Along with some (damn nice) concept art, there's additional info on customization of your character, followers, and perhaps a personal castle. (Copy-pasted some info from Kotaku)

Character customization will return "in a big way" for Dragon Age III according to a BioWare panel spilling details and concept art on next year's game at the Edmonton Comic & Entertainment Expo today.
Creative director Mike Laidlaw said that "customization is going to be bigger than Dragon Age Origins," to include "follower customization," according to producer Cameron Lee's live-tweeting of the event.

Asked how much control players would have over their character, lead writer David Gaider said "You will be human," before adding that "backgrounds will be in Dragon Age 3 even though you will be human, it's not playable but it does significant impact on the story." That again was according to Lee's twitter feed.

Other details trickling out suggest that you'll be able to take control of your own castle, and that the game will import prior character choices but, said executive producer Mark Darrah, "we're investigating some ways without save imports."

Edit: Another quote from the same panel:

Cinematic designer John Perry also stated that "he's had a longer pre-production on DA3 than any other BioWare project he's worked on". Perry also mentioned that "just one level in DA3 is as big as all of DA2's levels combined".

So any thoughts on this? Personally I was extremely disappointed in Dragon Age II, but I know some consider it to be perfectly fine. Apples and oranges, etc. Still, I have high hopes in this entry, and I really hope Bioware will make improvements necessary to the franchise. Also, I find the release date (Q4 2013) to be interesting, since most signs point to us having new consoles from Microsoft and Sony by then.

i'm cautiously optimistic about this one. they've received so much negativity recently i'd imagine they would try to re-evaluate their process and maybe get back to some of the stuff that made their games unique.

little bit bummed you have to be human but if that's in service of reinforcing a strong story it's fine with me.

''You will be human''

Well, this has certainly gotten off to a great start >=/

@Yummylee said:

''You will be human''

Well, this has certainly gotten off to a great start >=/

racist

I really like that first Concept Art..

@Yummylee said:

''You will be human''

Well, this has certainly gotten off to a great start >=/

It sucks but \aAt least it's not 'You will be Hawke'.. And you can choose some sort of background.. I wish they let us play backgrounds like Origins, I've just started that again and I love how it get's you into your character.. They lost so much of what made the first one so special in making the 2nd

Having finished Awakenings not too long ago, I was kind of bummed out to see you don't really get to utilize your "HQ" at all. What with a personal, customizable castle, the implications there are pretty sweet.
 
I am excited.

@Genkkaku said:

I really like that first Concept Art..

@Yummylee said:

''You will be human''

Well, this has certainly gotten off to a great start >=/

It sucks but \aAt least it's not 'You will be Hawke'.. And you can choose some sort of background.. I wish they let us play backgrounds like Origins, I've just started that again and I love how it get's you into your character.. They lost so much of what made the first one so special in making the 2nd

I would wage a guess that your background selection will be similar to how it was in Mass Effect. Of course that's just speculation, and considering that they've stated that there'll be more player customisation than there was even in Origins--despite the fact that you're once again a bleedin' human character and that your background story won't be playable--has me a little intrigued to find out just what they have planned. Still... it's so damn annoying when games force you into the role of a human amidst a fantasy world made up of all kinds of races and cultures.

As for the concept art: Dungeons, castles and fields - woo, I guess?

@Yummylee: Not being able to select a race or play your background I have to assume means the background choices are made up of various different possibilities for you characters and how they develop over the coarse of the game? And maybe with the human thing there trying to not hold you down to a specific story like 2 but do a more focused story? though I'd still like to select a race..

As for the concept art: Dungeons, castles and fields - woo, I guess?

I wish they would just put out screens, that would produce more buzz, they have to be at least that far if they have the name and aim for a 2013 date..

I really liked Dragon Age 2. It had its faults for sure but there are a ton of things that I approve of that it did to the series. Excited for Dragon Age 3. Now for what platform Im actually going to buy it on....hmm.

@Demoskinos: PC all the way

Durn it!

It's a Dragon Age game, which immediately has me excited, but it's a bummer that they you can only play human. The origins from the original were some of my favorite features, and it sucks that they removed it from 2, and appear to be sticking with it. I just hope they make more out of these backgrounds than they did in Mass Effect. As in more than a couple of different follower lines of dialogue, and an occasional letter from your Admiral mother.

Still. I wants it!

