text:
First impression (psychology)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
In psychology, a first impression is the event when one person first encounters another person and forms a mental image of that person. Impression accuracy varies depending on the observer and the target (person, object, scene, etc.) being observed.[1][2][unreliable medical source?] First impressions are based on a wide range of characteristics: age, race, culture, language, gender, physical appearance, accent, posture, voice, number of people present, and time allowed to process.[1][3][4][5][6][7][8][unreliable medical source?]The first impressions individuals give to others could greatly influence how they are treated and viewed in many contexts of everyday life.[9][10]
Contents
[hide]
1 Speed and accuracy
2 Number of observers
3 Cultural influences
3.1 Individualism versus collectivism
3.2 Influence of media richness
3.3 Accents and speech
3.4 Physical characteristics and personality
4 Physical appearance
4.1 Faces and features
4.2 Apparel and cosmetics
5 Specific contexts
5.1 Online
5.2 Dating and sexuality
5.3 Professional
6 Evolutionary basis
7 Neuroscience
7.1 Familiarity
7.2 Alcohol and impressions
7.3 Cross-cultural differences
8 Stability
9 See also
10 References
Speed and accuracy[edit]
It takes just one-tenth of a second for us to judge someone and make a first impression.[11] Research finds that the more time participants are afforded to form the impression, the more confidence in impressions they report.[11][12] Not only are people quick to form first impressions, they are also fairly accurate when the target presents him or herself genuinely. People are generally not good at perceiving feigned emotions or detecting lies.[2][medical citation needed] Research participants who reported forming accurate impressions of specific targets did tend to have more accurate perceptions of specific targets that aligned with others' reports of the target.[4] Individuals are also fairly reliable at understanding the first impression that he/she will project to others.[13]
The rate at which different qualities are detected in first impressions may be linked to what has been important to survival from an evolutionary perspective.[11] For example, trustworthiness and attractiveness were the two traits most quickly detected and evaluated in a study of human faces.[11][12] People are fairly good at assessing personality traits of others in general, but there appears to be a difference in first impression judgments between older and younger adults. Older adults judged young adult target photos as healthier, more trustworthy, and less hostile, but more aggressive, than younger adults did of the same photos.[14] Older adults could have a lower response to negative cues due to a slower processing speed, causing them to see facial features on young adults as more positive than younger adults do.[14]
Number of observers[edit]
One's first impressions are affected by whether he or she is alone or with any number of people.[5] Joint experiences are more globally processed (see global precedence for more on processing), as in collectivist cultures. Global processing emphasizes first impressions more because the collective first impression tends to remain stable over time. Solo experiences tend to facilitate local processing, causing the viewer to take a more critical look at the target. Thus, individuals are more likely to have negative first impressions than groups of two or more viewers of the same target. At the same time, individuals are more likely to experience an upward trend over the course of a series of impressions, e.g. individual viewers will like the final episode of a TV season more than the first even if it is really the same quality.[5]
When viewing pieces of art in an experiment, participants in a solo context rated art in an improving sequence significantly higher than when the targets are presented in a declining sequence.[5] When viewing the art in a joint context, participants evaluated the first and last pieces similarly in both kinds of sequence. Simply priming viewers to feel like they were in solo or joint contexts or to process analytically or holistically was enough to produce the same viewing effects.[5]
Cultural influences[edit]
Individualism versus collectivism[edit]
Similar to the number of viewers present, collectivism versus individualism can influence impression formation.[3] Collectivists are at ease as long as their impressions are largely in alignment with the larger group's impressions. When a collectivist wants to change his/her impression, he/she may be compelled to change the views of all group members.[15] However, this could be challenging for collectivists, who tend to be less confrontational than individualists. Individualists are willing to change their own views at will and are generally more comfortable with uncertainty, which makes them naturally more willing to change their impressions.[15]
Influence of media richness[edit]
Research is mixed on whether national culture mediates the relationship between media richness and bias in impression formation. Some studies that manipulated media richness have found that information presented in text form yields similar impressions (measured by reported appraisal scores) among cultures,[15] while other studies found that richer forms of information such as videos reduce cross-cultural bias more effectively.[16] The latter findings support Media Richness Theory.[16]
Accents and speech[edit]
Accents and unique speech patterns can influence how people are perceived by those to whom they are speaking. For example, when hypothetically interviewing an applicant with a Midwestern U.S. accent, Colombian accent, or French accent, Midwestern U.S. participants evaluated the U.S. accent as significantly more positive than the applicant with the French accent due to perceived similarity to themselves.[17] The evaluation of the applicant with the Colombian accent did not, however, differ significantly from the other two. First impressions can be heavily influenced by a similarity-attraction hypothesis where others are immediately put into “similar" or “dissimilar” categories from the viewer and judged accordingly.[17]
Physical characteristics and personality[edit]
Although populations from different cultures can be quick to view others as dissimilar, there are several first impression characteristics that are universal across cultures.[3] When comparing trait impressions of faces among U.S. and the culturally isolated Tsimane' people of Bolivia, there was between-culture agreement when ascribing certain physical features to descriptive traits such as attractiveness, intelligence, health, and warmth.[18] Both cultures also show a strong attractiveness halo when forming impressions, meaning that those seen as attractive were also rated as more competent, sociable, intelligent, and healthy.[18]
Physical appearance[edit]
Faces and features[edit]
Physical appearance gives us clear clues as to a person's personality without him/her ever having to speak or move.[3][6][7][19] Women tend to be better than men at judging nonverbal behavior.[3] After viewing pictures of people in a neutral position and in a self-chosen posed position, observers were accurate at judging the target's levels of extraversion, emotional stability, openness, self-esteem, and religiosity.[7] The combined impression of physical characteristics, body posture, facial expression, and clothing choices lets observers form accurate images of a target's personality, so long as the person observed is presenting themselves genuinely.[7][2] However, there is some conflicting data in this field. Other evidence suggests that people sometimes rely too much on appearance cues over actual information.[20][21] When provided with descriptive information about a target, participants still rely on physical appearance cues when making judgments about others' personalities and capabilities. Participants struggle to look past physical appearance cues even when they know information contrary to their initial judgment.[20] Physical cues are also used to make judgments about political candidates based on extremely brief exposures to their pictures.[21] Perceived competence level of a candidate measured from first impressions of facial features can directly predict voting results.[21]
The “beautiful is good” effect is a very present phenomenon when dealing with first impressions of others.[3] Targets who are attractive are rated more positively and as possessing more unique characteristics than those who are unattractive.[22] Beauty is also found to be somewhat subjective so that even targets who are not universally attractive can receive the benefit of this effect if the observer is attracted to them.[22]
In a 2014 study, a group at the University of York reported that impressions of the traits of approachability, youthfulness/attractiveness and dominance can be formed from measurable characteristics such as the shape of and the spacing around the eyes, nose and mouth.[23] it was found that first impressions of social traits, such as trustworthiness or dominance, are reliably perceived in faces. Physical facial features were objectively measured from feature positions and colours. A neural network was used to model the dimensions of approachability, youthful-attractiveness and dominance. 58% of the variance in raters’ impressions was accounted for by this linear model.[24]
Apparel and cosmetics[edit]
Cosmetic use is also an important cue for forming impressions, particularly of women. Those wearing heavy makeup are seen as significantly more feminine than those wearing moderate makeup or no makeup and those wearing heavy or moderate makeup are seen as more attractive than those wearing no makeup.[19] While a woman wearing no makeup is perceived as being more moral than the other two conditions, there is no difference between experimental conditions when judging personality or personal temperament.[19]
First impression formation can be influenced by the use of cognitive short hands such as stereotypes and representative heuristics.[3] When asked to rate the socioeconomic status (SES) and degree of interest in friendship with African American and Caucasian female models wearing either a K-Mart, Abercrombie & Fitch, or non-logoed sweatshirt, Caucasian models were rated more favorably than the African American models.[25] Abercrombie & Fitch wearers were rated as higher SES than the other sweatshirts. Interestingly, participants wanted to be friends with the Caucasian model most when she was wearing a plain sweatshirt and the African American model most when she was wearing either the plain or K-Mart sweatshirt. It is unclear why the plain sweatshirt was most associated with friendship, but the general results suggest that mismatching class and race reduced the model's friendship appeal.[25]
Specific contexts[edit]
Online[edit]
Online profiles and communication channels such as email provide fewer cues than in-person interactions, which makes targets more difficult to understand.[3] When research participants were asked to evaluate a person's facial attractiveness and perceived ambition based on an online dating profile, amount of time permitted for processing and reporting an evaluation of the target produced a difference in impression formation.[26] Spontaneous evaluations relied on physical attractiveness almost exclusively, whereas deliberate evaluations weighed both types of information. Although deliberate evaluations used the information provided on both physical attractiveness and ambition of each target, the particular impact of each kind of information appeared to depend on the consistency between the two. A significant effect of attractiveness on deliberate evaluations was found only when perceived ambition was consistent with the perceived level of attractiveness.[26] The consistency found in profiles seemed to particularly influence deliberate evaluations.
In a study of online impressions, participants who were socially expressive and disclosed a lot about themselves both on their webpages and in person were better liked than those who were less open. Social expressivity includes liveliness in voice, smiling, etc.[27]
Dating and sexuality[edit]
Upon seeing photographs of straight, gay, and bisexual people, participants correctly identified gay versus straight males and females at above-chance levels based solely on seeing a picture of their face, however, bisexual targets were only identified at chance. The findings suggest a straight-non straight dichotomy in the categorization of sexual orientation.[6]
The more time participants are allowed to make some judgment about a person, the more they will weigh information beyond physical appearance. Specific manipulations include identifying men as gay versus straight[28] and people as trustworthy or not.[4][12] In a study of the interaction between ratings of people in speed dating and the form of media used to present them, impression accuracy in a speed dating task was not significantly different when a potential date was presented in person versus in a video. However, impressions of dates made via video were to be much more negative than those made in person. An additional study that looked at characterization of a romantic partner suggested that people are more likely to rely on “gut reactions” when meeting in person, but there isn't sufficient information for this kind of evaluation when viewing someone online.
Professional[edit]
Non-verbal behaviors are particularly important to forming first impressions when meeting a business acquaintance.[29] Specifically, components of social expressivity, such as smiling, eyebrow position, emotional expression, and eye contact are emphasized.[2][27][29] Straightening one's posture, leaning in slightly, and giving a firm handshake promotes favorable impression formation in the American business context.[29] Other impression management tactics in the business world include researching the organization and interviewers beforehand, preparing specific questions for the interviewer, showing confidence, and dressing appropriately.[30]
A qualitative review of previous literature looking at self-report data suggests that men and women use impression management tactics in the corporate world that are consistent with stereotypical gender roles when presenting themselves to others.[9] This research proposes that women are put in a double bind where those who portray themselves as more communal and submissive are overlooked for leadership positions and women who try to utilize male tactics (such as being more aggressive) receive negative consequences for violating normative gender roles.[9] To change this dynamic the authors suggest that managerial positions should be re-advertised to highlight the feminine qualities needed for a position and staff training should involve a segment accentuating gender issues in the office to make everyone aware of possible discrimination.[9]
Data collected from interviews with physicians distinguishes between first impressions and intuition and contributes to understanding the occurrence of gut feelings in the medical field.[31] Gut feelings go beyond first impressions: Physicians expressed feeling doubtful about their initial impressions as they gathered more data from their patients. More experienced physicians reported more instances of gut feelings than those less experienced, but the quality of the intuition was related to the quality of feedback received during the data collection process in general. Emotional engagement enhanced learning just as it does in first impressions.[31]
