Dragon Age Dragon Age: The Veilguard Thread

[Dishonoredbr]

There's at least two animators, one cinematic animator and one editor got announced getting laid off and/or moved to another EA studio.

 

[DemonKing]

Don't call it downsizing or layoffs guys, Bioware are merely becoming "more agile":

https://blog.bioware.com/2025/01/29/bioware-studio-update/

 

[Child of Malkav]

Don't call it downsizing or layoffs guys, Bioware are merely becoming "more agile":

https://blog.bioware.com/2025/01/29/bioware-studio-update/

Even with a high agility score they won't be able to outrun the end credits.

 

[Larianshill]

So Both Patrick and Karin Weekes got laid off.

Isn't like the entire original Dragon Age writting team gone from Bioware now ? What is even left? One of the writers from Mass Effect ?

Trick Weekes, the mind behind Taash, gone from the company? How will gamers ever recover from this loss?

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

https://www.ign.com/articles/mass-e...aff-to-other-teams?utm_source=threads,twitter

Welp.

"EA has announced it is restructuring Dragon Age and Mass Effect studio BioWare, moving a number of developers onto other projects within EA and focusing entirely on its upcoming Mass Effect game going forward."

Unless ME is a smash hit, BioWare is done.

EA dispersed BioWare devs to other studios. Most probably BioWare is past the last chance saloon with EA and ME5 will be their last game.

IGN understands that EA has already placed an unknown number of developers from BioWare into other, equivalent roles within the company. A smaller number of Dragon Age team members are also seeing their roles terminated, and are being offered time to apply to other roles within the company if they so choose.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Mass Effect 5 is cancelled before it ever sees the light of day. There’s been too much failure from BioWare, the studio sounds like it’s poorly managed, and there’s no cashat to the BioWare brand anymore.

The only way I can see it actually reaching the end of its production is if the pitch was something like: We can make Mass Effect into EA’s own Helldivers 2. It seems like there needs to be some other hook for a new Mass Effect game to even happen other than being a new BioWare and Mass Effect game, because these aren’t hooks anymore.

 

[Larianshill]

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

Inquisition was met with success by its intended audience and a bunch of rpg players, but that was a pre-Witcher 3 world. The Witcher 3 shat on many devs' dinners and Andromeda and Starfield are proof of it, people won't take half assed attempts at "masterpeices" like they used to. I'm feeling like more people care more about ME than what they do about Dragon Age. Andromeda was just a laughing stock from day one, even for Bioware fans. They insist "the combat is good" but I tried it and it was a mess, even worse than Inquisition, and Inquisition has Ultima 7 combat.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

Don't call it downsizing or layoffs guys, Bioware are merely becoming "more agile":

https://blog.bioware.com/2025/01/29/bioware-studio-update/

 

[Thalstarion]

Ah, I see they're projecting again!

Wanting a gritty setting doesn't equal getting off to abuse. It's just a whole lot cooler to explore a fantasy world that is violent and dangerous compared to having to sit through a struggle session because some nutter's dysgenic self insert was 'misgendered'.

As an aside, it's almost overwhelmingly men who die horribly in such settings but because the occasional woman actually suffers from time to time it's somehow 'misogyny'.

 

[Skinwalker]

https://www.ign.com/articles/mass-e...aff-to-other-teams?utm_source=threads,twitter

Welp.

"EA has announced it is restructuring Dragon Age and Mass Effect studio BioWare, moving a number of developers onto other projects within EA and focusing entirely on its upcoming Mass Effect game going forward."

Unless ME is a smash hit, BioWare is done.

They're still keeping Bharvoware around and letting them make Ass Effect 5?!

 

[Larianshill]

https://www.ign.com/articles/mass-e...aff-to-other-teams?utm_source=threads,twitter

Welp.

"EA has announced it is restructuring Dragon Age and Mass Effect studio BioWare, moving a number of developers onto other projects within EA and focusing entirely on its upcoming Mass Effect game going forward."

Unless ME is a smash hit, BioWare is done.

They're still keeping Bharvoware around and letting them make Ass Effect 5?!

There's nothing we can do. Bioware did a barve, and we haven't. So we just have to sit there and take it.

 

[Tyranicon]

Are people still defending Veilguard's writing with the "show me one example?" excuse despite the entire gaming side of the internet cackling over multiple clips of cringe dialogue for two entire months around the game's release?

