Exploring the Dales

The Dales still bear the scars of the Exalted March: a time long ago when the might of the Orelsian Empire crushed elven forces and drove them from their own land. Although the nation of Orlais now lays claim to the Dales, every branch, stream, and stone preserve the memories of elven history. From the lush forests of the Emerald Graves to the icy highlands of Emprise du Lion, fractured remnants of the ancient elves live on.

In Dragon Age: Inquisition, players explore the Dales through three key areas: the Emerald Graves, the Exalted Plains, and Emprise du Lion. Imagining a beautiful land enriched with such tragic lore was no small task, but the Dragon Age: Inquisition team enjoyed the challenge. We caught up with senior level designer Dean Roskell to learn more about how this feat was accomplished.

[DRAGON AGE]: Each area within the Dales has a distinct look and feel, yet they all feel very much connected. What approach did you take to accomplish that?

[DEAN ROSKELL]: The first thing we did was brainstorm what kind of biomes we'd like to see featured in the Dales. We really wanted to see contrasts of civilization, both old and new, as well as areas that felt like they'd never been tamed. Going into this, we also knew the big story beats: the world state with the Breach, the Orlesian civil war, the Red Templars, and of course the Dalish elves. We really needed to represent the Dalish in the Dales because of the history they bring.

[DA]: Without ancient elven lands in our world to reference (that we know of), what did you use for inspiration to create these areas?

[DR]: To create the landscape, we used things like Google Earth for reference. It's a great way to help describe the type of terrain you want to see, and really there's nothing more impressive than our own planet for inspiration.

[DA]: How did the areas change before the final versions we see in the game?

[DR]: I think the biggest revelation I can reveal is that for a long time the Exalted Plains, Emerald Graves, and Emprise Du Lion were all part of one continuous giant level.

[DA]: That would have been enormous! What made you decide to split it up?

[DR]: For starters, because they were all part of the same level, we couldn't craft the drastic environmental differences you see in the final version. The transition from lush forest to frozen highlands wouldn't have felt natural. We felt it really needed more separation, and splitting the level allowed us to drastically boost the visual impact for each space.

We also had to consider that the level had three separate story arcs, which you would have had to play through linearly. Splitting the levels allowed the player the option to play in any order or even skip one entirely. From a perspective of balance, dividing the level into three brought each separate space more in line with the size of other levels in the game.

[DA]: What did you hope to accomplish with each area? Let's start with the Exalted Plains.

[DR]: In the Exalted Plains, we wanted to put the player right into an area where the Orlesian civil war was being fought. We wanted to show the devastation—a town in ruin—and also the fact that war wasn't new to the area. We wanted to make sure to represent evidence of the elves and the war that ended their reign in the land.

[DA]: How about the Emerald Graves?

[DR]: The Emerald Graves was our journey into creating a space on the very fringes of civilization: the last roadway before the deep wilds of the forest. The aim was to create a space in which the player would at times feel overwhelmed by the natural world around them, both fauna and flora.

[DA]: And Emprise du Lion?

[DR]: Emprise Du Lion went through a lot more iterations than the other two, in regards to both the visuals and the narrative. We really wanted to ramp things up here, aiming for an extremely striking visual design, as well as creating a scenario that held back no punches. We knew that the players were going to be high level, well-equipped, and likely with a few good battle scars picked up along the way.

[DA]: How different is Emprise du Lion in the game than the original vision?

[DR]: There was a time when the villagers had more freedom—farms up and running, merchants trading—but we felt that wasn't really creating the impression that these people were near the point of accepting death at the hands of the red templars.

The change to a frozen landscape really helped us improve the narrative for the zone. We wanted to have a town on the precipice of death. Combining the red templar threat with this freak blizzard really helped drive that home.

[DA]: In the book Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, author Patrick Weekes wrote about the events in Orlais that preceded Inquisition. Did that influence the creation of the Dales at all?

[DR]: We absolutely wanted to bring in links to Patrick's book. After a brainstorming session, we came up with the idea of including Ser Michel on his hunt for Imshael. It was perfect for our story because we needed a personality to be with the red templars: someone who could bring a new angle to their story, as well as serve as a boss character for Suledin Keep.

[DA]: How did the team react to that idea?

[DR]: It was such a joyous moment when we first presented this version of the level to the senior leadership, as they had no idea we'd put it in. I remember watching Mike Laidlaw's face cycle through a range of emotions as he first noticed Ser Michel at the village, then realize that if Ser Michel was here, then so must Imshael, and if Imshael was in Suledin Keep, and so were the red templars, then pfffffffaaaaaggggguuhhhh, *hand claps* *evil grin*.

[DA]: Okay, since we're on the subject of Emprise du Lion, let's talk about those dragons.

[DR]: The original starting point for the level, and location of the village, was actually where the three dragons now roost. After we moved the village down into the lake area, we obviously had a large space to fill. Knowing that this was going to be one of the game's final high-level areas, we really wanted to leave a lasting mark on players so they'd never forget that this is Dragon Age. Not Nug Age or Strange Pyramid Age. Dragon Age.

[DA]: But how did you arrive at the decision to include three dragons?

[DR]: The conversation went something like this:

"Maybe we should put a really hard dragon in the area. Something that's really going to test the player's skills and party build."

"How about instead of one hard dragon, we put in three hard dragons!"

…

Is he serious? I think he's serious.

"Uh… I'm not sure we can do that"

(Not listening) "Okay, three dragons it is."

Sometimes we do things because someone tells us we can't, and this was one of those times.

[DA]: What kind of challenge did this decision present to the team?

[DR]: Adding three dragons meant that we also needed three places for them to live in. Andrew Farrell, the level artist for all three Dales levels, came up with this great idea of the old coliseums surrounded by hot springs.

[DA]: After spending so much time creating these three levels, are any of them your favorite?

[DR]: Copout time. They all have elements I'm really proud of, so I couldn't possibly pick. As I moved back and forth between each area during development, I did have favorites. That would often influence which level I would work on for a time, but they equally all had their moments.

[DA]: Any survival tips you'd like to pass along to players venturing into the Dales?

[DR]: There's no shame in running… especially in the Emerald Graves. It's not like the giants are going to tell anyone you're a coward.

[DA]: With an area as massive as the Dales, you must have been tempted to add little secrets just waiting to be discovered. Did you resist the urge, or did you sneak in a few surprises here and there?

[DR]: Part of the joy of working on expansive levels like this is that there are so many nooks and crannies to hide things. My Dragon Age experience was to explore these areas, find the cool spots, and then dream up the stories to live in them. The player's job is to find them and maybe try to make sense of them. I'm really enjoying reading posts and comments online when one of these hidden moments is discovered. It's such a rush when I read someone's idea behind a scene and it matches my own.

[DA]: So, have all of these secrets been discovered yet?

[DR]: How about I just say that there's plenty of things I remember creating that I haven't seen talked about online yet, and we'll leave it at that… for now.