Evolutionary basis[edit]
An instantaneous evaluation about intentions of an approaching person or subject based upon visual clues might have very strong connection with initial stages of biological evolution. The reason why it happens so quickly inside our brains has to do with both risks and benefits subjected with any person or subject that is being encountered at very first time. The latency time of an entire evaluation process suggests a crucial adaption done by pre-historic creatures based upon their earlier experiences of encounters with strangers. Lesser time the process of identification takes, better are the chances of survival.
According to one hypothesis presented by Mr. Sachchidanand Swami (an independent Human Behavior and Nonverbal Communication Researcher from India), an instantaneous evaluation based upon visual clues obtained from any person or subject might have begun with evolution of vision itself. Our remote ancestors living inside pre-historic oceans with their primordial eyesight and small sized brains might have evolved this process. This 'seeing is believing' neurological reflex might have primarily evolved to identify predatory and non-predatory creatures as quickly as possible.
According to him, evaluating intentions of any person or subject based upon its visuals or an external appearance might ultimately have enforced trustworthiness, which is a crucial factor for an interpersonal relationship. Draft of this hypothesis was conveyed by him through an email to more than 100 scientists and researchers from many renowned universities, research laboratories and institutions. This hypothesis is still to be testified by scientific community.
Neuroscience[edit]
First impressions are formed within milliseconds of seeing a target. When intentionally forming a first impression, encoding relies on the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC).[32] Readings from fMRIs of research participants show that processing of diagnostic information (e.g. distinguishing features) engaged the dmPFC more than processing neutral information.[32]
Participants generally formed more negative impressions of the faces that showed a negative emotion compared to neutral faces.[33] Results suggest that the dmPFC and amygdala together play a large role in negative impression formation. When forming immediate impressions based on emotion, the stimulus can bypass the neo-cortex by way of the “amygdala hijack.”[34]
Familiarity[edit]
Research indicates that people are efficient evaluators when forming impressions based on existing biases.[35] The posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), amygdala, and the thalamus sort relevant versus irrelevant information according to these biases. The dmPFC is also involved in the impression formation process, especially with person-descriptive information.[35]
FMRI results show activation of the fusiform cortex, posterior cingulate gyrus, and amygdala when individuals are asked to identify previously seen faces that were encoded as either “friends” or “foes.”[36] Additionally, the caudate and anterior cingulate cortex are more activated when looking at faces of “foes” versus “friends."[36] This research suggests that quick first impressions of hostility or support from unknown people can lead to long-term effects on memory that will later be associated with that person.
Alcohol and impressions[edit]
Alcohol consumption and belief of consumption influenced emotion detection in ten second clips.[37] Participants who thought they had consumed an alcoholic beverage rated one facial expression (approximately 3% of the facial expressions they saw) more in each clip as happy compared to the control group. Thus, impression formation may be affected by even the perception of alcohol consumption.[37]
Cross-cultural differences[edit]
There appears to be cross-cultural similarities in brain responses to first impression formations. In a mock election both American and Japanese individuals voted for the candidate that elicited a stronger response in their bilateral amygdala than those who did not, regardless of the candidate's culture.[38] Individuals also showed a stronger response to cultural outgroup faces than cultural ingroup faces because the amygdala is presumably more sensitive to novel stimuli.[38] However, this finding was unrelated to actual voting decisions.[38]
Stability[edit]
Once formed, first impressions tend to be stable. A review of the literature on the accuracy and impact of first impressions on rater-based assessments found that raters' first impressions are highly correlated with later scores, but it is unclear exactly why.[10] One study tested stability by asking participants to form impressions people based purely on photographs. Participants' opinions of the people in photographs did not significantly differ after interacting with that person a month later.[28] One potential reason for this stability is that one's first impressions could serve as a guide for his/her next steps, such as what questions are asked and how raters go about scoring. More research needs to be done on the stability of first impressions to fully understand how first impressions guide subsequent treatment, self-fulfilling prophecies, and the halo effect.[3] Assessment tools can influence impressions too, for example if a question provides only a dichotomous "yes" or "no" response or if a rater uses a scale (ratio). Although this study was conducted with the intention of improving rating methods in medical education, the literature review was sufficiently broad enough to generalize.[28]
See also[edit]
Impression management
Thin-slicing
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b Mackie, Eliot R. Smith, Diane M. (2007). Social psychology (3rd ed.). Hove: Psychology Press. ISBN 1841694096. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Flora, Carlin. "The First Impression". Psychology Today. Archived from the original on 2011-02-20. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Aronson, Elliot, Robin M. Akert, Timothy D. Wilson (2007). Social psychology (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0132382458. Retrieved 05/08/14. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
^ Jump up to: a b c Biesanz, J.C.; Human, L. J.; Paquin, A.; Chan, M.; Parisotto, K. L.; Sarracino, J.; Gillis, R. L. (2011). "Do we know when our impressions of others are valid? evidence for realistic accuracy awareness in first impressions of personality". Social Psychological and Personality Science. 2 (5): 452–459. doi:10.1177/1948550610397211.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Bhargrave, R; Montgomery, N.V. "The social context of temporal sequences: Why first impressions shape shared experiences". Journal of Consumer Research. 40 (3): 501–517. doi:10.1086/671053.
^ Jump up to: a b c Ding, Jonathan Y. C.; Rule, Nicholas O. (12 January 2012). "Gay, Straight, or Somewhere in Between: Accuracy and Bias in the Perception of Bisexual Faces". Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 36 (2): 165–176. doi:10.1007/s10919-011-0129-y.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Naumann, L. P.; Vazire, S.; Rentfrow, P. J.; Gosling, S. D. (17 September 2009). "Personality Judgments Based on Physical Appearance". Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 35 (12): 1661–1671. doi:10.1177/0146167209346309. PMID 19762717.
Jump up ^ Trudeau, M. (5 May 2014). "You Had Me At Hello: The Science Behind First Impressions". NPR. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Guadagno, Rosanna E.; Cialdini, Robert B. (21 March 2007). "Gender Differences in Impression Management in Organizations: A Qualitative Review". Sex Roles. 56 (7–8): 483–494. doi:10.1007/s11199-007-9187-3.
^ Jump up to: a b Wood, T.J. (August 2014). "Exploring the role of first impressions in rater-based assessments". Advances in Health Sciences Education. 19 (3): 409–427. doi:10.1007/s10459-013-9453-9.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Willis, J.; Todorov, A. (2006). "First impressions: Making up your mind after 100 ms exposure to a face" (PDF). Psychological Science. 17: 592–598. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01750.x. PMID 16866745. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b c Wargo, E (2006). "How many seconds to a first impression?". The Observer. 19.
Jump up ^ Carlson, E. N.; Furr, R. M.; Vazire, S. (1 January 2010). "Do We Know the First Impressions We Make? Evidence for Idiographic Meta-Accuracy and Calibration of First Impressions". Social Psychological and Personality Science. 1 (1): 94–98. doi:10.1177/1948550609356028.
^ Jump up to: a b Zebrowitz, Leslie A.; Franklin, Robert G.; Hillman, Suzanne; Boc, Henry. "Older and younger adults' first impressions from faces: Similar in agreement but different in positivity". Psychology and Aging. 28 (1): 202–212. doi:10.1037/a0030927.
^ Jump up to: a b c Fang, X.; Rajkumar, T. M. (2013). "The Role of National Culture and Multimedia on First Impression Bias Reduction: An Experimental Study in US and China". IEEE Transactions On Professional Communication. 56 (4): 354–371. doi:10.1109/TPC.2013.2251503.
^ Jump up to: a b Lim, K. H.; Benbasat, I.; Ward, L. M. (2000). "The role of multimedia in changing first impression bias". Information Systems Research. 11 (2): 115–136. doi:10.1287/isre.11.2.115.11776.
^ Jump up to: a b Deprez-Sims, Anne-Sophie; Morris, Scott B. "Accents in the workplace: Their effects during a job interview". International Journal of Psychology. 45 (6): 417–426. doi:10.1080/00207594.2010.499950.
^ Jump up to: a b Zebrowitz, L. A.; Wang, R.; Bronstad, P. M.; Eisenberg, D.; Undurraga, E.; Reyes-Garcia, V.; Godoy, R. (19 December 2011). "First Impressions From Faces Among U.S. and Culturally Isolated Tsimane' People in the Bolivian Rainforest". Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 43 (1): 119–134. doi:10.1177/0022022111411386.
^ Jump up to: a b c Workman, J. E.; Johnson, K. K. P. (1 September 1991). "The Role of Cosmetics in Impression Formation". Clothing and Textiles Research Journal. 10 (1): 63–67. doi:10.1177/0887302X9101000109.
^ Jump up to: a b Olivola, Christopher Y.; Todorov, Alexander. "Fooled by first impressions? Reexamining the diagnostic value of appearance-based inferences". Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 46 (2): 315–324. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2009.12.002.
^ Jump up to: a b c Todorov, A. (10 June 2005). "Inferences of Competence from Faces Predict Election Outcomes". Science. 308 (5728): 1623–1626. doi:10.1126/science.1110589.
^ Jump up to: a b Lorenzo, G. L.; Biesanz, J. C.; Human, L. J. (4 November 2010). "What Is Beautiful Is Good and More Accurately Understood: Physical Attractiveness and Accuracy in First Impressions of Personality". Psychological Science. 21 (12): 1777–1782. doi:10.1177/0956797610388048. PMID 21051521.
Jump up ^ "First impressions connected to facial features - CNN.com". Edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
Jump up ^ "Modeling first impressions from highly variable facial images". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111: E3353–E3361. 2014-07-28. doi:10.1073/pnas.1409860111. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b McDermott, L.; Pettijohn, T. (2011). "The influence of clothing fashion and race on the perceived socioeconomic status and person perception of college students". Psychology & Society. 4: 64–75.
^ Jump up to: a b Sritharan, R.; Heilpern, K.; Wilbur, C. J.; Gawronski, B. (2010). "I think I like you: Spontaneous and deliberate evaluations of potential romantic partners in an online dating context". European Journal of Social Psychology. 40: 1062–1077. doi:10.1002/ejsp.703.
^ Jump up to: a b Weisbuch, M.; Ivcevic, Z.; Ambady, N. (2009). "On being liked on the web and in the 'real world': Consistency in first impressions across personal web pages and spontaneous behavior". Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 45 (3): 573–576. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2008.12.009.
^ Jump up to: a b c Wood, J. "The Power of a First Impression". Psych Central. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b c Goman, Carol Kinsey (2008). The nonverbal advantage : secrets and science of body language at work ([Online-Ausg.]. ed.). San Francisco, Calif.: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. ISBN 1576754928.
Jump up ^ Rowh, Mark. "First Impressions Count". American Psychological Association. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b Woolley, A.; Kostopoulou, O. (2013). "Clinical intuition in family medicine: More than first impressions". Annals of Family Medicine. 11: 60–66. doi:10.1370/afm.1433.
^ Jump up to: a b Gilron, R.; Gutchess, A. H. (2012). "Remembering first impressions: Effects of intentionality and diagnosticity on subsequent memory". Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience. 12 (1): 85–98. doi:10.3758/s13415-011-0074-6.
Jump up ^ Iidaka, T.; Harada, T.; Sadato, N. (2011). "Forming a negative impression of another person correlates with activation in medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala". Social Cognitive and Affective Neurosciene. 6 (4): 516–525. doi:10.1093/scan/nsq072.
Jump up ^ Goleman, Daniel (1999). Working with Emotional Intelligence. p. 87.
^ Jump up to: a b Schiller, D.; Freeman, J. B.; Mitchell, J. P.; Uleman, J. S.; Phelps, E. A. (2009). "A neural mechanism of first impressions". Nature Neuroscience. 12: 508–514. doi:10.1038/nn.2278.
^ Jump up to: a b Vrticka, Pascal; Andersson, Frédéric; Sander, David; Vuilleumier, Patrik. "Memory for friends or foes: The social context of past encounters with faces modulates their subsequent neural traces in the brain". Social Neuroscience. 4 (5): 384–401. doi:10.1080/17470910902941793.
^ Jump up to: a b Walter, N.; Mutic, S.; Markett, S.; Montag, C.; Klein, A.; Reuter, M. (2011). "The Influence of Alcohol Intake and Alcohol Expectations on the Recognition of Emotions". Alcohol and Alcoholism. 46: 680–685. doi:10.1093/alcalc/agr082.
^ Jump up to: a b c Rule, N. O.; Freeman, J. B.; Moran, J. M.; Gabrieli, J. D. E.; Adams, R. B.; Ambady, N. (5 December 2009). "Voting behavior is reflected in amygdala response across cultures". Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. 5 (2–3): 349–355. doi:10.1093/scan/nsp046.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=First_impression_(psychology)&oldid=834402316"
Categories:
Interpersonal relationships
Hidden categories:
CS1 errors: dates
All articles lacking reliable references
Articles lacking reliable references from November 2017
All articles with unsourced statements
Articles with unsourced statements from November 2017
Navigation menu
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
More
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
Languages
العربية
Čeština
Deutsch
فارسی
Հայերեն
עברית
Русский
Українська
Edit links
This page was last edited on 5 April 2018, at 14:58.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view
Enable previews

