Okay so our camps aren’t too far apart. I’m pretty sure the loss of Gaider was just the start.
There’s the forced attempt at making DA4 a live service.
The departures of Laidlow, Ohlen, Hudson, and Darrah.
And then a bunch of stray layoffs to boot.
Honestly a LOT of issues trace back to Anthem. 😑

Also I have a problem with EA because they have frequently proven themselves to be very anti-art. Veilguard is just one of several examples.

There is no greater narrative. DAV is a bad Dragon Age game. There are several factors that caused it. Unless I’m missing something the majority of the writers that were involved in this game were involved in Inquisition.
Before I continue-
What were your thoughts on Inquisition?

You just wanna get it done and ideas that wouldn’t have even made it past the concept stage before the setbacks start to sound interesting. Meanwhile good ideas are lost on somewhere on a post-it note or an unlabeled file…

And another thing-
I want you to imagine trying to create a piece of media you care about for a decade but repeatedly you got interrupted or something important (or someone) was lost along the way. Say you broke a hand, your drafts got deleted, or your computer broken. After a certain point-

We got here because they lost the plot after a decade of hold ups. It’s mess because the whole creative process was tortured and their storytelling was mutilated. Were some bad writers involved? Probably. Were the problems actually removed? Unlikely.

I break this down for you. This game was held hostage and was blatantly set up to fail. Someone was trying to kill this game in the crib. Why? I don’t know, but the fact is this game was put through development hell by executive interference. And those writers were getting fucked no matter what.

My brother in gaming-
Why do you think the writing was bad?
How closely did you watch the development process of this game over the years?
And all the announcements of OTHER experienced devs getting laid off DURING this games development?
I want you stop and critically evaluate what went on after-