Veilguard Concept Art Reveals Early Plans for Solas

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Summary

  • Early concept sketches show a different side of Solas and hint at the personality of the vengeful god.

  • A visual novel-style game by Nick Thornborrow helped convey story ideas for the development of The Veilguard.

  • The changes from concept to final game reveal a potentially darker side to Solas' hidden agenda.

A former BioWare artist has shared some early concepts for Dragon Age: The Veilguard which provide some additional details about the journey of Solas, sometimes friend, sometimes enemy of the protagonists of the series. While Solas plays the main role Dragon Age: The Veilguardthe sketches shared by Nick Thornborrow show him in a different light than what players may be used to.

Solas debuted as a playable companion in Dragon Age: Inquisition in 2014, he joined the Inquisitor almost immediately, providing magical support as the Rift Mage's sole companion. While this game's ending and its Trespasser DLC are generally useful, it revealed his treacherous intentions as the architect behind the rift hole and carries the plan to tear down the Veil to 2024. Dragon Age: The Veilguardsetting the base of the game.

Cutaway concept art from Dragon Age: Inquisition of Skyhold's destruction with the Dragon Age: The Veilguard logo on top.

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While Thornborrow no longer worked for BioWare when Veilguard After completing 15 years there in April 2022, his official website shows that he was instrumental in its development, having created a visual novel-style game with branching options centered around Veilguard's plot as a tool to communicate story ideas to the development team. A recent addition to his website shows over 100 different sketches presumably taken from this visual novel. While the sketches feature several characters and scenes that made it into the final game, some scenes involving Solas were drastically changed from the concept. The character in the final version Veilguard he's relegated to an advisor role for most of the game, visiting Rook through dreams, but some earlier art ideas make his hidden agenda much more overt and ominous-looking.

Artist shares Early Dragon Age: The Veilguard Solas Sketches

Mostly in black and white with splashes of color drawing the eye to certain objects of interest, such as Veilguardlyrium dagger, early images show Solas dropping the likeable advisor and presenting him directly as a rather vengeful god. While scenes like his attempt to tear the Veil at the beginning of the game seem to have changed little from concept to final product, others look unfamiliar and often feature Solas as a huge being shrouded in shadow. As the game has undergone changes since its early development, it is unclear whether some of these scenes take place directly in Rook's dreams, or if Fen'Harel is unleashing his powers in the real world.

With almost 10 years between series entries and some obvious production changes such as Veilguard changed the name from Dragon Age: Dreadwolf just a few months before its release, many fans were already aware that the story had probably undergone some pretty drastic changes from the beginning to the end of the development cycle. With Thornborrow sharing a behind-the-scenes look, players may be able to bridge that gap a little better.

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