Dragon Age Modders Race to Save the Series’ Most Iconic Feature

A modder has helped safeguard one of the Dragon Age series’ best-known features: the ability to carry decisions from earlier games into later adventures. Following EA’s closure of BioWare, fans worried that transferring those choices could eventually become much more difficult.

When Dragon Age: Origins launched in 2009, BioWare promised that players’ decisions would leave a lasting mark on Thedas. Dragon Age 2 could import those choices from save files stored on a player’s system. The arrival of Dragon Age: Inquisition on a new generation of consoles, however, meant BioWare needed another solution for players who had switched hardware.

That solution was the Dragon Age Keep, a website that lets players recreate their choices from Origins and Dragon Age 2 before importing them into Inquisition through an EA account. The Keep was the only way to bring a previous world state into Inquisition, with roughly 300 choices available to customize. Although the site remains operational, BioWare’s closure has raised concerns about its future.

Fans now have an alternative. As reported by IGN, modder anshela has created an offline version of the Dragon Age Keep that lets players edit their choices in a format similar to the original website. Released on Nexus Mods a day after BioWare closed, the tool builds on anshela’s earlier, less accessible Custom World States mod. Its code was written with AI assistance.

The mod is intended for Dragon Age: Inquisition. Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which takes place in a different region of Thedas, did not use the Keep. Instead, it asked players three questions at the beginning of the game to shape their world.

Could BioWare return?

As fans come to terms with BioWare’s closure, some remain hopeful that the Canadian studio and the new Mass Effect game it was developing might still be saved. An online #SaveMassEffect petition has gathered more than 300,000 signatures.

A politician has also alluded to a possible plan for the Canadian government to help the Edmonton-based studio buy itself back from EA. The prospect remains uncertain, but it offers fans a glimmer of hope.

Source: Polygon