The Veilguard director on building “a very, very handcrafted experience”

With the upcoming release of BioWare’s Dragon Age: The VeilguardA beloved but distant video game franchise has been yanked back into the current console generation, and Screen Rant Speaking with game director Corinne Busche ahead of its release. From the first blush, the new game’s combat and feel proved equally immersive during my hands-on preview, aspects that Busche describes as a deliberate focus over the past four years of development. The world of Thedas may be fondly familiar to many, but how the players interact with Dragon Age: The Veilguard Feels meaningfully new.

In my time spent testing the upcoming game, I felt completely drawn into its beautiful environments and exciting new combat direction. And it’s not just a matter of going through the new higher resolution afforded to the representation of Dragon Ages storied locales; Its transition to action-oriented adventure feels articulate and contemporary, making for fun moment-to-moment gameplay while hinting at the greater depth beyond.

Screen Rant Sitting down with a director for this highly anticipated new release to discuss the development decisions, I was taken by Corinne Busche’s own nerdy joy and appreciation for the fantasy series at hand. I knew I was chatting with a loyal fan and player, first and foremost. It is indicative of the resonant qualities retained by the design in Dragon Age: The VeilguardAs well as the thoughtful introduction of new, risky gameplay twists that this sequel brings to the ride.

Dragon Age will always be different

Designing the next new twist for a franchise committed to reinvention

Screen Rant: I feel like people from the beginning commented [on] Dragon Age: The Veilguard [being] This huge departure from Dragon Age, [and] That it’s just so different. When, indeed, I think every Dragon Age Has brought a huge gameplay shift, and I [believe] Is this just part of the franchise?

It has become synonymous with what it is to be a Dragon Age Game. In this regard, there are some similarities to, say, Game Final Fantasy Games. But we also have this wonderful deep world/lore/tapestry of characters that is continuous.

I often describe it as: the reinvention from entry to entry in Dragon Age is both the greatest challenge and the most wonderful opportunity. Because what it allows us to do is really push boundaries, to try new ideas, to iterate. And, also, bring forward some of the elements from each of the previous games that fans really loved and enjoyed.

Screen Rating: Absolutely. It was a consistent narrative from the beginning. We all see the same names we know, and they carry their own unique story through each one. And see them finish here in a game that Does Feeling meaningfully different, meaningfully modern, is very interesting.

I know that, at some point, there were thoughts about a multiplayer component. This will certainly not be the case The guardright?

That’s right. In the ten years of development of the Veilguard, my opinion is that it has really only taken shape in the last four years. Before that, a lot of ideas were explored; Smaller Dragon Age stories, multiplayer concepts. And that gave us a wonderful tech stack to build the game on top of. And we have an outline of a story to draw on. But, really, in earnest, development around this authentic, single-player, party-based RPG, that was about the last four years of this consistency of direction.

And again, I will return to the word “authenticity.” [It’s about] Honoring the games that came before, and what fans expect from the franchise.

Screen Rant: Right. I don’t think it’s part of it, and I don’t know what we’re allowed to talk about today if it’s not going to be part of our gameplay preview specifically, but it’s going to be something like a renewable dungeon element introduced in Some points, or something [similar]?

Ah, I see. I’ll give you one.

I don’t think we have confirmed it, but it will happen [a gameplay component where] Each of the factions has their own area from which they come and the main camp where they gather. And with the Lords of Fortune in Ravine, the entire hub of their faction is based on the large fighting pits, where they challenge enemies with interesting varieties of enemy compositions and types, different modifiers and strategies.

Screen Rant: This is awesome.

So, yes. I often go back to the fighting pits just because I can’t wait to see what’s next, and I really want to try different pictures!

Screen Rating: I love that. And the new gameplay we got to experience today, it’s got me biking for something renewable. I want something to keep going and experiment with, play with. And the fact that it’s free play here means you can just spin as many times as you want and try out your different images.

This is one of my favorite features of the game. We really value player agency and experimentation, which is one of the reasons why the skill tree is so powerful. And the experience I have that I always appreciate is, I’ll be in the world, get a piece of gear, maybe a unique that drastically changes the way my build or class would play. And I get to thinking, wow, maybe I should just respect and focus my build around this new item, this new type of game. [It’s all about] That flexibility.

And because we’re an offline single-player game, we can be really generous with the players and let them experiment to their heart’s content.

