Dragon Age 3 wants to be like Skyrim
It seems that BioWare still doesn't know in which direction to develop the Dragon Age series. In [Dragon Age 2](/games?search=Dragon Age 2), the developers chased the audience of [Call of Duty](/games?search=Call of Duty), simplifying the game and making it more dynamic, while forgetting that players expect captivating and diverse adventures from Dragon Age.
Now, apparently amazed by the success of Skyrim, BioWare has decided to use it as a benchmark in creating [Dragon Age 3](/games?search=Dragon Age 3) and is "aggressively studying" it. This was reported by one of the founders of BioWare, Ray Muzyka, to Wired.com.
Landscape in Dragon Age 2
It's already better; BioWare is now at least striving to attract RPG lovers to the game instead of fans of mindless shooters. Perhaps, in time, they will learn to think about what a modern RPG should be rather than looking back at blockbusters. However, it seems that for BioWare, copying and cloning other games has become a trend — just look at the newly minted MMORPG [Star Wars: The Old Republic](/games?search=Star Wars: The Old Republic), which shamelessly copies [World of Warcraft](/games?search=World of Warcraft), although it could have become a new revelation in the genre, given the level of funding. It remains a wonder how this company once managed to create such a masterpiece as the [Baldur's Gate](/games?search=Baldur's Gate) series.
Previously, the developers of Dragon Age 3 (which still hasn't been officially announced) threatened to create a game world several times larger than Ferelden in [Dragon Age: Origins](/games?search=Dragon Age: Origins). And let’s not even mention the cramped and shabby Kirkwall from DA2... So, it seems that the poor designers of Dragon Age 3 have witnessed the stunning success of Skyrim, their eyes have lit up, and they want to rake in as much cash and even more. I don't know how they specifically defined this, but they concluded that Skyrim is successful primarily due to its open and free game world, and it occurred to them that this feature would also bring success to DA3.
Landscape in Skyrim
Well, the idea is certainly good, and an open and vast world should please every RPG enthusiast, however, it seems to me that Skyrim is successful not only for this reason, and BioWare should pay attention to other aspects of successful role-playing games, such as character customization and the development of story and side quests; after all, a large open world itself will not be interesting to anyone if it is not filled with diverse and engaging content. And, most importantly, think with their own heads, rather than looking at others.
It is also unclear where the designers of Dragon Age were looking before, since Bethesda has been making role-playing games with an open world for several decades.