Earlier this year, during a visit to Bioware in Edmonton, Canada, the current Game Informer Dragon Age: Veilguard cover storyI’ve heard the same sentiment over and over from game leaders all day long: In past Dragon Age games, BioWare has stumbled upon great companions, but Veilguard is the first game where I feel like the studio deliberately and intentionally created great companions. And so these companions are key to everything that happens in Veilguard.
With so much focus on these characters, I spoke with some of the game’s leaders to learn more about BioWare’s philosophy regarding companions in Veilguard.
“No, that’s true,” BioWare general manager Gary McKay said when I asked him if he agreed with the idea that they stumbled upon great titles by chance. “Let’s start with Dragon Age. Each game in the series is different, so we weren’t looking to make a sequel or the same game as the previous one. We really wanted to do something different, so we pushed the envelope in a few areas, one of which was companions. Once we immersed ourselves in that, we realized there was something special about these companions, again in terms of motivations and storyline, and that started to become central to the game.”
Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Companion Philosophy
Game director Corinne Boucher agreed, adding that the Veilguard companions are “the most fully-fledged and complex companions we’ve ever created.” She also thinks they’re the best companions in the Dragon Age series. “They’re complicated, they have complicated problems, and that’s what makes them interesting,” she continues. “I love the companions and the journeys I’ve had with them in past Dragon Age titles, but before, it felt like the companions were going on an adventure with me, the main character, whether that was the Hero of Ferelden or Hawkeye or whatever. But… [Veilguard]”In many ways, the companions are so fleshed out that you really feel like you’re on a journey with them. You explore how they think and feel, and you help them get through their problems. We chart their unique character arcs. They feel like dear friends of mine, and I love them dearly.”
Bush says these guys take part in the darker, more optimistic parts of the game: “We’ve gone into places of the highest joy, colorful, optimistic places, and also the lowest sadness – places that are raw, painful, very dark. But through it all, there’s a sense of optimism. And that creates this joyful consistency throughout the game.”
When I asked creative director John Epler about BioWare’s philosophy behind the Veilguard gang, he revealed a phrase the studio uses: “Dragon Age is a game about characters, not causes.”
“What that means for us is […] Take the Grey Warden, for example. The Grey Warden are an interesting faction, but they don’t get to tell the story themselves. But there are characters within that faction that do,” he told me. “And the same goes for other characters in the story. They represent factions and they give you a glimpse into other parts of Thedas and the kind of storytelling we really want to do, and they show that Thedas is a big, diverse, living world where things are happening when you’re not there.”
Eppler said one of BioWare’s principles when creating Veilguard was that the world would exist even when the player (i.e. Luke) wasn’t there. There are ancient feuds, grudges, and plenty of other things going on even when Luke isn’t involved, he said.
“In some ways, he comes in halfway through some of these, so we wanted to push the guys in that direction,” he says. “They have their own stories. Where can Luke be in these stories? And what interesting ways can those stories unfold based on Luke’s presence, and not just their own?”
Matt Rose, art director for the Dragon Age series, said that because the companions are the pillars that support everything the Veilguard does, “when we design them, we’re not just designing characters; they’re the face of the faction, [some cases like Bellara Lutara]areas throughout the world.” As the game’s art director, he’s been involved in the aesthetic aspects of developing the Veilguard companions, and he told me that the Veilguard characters will (hopefully) present a challenge to cosplayers.
“The previous art director had the idea that things should be easier. [cosplayers]”I think that’s a misconception about cosplayers,” Rose said. “I’ve seen what challenges cosplayers are willing to take, and in some cases, we’ve gone for a level of intricacy and detail that a lot of cosplayers are excited about trying.”
A quick detour: Neve Gallus
Allies in and out of combat
Rook’s companions in the Veilguard play roles both in and out of combat, but since I’ve only seen a few hours of the game (it’s likely dozens more), I wanted to ask Busche some questions about these roles and how they play out. Here’s what I learned:
In combat
Bush“So the companions are real characters, so you have to take that premise when you’re talking about how they’ll appear in combat. They’re independent people. They have their own actions, they have their own autonomy on the battlefield, they choose their own targets. As the story progresses, they learn how to use their abilities better and it really feels like you’re fighting alongside these real characters in combat. So I love that, I love the authenticity of it. It feels like we’re all fighting together.”
“But when it comes time to strategize, and I might add, progress, there’s a sense of teamwork that comes into play as Luke and the leader of this party. When I open up the ability wheel, it really feels like we’re together. We come up with a game plan together. I can see all of Harding’s abilities, I can see all of Belara’s abilities, and sometimes we use weaknesses in synergy. I’ll slow down time with Belara, unleash a devastating attack with Harding to take down the enemy, and then I’ll charge in as Luke and take advantage of this setup they’ve created for me. It’s a game that creates this organic sense of teamwork.”
“There’s also much clearer synergies now. There are a lot of deliberate combos where allies work off of each other, and when you queue your abilities together, each of your abilities will trigger and have an effect. But what results is a massive explosion that reinforces the effect and weakens the entire battlefield, thanks to the planning and teamwork. What’s really cool is that you can also introduce Luke into that equation. One of the things I like to do is upgrade some of Harding’s abilities so that she can automatically use some of the abilities that you normally have to command, and she really sets up my character to do combos that have explosive effects again.”
Outdoor Combat
Bush“This is one of my favorite topics. I talked about the idea that these characters are fully realized and very authentic and relatable, which means that outside of combat, they’ll have their own concerns, fears, distractions and even their own sanctuary, their own personal space. In this case in the Lighthouse, your base of operations, your player hub, each companion has their own room. And what I love about it is that it becomes a reflection of their personality. The more time you spend with them, as the game unfolds, as you experience their story arc, their rooms and their personalities evolve and blossom and become more complete. Because they’ll trust you more and you’ll understand them better.”
“What’s interesting is, as you mentioned about romance, the companions also develop romantic relationships and they’re not just talking to Luke, the main character, they’re talking to each other. There’s a moment in the game where two of the companions fall in love and we have to make a pretty difficult choice related to the quest that we’re on. And it broke my heart. [Editor’s Note: I get the sense Busche is talking about a specific playthrough of Veilguard here – not a definitive sequence of events for every playthrough].
“So as I go on this adventure with them and get to know them back at the Lighthouse, through all these decisions and conversations and learning about them, I think I become more attached to them than I’ve ever been to them honestly before. And sometimes that fills me with joy and sometimes it breaks my heart.”
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