Dragon Age 3 year-delay enabled multiple playable races
"Because we moved the date we were able to bring it back."
Delaying Dragon Age 3 by a year meant multiple playable races could be reinstated to the series, BioWare has revealed.
"Because we moved the date we were able to bring it back," executive producer Mark Darrah told GameInformer. "We basically just had the time necessary to bring it back."
The delay - or rather the new release date of autumn 2014 - was announced at E3 alongside a new trailer, following an elongated period of silence surrounding the game.
Series creative director Mike Laidlaw said reinstating races was a decision "100 per cent based on fan feedback", plus a bit of internal desire, and was made "well before E3".
"Why didn't we bring it up?" he prompted. "We wanted to make sure it was locked down; we wanted to make sure our homework was done so we could commit to it and people could, with absolute enthusiasm, get ready for elf or dwarf or whatever."
Elves and dwarves were the only new playable races mentioned - and shown in renders - during the GameInformer video. Humans, elves and dwarves were the three races available in Dragon Age 1, each with two racial variations to choose from.
In Dragon Age 3, as in Dragon Age 1, your choice of race affects your character's background. Elves are the spat-on servants of the world and some dwarves the outcasts of their own society. Both are less than trusted.
Choosing either elf or dwarf will mean the world reacts differently to you. In some cases this will have a "huge" impact, such as when dealing with significant racial factions or even elven servants.
The other story-significant character creation choice you can make besides race will be whether you're a mage or not. The backdrop of Dragon Age 3, remember, is a war between the churchy templars and the mages.
Incidentally, if you look closely, there's a short clip of someone playing Dragon Age 3 in the background in the GameInformer video.
Dragon Age 3 - Inquisition as it's known - is due on current and next-gen consoles, as well as PC, next autumn.