We’ve calmed down enough here at Wyrd Sisters Central to put together a few thoughts about the art and game scenes from today’s BIoWare update.
Here is what we’re thinking so far…
Rivain Revealed?
After doing some checking, we are thinking that these egg shaped domes are likely representative of Rivaini architecture (World of Thedas Vol. 2, p. 134).
This particular picture is interesting, as it seems to be a blending of another architectural style as well, (likely Antivan, as it is Rivain’s only neighbor by land).
Meaning this particular city would likely sit between the two countries. Looking at the map, a significant city that fits this description is the city of Ayesleigh. Ring any bells? Ayesleigh is actually the site where the elven hero, Garahel, slew the Archdemon of the 4th Blight, Andoral.
Could this be another view of Ayesleigh? It looks to be the same building (and mountain) but from the other side.
And here we have what is likely (in our opinion) one of the major cities in Rivain. Could it be Dairsmuid? Or possibly the island of Llomeryn?
This image from World of Thedas Vol. 2 (p 129) is not captioned, but certainly has design elements that resemble the city we see in the concept art.
And speaking of Rivain and the Rivaini…
Bela in the Sea
We have a very Isabela looking swimmer present here! And some other interesting folks as well!
Possible Dorian sighting here? Whoever he is looks to be wearing armor like Zevran’s Black Shadow costume, who by this point might have formed his own gang to take down the Crows. If it isn’t Dorian, this character owes both Dorian and Zev royalties for his sweet style!! You also have to wonder why developers would make two characters so similar in design, but this is still early in the development process.
And ummmmm….did y’all see the skeleton in the corner doing a swan dive into the ocean? We would be so happy if this turned out to be Audric from “Down Among the Dead Men” in Tevinter Nights!
Assassins in the Street
Speaking of our beloved Zevran, it sure looks like the man himself “Black Shadow-ing” up behind the man in the blue, green, and gold robes. It seems Zev’s people (or our people ^_^) have business with the lady in the litter. The architecture here looks (possibly) Antivan from what we’ve seen illustrated in the comics. Tiled roofs seemed to be a hallmark of Antivan architecture and that can be glimpsed here in the top left corner.
Who is the fellow smirking at the front of the litter with Zev and his Qunari lady friend? He has some traits in common with the fellow pictured here on the left…
Are these pretty people new companions? Associates of Zev’s? We seem to see possible variations of them in several pictures.
Decima would really like the Qunari man on the far left to be our beloved Arishock, the warrior formerly known as Sten, but who knows? Also, the guy in the front-center could be the underwater Dorian-knock-off again. If so, his style is becoming more distinct, and very HANDSOME!
This heavy stone architecture looks much more Teviter. The triangles on the building in the background as well as the robed figure and their guards also suggest this is the Imperium.
Other Exotic Locales
We were also excited by how many locations were featured in the concept art and game preview. Lots caught our eye, but here were some that really stood out to the Sisters today.
The Wardens at Weisshaupt
Weisshaupt in the Anderfels, am I right? I mean, the arid, desolate landscape? The huge gryffon carving? The tall-ass building you could fly a griffon off of? It’s gotta be Weisshaupt! YAY!
Could this be an inner chamber of Weisshaupt Fortress? Notice all the Grey Warden banners and the Wardon-y looking fellow. The table, however, has echoes of the war table at Skyhold.
And holy shit! Is that a freakin’ rift opening up outside the window? We knew there was trouble brewing in the Anderfels, but that would be a devastating development. Especially without an Inquisitor on hand. ;)
Not so “Stark” haven?
Okay, going out a limb here, but we really want this to be Starkhaven. Yeah, yeah. We know we saw Starkhaven in the Knight Errant comics, but let’s face it…not everything in the comics is canon (or Alistair’s eyes would be blue).
We were disappointed with how small, and rather ugly, Sebastian’s hometown was in the comic. What gives us hope that this could be Starkhaven is the waterfalls (which are vaguely represented in Knight Errant #3) and Genitivi’s description of the place.
Also, if Sebastian’s armor was a city, wouldn’t it look like this? ;-)
There was so much to examine in the DA4 Behind the Scenes update, that we need to break this post up.
Stay tuned for more meta in Part 2. We’re putting the “Air” back in aravels, finding fine Dwarven Crafts definitely not direct from Orzammar, and your friendly neighborhood Titan Boi!
Antiva Köppen Climate Map and the Nerd Deep Dive to Go With it
Hello, I’m back and I have a nerd deep dive for you. This time featuring our ever so mysterious and romantic Antiva. Homeland of our beloved Zevran and Josephine. The coffee and trade capital of Thedas, and the site of demise of the fourth Archdemon Andoral. (I’m going to bring this up later. It’s a rather big thing, to me at least.)
[Image Id: A multicoloured climate map of the fictional country Antiva from Dragon Age. Right side has the colour key for the climate zones of the map.]
This is going to be a really long post so everything is going under the cut. Topics being covered are:
