No, I’m not talking about *those* games over in Vancouver/Whister, but the latest computer role-playing game that came out late last fall - Dragon Age: Origins.

Yes, I’m a die-hard fantasty role playing geek from the eighties… (D&D anyone?)

Never having abandoned my enjoyment for immersion into a fantasy world, but never having a schedule to “play” in a group setting, computer games quickly filled the void.

Games like Fallout, Baldurs Gate, elder scrolls, Baldurs gate II, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights, Planescape Torrent.  All were pretty good, but I often found they failed to hold my attention after 70+ hrs. of game time. 

Not Dragon Age: Origins (DA:O for short).  In case anyone wondered why there was not much blogging going on in January, I received DA:O for Christmas (thx girls!).  After upgrading our old desktop (my laptop has a limited integrated graphics card that won’t handling the game) I ended up totally immersed in a great game.  85+ hrs of it in fact.  Finsihed almost exactly a month after I started (yes - that equates to about 3hrs. a day, every day….) on top of our regular duties around here, and consulting work.

A few too many 2 am “oh my god, I didn’t realize the time” moments later, I finished my first run-through in a game that has set the bar really, really high for future games.  I’ve now started a second run-through using a completely different type of character, as the game is very different depending on the choices you make.

And you know the other really great thing?  DA:O is designed by Bioware, a great software company headquartered in Edmonton - so I’m supporting Canadian Software designers when I buy the game (and the first big expansion pack will be on sale in March!)

Anyone from Bioware reading?  Come by the winery and you’ll get treated to VIP treatment!  I’m a REALLY big fan.

So - in case you wondered why it’s been quiet in the blogosphere lately, I’ve been off-planet visiting Thedas.

Now you know.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at 4:58 pm and is filed under Blog Post. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.