key: html

type: local

value: div

attrs: id class

values: mw-page-base noprint

values: mw-head-base noprint

value: a

attrs: id class lang

values: firstHeading firstHeading en

values: siteSub noprint

values: jump-to-nav mw-jump

attrs: href title

value: sup

value: span

values: Material near this tag may rely on an unreliable or less reliable medical source. (November 2017)

values: Wikipedia:Identifying reliable sources (medicine)

value: i

attrs: class style

attrs: href class title

values:
/wiki/Physical_appearance
mw-redirect
Physical appearance

values: Material near this tag needs references to reliable medical sources. (November 2017)

values:
noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact
white-space:nowrap;

values: Edit section: Individualism versus collectivism

values: Edit section: Influence of media richness

values:
/wiki/Media_Richness_Theory
mw-redirect
Media Richness Theory

values: Edit section: Physical characteristics and personality

values:
/wiki/Representative_heuristic
mw-redirect
Representative heuristic

values:
nofollow
external text
http://www.nonverbal-world.com

values:
/wiki/Posterior_cingulate_cortex
mw-redirect
Posterior cingulate cortex

values:
/wiki/Posterior_cingulate_gyrus
mw-redirect
Posterior cingulate gyrus

values: Edit section: Cross-cultural differences

values:
/wiki/Self-fulfilling_prophecies
mw-redirect
Self-fulfilling prophecies

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1086%2F671053

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10919-011-0129-y

values:
/wiki/PubMed_Identifier
mw-redirect
PubMed Identifier

values:
nofollow
external text
//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19762717

values:
nofollow
external text
//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16866745

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1037%2Fa0030927

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1109%2FTPC.2013.2251503

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1287%2Fisre.11.2.115.11776

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jesp.2009.12.002

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.1110589

values:
nofollow
external text
//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21051521

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1073%2Fpnas.1409860111

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1002%2Fejsp.703

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jesp.2008.12.009

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1370%2Fafm.1433

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1093%2Fscan%2Fnsq072

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1038%2Fnn.2278

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1093%2Falcalc%2Fagr082

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1093%2Fscan%2Fnsp046

values: -moz-column-width: 30em; -webkit-column-width: 30em; column-width: 30em; list-style-type: decimal;

values: Category:All articles lacking reliable references

values: Category:Articles lacking reliable references from November 2017

values: Category:All articles with unsourced statements

values: Category:Articles with unsourced statements from November 2017

values: Discussion about edits from this IP address [ctrl-alt-n]

values: A list of edits made from this IP address [ctrl-alt-y]

values: You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory

values: You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [ctrl-alt-o]

values:
/wiki/First_impression_(psychology)
View the content page [ctrl-alt-c]
c

values: Discussion about the content page [ctrl-alt-t]

values: p-namespaces navigation vectorTabs p-namespaces-label

values:
p-variants
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-variants-label

values: Past revisions of this page [ctrl-alt-h]

values: p-views navigation vectorTabs p-views-label

values:
p-cactions
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-cactions-label

values:
mw-wiki-logo
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page

values:
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page [ctrl-alt-z]
z

values: Featured content – the best of Wikipedia

values: Find background information on current events

values: انطباع أول (علم نفس) – Arabic

values: تأثیر اولیه (روانشناسی) – Persian

values: Առաջին տպավորության էֆեկտ – Armenian

values: רושם ראשוני – Hebrew

values: Эффект первого впечатления – Russian

values: Ефект першого враження – Ukrainian

values: /static/images/wikimedia-button-1.5x.png 1.5x, /static/images/wikimedia-button-2x.png 2x

values: /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_132x47.png 1.5x, /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_176x62.png 2x

values:
suggestions
display: none; font-size: 13px;

values: mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-First_impression_psychology rootpage-First_impression_psychology skin-vector action-view


