vampires, spaceships, and fantastical worlds—the tales of L.E. Teetzel

I will start this post by saying that I have loved the Dragon Age franchise since I first played Dragon Age Origins in 2009. At least, I’m pretty sure it was in 2009. It was long enough ago that I can’t remember if I played it before or after Mass Effect, but I’m pretty sure it was after. Fantasy has always been one of my favourite genres, and after experiencing Bioware’s storytelling in Mass Effect, I wanted more and Dragon Age: Origins was the only option out there (that I could play at the time, that is; I didn’t have a PC or an Xbox to play any of the other Bioware games).

While Origins is still a great game, albeit a little clunky in the way older games get, my favourite game of the series is Dragon Age: Inquisition. I’ve replayed it many times and, like many fans of the game, I was beginning to fear we would never see the sequel. Part of me was okay with that, because I love the three games we have and reply them a lot. And there are so many games out there that I haven’t played yet, you know? But I was very happy when Dragon Age: The Veilguard was announced. And cautiously excited. Cautiously only because I was aware of all the changes and issues plaguing Bioware in the ten years between Inquisition and Veilguard, and it’s only natural to be a little nervous about something you’ve waited so long for.

My cautious excitement had nothing to do with Mass Effect: Andromeda. I like that game and am sad we won’t get another one because I want to know what they had planned.

Anyway, back to fantasy.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard exceeded all my expectations and I fell more in love with it the longer I played. And one of my favourite things about it turned out to be the stylized graphics.

For a long time, there’s been a push towards realism in video games. And some of my favourite video games have been at the front of that push, especially The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II. There is absolutely a place for that and what those making games aiming for realism have achieved is incredible, but I think the obsession with realistic graphics that stand up to super-high-quality displays is… well, overhyped. I’m not sure that’s the right word, but it’d definitely become too much of a focus in my opinion.

I like when a game has a visual style all its own. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is semi-realistic, but it’s still clearly stylized and it fits the colourful world and story we’re playing through. It’s hard to pin down exactly why it fits, but the slightly exaggerated sizes of hands and feet, for example, and the hair and clothes that defy the physics of our world just enough to seem otherworldly just seem right in this depiction of Thedas. Now, despite what you might see online, none of the Dragon Age games have been hyperrealistic (whatever that means for the time each game came out, of course), and you can tell me that it’s because of what technology was available or whatever, but I would argue it was a deliberate choice to give artists and developers freedom to make things look cool without having to worry about the constraints of reality—not to mention Thedas is not Earth so why would you restrict yourself to Earth looks and rules in your fantasy game if you don’t have to?

I think if Bioware tried to make the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games hyperrealistic, the games wouldn’t work as well as they do. They would certainly lose some of their charm. When you’re dealing with demons, creatures, and aliens that don’t necessarily have human proportions or attributes (especially in Veilgaurd), any attempt to make them look wholly realistic results in something that looks either bad or uncanny in a very unsettling way (that can be okay if that’s what you’re going for, but usually it’s not the goal). I’m not a fan of all the visual changes they made in Veilguard (I miss the lanky green envy demons), but I do like that they made them very inhuman—and the idea that they’re just nervous systems and eyeballs floating around is A+ for me (at least some of the demons/spirits are just nervous systems).

Also down for Vorgoth, whatever they are, but that’s neither here nor there.

The point is, I don’t think realism in video games is always needed—or ever needed, really. Yes, it makes a story like The Last of Us more intense, but I think the story would have been as emotional with stylized art because the writing was so good. And I don’t think it’s even just developers who are so attached to realism in games—it’s consumers too. Not all of them, certainly, but there is a certain group of gamers who beg for realism (and then often complain about it when they get it because it doesn’t fit their reality which is just, a choice) in everything and I think it’s detrimental to the art of video games.

And make no mistake, they are art.

But there also isn’t just graphic realism in video games. That’s what most people think of when you say “realism” in relation to games, and the more important realistic aspects often get overlooked or shoved into the category of “woke,” in an attempt to devalue them. Veilguard nails realism where it’s most important. Where it’s needed.

As a fat woman, it made me so happy to be able to make my Rook look like me. And it made me overjoyed to see the sheer range of options available in the game for players to make characters look like themselves, to make Rook’s background mirror their own. Fat, thin, weight carried in different parts of the body; male, female, non-binary, trans. And not to mention the accessibility options Bioware added to this game. Not only can a huge range of people create themselves or a character like them in the game, but a wider range of people can access, play, and enjoy the game.

Representation is so important, and everyone should be able to see themselves in a game if they want to. To be able to play a game the way they want to, in a way that makes it an enjoyable experience for them. They can adapt the game to them instead of adapting themselves to the game.

How good that is cannot be overstated. That’s how video games, which were meant for fun and/or escapism, should be.

There are absolutely things I would change about Dragon Age: The Veilguard—mostly about the romances, but that’s just because I was spoiled by being able to kiss Iron Bull whenever I wanted to in Inquisition—but on the whole, I absolutely loved the game. Like I said, it exceeded all my expectations. The environments were stunning, and I mean absolutely stunning. There were points when I just stopped and looked around because the visuals were so awesome—and I meant that in the original way of inspiring awe. The character art is so cool; everyone is unique and immediately recognizable no matter what outfit you have them in or where they are in the Lighthouse or what lighting they’re in; not to mention the character personalities are so different and everyone has their own story. I really loved that none of the quests were fetch quests, and they all had a point and weren’t really missable. And I love, love, love companion loyalty quests. I loved it in Mass Effect 2 and I’m so glad they brought it back here, because earning the loyalty of your companions and having it actually have an impact on something as big as the character’s survival really makes the impact felt.

In fact, the impacts from the choices you made, both on large and small scale, were really felt. There were points when I sat, staring at the options for a few minutes, trying to figure out which choice I should make. Which one would be the best to make.

I don’t know if this post is needed, but I just wanted to put my two cents out there and briefly talk about why I think video game developers should be more focused on making a solid game without sacrificing story or character or mechanics just to make the game look realistic. There have been so many beautiful games that just felt kind of hollow because there was no flesh on the bones, so to speak. And while I was a little put-off by the art style of Dragon Age: The Veilguard when I saw the first trailer—only because it wasn’t what I was expecting—I grew to absolutely love it. I hope they use the same art style for the next game as well. Or do something different again, because none of the Dragon Age games look like each other.

And I’m so very excited to see what Bioware does with the next Mass Effect game. That series is my all-time favourite, with Dragon Age a close second.

Also, please enjoy the screenshot of my Rook, Ren, and Emmrich, who became like an uncle to her, as they have a chat over a floating dismembered hand. Emmrich’s quest line is one of my favourites in the game.

And until next time, take it easy, hot dogs!

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