Dragon Age: Origins & Awakening & DA2

Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 4:17 am

Fair enough. I think they're missing a bet by not using Morrigan's child, though.

I'm betting Morrigan's child is involved in some way in DA2 though, its a crazy old god/dragon baby. Plus, the game takes place over ten years and maybe the baby hasadvanced age growth, who knows?

All i know is, why wouldn't they use something as important as that in DA2?
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hannah sillery
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 12:42 pm

I'm betting Morrigan's child is involved in some way in DA2 though, its a crazy old god/dragon baby. Plus, the game takes place over ten years and maybe the baby hasadvanced age growth, who knows?

All i know is, why wouldn't they use something as important as that in DA2?

Morrigan's child will probably not play a huge role in DA2 if at all. Rabinna mentioned that we will be able to import saves and not everybody did the ritual with Morrigan so her child won't exist in all games..
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Emma Pennington
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 7:56 am

They also cut out the sacrifice ending. So exclude that in your factors. Well this Dragon Age 2 looks pretty [censored], and I sort of knew Dragon Age would be a once off. Now that EA has it's full claws on it they are devouring its soul. Had a fun ride people. I mean it will probably be... alright. But Dragon Age was something amazing I don't think can be replicated. All signs point that way, and it seems sort of a gimmick to see your actions, but only through a 3rd person perspective.
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ashleigh bryden
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 4:02 am

They also cut out the sacrifice ending. So exclude that in your factors. Well this Dragon Age 2 looks pretty [censored], and I sort of knew Dragon Age would be a once off. Now that EA has it's full claws on it they are devouring its soul. Had a fun ride people. I mean it will probably be... alright. But Dragon Age was something amazing I don't think can be replicated. All signs point that way, and it seems sort of a gimmick to see your actions, but only through a 3rd person perspective.


I don't want to give up on the series yet. Remember how one of the early trailers turned off everyone by emphasizing the violence and making gamers think DA would be a mindless hack and slash, only to have DA be the instant classic that we enjoy. I don't like being limited to playing a human, though. The elven and dwarven origins were among the best.
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Daniel Lozano
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 6:46 am

So... apparently
Spoiler
we will be seeing Flemeth at some point.
Thoughts on the lady with the dragon hand in the concept art?

How does that work out if
Spoiler
we decided to kill her in DAO

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Your Mum
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 1:28 pm

Well, you were right after all. Oh well. They can only use Mark Meer to voice Sir Hawke the Champion and General Errand Boy of Ferelden if he somewhere gets to say the line "He's a big stupid jellyfish!" :rofl: I have to say Meer's voice grew on me as I played through as male shepard, but I totally agree with the criticism that his voice did not suit across different races.

I doubt they would use his voice or Jennifer Hale for the Lady Hawke... I think they are now way too closely identified with Shepard - at least among RPG gaming fans (who would be their target for DA2).

Also... :slap: to the first person who names their male character Ethan Hawke. Or Davis Wolfgang Hawke. Or... oh, whatever. Do what you want. :P


I was afraid that the pc would be voiced. My opinion only; that svcks.

Especially if they use the same type of conversation tree thing as ME/ME2. The picking something "good" to say, picking something "neutral" to say, or picking the "jerk" response was *not* the highlight of the ME games for me. I won't mention how what Shep actually said was not always what you really wanted them to say, or you find out you have the same response no matter which option you choose, paragon or renegade. If you have text only responses, they can be different. Voice acting kind of limits that. And I really disliked the "spam tab key and click on random items in the world to trigger conversations, but only if you have the right companion with you" system in Awakening.

In my most dire depressing thoughts about the game, I think about how Dragon Age was in development by Bioware for a long time before they even came up with the title. Even EA hasn't managed to figure out how to completely screw up something they couldn't touch. I have a feeling they did the majority of the work for what became Dragon Age while they were still Bioware. Awakening was done by EABioware. And DA2 is going to be EABioware. I don't actually see a lot of improvement for the future.

If I want a cinematic experience, I look for a movie. If I want to play a good rpg type game with a lot of story, and good characters, I used to look for a Bioware game. Now, not really. [I really have to look for that "get rid of the unskippable movie" mod; EA's "cinematic experience" gets old real fast if you attempt to replay the game.]

