#Bioware: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development

[exhausted-archivist]

Concept Art Moments and Ideas: What I Wish Was Kept

Pretty sure we've all been there. Seen some of the concept art and thought how cool it was and how much you wish it had made it in the final game. These are some of mine, I won't go too much into why they're not in the game, the answer is usually either one of the following or a combination of: they needed to narrow the scope of the project, frostbite was a new engine they were struggling to make do what they needed, time, they didn't feel it had enough narrative weight or purpose, or it would make the world states branch out far too much.

I'm not really wanting to discuss whether or not I agree with cutting them either. I just really think these are neat concept, ones I've thought out how they would fold in, possible ways they could have played out, and some that personally I have worked into my fic just to fully explore the ideas.

Most of the images that don't have a source link came from either the art book or the BioWare Stories and Secrets From 25 Years of Game Development (B25) book.

Now lets start with the most common one:

[Source]

I'm know others have said this, but I really wish that it had been feasible for you to become Divine. Though, honestly this only would have really worked as decision at the end of the series. While personally in my canon world state I don't have anyone I would want to put in that role. I do have an OC who I did design for that and would have been nice to see it play out. Especially come Trespasser.

These are story boards from the art book of the prologue walk through Haven. The voice lines for this are still in the game files even though they're cut. Something I always wanted in the prologue was something to actually motivate me. There is no real sense of danger, and the walk through Haven hold no real weight. It's mostly telling and no showing, it feels hollow after your first play-through where you aren't curious and uncertain. It honestly would have been interesting to me if this was in there and if there were non-standard ending option outside of combat. Provoking the scared survivors to where they mob you, a timer on the mark instead of just the one check point. If it started draining your health the longer you took to get to the Breach. Things that could easily be removed if you decreased the difficulty level and wouldn't impact the game overly much.

[Left Dragon Age Art Book, Right World of Thedas vol. 2 p. 245]

To continue on with my desire for the steaks in Inquisition to be more intense, for you to actually feel some type of risk or hostility from the world. These two are more of an expansion on the attack on Haven. I wish Corypheus was given a more dramatic entrance than being seen on the hill with his Commander. That when he arrived to scoop you up, that it was more ominous and threatening. Something to illustrate as him having this overwhelming presence and force.

In Hushed Whispers had the concept art of King Alistair going with you and honestly, I feel like it is a missed opportunity. Not only would it make sense but there is a sort of thematic element with Alistair once again having to save Redcliffe from a mage. I think this also could have worked if he was king or warden. If he was a warden, it would have been a very nice way to tie in the Warden plot for Alistair and even Loghain. Would have really given the Inquisitor a reason to care about choosing between them or Hawke in the Fade.

[Source]

Matt Rhodes labeled this as Anders in the tags, and I am really intrigued by this prospect. We know by the end of DA2 if he's alive he doesn't have many friends with the displaced mages of Kirkwall after awhile. It would have been nice for him to come back in that Warden role they were considering for the cancelled Exalted March DLC. But what really makes me curious, is why he's out in what we might think is the Western Approach/Hissing Wastes and what happened to his missing right arm.

Alternatively, another scenario I would have liked to see with Anders comes from the B25 book. We see they explored the idea of Anders, as a Grey Warden in the cancelled Exalted March DLC. Honestly, I feel as if he would return regardless of if you killed him or not because we know that Justice can and has prevented fatal injuries from killing Anders before. This could have been an interesting thread to not only pull his story to an end in dai, but also introduce the Warden contact instead of the ones we had. Because he was on the run and the Wardens would offer a degree of protection so he would be unwillingly forced to return, couple that with him knowing of Corypheus - which would likely be the thing that forced the Wardens to keep him alive once they found his prison empty.

[Source]

This is Western Approach concept art, specifically this was suppose to be Adamant. Matt Rhodes describes that it was suppose to be a monastery, self-sustaining, and a place where they could cultivate their own food, weave their own fabrics. It would have been interesting to be able to see it like this, to see the game use this to not only explore how the Wardens survived out here but also how they recovered the fortress after it was wrecked in Asunder. It would have tied in nicely with exploring the fact that the reversal of Tranquility was found here, a fact known to everyone in game at this point (they just didn't know the Seekers hid it from the Chantry and mages). It would have been an excellent way to fold in Rhys, Evangeline, flesh out Cole's backstory and personal quest, and even show another side of the mages - the ones who didn't want to be involved in the war and fled to the Wardens.