Having to be human is a bit of a disappointment, but as long as we're not forced into being a fixed character again, I can work with that. Follower customisation is also pretty appealing, but they have a long way to go to make up for DA2 still. I'm being very cautious this time.

You will be forced into a fixed character, you'll just be able to pick a background. And you'll get eight lines of dialogue that are like "you're the Butcher of Torfan!" After you get past the prologue, most of the Origins boil down to that too. Only the human noble really gets any special conclusions.

Also, without the family dynamic in 2, that story is much worse. The best origins in the original were the ones that gave you a family and a history and didn't just treat you as if you leapt out of the rocks.

Depends on what they mean by customization. It sounded previously like they meant colour schemes and stuff like that. Not interested. If they mean meaningful choices in skill trees and how I develop my characters then yes. But that doesn't sound like the new Bioware.

Also, you have to understand that any origin story precludes that character type being used as a party member. You pick up no city elves, Dalish elves, human nobles, dwarf commoners or nobles (Ohgren is sort of an in-betweener) ... Although you do pick up a Circle Mage, the one you do pick up is dead and ridden by a Fade spirit. Because those characters need to be original and interesting and aren't if you're one of them too. If your character was an Antivan Crow, there would be no point to Zevran. If you were a qunari, Sten wouldn't be a fascinating window into that culture, he would just be a waste of time.

Why do you think everyone's least favourite characters in ME1 were the alliance soldiers? Because you're already an alliance soldier. What can they tell you that might be interesting, what it's like to be an alliance soldier? When Garrus is telling you about life as a space cop and Wrex is a bounty hunter and Tali is a codex for the quarian people?

@Brodehouse: I didn't actually play 2 but doesn't most of your family get killed off/disappears pretty early on? kinda hurts the family dynamic

@Brodehouse: I didn't actually play 2 but doesn't most of your family get killed off/disappears pretty early on? kinda hurts the family dynamic

@Blimble: No, you just lose one of your siblings at the start depending on your class. Your other sibling and mother stick with you for a majority of the game and your uncle shows up early on and sort of hangs around as well.

EDIT: Back on topic, honestly the only thing that bothered me about DA2 was the recycled environments, and even then I felt it was a pretty minor issue. The rest of the game was great. I'm sure they won't repeat that same mistake for DA3 given the outcry so I am extra excited for it. Also I hope there's a Merrill.

@Brodehouse: Does "hey your the kid of those guys" really change who you are that much though? From what I know (which is a bit limited) the only thing it really effects is that you get your uncle (or some relatives) house after doing a load of shit. Kind of just seems like a way to fake a history as all they have to do is one line saying you have a family every now and then that really doesn't have much to do with the plot and could easily not have been said without changing the story

@Brodehouse Pretty much agree with most of what you said. There were a few of the origin stories that fell flat because of that. The city elf in particular comes to mind as one of my least favorites.

"You will be human...."

Fuck you, Laidlaw.

As someone who has recently been playing Dragon Age 2 after "stealing" it from EA with that free coupon deal, I have to say that I am looking at Dragon Age 3 with incredible interest. Not to play it, per se, but academically. Honestly, there are maybe like two or three things done right in Dragon Age 2. Everything else in the game is fucking awful. The awful things happen to refer to the combat and the systems that underlie it, the technical things (like the art assets) due to the time limitations, and the last being the main plot and the main character. Dragon Age 2 was incredibly sub-par, and I felt like Mass Effect 3 was pretty mediocre, so I don't have a lot of faith in Dragon Age 3.

However, Bioware has gotten such a bad rap from people for these games I find it incredibly interesting to see how they respond (if at all) to all of the whini-err... valid criticism.

@Brodehouse: Does "hey your the kid of those guys" really change who you are that much though? From what I know (which is a bit limited) the only thing it really effects is that you get your uncle (or some relatives) house after doing a load of shit. Kind of just seems like a way to fake a history as all they have to do is one line saying you have a family every now and then that really doesn't have much to do with the plot and could easily not have been said without changing the story

@Blimble: It gives Hawke a lot of definition, far beyond simple lineage, and also sets the foundation for a lot of your Hawke's personality. From a mechanical standpoint, no, the presence of your family doesn't change much outside of having either a mage or warrior to take with you into battle and a handful of family-centric questslines you can follow. But they provide the story with a fullness that couldn't be achieved otherwise. Many of the major sub-plots, and a number of potential breaking poings, are focused around Hawke's family.

@Brodehouse The Human Noble was actually great especially if you played a female character. You can marry Alistair and become queen of you play your cards right which is fugggin awesome.

