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Free-to-play Heroes of Dragon Age out now on iOS, Android
The New Console Age and Black Friday Age are dead, let the Dragon Age begin; Heroes of Dragon Age, a free-to-play strategy game developed and published by EA, is now available on the Google Play and iTunes stores. Heroes of Dragon Age combines elements from strategy games, collectible card games and traditional RPGs by having players earn - or purchase - a collection of heroes with varying stats, which they then mix and match before heading into combat with them. The characters are rendered as 3D models arranged in lines across the battlefield, and the fights themselves play out automatically. The next proper installment in the Dragon Age franchise, Dragon Age: Inquisition, isn't due until fall of 2014, so you've got plenty of time to start collecting. No need to be dragon your feet, huh? Huh?
Weekend deals: RPG bundles, Deep Silver sale, Xbox Live points, Injustice
PC owners with an itch for leveling up and a lot of free time are in luck this week - Gamefly has several bundles with some deep discounts, so long as you use the promo code GFDOCT20 during checkout. The Witcher series can be collectively snagged for $17.99, both Torchlight games can be looted for $13.99, and the Mass Effect Trilogy's price tag has gone Paragon at $13.99. Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition (and a sadness simulator) can also be had for $9.99, while Deus Ex and Deus Ex: Invisible War can be had with couch change at $3.49. If you're a Steam user, you have until tomorrow to pick through the sale for publisher Deep Silver's catalog. Offers include Saints Row 4 at $24.99, the Metro franchise and its DLC for $36.84, and the Dead Island games and their DLC for $33.49. If you need to gear up for the Xbox One launch, GamerDeals found an Amazon promotion that pairs a $20 code for Xbox Live with the purchase of a 12-month Xbox Live Gold subscription. The offer is good until November 9, so if you don't have the cash now, no worries! Lastly, console owners can gruesomely rip a chunk off the price tag for the 360, PS3 and Vita versions of Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition for $14.99. If you'd rather spout comic-worthy one-liners while dealing out death, Injustice: Gods Among Us is on sale for the 360, PS3 and Wii U for under $40.
Dragon Age Inquisition includes time-disrupting 'tactical view'
Dragon Age: Inquisition will feature a familiar method for calling out actions for your party, BioWare's Mike Laidlaw and Mark Darrah revealed during a panel at PAX Prime. The game will include a "tactical view" function, which has players shifting seamlessly to a top-down view at any point above a battle, similar to Dragon Age: Origins. With the game frozen in place, players can then issue commands for their companions at will before shifting back to the game's traditional over-the-shoulder, third-person perspective and resuming action. The in-game action demonstrated during the panel took place in a location called Crestwood, which Darrah said is "bigger than all of Dragon Age 2 put together." The game's delay to fall 2014 allowed the developers to bring multiple playable races back to the series, and it was revealed during the panel that both male and female horned Qunari characters would be among those playable races.
EA announces free-to-play Heroes of Dragon Age for mobile
EA announced Heroes of Dragon Age for mobile devices today. Developed by EA Capital Games, the free-to-play game will have players building a squad of heroes and monsters from the BioWare series for use in battle against others online. Heroes of Dragon Age will feature cross-platform multiplayer, in which players level-up their hard-earned 3D figures, earn rewards and attempt to topple friends on leaderboards. EA has not revealed the game's release date or which platforms it will come to, though iOS and Android are a safe bet.
Clearing the 'hump of assumptions' in making LGBT inclusive games
A "hump of assumptions" can stand in the way of creating and including lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender characters in video games today, said David Gaider, lead writer for the Dragon Age series at BioWare. Speaking on an EA-populated panel at GaymerX in San Francisco today, Gaider and colleagues addressed the importance of heeding the demand for diversity and, more plainly, "reflecting humanity" in modern games. Hesitation over tackling LGBT issues, Gaider said, can come from pessimistic assumptions made – both by creators and marketers – about how the audience will react. One of BioWare's earliest gay characters, Juhani in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, was practically snuck into the game. "I think for a long time it was just assumed that nobody would accept it," he said. "That's what the mentality was. It's not like we went and tried to ask permission or anything - we kind of hid it. She never says, 'She was my lover.' She just says, 'We are very close.'" Not explicitly addressing the topic, however, "seemed like a very obvious exclusion" to Gaider. BioWare's next role-playing game, Jade Empire, was less subtle in its depiction of a same-sex relationship, and it faced far less resistance than the team had assumed. There was no long conversation after the team asked, "Why don't we just make the romances available to both genders?" According to Gaider, "that was the whole conversation."