Two Words: Giant. Scorpion.

Look how massive that is. I love mega fauna so much. I want something massive to be living in the Hissing Wastes and I want this to be fighting dragons. It would have been amazing. Look at the boards they put out.

[Source]

I want to believe this is for the Western Approach given the ground type and the smoke in the background. If this thing was guarding the sulfur fields by Griffon Keep? It would have been epic. Or even if we saw it fighting the Abyssal dragon. Honestly, I think more areas should have had a competing predator for the dragons to be fighting. It would have been cooler if they kept great bears (previously known as Dragon Bears) at their massive size to fight a dragon in the Emerald Graves too.

[Source]

That said, this scorpion concept gets even better when you see the concept art for smaller versions being Venatori mounts.

How do you not get stabbed bud? How do you domesticate/train this? What is the intelligence of this little critter? I can just picture a play on the scorpion and the frog happening here. This would have been really cool as mini-bosses or something of that nature. Particularly around the ruins, Venatori operations, or raids against the keeps.

Another piece from B25, we see new concept art of the Inquisitor leaving Skyhold with the Inquisition as Skyhold is destroyed in the background. We learned from David Gaider that at one point Skyhold was actually suppose to be attacked by Corypheus, but it ended up being cut due to time/scope. This is something I wish they kept, having your second base attack, you home at the point where you felt the strongest and potentially after a recent victory.

It would have reminded the player that Corypheus and his commander, Calpernia or Samson, were a real and active threat. Something missing from Inquisition honestly. It would have been interesting to see if we had to find a new base of operations or if we had to rebuild. When first settling in Skyhold everyone mentions being able to see the enemy coming, about not retreating from Skyhold. They really built up an expectation that at the very least a scare of an attack would happen.

There would have been a sort of poetic sense to Skyhold being leveled. Considering it is of Fereldan make, built on top of a leveled elven site. To have the site once again leveled, the history brought back to its foundations. It would have been a thematic foreshadowing to what Solas plans to do as well.

These are clearly just things I found interesting, things I feel would have really added to the game, and some others might not agree with. There are other things I wish they hadn't cut, but I didn't want to include anything that has been post-humorously mentioned by the devs because I wanted to focus more on the concept art aspect. A lot of decisions were shaped by circumstances we'll never really know the full scope of, and sometimes I wonder if they had gotten more than the 3-4 years they had for Inquisition and maybe on an engine that wasn't so fickle and worked better for the style of game how different it would have been.

[felassan]

"Dozens of video game art and lore books" are on sale on Amazon currently, including a few BioWare titles - e.g. The Art of the Mass Effect Trilogy: Expanded Edition is reportedly $22 (normally $40), and BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development is reportedly $37 (normally $50) [source].

Edit: Full list here. from the BioWare end it includes:

BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development -- $37 (down from $50)

Dragon Age: The World of Thedas Boxed Set -- $56 (down from $60)

The Art of the Mass Effect Trilogy: Expanded Edition -- $22 (down from $40)

The Art of Dragon Age: Inquisition -- $25 (down from $50)

[source]

[vigilskeep]

hi hi! the short hair anders concept art is from "BioWare Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development" book which unfairly has some really good art in general, including my favourite:

JGSGKSJSMSGK okay filing this under art that is so funny i’ll forgive it for being fenris is taller than hawke propaganda

[lairofdragonagelore]

Dragon Age 2: Detail about the presentations

Apparently, they were meant to be presented in a similar fashion as we see Solas’ murals in DAI. Many of the details we can’t see well in these posts that analyse the presentation of DA2:

Presentation during Act 1

Presentation during Act 2

Presentation during Act 3

can be seen a bit better in the book  Bioware: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development (2020). Especially the one representing Flemeth.

It’s better seen the quantity of swirls that were meant to be in more places than they ended up being.

[More about Dragon Age 2 Lore]

[hollyand-writes]

Hi! I was reading one of your answered asks and you mentioned there was supposed to be a third DA2 DLC, that never got made. I tried googling but only got a couple of articles that didn't say much.