@Hailinel said:

"You will be human...."

Fuck you, Laidlaw.

pretty sure you'll be working for the chantry for this (as far as I've heard) and since the chantry is p. racist being an elf or a dwarf would make no sense.

but hey let's all just judge a game before we actually see it that sounds like a smart thing to do

@Animasta said:

@Hailinel said:

"You will be human...."

Fuck you, Laidlaw.

pretty sure you'll be working for the chantry for this (as far as I've heard) and since the chantry is p. racist being an elf or a dwarf would make no sense.

but hey let's all just judge a game before we actually see it that sounds like a smart thing to do

Uh, no.

Their taking away the multiple race choices in DA2 was one of my main issues with it. If they're still forcing players to be human in DA3, then fuck them, I'm out. They obviously didn't learn enough.

@Hailinel said:

@Animasta said:

@Hailinel said:

"You will be human...."

Fuck you, Laidlaw.

pretty sure you'll be working for the chantry for this (as far as I've heard) and since the chantry is p. racist being an elf or a dwarf would make no sense.

but hey let's all just judge a game before we actually see it that sounds like a smart thing to do

Uh, no.

Their taking away the multiple race choices in DA2 was one of my main issues with it. If they're still forcing players to be human in DA3, then fuck them, I'm out. They obviously didn't learn enough.

that's still really fucking dumb but whatever

(also all my post is accurate because you are judging, the chantry IS racist, and bloo bloo bloo)

Cool. Looking forward to DA3.

@Animasta said:

@Hailinel said:

@Animasta said:

@Hailinel said:

"You will be human...."

Fuck you, Laidlaw.

pretty sure you'll be working for the chantry for this (as far as I've heard) and since the chantry is p. racist being an elf or a dwarf would make no sense.

but hey let's all just judge a game before we actually see it that sounds like a smart thing to do

Uh, no.

Their taking away the multiple race choices in DA2 was one of my main issues with it. If they're still forcing players to be human in DA3, then fuck them, I'm out. They obviously didn't learn enough.

that's still really fucking dumb but whatever

(also all my post is accurate because you are judging, the chantry IS racist, and bloo bloo bloo)

I'm not judging. I had previously said that if race choice wasn't brought back for DA3, I wouldn't play it. I intend to follow through on that promise. If that's a problem for you, why do you care?

I...

It makes me kinda sad that people don't want to play non-voiced protagonists anymore. I have to assume that's the main reason for sticking with "only human".

There was one moment in DA2 where I said "Okay, I get why they wanted to have a single voiced protagainst." It was a pretty powerful moment.

That said, I experienced similar things with the dwarf and human noble storylines in DA:O.

@Hailinel said:

@Animasta said:

@Hailinel said:

@Animasta said:

@Hailinel said:

"You will be human...."

Fuck you, Laidlaw.

pretty sure you'll be working for the chantry for this (as far as I've heard) and since the chantry is p. racist being an elf or a dwarf would make no sense.

but hey let's all just judge a game before we actually see it that sounds like a smart thing to do

Uh, no.

Their taking away the multiple race choices in DA2 was one of my main issues with it. If they're still forcing players to be human in DA3, then fuck them, I'm out. They obviously didn't learn enough.

that's still really fucking dumb but whatever

(also all my post is accurate because you are judging, the chantry IS racist, and bloo bloo bloo)

I'm not judging. I had previously said that if race choice wasn't brought back for DA3, I wouldn't play it. I intend to follow through on that promise. If that's a problem for you, why do you care?

why does anyone care about anything? I'm interested to know why you wouldn't play a game because of something so incredibly minor.

Why couldn't I play KOTOR as a Twilek?

Cautiously optimistic.

@Animasta said:

@Hailinel said:

@Animasta said:

@Hailinel said:

@Animasta said:

@Hailinel said:

"You will be human...."

Fuck you, Laidlaw.

pretty sure you'll be working for the chantry for this (as far as I've heard) and since the chantry is p. racist being an elf or a dwarf would make no sense.

but hey let's all just judge a game before we actually see it that sounds like a smart thing to do

Uh, no.

Their taking away the multiple race choices in DA2 was one of my main issues with it. If they're still forcing players to be human in DA3, then fuck them, I'm out. They obviously didn't learn enough.

that's still really fucking dumb but whatever

(also all my post is accurate because you are judging, the chantry IS racist, and bloo bloo bloo)

I'm not judging. I had previously said that if race choice wasn't brought back for DA3, I wouldn't play it. I intend to follow through on that promise. If that's a problem for you, why do you care?

why does anyone care about anything? I'm interested to know why you wouldn't play a game because of something so incredibly minor.

