Dragon Age: Origins is a 2009 role-playing video game created by BioWare and released by Electronic Arts. It is the first game in the Dragon Age series. The game takes place in a fictional kingdom called Ferelden during a time of conflict. Players take on the role of a warrior, mage, or rogue from an elven, human, or dwarven background. The player character joins the Grey Wardens, an ancient group that fights monstrous creatures called "Darkspawn." The main goal is to defeat the Archdemon, who controls the Darkspawn, and stop their invasion. The game is played from a side view, which can be changed to a top-down view. Throughout the game, players meet companions who help shape the story and gameplay.
BioWare described Dragon Age: Origins as a "dark heroic fantasy" set in a unique world. It is considered a follow-up to BioWare's earlier games, Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. Development started in 2002, and more than 144 voice actors were used. Inon Zur was hired to create the game's music. Although BioWare planned to make a fantasy game early on, dragons were added later after using a name generator to choose the game's title. The console versions were made by another company called Edge of Reality. Origins was released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 in November 2009, and for Mac OS X in December 2009.
The game received high praise for its story, setting, characters, music, and combat system. It sold over 3.2 million copies and 1 million pieces of downloadable content. It won many awards, including Game of the Year and Best Role-Playing Game from several publications. It is often considered one of the greatest video games ever made. After its release, BioWare added downloadable content. An expansion called Awakening was released in March 2010. Three sequels followed: Dragon Age II in 2011, Dragon Age: Inquisition in 2014, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard in 2024.
Gameplay
Dragon Age: Origins is a role-playing game where players see the action from a distance, not from inside the character's body. The player controls a Grey Warden, a member of a special group of fighters. Their mission is to defeat the Archdemon and stop a dangerous event called the Blight. Players create their own Grey Warden character by choosing their gender, looks, race, and class. The classes include warriors, who fight with strong attacks and protect others; rogues, who use stealth and steal items; and mages, who cast spells and help allies. The races available are human, elf, and dwarf. Choosing a class and race decides which of six origin stories the player experiences: Dalish Elf, Dwarf Commoner, City Elf, Mage, Human Noble, or Dwarf Noble. This affects how other characters in the game treat the player's character. For example, a Dwarf Commoner might face hatred from other dwarves. However, all characters follow the same story after finishing their origin story.
During the game, players face many enemies, such as giant spiders, Darkspawn, ghosts, trees that move, and dragons. They can also recruit companions who help in battles. These companions are controlled by the game's artificial intelligence, but players can adjust their behavior through a "Tactics" menu. Players can switch between characters, give them orders in real-time, or pause the game to plan actions. Combat happens when enemies notice the player or are targeted. Players can change weapons and use special attacks, but these attacks need time to cool down before using again. The view can shift to a top-down perspective, where friendly and enemy units are shown in different colors. After battles, characters' health and stamina, which power their skills, are restored automatically. When enemies are defeated, players collect items from their bodies. Companions not in the active party stay at a base camp, where players can talk to them, buy new weapons, armor, and gear. Players can also learn about the world of Thedas by collecting codices scattered throughout the game.
Players can improve their Grey Warden character by earning experience points through exploring, completing quests, and defeating enemies. Each level-up gives three points to spend on six attributes: Strength increases damage, Dexterity helps avoid attacks, Willpower boosts stamina (or mana for mages), Magic improves spell power and defense, Cunning helps with combat strategies, and Constitution increases health. Special skills and class-specific abilities can also be unlocked by leveling up.
Players can talk to party members and other characters. A dialogue tree offers choices for conversation. Through dialogue, players can unlock quests, learn about the game's story, persuade or intimidate others, and make morally difficult decisions. These choices affect the game world and may lead to a companion's death. Companions react to the player's choices through an "approval system." If they dislike the player's decisions, their approval drops, which might cause them to leave the party or attack the Warden. Approval points can be improved by giving gifts, which are meant for specific companions. Some gifts trigger special scenes or unlock quests. High approval boosts a companion's morale and combat skills. A very high approval rating also allows the Warden to form a romantic relationship with certain companions. The game's "interaction reactivity" system means that how the player treats one companion affects the approval of others.
Synopsis
The game takes place in Ferelden, one of many countries in the fictional world of Thedas. Dangerous creatures called Darkspawn live in the Deep Roads, an underground highway system built by dwarves long ago. Every few hundred years, the Darkspawn attack the surface world in an event called a Blight. Since the first Blight, Thedas has depended on the Grey Wardens, a group of warriors, to fight the Darkspawn. The game begins just before the fifth Blight in Thedas’s history.
