14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at BioWare might not be ready to divulge all the story twists in the upcoming Dragon Age: Inquisition, but the company says that one of the major areas of the title will be linked to one of the novels associated with the series.
The studio explains in an official blog that the Emprise du Lion environment is dominated by the Red Templars when the game starts and that players will be free to explore the area and decide how they want to deal with them and their plans.
Liz Lehtonen, the game world producer at BioWare, states, “For anyone that has read Patrick Weekes's book Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, they will really enjoy the connection to this area. This is one of the key locations where you can strengthen the Inquisition, and there is a massive keep! Not only is it one of the most challenging structures to reach, but it's also the most difficult to take.”
The team says that the ancient elf built stronghold up in the mountainous area is one of the largest fortifications in the world and can be used to strengthen the Inquisition and the player’s party in interesting ways.
Andrew Farrell, an artist working on the new Dragon Age, says that different departments at BioWare collaborate well in order to infuse all areas with interesting places to explore, while also making sure that they remain as unique as possible.
He adds, “We had things that we wanted to accomplish from the very beginning, and the more people we talked to, the more it changed. We still ended up where we wanted to go, but within a week we had done a complete 180 in how we got there, and the game is better for it.”
BioWare has already said that Inquisition is a much more strategic experience and that gamers will have a lot of choices for each area they visit, all of which affect the long-term fate of the world.
The core story will involve a major tear in the Fade, which needs to be closed down to stop demons from entering the world. The protagonist will also have to deal with a political element that involves the Chantry, the Mages and the Templars and their conflict.
Dragon Age: Inquisition is set to be offered on the Xbox One from Microsoft, the PlayStation 4 from Sony, the PC and current-gen consoles and will be available all over the world on October 7 of this year.