Dragon Age is worrying me

 

In the manner most befitting a product of it's calibre- 'Dragon Age The Veil- whatever' is doing it's publicity tour- courting around the various internet outlets with handpicked snippets of information and maybe a screenshot here or there- all to try and make sure the Dragon Age fanbase is as engaged as they can be for the drop of that game we're all to be playing. At some point. And through it all, the lights, the glamour, the glitz, I can't shake this twisting churning un the root of my guts coiling into a walnut at the sight of it all. Not excitement. Not anticipation. Not burning hot desire. Just an inner roiling, like intestinal bracing for some impending strike. Whether it's the buzzing of reason or the tides of my heart- Dragon Age is worrying me.

Now to be very clear- I am actually a huge Dragon Age fan. Back in the dark ages of Western RPGs, Origins would be a practically bi-monthly playthrough for me, as I went over the most cinematic order in which to complete events, the fulfilling narrative journey across an origin story and the most cathartic endings to pursue. I saw that original game like a canvass upon which to write my journey, which is a sensation I haven't experienced in any other RPG since until Baldur's Gate 3- not even in subsequent Dragon Age games. That being said I still very much liked Dragon Age 2's more sit-com-esque situation-of-the-week approach to the story, and although the execution was a bit messy the more traditional 'epic adventure spanning several regions' presentation of Inquisition was cool. Not cool enough to make me stick through the game and finish it. Yes, I never finished Inquisition. Sue me.

What I'm trying to say is: I appreciate that it is uniquely Bioware's style to create vastly different feeling RPG games when it comes to the Dragon Age franchise and that is part of what draws me in. You never really know what you're getting from game to game and it allows totally different experiences to be brought forth. But then, I also know the inherent danger of playing 'spin the wheel' like that- for losing exactly what it was that made the last few games hit. Sometimes you miss the tone, sometimes the framing devices don't sit quite so snuggly around the narrative you've inherited, and sometimes you forget to make an RPG for your RPG franchise. Yeah, that last one is a real kicker, ain't it? But that isn't what I want to talk about today. Today I want to talk about marketing.

Everything we hear about The Veilguard from now until launch, barring any potential leaks, is marketing. Materials put out by the creators and publishers to drum up interest, build expectation and amass the kind of audience they think will best engage with this game. When we're looking at a product which so distinctly does not represent the Dragon Age we've come to know and love, both tonally and in terms of gameplay, maybe by analysing the marketing material some nugget of truth about what game they're even building here, or who they're building it for, might elucidate upon us.  And to that end... I'm kinda getting Mass Effect Andromeda vibes here guys... Ain't exactly the best model for success to follow. (Even though I maintain that Andromeda was over-hated.)

Marketing is all about scoring those big moments of interest, those things that will draw in the eyes and make everyone go 'oooh!'- but I think for this game that big moment was supposed to be the gameplay drop and that- well, it didn't really do anything for me. Andromeda also focused on the gameplay, a lot of games do, but Andromeda at least had the Jetpack to show off. Dragon Age has less tactical prowess to show off. Less role playing potential. Less depth in a gaming world slowly opening up to the potential of gameplay systemic depth. This feels like a franchise in the midst of a backslide that may have incorrectly predicted the trajectory of the industry- and that's a little heartbreaking to be honest.

In the throes of questionable marketing choices Andromeda will always stand out for me for at least the point at which they (I believe it was the publishers rather than the development team, the details escape me) bragged about the quality of the sex scenes. And I remember thinking just how odd that was. Now bear in mind- I'm not so American-coded opinionist who shudders "corrupting immortality" at the mere mention of sexuality within gaming- I respect the capacity of sex and sexuality within this medium and think that is actually a underexplored aspect of art. (Not that I have any clue how one would actually explore that effectively.) But what in the heck did any of that have to do with Mass Effect? Who rocks up to Mass Effect rubbing the hands hoping the animation team really knocked it out the park on the sex scenes? No one, that's who!

Veilgaurd hasn't slipped quite that out of touch yet. Recently a Bioware veteran who is currently consulting on the game, (proof that the Bioware of old isn't completely absent from the project as some insist.) Mark Darrah has gone on record insisting that this game finally hones in on 'telling stories through their characters'- which both sounds promising and perplexing to my ears. On one hand we have to admit- Bioware gives us hosts of memorable characters who are at their best when they are allowed to interact directly with the main narrative, as best exampled in Mass Effect 2. (He brings up Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 as examples in his point which kind of offers wisps of a rose-tinted recollection. Baldur's Gate 2 sure did exemplify this at times, but 1's cast often felt woefully disconnected from core events in a frustrating way.) On the otherhand- you would really expect a focus on the importance of characters within this world would extend into gameplay- and the fact that we're not really seeing that feels like a bit of a disconnect between story and game. A real 'Ludonarrative dissonance', as opposed to the vapidly buzz-word manner in which that term is typically employed.

Dragon Age worries me. And it worries me because I care. Or cared. I still do, I think, but not quite to the degree I once did. I think Dragon Age has compromised itself narratively over the years in the manner that all these franchises with tunnel vision tend to do (don't get started with Star Wars and the amount of narrative contradictions) but I engage fully with the world of the games at least. And if Veilgaurd isn't the triumphant return to form that I think this franchise really needs to stand out in a world of genuinely highclass and rising contemporary fiction- I don't know if there'll be space left for me to continue caring in the future. And that's a shame.