Jukebox Heroes: EverQuest II's soundtrack, part 2
Last week, the laid-back folks at Sony Online Entertainment released the 118th expansion for EverQuest II, Chains of Eternity. Fortunately, it's available as a digital download so you won't have to suffer the embarrassment of a store clerk yelling, "PRICE CHECK ON 'CHAINS OF ETERNITY' FOR THIS PERVERT HERE -- THE ONE IN THE 50-SHADES-OF-GREY COAT" over the loudspeaker. Even more fortunate, for us, is that the expansion continues to grow EverQuest II's already immense symphonic library. SOE's been adding to the score with not only the game's expansions but also several of the larger content updates, and it's absolutely impressive to behold. As in most scores, there's a lot of forgettable noise that could probably be replaced by humming bees, but there still remains quite a few great tracks to appreciate, cherish, and adopt into one's own music library. Instead of focusing on the game's initial soundtrack, we're going to be skipping around to look at many of the terrific pieces of music that have come out of Norrath post-2004.
Here's some pretty Dragon Age 3 concept art
When BioWare revealed a few details about Dragon Age 3: Inquisition at the Edmonton Expo yesterday, it also showed off concept art to the panel attendees.The artwork has since been posted to the Bioware blog without all those pesky heads in front of it (though we're sure they can be edited back in upon request). Dragon Age 3 is planned to launch in late 2013. %Gallery-168846%
More Dragon Age 3 details surface
A few small details and concept art for Dragon Age 3: Inquisition were revealed during a BioWare panel at the Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo today thanks to the live-tweeting work of Cameron Lee, a producer on the game.Namely, Cinematic Designer John Perry said that "he's had a longer pre-production on Dragon Age 3 than any other BioWare project he's worked on," and that "one level in Dragon Age 3 is as big as all of Dragon Age 2's levels." Creative Director Mike Laidlaw noted that players will be human in the game, and that "customization is going to be bigger than Dragon Age: Origins."BioWare GM Aaryn Flynn posted a picture to Twitter of the backs of event attendees' heads, which happened to include concept art for the game in the background. As nice as those heads are, we will update when the actual art is available. Dragon Age 3: Inquisition is in development and slated for a late 2013 release.
Jukebox Heroes Extra: An interview with Inon Zur
Did you grow up watching Power Rangers? I didn't, but then again, I was slightly over the age demographic there. But it tickles me pink (ranger) that the guy who got his start doing background music for one of the cheesiest shows of all time ended up scoring many of the greatest video games of all time. Israeli-born Inon Zur was hard at work in the film, TV, and video game industry in the '90s, but it wasn't until 2002's Icewind Dale II that his music and fame started to climb to a whole different level. Zur started winning awards left and right for his work on Dragon Age, Fallout 3, Prince of Persia, and Men of Valor, among other titles. MMO players might not know it, Zur's deft hand is all over the place. He's composed several EverQuest and EverQuest II expansions, the now-defunct Exteel, last year's RIFT and most recently, TERA. As a driving force behind MMO music, Inon Zur has a unique perspective on what makes for a great audio experience. Want to hear more? Us too. We have a great interview with Zur as well as a few select pieces of his works after the jump.
Rumor: Dragon Age 3 survey shows characters, possible titles, 'Inquisition' storyline
A BioWare forum user claims to have taken a survey about potential content in Dragon Age 3. The survey, as presented in screenshots taken by Earthborn_Shepard, shows character art, a list of proposed titles (Dragon Age 3: The Breach, Exarch, Inquisition, Inquisitor, or Apocrypha) and a synopsis, which reveals the player taking the role of "The Inquisitor," who is investigating the magical plot to destroy the Chantry and create anarchy. The character can be a rogue, warrior, or mage, according to the synopsis, and has up to ten companions to choose from.The NeoGAF thread on the subject helpfully rounded up all the content from the BioWare Social thread, allowing you to see all the various characters allegedly shown in the survey.BioWare has never officially announced a Dragon Age 3, only making vague references to future Dragon Age games ... and hiring for Dragon Age 3.
