Throughout the game, players encounter various companions, who play major roles in the game's plot and gameplay.īioWare described Dragon Age: Origins as a 'dark heroic fantasy' set in a unique world, and a spiritual successor to their previous Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights franchises. The game is played from a third-person perspective that can be shifted to a top-down perspective. The player character is recruited into the Grey Wardens, an ancient order that stands against monstrous forces known as ' Darkspawn', and is tasked with defeating the Archdemon that commands them and ending their invasion. Set in the fictional kingdom of Ferelden during a period of civil strife, the game puts the player in the role of a warrior, mage, or rogue coming from an elven, human, or dwarven background. It is the first game in the Dragon Age franchise, and was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in November 2009, and for Mac OS X in December 2009. Dragon Age: Origins is a role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts.