TheRetroArcade
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Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
"We're going to measure twice, cut once."
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Dragon Age 2 is a bit of a controversial entrant in the series—we rated it highly when it first game out, perhaps infamously so, but fan opinion bends towards it being more of a cult classic than a straight-up classic like its predecessor.
That's partially because it was made at a blistering speed and had to cut more corners than a pair of scissors trying to make a circle. 16 months was all BioWare had to put it together, which is almost nothing in RPG development time.
In a recent interview with TheGamer, Dragon Age creator David Gaider confirms that the writing process for DA2 was absolutely brutal. Especially given the studio's prior RPG pedigree making some of the longest RPGs imaginable:
"The big problem we faced is that BioWare as a team did not know how to make a small game. We planned for a big game. And when we're told this is a full, full sequel, initially for the first four months of work, we're assuming that it was going to be much bigger."
Then, when that wound up not being the case, Gaider remembers having to operate like a butcher on the cutting room floor:
"I had to go into one writing room. We had all these sticky pads that were breaking up all the quests, like, here are the crit path quests, here are the side quests, and the ones the player could pick up as they go around. I had to take out half of them."
Gaider's only got positive words for how the writing team followed the shift in priority, though, stating that "they were all veterans … I sat down with them near the beginning and said we're going to have very little time to review all this. I'll be lucky if I get to review your stuff, nevermind other people. So I'm going to trust you.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
"We're going to measure twice, cut once. Once it's cut, it's done, and we'll have to just accept the result … They knew what was on the line. They all wrote like the wind. There was nobody who wasn't firing on all cylinders."
This, he tells TheGamer, led to a "raw" writing style he believes had its ups and downs: "You start sanding down the edges [on second and third drafts], and that can be a good thing, but you also sand down some of the good edges as well. So, you find a lot of raw storytelling in DA2 that you don't find elsewhere."
That's cer...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Dragon Age 2 is a bit of a controversial entrant in the series—we rated it highly when it first game out, perhaps infamously so, but fan opinion bends towards it being more of a cult classic than a straight-up classic like its predecessor.
That's partially because it was made at a blistering speed and had to cut more corners than a pair of scissors trying to make a circle. 16 months was all BioWare had to put it together, which is almost nothing in RPG development time.
In a recent interview with TheGamer, Dragon Age creator David Gaider confirms that the writing process for DA2 was absolutely brutal. Especially given the studio's prior RPG pedigree making some of the longest RPGs imaginable:
"The big problem we faced is that BioWare as a team did not know how to make a small game. We planned for a big game. And when we're told this is a full, full sequel, initially for the first four months of work, we're assuming that it was going to be much bigger."
Then, when that wound up not being the case, Gaider remembers having to operate like a butcher on the cutting room floor:
"I had to go into one writing room. We had all these sticky pads that were breaking up all the quests, like, here are the crit path quests, here are the side quests, and the ones the player could pick up as they go around. I had to take out half of them."
Gaider's only got positive words for how the writing team followed the shift in priority, though, stating that "they were all veterans … I sat down with them near the beginning and said we're going to have very little time to review all this. I'll be lucky if I get to review your stuff, nevermind other people. So I'm going to trust you.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
"We're going to measure twice, cut once. Once it's cut, it's done, and we'll have to just accept the result … They knew what was on the line. They all wrote like the wind. There was nobody who wasn't firing on all cylinders."
This, he tells TheGamer, led to a "raw" writing style he believes had its ups and downs: "You start sanding down the edges [on second and third drafts], and that can be a good thing, but you also sand down some of the good edges as well. So, you find a lot of raw storytelling in DA2 that you don't find elsewhere."
That's cer...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?