Gaming

Dragon Age’s former lead writer has many, mostly positive thoughts on Veilguard’s romance options, story and environments

Published

6 months ago

June 15, 2024

Dragon Age's former lead writer has many, mostly positive thoughts on Veilguard's romance options, story and environments

Former Dragon Age lead writer and Summerfall Games co-founder David Gaider shared his opinions on Xitter about the full reveal video for Dragon Age: The Veilguard. He expressed excitement for the narrative tone, combat system, and environments of the new RPG. However, he had mixed feelings about BioWare’s decision to allow players to seduce every member of their party.

The Xeets came in with their thoughts, and Gaider humorously mentioned that he should take a break from talking about Dragon Age to avoid becoming fodder for news articles. Despite this, he continued to share his insights on the game, prompting discussions and reactions from fans and journalists alike.

Gaider’s initial thread praised the gameplay footage of The Veilguard, highlighting the darker tone, improved combat mechanics, and stunning environments. He also noted similarities to Dragon Age 2 and expressed excitement for the return of certain characters like Solas.

Responding to feedback, Gaider further discussed the combat changes in The Veilguard, acknowledging the shift towards a more action-oriented style while missing some tactical elements from previous games.

In another thread, Gaider delved into the complexities of romance design in the game, explaining the challenges of making characters romanceable and how it can limit their development and storytelling potential. He cited examples from past Dragon Age games to illustrate his points.

I was not a fan of the removal of the followers’ agencies, as it seemed to reduce them to mere sex dolls whose sole purpose is to be manipulated by the player to engage in romantic interactions.

Regarding the issue of intimacy in Baldur’s Gate 3, Gaider believes that the game may have benefited from restricting certain companion characters from engaging in romantic relationships. He expresses that some characters could have had more compelling story arcs without the focus on romance, and he found the abundance of potential romantic encounters with the entire crew to be lacking in depth. However, he acknowledges that Veilguard could succeed in this aspect if they fully embrace it in a similar manner to BG3, stating that it is a valid approach that will likely please many fans.