Will or should DA4 return to the darker roots that DAO had?

Aug 21, 2017 10:10:24 GMT naughtynomad said:

Except GoT is the most watched show on television and the Witcher 3 is being touted as the best RPG ever made....

Clearly there is something to their success.

Yes, but their respective successes may or may not to be related to their "darkness". I've never watched GoT, only like two episodes when the local national broadcaster ran it a few years back. So I can't say anything about it.

The Witcher 3 was obviously great, and if I try to be objective, I do consider it to be the best modern open-world RPG ever made. But it's not like TW3's biggest merit was the "darkness". I daresay that if DAI would have had a similar storytelling structure and a combat system like TW3, it would have been very well received as well. TW3 had an epic and engrossing main plot, which was centered around an enigmatic yet well-developed character (the only good character in the whole franchise), and it was the innovativeness of the main storyline which set it apart from its competitors. Just compare the main plot of DAI and TW3... Which was better?  

Also, there is no guarantee that the transition to "darker" storytelling would be a) successful or  well-received. It's usually not a good idea to do something just to mimic the success of others  And I think BW still has some artistic self-esteem left, despite all the blows it has suffered. So I don't think that they will stoop so low as to copy CDPR.

Aug 21, 2017 11:04:05 GMT majesticjazz said:

Funny how you say Bioware has their own niche of being inoffensive when DA the franchise started out as a dark game that explored sex, violence, and bigotry. Only until DAI and the recent MEA did Bioware shift to this lighter, "inoffensive" stance.

So I am not sure what you are trying to argue. DA4 being dark wouldnt be anything nee cause they did it with DAO and with DA2 to an extent. DAI was their only "light" DAI game.

I am trying to argue that BW shouldn't make any ill-considered moves just because some other "darker" franchises have enjoyed good receptions.

It seems we understand the term "dark" in a very different way. It's obviously hard to define such an inexact term. For me, the Witcher franchise is "dark". Bioware games are not. Or maybe DA2 was in patches.

Also, I fail to see how DAI was so much "lighter" than its predecessors

In other words: I believe that BW honestly doesn't want to make witcheresque "dark fantasy" games. Therefore, they shouldn't do it. Simple as that.

Personally I think that if "dark" themes serve the purpose of the story at large, then sure, go ahead, but there's no point to decide to make a game "dark" without considering the details of the story, setting etc. Simply making a game darker does not make it better