I was just wondering if you had any info about it. I'm just curious. DA2 is my fav game of the series and although not an OTP, I do really like the idea of Carver/Merrill getting together.

Hi there! ❤️  I'm so sorry I'm so late replying to you -- life got so busy I’ve been off Tumblr for the past month, until today! 😄 

So, to answer your question... I’m not sure what there is in the way of media articles; most of what I’ve gleaned has been from Bioware tweets and David Gaider’s old Tumblr, which I used to follow. (David Gaider worked at Bioware and was Dragon Age lead writer for Dragon Age 2; he deleted his Tumblr in 2015.) But he confirmed a 3rd DLC: 

I’ve linked to where I reblogged Bioware tweets and Gaider’s old post onto the Carver/Merrill blog @carvermerrill -- which is where I collate everything about the ship I can find -- but I'll repost some screenshots here. 

Bioware also released a hardcover book in 2020 called BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development which, among other things, revealed more about the third DA2 DLC, due to be called the Exalted March DLC, that got scrapped. Here is a photo from that book: 

David Gaider also previously confirmed on his blog (5th paragraph of his answer, responding to an ask he received about shipping) that Bethany/Sebastian was one of the other romances they considered including in DA2 (if Sebastian was unromanced) and that Carver/Merrill was the other (if Merrill was unromanced), although he didn’t indicate whether Carver and Merrill would have got married in that third DLC. Relevant screenshot: 

And the Twitter replies from Mary Kirby to this person were especially interesting to me, given that she wrote Merrill and is still a writer at Bioware: 

So, put together, all this seems to hint that in the cancelled 3rd DLC for DA2 (Exalted March), Hawke had the option to play matchmaker for the surviving twin, getting Bethany together with an unromanced Sebastian, or getting Carver together with an unromanced Merrill -- and that if Hawke chose not to marry their love interest then there would be “alternate ceremonies for party members like Bethany and Sebastian”... and perhaps even Carver and Merrill after matchmaking them if Hawke’s LI was one of the others? Who knows. All we know is that Bioware HAD planned for Carver and Merrill to get together in the cancelled expansion, whether that ended in marriage or not. 

I hope that thoroughly answers your question, with proof! Let me know if there’s any other Carver/Merrill things you’d like to ask me! ❤️

[mid-nighttiger]

BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development - The Making of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, part 1

(part 2 here)

[jackdawyt]

Today I’m breaking down the newly-revealed story of Dragon Age 2’s cancelled expansion that would’ve acted as a precursor to Dragon Age: Inquisition, planning the events of Dragon Age II’s sequel more accordingly, whilst giving our player-protagonist Hawke a good farewell.  

The DLC was called “The Exalted March” and was canned because of Inquisition’s scope, and the team’s shift to the Frostbite engine. Thanks to BioWare’s Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development book, we have an in-depth look at this cancelled Dragon Age II DLC with concept art and detailed plotlines to follow.  

I’ve already broken down the Dragon Age 4 related-secrets discovered in this book in my last news update, so I recommend you checking that video out for the latest on the next Dragon Age’s current project. With that said, let’s take a behind-the-scenes look at Dragon Age II’s planned, and unfortunately cancelled final-DLC.

“The Exalted March was a cancelled expansion to Dragon Age II meant to bridge the gap between the events of DA II and the planned sequel, Dragon Age: Inquisition. The expansion focused on the fallout from Kirkwall’s explosive finale, with Corypheus serving as the villain.”

“After the end of Dragon Age II, when Meredith turns into the big red lyrium statue, she basically infests Kirkwall and you end up with what actually ended up being the red templars taking over Kirkwall and being essentially Corypheus’s army, Dragon Age II cinematic designer John Epler says.”

“To stop him, Hawke recruited various factions, having to choose between groups like Isabela’s Felicisima Armada and the Qunari at Estwatch, forcing the hero to split loyalties and risk relationships in the process.”

“It was supposed to bring Dragon Age II’s story to an end,” lead writer David Gaider says. “And it was supposed to end with Varric’s death. I was very happy with that, because all of DA II was his tale. The expansion was supposed to start at the moment Cassandra’s interrogation of him ended in the present. And we finished off the story with Varric having this heroic death.”