In Thedas, race and class affect how people are treated socially and politically. Elves are often seen as less important than humans, while human nobles are respected. Mages are controlled by the Chantry, a religious group that keeps them safe from demons in the Fade, a spiritual realm. Mages who break Chantry rules, called apostates, are considered dangerous. The Chantry uses soldiers called Templars to find and stop them. Dwarves live in the Deep Roads, where their kingdom has weakened since the first Blight. Their society follows strict traditions and a rigid system of classes. Dalish Elves live a wandering lifestyle, trying to protect and restore their ancient heritage after their empire collapsed.
Two books released in 2009, Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne and Dragon Age: The Calling, explain the game’s background and the stories of characters in the game.
The main character in Dragon Age: Origins is controlled by the player. The character’s background and fighting style are chosen at the start of the game. Players can pick a name, but others usually call the character “The Warden.”
Many characters in the game, called NPCs, join the player’s group. These include Alistair, a Grey Warden who is reluctant to be heroic but has a sharp sense of humor; Morrigan, an apostate mage who dislikes rules and authority; Leliana, a Chantry member who hides her skills in spying and fighting behind a kind personality; Sten, a proud warrior from the Qunari people who questions other cultures; Oghren, a messy dwarf who loves alcohol and is loyal to friends; Wynne, a powerful healer and mentor from the Circle of Magi; Zevran, an elven assassin who enjoys treasures and flirting; and a Mabari War Hound, a loyal dog the player can name. With the Stone Prisoner expansion, Shale, a sarcastic Golem who was once a female dwarf and has a fear of birds, can also join the group.
Other important characters include Duncan, a Grey Warden who recruits the player; Arl Eamon Guerrin, a noble who supports Ferelden’s young king; Bann Teagan Guerrin, Eamon’s brother; Queen Anora, the ambitious wife of King Cailan; and Flemeth, Morrigan’s mother, who appears harmless but is a powerful witch.
The Darkspawn are led by the Archdemon Urthemiel, a corrupted dragon believed to be a god from the Tevinter Imperium. Other main enemies include Loghain Mac Tir, a former hero turned tyrant, and Rendon Howe, a corrupt noble who works with Loghain.
The game starts with one of six origin stories, depending on the player’s race and class. Each story ends with the player joining Duncan, who leads the Grey Wardens. Together, they travel to Ostagar, a fortress where King Cailan and Loghain plan to fight the Darkspawn. Duncan warns that the Darkspawn are controlled by an Archdemon, a god-like creature, and urges the group to stop the Blight.
Duncan initiates the player into the Grey Wardens through a ritual called the Joining, which involves drinking Darkspawn blood. Survivors gain the Taint, a connection to the Darkspawn’s hive mind. After surviving, the player and Alistair light a signal fire to help Loghain’s forces attack the Darkspawn. However, Loghain abandons the battle, leading to the defeat of Cailan, Duncan, and their army. The Darkspawn take over Ostagar and advance into Ferelden.
The Warden and Alistair are saved by Flemeth, a witch who sends her daughter Morrigan to help them. Using old Grey Warden agreements, the Warden gathers allies from the Circle of Magi, Dalish Elves, dwarves, and soldiers in Redcliffe. Alistair reveals he is the illegitimate son of King Maric, making him a possible king. Meanwhile, Loghain returns to Denerim to tell Queen Anora about Cailan’s death, blaming the Grey Wardens. He takes control of the kingdom, starting a civil war that weakens Ferelden’s resistance to the Darkspawn.
Eamon holds a meeting called the Landsmeet to unite Ferelden against the Darkspawn. The Warden or a companion defeats Loghain in a duel. If Alistair wins, he executes Loghain. Otherwise, the Warden can choose to kill Loghain or recruit him into the Grey Wardens instead of Alistair. Based on earlier choices, the Warden decides who becomes king, with the option to marry the opposite-gender ruler if the player is a Human Noble.
Before the final battle, the Warden learns that killing the Archdemon is the only way to stop it from creating a new demon. The Taint will kill the Warden, but Morrigan offers a plan: she will have a child with the Warden. The Archdemon will then be drawn to the child, who will be born with the Taint and become a demigod. This would save the Warden’s life. Morrigan agrees to the plan.
