Dragon Age: Inquisition is the third entry into the popular Dragon Age series, and developer Bioware figures to try to mix the ideas found in both the first and second games to create the ultimate Dragon Age experience that fans have been waiting for. When the game was teased at E3 this year, those in attendance cheer when Morrigan, a character from the first game that was part of the pool of characters users could use in combat, appeared onscreen. However, creative director Mike Laidlaw spoke to Game Informer and revealed that the popular character will not be part of the user's party in Inquisition, but will still have an important role in the game:
"I think it is fair for people to understand that [Morrigan] will not be a party member... That's going to disappoint some people, but I think it's important for us to be upfront about that."
"[Morrigan] has a human role in this plot, which may surprise some people because they might only think of her as a plot device. She has this big plot she's involved in, and while that's true to an extent, I'm taking her to a human place. That will make sense after the fact."
Laidlaw also revealed that past decisions made involving Morrigan from Dragon Age: Origins, including romantic decisions, will factor into how the player will be able to interact with the character:
"The various states that Morrigan can be in - of which there can be quite a few, because we don't know when to stop when it comes to making decisions - they're all recognized. Whether or not they have the ultimate effect like the kind of reactivity someone imagines, that depends on the person. But we do recognize them and it does play a role of varying degrees depending on the surroundings."
While fans of the series may have figured that Morrigan would make an appearance in the game due to the E3 teaser, Bioware has not confirmed any other previous characters as being a part of Dragon Age: Inquisition. It will be interesting to see if other big characters from the series become part of the game, and perhaps if they, unlike Morrigan, will be party companions. Either way, connecting the series together in a more concrete way should help the series reach a new level of storytelling and could boost interest in the series, similar to another Bioware series, Mass Effect.
Dragon Age: Inquisition is scheduled for a fall 2014 release date on the PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.