Dragon Age: The Veilguard will not receive any major story DLC. It also ends quite decisively, save for a few hints about Thedas’ future in a secret post-credits scene. How final is this atmosphere of finality? Will Dragon Age be back on the shelf in the foreseeable future? Fear not, say game director Corinne Busche and series artistic director John Epler, because the Dragon Age universe still has a lot to discuss. The next game won’t necessarily be an action game with RPG elements, because like Final Fantasy, Dragon Age exists in a state of constant “rediscovery.”
Veilguard’s better ending is partly due to BioWare’s desire to avoid a repeat of Dragon Age: Inquisition, the previous game from 2014 that paved the way for Veilguard’s premise with DLC. I’m talking to Eurogamer in a long posthumous chat after the release of Veilguard, Epler commented that continuing that game’s convoluted plot while introducing recent players to the series was a real headache – though perhaps not as much of a headache as the initial struggle to create a multiplayer gamein line with publisher EA’s live services ambitions at the time.
“The Inquisition actually ended with some pretty strong storylines,” he explained. “Of course, there’s a post-credits scene with Solas and Flemeth, and that’s when I felt – because I was in the Inquisition, I was in the Trespasser band – we looked at what we already had and decided, OK, we want to make this the last chapter, the last piece of the story. The difference in The Veilguard is that the story ends quite definitively. There’s obviously a secret post-credits scene, but it’s not like “this is an instant thing.” you have to be aware” and even more: “here is a hint of what the future will be like.”
“We wanted to make sure that this one ended in a less ambiguous way, where it was very clear that this story was over,” he continued. “You’ll see what happens next, but it won’t require the same level of ‘okay, we’ll tell you what happened.’ I’m still proud of the team and what they did at the beginning of this one, but a lot of elements come from previous games and influence this one.”
Busche offered a few more specific hints about the possible plot of Dragon Age 5. “Isn’t it interesting that many of the threats that have been common throughout the series only scratch the surface of the mysteries and possibilities of the franchise?” she said. “The Scourge, the Elven gods, and the Elven people have been explored a lot, and it’s a great topic. However, I am also curious about other aspects that are less explored but equally captivating: the nature of the Qunari, what is beyond the seas, what is happening to the titans, the development of the dwarven people.
“So in many ways I feel like answering some of these long-standing mysteries that are specific to the Scourge and specific to the elves. This gives some room to explore other ideas in the future,” she concluded inconclusively.
Veilguard is more of an action game than an RPG, much to the chagrin of die-hard Inquisition supporters and generally more rabid BioWare supporters. Epler and Busche discuss the matter in an interview with Eurogamer, with Busche coyly noting that Dragon Age is a “franchise of reinvention” and that the next sequel could change the genre again.
“In some ways, there are some similarities in that regard with, say, the Final Fantasy series,” she said. “They obviously vary greatly in terms of choice and consequence and many other factors, but there are these RPG franchises that embrace this new version that when a new one is announced, it really sparks curiosity about where we’re going. What kind of adventure is this going to be?”
I’m still exploring Veilguard. I like the combat and costumes, but I still miss the Inquisition’s (terribly clunky) tactical planning and gratuitous base management. So give me hope that Veilguard’s successor will be more of a role-player. But why limit yourself to a spectrum between an action game and an RPG? I wouldn’t mind playing an immersive sim set in Thedas, or maybe a dating game.