Amazon Digital sale goes medieval on Dragon Age series this week
Deal-hunting RPG fanatics have reason to be happy today, as the entire Dragon Age series and its expansions are ridiculously cheap on Amazon this week. The digital deals drop all games in the BioWare-developed series below $10 for PC and Mac: Dragon Age Dual Pack (Origins Ultimate Edition & Dragon Age 2): $9.99 Dragon Age Origins: $4.99 Dragon Age Origins Awakening: $4.99 Dragon Age Origins Ultimate Edition: $7.49 Dragon Age 2: $4.99
Dragon Age Legends no longer online, but playable offline for free
Dragon Age Legends, as fans will tell you, was one of the more popular Facebook games EA has ever put together -- at least before its untimely death earlier this week. Such is the fate of a freemium promotional game for a much larger console and PC series.But while most online games simply shut down and go gently into that good night, Dragon Age Legends is doing no such thing. As promised, the dev team has re-released the game as a single-player title, available as a free download right now. You won't be able to invite friends (or buy any microtransaction-based items), but you will be able to play the title offline and forever, regardless of EA's server status.The game runs on Adobe Air, so you'll need to download and install that if you haven't yet. And while previous characters and accounts have been locked online for now, the team is working on a way to archive them offline, so they can be used in the single-player game as well. This could set a very nice precedent for popular Facebook titles, that would otherwise face oncoming oblivion thanks to server death.
The Soapbox: This fantasy is far from fantastic
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. "More innovation!" is the common rallying cry of the disgruntled MMO player. Push forward the genre, build awe-inspiring giant statues instead of sixth grade art projects, do that one magic thing that nobody can agree on to make this genre as fresh and great and interesting as it was. You know, as it was when you first got into these games, that is. For all of the "more innovation!" speeches that I've seen, I never see the one that touches on the most irksome areas of stagnation in the industry, and that is how incredibly lame most MMO fantasy worlds are. Cut 'n' paste, mix and match elements between any two fantasy MMOs, and I guarantee you that nobody would really notice. The truth is that for all their desire to be seen as unique and special, most of these games feature a world carbon copied from each other with minor Mad Lib deviations. Case in point: Have you ever realized just how many of these MMO worlds share almost the same name? Start with T, usually end with A, there you go. Telara. Telon. Tyria. Atreia. Taborea. It doesn't stop there, but it really should. MMO designers need to realize that fantasy is more than just D&D and Tolkien derivations and explore the unlimited scope of what the genre could be.
PSA: EA shutting down Dragon Age Legends servers June 18
Electronic Arts and BioWare's social soiree in Ferelden will be coming to an end on June 18, 2012, according to the official Dragon Age Legends website. E-commerce for the title ended yesterday, meaning that while the game it still active for the time being, it's no longer possible to convert your real-life dollars into fake Dragon Dollars crowns for use in Ferelden's many shops.BioWare has also initiated a "massive fire sale" on all in-game items until the servers go down, so anyone with stockpiles of fake internet money can get their fake internet money's worth, at least for a few weeks. If the thought of living without a weird Facebook adaptation of the Dragon Age world is too much to handle, take heart: A single-player version of the game will be made available on the official site "shortly after the current version of the game shuts down."
Analyst: SWTOR caused Dragon Age III delay
There's been a lot of discussion following the recent EA earnings report in which the company announced that Star Wars: The Old Republic has 1.3 million subscribers, down from its previous 1.7 million mark. We've heard from the fans, the critics, and the studio itself -- now it's time for the analysts to contribute their side of the conversation. According to Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter, EA's investment in SWTOR has caused a delay in other projects at BioWare, particularly in Dragon Age III's case. The analyst noted that Dragon Age III's expected release window was delayed, and he says this is due to the enormous undertaking of SWTOR. "We believe that a significant portion of the BioWare team responsible for the game was reassigned to Star Wars in order to create content and fix bugs to keep the game's audience engaged," Pachter said. Delay or no, Pachter is upbeat about EA's future, especially in light of the earnings report's news that the company turned a profit. He says that the company will continue to grow, make money, and be a good bet for investors.
Dragon Age anime film due in spring 2012
Hey, remember the Dragon Age anime? Back in 2010, EA and Funimation announced plans for an original direct-to-video animated feature based on the franchise, to be released in 2011. Funimation has finally unveiled Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker, cleverly playing the delay off as an intentional Year of the Dragon placement.You can see footage from the CG animated movie in the "Production Update" above. You'll be able to see the whole thing on DVD and Blu-Ray this spring.
