The decision to change the name of the next BioWare game Dragon Age: The Veilguard came from a want to focus the subtitle on the party you'll form throughout the RPG rather than the villain, key figures at the studio have revealed. In an interview with Game Informer, multiple developers are posed the same question and the outlet reports their response: "Why the name change?"
Game director Corinne Busche speaks to how the new subtitle reflects the "beating heart" of the game: its companions. "When we took a step back, as we always do, we always check our decisions and make sure that they still represent the game we're trying to build. It just felt like we needed a title that represented what this game was truly about." She then assures fans that Solas, the party member turned villain from Dragon Age Inquisition, still has a very "important role" to play in the story, but the game isn't primarily about him.
Creative director John Epler agrees, as you'd hope given they're part of the same development team. "Solas is still a central figure in it. He's still a significant character. But really, the focus shifts to the team," he explains. "It's about the people you recruit. It's about stopping the end of the world with this group of specialists, these incredibly interesting and diverse characters that you recruit into your team. [We] realized Dreadwolf suggests a title focused on a specific individual, whereas The Veilguard, much like Inquisition, focuses more on the team."
As for the role Solas plays in the narrative, consultant Mark Darrah suggests the conclusion to the elf's story will hopefully be satisfying no matter what you think of him. The Veilguard gives a conclusion to all the "varied attitudes toward Solas" — including love, hate, those who agree with him, and others who want to kick him "off a building". Darrah continues: "I think that we give you the opportunity to bring that to a close, but then tell a greater story about The Veilguard and about the world as a whole."
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is slated to release at the end of this year for PS5. Have you come around on The Veilguard name, or do you prefer Dreadwolf? Let us know in the comments below.
[source gameinformer.com]
Comments 11
I honestly think this is a better choice. Having spent hundreds of hours in Inquisition, I felt it was odd to subtitle the sequel as one of the many party members in the third game - even if they would play a major role in this game. 'Veilguard' also just fits better with the naming convention established in Inquisition. Veilguard coming for yo ass.
The more I read about this game now, the more interested I become.
Sure, I am a huge fan of Dragon Age Inquisition, having played through that story many times. So I was probably going to buy this anyway, no matter what.
However, I thought that the original reveal was too cartoonish. But then I saw the gameplay reveal, with Minrathous, and was very impressed.
The reasoning behind the change of the title does make sense to me, and I actually now have hope. This might actually turn out to be the game I really wanted it to be.
I also spent hundreds of hours in Inquisition (maybe thousands) and this now really looks like the sequel that Inquisition deserves.
I'm a bit cautious because I thought the Solas hook was amazing, but I can understand the decision
So long as I can jump straight into Veilguard without being confused as to what's happening - I must've tried Inquisition nearly a dozen times, yet by the time I've opened the third area/arrived at Sky Forge Castle (I think that's its name) I really just lose interest....Such a shame the DA series is all over the place - quality wise - as (imo) Origins is a damn masterpiece 🙂
"key figures at the studio have revealed"
...But they said all of this 3 weeks ago ahead of the trailers/showcase, in their own Bioware blog post, which you reported on at the time. This is about as far from a reveal as you can get.
@ironcrow86 I wouldn't call Origins a ''Masterpiece''.. or even ''Great''.. Yes, the story was the best out of all of them, but wow that party and battle system though - bloody awful. Outdated, not fun and most of all - not interesting.
@Maubari true - it's definitely rough around the edges, but it just beats 2 and Inquisition by a country mile in my book 🙂
@ThomasHL
Pretty sure that they have not changed the plot. Only the title.
@Matthewnh what I'm saying is, I was excited for the game because I wanted a game focused on Solas, and this is them saying they changed the name because they felt Solas wasn't the focus of the game.
Hopefully they've still done it well, but it does give me reason to hesitate
N.i.c.e. thats fine by me.as dragon age the veilguard looks amazing.and dragon age inquisition game of the year was amazing as well.its all good.word up son
I am cautiously optimistic about this game.
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