Entertainment · Gaming · 58 mins ago
Mark Darrah Reveals BioWare’s Original Vision for Dragon Age 4
Former BioWare executive producer Mark Darrah has shared a 2016 pitch for Dragon Age 4 that was circulated inside the studio and to senior staff at publisher EA.
The plan, known as Joplin, aimed to make the game world more immersive, with environments that could be destroyed, changing weather and a world that reacted to players’ choices.
It also proposed social interactions beyond standard conversations and player-led heists, though Darrah said some ideas were already being phased out by 2017.
BioWare later cancelled Joplin and shifted to a live-service version of the game, which was partly reworked into the single-player Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
The pitch shows how the studio hoped to build on the success of Dragon Age: Inquisition, but many of its ideas did not reach The Veilguard.
The source says The Veilguard missed EA’s sales targets and that EA has shut down BioWare, but gives no details about what happens next for the series.
Former BioWare executive producer Mark Darrah has revealed the studio’s original vision for Dragon Age 4, known as Joplin.
He shared an internal book made in mid-2016 to keep the project relevant within EA and seek early funding and new hires.
The vision included a reactive world, destructible environments, dynamic weather, broader social interactions and heists.
Joplin was later cancelled in favour of a live-service game, which was partly scrapped and retooled as the single-player Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
- Who
- Former BioWare executive producer Mark Darrah revealed the pitch.
- What
- He shared BioWare’s original vision for Dragon Age 4, known as Joplin.
- When
- The book describing the vision was made in mid-2016.
- Where
- The book was distributed within BioWare and to senior people at EA.
- Why
- Darrah said it was intended to keep the project relevant within EA and help secure early funding and new hires.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Darrah made a book outlining the original vision for Dragon Age 4.
BioWare was phasing out heists.
Joplin was cancelled in favour of a live-service Dragon Age 4.
The live-service game was partly scrapped and retooled as the single-player Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
- Original project name
- Joplin
- Book created
- Mid-2016
- Planned feature
- Reactive world
- Other planned features
- Destructible environments, dynamic weather, social interactions and heists
- Successor game
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard
What people are saying
There's always a fear, and I think a legitimate fear, within a big publishing organization that you will get cancelled or in, the in case of EA, you will simply be allowed to be to remain on a starvation diet to the point where you cannot continue
This was made in mid-2016 to be something that I could give to the team, but also something I could give senior people within the EA organization to say, ‘Look, we're doing a Dragon Age. Don't forget that Dragon Age: Inquisition was a super great game that sold super well, so you want another one, right?’
The Dragon Age team will create a more immersive interactive world with people in it who act and react like real people.