text:
Dragon Age: Origins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Dragon Age: Origins
Developer(s)
BioWare
Publisher(s)
Electronic Arts
Director(s)
Dan Tudge
Producer(s)
Mark Darrah
Dan Tudge
Designer(s)
Brent Knowles
Mike Laidlaw
James Ohlen
Programmer(s)
Ross Gardner
Artist(s)
Dean Andersen
Writer(s)
David Gaider
Composer(s)
Inon Zur
Series
Dragon Age
Engine
Eclipse Engine
Platform(s)
Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, OS X
Release
Microsoft Windows & Xbox 360
NA: November 3, 2009
AU: November 5, 2009
EU: November 6, 2009
PlayStation 3
NA: November 3, 2009
EU: November 6, 2009
AU: November 19, 2009
OS X
NA: December 21, 2009
Genre(s)
Role-playing game
Mode(s)
Single-player
Dragon Age: Origins is a role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. 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 OS X in December 2009. Edge of Reality developed the game's console versions.
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. The player character is recruited into the Grey Wardens, an ancient order that stands against demonic forces known as "Darkspawn", and is tasked with defeating the Archdemon that commands them and ending their invasion, known as the "Blight". The game is played from a third-person perspective that can be shifted to top-down perspective. Throughout the game, players encounter various companions, who play major roles in the game's plot and gameplay and accompany the player throughout the game.
BioWare 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. Its setting was inspired by The Lord of the Rings and A Song of Ice & Fire, and was described by BioWare as a mix between high fantasy and low fantasy. Development of the game began in 2002 and BioWare employed more than 144 voice-actors, and hired Inon Zur to compose the game's music.
Origins received critical acclaim upon release, with praise mostly directed at its story, setting, characters, music and combat system. It sold more than 3.2 million copies, and 1 million pieces of downloadable content. Its multiple year-end accolades included Game of the Year and Best Role-playing awards from several gaming publications. BioWare released several instances of downloadable content after the game's initial launch, an expansion pack for the game titled Awakening in March 2010, and two sequels, Dragon Age II and Dragon Age: Inquisition, were released in 2011 and 2014 respectively.
Contents
[hide]
1 Gameplay
2 Synopsis
2.1 Setting
2.2 Characters
2.3 Plot
3 Development
3.1 Design
3.2 Sound
3.3 Release
3.4 Downloadable content
4 Reception
4.1 Critical reception
4.2 Sales
4.3 Accolades
5 Franchise
6 References
7 External links
Gameplay[edit]
Dragon Age: Origins is an action role-playing game. The player is a Grey Warden, part of an order of elite fighters, whose task is to defeat the Archdemon and save the world from a disastrous event called the Blight. Players create their own Grey Warden character, customizing gender and appearance as well as choosing a race and class.[1] The available classes are warriors, who perform strong physical attacks; rogues, who carry out stealth attacks and steal items from other characters; and mages, who cast spells on enemies, create combo spells,[2] and support other party members.[3] The three choices of race are human, elf, and dwarf. The combination of class and race determines which of six different origin stories the player experiences: Dalish Elf, Dwarf Commoner, City Elf, Magi, Human Noble, or Dwarf Noble.[4] This affects the way other in-game characters perceive the player's character; for instance, a Dwarven Commoner would receive hatred and discrimination from other dwarves.[4] However, all classes follow the same plot after the completion of the origin story.[5]
Example of a user-created dwarf character in combat with an Ogre, a powerful darkspawn
During gameplay the player encounters a variety of enemies, including giant spiders, darkspawn, ghosts, walking trees, and dragons.[6] They also recruit companions, who accompany them and provide assistance in battle. These companions are normally controlled by artificial intelligence, with behavior that the player can adjust through the "Tactic" menu, but the player also has the option to switch between characters, and is able to issue orders to them in real-time or pause the game to queue up actions.[6][7] Companions who are not in the player's active party stay in the base camp, a hub where the player can talk to their party members as well as purchase new weapons, armor, and gear.[8] In addition to the main story, the player can learn more about the world of Thedas by collecting the Indexes scattered throughout the game.
Using a third-person perspective, the combat in Origins is largely similar to BioWare's previous game, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The player and any companions in their party engage in combat with the weapons they have equipped when the player targets or is noticed by a hostile enemy. Players can swap weapons and perform special attacks during combat, but most of these attacks have a recharge time.[3] The point of view can be shifted from third person to a top-down view, where friendly and hostile units are labelled with different colors to distinguish them.[9] At the end of a battle the characters' health and stamina, which powers a character's skills, are automatically refilled.[10] When an enemy is defeated, the player collects any items or loot from its corpse.[6]
The player can level up their Warden character by earning experience points through completing quests and defeating enemies. Each time the player levels up, they receive three points to spend on the character's six attributes. Strength inflicts more damage, dexterity helps evade attacks more often, willpower increases stamina, magic increases spell damage or magic defense, cunning improves combat tactics, and constitution helps withstand attacks.[11] Special skills, which are divided into four different aspects for each class, and specialization options, which offer class-specific skills, can also be unlocked by levelling up.[12]
The game's dialogue engine is the same as that of Mass Effect.[9] The player can talk and interact with both party members and other non-playable characters. A dialogue tree offers several dialogue options for the player to select.[12][13] Through conversation, the player can unlock unique quests and dialogue revealing the lore of Dragon Age. It can also be used to persuade or intimidate other characters.[1] The player often must choose between morally ambiguous options, which result in consequences that affect the game's world and progression,[14] and can even lead to the death of a potential companion.[15] Companions react to the player's choices through an "approval system".[16] When they dislike or object to the player's decisions, their approval drops, which can result in a companion leaving the party or even attacking the Warden.[17] Approval points can also be influenced by gifts, which will improve any companion's approval but are each intended for a specific companion. Some gifts, if given to the right character, start a cutscene and can even unlock a quest. A high approval rating improves a companion's morale and gives bonuses to their combat abilities.[18] A significant approval rating also makes it possible for the Warden to pursue a romantic relationship with certain companions.[19] The game's "interaction reactivity" system means that the way a player treats one companion affects the approval rating of other companions as well.[20]
Synopsis[edit]
Setting[edit]
The game is set in Ferelden, one of several countries in the fictional world of Thedas. Demonic creatures called the Darkspawn dwell within the Deep Roads, an underground highway system created by the dwarves long ago, deep beneath the surface of Thedas. Every few hundred years, the Darkspawn swarm the surface world in a movement known as a Blight. Ever since the first Blight, Thedas has relied on the legendary order of warriors known as the Grey Wardens to drive the Darkspawn back. Dragon Age: Origins begins on the eve of Thedas's fifth Blight.
Thedas is a world in which race and class combine to determine social class. Elves are often viewed as second-class citizens by humans, while human nobles are treated with respect. Mages, on the other hand, are cloistered by the Chantry: they have access to the Fade, the unconscious realm that is the home of spirits, and a single lapse in vigilance could cause them to be possessed by demons. Apostate mages, who live outside the Chantry's control, are considered extremely dangerous, and the Chantry has a militant wing, the Templars, to seek them out and subdue them by any means necessary. Dwarves live in the Deep Roads, their kingdom a shadow of what it once was before the first Blight. Their society is rooted in tradition and a rigid caste system.
Characters[edit]
Main article: Characters of Dragon Age
The chief protagonist of Dragon Age: Origins is the player-controlled character, whose biography and combat specialization are determined by the race and class chosen at the start of the game. While the player can choose his or her avatar's first name, the character is usually referred to as "The Warden" by other characters and the game's narration.
Many of the game's non-player characters (NPCs) are companion characters, who appear throughout the game and may volunteer their services. Companions include Alistair, a reluctantly heroic Grey Warden with a sarcastic wit; Morrigan, a sultry but cynical dark mage who has little regard for authority or social mores; Leliana, an ex-member of Ferelden's Chantry whose optimistic and virtuous demeanor belies an aptitude for espionage and combat; Sten, a proud but stoic warrior of the militaristic Qunari people who often questions human ways; Oghren, a brutal dwarven warrior whose love of alcohol is only matched by his penchant for violence and loyalty to his friends; Wynne, an Elder Mage of the Circle, a maternal figure to the party and a powerful healer; Zevran, a rakish elven assassin who is fond of treasures, sex and innuendo; and a loyal Mabari War Hound, which the player can name and use for scouting and combat. In the DLC, Shale, a sarcastic Golem with a mild ornithophobia who was a female dwarf in her prior life, is also available.
Outside of companion characters, NPCs significant to the Origins plot include Duncan, the Grey Warden who recruits the player; King Cailan, Ferelden's naive but courageous leader and son of the legendary King Maric; Queen Anora, Cailan's politically-savvy wife, whose youth and beauty are matched by a commanding personality but somewhat offset by her ambition and ruthlessness; and Flemeth, Morrigan's mother, who appears to be a harmless old woman in public, but in truth is an infamous dark witch of Ferelden legend.
The faceless Darkspawn horde is led by the archdemon Urthemiel, supposedly one of the Old Gods of the Tevinter Imperium, incarnated in the form of a powerful and corrupted dragon with total control over the darkspawn. The game's other main antagonists are Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir, father of Queen Anora, a once-respected war hero gone mad with ambition and paranoia; and Rendon Howe, the amoral and corrupt Arl of Amaranthine who allies with Loghain to further his own ambitions. Loghain can be recruited as a "secret companion," but doing so will cause Alistair to leave the Warden.
Plot[edit]
One of six predetermined origin stories begins the game, depending on the player character's race and class. Each story ends with the player meeting and leaving with Duncan, the commander of Ferelden's Grey Wardens who is seeking new recruits, selecting the player as a potential candidate. The two journey to Ferelden's southern fortress, Ostagar, to join Cailan, the King of Ferelden, and his father-in-law Loghain, a legendary general. The three leaders plan to attack the encroaching Darkspawn to stop a new Blight from overwhelming Ferelden. Duncan senses the influence of an Archdemon, a god-like with the body of a powerful Dragon that commands the Darkspawn, which makes this the first true Blight in over 400 years. Duncan emphasizes the importance of defeating the Blight before it can gain enough momentum to threaten the rest of Thedas.
Duncan initiates the player into the Grey Wardens through a dangerous ritual called the Joining, which involves imbibing Darkspawn blood. The recipient, if they survive, is granted the powerful Darkspawn essence, the Taint, which gives them a rudimentary connection into their hive mind to sense them. After surviving, the player (now nicknamed "The Warden") and fellow Grey Warden, Alistair, are tasked with lighting a beacon at the top of the fortress to signal Loghain's men into charging the Darkspawn horde flank. However, upon arriving, Loghain abandons the battlefield, leaving Cailan, Duncan, and their army to be slain by the Darkspawn, who seize control of Ostagar and begin advancing into southern Ferelden.
The Warden and Alistair are saved by Flemeth, a powerful witch who lives in a secluded hermitage with her daughter and apprentice, Morrigan. The Warden, Alistair, and Morrigan decide to gather a new army to slay the Archdemon and stop the Blight from destroying Ferelden and Thedas. Using ancient Grey Warden treaties, the Warden travels across Ferelden to enlist the aid of the Circle of Magi, the Dalish Elves, the Dwarves of Orzammar, and soldiers in Redcliffe loyal to Arl Eamon. In addition, Alistair reveals that he is a bastard son of King Maric Theirin, Cailan's father, making him a contender for the now vacant throne.
Meanwhile, Loghain returns to Ferelden's capital city, Denerim, to inform his daughter, Queen Anora, of Cailan's death. Loghain scapegoats the Grey Wardens for the defeat at Ostagar and demands the deaths of any survivors. While Anora inherits her husband's authority, Loghain quickly declares himself her regent and effectively seizes control of the kingdom, swiftly becoming a brutal and tyrannical ruler determined to retain power. Ferelden's nobility rebel against him, igniting a civil war which ends in an inconclusive stalemate, allowing the Darkspawn to advance further into Ferelden unopposed.
Eamon then calls a Landsmeet among the nobles of Ferelden to rally the kingdom against the Darkspawn, where the Warden or a party member defeats Loghain in a duel. If Alistair defeats Loghain, he will then execute him. Otherwise, the Warden can either have Loghain executed or initiated into the Grey Wardens (in which case he replaces Alistair as a party member and Warden). Dependent on this and other past decisions, the Warden then settles who assumes Ferelden's throne (Alistair and/or Anora), with the option of marrying the one of opposite gender if a Human Noble.
