Key Takeaways
- A former BioWare developer named Damion Schubert has come out to defend the character creator of Dragon Age: The Veilguard following criticism on social media.
- Schubert cites Baldur's Gate 3 as an example and argues that character creators are still popular because people spend a huge amount of time on them.
- He also argues that this is essential to bring more representation to the world and make people “feel seen” in the game they are playing.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard's character creator has come under fire from certain sections of the internet in recent weeks. someone's viral tweet The character's creator claimed it was “just a stupid, narcissistic waste of time.” It's certainly one of the most popular takes we've seen regarding the character creator, and as a result, many people have defended their view of this feature in Veilguard, saying they're completely shocked.
One such person was former BioWare developer Damion Schubert (thanks to GamesRadar), who worked at the studio as a combat designer on the long-running Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO. Schubert is currently busy as the creative director of Netflix game studio Boss Fight, but he took the time to give this talk his two cents, offering up his vast experience with RPGs and MMOs.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard's character creator helps players “feel seen.”
In a series of tweetsSchubert explains why it takes so much effort to create a character creator, noting that many people spend “an enormous amount of time creating characters.” He also rightly points out that strong character creation is essential for expression and making the world feel more unique. Because without these options, there's a risk of people “feeling like Ford People copies of each other.”
“It makes them feel seen, which has a greater impact on video games, which are typically less expressive.”
Of course, Schubert also has some hard evidence to back up the claim that many people enjoy fine-tuning their characters, sharing an image of some statistics from Baldur's Gate 3 that developer Larian Studios posted shortly after launch. According to these statistics, Baldur's Gate 3 fans spent a total of 88 years on the character creation screen, and that's just over a week after launch.
However, Schubert also argues that people have the right not to enjoy creating their own characters and that it is “important” for games to provide appropriate presets. He also points to the Mass Effect series and the default appearances of the male and female Commander Shephard models as good examples of BioWare catering to that type of player.
Anyway, we know Dragon Age fans are eager to get their hands on a character creator, despite what some people say. They've been pleading with BioWare on social media to release it early. Considering the title launches at the end of the month and has already gone gold, it's probably too late now. But luckily, you won't have to wait too long before you can get your hands on the full game.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the long-awaited fourth game in BioWare's fantasy RPG series, previously known as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. A direct sequel to Inquisition, the game focuses on the aforementioned direwolves Red Lyrium and Solas.
