I heart me some Bioware, it’s official. Their new game Dragon Age: Origins is slated for later on in 2009, and I couldn’t be more excited about the awesome fantasy potential in the game. These are guys are master storytellers, and it seems like they’re ramping up to give us quite a treat.
They even revealed today that the game is going to sport 6 unique intros, depending on what class of character you select. Each of these prologues is going to sport several hours of gameplay that define your character’s origin story, with choices that will effect the main narrative and how it plays out. Some classes are of noble lineage, and others are on the fringes of society. All of this takes place before the actual game starts. Basically, it’s like the origin choices you make at the beginning of Mass Effect, only this time, you get to play them out and see your character’s past.
See the classes and situations after the jump!
- Dalish Elf- Proud as your role as one of the last “true elves”, you have always assumed you would spend your life wandering with your clan…until a chance encounter with a relic of your people’s past threatens to tear you away from everything you’ve known.
- City Elf- You have always lived under the heavy thumb of your human overlords, but when a local lord claiming his “privilege” with the bride shatters your wedding day, the simmering racial tensions explode in a rain of vengeance.
- Dwarf Commoner- Born casteless in a land where rank is everything, bound as the lackey and thug of a local crime lord, you have spent your life invisible…until chance thrusts you into the spotlight, where you can finally prove whether you will be defined by your actions or your birth.
- Dwarf Noble- The favored child of the dwarven king, you proudly take up your first military command…only to learn that the deadly intrigues of dwarven politics pose an even greater danger than that faced on the battlefield.
- Mage- Gifted with a power considered a dangerous curse by most, you have spent most of your life secluded in the remote tower of the Circle of Magi to be trained and watched closely by the dreaded templars. Now your final test is upon you — succeed and prove your strength, fail and you will perish.
- Human Noble- Born to wealth and power second only to royalty, you find your training in both diplomacy and war put to the test when your father’s castle is betrayed from within on the very night your elder brother is to lead the family’s forces to war.
I have to say, this is one of the coolest things I’ve heard for a game in awhile. Talk about adding replay value onto a title, and a way to uniquely tell a story so that it feels more personal for each player. To be honest, I’m surprised you don’t see things like this more.
So, who else thinks this totally rocks?
Source- Kotaku via Dragon Age: Origins
Man, this is some cool news. I loved the origin choices you could take in Mass Effect; I always thought it would be cool if you could have played the last stand that Shepard made, or survive against those giant worms.
BioWare definitely has some of the most talented writers in the games industry, and they certainly like to put them to work. I’ve heard that the approval process for their dialogue and quest scrips are pretty grueling. If you’ve got it, flaunt it, I guess.
Nice. Bioware’s recent games haven’t really sparked any particular love from me (Mass Effect was great, but imagine what it could have been…) but this is starting to look incredibly appealing. And if those are the final prologues … Dwarf commoner all the way.
DO WANT!
Yay, at LEAST 6 different playthroughs, since I love storylines within games.
I am going to be the City Elf and slay me some human nobles. No one be touching my woman!