The night before the final battle, the Warden learns that a Grey Warden must slay the Archdemon in order to prevent it from releasing a demonic essence which finds a new host in the nearest Darkspawn. The essence will be drawn to the Taint, killing the Warden in the process. Morrigan then meets with the Warden and proposes a way to slay the Archdemon without sacrificing anyone: the two conceiving a child. The Archdemon, upon death, will instead be drawn to the child, born as a demigod with the Taint, sparing any Grey Warden. Morrigan agrees to conceive the child on the condition that she be allowed to raise it alone. The Warden can accept Morrigan's offer (if male), convince Alistair/Loghain to take part instead, or refuse the proposal, which will cause Morrigan to leave the party.
The next day, the Warden and the newly assembled army of Ferelden gather in Denerim, which has been overrun by the Darkspawn, fight their way through the Darkspawn horde, and conquer the Archdemon atop Denerim's highest tower. If the ritual with Morrigan was performed, the Warden slays the Archdemon, but if not, they must decide whether they or Alistair/Loghain does so and perishes in the process. Their leader killed, the Darkspawn army retreats from Denerim, marking the end of the Fifth Blight. The story ends with a ceremony attended by Ferelden citizens, where the Warden and their companions are honored for saving the kingdom. Lastly, an epilogue details in text and pictures the ramifications of the Warden's choices, including the future of Ferelden and the fates of his or her companions.
Development[edit]
Design[edit]
Dragon Age: Origins was created by the Edmonton studio of BioWare, the developer of Neverwinter Nights and Jade Empire.[21][22] Development of the game's first demo began in November 2002.[21] It was officially revealed at E3 2004 as simply Dragon Age,[23] and was re-revealed as Dragon Age: Origins in July 2008, alongside a new trailer for the game.[24] According to BioWare, they kept any information about the game hidden from the public, to further the game's design and technology.[25] More than 180 people worked on the game, and full-scale production began three years after the game's initial development.[26] The subtitle "Origins" was chosen to represent the six origins storyline, BioWare's return to PC role-playing games, and the beginning of a new franchise.[27] Origins is a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, as an attempt to build a similar fantasy RPG without any licensing restrictions or issues.[28] The similarities are mostly present in gameplay elements, such as real-time tactical combat;[21] the game does not share the Dungeons and Dragons setting of the Baldur's Gate series, and is instead set in a period where dragons are prevalent.[23]
David Gaider, the lead writer for Origins, built the game's world first before writing the plot. The team chose a "fantasy" setting because Dan Tudge, the game's director, thought that BioWare was at its best in the fantasy genre.[29] In the first draft, there were no Darkspawn or Grey Wardens, and mages were not allowed to use magic in cities. There were twelve different origin stories, including Human Commoner and Avvar, a barbarian origin. However, most of them were scrapped for being "ridiculous", leading to six stories being finalized.[30] Loghain was the first character to be created, while an Ogre, nicknamed "Fluffy", and a human with medium armor were the first enemies designed.[31] The concepts of Alistair and Morrigan were the next to be created, as they play the largest role in the game's plot. Their creation also took far longer than other characters.[32] Morrigan was originally conceived to be similar to Flemeth, speaking whimsically. However, Gaider was not satisfied and decided to completely rewrite her personality. As a result, she was designed as a "blunt" person who always resists her mother. Finding a suitable voice actor for Morrigan took the most time of any character.[33] The game's final version features 68,260 lines of dialogue; the quality assurance testers for the game enabled a cheat to automatically skip these cutscenes and dialogues during test runs.[31]
Ray Muzyka, co-founder of BioWare, said that the team wanted to try something that would be new but familiar to most players.[23] They hoped that Origins would redefine the genre to become The Lord of the Rings of video game franchises. Greg Zeschuk, another co-founder of BioWare, described the fantasy of Dragon Age as in between the high fantasy of J. R. R. Tolkien's works and the low fantasy of works by George R.R. Martin. The goal was a "dark heroic fantasy" that would suit the taste of any fan of the genre.[34] Thus, while the game has the typical races of human, elf, and dwarf, they are slightly altered from the usual nature of the three races, and a new lizard-like race called the Qunari was introduced.[21] Some of the alterations they made included flipping how certain races, like elves, are treated in other fictional worlds. While elves are often described as a race of high prestige in fiction, Dragon Age: Origins presents them as slaves of humans, labelled as second class citizens who resent the human race. This extended to the gameplay, where the player can choose to discriminate against other races, and can experience discrimination from others based on their choices.[35]
We don't constrain what they do. We don't strive for gratuitous content. But we also ask the teams to choose a direction and then run with it. That was their choice. That's how they wanted to depict the romantic liaisons in the game, so that's what we did.
— Ray Muzyka, founder of BioWare, on the romance system of Dragon Age: Origins
BioWare recognized that non-linear choices are an element unique to video games in the entertainment industry. Zeschuk called the sheer number of choices in the game "big" and "impactful", and the team designed many of those to be emotional and create a more personal experience for the player.[28] They intentionally avoided adding a karma system, as the choices are designed to be ambiguous, with only the player to judge whether they are good or bad.[36] According to Muzyka, their goal was to make players sympathize with events and characters, connecting with them to feel true emotions. This vision challenged the team to balance many key aspects, such as the amount of dialogue and animation in each cutscene, to create a believable scenario for players.[37]
The team also hoped to handle romance in a more "mature" and "complicated" way, with a true reflection on human relationships and reactions rather than "adolescent titillation".[38] The game has sex scenes, but no nudity. Muzyka added that it was an artistic choice, and a decision made by the team, not the publisher Electronic Arts.[39]
While Origins is a single-player-only game, Muzyka described it as a "social experience", considering the narrative and its variety of paths as an integral part of the gameplay. The characters a player meets, items they collect, and quests they receive and complete may be different, leading to a completely different experience. He also considered the ways a player explores the world and discovers new areas as an exploration narrative. As each player had different experience, they hoped that those players would collaborate to expand upon their knowledge of the world. To that effect, the team built a community site as an online social environment for players to communicate.[40] Players could share stats and automatically generated screenshots with the community.[41]
Sound[edit]
The game features an orchestral soundtrack with choir, used both in-game and during cutscenes. The soundtrack was recorded by performance of a 44-piece orchestra, recorded twice and merged to sound like an 88-piece orchestra.[31] It was composed by Inon Zur and performed by the Northwest Sinfonia.[31][42] According to Zur, he intentionally made most of the soundtrack feel "dark", combining low brass and bass string instruments with ancient drums to express a feeling that is both heroic and demonic.[43] One of the tracks, "Leliana's Song", was composed in under 24 hours.[31] The soundtrack was presented at a panel in the Hollywood Music in Media Interactive Conference in 2009,[44] and was performed as part of the September 26 "A Night in Fantasia 2009" concert in Sydney, Australia, by the Eminence Symphony Orchestra.[45]
Origins contains a large amount of voice acting recorded in the US and the UK. Actors include Tim Russ, Steve Valentine, Kate Mulgrew, Simon Templeman, Mark Rolston, Tim Curry, Adam Howden, Nicola Bertram, and Claudia Black.[46] In total, more than 140 voice actors worked on the game.[47] A large part of these recordings became the ambient dialogue that takes place between non-player characters in the adventuring party, adding to their backstories and lending more credibility to the characters. Mark Darrah, executive producer of BioWare, described the cast of characters the largest of any of their games at that time, and hoped that using celebrities would add a layer of depth and complexity to the characters.[48] The main protagonist is not voice-acted, as the team hoped that players would "reflect their own inner voice" when making decisions.[28]
Release[edit]
While the game was originally intended for PC, a console version was announced in 2008 by gaming magazine Game Informer.[49] Prior to the announcement, Zeschuk suggested that the entire franchise has a "console future".[50] The decision was made to bring the game to consoles to introduce it to a wider audience.[27] Mike Laidlaw, the game's lead designer, considered creating the console versions' interface a challenge, as they had to convert the long and complex quickbar from the PC version to a more streamlined interface that could use the same actions with only few button presses. To that end, the team decided to map six different actions together, and allow players to customize the arrangement.[26] Also, the console version does not allow the top-down view possible in the PC version.[51]
The game was originally set to be released in early 2009 for Microsoft Windows, and later for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The team partnered with Edge of Reality to develop the console versions of the game.[52] However, its release date was pushed to the latter half of that year in order to have a simultaneous launch.[53] BioWare announced that the game would be released on October 20, 2009, but pushed it back again to November 6, 2009, as the team wanted additional time to finalize some last-minute decisions.[54] The PlayStation 3 version was at one point delayed to November 17, but did end up launching alongside the other versions.[55] A Mac version of the game, developed by TransGaming, was released on December 21, 2009.[56]
In addition to the standard version, other editions of Origins were made available for purchase. The Collector's Edition came in a SteelBook with different artwork. Like the standard edition, the Collector's Edition included a redemption code to obtain the Stone Prisoner and Blood Dragon Armor DLC for free, but added three additional exclusive in-game items, a bonus disc containing a making-of documentary, concept art, trailers, the game's original soundtrack, and a cloth map of Ferelden.[57] The "Ultimate Edition", released on October 26, 2010, includes the base game, the Awakening expansion pack, and all 9 DLC packs.[58]
The Dragon Age Character Creator was released on October 13, 2009, allowing players to create a character in advance and import it into the full game upon release.[59] BioWare also released a "developer-grade" toolset to allow extensive modification and customization of the game's PC version. Players can use these tools to craft new campaigns, quests, cinematics, and lip-syncing.[60]
On November 26, 2009, Electronic Arts announced a competition called Dragon Age: Warden’s Quest. Contestants formed groups of four people and competed to adventure through the game's world, with the winning group receiving $12,500.[61] The representatives from Hungary won the contest, followed by a group called Bioware Community, Canada and a group from Poland.[62] On March 9, 2011, Electronic Arts announced that players who pre-ordered Darkspore would receive a free copy of Origins.[63] In 2012, to celebrate the first anniversary of Electronic Arts' own digital distribution software Origin, the game was made free to download alongside Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Spore for a limited time.[64] On October 8, 2015, it became free to download again for a limited time as part of Origin's On the House program.[65]
Downloadable content[edit]
BioWare announced that they would support the game with downloadable content for at least 2 years.[66] The DLC packs are both story-based and content-based, and added in elements that were cut from the base game, such as Shale, a stone-based companion who always gets stuck in doors and causes trouble with the camera system.[67] A crossover with Mass Effect 2, an item called the Blood Dragon Armor, is also available for purchase.[68]
Downloadable content and expansion packs
Name
Release date
Notes
The Stone Prisoner November 3, 2009 The Stone Prisoner adds Shale, a stone Golem party member, to the game, along with new locations and items. Shale has a backstory, voice acting, and a unique quest.[69]
Warden's Keep November 3, 2009 Warden's Keep adds the fortress of Soldier's Peak to the world, with a story showing why the Grey Wardens were exiled from Ferelden. The player can set up a base of operations that has an area to store party members' surplus equipment. The pack also adds new talents and spells.[69]
Return to Ostagar January 29, 2010[70]
March 11, 2010[70] Return to Ostagar features a return to the first battlefield of Ostagar, where the Grey Wardens were nearly wiped out by the Darkspawn invasion. The player can unravel King Cailan's and Loghain's agendas, discover the armor of the late King Cailan and the arms of the last Grey Warden Commander, Duncan, and have another opportunity to recruit a Mabari War Hound. It adds one achievement, and other new items.[71]
