Dragon Age: The Veilguard (October 31, 2024)

[Gizmo_Duck]

Yes, Dragon Age: The Veilguard Has Nudity, And I've Seen It

And we're not talking implied nudity here.

www.gameinformer.com

We were customizing a feminine Rook, and while adjusting body options - read Game Informer's in-depth feature about Veilguard's character creator herefor more details – our Rook's shirt disappeared to let us customize things like chest size.

And that's when Veilguard game director Corrine Busche smiled, likely knowing full well that nudity in the character creator means nudity elsewhere in the game, like in Veilguard's romances, something I know BioWare fans will be delighted to hear. "This is a mature RPG," she tells me.

I only see topless nudity in the character creator, and when I later ask BioWare if there is bottom nudity as well, I'm told that's something it wants to let fans discover for themselves in the game. Interesting answer, considering we're talking about genitalia here, but I don't push further. Though the game's leads wouldn't share too much about romance options in the game, I have a feeling nudity will play a part in some cutscenes and that's what BioWare is alluding to.

Nudity has been present in previous BioWare games, but it's almost always been implied. Characters are sometimes naked in romance scenes and elsewhere, but arms, legs, shadows, and pieces of scenery obscure characters' more… oogly bits. With some of those bits on full display in the character creator, I have a feeling Veilguard's romantic scenes will be the spiciest in the series' history. And the game's pretty visual design, running in EA's Frostbite engine, only adds to that.

 

[KateFabersBoyfriend]

Them turning this into a fukk simulator chasing after baldurs gate is a tragedy.

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

Them turning this into a fukk simulator chasing after baldurs gate is a tragedy.

TBF BioWare are the one’s who started the fukk simulator trend

 

[Primetime]

Honestly i'm indifferent to it... because between Cyberpunk and BG3, them features is old news. And borderline mandatory at this point for a big budget AAA narrative-centric RPG.

They just can't fall into the trap that Dragon Dogma 2 did, giving more attention to the character creation (which became GOAT-tier), than the character's themselves.

 

[horizon]

Everything they're talking about to promote this game is for the tumblr crowd that spent the last 10 years writing endless fanfics about Solas

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

Honestly i'm indifferent to it... because between Cyberpunk and BG3, them features is old news. And borderline mandatory at this point for a big budget AAA narrative-centric RPG.

They just can't fall into the trap that Dragon Dogma 2 did, giving more attention to the character creation (which became GOAT-tier), than the character's themselves.

Yeh, but look at games like Avowed, it feels like they’re doing the opposite, listing a whole bunch of things the game won’t have. Basic rpg stuff we expect in 2024

I feel like DA is going to over perform just for being a competent AAA role plying game

 

[duckbutta]

TBF BioWare are the one’s who started the fukk simulator trend

Still remember playing Jade Empire and accidentally making my character gay

 

[Legal]

Still remember playing Jade Empire and accidentally making my character gay

I won't even ask you how.

 

[duckbutta]

I won't even ask you how.

Got that Sky dude affinity to high and next thing I know we was kissing

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

A Deep Dive Into BioWare's Companion Design Philosophy In Dragon Age: The Veilguard

BioWare says these companions are the series' best yet.

www.gameinformer.com

Game director Corinne Busche agrees, adding that Veilguard's companions are "the most fully realized complex companions we've ever crafted." She also believes they're the Dragon Age series' best. "They're complicated, they have complicated problems, and that's what's interesting," she continues. "As much as I adore the companions and the journeys I've been on with them in past Dragon Age titles – previously, it feels like companions are going on an adventure with me, the main character, whether it's the Hero of Ferelden or Hawke, you name it. But in [Veilguard], in many ways, the companions are so fleshed out that it feels as though I'm going on a journey with them. I'm exploring how they think and feel; I'm helping them through their problems. We're working through their unique character arcs. They feel like my dear friends, and I absolutely adore them."

[John] Epler says one of BioWare's principles when creating Veilguard was that the world exists even when you – Rook – are not around. There are things, ancient conflicts, grudges, and more, that happen even when Rook isn't participating in them, he says.

"You kind of come in 'in media res' in some of these, so that's where we wanted to go with the companions," he says. "They have stories of their own. Where can Rook come into these stories, and what interesting ways can those stories develop not just based on themselves but also based on Rook's presence within them?"

Bushce: "So companions as realized characters, we have to take that premise when we talk about how they show up in combat. These are their own people. They have their own behaviors; they have their own autonomy on the battlefield; they'll pick their own targets. As their plots progress, they'll learn how to use their abilities more competently, and it really feels like you're fighting alongside these realized characters in battle. So I love that, I love the believability of it. It feels like we're all in it together.

Busche: "It's one of my favorite topics. I talked about the idea that these are fully realized characters, that they're very authentic and relatable. So outside of combat, what that means is they're going to have their own concerns, fears, distractions, and indeed, even their own sanctuaries, their own personal spaces. In our base of operations this time, our player hub, the Lighthouse, each of the companions has their own room. And what I love about it is it becomes a reflection of who they are. The more time you spend with them, as the game develops as you work through their arc, their room and their personalities will evolve and flourish and become more complete as they trust you more and you understand them better.

 

[Primetime]

Shadowheart was arguably the best character in BG3 (among several great ones) and felt like the optimal love interest/companion if you made the required decisions. Wholesome as fukk writing. Minthara with her barely patched together companion path was also top tier, p4p.

And so with how much they're gassing up this companion stuff for Veilguard, it'll be interesting if any of the three female companions can be as memorable. They definitely going with the unconventional designs: midget redhead (returning character), older lookin prosthetic leg brown girl, and asian elf chick.

 

[duckbutta]

Every game studio says there companions are the most "in depth ever" then when you play the game you just select whatever dialog to get the "BBL Britney liked that" until you smash

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

 

[Novembruh]

Matt Mercer getting more work than every voice actor he DMs for is comedy mans has been in every major sword-and-sorcery RPG damn near

 

[Novembruh]

Shadowheart was arguably the best character in BG3 (among several great ones) and felt like the optimal love interest/companion if you made the required decisions. Wholesome as fukk writing. Minthara with her barely patched together companion path was also top tier, p4p.

And so with how much they're gassing up this companion stuff for Veilguard, it'll be interesting if any of the three female companions can be as memorable. They definitely going with the unconventional designs: midget redhead (returning character), older lookin prosthetic leg brown girl, and asian elf chick.

I don't believe anyone still at Bioware has the capacity to make a companion as memorable as Karlach or Lae'zel, nevermind Shadowheart and her wildly different ending states. Not for a moment.
I'd be happy to be proven wrong, but I think that, on some level, the design philosophy might interfere in places, nevermind how underwhelmed I expect to be by the writing. The two combined...

I'm gonna give it an honest try. But being the first big RPG to market after BG3 is going to be a fukking uphill battle for anyone, and with the stakes that Bioware has in terms of trying to rehab their rep... I'm definitely bracing for disappointment.