That's not mentioning reddit breaking down over the clear lack of talent or consistency in handling the lore, embracing the meme of "it's the elves' fault" and basically the entirety of the longterm DA fanbase disowning the game.

If there has ever been a bigger slamdunk "the writing's shit" in a game, I haven't seen it.

 

[kapisi]

 

[Poseidon00]

Are people still defending Veilguard's writing with the "show me one example?" excuse despite the entire gaming side of the internet cackling over multiple clips of cringe dialogue for two entire months around the game's release?

I got a lot of enjoyment out of watching the train wreck on youtube. What bothered me about the writing even more than "so i'm non-binary" or "the bharv" were all the ambient dialogue I heard from that repulsive gremlin, Taash

At one point she uttered the phrase "watch out...they go hard". total zoomer-brain modern day slang.

at another point she shouted "what the crap is that!". if you say "what the crap" i will forever peg you as a 14 year old american. disgusting writing. disgusting face on a disgusting character.

they let a deeply mentally ill person with clear arrested development develop the most iconic and memorable character in a multi million dollar big budget media product.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

It is weird that Dragon Age became such a little pussy bitch series as Game of Thrones and The Witcher 2 (but mostly Game of Thrones) showed their was actually this big mainstream audience in darker high fantasy stuff. The smart thing would’ve been to lean into that, especially since Dragon Age was inspired to some degree by the Song of Ice and Fire (which I always want to call Fire and Ice) books. But BioWare aren’t smart, so when A Song of Ice and Fire actually became mainstream with the Game of Thrones series they just pivoted away.

Imagine creating a game series inspired by like Jurassic Park the book, and then you completely shift away from that after the movie comes out and is a huge success. BioWare functions like a company trying to go out of business.

 

[Larianshill]

Are people still defending Veilguard's writing with the "show me one example?" excuse despite the entire gaming side of the internet cackling over multiple clips of cringe dialogue for two entire months around the game's release?

I got a lot of enjoyment out of watching the train wreck on youtube. What bothered me about the writing even more than "so i'm non-binary" or "the bharv" were all the ambient dialogue I heard from that repulsive gremlin, Taash

At one point she uttered the phrase "watch out...they go hard". total zoomer-brain modern day slang.

at another point she shouted "what the crap is that!". if you say "what the crap" i will forever peg you as a 14 year old american. disgusting writing. disgusting face on a disgusting character.

they let a deeply mentally ill person with clear arrested development develop the most iconic and memorable character in a multi million dollar big budget media product.

Remember "My face is tired" from Andromeda?
Who speaks like that? Bioware writers, apparently. The best in the biz.

 

[Poseidon00]

It is weird that Dragon Age became such a little pussy bitch series as Game of Thrones and The Witcher 2 (but mostly Game of Thrones) showed their was actually this big mainstream audience in darker high fantasy stuff. The smart thing would’ve been to lean into that, especially since Dragon Age was inspired to some degree by the Song of Ice and Fire (which I always want to call Fire and Ice) books. But BioWare aren’t smart, so when A Song of Ice and Fire actually became mainstream with the Game of Thrones series they just pivoted away.

Imagine creating a game series inspired by like Jurassic Park the book, and then you completely shift away from that after the movie comes out and is a huge success. BioWare functions like a company trying to go out of business.

You're absolutely right, they had the right theme and the right setting at just the right time. They could have had lightning in a bottle.

But for some reason, DA always had a strangely queer fanbase. I distinctly remember, before DA2 had even released, having a flamboyantly gay co-worker with a Dragon Age tattoo.

 

[Hammer Of The Heretics]

BioWare functions like a company trying to go out of business.

And yet apparently they can't even manage to do that.

 

[Rhobar121]

BioWare functions like a company trying to go out of business.

And yet apparently they can't even manage to do that.

This is also an achievement to some extent.

 

[scytheavatar]

It is weird that Dragon Age became such a little pussy bitch series as Game of Thrones and The Witcher 2 (but mostly Game of Thrones) showed their was actually this big mainstream audience in darker high fantasy stuff. The smart thing would’ve been to lean into that, especially since Dragon Age was inspired to some degree by the Song of Ice and Fire (which I always want to call Fire and Ice) books. But BioWare aren’t smart, so when A Song of Ice and Fire actually became mainstream with the Game of Thrones series they just pivoted away.

