Aaryn Flynn, CEO of Inflexion Games and a former general manager at BioWare, explains how the narrative of Nightingale differs from that of Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
The upcoming shared-world survival game Nightingale, in which players search for the titular city across several realms, is being created by Inflexion Games, a company run by former BioWare executives such as Aaryn Flynn. Flynn served as the general manager of BioWare during the creation of games like Mass Effect 3, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and Dragon Age 2. He also received production and engineering credits for earlier games in each franchise.
As a result, it makes sense that prior to Nightingale's early access release on PC this year, former BioWare fans look to it with high expectations. However, Flynn recently discussed how it differs in Edge magazine issue 379 (via GamesRadar+), so fans shouldn't expect the exact same thing.
Flynn talks about the setting as one thing. Nightingale is an alternate timeline game with magical influences on its world, settled into a Victorian Gaslamp setting, as opposed to Dragon Age, which was "sword-and-board fantasy," and Mass Effect, which is "high sci-fi." Flynn previously explained in a Game Rant interview that the Victorian era's apparent rise in popularity is related to how relatable it is. Fans will immediately recognize and be able to relate to Nightingale's Victorian setting, which is infused with magic, but at its core, it is still a simpler time with a lot of mystery and is foreign enough to be alluring.
But according to Flynn, Nightingale's story won't be as "sophisticated" as those of Mass Effect or Dragon Age. Due to the difference in storytelling between BioWare games and Nightingale, he said, those games might make better comparisons than BioWare ones, such as Minecraft or Sea of Thieves, where players are encouraged to create their own stories. Flynn discusses the BioWare games, explaining that each one had a "The story was well-written and had many branches, but they all ultimately led to the same conclusion. There may be a few variations there, but in general you're all enjoying the same story. As opposed to [Nightingale], which is designed to be a sandbox where players can engineer and develop their own narratives and ultimately coexist."
The word "cohabit" should also be emphasized since it is meant to be a cooperative adventure and a virtual "place" for people to congregate without PVP. This, along with Nightingale's adversarial Fae foes, generated worlds from realm cards, and a player-constructed home, make it abundantly clear that Inflexion's game is unlike either Dragon Age or Mass Effect—which can only be a good thing.
Nightingale will be available in Early Access on PC in the first half of 2023.
Source: Edge Magazine (Via GamesRadar+)
Author: Joshua Duckworth
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