragon Age: Origins on the PC, Xbox 360, or PS3. The following chapters will be purchase-only.[40]

Role-playing game

A role-playing game set in the Dragon Age universe is set to be released in Fall 2009 by Green Ronin,[41] Green Ronin have stated that the game will use "an all-new game system"[41] and that the game set will feature "3 six-sided dice."

Reception

Reviews

The PC version of Dragon Age received a positive review from Game Informer, which gave it 9/10.[46] The PC game also received a positive review from PC Gamer UK, which awarded Dragon Age 94% and called it the "RPG of the decade".[47] The PS3 and 360 versions of the game got an 8.4 from IGN AU[48] and the PC version got a 9.2 from IGN UK.[49]

Differences between console versions

The Playstation 3 version features higher-quality textures than those on the Xbox 360, better color saturation, smoother facial animations, and shorter load times. On Xbox 360, Textures are highly compressed and colors are washed out, though the upside is that this version maintains a smoother frame rate than on the PlayStation 3 [50]

References

  1. ^ "US, Japan, Australia and UK releases of the Dragon Age: Origins video game". GiantBomb. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  2. ^ "Dragon Age: Origins Given New Release Date". IGN. 2009-08-07. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  3. ^ Rob Purchese (2008-08-18). "Dragon Age: Origins coming to consoles". Eurogamer. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
  4. ^ http://daforums.bioware.com/viewtopic.html?topic=695192&forum=135
  5. ^ Molloy, Sean (2006-12-07). "BioWare returns home to PC roleplaying with Dragon Age". 1up.com. Retrieved December 14, 2006. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  6. ^ Chandronait, Matt (2008-07-18). "E32008: The 1UP Show: Dragon Age, Halo Wars". The 1UP Show. Retrieved July 19, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help) Transcript available here
  7. ^ Blevins, Tal (2004-05-12). "E3 2004: Dragon Age". IGN. Retrieved December 10, 2006. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  8. ^ Zoeller, Georg (2008-07-26). "Forum Post". Dragon Age Central. Retrieved July 28, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  9. ^ Gaider, David (2007-02-15). "Forum post". Dragon Age Central. Retrieved September 20, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  10. ^ Gaider, David (2007-05-04). "Forum post". Dragon Age Central. Retrieved September 20, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  11. ^ Kirby, Mary (2007-01-23). "Forum post". Dragon Age Central. Retrieved September 20, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  12. ^ Arendt, Susan (August 19, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins and Choice 2.0". War Cry.
  13. ^ Porter, Will (2007-04-06). "Will Porter chases the dragon. Gets a bit tired. Writes about it for a little while..." Computer and Video Games. Retrieved September 20, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  14. ^ Bala, Sendu (2008-07-19). "Relaunch & E3 2008 summary". Dragon Age Central. Retrieved July 19, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  15. ^ Developer Wiki: Warrior
  16. ^ Developer Wiki [url=http://social.bioware.com/wiki/dragonage/index.php/Mage]
  17. ^ a b c d e f g BioWare (2009). "Dragon Age Origins Digital Manual All Languages PDF Page 37" (Zip/PDF). EA. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
  18. ^ Bioware. "Official Bioware Tome of Knowledge". Bioware. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
  19. ^ Bioware. "Dragon Age: Origins Walkthrough PT 1". Bioware. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
  20. ^ Susan Boyd Joyce (2009). "Susan Boyd Joyce's Resume" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  21. ^ Sheryl Chee Bioware-Writer (2009). "Official Dragon Age: Origins Forums". Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h "Official Dragon Age: Origins Character Page". Bioware. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
  23. ^ Chris Priestly. "So... the question of "Is Alistair a romance option"..." General Descussion - Dragon Age: Origins - Official Boards. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
  24. ^ Reggie Carolipio (2009). "BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins To Feature the Voices of Tim Curry and Kate Mulgrew". Post E3 2009 Dragon Age: Origins. Worthplaying.com. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  25. ^ a b Bioware. "Dragon Age: Origins E3 2009 demonstration". Bioware. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  26. ^ a b Chris Priestly. "Dragon Age: Origins Collector's Edition contents revealed". Dragon Age: Origins Collector's Edition contents revealed. Bioware. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  27. ^ a b Fields, Chris (2008-07-15). "Dragon Age: Origins Podcast #1" (mp3). BioWare. Retrieved July 19, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help) Transcript available here.
  28. ^ Molloy, Sean (2007-12-07). "BioWare returns home to PC roleplaying with Dragon Age". 1up.com. Retrieved July 19, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  29. ^ Plunkett, Luke (June 17, 2009). "Here's Your Dragon Age: Origins PC Specs". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  30. ^ "Dragon Age Preview from 1UP.com". 1up.com. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
  31. ^ Purchese, Robert (2008-07-10). "Dragon Age named, trailer dated". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  32. ^ McWhertor, Michael (2009-10-23). "Dragon Age: Origins Slaying PS3 on November 3". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  33. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (2009-10-13). "Dragon Age character creator now live". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  34. ^ "BioWare Reveals Dragon Age Toolset Details". Electronic Arts.
  35. ^ "Dragon Age: Origins skipping SecuROM PC DRM". Gamespot.com. 05-07-2009. Retrieved June 3, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  36. ^ a b c "Dragon Age: Origins Addons page". Retrieved 2009-10-09.
  37. ^ http://us.macmillan.com/dragonagethestolenthrone
  38. ^ http://daforums.bioware.com/viewtopic.html?topic=669656&forum=135
  39. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Calling-Dragon-Age-David-Gaider/dp/0765324091
  40. ^ John Davison. "Browser Based Dragon Age Journeys". Gamepro. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
  41. ^ a b http://greenronin.com/dragon_age/
  42. ^ "Dragon Age: Origins (PC)". MetaCritic. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  43. ^ "Dragon Age: Origins (Xbox 360)". MetaCritic. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  44. ^ "Dragon Age: Origins (PS3)". MetaCritic. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  45. ^ VanOrd, Kevin (November 3, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins PC Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  46. ^ a b "Dragon Age: Origins". Game Informer. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  47. ^ a b Walker, John (2009-10-22). "Dragon Age: Origins". PC Gamer UK (207). Future Publishing: 74–81. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  48. ^ Kolan, Patrick (2009-11-01). "Dragon Age: Origins AU Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  49. ^ Smee, Andrew (2009-11-02). "Dragon Age: Origins UK Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  50. ^ {{cite web|url=http://uk.gamespot.com/ps3/rpg/dragonage/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary%3Bread-review&page=2
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