I can't wait to see how many "whoever they pick for female Hawke is great/suxxors big-time/whoever they pick for male Hawke is great/suxxors big-time threads are going to be started. They still happen frequently in the ME forums for Jen Hale and Mark Meers..... Doesn't matter much to me, since chances are good whoever it is won't match what I think my character sounds like.

I'm going to need a lot more information before I get even mildly enthusiastic about this one.
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Maria Leon
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 1:17 pm

Like I said it's a dead game. Mass Effect in Fantasy Land.
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Nikki Lawrence
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 3:31 am

And the stupid dialogue wheel from Mass Effect is here. :banghead:

Well, the good thing is, that my expectations for Dragon Age 2 can only improve from here, since all the absolute worst things I think it could have are in. It's not as if Bioware will do something stupid and unnecessary, like alter the combat system so that you can only control your main character...right?

How does that work out if
Spoiler
we decided to kill her in DAO


It's heavily implied that Flemeth will be back, and that death is only a temporary setback for her. Even if it wasn't, a canon can always be established (and I think one is, anyway).
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MatthewJontully
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 6:38 am

I was afraid that the pc would be voiced. My opinion only; that svcks.

Especially if they use the same type of conversation tree thing as ME/ME2. The picking something "good" to say, picking something "neutral" to say, or picking the "jerk" response was *not* the highlight of the ME games for me. I won't mention how what Shep actually said was not always what you really wanted them to say, or you find out you have the same response no matter which option you choose, paragon or renegade. If you have text only responses, they can be different. Voice acting kind of limits that. And I really disliked the "spam tab key and click on random items in the world to trigger conversations, but only if you have the right companion with you" system in Awakening.

In my most dire depressing thoughts about the game, I think about how Dragon Age was in development by Bioware for a long time before they even came up with the title. Even EA hasn't managed to figure out how to completely screw up something they couldn't touch. I have a feeling they did the majority of the work for what became Dragon Age while they were still Bioware. Awakening was done by EABioware. And DA2 is going to be EABioware. I don't actually see a lot of improvement for the future.

If I want a cinematic experience, I look for a movie. If I want to play a good rpg type game with a lot of story, and good characters, I used to look for a Bioware game. Now, not really. [I really have to look for that "get rid of the unskippable movie" mod; EA's "cinematic experience" gets old real fast if you attempt to replay the game.]

I can't wait to see how many "whoever they pick for female Hawke is great/suxxors big-time/whoever they pick for male Hawke is great/suxxors big-time threads are going to be started. They still happen frequently in the ME forums for Jen Hale and Mark Meers..... Doesn't matter much to me, since chances are good whoever it is won't match what I think my character sounds like.

I'm going to need a lot more information before I get even mildly enthusiastic about this one.

I hated those,I saw an option asking garrus to disable aship not shoot it down, I clicked it, it led to a conversation of shep saying if garrus shot it down hes a terrorist with a badge because people would have been hurt to stop the bad guy (dr heart), it was right after I finished the bring down the sky mission and killed Balek. I liked how my shep did a 180, and the only way to be renegade is to br a human supremicist or an ass.
DA had a better dialouge system, I hope they keep the character interaction system too where characters notice my actions e.g jack hould leave people who are renegade in Overlord.

Sees above post, [censored], so this is Mass effect with dragons, great <_<
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Pat RiMsey
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 3:19 am

How does that work out if
Spoiler
we decided to kill her in DAO



Didn't Morrigan
Spoiler
express doubt that Flemeth is truly dead and think she is only safe for a certain amount of time?


Anyway, it works out because the devs said it will be so, remember how the dead warden magically ended up alive for Awakening? Since we're going to be able to import saves, Flemeth might be making just a cameo appearance, but we don't know yet if they meant they have a big role planned out for her or not.
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Symone Velez
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 4:01 pm

And the stupid dialogue wheel from Mass Effect is here. :banghead:

Well, the good thing is, that my expectations for Dragon Age 2 can only improve from here, since all the absolute worst things I think it could have are in. It's not as if Bioware will do something stupid and unnecessary, like alter the combat system so that you can only control your main character...right?


It's heavily implied that Flemeth will be back, and that death is only a temporary setback for her. Even if it wasn't, a canon can always be established (and I think one is, anyway).