Awakening March 16, 2010 Awakening is the only expansion pack for Origins. It offers a new campaign that takes place during the aftermath of Origins, set in the coastal region of Amaranthine. The story centers around investigating suspicious behavior displayed by the retreating Darkspawn army and its connection to an entity known as The Architect. The player has the option to import their character and save data from a completed Origins campaign (regardless of the ending outcome) or create a new character. Awakening also introduces new party members, new abilities, new class specializations, a raise in level cap, and new items.[72]
The Darkspawn Chronicles May 18, 2010 The Darkspawn Chronicles allows players to replay the final battle at Denerim as the Darkspawn army. In this version of the game's plot, the player's Grey Warden did not survive the Joining, so the Ferelden army is led by Alistair.[73]
Leliana's Song July 6, 2010 Leliana's Song is a standalone campaign set several years before the events of the main campaign. Players assume the role of Leliana when she was an Orlesian Bard, and experience the events that inspired her to join the Chantry. It features fully voiced cinematics.[74]
The Golems of Amgarrak August 10, 2010 The Golems of Amgarrak sends the player's Warden on a campaign in the Deep Roads of the Dwarven Kingdom to investigate the disappearance of a dwarven expedition that was searching for the lost secret behind constructing golems. Completing the DLC unlocks a special item that can be used in those campaigns. BioWare advertises that this campaign is recommended for experienced players, because of its high difficulty.[75]
Witch Hunt September 7, 2010 Witch Hunt starts a campaign to investigate reports that Morrigan has returned to Ferelden, nearly a year since her disappearance at the end of Origins. It provides closure to Morrigan's storyline, with rewards that transfer into Origins and Awakening. BioWare stated that this would be the final DLC to be released for Origins.[76]
Reception[edit]
Critical reception[edit]
Reception
Aggregate score
Aggregator
Score
Metacritic (PC) 91/100[77]
(PS3) 87/100[78]
(X360) 86/100[79]
Review scores
Publication
Score
Game Informer 9/10[80]
Game Revolution A-[81]
GameSpot 8.5/10[6]
GameSpy [83]
GamesRadar [82]
Giant Bomb [84]
IGN 8.7/10[1]
VideoGamer.com 8/10[85]
Dragon Age: Origins received critical acclaim from major video game critics upon its release. While the game is considered to be virtually identical across all platforms, differences in user interface, graphical performance, and online content delivery have led the PC version to be reviewed more favorably than the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions; Metacritic ranks the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 versions of the game with scores of 91, 87, and 86, respectively.[77][78][79]
The game's setting was well received by critics. Dave Snider from Giant Bomb thought that the setting felt traditional due to the presence of dwarves and elves, but that the world was beautifully executed. He also appreciated the small touches BioWare added to the world, noting the "French-tinged accent" of the Orlesian Empire humans. He added that the six origin stories and their unique dialogue and referencing throughout the game make the world feel cohesive.[84] Kevin VanOrd from GameSpot made similar comments, stating that the new ideas added to a familiar world make it feel original and new.[6] However, Jeff Haynes from IGN said that the origin stories were inconsistent, with missteps that make the world, while "rich and vivid", feel less believable.[1] Joe Juba from Game Informer wrote that the world was well-realized with a deep history, which makes the game addicting, as players can sense their Warden's importance in the world.[80]
The game's story and characters also received praise. Snider said that the story is driven by the characters, and that the choices presented in the game were difficult, making him regret some choices for weeks after completing the game. He added that the game's main quest was well written, and its quality boosted by excellent voice acting; he called the performance of Claudia Black as Morrigan one of the best in the game.[84] VanOrd commended the game's story, saying that it was memorable and crafted with care, successfully making players care about the game's world and characters. He added that the deep character development made every choice "momentous".[6] GamesRadar thought that the story and the Warden's appearance felt generic, but that the story become more and more engrossing as it progressed.[82] Nick Tan from Game Revolution liked the banter between companions as a humorous change of pace within the game.[81] Gerald Villoria from GameSpy praised the exclusion of the moral system for making the characters feel more complex.[83] Juba wrote that the story was good but predictable, not straying far from standard fantasy stories.[80] Wesley Yin-Poole from VideoGamer.com called the story memorable, saying that it "leaves an itch in your mind", and has attracted players to return to the game "like an addict seeking a hit of relief."[85]
As for the game's combat, Snider called it streamlined, but said that players who do not want to use the pause mechanic would not be able to appreciate the game, as the combat requires both patience and strategy. He liked the game's third-person view more than the top-down view, saying that being able to view the sky made environments feel more complicated, and praised the high difficulty of boss battles, which task players to manage their stamina carefully. His conclusion was that Origins "feels like a real throwback to the good old days of PC role-playing epics."[84] VanOrd said that the combat system was easily recognizable for players who have played other RPGs developed by BioWare. He added that players can have a lot of fun switching between characters, and agreed that the game had created thrilling boss battles. He praised the choice to have health and stamina replenish immediately after battles, as it sped up combat pace and flow.[6] Tan also commended the combat, finding it a better system than other BioWare RPGs, but disliked the fact that characters can't step into water.[81] Juba praised the amount of space for players to experiment with new skills and abilities, adding that the required focus and attention make combat very satisfying.[80]
The game's graphics received mixed reviews. VanOrd was not impressed, stating that the environments do not look as good viewed from a top-down perspective, but he praised the art style and some of the game's "eye-catching" landmarks.[6] Tan liked that the environments were varied and unique, saying that each level felt "vast" and filled with details.[81] Villoria found its visual quality lacking when compared with that of Mass Effect 2, adding that the facial animation can feel wooden at times. However, he found the combat animation rewarding and satisfying. He further criticized the sex sequences as "off-putting".[83] Yin-Poole said that the game's graphics were boring and generic, and called the sex scenes "anti-climatic" and poorly-executed.[85] Both Villoria and Yin-Poole felt that the six-year development time was too long, considering the game's mediocre graphics.[83][85]
GamesRadar estimated that there are more than 80 hours of content available in the game.[82] Villoria called the world engaging, and its replay value very high, as players can play the story over and over again with a different origin.[83] Juba agreed,[80] as did Yin-Poole, who added that the way companions react to the player's decisions, as well as the six origin stories, significantly expand the game's longevity.[85]
Sales[edit]
Dragon Age: Origins topped Steam's sales chart on November 10, 2009. The Digital Deluxe version of the game was ranked first place, with the standard edition ranked second.[86] The Xbox 360 version of the game was the ninth-best-selling game in the US according to the NPD Group, selling approximately 362,100 copies.[87] According to John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, the company is very satisfied with the sales of Origins; more than 1 million DLC packs for the game were sold before the end of 2009.[88] In February 2010, Electronic Arts announced that more than 3.2 million copies of the game had been sold.[89]
Accolades[edit]
Origins gained recognition from several gaming publications for its achievements. The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences named it the "Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year 2009".[90] At the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards, Dragon Age: Origins received the Best PC Game and Best RPG awards.[91] It was chosen as the PC Game of the Year,[92] Best Xbox 360 RPG of the Year,[93] Best Story of the Year,[94] and Best PC Role-Playing Game of the Year by IGN.[95] The game also received Giant Bomb's Best PC Game of 2009 award,[96] and Game of the Year 2009 and RPG of the Year awards from U.S. PC Gamer.[97] In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.[98]
Franchise[edit]
Main article: Dragon Age
Although the name "Origins" hinted that the game would be a beginning of a new franchise, the team did not expect the game to become successful, and had never planned for sequels.[99] Due to its success, the game spawned a Dragon Age franchise consisting of video games, comics, and novels. The game's sequel, Dragon Age II, was announced on July 9, 2010, with the goal of bringing improved graphics and combat to the franchise.[100] Dragon Age II is set within a ten-year period and features a new predefined protagonist, Hawke, and a new locale within the Dragon Age world, the city of Kirkwall.[101] Players are able to transfer save data from Dragon Age: Origins into the sequel; decisions that the player made during the course of Dragon Age: Origins are referenced while playing Dragon Age II.[102]
The third installment of the series, titled Dragon Age: Inquisition, was announced on September 17, 2012.[103] In Inquisition, players take on the role of an Inquisitor, and must unite Ferelden and Orlais to defeat an ancient Darkspawn called Corypheus. The game was released on November 18, 2014, and in addition to the original three gaming platforms, it brought the Dragon Age franchise to the eighth generation of video game consoles: PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.[104]
A free-to-play mobile game, Heroes of Dragon Age, was released in 2013.[105]
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b c d Haynes, Jeff (November 3, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins Review". IGN. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
Jump up ^ Crecente, Brian (September 12, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins Preview: Violence, Lust and Betrayal". Kotaku. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Sterling, Jim (September 4, 2015). "Preview: Dragon Age: Origins". Destructoid. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b "BioWare Reveals Six Dragon Age Origin Stories". IGN. February 12, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
Jump up ^ Welsh, Oli (November 23, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins review". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h VanOrd, Kevin (November 3, 2009). "Dragon Age Origins review". GameSpot. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
Jump up ^ Porter, Will (April 6, 2007). "Will Porter chases the dragon. Gets a bit tired. Writes about it for a little while.." Computer and Video Games. Retrieved September 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (September 22, 2015). "Dragon Age: Inquisition's secret base camp replacement will make you "freak out"". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Breckon, Nick (April 1, 2009). "Dragon Age Origins Preview: Unicorn Dreams". Shacknews. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
Jump up ^ Cowan, Danny (November 4, 2009). "Critical Reception: EA/BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins". Gamasutra. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
Jump up ^ Ocampo, Jason (August 16, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins Human Noble Hands-On". IGN. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Goldman, Tom. "Dragon Age Origins: PC Hands-On Impression". RPGamer. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
Jump up ^ Taylor, Rob (August 28, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins – hands-on". GamesRadar. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
Jump up ^ Lopez, Miguel (February 9, 2009). "Consequence in Dragon Age: Origins". GameSpy. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
Jump up ^ Simmions, Alex (July 9, 2009). "Dragon Age Origins: Cause and Effect". IGN. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Dragon Age: Origins Updated Q&A - The Characters of Dragon Age". GameSpot. December 18, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Goldman, Tom. "Dragon Age: Origins: GamesCom Demo Impression". RPGamer. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
Jump up ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (September 10, 2009). "Mammoth interview with BioWare's Ray Muzyka!". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Newman, Joe (January 6, 2010). "Dragon Age: Origins - romance and recruitment guide". GamesRadar. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
