Most BioWare fans agree that Dragon Age: Origins was a pretty amazing game. Those same fans agree that Dragon Age II was an abysmal flop that reneged on everything the original game brought to the table. Now BioWare has a chance to get it right with a new game coming out next year.
BioWare announced today that they are currently deep in development on Dragon Age III: Inquisition. There’s not much in the way of details for now, but we do know a few things. The game is being developed by the team that worked on Dragon Age: Origins. It doesn’t confirm that the game will be going back to its strategic roots, but it does inspire hope.
The far more interesting revelation is that BioWare is creating an entirely new engine for Dragon Age III. They started with DICE’s super impressive Frostbite 2 engine as the foundation and are tweaking it to their own needs. The team feels that the new engine will allow them to “deliver a more expansive world, better visuals, more reactivity to player choices, and more customization.”
Unfortunately, that’s all we really know for now. We can jump into baseless speculation, but that would be unfair to the folks at BioWare. After disappointments with Dragon Age II and Mass Effect 3, BioWare has to prove themselves to gamers again. They used to be the most trusted name in Western RPGs, but have lost a lot of that acclaim over the last few years. Dragon Age III is their chance to reclaim their honor.
Will they accomplish such a herculean task? It’s hard to say for now, but it sounds like BioWare is letting the fans dictate the direction that Dragon Age III takes. If anything, it will be interesting to see how this all turns out. I’m remaining skeptical, but I’m willing to give BioWare one more shot.