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What Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Creative Director Learned From Anthem

Dragon Age: The Veilguard creative director John Epler said Anthem taught BioWare to focus on storytelling and role-playing—strengths he connected to the team’s new single-player RPG.
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John Epler, creative director of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, said his time on Anthem taught BioWare to focus on what it does best: storytelling and role-playing, rather than stretching into work beyond the team’s expertise. He linked that lesson to the team’s aim of making a story-focused, single-player RPG.

What lesson did John Epler take from Anthem?

In an Edge magazine feature about The Veilguard, as reported by 80 Level, Epler said BioWare should recognize its strengths and commit to them instead of spreading the team across too many kinds of work. He described the studio as built around “digging deep on storytelling and roleplaying.”

Epler also said he was proud of aspects of Anthem and had worked on the project for a year and a half. His point was not that every part of the game was a mistake; rather, he said the team had been building a game focused on something BioWare was “not necessarily as proficient at.”

“For me and for the team, the biggest lesson was to know what you’re good at and then double down on it. Don’t spread yourselves too thin. Don’t try to do a bunch of different things you don’t have the expertise to do.”

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#1 Best Overall
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Standard - EA App [Online Game Code]
  • SAVE A BATTERED WORLD - Enter Thedas, a vibrant world of rugged wilderness, treacherous labyrinths and glittering cities. The world is teetering on a knife’s edge while corrupt gods unleash havoc across the continent. Nations war and factions splinter. Who will you trust? From the Arlathan Forest to the back alleys of Minrathous, this is a broken world. Your actions will affect the fate of Thedas forever.
  • Unite THE VEILGUARD - Unite a team of seven companions, each with rich lives and deep backstories. These are characters to befriend, and even fall in love with. Among them, an assassin, a necromancer, a detective, each and all bringing their own expertise and unique abilities to the fight. You are never alone, decide who to take into battle and together face down demons, dragons and corrupt gods.
  • BECOME THE LEADER OTHERS BELIEVE IN - Select from different races and combat classes, customize your appearance, choose your character’s backstory and begin your journey as Rook, Dragon Age’s newest hero. The choice is yours. Brace yourself, there are tough decisions to be made, allies to inspire, and a fight that needs every sword, staff and bow you can muster.
  • Dramatic Single-Player Campaign - When corrupt Elven Gods threaten Thedas, lead the charge to save it. Rook isn’t afraid of a fight, no matter the odds. No matter the cost.
  • Vibrant And Diverse Environments - Enter a vivid fantasy world and experience imaginative new locations as well as some you’ve heard of, but never seen. Larger Than Life Foes - Battle darkspawn, demons from beyond the Veil, dragons that rule the skies, and unique enemies as you advance your quest and fight for Thedas’s future

The passage is reproduced by 80 Level. TrueTrophies also reported the central remarks and described the full Edge interview as paywalled.

How did he connect that lesson to The Veilguard?

Epler said many people on The Veilguard team had come to BioWare to build “a story-focused, singleplayer RPG.” In context, that describes the kind of project the team wanted to make, drawing on the studio’s stated strengths in storytelling and role-playing.

Rank #2
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Deluxe - EA App [Online Game Code]
  • SAVE A BATTERED WORLD - Enter Thedas, a vibrant world of rugged wilderness, treacherous labyrinths and glittering cities. The world is teetering on a knife’s edge while corrupt gods unleash havoc across the continent. Nations war and factions splinter. Who will you trust? From the Arlathan Forest to the back alleys of Minrathous, this is a broken world. Your actions will affect the fate of Thedas forever.
  • Unite THE VEILGUARD - Unite a team of seven companions, each with rich lives and deep backstories. These are characters to befriend, and even fall in love with. Among them, an assassin, a necromancer, a detective, each and all bringing their own expertise and unique abilities to the fight. You are never alone, decide who to take into battle and together face down demons, dragons and corrupt gods.
  • BECOME THE LEADER OTHERS BELIEVE IN - Select from different races and combat classes, customize your appearance, choose your character’s backstory and begin your journey as Rook, Dragon Age’s newest hero. The choice is yours. Brace yourself, there are tough decisions to be made, allies to inspire, and a fight that needs every sword, staff and bow you can muster.
  • Dramatic Single-Player Campaign - When corrupt Elven Gods threaten Thedas, lead the charge to save it. Rook isn’t afraid of a fight, no matter the odds. No matter the cost.
  • Vibrant And Diverse Environments - Enter a vivid fantasy world and experience imaginative new locations as well as some you’ve heard of, but never seen. Larger Than Life Foes - Battle darkspawn, demons from beyond the Veil, dragons that rule the skies, and unique enemies as you advance your quest and fight for Thedas’s future

That is Epler’s explanation of the lesson and its relevance to the team. The remarks do not establish that Anthem alone caused every design decision in The Veilguard, or provide a complete account of BioWare’s internal process.

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What the comments do—and do not—establish

  • What Epler said: BioWare should lean into storytelling and role-playing, and avoid taking on too many kinds of work without the relevant expertise.
  • How he related the games: He described Anthem as a project centered on something the studio was less proficient at, then connected The Veilguard to the team’s goal of making a story-focused, single-player RPG.
  • What remains unproven: The reported interview does not show that this lesson was the sole or direct cause of particular mechanics, features, or production choices in The Veilguard.

The available reports attribute these comments to Epler and place them in an Edge feature; the original feature itself was not directly available in the cited coverage. RPGWatch also included the remarks in an August 2024 roundup, but that page republishes other outlets’ material rather than providing another independent interview.

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Best Value
Dragon Age: The Veilguard - Xbox Series X
  • SAVE A BATTERED WORLD - Enter Thedas, a vibrant world of rugged wilderness, treacherous labyrinths and glittering cities. The world is teetering on a knife’s edge while corrupt gods unleash havoc across the continent. Nations war and factions splinter. Who will you trust? From the Arlathan Forest to the back alleys of Minrathous, this is a broken world. Your actions will affect the fate of Thedas forever.
  • Unite THE VEILGUARD - Unite a team of seven companions, each with rich lives and deep backstories. These are characters to befriend, and even fall in love with. Among them, an assassin, a necromancer, a detective, each and all bringing their own expertise and unique abilities to the fight. You are never alone, decide who to take into battle and together face down demons, dragons and corrupt gods.
  • BECOME THE LEADER OTHERS BELIEVE IN - Select from different races and combat classes, customize your appearance, choose your character’s backstory and begin your journey as Rook, Dragon Age’s newest hero. The choice is yours. Brace yourself, there are tough decisions to be made, allies to inspire, and a fight that needs every sword, staff and bow you can muster.
Rank #4
Electronic Arts Dragon Age: The Veilguard Standard Edition PS5 | VideoGame | English
  • Dragon age the veilguard action rpg: Immersive action role-playing game where you become the leader others believe in as Rook
  • Save a battered world: Explore Thedas, a vibrant realm of rugged wilderness, treacherous labyrinths and glittering cities teetering on the edge as corrupt gods unleash havoc
  • Unite the veilguard: Recruit a team of seven companions with rich backstories, including an assassin, a necromancer and a detective, each bringing unique abilities to the fight
  • Customize your hero: Select from different races and combat classes, customize your appearance and choose your character's backstory as Dragon Age's newest hero
  • International region free version: Region free PS5 disc plays on all systems, imported international packaging may differ in age rating and labeling, DLC may require correct region

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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