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Most fans of role-playing games can only imagine themselves in their favorite alternate universe. Felicia Day actually gets to become part of the lore.
Day's six-episode run, due to hit the Web this year, is set in Ferelden, the same fantasy land in which 2009's Dragon Age: Origins and the upcoming sequel Dragon Age II play out. In the Tolkienesque sword-and-sorcery adventure game, several races join forces to combat a scourge called the Darkspawn (think of them as cousins to the orcs in The Lord of the Rings).
A peek at the Dragon Age II narrative shows Day wrote an original story line around a character for herself, Tallis, an Elven assassin.
"Tallis is headstrong, she fights dirty, and she has a really sarcastic sense of humor," she says. "I wanted to bring a modern sensibility to a fantasy character in a fantasy world."
Tallis goes on a quest to capture a renegade magician. Along the way, she gathers her own fellowship. "She can't accomplish her mission alone, so finding allies is tricky," Day says. "The success or failure of the mission will have a big impact on her future and her freedom."
A life-long game player, Day is fully aware they have a poor track record when it comes to adaptation. "I am an organic gamer and I love games, and I particularly love this franchise," she says. "I put every single effort into making this something that gamers will be proud of. Even though we were constrained a lot as a Web series, none of the people who were involved took that as a constraint. They took that as a challenge."
That dedication is what convinced the developers at Dragon Age studio BioWare that Day was the right person for the project.
"We are really, really excited to work with people like her who have a passion and appreciation for the content and a really good history of quality," says BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk. "That's who we want to work with."
Filming took place over a dozen days last month in the L.A. area, with Independence Day associate producer Peter Winther as director and John Bartley (Lost) as cinematographer. "They are going to take this a step above what we have seen on the Web before," says Day, who also co-produced Redemption.
With the series in post-production, Day turns her attention to The Guild, recently approved for Season 5 on Microsoft's Xbox Live. "I definitely have a story line in mind," she says. Day also appears in upcoming episodes of Syfy Channel series Eureka, which continues its fourth season this summer.
A fringe benefit of her Redemption performance? Day got to spend a few hours exploring Dragon Age II, which doesn't arrive in stores until March 8 (for PS3, Xbox 360 and Windows and Mac, rated for ages 17-up). A demo launches online next week.
"Just being able to make a Web series that is tied with such a huge property ... really the premier role-playing game out there, this is a dream project come true," Day says.
