As Dragon Age: The Veilguard's bold new tone gets bashed by fans, the RPG's original co-creator explains trailers are always mismatched, "so that doesn't mean much"
Jun. 10, 2024Veilguard is seemingly ditching the bloodier, dark fantasy stylings of Origins
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Dragon Age: The Veilguard(previously known as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf or Dragon Age 4) has reared its head with a new trailer after years in the murky shadows of game development, showing off a much brighter, bolder, divisive take on the beloved dark fantasy world. But Dragon Age’s original lead writer has quelled fan concerns.
David Gaider was onceBioWare’s lead writer on all three Dragon Age games and is often credited as the setting’s main architect - though, nowadays, he can be seen directingmusical theatre RPGsat his own studio - so, he’s pretty clued into the world of Thedas. Gaider recently took to social media to call Veilguard’s boisterous personality an “interesting tone choice,” while acknowledging that early trailers can often butt heads with the final product.
Dozens of comments under the Dragon Age: The Veilguard trailer embedded above complain about the long, long-awaited game’s fancy visual flourishes and less-than-serious tone. Reminds me more of Guardians of the Galaxy’s ragtag group of carefree misfits, as opposed to Dragon Age: Origin’s blood-covered, edgier party - at least at first glance.
“The art style of [Dragon Age] trailers has never really matched the games, so that doesn’t mean much,” Gaidertweetedin the game’s defense. “One thing the trailer left me wondering: can I… be a hero? Not sure ‘this is your power fantasy’ was underlined enough.”
“DA fans (and anti-fans) will be all over the place, I’m certain,” he adds. “Nothing’s worse for a fan than the initial reveal of what a game actually is, because it’s simultaneously popping all those imaginary hope balloons of what the game could have been. The end of so many dreams.”
Whether Veilguard pops the dark fantasy bubble or goes back to the series' roots remains to be seen, but at least the 10-year wait is almost over.Dragon Age: The Veilguard is due to launch this fallwithseven companions and some returning facestoo. BioWare is also airing a 15-minute walkthrough on June 11 where we’ll get a clearer picture on what’s up.
Take a look ateverything else announced at the Xbox Games Showcase.
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.
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