GAME · 2009
Dragon Age: Origins
- Publisher
- Electronic Arts
- Platforms
- PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, macOS
21 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
All facts (21)
- #001
More than 180 people worked on Dragon Age: Origins, and full-scale production began three years after the game's initial development. According to BioWare, information about the game was kept hidden from the public to further its design and technology.
- #002
The subtitle "Origins" was chosen to represent the six origins storyline, BioWare's return to PC role-playing games, and the beginning of a new franchise. Dragon Age: Origins is a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, built as a similar fantasy RPG without licensing restrictions, and the team switched from the Neverwinter Nights engine to the Eclipse Engine midway through development, which slowed development significantly.
- #003
David Gaider, the lead writer for Dragon Age: Origins, built the game's world before writing its plot. The team settled on a fantasy setting because director Dan Tudge believed BioWare performed best in that genre.
- #004
The first draft of Dragon Age: Origins contained no Darkspawn or Grey Wardens, and mages could not use magic in cities. Twelve origin stories were drafted, among them Human Commoner and the barbarian Avvar origin, but most were cut as "ridiculous" and six were finalized.
- #005
Loghain was the first character created for Dragon Age: Origins, while the first enemies designed were an Ogre nicknamed "Fluffy" and a human in medium armour. Alistair and Morrigan were conceived next, as they carry the largest role in the plot, and their creation took far longer than other characters.
- #006
Morrigan was first conceived as a whimsical speaker resembling Flemeth, but David Gaider rewrote her personality entirely into a blunt figure who always resists her mother. Casting a suitable voice actor for Morrigan took longer than for any other character.
- #007
Ray Muzyka, a co-founder of BioWare, said the team aimed to create something new yet familiar to most players, and hoped Dragon Age: Origins would redefine the genre and become the equivalent of The Lord of the Rings among video game franchises.
- #008
BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk described the fantasy setting of Dragon Age as sitting between the high fantasy of J. R. R. Tolkien's works and the low fantasy of George R. R. Martin's works, with the goal of a "dark heroic fantasy" suited to any fan of the genre.
- #009
Dragon Age: Origins includes the typical human, elf and dwarf races but alters them slightly from their usual nature, and introduces a new race called the Qunari.
- #010
In Dragon Age: Origins, elves are presented as slaves of humans and second-class citizens who resent humans, reversing the high prestige elves often hold in other fiction; this extends to gameplay, where the player can discriminate against other races and experience discrimination based on their choices.
- #011
Dragon Age: Origins deliberately omits a karma system, since its choices were built to be ambiguous and judged only by the player. BioWare recognized non-linear choices as an element unique to video games in the entertainment industry.
- #012
According to Muzyka, the goal for Dragon Age: Origins was for players to sympathize with events and characters and connect with them to feel true emotions. This vision required the team to balance elements such as the amount of dialogue and animation in each cutscene so the scenario would be believable.
- #013
BioWare aimed to treat romance in Dragon Age: Origins in a more "mature" and "complicated" way, reflecting human relationships and reactions rather than "adolescent titillation". The game includes sex scenes but no nudity, which Muzyka described as an artistic choice made by the team rather than by publisher Electronic Arts.
- #014
In Dragon Age: Origins, the characters encountered, items collected and quests received and completed can differ between players, producing a completely different experience.
- #015
Because each player's experience of Dragon Age: Origins differed, the team hoped players would collaborate to expand their knowledge of the world and built a community site as an online social environment where players could share stats and automatically generated screenshots.
- #016
Dragon Age: Origins uses an orchestral soundtrack with choir in both gameplay and cutscenes. The music was played by a 44-piece orchestra, recorded twice and combined so it would sound like an 88-piece ensemble.
- #017
An Electronic Arts press release described the Dragon Age: Origins soundtrack as a collaboration between composer Inon Zur, vocalist Aubrey Ashburn and BioWare Audio Director Simon Pressey, performed by the Northwest Sinfonia.
- #018
According to Inon Zur, he deliberately gave most of the Dragon Age: Origins soundtrack a dark tone, mixing low brass and bass strings with ancient drums to convey a feeling that was both heroic and demonic.
- #019
The Dragon Age: Origins song "I Am The One", written by Inon Zur and Aubrey Ashburn and performed by Ashburn, won Best Original Song – Video Game at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards & Conference on November 19, 2009. Simon Pressey also received the 2009 Hollywood Music in Media Award for Outstanding Music Supervision - Video Game.
- #020
Dragon Age: Origins features a large amount of voice acting recorded in both the US and the UK, with 144 voice actors in total.
- #021
The voice cast of Dragon Age: Origins includes Tim Russ, Steve Valentine, Kate Mulgrew, Simon Templeman, Mark Rolston, Tim Curry, Adam Howden, Nicola Bertram, and Claudia Black.
Sources & editorial notes
Sources for the entries on this page
- Wikipedia Dragon Age: Origins — Wikipedia
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work