Development
Dragon Age: Origins was created by the Edmonton studio of BioWare, the company that developed Neverwinter Nights and Jade Empire. The first demo of the game started in November 2002. It was officially announced at E3 2004 as simply Dragon Age and later renamed Dragon Age: Origins in July 2008, along with a new game trailer. BioWare said they kept details about the game secret to help improve its design and technology. More than 180 people worked on the game, and full production began three years after the initial development. The subtitle "Origins" was chosen to represent the six origin storylines, BioWare’s return to PC role-playing games, and the start of a new game series. Origins is inspired by Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, aiming to create a similar fantasy RPG without licensing issues. Similar gameplay features include real-time tactical combat, but the game is not set in the Dungeons & Dragons world of Baldur's Gate. Instead, it takes place in a time when dragons are common. The game was first built using the engine from Neverwinter Nights, but the team later switched to the Eclipse Engine during development. This change slowed the game’s progress.
David Gaider, the lead writer for Origins, created the game’s world before writing the story. The team chose a fantasy setting because Dan Tudge, the game’s director, believed BioWare’s best work was in fantasy. In the first version of the game, there were no Darkspawn or Grey Wardens, and mages could not use magic in cities. There were 12 different origin stories, including Human Commoner and Avvar, a barbarian origin. However, most of these were removed because they were considered too strange, leaving six final stories. Loghain was the first character created, while an Ogre named "Fluffy" and a human in medium armor were the first enemies designed. The characters Alistair and Morrigan were created next, as they play major roles in the story. Their creation took longer than other characters. Morrigan was first planned to be like Flemeth, speaking in a whimsical way, but Gaider changed her to be blunt and resistant to her mother. Finding the right voice actor for Morrigan took the most time. The game’s final version includes 68,260 lines of dialogue. Quality assurance testers added a cheat to skip these during testing. Dragons were added to the game after the title was chosen using a random name generator.
Ray Muzyka, a co-founder of BioWare, said the team wanted to create something new but familiar to players. They hoped Origins would become a major video game series, like The Lord of the Rings. Greg Zeschuk, another co-founder, described the game’s fantasy as between the high fantasy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works and the low fantasy of George R.R. Martin’s stories. The goal was to create a "dark heroic fantasy" that would appeal to fans. The game includes typical races like humans, elves, and dwarves, but they are slightly different from usual portrayals. A new race called the Qunari was also added. For example, elves are shown as slaves to humans, treated as second-class citizens who resent humans. This also affects gameplay, where players may face discrimination or choose to discriminate against others based on their decisions.
BioWare recognized that non-linear choices are a unique feature of video games. Zeschuk called the number of choices in the game "big" and "impactful," designed to create emotional and personal experiences for players. The team avoided adding a karma system because choices are meant to be ambiguous, with players deciding what is good or bad. Muzyka said their goal was to help players feel real emotions by connecting with events and characters. This required balancing many aspects, such as the amount of dialogue and animation in scenes. The team also aimed to handle romance in a more mature and complex way, focusing on real human relationships instead of simple attractions. The game includes sex scenes but no nudity. Muzyka said this was an artistic choice made by the team, not the publisher, Electronic Arts.
Although Origins is a single-player game, Muzyka called it a "social experience" because the story and choices shape the gameplay. Players may meet different characters, collect different items, and complete different quests, leading to varied experiences. The way players explore the world and discover new areas is also part of the story. The team hoped players would share their experiences to learn more about the game world. To help with this, they created a community site for players to communicate. Players could share game stats and automatically generated screenshots with others.
The game’s soundtrack includes orchestral music and a choir, used both in-game and during cutscenes. The music was recorded by a 44-piece orchestra, played twice, and combined to sound like an 88-piece orchestra. A press release by Electronic Arts described the collaboration between composer Inon Zur, vocalist Aubrey Ashburn, and BioWare’s audio director Simon Pressey, with the Northwest Sinfonia performing. Zur said he made the music feel "dark," using low brass, bass strings, and ancient drums to create a heroic yet demonic mood. The soundtrack was presented at a Hollywood Music in Media Interactive Conference in 2009 and performed by the Eminence Symphony Orchestra in Sydney, Australia, on September 26, 2009. The song "I Am The One," written by Zur and Aubrey Ashburn and performed by Aubrey Ashburn, won "Best Original Song – Video Game" at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards in 2009. Pressey also won the 2009 Hollywood Music in Media Award for "Outstanding Music Supervision – Video Game."