Considering the grimoire that your pc can find and give to Morrigan, I always considered that doing what Morrigan asks at the end is a "bad thing". Consequently I have exactly 1 playthrough with that outcome. I have a couple of Ultimate Sacrifice endings. Most of mine end up with Alistair married to Anora, Loghain as the hero, and my pc as the survivor and Morrigan really annoyed in Orlais.

Bioware might not want to change things, but EA might insist on something being done to improve the marketability of the game. The more I see the more I think this will not be a game I'll be getting on release day, or maybe at all.

According to Dr. Ray Muzyka, senior vice president of EA and co-founder of BioWare, “Dragon Age 2 will simultaneously deliver an epic story and set a new bar for intense action in the genre.”

We’d expect nothing less than a jaw-dropping story from a BioWare game, but the company’s new emphasis on action is interesting. The game promises that players will be able to “think like a general and fight like a Spartan,” so we’ll see what that exactly entails as more unfolds.


I bought Dragon Age because it was a role-playing game. This Dragon Age 2 doesn't really sound like a role-playing game. And the "Spartan" they mention sounds more like Halo type Spartans instead of ancient warrior type Spartans.
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lauren cleaves
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 8:43 am




Sounds good.

I wonder if Hawke could be Morrigan's son, meaning that he would have dragon blood in effect. (If I understood DA:O correctly, the Old Gods were dragons.)

If so, we're getting into Elder Scrolls/Septim territory. :)


Nope. BW developers stated he/she isn't.
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Big Homie
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 3:54 am

Considering the grimoire that your pc can find and give to Morrigan, I always considered that doing what Morrigan asks at the end is a "bad thing". Consequently I have exactly 1 playthrough with that outcome. I have a couple of Ultimate Sacrifice endings. Most of mine end up with Alistair married to Anora, Loghain as the hero, and my pc as the survivor and Morrigan really annoyed in Orlais.

Bioware might not want to change things, but EA might insist on something being done to improve the marketability of the game. The more I see the more I think this will not be a game I'll be getting on release day, or maybe at all.



I bought Dragon Age because it was a role-playing game. This Dragon Age 2 doesn't really sound like a role-playing game. And the "Spartan" they mention sounds more like Halo type Spartans instead of ancient warrior type Spartans.

I never had him marry her, he always [censored]ed and put me in a "them or me" situation, I didnt harden him saying people are backstabers when he has friends just seemed harsh, but this time I will try to keep loghain, or maybe I will go back to an extremely old save then keep loghain alive and marry anora, shes a [censored]. But hell im sure my character would make a good king.
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Yonah
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 3:33 pm

To quote Ser Jory: "The more i hear about this Joining sequel the less i like it.". Keep Dragon Age and Mass Effect separate, please? :)
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Ana
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 4:07 pm

I bought Dragon Age because it was a role-playing game. This Dragon Age 2 doesn't really sound like a role-playing game. And the "Spartan" they mention sounds more like Halo type Spartans instead of ancient warrior type Spartans.


If you're talking about action, they stated that gameplay, mainly combat, will remain largely unchanged on the PC, instead being modified to make things a bit more dynamic for console users.
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Amber Hubbard
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 2:59 am

Once again, I'm filled with a sense of wonder, about how people can doom a game if so little is known. It is a capital mistake to theorise before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment.
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Far'ed K.G.h.m
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 3:12 pm

Once again, I'm filled with a sense of wonder, about how people can doom a game if so little is known. It is a capital mistake to theorise before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment.

Except we do have the evidence. We have seen first hand examples of both systems in Dragon Age and in Mass Effect. We liked them for being separate entities, or I did. I don't want the same systems crossing over because it won't be the Dragon Age I liked for being what it was. Unless they literally just kept everything the same, but did a new area and immense campaign and let you play a carry over character or had new origins or something more role-playing I will not be pleased with this. This is one of those times change is bad.

We can also look at trends in Bioware game development and how they approach games.

Edit
I said it would svck compared to the original. I never said it would be the worse game ever. Perspective.
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mike
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 4:51 pm

You must be new to humanity? Doomsday predictions are what we do :D

Seriously though, i don't like those chances, but i am keeping an open mind. I'd just rather the sequel kept similar mechanics to the original than copy them from a completely different style of game.

Edit: in other words, what Gamgee just said.
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scorpion972
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 1:38 pm

Once again, I'm filled with a sense of wonder, about how people can doom a game if so little is known. It is a capital mistake to theorise before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment.


I can't understand it either. Although, maybe what's being changed is things they loved.

