Knowledge (XXG)

Mike Laidlaw

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earned him a promotion to creative director and then senior creative director for the franchise. However, Laidlaw credits other writers for coming up with the series lore and detail, including Dave Gaider and Ben Gelinas. Laidlaw participated extensively in promotional efforts for
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staff decided to leave the company. Laidlaw formally announced his departure on October 13, 2017. Laidlaw felt this was the right time to minimize any disruptions to the development, and left the project in the hands of producer Mark Darrah.
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as creative director on an unspecified project. He ultimately left the company in early 2020 after 14 months. Later, details surfaced that Laidlaw worked on a now-cancelled project codenamed
866: 852: 273:. The project faced conflicting visions with UbiSoft's Chief Creative Officer Serge Hascoët over the setting and themes. By late 2020, Laidlaw announced he was forming a new 1369: 391: 1331: 1791: 1047: 821: 1376: 767: 601: 202:. The core game design had been implemented, but the writing needed improvement to make it into a viable series. His work earned him a nomination for a 189:, he contributed writing to several pieces of the game, including two locations and three alien races. He briefly worked on a prototype for a sequel to 814: 627: 1383: 1326: 364: 1786: 1023: 462: 150:, eventually leading a team before he quit. Soon after, he applied for a job at BioWare after seeing an advertisement for a writing position. 1596: 374: 494: 1253: 807: 652: 1320: 954: 783: 308: 776: 521: 678: 1354: 163:
he was promoted to co-lead writer after one year due to his ability to organize other writers. He was ultimately credited as the lead
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studio called Yellow Brick Games, at which he serves as chief creative officer. The studio's debut title,
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video games at The Adrenaline Vault for three years. His early career included working at
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to support his passion. His favourite games before entering the game industry were
86: 72: 22: 223:, where he has been interviewed about developmental information for the sequel to 1730: 1122: 1117: 1016: 880: 266: 168: 158: 147: 143: 81: 56: 1262: 1112: 937: 274: 207: 45: 1695: 1664: 683: 1158: 602:"Dragon Age creator Mike Laidlaw announces departure from Ubisoft Quebec" 1629: 1624: 1280: 1148: 731: 495:"BioWare senior creative director Mike Laidlaw announces his departure" 320: 49: 36: 679:"Former Dragon Age boss' new action-RPG Eternal Strands out next year" 366:
Game Art: Art from 40 Video Games and Interviews with Their Creators
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when he was seven years old, and he found himself creating his own
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Laidlaw grew up on a dairy farm. His parents bought him a
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Mike Laidlaw joined BioWare in 2003. Working on the
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as his favourite game of all time. Laidlaw earned a
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(1 February 2020). 204:British Academy Video Games Award 1750: 1749: 1214: 1213: 1201: 626:Chan, Stephanie (28 July 2020). 600:Wales, Matt (31 January 2020). 434:"Being the boss of Dragon Age" 283:, was revealed in April 2024. 241:'s development. As the fourth 1: 1787:Canadian video game designers 128:University of Western Ontario 18:Canadian video game developer 677:Wales, Matt (2 April 2024). 249:Laidlaw and several veteran 171:when it was released in 2005 853:Knights of the Old Republic 35:best known for his work at 1813: 1556:Tabletop role-playing game 271:Knights of the Round Table 265:, based on the fantasy of 63:on the first three games. 20: 1744: 1271: 1197: 738: 768:Tales of the Sword Coast 363:Sainsbury, Matt (2015). 257:In 2018, Laidlaw joined 155:action role-playing game 21:Not to be confused with 1598:Dragon Age: Inquisition 1189:Archetype Entertainment 867:Rise of the Hutt Cartel 822:Hordes of the Underdark 53:role-playing video game 1169:Obsidian Entertainment 1517:Film & television 1049:Command & Conquer 815:Shadows of Undrentide 1650:Cassandra Pentaghast 1418:Heroes of Dragon Age 1355:Downloadable content 1327:Downloadable content 1174:inXile Entertainment 1154:Mythic Entertainment 579:Rock, Paper, Shotgun 33:video game developer 1584:Dragon Age: Origins 402:on 20 November 2014 369:. No Starch Press. 231:series, code-named 199:Dragon Age: Origins 108:He later described 55:franchise, and the 1608:Notable characters 1532:Dawn of the Seeker 1411:Dragon Age Legends 1164:Black Isle Studios 808:Neverwinter Nights 798:Neverwinter Nights 777:II: Shadows of Amn 214:). His success on 1764: 1763: 1704: 1703: 1564: 1563: 1447:The Masked Empire 1440:The Stolen Throne 1427: 1426: 1333:Return to Ostagar 1229: 1228: 926:Legendary Edition 657:GamesIndustry.biz 546:Schreier, Jason. 501:. 12 October 2017 376:978-1-59327-665-2 175:He then became a 146:working in their 41:creative director 1804: 1753: 1752: 1573: 1479:The Silent Grove 1303: 1296: 1256: 1249: 1242: 1233: 1217: 1216: 1205: 1204: 860:The Old Republic 740:A subsidiary of 725: 718: 711: 702: 696: 695: 693: 691: 674: 668: 667: 665: 663: 649: 643: 642: 640: 638: 623: 617: 616: 614: 612: 597: 591: 590: 588: 586: 569: 563: 562: 560: 558: 543: 537: 536: 534: 532: 517: 511: 510: 508: 506: 491: 478: 477: 475: 473: 458: 449: 448: 446: 444: 429: 412: 411: 409: 407: 398:. Archived from 387: 381: 380: 360: 351: 350: 348: 346: 331: 325: 324: 318: 316: 296: 185:. 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Index

Marc Laidlaw
video game developer
BioWare
creative director
Dragon Age
fantasy
role-playing video game
lead designer
director
Commodore 64
levels
Lode Runner
disk drive
Star Control II
Wasteland
Neuromancer.
Bachelor of Arts
English
University of Western Ontario
reviewed
Bell Canada
call centre
action role-playing game
Jade Empire
story developer
designer
writer
Mass Effect
Drew Karpyshyn
Dragon Age: Origins

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