Jump up ^ Nicholson, Brad (June 3, 2009). "E3 09: There are dragons and sex in Dragon Age: Origins". Destructoid. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Fahs, Travis (January 21, 2010). "IGN Presents The History of BioWare". IGN. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Overview: Dragon Age: Origins". Polygon. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c Blevins, Tal (May 12, 2004). "E3 2004: Dragon Age". IGN. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Purchese, Robert (September 10, 2008). "Dragon Age named, trailer dated". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Purchese, Robert (September 5, 2008). "Dragon Age franchise has "console future"". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Farand, Eric. "Interview with Mike Laidlaw, lead designer for Dragon Age: Origins". RPGFan. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Webster, Andrew (August 19, 2008). "Dragon Age: Origins flying onto consoles". Ars Technica. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c Totilo, Stephen (April 8, 2008). "BioWare Tells Us 'Dragon Age' Stuff -- Explains Lack Of Voice, Presence of Origins, Hints At Dragons And Console Versions". MTV Multiplayer. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Purchese, Robert (August 20, 2008). "Dragon Age: Origins: Page 2". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Purchese, Robert (June 30, 2015). "The first draft of Dragon Age: Origins didn't even have Grey Wardens". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Reiner, Andrew (February 25, 2010). "What You Didn't Know About Dragon Age: Origins". Game Informer. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Borkowski, Andy (June 26, 2015). "History of Dragon Age with Bioware Lead Writer David Gaider- Dragon Age: Origins "You Won't BELIEVE What We Cut!"". 102.1 The Edge. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Wallace, Kimberly (August 12, 2013). "Dragon Age: Inquisition's Morrigan – Past and Present". Game Informer. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Takahashi, Dean (April 7, 2009). "BioWare's founders envision Dragon Age: Origins as dark heroic fantasy universe". VentureBeat. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Glasser, AJ (March 27, 2015). "BioWare Tackles Elf Racism In Dragon Age: Origins". Kotaku. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Page, Dan. "Dragon Age: Origins lead designer interview". Prima Games. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (September 10, 2009). "Muzyka: Dragon Age and ME 2 will make gamers cry". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (July 10, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins Preview". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Tito, Greg (November 17, 2015). "Lack Of Nudity in Dragon Age Was Designer's Call". The Escapist. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Remo, Chris. "An Age To Come: Ray Muzyka On BioWare's Dragon Age". Gamasutra. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Totilo, Stephen (October 27, 2009). "BioWare Reveals Dragon Age's "Massively Single-Player" Details". Kotaku. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Dragon Age: Origins soundtrack composed by Inon Zur". Electronic Arts. September 24, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
Jump up ^ "Sound Byte Interview: Dragon Age II Composer Inon Zur (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)". YouTube. GameSpot. March 8, 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ "BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins Soundtrack Composed by Award-Winning Inon Zur". IGN. September 24, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
Jump up ^ "BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins Original Orchestral Soundtrack Composed by Award-Winning Inon Zur". Electronic Arts. September 24, 2009. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2010. CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
Jump up ^ Carolipio, Reggie (2009). "BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins To Feature the Voices of Tim Curry and Kate Mulgrew". Post E3 2009 Dragon Age: Origins. Worthplaying.com. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
Jump up ^ Nelson, Randy (March 2, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins voice-over cast 144-strong". Joystiq. Engadget. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Nunneley, Stephany (August 27, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins cast announced, has Captain Janeway and Tim Curry". VG247. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Goldstein, Hilary (October 16, 2008). "Dragon Age To Consoles". IGN. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Purchese, Robert (August 5, 2008). "Dragon Age franchise has "console future"". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Totilo, Stephen (October 15, 2009). "Only PC Dragon Age Has Baldur's Gate Camera". Kotaku. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Edge of Reality prepping Xbox 360, PS3 Sims". GameSpot. August 6, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ McEloy, Justin (March 2, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins delayed to second half of 2009". Polygon. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Reilly, Jim (August 16, 2009). "BioWare Explain Dragon Age Slight Delay". IGN. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Garratt, Patrick (October 23, 2009). "PS3 Dragon Age no longer delayed [Update]". VG247. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Barber, Taylor (December 14, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins Coming to Mac". GameSpy. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Reilly, Luke (August 12, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins Collector's Edition Revealed". IGN. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Fahey, Mike (September 30, 2010). "Dragon Age DLC Gets All Wrapped Up In The Ultimate Edition". Kotaku. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Sinclair, Brendan (October 13, 2009). "Dragon Age character creator now live". GameSpot. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Welsh, Oli (November 9, 2009). "Tool set released for Dragon Age". Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Cullen, Johnny (October 26, 2009). "EA announces Dragon Age: Warden's Quest competition". VG247. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Good, Owen (September 21, 2009). "Hungary Prevails in Dragon Age 24-Hour Contest". Kotaku. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Hillier, Brenna (March 9, 2011). "Darkspore pre-order bonuses include Dragon Age: Origins". VG247. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Rougeau, Michael (June 22, 2012). "EA Appears to be Giving Away Free Origin Games". Complex. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ McWhertor, Michael (October 8, 2014). "EA is giving away Dragon Age: Origins for free right now". Polygon. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Welsh, Oli (October 14, 2009). "Two years of DLC planned for Dragon Age". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Nicholson, Brad (August 21, 2009). "Why the Dragon Age: Origins DLC character was cut". Destructoid. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Dragon Age/Mass Effect Blood Dragon armor". Eurogamer. September 10, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Welsh, Oli (November 11, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins - Warden's Keep and The Stone Prisoner". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Fahey, Mike (February 24, 2010). "PS3 Dragon Age Players Return To Ostagar Next Month". Kotaku. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ ""Return To Ostagar" Downloadable Content for Dragon Age: Origins Coming January 5". IGN. December 29, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Haynes, Jeff (January 5, 2010). "Dragon Age: Origins -- Awakening Announced". IGN. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Dragon Age: Origins Darkspawn Chronicles Q&A". GameSpot. May 5, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ O'Conner, Alice (June 18, 2010). "Dragon Age: Origins 'Leliana's Song' DLC Announced". Shacknews. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Cork, Jeff (July 29, 2010). "Golems Of Amgarrak DLC Coming To Dragon Age". Game Informer. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
Jump up ^ Gaskill, Jake (August 25, 2010). "Dragon Age: Origins "Witch Hunt" DLC Announced". G4TV. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b "Dragon Age: Origins (PC)". Metacritic. Retrieved November 13, 2009.
^ Jump up to: a b "Dragon Age: Origins (PS3)". Metacritic. Retrieved November 13, 2009.
^ Jump up to: a b "Dragon Age: Origins (Xbox 360)". Metacritic. Retrieved November 13, 2009.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Juba, Joe (October 5, 2009). "Dragon Age Origins review: BioWare's Return To Classic Form Does Not Disappoint". Game Informer. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Tan, Nick (November 18, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Dragon Age: Origins review". GamesRadar. November 3, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Villoria, Gerald (November 3, 2009). "The Consensus: Dragon Age: Origins Review". GameSpy. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Snider, Dave (November 3, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins Review". Giant Bomb. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Yin-Poole, Wesley (November 3, 2009). "Dragon Age Review". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
Jump up ^ Nunneley, Stephany (November 19, 2009). "Dragon Age: Origins tops Steam sales chart". VG247. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
Jump up ^ Kohler, Chris (September 12, 2010). "November NPD: Modern Warfare Shifts 6 Million Copies". Wired.co.uk. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
Jump up ^ Garratt, Patrick (December 9, 2009). "Dragon Age sells over 1 million pieces of DLC". VG247. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
Jump up ^ Reilly, Jim (February 8, 2010). "Left 4 Dead 2, Dragon Age Sales Hit 3 Million Each". IGN. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
Jump up ^ "AIAS Annual Awards". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. February 18, 2010. Archived from the original on July 13, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2010. Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
Jump up ^ "Spike TV Announces 2009 Video Game Award winners". The Independent. December 14, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
Jump up ^ "PC Game of the Year 2009 - Dragon Age: Origins". IGN.com. December 15, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
Jump up ^ "Xbox 360 Best Role-Playing Game 2009 - Dragon Age: Origins". IGN.com. December 15, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
Jump up ^ "PC Best Story 2009 - Dragon Age: Origins". IGN.com. December 15, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
Jump up ^ "PC Best Role-Playing Game 2009 - Dragon Age: Origins". IGN.com. December 15, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
Jump up ^ "Giant Bomb's PC Game of the Year, 2009". Giant Bomb. January 1, 2010. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
Jump up ^ "Games of the Year". PC Gamer. United States: Future plc (198): 57–59. March 2010. ISSN 1080-4471.
Jump up ^ Mott, Tony (2010). 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. London: Quintessence Editions Ltd. p. 864. ISBN 978-1-74173-076-0.
Jump up ^ Hillier, Brenna (June 30, 2015). "Dragon Age: Origins team did not expect to make a sequel". VG247. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
Jump up ^ Webster, Andrew (July 9, 2010). "Dragon Age 2 announced: improved combat, graphics, epic story". Ars Technica. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Game Informer Presents Dragon Age II". Game Informer. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
Jump up ^ "New Dragon Age 2 Details Shows Mass Effect 2 Influence". 1UP.com. July 3, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2010. [permanent dead link]
Jump up ^ Goldfarb, Andrew (September 17, 2012). "Dragon Age 3: Inquisition Announced". IGN. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Dragon Age: Inquisition delayed until November". PC Gamer. July 22, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
Jump up ^ Purchese, Robert (December 5, 2013). "Heroes of Dragon Age out on iOS, Android". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
External links[edit]
Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived August 19, 2010)
2000s portal
Role-playing games portal
Speculative fiction portal
Video games portal
[show]
v
t
e
Dragon Age
Video games
Origins
Awakening
Dragon Age II
Inquisition
Other media
The Stolen Throne
The Calling
Dragon Age (tabletop)
Redemption
Dawn of the Seeker
Universe
Characters
Alistair
Cassandra Pentaghast
Characters of Inquisition
Book:Dragon Age series
Category:Dragon Age
[show]
v
t
e
BioWare
Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate
Tales of the Sword Coast
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Throne of Bhaal
Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights
Shadows of Undrentide
Hordes of the Underdark
Star Wars
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Mass Effect
Mass Effect
Mass Effect Galaxy
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 3
Mass Effect: Andromeda
Dragon Age
Dragon Age: Origins
Awakening
Dragon Age II
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Other games
Shattered Steel
MDK2
Jade Empire
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Shadow Realms
Anthem
Technology
NWScript
People
Aaryn Flynn
Casey Hudson
Drew Karpyshyn
David Gaider
Jeff Hickman
Ray Muzyka
Greg Zeschuk
James Ohlen
Cameron Lee
Patrick Weekes
Related
Beamdog
Mythic Entertainment
Black Isle Studios
Obsidian Entertainment
inXile Entertainment
Troika Games
Motive Studios
Command & Conquer (2013)
List
Category
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dragon_Age:_Origins&oldid=821482123"
Categories:
2009 video games
BioWare games
Demon video games
Dragon Age
Electronic Arts games
Fantasy video games
LGBT-related video games
MacOS games
PlayStation 3 games
Role-playing video games
Video games developed in Canada
Video games featuring protagonists of selectable gender
Video games with alternate endings
Video games with expansion packs
Video games with user-generated gameplay content
Windows games
Witchcraft in video games
Xbox 360 games
Hidden categories:
CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown
All articles with dead external links
Articles with dead external links from January 2018
Articles with permanently dead external links
Use mdy dates from January 2016
Good articles
Articles using Infobox video game using locally defined parameters
Articles using Wikidata infoboxes with locally defined images
Articles using Video game reviews template in single platform mode
Webarchive template wayback links
Navigation menu
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
More
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
Languages
العربية
Čeština
Dansk
Deutsch
Español
فارسی
Français
한국어
Bahasa Indonesia
Italiano
Lietuvių
Magyar
Nederlands
日本語
Norsk
Polski
Português
Română
Русский
Slovenščina
Suomi
Svenska
Türkçe
Українська
Tiếng Việt
中文
Edit links
This page was last edited on 20 January 2018, at 19:20.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view
Enable previews

