Schmooples' Den! The DA News Discussion Thread

Jun 20, 2020 16:03:50 GMT ladyiolanthe said:

Hey, folx! (I am REALLY not yet comfortable doing that with the x, but I’m working on it.)

omg this is a thing now? :facepalm:

I really hope not...

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Schmooples' Den! The DA News Discussion Thread Jun 20, 2020 16:39:50 GMT via mobile melbella, Heimdall, and 9 more like this

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Post by Kabraxal on Jun 20, 2020 16:39:50 GMT

Jun 20, 2020 16:35:01 GMT Heimdall said:

omg this is a thing now? :facepalm:

I really hope not...

It’s certainly dumb enough to be a thing in this day and age... how that is more inclusive is beyond me. I hope these terms do not make it into DA4. Talk about immersion breaking.

Still have my faith in Bioware.

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Schmooples' Den! The DA News Discussion Thread Jun 20, 2020 17:05:22 GMT ajensis, Kymira, and 10 more like this

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Post by midnight tea on Jun 20, 2020 17:05:22 GMT

Jun 20, 2020 16:39:50 GMT Kabraxal said:

Jun 20, 2020 16:35:01 GMT Heimdall said:

I really hope not...

It’s certainly dumb enough to be a thing in this day and age... how that is more inclusive is beyond me. I hope these terms do not make it into DA4. Talk about immersion breaking.

Can we not mix up what is on writer's private twitter account and what is in the game?

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Schmooples' Den! The DA News Discussion Thread Jun 20, 2020 18:09:04 GMT via mobile midnight tea, Heimdall, and 8 more like this

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Post by dadithinkimgay on Jun 20, 2020 18:09:04 GMT

Can we please not discuss the developers’ use of certain terminology - specifically, the kind that does not relate to the game itself? It’s a new word for many and I get that people will thus react with questions and comments, but I don’t think it’ll do the conversation any good by discussing it here.

I will leave something I found informative on the subject, though, for anyone scrolling by and curious. Sorry I can’t attach a direct link:

www.dictionary.com/e/gender-sexuality/folx/

Last Edit: Jun 20, 2020 18:27:50 GMT by dadithinkimgay

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Schmooples' Den! The DA News Discussion Thread Jun 20, 2020 19:51:11 GMT via mobile

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Post by Kabraxal on Jun 20, 2020 19:51:11 GMT

Jun 20, 2020 17:05:22 GMT midnight tea said:

Jun 20, 2020 16:39:50 GMT Kabraxal said:

It’s certainly dumb enough to be a thing in this day and age... how that is more inclusive is beyond me. I hope these terms do not make it into DA4. Talk about immersion breaking.

Can we not mix up what is on writer's private twitter account and what is in the game?

Last I’ll say on this is this post: hard to do when so many writers are clearly mixing their twitter into their respective works lately. Mix that with just an overall drop in quality writing around the world and it gives me just a bit to worry about in regards to any writer anymore.

Not that I think Weekes will be a probable victim to this trend.

Still have my faith in Bioware.

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Schmooples' Den! The DA News Discussion Thread Jun 20, 2020 21:05:02 GMT via mobile AlleluiaElizabeth, wright1978, and 1 more like this

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Post by necrowaif on Jun 20, 2020 21:05:02 GMT

www.dictionary.com/e/gender-sexuality/folx/

Jun 20, 2020 16:03:50 GMT ladyiolanthe said:

Hey, folx! (I am REALLY not yet comfortable doing that with the x, but I’m working on it.)

omg this is a thing now?

I’m 90 per cent sure there’s going to be a scene in Dragon Age 4 where we have an approval-linked discussion on a companion’s pronouns and I am not looking forward to it.

Jun 20, 2020 18:09:04 GMT dadithinkimgay said:

Folks is already gender-neutral and I refuse to recognize this new spelling until it appears in the Oxford English Dictionary, particularly if they try to cram it into the game where it doesn’t belong.

‘Nuff said.

Last Edit: Jun 20, 2020 21:15:46 GMT by necrowaif

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Schmooples' Den! The DA News Discussion Thread Jun 20, 2020 21:17:29 GMT

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Post by SirSourpuss on Jun 20, 2020 21:17:29 GMT

Jun 20, 2020 21:14:02 GMT necrowaif said:

I’m 90 per cent sure there’s going to be a scene in Dragon Age 4 where we have an approval-linked discussion on a companion’s pronouns and I am not looking forward to it.

I too like to compromise my literary work, in favour of getting praise from similar minded folk, that I associate and surround myself in social media.

Oh yeah, I'd need a social media account first.

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Schmooples' Den! The DA News Discussion Thread Jun 20, 2020 22:06:49 GMT via mobile midnight tea, Hrungr, and 13 more like this

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Post by arvaarad on Jun 20, 2020 22:06:49 GMT

an overall drop in quality writing around the world

Older writing benefits from survivorship bias.

90% of everything, at any point in history, is trash. But trash is highly forgettable. It’s the same reason why “buildings were made sturdier in the olden days!” They weren’t, but the shitty buildings didn’t survive to our time.

