Dragon Age: Origins

In 2009, BioWare and Electronic Arts released *Dragon Age: Origins*, the first title in the *Dragon Age* series. The story takes place in the fictional kingdom of Ferelden, which is torn apart by civil war. Players control a custom-made character—choosing from warrior, mage, or rogue classes, and an elven, human, or dwarven background—who is brought into the Grey Wardens, an ancient order that fights monstrous Darkspawn. The player’s goal is to stop the invasion by killing the Archdemon that commands them. The game uses a third-person perspective that can switch to a top-down view. Along the way, the player meets several companions who are important to both the plot and the gameplay.

BioWare called the game a "dark heroic fantasy" set in a unique world, and considered it a spiritual successor to their earlier *Baldur’s Gate* and *Neverwinter Nights* games. Development started in 2002, with over 144 voice actors and a score by Inon Zur. Although the team knew early on it would be a fantasy game, dragons were only added late in development after a name generator produced the title. Console versions were developed by Edge of Reality. The game launched for Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 in November 2009, and for Mac OS X the following month.

Critics praised *Origins* heavily, especially its story, setting, characters, music, and combat. It sold over 3.2 million copies and 1 million pieces of downloadable content, and won many Game of the Year and Best Role-Playing awards. It is often considered one of the greatest games ever made. After launch, BioWare released several DLC packs, an expansion called *Awakening* in March 2010, and three sequels: *Dragon Age II* (2011), *Dragon Age: Inquisition* (2014), and *Dragon Age: The Veilguard* (2024).

**Gameplay**

*Dragon Age: Origins* is a role-playing game seen from a third-person perspective. The player takes the role of a Grey Warden, an elite fighter whose mission is to kill the Archdemon and stop a disaster called the Blight. Players create their own Warden, choosing gender, appearance, race, and class. The classes are warriors (strong physical attacks and defense), rogues (stealth and theft), and mages (spells and support). The races are human, elf, and dwarf. The class and race combination determines which of six origin stories the player sees: Dalish Elf, Dwarf Commoner, City Elf, Mage, Human Noble, or D