Creating a new world: 38 Studios discusses the formation of Amalur's IP
As MMO fans, we're keeping a close eye on 38 Studios for its development of Project Copernicus, the MMO that will serve as the follow-up to next month's Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. The risk factor of not only developing two major intertwined projects in parallel but to have the additional task of creating a brand-new IP in which to put them must be a pressing one, which is why CVG sat down with Reckoning Lead Designer Ian Frazier to talk about challenges the studio has been tackling. Frazier outlines the balance the studio's struck between its three big-name creators -- Todd McFarlane (art), R.A. Salvatore (story), and Ken Rolston (design) -- not to mention the ideas that pour in from founder Curt Schilling. Fortunately, Frazier says that these larger-than-life personalities mesh well together: "The nice thing that's worked out is, I think if we'd got three famous game designers, it would have been a disaster: big egos, they're all on the same plane, it wouldn't have worked out. What makes this work is they're all different." Even though Rolston previously worked on The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Frazier said the designer wanted to try his hand at something fresh with a better combat system. "They're all great games," Frazier said of the Elder Scrolls series, "and I think they're progressively better, but they're all the same game. It's not like they're radically changing with time." Frazier said Reckoning has been compared to a "single-player WoW" as well as Dragon Age and Fable, but he insists that the world and ideas the team's been creating will take it far past those basic comparisons. You can take your first peek into the world of Amalur with the Reckoning demo -- and let us know what you think in the comments!
Rumors: Dead Space expands into FPS and flight, Dragon Age goes multiplayer
Kotaku cites an anonymous "insider" on two new rumors regarding two of Electronic Arts' biggest "new" franchises: Dead Space and Dragon Age. Though Dead Space 2 managed to ship over two million units in its first six months of release, EA wants to "make the series bigger and better," says the insider. The plan: A Dead Space first-person shooter, a Dead Space "flight game" and, lastly, a Dead Space "Uncharted-like game." Apparently, that recent EA management shift in August "brought in new brass that nearly killed off Dead Space 3," if this insider is to be believed. But it's not dead and, as previous rumors suggested, Dead Space 3 takes place on ice planet Tau Volantis and will feature co-op. Now for Dragon Age ... this one is good. Kotaku's insider says that, like BioWare's other major RPG brand, Dragon Age will get a multiplayer offering, reportedly powered by DICE's Frostbite 2 engine. This could be part of a future Dragon Age installment, let's call it Dragon Age 3, or a separate downloadable title; the gameplay will be arena-based, and feature both PvE and PvP combat, as well as ... dragons. Because Dragon Age, and all that. Here's our advice, EA: If you want to increase awareness of the Dead Space brand, making games that aren't like Dead Space seems like a poor strategy. Also, a flight game? Are you trying not to sell games? And the problem with Dragon Age isn't a lack of multiplayer. The (extraordinarily) fast turnaround on Dragon Age 2 resulted in a rushed RPG that was dwarfed (and, frankly, embarrassed) by productions like The Witcher 2 and Skyrim (which managed to ship a not-so-shabby seven million units at launch).
Hyperspace Beacon: Illusion of choice
Before I begin this little rant about Star Wars: The Old Republic, there are a couple things I want to make clear: This edition of the Hyperspace Beacon will have a lot of spoilers, and I really like SWTOR as a whole. First off, the spoilers mentioned here will be about the DragonAge and Mass Effect series of games. If you have not played through either one of those games and do not want to know how some of that story turns out, then you may not want to read this article. Secondly, SWTOR is a wonderful game. I have played it on a couple of occasions, and I believe it exhibits some of the qualities that have been missing from many of the current MMOs -- specifically, story. By no means do I want to discourage anyone from playing or pre-ordering this game, so if you're on the fence about this game, you may not want to read on because this article is not for you. Surely, fans of BioWare have played games like Mass Effect and DragonAge, and I hope you have played Knights of the Old Republic. These games really define what BioWare is and the types of games it can make. However, given some of the most recent announcements, I have to wonder if some of the staples that made these BioWare games great are going to be missing in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Have BioWare games gone from having choice to just the illusion of choice?
'Dragon Age: Asunder' is latest franchise novel, available late 2011
Dragon Age: Asunder, BioWare Lead Writer David Gaider's third novel set in the fantasy realm, will arrive in "late 2011." Gaider had previously chronicled the world of Thedas with Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne and Dragon Age: The Calling -- oh yeah, and both games. Asunder will jump off from Dragon Age 2, with a killer loose in the White Spire, a templar stronghold in the Orlesian Empire. With any luck, Gaider's Asunder novel won't be perceived as neglecting the "straight male" demographic in the same way Dragon Age 2 was accused of doing. To compensate, expect vivid descriptions of Orlesian breasts and a coupon for Domino's pizza hidden in the novel's pages (not confirmed).
