GamesActionAfter 10 years and two canceled projects, former Dragon Age director says he’s “confident” his promising new game about giant bosses “will get out the door"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesActionAfter 10 years and two canceled projects, former Dragon Age director says he’s “confident” his promising new game about giant bosses “will get out the door"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Yellow Brick Games)
Following two canned projects and a decade of corporate mishaps, Dragon Age’s former director is “confident” that his self-published game will see the light of day.
Mike Laidlaw made his name working at developerBioWarefor more than a decade - with writing and design credits on classics like Jade Empire and Mass Effect - before he was promoted to lead the Dragon Age series. Unfortunately, Laidlaw’s tenure at the storied RPG studio ended once an early version ofDragon Age 4was canceled.
Laidlaw then moved over to publisherUbisoftwhere another project of his was also scrapped, inspiring him and three other developers to co-found a new studio, Yellow Brick Games, to work on a new game, therecently revealed Eternal Strands.
That means Laidlaw’s games have, unluckily, not made it across the finish line for more than a decade since Dragon Age: Inquisition in 2014, but the director reckons his upcoming monster-hunting action title will fare better, despite a publishing deal with Private Division falling through.
“You accept it as part of the realities of games,” the director said in an interview withBloomberg. “They’re not all going to ship… That is something you sort of make your peace with.” When it comes to Eternal Strands, however, he’s “confident the game will get out the door.”
In an industry that’s currently plagued withmasslayoffsand frequent studio shutdowns, what makes Laidlaw so positive? Yellow Brick Studios is reportedly only employing around 70 people, which is a relatively low staff count compared to the hundreds of developers that push EA or Ubisoft games out.
“Because the overall team is small, the relationships feel a lot more personal, and communication is a lot more direct,” he said. “There’s a lot of upside.” And, encouragingly, Laidlaw is more focused on sustainability and making sure the team wants to continue making games after Eternal Strands is released.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
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Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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