Creating Dragon Age Party Members

There’s a new article on GameInformer’s Dragon Age: Inquisition hub, this time focused on the creation of party members. With quotes from lead writer David Gaider and concept artist Matt Rhodes, it provides a good look at the process BioWare has developed during the year to write and visualize companions. Here’s a snip:

As they progress, the descriptions get more elaborate, giving the artists more to consider with the design. For instance, a coat can say something about a character’s history, and as most know, BioWare is infamous for hiding trinkets to tell stories. (We always love hiding stuff on a character, like really big important things that are huge aspects of [them],) Rhodes says. (We love hiding them somewhere, having some trinkets so when the revelation hits, you’re like, ‘˜That’s what this has been this whole time!’ But we need to reign ourselves in. Sometimes there are things that are too big and we can’t put it right there on the surface or it ruins the whole art.)

Too many hands on deck when creating such a personality can be difficult, so the team makes sure they have the best interest of the character in mind. (There’s a delicate balance that we all walk where a character has to have their own identity, have their own selves,) Rhodes says. (When too many of us make too many decisions about that character that are apparent.they can tend to get kind of sandblasted down; trying to make sure the characters are given their own identity physically and story-wise is critical.) Rhodes points out how in the past, the main distinguishable parts of characters were the costume design and affectations.

Rhodes noticed when studying fan art that people were always changing the characters’ faces and moods around. (This time we’re pushing toward having a character be [more] recognizable,) Rhodes says. (If someone’s going to draw them, they have to draw the bump in their nose because that’s a part of who they are. You might not think that’s attractive, but that’s okay. Do you think every part of your friends or loved ones are attractive? It’s part of growing to like somebody for all of their quirks.)

After all the design work is said and done, BioWare prefers to have a realistic character over the embodiment of perfection. Still, showing a character flaws and all to the world can be nerve-wracking. (I have those feelings sometimes where I don’t want to send my kid to his first day of school wearing a propeller hat, you know?) Gaider says.