Dragon Age: Origins Interview

BioWare’s Ray Muzyka took a moment to answer a handful of questions about Dragon Age: Origins in a new interview on Jolt Online Gaming.

Dragon Age is sort of a spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate… how do you choose where to innovate and change, and where to appease hardcore fans; those who still remember the original game so fondly?

Well, that’s an interesting question. I don’t know exactly! I think we try to make a game that’s going to appeal to as broad an audience as possible. That includes some of the core, traditional fans, as well as new fans. We’re looking to multi-platform: the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. I think we’re not shying away from some of the gameplay mechanics of earlier games, but we’re also innovating… evolving… the setting is evolving, the gameplay is evolving. We have pauses in play, we have shoulder cam, tactical views, you can play in real-time… we’re really allowing the player to play it the way they want. I think is going to appeal to a very broad audience.

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Dragon Age is coming to consoles… what are the considerations of these SKUs, versus the PC?

Well, we definitely focus a lot on interface; the controls, usability of the experience. We want everybody, regardless of which platform they play, console or PC, to feel like they’re playing the best-tuned version for their system. The best experience for them. We have to make sure nobody feels left behind, they need a great interface, and good usability.

Why does it scare me when a developer is creating a game for “a very broad audience”?