“it tied things up and would have broken so many fan hearts, something the writers on Dragon Age notoriously enjoy. But between a transition to the new Frostbite engine and the scope of Dragon Age: Inquisition, the decision was made to cancel the expansion, work any hard-to-lose concepts into Inquisition, and in the process, save Varric’s life.”

“Concept art for The Exalted March explored new areas previously not depicted in the Dragon Age universe, with costumes that reflected next steps for familiar characters. Varric was going to war. What would he wear? With Anders (if he survived Dragon Age II), the plan was to present a redeemed Warden.”

“A character that vaguely resembled Sera in Dragon Age: Inquisition was first concepted for Dragon Age II’s expansion content.”

“The writers sketched out plans to end the cancelled Exalted March DLC with Hawke having the option to marry their love interest. This included alternate ceremonies for party members like Bethany and Sebastian if players opted not to wed. There was even a wedding dress made for Hawke. The assets found its way into Inquisition, donned by Sera If she marries the Inquisitor, or the Inquisitor if they marry Cullen. The dress can also be seen in an ambient NPC wedding after a chain of war table missions.”  

“The destruction of a Chantry was explored in concept art as it might have happened in Exalted March. This idea would carry to the beginning of Inquisition.”

While its bittersweet uncovering the story of this canned DLC, especially with the planned send-off having Hawke potentially marrying their love interest, and witnessing the explosion of the Conclave first hand as a cliff-hanger leading into the next game. I’m very grateful that BioWare revealed the development secrets of this cancelled DLC to the public.  

I respect Dragon Age II a lot, it’s a title that was given way too much flack by the mainstream considering it was created within 9 months of production, and had one of EA’s lowest budgets for its creation. Yet despite that, the game stands on its own two feet with a 40+ hour story, new protagonist and a roster of remarkable characters that join the journey.  

“Dragon Age: Origins had the longest development period in BioWare’s history. Dragon Age II’s was the shortest. Production of Dragon Age II officially lasted just nine months, while the team was still supporting live content for Origins.”

One of the biggest reasons behind Dragon Age II’s “different” narrative was the fact that the developers were working insane hours, with zero time for rewrites and revisions, meaning that the first drafts conceived for stories and characters were often the final outcome.  

In light of that, David Gaider felt that the cast of Dragon Age II were some of his favourite Dragon Age characters to date, he believed that the game had some of the best writing throughout the series.  

“As we were writing, I realized there was going to be no oversight – that everything was going to be a first draft. Because nobody had time”. David Gaider says. “I sat down with the writers and I said: ‘Look here’s the conditions we’re working under. A lot of what we’re putting out is going to be raw. We’re not going to get the editing we need. We’re not going to get the kind of iteration we need. So I’m going to trust you all to do your best work.’”  

In summary, Dragon Age II is a remarkable feat, and doesn’t deserve the harsh criticism in my opinion. I adore the characters, narrative beats, and lore introduced in Dragon Age II that have been fundamental to my personal enjoyment of Dragon Age.  

While, it would’ve been nice to have this DLC finalised for Dragon Age II. There are many fundamental aspects of Inquisition that would be completely different if this DLC wasn’t canned. For example, Varric would be dead, having no appearance as a companion in Inquisition... Just thinking about that as a reality - that’s not a world I want to live in at the moment.  

So, while it’s sad that this DLC never came to be, there are (at least) a couple things, like Varric’s life, that we can be happy about, regarding “Exalted March’s” cancellation.  

[dragonagegallery]

New Images Coming!

Hello everyone! Since I was recently asked, I wanted to let ya’ll know that I received “Bioware: Stories and Secrets from 25 years of Game Development" and the comic “Blue Wraith” over the Holidays. So you will start to see images from both of those showing up on this site soon. Their is some great stuff in these books so I hope you enjoy it!

[old-archivist]

The Storm Coast is in Orlais and Crestwood is by Lothering.

I don’t care what you say, Inquisition is a fib. Think about it, Iron Bull is stationed in Orlais and that is where most of his work is.

Crestwood is said to be taking in refugees from the Blight shortly after Lothering was hit. Then there are the maps.