Screen Rating: This is such a good point. There is one way how avoiding multiplayer entrenchment can end up really generous and smooth.

Can I just say that I can’t wait for players to find their own emergent builds that we might not have expected, that really push the boundaries of what the game can do? I fully expect that there are pictures that we don’t know about that will be pretty good.

The Constellation Tree of Upgradable Skills in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Respect freedom means that experimentation is welcome from the beginning of the game

Screen Rant: I mean the skill tree – or skill “spheres” – are massive […] You can always respect. The two ways of looking at it is: you develop a disrespectful game, and people feel like, oh, I have to play it all over again and try it all the other way. Or, you do a respect, and if you have respect and a skill system that is as good as it seems to be, it would offer potential for people to endlessly craft ideas online and share them.

Is there something that inspired that? Because I really think that the availability of skills and upgrades here is much wider than I expected.

Yes, absolutely. I will say that I am a die-hard RPG fan, and I came up through much of my career as a systems designer. I eat, sleep and breathe progression systems. And, of course, we have a wonderful system design team and user experience team that lovingly crafted this.

I personally draw a lot of influence from games like Final Fantasy X, The Sphere Grid and Final Fantasy XII, and Zodiac Age in particular, with the License Board. Just the flexibility and, I would say, the journey that you experience as you build your character, it made a really profound impression on me. And that’s something I wanted to bring forward in Dragon Age. To give players such agency in the world of Thedas.

Screen Rating: What is it called? Because it’s not a skill “tree,” per se. It’s not fair or accurate to call it a skill tree.

Where we kind of landed on is the “star tree.” Because I love how you can zoom in and see that it actually paints the constellation that is the abstract representation of your journey throughout the game.

Screen Rant: The star tree, fantastic. So, we have the star tree, but there are still only three classes. How and where is that approached during development? Have you considered more classes, but whittled them down?

Yes. So, where we land is, there is a long story in Dragon Age of the warrior, the rogue and the mage. And we wanted to be true to that, which felt like a constant that we wanted to dress in. And not only do the classes show up in all the games, but they are often very intertwined in the narrative. There are expectations and conversation options. People in the world will respond to you because of the class you are. And we wanted to preserve that.

What the star tree and the specializations give us, however, is that each of the specializations—for, let’s say, the soldier—feels like a class by itself. What I mean by that is, If I’m playing a Veil Ranger… which is admittedly my favorite class right nowBut it’s a bit like choosing your favorite child! But if I play that against, say, a rogue saboteur, I’m going to have a very, very different gameplay loop, a very different style of play. And that’s all before you even throw enchantments, and gear, and properties, and unique items into the mix.

So, while it’s true we have the three thematic core classes, with the depth that the system actually gives us, there’s so much more flexibility.

Screen Rant: I’m really impressed and surprised by how the combat works in the game. I know it’s like what you said at the beginning of this conversation, in terms of Dragon Age Almost being a mechanism through which to see what game technology is like now, where all of them have become the kind of representative.

But the world and level design I’ve seen is far less tunneled or straightforward hub-and-spoke. I don’t feel like I’m rushing the roads, everything feels very organic […] This aspect is also very important, that you open the designs significantly.

Yes. As we often describe them is, the environments, the missions, they are completely handcrafted. We pay very special attention to sightlines, being able to see your next objective, where you have the best view of enemies coming at you, where we get the best beauty shots, and where we can really stick in the crunchy storytelling moments throughout. The story.

It’s a very, very handcrafted experience. And what you may have seen in the prologue and before, where it is more directed, you still get the feeling that you are in this massive living city. And then, when you get a little further – say in Arlathan, or Hossberg or Treviso – the areas significantly open up where you can have self-directed gameplay. You can go off and find quests and mysteries, treasures, top bosses that are all narratively salient, even if you don’t do the bespoke story missions.

Screen Rating: It was so much fun just getting lost in it and wondering, which just feels really satisfying. But not like a Game Final Fantasy Game. It feels more directed, but immersive, I guess, is the word. It feels immersive in a different way.

The team was very mindful of this. You’re never going to find fetch quests. Everything exists for a purpose. And again, you may remember from Inquisition, the Hinterlands, it’s a very large space. But the content there, it doesn’t always contribute directly to the narrative, or the story of the place, or enhance the themes or the threats you’re up against.