Origins includes a large amount of voice acting recorded in the U.S. and the U.K. Actors include Tim Russ, Steve Valentine, Kate Mulgrew, Simon Templeman, Mark Rolston, Tim Curry, Adam Howden, Nicola Bertram, and Claudia Black. A total of 144 voice actors worked on the game. Much of their work became ambient dialogue between non-player characters in the player’s party, adding to their backstories and making them more believable. Mark Darrah, the executive producer of BioWare, said the cast was the largest in any of their games at the time and hoped using celebrities would add depth to the characters. The main protagonist is not voice-acted because the team wanted players to "reflect their own inner voice" when making decisions.
Marketing and release
The game was originally planned for computers, but a version for consoles was announced in 2008 by the gaming magazine Game Informer. Before this announcement, Zeschuk said the franchise would have a future on consoles. The team decided to release the game on consoles to reach more players. Mike Laidlaw, the game's lead designer, said creating the console version's interface was a challenge. The team had to change the long and complex quickbar from the PC version into a simpler interface that used fewer button presses. They grouped six actions together and let players arrange them as they wished. The console version does not include the top-down view available on the PC version.
The game was first set to release in early 2009 for Microsoft Windows, and later for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The team worked with Edge of Reality to develop the console versions. However, the release date was moved to later in 2009 to allow all versions to launch at the same time. BioWare first announced the game would release on October 20, 2009, but later changed it to November 6, 2009, to give the team more time to finalize details. The PlayStation 3 version was delayed to November 17 but still launched with the other versions. A Mac version, developed by TransGaming, was released on December 21, 2009.
The Dragon Age Character Creator was released on October 13, 2009, letting players create characters before the game launched. BioWare also released a toolset to let players modify and customize the PC version. These tools allowed players to create new campaigns, quests, and other game content. On November 26, 2009, Electronic Arts announced a competition called Dragon Age: Warden's Quest. Teams of four people competed to play through the game, with the winning team from Hungary receiving $12,500. The December 2009 issue of PC Gamer included a DVD copy of A Tale of Orzammar, a promotional module for the game. It follows a mercenary hired by a dwarven nobleman to retrieve an artifact from a ruined location.
Other versions of Origins were available for purchase. The Collector's Edition came in a special SteelBook with unique artwork. Like the standard edition, it included a code to download two DLC packs for free but also had three exclusive in-game items, a bonus disc with a documentary, concept art, trailers, the game's soundtrack, and a map of Ferelden. Several DLC packs were released, including new campaigns and story-related content. An expansion called Awakening, set in a new area called Amaranthine and featuring five new characters, was released on March 16, 2010. The "Ultimate Edition," which included the base game, the Awakening expansion, and all nine DLC packs, was released on October 26, 2010.
On March 9, 2011, Electronic Arts announced that players who pre-ordered Darkspore would receive a free copy of Origins. In 2012, to celebrate the first anniversary of Origin, Electronic Arts' digital store, the game was made free to download alongside Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Spore for a limited time. On October 8, 2015, the game was made free again as part of Origin's "On the House" program.
Reception
Dragon Age: Origins received high praise from major video game critics when it was first released. The game is nearly the same on all platforms, but differences in how it looks, how it works on different devices, and how online content is delivered led critics to rate the PC version more highly than the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. Metacritic gave the PC version a score of 91, the PlayStation 3 version a score of 87, and the Xbox 360 version a score of 86.
Critics praised the game’s setting. Dave Snider from Giant Bomb said the world felt traditional because of the presence of dwarves and elves, but he thought the world was created beautifully. He also liked the small details BioWare added, such as the "French-tinged accent" of humans in the Orlesian Empire. He said the six origin stories and how they are used throughout the game made the world feel connected. Kevin VanOrd from GameSpot said the new ideas added to a familiar world made it feel fresh and original. Jeff Haynes from IGN said the origin stories had some problems that made the world, while "rich and vivid," feel less believable. Joe Juba from Game Informer wrote that the world was well-developed with a deep history, which made the game addictive because players could feel their Warden’s importance in the world.
