A new blog update for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, the next major game in the Dragon Age series, has indicated the game is now in a fully playable state, with BioWare General Manager Gary McKay enthusing about progress. The team has officially hit its ‘Alpha’ milestone for development, which is described as the period where the game ‘all comes together.’
‘Now, for the first time, we can experience the entire game, from the opening scenes of the first mission to the very end,’ McKay announced. ‘We can see, hear, feel, and play everything as a cohesive experience.’
As McKay made clear, this does not mean the game is anywhere near finished – but the recent blog is a promising sign that development is continuing as planned. It’s also a rare look inside the game development process, which is typically quite secretive. In detailing its progress, BioWare is inviting fans to learn more about the art of game creation, while also keeping them informed of important achievements.
‘Hitting Alpha was the culmination of so much effort from the entire team and we used this milestone as an opportunity to come together and celebrate,’ McKay said.
Going forward, the team has a lot of work ahead – and as McKay details, the next parts of the game development process may be the most important.
‘We can now turn our sights toward bringing the visual fidelity to its final form and iterating on gameplay features. The big question now is, “Where do we focus our efforts?” To answer that, we solicit feedback from a number of sources, including our Community Council members who each have unique perspectives and experiences, our quality verification team, and extensive internal playtesting. Gathering feedback from multiple sources gives us the greatest insight on where we need to spend more time improving the experience.’
This feedback helps the team evaluate game pacing, the way character relationships evolve, how player progression advances, and how cohesive the narrative is.
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‘We can take the story we’ve written and see if we’re expressing it well through the characters, dialogue, cinematics, and ultimately, the player’s journey. Now that we have the ability to do a complete playthrough, we can iterate and polish on the things that matter most to our fans.’
In addition to providing this major development update, McKay also teased new details about the story of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, and what fans can expect in future. As in past games, it appears individual people will be the focus of the story, with every character helping to ‘contextualise the world and the stakes’ of the adventure.
Minrathous, the capital of the Tevinter Empire, will be a major explorable city along the way, with players finally able to visit this locale and learn more about the history and lore of Dragon Age. This reveal wrapped up the latest development update.
While BioWare isn’t quite ready to share more yet, it appears work on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is continuing at a steady pace. As time goes on, expect to see more frequent updates as BioWare continues to share more about the upcoming, highly-anticipated sequel.
