Highlights
- Character customization options in AAA games have improved, allowing players to create more distinct-looking avatars, which has generated excitement in the gaming community.
- However, BioWare has struggled with lackluster hair options in its RPGs, and fans hope that Dragon Age: Dreadwolf will address this long-standing issue.
- The improved hair options in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition show that BioWare is making strides, and fans are optimistic for similar improvements in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.
With the increased attention to detail of character customization options in recent AAA releases and upcoming titles, there's palpable excitement among the gaming community as players can craft more distinct-looking characters than ever before. For a time, the limited character templates available to gamers could be depressing, with developers often giving customization priority to gear and leaving the main attraction - avatars - to suffer a pronounced dreary look. However, the past few years have signified a turning point, and with games like Starfield offering an impressive variety of character creation choices for Spacefarers, the mechanic is on the right track. BioWare has famously had its struggles in this regard, and with the fast-changing gaming landscape, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf needs to take the bull by the horns and reverse the developer's unfortunate trend.
In the wake of Baldur's Gate 3's groundbreaking full release as one of Steam's bestsellers, franchises have a lot to live up to, and one of the many areas the CRPG trailblazer ticked all gamers' boxes was the diversity in its character design. While Baldur's Gate 3 enjoys the spotlight as an industry darling, BioWare is under pressure to rebound from a series of underwhelming titles that have seen it take a back seat in an expanding RPG climate. With BioWare struggling to wow fans since its Inquisition release, attention to its universally unpopular hair options could contribute to the push the developer needs to find its feet again.
BioWare's Struggles With Hair Need to Come to an End in Dreadwolf
Most BioWare RPGs suffer from the same woe; lackluster hair. Although hair might not be high on the list of design priorities for most developers, in times where virtually every title is making improvements on old dynamics and stretching the limits of fan expectation, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf cannot afford to follow previous releases in their affliction by BioWare's hair curse. After long discussions on fan forums, the developer appeared to make strides in this department with Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, the modern-day remaster of the original Mass Effect trilogy.
A common gripe in Mass Effect 3 had been Jane Shepard's inability to wear her hair long due to her military association, and additions to the confined selection of hairstyles for the player-character in the Legendary Edition were praised by Mass Effect fans. The improved luster was also a talking point, as BioWare had developed a negative reputation for pasty hairdos and poorly defined hair physics. Dating back to the early days of the original Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins, hair had been a challenging dynamic for BioWare to get right, and the use of the Frostbite engine in Dragon Age: Inquisition did little to ease fan concerns in this regard.
The inadequacies led hair mods to rise in popularity for BioWare games at the time, and although Mass Effect: Legendary Edition did more to address the issue than any of its predecessors, the graphical rendering and the lack of beards still left much to be desired. FemShep's hair, despite its improved look, had similar rendering problems as Mass Effect 2 and 3 - with the hair appearing as one big mass up top accentuated by individual strands at the edges. Regardless, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition was a step in the right direction, and the engine change from Frostbite to a modified version of Unreal Engine 3 gives fans hope for similar improvements in the upcoming Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.
After Baldur's Gate 3 and Starfield's electric releases, BioWare can hardly afford to drop the ball in Dreadwolf's story progression or character customization, especially after the developer's recent string of layoffs. Not much is known about Dragon Age: Dreadwolf's development as BioWare keeps its cards close to its chest, but fans are hoping it takes a leaf out of popular Legendary Edition mods like More Hair for FemShep, which borrows some of The Sims 4's options for a less pasta-esque character appearance.
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is in development.