Bioware’s newDragon Age: Origins will spread its reptilian wings November 3rd for the PC, PS3 and 360 – and the excitement among gamers is palpable. In anticipation of the release, lead designer Mike Laidlaw generously donated some his time to explain more about the title, the monsters, Bioware’s hopes for the game, and just how dark the adventure is going to get.

Vitka: The Baldur’s Gate series – aside from being wildly popular – set a new standard for Role Playing Games. Ray Muzyka has described Dragon Age as the spiritual successor to the Dungeons & Dragons-based ‘Baldur’.

What prompted the decision to stray from the D&D universe?

Laidlaw: While we loved working in the Forgotten Realms, Bioware felt it was time to develop our own world. The team was also keen to work in a style we think of as “dark fantasy,” and develop a setting where magic is less common, the day to day is more gritty, and the world feels more grounded. A setting like that makes the adventure our main character, the Grey Warden, experiences that much more compelling, because he or she is dealing with the fantastic in a more mundane world.

Vitka: What precisely do you mean by ‘spiritual successor’? Is it with regards to the tried and true combat system?

Laidlaw: It’s larger than just the combat. Our goal was to create the same feel as the Baldur’s Gate games. That sense that you’re on an epic quest, surrounded by characters that feel fully realized and embroiled in tough but rewarding fights that make you think about your tactics. In the end, I think Dragon Age: Origins hits those notes, but does so with a slick new interface that new players will find intuitive, whether on PC or a console.

Vitka: BioWare could easily be considered royalty when it comes to RPGs. The universes are expansive, deep and seem to have a life of their own – even the most minor non-playable character suits a purpose and is the result of intensive research. What kind of research went into creating the Dragon Age universe?

Laidlaw: Historical! History offers so many rich political and military scenarios, so many cultures that we can see both rise and fall, and so many “moments” that are truly epic, it would be a shame to try and create something out of whole cloth. The key, of course, is to run those historical fueds, wars, and dynasties through a filter and make them fit together in new and interesting ways. A big part of that, of course, is asking ourselves “what would this have been like if there had been magic?” The end result is almost always interesting.

Vitka: There are obviously a lot of dragons and other mythical creatures in the game, but there are also a wide variety of dragons in the lore. From fantasy book covers or paintings, to Phil Tippet’s serpentine Dragon Slayer. Where did the look of your dragons come from?

Laidlaw: Talking to our Art Director, Dean Andersen, he noted the following: “We looked at hundreds of dragons represented in popular fiction and art. Many of the existing designs resonated with the team, however, looking at one of our creature goals we knew we needed to create an animal that could plausibly function in a real world. Looking at the writers (very cool) descriptions of how DA’s dragon’s physiology from baby to youth and then the amorphous change to male or female drove a lot of the visual design decisions. What we ended up with was a very cool, very natural evolution of a dragon that is indigenous to the Ferelden territories.”

Vitka: What can you tell us about the races and populations?

Laidlaw: The player has a choice of creating a human, an elf, or a dwarf character. The humans are the dominant people in the world, and make up all strata from nobility to commoner. Elves in Ferelden are second-class citizens. Until recently they were enslaved by humans, and while they’ve been emancipated, most live in ghettoes. Some, however, still cling to their freedom and live in roving bands in the countryside, desperately trying to reclaim their lost culture and lore. Dwarves live in a strict caste system, with no easy mobility: how you are born is how you live, be it in the halls of kings or the teeming masses of the casteless that squat in Dust Town. Of course, there are other races out there: the taciturn Qunari who invaded the northern continent and attempted to conquer the human lands centuries ago, and the bestial darkspawn who dwell underground and rise up in fearsome armies during a Blight.

Vitka: With regards specifically to the languages in the game, I know that Bioware brought a few PhD students on board to help. Can you tell us a little about that process, and how many languages or dialects made it into Dragon Age?

Laidlaw: Developing languages for the non-human races was an experiment that was very much in line with the kind of work the Tolkien did when he was developing Lord of the Rings. In the end, we took those languages and used them like seasoning. The elves have their own slang for humans, based on their own language, for instance. Too much of the languages distracted from our exceptional voice actors natural performances, but seasoning the game with them really helps to flesh out the world.