The game’s story and characters also received praise. Snider said the story was driven by the characters, and the choices players made were hard to decide, making him regret some choices for weeks after finishing the game. He said the main quest was well-written and helped by excellent voice acting, including Claudia Black’s performance as Morrigan, which he called one of the best in the game. VanOrd said the story was memorable and carefully made, making players care about the world and characters. He said the deep character development made every choice "important." GamesRadar said the story and the Warden’s appearance felt generic at first but became more interesting as the game progressed. Nick Tan from GameRevolution liked the conversations between companions as a fun change of pace. Gerald Villoria from GameSpy praised the decision to remove a moral system, which made characters feel more complex. Juba said the story was good but predictable, not straying far from typical fantasy stories. Wesley Yin-Poole from VideoGamer.com said the story was memorable, leaving players wanting to return to the game "like an addict seeking relief." In honor of the game’s 10th anniversary, Eric Van Allen of USGamer noted that companion relationships in Origins were more tense, and most companions did not follow the Warden out of blind loyalty. He said the game encouraged players to make decisions that matched their own feelings, unlike in Mass Effect.
For the game’s combat, Snider said it was simple but said players who avoided using the pause mechanic would not enjoy it, as the combat required patience and strategy. He preferred the third-person view over the top-down view, saying it made environments feel more complex. He praised the high difficulty of boss battles, which required careful management of stamina. His conclusion was that Origins felt like a return to the best parts of old PC role-playing games. VanOrd said the combat system was familiar to players who had played other BioWare RPGs. He said players could enjoy switching between characters and agreed that the game had exciting boss battles. He praised the decision to let health and stamina recover quickly after battles, which made combat faster and smoother. Tan also liked the combat system, saying it was better than other BioWare RPGs, but disliked that characters could not enter water. Juba praised the variety of skills and abilities players could try, saying the focus needed to make combat satisfying.
The game’s graphics received mixed reviews. VanOrd was not impressed, saying the environments looked worse from a top-down perspective, but he liked the art style and some of the game’s "eye-catching" landmarks. Tan said the environments were varied and detailed, with each level feeling "vast." Villoria said the visuals were not as good as those in Mass Effect 2, and that facial animations sometimes looked stiff. He said the combat animations were satisfying but criticized the sex scenes as "off-putting." Yin-Poole said the graphics were boring and generic, calling the sex scenes "anticlimactic" and poorly done. Both Villoria and Yin-Poole said the game’s six-year development time was too long for its average graphics.
GamesRadar estimated the game had more than 80 hours of content. Villoria said the world was engaging and had high replay value, as players could play the story again with different origins. Juba and Yin-Poole agreed, saying the way companions reacted to players’ choices and the six origin stories made the game last longer. John Walker from Eurogamer said the game’s main theme was the line between acculturation and enculturation. He praised the depth of the game, calling it one of the most impressive gaming achievements he had seen.
Dragon Age: Origins topped Steam’s sales chart on November 10, 2009. The Digital Deluxe version of the game was first, and the standard edition was second. The Xbox 360 version was the ninth-best-selling game in the US, selling about 362,100 copies. John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, said the company was happy with the game’s sales, noting that more than 1 million DLC packs were sold before the end of 2009. In February 2010, Electronic Arts announced that more than 3.2 million copies of the game had been shipped.
Origins received recognition from several gaming publications. At the AIAS’s 13th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (now the D.I.C.E. Awards), the game won "Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year" and was nominated for "Game of the Year." At the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards, it won Best PC Game and Best RPG. It was named PC Game of the Year, Best Xbox 360 RPG of the Year, Best Story of the Year, and Best PC Role-Playing Game of the Year by IGN. The game also won Giant Bomb’s Best PC Game of 2009 award and Game of the Year and RPG of the Year awards from U.S. PC Gamer. In 2010, the game was included in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.
Legacy
The team did not plan for the game to become popular or for sequels. However, the game Origins led to a series that includes video games, comics, and books. The first sequel, Dragon Age II, was released in 2011. It introduces a new main character and takes place in the city of Kirkwall. Players can use save data from Origins in Dragon Age II, and choices made in Origins can affect the story in Dragon Age II. The third game in the series, Dragon Age: Inquisition, was released in November 2014. Choices from Origins are also mentioned in Inquisition. Players can revisit events from Origins by using the Tapestry feature on the online tool Dragon Age Keep.
According to Richard Cobbett of Eurogamer, Origins was a turning point for western role-playing games. He said the game showed that a challenging, traditional-style game could still attract many fans. He also noted that Origins set a new standard for the genre, similar to how the original Baldur's Gate did in 1998.