Why couldn't I play KOTOR as a Twilek?

Why can't I have the features I enjoyed the most in DAO?

@Hailinel: ...because they wanted to make a different game that wasn't origins part 2? because it would take way longer to develop? (not that they shouldn't have taken longer with 2, granted)

was the ONLY thing you liked about origins was you could be an elf? Like when SMTIV revealed that it was going to have 2d combat I was sort of bummed but that was just one of the things I liked about Nocturne and got over it.

@Brodehouse: well the chantry did take one of the chants that was about elves out of the chant of light or whatever it was called.

@Animasta said:

why does anyone care about anything? I'm interested to know why you wouldn't play a game because of something so incredibly minor.

Why couldn't I play KOTOR as a Twilek?

I don't actually think its that minor. Maybe its because I come from a tabletop background when it comes to RPGs, but picking a race is a pretty big deal. But anyway...

Personally it just seems like more of a cue that bioware isn't interested in bringing back the things I loved about origins. If the human options vary as much as some of the race origins then its less of an issue, but I still wonder why they think they can't make it work.

I'll be buying it regardless. DA:O is one of my favorite, if not my #1, game in recent memory. Just looking to get some of that magic back

i guess im gonna have to invest in Elf Simulator 2013 to get my elf livin fix

@FoolishChaos said:

@Animasta said:

why does anyone care about anything? I'm interested to know why you wouldn't play a game because of something so incredibly minor.

Why couldn't I play KOTOR as a Twilek?

I don't actually think its that minor. Maybe its because I come from a tabletop background when it comes to RPGs, but picking a race is a pretty big deal. But anyway...

Personally it just seems like more of a cue that bioware isn't interested in bringing back the things I loved about origins. If the human options vary as much as some of the race origins then its less of an issue, but I still wonder why they think they can't make it work.

I'll be buying it regardless. DA:O is one of my favorite, if not my #1, game in recent memory. Just looking to get some of that magic back

it really wasn't THAT big of a deal though, the actual race part of origins. The origins themselves were a much bigger factor. I played a elven mage and a human mage and the only mention of my race was when I ran into the dalish (as an elf). So if the backgrounds themselves are varied enough, than the race doesn't REALLY matter.

DA3 seems like it'll be a pretty crucial game for Bioware. Not at all intending to play it, but I'm interested in seeing how they navigate the maelstrom of negativity that has engulfed them in the last couple of years.

No non-human PCs seems like a very dubious start, at least to me personally, but I wonder how much that even matters in the larger picture. I'll bet the decision to go all human in DA2 was at least partly informed by data gathered from Origins.

@Brodehouse said:

@Hailinel the ability to play as an elf or dwarf was your favourite part of Dragon Age Origins? Not the dialogue, the plot, the setting, the characters, the gameplay, the art design, it was that you were an elf?

It's ONE of the features I enjoyed most. Jesus.

@Animasta: There were a lot of things I liked about Origins, but the various playable races and origins were a big part of that. Going from that to Commander Champion Shepard Hawke of Kirkwall was not what I wanted in the least.

''You will be human''

Well, this has certainly gotten off to a great start >=/

@Animasta: to be fair the mage origins are basically the same all around while the other races/class combos have much more varied intros.

@Hailinel said:

@Brodehouse said:

@Hailinel the ability to play as an elf or dwarf was your favourite part of Dragon Age Origins? Not the dialogue, the plot, the setting, the characters, the gameplay, the art design, it was that you were an elf?

It's ONE of the features I enjoyed most. Jesus.

@Animasta: There were a lot of things I liked about Origins, but the various playable races and origins were a big part of that. Going from that to Commander Champion Shepard Hawke of Kirkwall was not what I wanted in the least.

Then maybe you should wait until we actually see the game before writing it off? They said they're going to have varying backgrounds. you might even consider them non playable origins. Entirely possible that they're going to be varied enough to satisfy, even if there aren't going to be playable elves and dwarves.

and I like how you think that just because Hawke was like Shepard that they're going to do the exact same thing (unless you just assume that, because they'll have a voice that automatically makes them commander shepard)

@casperhertzog: that's my point though! The origins themselves played a bigger deal than the race that they signified.