For example, if Bethesda added multiplayer/co-op to TES, I would sure as hell be pissed at Bethesda and hate the game just for that.

:shrug:
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Campbell
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 2:59 am

People really want Bioware to include every scenario in all the prequels and expansions they do? It's a pain doing it for a stats problem I can only imagine it's much worse when you're trying to do it for a game you're making.
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Lucy
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 7:15 am

Right except this time it's only one. Dragon Age was Dragon Age because it had all of that, not because it didn't have any of that. So yea we're going to be mad they cut out 20% of what we loved (character creation and the associated origins). Then they decide to give us a preset character, and prior to this it was all promises of saves carrying over and playing through your decisions. Pfft. I am disappointed, and I even knew it was coming.

It would be like them doing a rewrite of the entire game Football and turning it into Soccer, but just calling it Football in name only.
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Matt Fletcher
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 7:13 am

In my most dire depressing thoughts about the game, I think about how Dragon Age was in development by Bioware for a long time before they even came up with the title. Even EA hasn't managed to figure out how to completely screw up something they couldn't touch. I have a feeling they did the majority of the work for what became Dragon Age while they were still Bioware. Awakening was done by EABioware. And DA2 is going to be EABioware. I don't actually see a lot of improvement for the future.


You do know that Ray Muzyka(CEO of Bioware) is a Vice President and General Manager at EA and calls the shots on pretty much all of EA's RPGs?
But sure, just blame every change you don't like on the "evil" publisher :)

I was afraid that the pc would be voiced. My opinion only; that svcks.

I can understand why not everybody would be comfortable with this change, but I personally think it makes the most sense.
In RPGs(and games in general) you usually have two broad categories of storytelling:
First person, where the character is basically just an extension of you, think Fallout 3, Oblivion, Half Life, etc..
And third person, where you are following the story of a pretermined character, which is more along the lines of Mass Effect 2, Final Fantasy, Deus Ex, Uncharted..
(note this has nothing to do with the perspective of the game, but simply with the storytelling methods).

Now in good first person storytelling games you will rarely have alot of cutscenes, cinematic style dialogues and events, since the character isn't voiced and predetermined. You are in direct control of your characters actions most of the time.
In modern third person story telling you'll have a lot more cutscenes and cinematic events, and here it's important that the character is pretty much pre-determinted so the dialogues and cutscenes can play out properly.

In Dragon Age they were aiming for a more first person style storytelling(which Bioware said themselves). However it ended up as a wierd mixture between the two, since they still tried to have these dramatic dialogues and cutscenes, which often came off as odd due to the main character performing all these actions absolute silently. Whenever my character stabbed or punched or performed some other epic feat during dialogues and cutscenes it just appeared so unemotional due to him being almost entirely mute.
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Victoria Bartel
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 8:35 am

People really want Bioware to include every scenario in all the prequels and expansions they do? It's a pain doing it for a stats problem I can only imagine it's much worse when you're trying to do it for a game you're making.

Even if it's now only one set role for the character, I'd still imagine they can come up with different paths Hawke would take if s/he'd take a different class. That's why I quoted Holmes, it's the tiny little word all that makes a difference. Tiny bits of info here and there don't give us a clear picture, let alone some reason to go completely nuts with rage about the dumbed down game that now will play like Halo with dialogue.


Anyway, I thought a little about that Flemeth bit. If the story starts in the first weeks of the Origins timeline, we might as well visit her before the blight ends.
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[ becca ]
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 8:43 am

Anyway, I thought a little about that Flemeth bit. If the story starts in the first weeks of the Origins timeline, we might as well visit her before the blight ends.


You mean while running away? I doubt Flemeth's some good Samaritan that helps grey wardens heal then takes refugees in to help them escape... Unless you had a different idea?

I'm thinking
Spoiler
the white-haired woman is Flemeth after restoring her long lost beauty, with the soul of an old god (Morrigan's child). :nod:

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Naughty not Nice
 
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Post » Mon Mar 22, 2010 1:23 pm

You mean while running away? I doubt Flemeth's some good Samaritan that helps grey wardens heal then takes refugees in to help them escape... Unless you had a different idea?

I really don't know. But the two years that Origins' timeline supposedly took, it might fit into. Well, just a theory anyway. ^_^

Ssssh, spoilers. :P
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Agnieszka Bak
 
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