War Table Map in Inquisition

The Map the Devs had pinned up as noted in BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development:

(Also yes, I see Haven is placed down by the O in mountain. They also have Skyhold lower and on the Orlesian side of the map which is interesting isn’t it?)

ALSO LET’S POINT OUT THERINFALL BEING UP NEAR THE CIRCLE. Wonder why... it’s almost like it makes sense to have a seeker fortress close to the people they’re suppose to be over seeing.

Now I know things change during development. But I sit firmly on my opinion that The Storm Coast and Crestwood aren’t where they’re placed on the war table tokens. The Storm Coast is in Orlais. Crestwood is by Lothering.

[roseategales]

me: i’m broke after shopping for the holidays 😞

amazon: bioware: stories and secrets from 25 years of game development releases on the 15th of dec, a day before your birthday

me, adding it to my cart as a birthday treat: ok, NOW, i’m broke after shopping for the holidays 😞

[graphicpolicy]

Celebrate 25 Years of BioWare With Two New Books From Dark Horse

Celebrate 25 Years of BioWare With Two New Books From Dark Horse #comics #comicbooks #dragonage #bioware

Dark Horse Comics and BioWare present Bioware: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development and Dragon Age: The First Five Graphic Novels.

From the BioWare’s isometric role-playing roots to its intense space operas and living worlds, chart the legendary game studio’s first 25 years in this massive retrospective. See what it took to make games in those wild early days. Pore over…

[exhausted-archivist]

BioWare Internal Wiki

So, I was collecting some screenshots of tweets pertaining to lore since a few have been cited in other places but are lost due to twitter nonsense and account suspension or other things. During that time I came across a rather interesting series of tweets.

Through them, I learned that BioWare didn't really have an internal wiki until after they brought on former crime reporter, Ben Gelinas. Not only did he go on to help build the internal wiki, but eventually became one of the project leads for World of Thedas Vol. 1 and 2 (WoT), and the writer for BioWare Stories and Secrets From 25 Years of Game Development. [Source]

Ben started working for BioWare in roughly June of 2011 [Source], he left in April 2017 to go work on creating Speed Dating for Ghosts.

This was a really neat thing to stumble on. I really appreciate knowing a bit more about the story and person who helped collect all the lore we have. I'm also really interested in seeing the games he's helped make as well.

[felassan]

Tali’Zorah vas Normandy in Bioware: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development

[fantasticebookpdf]

#KINDLE$ Bioware Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development R.E.A.D. [BOOK]

#KINDLE$ Bioware: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development R.E.A.D. [BOOK]

Bioware: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development

[PDF] Download Bioware: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development Ebook | READ ONLINE

Author : Ben Gelinas Publisher : Dark Horse Books ISBN : 1506718795 Publication Date : 2020-11-10 Language : eng Pages : 328

To Download or Read this book, click link below:

http://read.ebookcollection.space/?book=1506718795

PDF

Synopsis : #KINDLE$ Bioware: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development R.E.A.D. [BOOK]

From the BioWare's isometric role-playing roots to its intense space operas and living worlds, chart the legendary game studio's first 25 years in this massive retrospective.BioWare - Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development puts you in the room during key moments in BioWare's history, with never-before-seen art and photos anchored by candid stories from developers past and present. See what it took to make games in those wild early days. Pore over details of secret, cancelled projects. Discover the genesis of beloved characters and games.Presented and designed by Dark Horse Books, this tribute to BioWare's legacy is a must-have for any fan of the best stories you can play.

[hollyand-writes]

Some more info from Twitter about Bioware’s plans to have made Carver/Merrill and Bethany/Sebastian happen during Dragon Age 2. For some context for that bottom tweet, Kirby has previously said that “The Fox And The Hound” would be a movie Merrill would like: 

We also know from the recently released book Bioware’s Stories and Secrets From 25 Years of Game Development that the third cancelled DA2 DLC would have included an option for Hawke to marry their love interest, and failing that “alternate ceremonies for party members like Bethany and Sebastian if the player chose not to wed”, but it was nice to have some additional information about what else had been planned for the Hawke twins if Merrill and Sebastian Vael were not romanced (i.e. that Hawke would have been able to get them together).

For extra context, the tweets were in response to this Twitter thread: 

[mid-nighttiger]

BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development - The Making of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, part 2

(part 1 here)