Similarly, shitty (or even average) writing from years past isn’t commonly read or re-read, which sets an unrealistically high bar for new stuff.

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Schmooples' Den! The DA News Discussion Thread Jun 20, 2020 22:27:26 GMT Shari'El, SomberXIII, and 3 more like this

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Post by midnight tea on Jun 20, 2020 22:27:26 GMT

an overall drop in quality writing around the world

Older writing benefits from survivorship bias.

90% of everything, at any point in history, is trash. But trash is highly forgettable. It’s the same reason why “buildings were made sturdier in the olden days!” They weren’t, but the shitty buildings didn’t survive to our time.

Similarly, shitty (or even average) writing from years past isn’t commonly read or re-read, which sets an unrealistically high bar for new stuff.

Also, negativity bias. Never mind that with ease of access and publishing more people now can write and publish stuff. Also, a lot of works that were considered trash at one point in time now are considered classics or masterpieces (and vice versa). There are so many variables here.

Last Edit: Jun 21, 2020 16:09:22 GMT by midnight tea

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Schmooples' Den! The DA News Discussion Thread Jun 20, 2020 22:30:25 GMT midnight tea, Kymira, and 4 more like this

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Post by Andrew Waples on Jun 20, 2020 22:30:25 GMT

Jun 20, 2020 21:05:02 GMT necrowaif said:

www.dictionary.com/e/gender-sexuality/folx/

omg this is a thing now?

I’m 90 per cent sure there’s going to be a scene in Dragon Age 4 where we have an approval-linked discussion on a companion’s pronouns and I am not looking forward to it.

Jun 20, 2020 18:09:04 GMT dadithinkimgay said:

Folks is already gender-neutral and I refuse to recognize this new spelling until it appears in the Oxford English Dictionary, particularly if they try to cram it into the game where it doesn’t belong.

‘Nuff said.

Lol, that's your concern? Not the gameplay, exploration, setting, story or leveling. That? :rollseyes:

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Schmooples' Den! The DA News Discussion Thread Jun 20, 2020 22:35:54 GMT

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Post by SirSourpuss on Jun 20, 2020 22:35:54 GMT

an overall drop in quality writing around the world

Older writing benefits from survivorship bias.

90% of everything, at any point in history, is trash. But trash is highly forgettable. It’s the same reason why “buildings were made sturdier in the olden days!” They weren’t, but the shitty buildings didn’t survive to our time.

Similarly, shitty (or even average) writing from years past isn’t commonly read or re-read, which sets an unrealistically high bar for new stuff.

Masterpieces aren't written every day, that's for sure. For every classic we have, there's 40 shitty novels that didn't make the cut. This is absolutely true. However, name a classic of the past few years, in the video games medium. What game, would you say, fits that bill? God of War and Spiderman? The Souls games? Nier 2? Witcher 3? MGSV probably wouldn't make the cut. None of the Bioware games would make the cut. Death Stranding and TLoU2 would probably be out, too. Doom would be there as the only FPS worth its budget. Total Warhammer for the TBS genre, RTS are dead, Pillars wouldn't be there, Wasteland wouldn't be there, Outer Worlds wouldn't be there. Would we really need to put Fortnite, PUBG and Apex Legends on that list? No Battlefield game would be on that list, no Battlefront, either. None of the CoDs. Mass Effect 2 would probably be there. Would Divinity: Original Sin make the cut? RE2 remake would make the cut and possibly DMC5.

Meanwhile, the previous decade had Baldur's Gate 2, NWN1-2, KotoR 1-2, Half-Life, TF2, Quake 4, Doom 3, Prey, StarCraft 2, Warcraft 3, WoW, CoD 2, Resistance 2, Killzone 2, the Halo trilogy, FarCry, Assassins Creed 1-2, MGS 3-4, DMC 1-3, a shitload of classics. Don't even get me started on the fighting games. The previous decade had a lot more classic games. Something's gone wrong and the monetization of video games, or the hunt for it, ruined a lot of them.

When I die, I want Bioware to carry my casket, so they can let me down, one last time.

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Schmooples' Den! The DA News Discussion Thread Jun 20, 2020 22:43:47 GMT necrowaif likes this

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Post by SirSourpuss on Jun 20, 2020 22:43:47 GMT

Jun 20, 2020 22:30:25 GMT Andrew Waples said:

Lol, that's your concern? Not the gameplay, exploration, setting, story or leveling. That?

Language in a story is important. Don't insert ephemeral lingo into the games. Why didn't we do that in fantasy games in past decades? Because there's no reason this language would have any bearing in a fictional world. It's why nobody in Dark Sun would say "you jive turkeys".

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Schmooples' Den! The DA News Discussion Thread Jun 20, 2020 22:47:30 GMT via mobile dazk likes this

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Post by necrowaif on Jun 20, 2020 22:47:30 GMT

Jun 20, 2020 22:30:25 GMT Andrew Waples said:

Lol, that's your concern? Not the gameplay, exploration, setting, story or leveling. That? :rollseyes:

I equate Dragon Age becoming “safe” and “inoffensive” with it becoming bland and cringeworthy. Given that one-third of all the stories in Tevinter Nights were fucking terrible, I’m very concerned about what I perceive is a drop in writing quality, since there’s more emphasis on inclusiveness than there is coherent plotting.