Here, everything is very focused, very focused. I really think it will pay off, whether you are a min-maxer who is exploring to try and get the absolute best gear and the highest challenges, or you are the story player who really wants to understand more of the world and unlock its secrets and connections.

In fact, some of our juiciest answers to longstanding mysteries exist out there in these exploration spaces.

Screen Rant: I also loved how, in the intro point here when we picked our backgrounds, this is something that is already fed in a few moments in the game, even from exactly what I played. But has it been confirmed that we’re completely done away with the Dragon Age Keep system? That’s basically representative of what, right?

What we have now is something that is actually integrated into the game.

So, you may have seen in the character creator, we have adventurer’s past. The purpose of this was twofold. We know that many players will be joining us for the first time, and they are playing on a different platform. We also knew it was very important for us to really communicate how this is an offline game.

So, what Adventurer’s past unlocks for us is, not only can you go in and remake the choices that really matter in the context of the story, but if you haven’t played in ten years, or if you’re brand new. Player, the dual purpose it serves is to let you know what the events are.

Screen Rating: It still felt like I was guiding something about the beginning of the game, and I already saw that reflected in some conversations. And I thought, really, this almost feels like a very fast-tracked version of the Keep system.

This is one of the big debates we have among the team: Did you try to romance and redeem Solas in past games, or did you just want to punch him in the face? When I go in and start a game, I like to customize the starting experience so that my Inquisitor actually has a romantic relationship with Solas. This is just one example of how things can lead forward and actually be contextually relevant to the Dragon Age.

Screen Rating: To drill a little more into the new combat system, you said that the game has been intensively developed over the past four years. I know the combat is inspired by some other games, but what happened when the combat system really started to gel? What was that like from a developmental standpoint?

Yes. It was a very interesting journey. Our north star for – I hesitate to say even just the combat system – but the way we approached the level design, the way we approached character creation, we wanted you to feel immersed and very present in the world. We wanted you to feel like you’re stepping into Ruc’s shoes, that you’re in control. That every step you take, every stroke of the sword, literally every action, you are Ruk, and you are in this world.

So, we started with this premise. What we knew that meant was that moment-to-moment fluidity needed to be present in the gameplay system. That was our concept. And it is, in fact, the thing that we worked on first.

We always knew that the beating heart and soul of Dragon Age combat was the pause-and-play deep tactical layer. And I love how that exists in this version of Dragon Age. But the initial focus on making the game feel reactive, fluid… My goodness, the work the team has done on animation-cancelling, branching windows, Paris. It just makes you feel very attached to the world and in control.

And then you layer on the deep tactics with the ability wheel, pausing gameplay. It feels very unique.

Screen Rating: It’s almost like all that stuff—the pausing to issue commands and support spells and all that—that’s just Mass Effect/Dragon Age DNA, that’s in there. But the way it works in this game, the way it even looks, how it pulls everything off, the focused zoom-in. All of this, it almost feels like the purest version of​​​​​​​​​​​​, like this is what they wanted to do in the games from the beginning.

And that’s what we’re going for, this focused experience, right? We want the player who really enjoys the tactical layer to have it at their fingertips. And maybe players who in Inquisition didn’t use the tactical unit, that [here] is a system that is more inviting to this strategic style of play in many ways.

At the same time, we also know, We are in the middle of an RPG renaissance. There are so many flavors and varieties of RPGs. We will help players join us who really want the fluid, uninterrupted, always-in-real-time experience. If you want to do that, you can use shortcuts and access the exact same tactics, exactly the same depth, but never pausing the action.

So, that flexibility, I really believe it will serve our diverse player base, and their expectations and motivations.

Screen Rant: yes […] Me are In a new renaissance, and it feels like Dragon Age is right here at home. This is something that is not a throwback, none of it feels like a throwback today. It feels very forward-thinking, it feels different. And yet, even the chat gameplay, the updated UI. You could almost draw a line from the old Paragon/Renegade reactions at first Mass effect To the new use of this symbolic language. It’s so good.

And we really hope that our players will feel that, the BioWare DNA, what it is to be a BioWare game, we really draw so much inspiration from what has gone before and where it can go in the future. So, I hope players pick up the controller and recognize that this is the style of BioWare game they remember.

Screen Rating: One last question: Bianca’s getting repaired, right?

I’ll just have to leave now […] You know what goes through my mind when I see the scene where Bianca is destroyed? All the time in Inquisition I spent upgrading this thing!