The creators of Dragon Age II took the stage this year at to host a panel focused on repairing ties with the hardcore gaming community after the adverse fan reaction to Dragon Age II. And also to be very clear (while being very careful never to say as much) that Dragon Age III is in the works.
Throughout the panel, Bioware creative director Mike Laidlaw and Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider fielded harsh questions from enthusiastic fans with the help of Executive Producer Mark Darrah. That said, while there was an overt sense of disapproval of DAII, that accounted for only maybe 10% of the panel. The vast majority was a hooting-and-hollering celebration of all things Dragon Age.
“It's so great to leave the internet and get back to real life,” said Laidlaw, speaking about getting back to interacting with fans and away from angry internet trolls.
Fans stared on with visible (no, seriously, visible) glee as Bioware showed slides of proposed armor customization as well as the various post-mortem faults pinpointed by the developers of Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II. Among their most frequently received complaints: Stop re-using levels. Create decisions that matter. Allow equipment for followers. All three admissions were met with raucous applause from the crowd.
However, it wasn't all smiles and cheering. Several times during the panel, Laidlaw and Gaider had to fend off aggressive questions about the quality of Dragon Age II. “How can [the fans] be sure this wont happen again?” said one fan referring to what he felt was a failed DAII. To which Laidlaw responded simply that the fan should be paying attention to what Bioware is showing about the game, and deciding for himself if he likes it.
“Sometimes people think that we just arbitrarily make decisions [about the story/mechanics in Dragon Age],” said Laidlaw. “No, no, no, we argue,” replied Gaider. “So much,” quipped Laidlaw. It was a joke, but it underscored one of the major themes of the evening. The desire for Bioware to communicate to the fans that they care just as much about the series as the fans do. If they've done something the fans don't like, that's just because they disagree. Not because Bioware has been cavalier or careless with their decision-making.
Nearly every fan who asked a negative question to the panel was quietly booed by the outweighing majority (some of whom were in incredible Dragon Age cosplay) of die-hard fans. From Bioware, the tone was of an apology. And from the fans, the tone was of forgiveness. After all, as one fan said when he took the microphone, Dragon Age II may not have been everything the fans hoped for, but it was still an incredible game.
There was only one concrete hint about the undoubtedly upcoming Dragon Age III. Though every word of their presentation was prefaced with something like, “if maybe we ever wanted to consider working on Dragon Age III... (wink wink nudge nudge)” the only real information came when they expressed some regret over setting Dragon Age II in the bland city of Kirkwall. “We want to see open areas and exploration,” said Laidlaw as concept art of green valleys and gray mountains flashed behind him. “And if we must go to a city, let it be someplace...French.” Without missing a beat the crowd screamed, “ORLAIS!” That may not be final information, but it seems like a pretty strong hint to go on.