values: mw-page-base noprint

values: mw-head-base noprint

value: img

attrs: alt src width height srcset data-file-width data-file-height

values: This is a good article. Follow the link for more information.

attrs: class id

values: firstHeading firstHeading en

values: siteSub noprint

values: jump-to-nav mw-jump

value: th

attrs: colspan class style

value: tr

attrs: href class

value: td

attrs: colspan style

attrs: scope style

values:
/wiki/Video_game_designer
mw-redirect
Video game designer

values:
/wiki/Eclipse_Engine
mw-redirect
Eclipse Engine

values: list-style: none none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;

values: width:22em;float: right; width: 22em; font-size: 90%; text-align: left; border-spacing: 3px;

values:
/wiki/Dwarf_(Germanic_mythology)
mw-redirect
Dwarf (Germanic mythology)

values:
/wiki/Third-person_perspective
mw-redirect
Third-person perspective

values:
/wiki/Top-down_perspective
mw-redirect
Top-down perspective

values:
/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_%26_Fire
mw-redirect
A Song of Ice & Fire

values:
/wiki/Game_of_the_Year
mw-redirect
Game of the Year

values:
/wiki/Combo_(gaming)
mw-redirect
Combo (gaming)

attrs: alt src width height class srcset data-file-width data-file-height

values:
/wiki/Top-down_view
mw-redirect
Top-down view

values:
/wiki/Level_(role-playing_games)
mw-redirect
Level (role-playing games)

values:
/wiki/Experience_(gaming)
mw-redirect
Experience (gaming)

values:
/wiki/Non-playable_characters
mw-redirect
Non-playable characters

values:
/wiki/Dialogue_tree
mw-redirect
Dialogue tree

values:
/wiki/Dungeons_and_Dragons
mw-redirect
Dungeons and Dragons

values:
/wiki/George_R.R._Martin
mw-redirect
George R.R. Martin

values: float: right; clear: right; margin: 0.5em 0 0.8em 1.4em; width:33%; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #aaa; font-size: 88%; background-color: #F9F9F9;

attrs: alt src title width height srcset data-file-width data-file-height

values: background:transparent;padding:0em;margin:0em 1em 1em 1em;text-align:center;float:right;clear:right;width:23em

values: History of video game consoles (eighth generation)

values:
nofollow
external text
http://www.edge.ca/syn/60/65703/65703

values: Category:CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown

values:
nofollow
external text
//www.worldcat.org/issn/1080-4471

values:
/wiki/Quintessence_Editions_Ltd.
mw-redirect
Quintessence Editions Ltd.

values: -moz-column-width: 30em; -webkit-column-width: 30em; column-width: 30em; list-style-type: decimal;

values:
noprint metadata navbox
navigation
Portals
font-weight:bold;padding:0.4em 2em

values: nowraplinks hlist collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner

values: Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide

values: Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark

values: Category:Video games developed in Canada

values: Category:Video games featuring protagonists of selectable gender

values: Category:Video games with alternate endings

values: Category:Video games with expansion packs

values: Category:Video games with user-generated gameplay content

values: Category:All articles with dead external links

values: Category:Articles with dead external links from January 2018

values: Category:Articles with permanently dead external links

values: Category:Use mdy dates from January 2016

values: Category:Articles using Infobox video game using locally defined parameters

values: Category:Articles using Wikidata infoboxes with locally defined images

values: Category:Articles using Video game reviews template in single platform mode

values: Category:Webarchive template wayback links

values: Discussion about edits from this IP address [ctrl-alt-n]

values: A list of edits made from this IP address [ctrl-alt-y]

values: You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory

values:
/wiki/Dragon_Age:_Origins
View the content page [ctrl-alt-c]
c

values:
/wiki/Special:Random
Load a random article [ctrl-alt-x]
x

values: portal navigation p-navigation p-navigation-label

values: Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia

values: About the project, what you can do, where to find things

values: A list of recent changes in the wiki [ctrl-alt-r]

values: portal navigation p-interaction p-interaction-label

values: List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [ctrl-alt-j]

values: Recent changes in pages linked from this page [ctrl-alt-k]

values:
/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard
Upload files [ctrl-alt-u]
u

values: A list of all special pages [ctrl-alt-q]

values: Permanent link to this revision of the page

values: Link to connected data repository item [ctrl-alt-g]

values: Printable version of this page [ctrl-alt-p]

values:
uls-settings-trigger
Language settings
0
button
true

values: دراغون إيج: أوريجينز – Arabic

values: عصر اژدها: ریشه‌ها – Persian

values: 드래곤 에이지: 오리진 – Korean

values: interlanguage-link interwiki-pl badge-Q17437798 badge-goodarticle

values: 闇龍紀元：序章 – Chinese

values: mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-Dragon_Age_Origins rootpage-Dragon_Age_Origins skin-vector action-view