We’re kicking off this issue with a 4 page long Dragon Age Origins Preview by Eurogamer, describing everything from character creation to the origin stories and much more. Nothing really spectacular but nonetheless an easy read packed with a few screenshots including one which is not allowed to be described yet. Furthermore, there is the second part of the three-part interview series by Strategy Informer which took place at Bioware’s Edmonton studio.

Dragon Age Origins Preview by Eurogamer

After your origin, you’re ushered through a linear prologue (itself a good few hours long), which sees your character inducted into the Grey Wardens, introduces two key companions – the mysterious witch Morrigan, and faithful Warden Alistair – and which covers, via a brief dungeon, your role in a key battle against the Darkspawn. Treachery leads to defeat, the Wardens are decimated, and your character and Alistair set about picking up the pieces and rallying the fight against the Darkspawn in the troubled land of Ferelden. It’s only at this point that the real Dragon Age: Origins begins, the game opening out into four major quests and a plethora of side-quests, all of which can be attempted in any order you like.

Strategy Informer Interview

Dakota Grabowski: Out of the romance scenarios, which do you favor?

Mark Darrah: Morrigan’s is a little bit more interesting because you can get things started pretty quickly, though it will take awhile for it to reach its culmination. As for Leliana, she’s harder to get started, but easier to get to fruition.

Dakota Grabowski: Starting with the “Origins” story arcs, which of the six were your favourites and least favourites?

Mark Darrah: Dwarf noble was my favourite. I really loved the political aspects of it. The back-biting and intrigue was high. My least favorite was probably the human noble due to that it’s the most conventional of the six.

Dakota Grabowski: If you had to create an origin story for the darkspawn, what would it entail?

Mark Darrah: For the darkspawn?

Dakota Grabowski: Yeah, if there was to be a character that a player could control, how would you go about creating an interesting story?

Mark Darrah: I think one thing with the darkspawn is that they are elemental.

Dakota Grabowski: Are they truly evil?

Mark Darrah: They are more elemental with no intelligence within themselves. An arch-demon brings them in and collects them. It’s more of a hive-mind type of thinking. So if you were to do an origin story for the darkspawn, you would have him break away from the arch-demon and the hive-mind to explore free will. They aren’t irretrievably evil. They are more a force of nature. They are a force of destruction and would create a unique situation that could be explored.

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