Dragon Age comback?

[billyro]

I think Bioware will give us some pretty graphics and lots of killing, to be honest.

[GnatGoSplat]

I hope it's not just pretty graphics and more killing! Honestly, I prefer more story, more/deeper relationships, more character development.

 

I'm 2/3rds into DA2, and while I enjoy it and would rate it pretty highly, DA:O really was considerably better. Pretty much every aspect. Deeper story, deeper characters, more social interaction. I started with a female city elf in Origins, and as someone mentioned earlier, that origin story is excellent.

[billyro]

I hope it's not just pretty graphics and more killing! Honestly, I prefer more story, more/deeper relationships, more character development.

 

I'm 2/3rds into DA2, and while I enjoy it and would rate it pretty highly, DA:O really was considerably better. Pretty much every aspect. Deeper story, deeper characters, more social interaction. I started with a female city elf in Origins, and as someone mentioned earlier, that origin story is excellent.

I'm think the exact same way.

I know that Bioware has admitted that DA2 was a major step-back from DAO, and they've promised that they're going to rectify this in DA3. Sadly though, I think they'll still use over-gory, exploding crazy combat as a gap filler.

[xlcr]

UPDATED: BioWare and Dragon Age at PAX East

Posted on April 10, 2012 by bioware_community

http://blog.bioware.com/2012/04/10/bioware-and-dragon-age-at-pax-east/

 

list of what i gathered watching the vids, da3 responses to be considered hypothetical/in theory lol:

 

equipment for followers: yes, visual changes but maintain signature look and not lose identity.

stop reusing levels: yes, looking for variety, space, scope, something cool hidden forgotten lost, if somewhere urban not kirkwall something 'french'.

decisions that matter: yes, including previous game imports, player agency choices impact world and controls gameplay experience.

specializations: like choosing to be a blood mage are being explored (powers).

cooperative gameplay: looking at feedback from baldur's gate and mass effect and possible technical issues with DA3.

mmo: maybe in the future, no current plans, it will never replace core rpg storytelling, maybe a supplementry product.

seeing characters from DAO/DA2: probable and more than just cameos, maybe in your party.

artstyle: to be expanded across the world of Thedas, maybe see the highlights, maybe Tevinter/Qunari mentioned.

 

game story: unlike origins (man vs monsters) or da2 (man vs man), they'll try something different and more challenging.

- dao setup to introduce players to the world, da2 ending setup as a catalyst for expanding the storyline into Thedas,

da3 heading into giving more of an understanding of the situation that Thedas is going to face over time,

witness change, seeing the promise fulfilled..

 

follower interaction/quests: bring more character arcs and relationships back.

share cutscenes/gameplay experiences: yes.

voice acting: player voiceovers with more dialog wheel/icons choices/tones/implications to make the character more your own.

asunder/dawn of the seeker influence: novels/comics yes, 3rd party movie not really (timeline).

gameplay length: larger than da2, no idea if bigger than origins, maintain depth/storyline but maybe be explorable.

developer console and toolset: no plan yet.

sir-pounce-a-lot (cat) and boo (me3 space hamster): lol.

party camps: interaction accessibility nice (dao) but good to be able to see npc's living their own lives (da2), can do better than origins.

character types races/classes: more consequences/paths for your player choices, more specializations, exclusive content based on player choices.

Edited June 29, 2012 by xlcr

[billyro]

Ooh, sounds good.

Something is bugging me, though. More player dialogue choices. Knowing that games can only be so big, do you think they'll shorten the game by having more conversation choices?

[xlcr]

@billyro, well, if what they said in those 2 video panels is anything to go by, i got the impression that the

bioware staff were aware providing more dialog would mean more work; but, they wanted to make DA3 a much more

immersive/entertaining experience superior to what was available in Origins or DA2.

Specifically, they wanted to expand and enhance dialog with more follower arcs, choices, stories, and related quests to

bring more life to the characters including interactions/relationships with the player.

 

I don't think additional conversation and building more realistic characters will necessarily shorten the game since these

will likely generate follower type quests which will probably tie into whatever main storylines they are coming up with.

 

Thinking about DA:Origins, a majority of the game was driven by and about character conversations and their individual situations:

Alistair, Morrigan, Leliana, Oghren, Sten, Wynne, Zevran, Shale, Loghain, War Dog lol,..

Same with DA2: Varric, Bethany, Aveline, Anders, Merrill, Isabela, Fenris, Sebastian, Meredith,..

You could also alternatively consider a lot of these as distracting side quests depending on your point of view.

On the other hand, i guess if you consider this as redirecting resources to character development instead of working on

other parts of the new game, maybe this will proportionally shorten or change certain aspects overall.

 

I certainly do not want to see DA3 turn into somekind of daytime soap opera lol; but, like many rpg's, characters tend to

end up with histories that feel unconvincing, incomplete, or unfinished.

Bioware staff voiced their acknowledgment of this situation and revealed their ideas in response to audience questions/feedback.

Games only being so big these days is something that can be blamed on limitations of the console which has

sadly held back the potential of the PC in the worst ways; but, consoles are where the money's at.

Like everyone else, I hope DA3 supercedes the best features of DAO/DA2 and provides 100's of hours of great gameplay.

[billyro]

Whoa... you're really on to this stuff.

 

Still, I can't help thinking that Bioware will make fighting the biggest aspect of their game.

[xlcr]

@billyro, lol, not really that 'into it' i just looked into it, probably being driven by frustration with how lacking Skyrim is.

i'm cool with any combat changes different from da2's button mashing semi non-tactics, hoping for an interesting mix of dao+da2 party action.

i agree with you about hoping da3 isn't turned into somekind of console shooter for kids, i tend to be more of an old school rpg gamer.

kinda wish Brent Knowles (DAO designer) was still part of the bioware team, bioware isn't the same without him.

Edited July 2, 2012 by xlcr

[billyro]

Hahaha, I agree with Skyrim there.

For combat, I reckon it'd be cool if there were options for two types of fighting styles; action and tactical. That would satisfy a lot of people (me, since I suck at tactics :P) and I'd play through a few more times.

DAO's combat was too slow and tedious, and DA2's combat was like "what just happened?" A nice blend would be delicious.

 

It's really too bad that the "action" genre is defined by crazy, impossible moves or lightning fast combat...

[Zerican32]

Dragon Age Origins had to be my favorite out of the dragon ages 2 is fun mind you. I never could get into Fallout. Im stuck with fantasy based games. Dwarves Elves etc. I will always love the story telling in origins. Dragon Age 2 seems kind of meh story wise.

 

There is One thing I do love about dragon age 2 though. Its the option to be Mr. Chuckles the whole time. The joker if you will. And yeah there some pretty funny lines in it.

 

One of my favs is when Talis ( dlc) tells the french man child that I eat guys like him for breakfast. Then female hawk says "ONLY when we are out of pancakes."