Hollywood is quickly rolling out several video game adaptations following the success of HBO’s The Last of Us. This past weekend, we saw the Fallout TV series make a big splash in the entertainment world. Due to the cinematic nature of developer BioWare’s games, fans believed that it was only a matter of time before Mass Effect or Dragon Age got the same treatment. However, Dragon Age‘s creator David Gaider thinks it’s a terrible idea.
Responding to a question on Twitter/X asking which video games should be adapted into a television series next, David Gaider, the creator of the Dragon Age games, responded with his own suggestions – but none of them actually include Dragon Age. Gaider said that adapting Dragon Age into a television series would be a “terrible idea”, suggesting Disco Elysium or Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden for adaptations instead.
As it turns out, Dragon Age was already adapted into a television show, albeit in animated format with Netflix’s Dragon Age: Absolution in 2022. Gaider must be referring to a larger, live-action adaptation on the level of The Last of Us or Fallout.
I imagine everyone would expect me to say Dragon Age, but that’d be a terrible idea. I want to see a David Lynch-style (on acid) Disco Elysium. Or maybe Banishers. https://t.co/vljIVHAKKc
— David Gaider (@davidgaider) April 15, 2024
Gaider is no longer working at BioWare as he currently co-leads Stray Gods developer Summerfall Studios. The decision to make a Dragon Age adaptation wouldn’t be in his control in the end. Responding to a tweet, Gaider claimed that adapting fantasy video games into live-action would take away most of its magic as a game, thus turning it into a generic fantasy story. He replied:
“Yeah, you take away the interactive element and you’re left with a pretty stock standard fantasy story. It would take a pretty deep dive to distill the elements of each that make them unique and interesting. Not impossible, but it would take more than a rote adaptation.”
EA and BioWare are hard at work on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, the next entry in the gaming franchise. Previous reports claim that EA is ‘confident’ in a 2024 release window for the anticipated RPG, though we’ll simply have to wait a bit longer to see if that’s true.
Source: David Gaider