But since you wrongly implied that was my ‘only concern,’ I’ll say that I’m still far more concerned about the injection of live services and level of monetization in DA4. We still have no fucking idea how egregious that will be. And I can tell you now, I will not a co-op only Dragon Age, and I will not play DA4: Rise of the Lootboxes.

Last Edit: Jun 20, 2020 22:54:20 GMT by necrowaif

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Schmooples' Den! The DA News Discussion Thread Jun 20, 2020 22:51:31 GMT via mobile

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Post by Kabraxal on Jun 20, 2020 22:51:31 GMT

an overall drop in quality writing around the world

Older writing benefits from survivorship bias.

90% of everything, at any point in history, is trash. But trash is highly forgettable. It’s the same reason why “buildings were made sturdier in the olden days!” They weren’t, but the shitty buildings didn’t survive to our time.

Similarly, shitty (or even average) writing from years past isn’t commonly read or re-read, which sets an unrealistically high bar for new stuff.

I’m could just be comparing the past 5 years to The previous 5 and the difference is stark and depressing. The quality of writing and entertainment is in the shitter right now. No nice way to put it.

Still have my faith in Bioware.

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Schmooples' Den! The DA News Discussion Thread Jun 20, 2020 23:02:07 GMT via mobile Shari'El, ClarkKent, and 3 more like this

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Post by arvaarad on Jun 20, 2020 23:02:07 GMT

Jun 20, 2020 22:35:54 GMT SirSourpuss said:

Older writing benefits from survivorship bias.

90% of everything, at any point in history, is trash. But trash is highly forgettable. It’s the same reason why “buildings were made sturdier in the olden days!” They weren’t, but the shitty buildings didn’t survive to our time.

Similarly, shitty (or even average) writing from years past isn’t commonly read or re-read, which sets an unrealistically high bar for new stuff.

Masterpieces aren't written every day, that's for sure. For every classic we have, there's 40 shitty novels that didn't make the cut. This is absolutely true. However, name a classic of the past few years, in the video games medium. What game, would you say, fits that bill? God of War and Spiderman? The Souls games? Nier 2? Witcher 3? MGSV probably wouldn't make the cut. None of the Bioware games would make the cut. Death Stranding and TLoU2 would probably be out, too. Doom would be there as the only FPS worth its budget. Total Warhammer for the TBS genre, RTS are dead, Pillars wouldn't be there, Wasteland wouldn't be there, Outer Worlds wouldn't be there. Would we really need to put Fortnite, PUBG and Apex Legends on that list? No Battlefield game would be on that list, no Battlefront, either. None of the CoDs. Mass Effect 2 would probably be there. Would Divinity: Original Sin make the cut? RE2 remake would make the cut and possibly DMC5.

Meanwhile, the previous decade had Baldur's Gate 2, NWN1-2, KotoR 1-2, Half-Life, TF2, Quake 4, Doom 3, Prey, StarCraft 2, Warcraft 3, WoW, CoD 2, Resistance 2, Killzone 2, the Halo trilogy, FarCry, Assassins Creed 1-2, MGS 3-4, DMC 1-3, a shitload of classics. Don't even get me started on the fighting games. The previous decade had a lot more classic games. Something's gone wrong and the monetization of video games, or the hunt for it, ruined a lot of them.

Is all of the writing in the classics good, or are you remembering the good bits?

I find that when I go back and replay games I’m nostalgic for, the ratio of good to mediocre writing is always worse than I remember.

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Schmooples' Den! The DA News Discussion Thread Jun 20, 2020 23:09:35 GMT PCthug, Kymira, and 4 more like this

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Post by midnight tea on Jun 20, 2020 23:09:35 GMT

Jun 20, 2020 22:47:30 GMT necrowaif said:

Jun 20, 2020 22:30:25 GMT Andrew Waples said:

Lol, that's your concern? Not the gameplay, exploration, setting, story or leveling. That? :rollseyes:

I equate Dragon Age becoming “safe” and “inoffensive” with it becoming bland and cringeworthy. Given that one-third of all the stories in Tevinter Nights were fucking terrible, I’m very concerned about what I perceive is a drop in writing quality, since there’s more emphasis on inclusiveness than there is coherent plotting.

But since you wrongly implied that was my ‘only concern,’ I’ll say that I’m still far more concerned about the injection of live services and level of monetization in DA4. We still have no fucking idea how egregious that will be. And I can tell you now, I will not a co-op only Dragon Age, and I will not play DA4: Rise of the Lootboxes.

I fail to see the connection between 'emphasis on inclusiveness' and supposed drop in writing quality. The supposed drop in quality could have happened for multiple reasons, so connecting it with inclusiveness and "safety"/"inoffensiveness" seem entirely arbitrary (I'm also entirely not sure what kind of 'safety' you mean, especially in connection to Tevinter Nights?). As is your assessment that "one-third of all the stories" in Tevinter Nights were 'fucking terrible'...

Jun 20, 2020 22:51:31 GMT Kabraxal said: