Next-gen BioWare games to use Frostbite 2 engine

Everybody, including both the developers and the players, is eagerly awaiting the next generation of consoles. According to Gameranx, the latest issue of Game Informer has revealed that the titles that BioWare developers for the PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox will be running on DICE’s Frostbite 2 engine.

This was revealed through an interview when Aarynn Flynn, General Manager of BioWare Edmonton, was asked if BioWare’s next games will be using Frostbite 2 engine. Flynn said, “I think so. When we look at Frostbite and the success we’re having with it with Dragon Age 3 and the support we’re getting from teams around EA, it’s fun being a part of an organization and community that’s doing good work with that technology.”

The Frostbite 2 engine will see big use in the next gen

Back in November, a screenshot of BioWare’s upcoming Dragon Age III was leaked online. The screenshot had originally popped up at the Bradford Animation Festival. While the screenshot only stayed on screen for three seconds, a fan took a picture and posted on the BioWare forums. Alongside showcasing the screenshot, Director of Art and Animation at BioWare Neil Thompson talked about making the game in the Frostbite 2.0 engine, created by DICE.

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“That is Dragon Age: Inquisition,” he said. “It’s the first time anyone has seen a frame of it outside BioWare studios.” Thompson also answered a question about how the use of Frostbite 2.0 is affecting the development of Dragon Age III. “Mass Effect was done on Unreal of course,” he replied. “Dragon Age was done on the proprietary engine Eclipse. I think anyone who played Dragon Age 2 would agree that engine was starting to creak a little bit by the time that was released."

“Obviously Frostbite is the Battlefield engine built by DICE. It’s a beautiful, beautiful engine. And what we’ve found is an improvement with DA3, is the artists who were really battling with the Eclipse engine have just embraced Frostbite. The work they’re doing now is stunning."

He continued: “It makes my job easier because then it’s all about discussing the aesthetic and what you want to achieve. When you’re a character artist or an environment artist you’re focusing on a small aspect of the greater whole of the game. As an art director you’re concerned about the whole, the frame and everything it contains and how everything sits and the consistency. An engine like Frostbite allows you to focus more on that rather than the technological challenges of just getting the damn thing to run.”

Dragon Age is set in a dark fantasy universe that is more or less a deconstruction of typical high fantasy, like Lord of the Rings. The world is under threat by an evil subterranean race known as the Darkspawn. Sometimes, the Darkspawn tend to form armies and attack the surface world en-masse. This event is known as the Blight and is one of the worse things that the surface races have to face. In response to the Blight, the Grey Wardens were formed. The Grey Wardens is a group of the best fighters and spell casters in the world and its specific job is to combat the Blight.