Vitka: What can you tell us about your new 3D engine, Eclipse?

Laidlaw: Eclipse was an engine built from the ground up to support Dragon Age: Origins, and future products. One aspect we’re really proud of is how open the engine is to modifications. With the release of the Dragon Age Builder’s Tools, fans who are looking to dip into game design and try making (and sharing!) their own adventures are going to find that they have more freedom than they had even with the Neverwinter Nights tools we released with the Aurora engine.

Vitka: Moral choices, like many Bioware games, are a big part of Dragon Age. It has also been reported that the Bioware team is looking to tackle some mature themes. Can you give us a hint of what those themes might be?

Laidlaw: Without spoiling the game, what I’ll say is that Dragon Age is very much a story of human weakness and ambition, set against the backdrop of implacable evil. What our players will explore is a world filled with violence, lust and betrayal driving people at odds with one another despite the relentless assault of the darkspawn. The player’s character hits this world like a tempest, ending conflicts and forging an army, and it’s rare that there’s an “easy” choice.

Vitka: Project director Scott Greig told 1up.com that the game was best described as a ‘dark heroic fantasy’ – then said that Dragon Age was going to be much darker than previous titles. Just how dark is it going to get? Put a different way, how far will Dragon Age push the envelope?

Laidlaw: I think it will become pretty clear how dark we’re going in the origin stories. We have six playable opening sequences that set the tone of the world, and in each, there’s elements of betrayal and corruption. Take, for instance, the dwarf commoner origin story, where you quickly realize that your character has been forced into the roll of a thug, shaking down your fellow dwarves on behalf of the local crime lord while your sister desperately tries to pay off your family debts by courting higher-class nobles as mom drinks herself into a stupor. It’s a rough, dirty existence, but you’re doing what you can to survive. And yet, out of that humble beginning, you end up joining one of the most respected orders in the land. I won’t spoil how, though.

Vitka: While watching the ‘Sacred Ashes’ trailer, I was pleasantly reminded of some scenes from Lord Of The Rings. Did Tolkien’s writings or Jackson’s films directly influence Dragon Age in any way?

Laidlaw: Absolutely! Tolkien’s interpretations of fantasy defined a lot of the standards, and Jackson’s films showed everyone just how truly epic fantasy could be.

Vitka: What other influences can you name?

Laidlaw: Beyond years and years of RPG gaming, and our love of fantasy in all its forms, one keystone we went to for “feel” was the Song of Ice and Fire series. George R.R. Martin’s works showed us that people were clearly ready for a darker kind of fantasy.

Vitka: There are six character origins and races for the player to choose from: Human Noble, Human/Elf Mage, Dalish Elf, City Elf, Dwarf Commoner, and Dwarf Noble. And from there, the player can choose a class for his character. Was this to make sure that character-story integration was as tight as possible? Did you place slight limits on the beginnings of each character to make sure that the way Dragon Age unfolds is as organic as possible?

Laidlaw: You have more than fifty different settings on hand to change your character’s face, hair, tattoos and so on. You’ve also got starting skills, talents and so on, letting you customize your fighting style, so there’s more than just race and origin. Still, we do propel you into a role. One of six possible openings, which are designed to give you not only an introduction to the world but also to your specific situation.

Vitka: Dragon Age is billing itself as ‘Epic’ – I want to know how epic! What kinds of scale are you talking about and how big do the battles get?

Laidlaw: Well, the game IS about forging an army to battle the darkspawn. I think you can guess what that means. Of course, there are few battles more epic than going toe to toe with a high dragon. These monstrous beasts will fill your entire screen, lift into the air and slam down on your party and generally make for a very, very bad day. But when you bring one down? That’s satisfaction defined.

Vitka: Finally, Bioware not only makes brilliantly successful games, but also games that people cherish. What do you want players to come away with from their experiences in Dragon Age?

Laidlaw: You actually hit it on the head: I want player to come away with the feeling that Dragon Age was their game. It is one of the most reactive games we’ve ever designed, so much so that even something as early as your choice of origin story changes elements of the ending. In many ways, we’re as excited as the fans are to see the game ship and what stories people weave in their adventures. What party did they use? Did they find that side quest? How did they feel about the mages? And so on and so on. Dragon Age is a very personal experience.