Dragon Age: Inquisition Skyhold Preview/Interview

GameInformer is featuring an extensive preview/interview for Dragon Age: Inquisition that focuses entirely on the castle of Skyhold and the purpose it serves as the Inquisition’s base of operations in the RPG, with added commentary from creative director Mike Laidlaw. A handful of paragraphs:

Because Skyhold is where the members of the Inquisition gather, you can wander around the grounds and find all of your allies. They all find their own corners and make themselves at home; Leliana can be found in the rookery, for example, while Sera is more comfortable in the bar. (You get to see their spaces become theirs they kind of personalize them,) Laidlaw says. (Some degree of their demeanor comes through, like Dorian with a massive leather-backed chair.) Not only are these characters hanging around, but players’ interactions with them in this situation are deeper than they were in Dragon Age II.

(A lot of our fans missed the ability to interact with their party members and close friends, and just say ‘˜Hi, how are you?’ like in Origins,) Laidlaw says. (Many of them will be delighted to know that that is back, full force, in Skyhold. You walk up, ‘˜Hey Varric, how’s things? Tell me about Kirkwall.’ Getting a sense of their character, digging in. You can just go, ‘˜Plant one on me,’ which is pretty satisfying in a weird way.) In some cases, your main avenue to interact with your romantic interest is also at Skyhold. Your advisors Cullen and Josephine don’t travel with you as fighting companions, but they are still potential love interests. How you use your time at Skyhold with them can shape the direction your relationship takes.

The throne in Skyhold’s main hall isn’t just ornamental. By sitting in it, you may have the opportunity to participate in judgments scenes that portray the Inquisitor essentially holding court and making a decision regarding someone’s fate.

(Judgments serve two purposes. One is feeling in command, but they also provide a way for us to wrap up some of the loose ends,) Laidlaw says. (They’re never just arbitrary. Because you did X, or because you dealt with Y, then the characters are brought before you. As a result, you already have the context. You have been dealing with these guys or opposing them in many cases and now they are brought before you.)

Each of these scenarios is deliberately crafted, so you won’t get a non-stop stream of them that repeat themselves. Because there aren’t a ton of them in the game, the judgments you see should stick in your memory. (My favorite one is definitely the goat,) Lee says. (The chieftain you kill in the Fallow Mire, his father turns up at your castle and is laying siege with a dead goat. Hitting the walls in a ritualistic insult. And you have a variety of options, but I think you can make him an ambassador.)