Imagine creating a game series inspired by like Jurassic Park the book, and then you completely shift away from that after the movie comes out and is a huge success. BioWare functions like a company trying to go out of business.

Final Fantasy XVI tried to go full Game of Thrones and that didn't stop the game from flopping. Just because a high fantasy is dark doesn't automatically make it better.

 

[Elttharion]

It is weird that Dragon Age became such a little pussy bitch series as Game of Thrones and The Witcher 2 (but mostly Game of Thrones) showed their was actually this big mainstream audience in darker high fantasy stuff. The smart thing would’ve been to lean into that, especially since Dragon Age was inspired to some degree by the Song of Ice and Fire (which I always want to call Fire and Ice) books. But BioWare aren’t smart, so when A Song of Ice and Fire actually became mainstream with the Game of Thrones series they just pivoted away.

Imagine creating a game series inspired by like Jurassic Park the book, and then you completely shift away from that after the movie comes out and is a huge success. BioWare functions like a company trying to go out of business.

You're absolutely right, they had the right theme and the right setting at just the right time. They could have had lightning in a bottle.

But for some reason, DA always had a strangely queer fanbase. I distinctly remember, before DA2 had even released, having a flamboyantly gay co-worker with a Dragon Age tattoo.

That happened because Bioware always courted that audience. I dont think its a secret they wanted to build a gay fanbase and resented the fact the majority of their audience were straight white dudes. I mean, they spent the last 15 years telling people like me they didnt want my money. Either directly or covertly (like by making all the female characters ugly or forcing me to listen to fag companions dumping their life trauma on me).

 

[Tyranicon]

they let a deeply mentally ill person with clear arrested development develop the most iconic and memorable character in a multi million dollar big budget media product.

Lol, not a single character in this slop game is memorable, outside of being the ones to kill the IP.

 

[kapisi]

Is Karin Patricks mum or grandma?

They sure owned the chuds

Well, she is certainly the other half of household income he lost today.

I wonder if they had to do pushups on the way out

 

[Thalstarion]

Final Fantasy XVI tried to go full Game of Thrones and that didn't stop the game from flopping. Just because a high fantasy is dark doesn't automatically make it better.

Final Fantasy XVI was also designed by Yoshi-P, who is one of the biggest hacks in the industry and allowed his other game, Final Fantasy XIV, to shift from a love letter to the Ivalice games to a meeting ground for psychotic autogynephiles.

He also failed on many other fronts with FFXVI. There's no meaningful exploration. No additional party members. No mini-games. The side quests are mostly just boring fetch quests as well.

The combat is abysmal - it's very flashy visually but you can stun lock basic enemies with regular attacks and whilst the boss battles are more engaging, they're regularly interrupted by cutscenes. There's also no status effects of note which is a staple in the franchise, let alone the genre itself.

It wasn't the tone of the game or the influence of Game of Thrones that condemned it but quite simply the fact that it is barely an RPG.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

It is weird that Dragon Age became such a little pussy bitch series as Game of Thrones and The Witcher 2 (but mostly Game of Thrones) showed their was actually this big mainstream audience in darker high fantasy stuff. The smart thing would’ve been to lean into that, especially since Dragon Age was inspired to some degree by the Song of Ice and Fire (which I always want to call Fire and Ice) books. But BioWare aren’t smart, so when A Song of Ice and Fire actually became mainstream with the Game of Thrones series they just pivoted away.

Imagine creating a game series inspired by like Jurassic Park the book, and then you completely shift away from that after the movie comes out and is a huge success. BioWare functions like a company trying to go out of business.

Final Fantasy XVI tried to go full Game of Thrones and that didn't stop the game from flopping. Just because a high fantasy is dark doesn't automatically make it better.

In its first week Final Fantasy 16 sold double The Veilguard’s total sales while being exclusive to the underperforming PlayStation 5. BioWare wishes The Veilguard preformed like Final Fantasy 16 despite FF16 not meeting the sales expectations Square Enix had for it. Forget preforming like FF16 on just one platform, if The Veilguard’s total sales were what Final Fantasy 16 did in a week it would’ve been what EA had expected it to do and the game wouldn’t have been a flop.