Bioware may have put the Mass Effect series on pause for now, but they are definitely going ahead with Dragon Age. In a new interview with Eurogamer, writer Alexis Kennedy from FailBetter Games confirms his involvement in the new chapter of the RPG series, which would mark the first time that an external studio gets the task of writing the story of a new entry.
Kennedy was hired last year to work alongside Dragon Age creators Mike Laidlaw and Patrick Weekes, which obviously sparked lots of rumors at the time. The interview revolves around his job as a guest writer for the Canada-based company, which he does according to the UK working hours. That means that he does all his job remotely, and has to communicate with the rest of the divisions through mail or Skype.
But it seems like Bioware is ready to accept these conditions in order to get the best script possible for the next Dragon Age, which has become a priority for them after Mass Effect: Andromeda received poor reviews concerning its story.
Although he confirms that he is working on a new Dragon Age, he is obviously not in the position to reveal any details on the production, aside of throwing a few ideas: “What I can say is I have been given considerable autonomy to work on a storyline bit of lore which is well-segregated from other parts of the game, which makes a lot of sense with me being remote. And yes, if you’ve seen a lot of my work before you will probably not be surprised by the choice of subject matter. It’s familiar stuff.”
Some have taken this information as a sign that the next chapter of the series could take place in the Tevinter Imperium, a region often referenced but which has never been visited in any of the three previous entries. Kennedy’s previous work includes the novel Fallen London and the videogames Sunless Sea and Stellaris.
As for when to expect this new Dragon Age, Kennedy says that he is halfway through his job, but that the development of the game will continue well after he is done. So this probably means that we are still far from any kind of thorough presentation, but we may get a teaser in the coming months.
