And despite podcasts being my least favorite medium for interviews, I thought it was pretty enjoyable. It doesn't hurt that Mike interviews well and I always feel like I learn something new about BioWare/GameDev whenever he does one of these. Which reminds me, I miss Billy & Blar's ProducerHax series, I hope someday they'll pick it up again. That and Extra Credits are tremendously informative about GameDev.
I'm not surprised about his comments on Origin Stories. They've touched on that topic a number of times before. As I've said in other threads, I personally love them. The replay value of that game is what got me hooked on the DA series in the first place. But like they've said in the past, they require a ton of time & resources which might be better put towards content more players will see.
I glad they took the time to data-mine David Gaider's head though as well as all the effort that went into creating the DA Keep. But now I'm struggling to remember who they brought in to replace Ben Gelenas...
I thought it was funny though, Mike throwing a little (friendly) shade Alexis' way for the recent DA interview... as though Mike, Mark, Patrick, and Co. haven't been teasing for a year & a half now.
Actually, one thing I liked about FO4 was that it gave you an option to play a mother that saw her husband killed and child taken. It's like an ultimate motivator, very powerful. Overall, Hawke's family on the first PT was hard to adjust to; so were Cosulands and Casteless Dwarf. Was easier for me with a noble Dwarf, gods only know why - maybe the rapid death rate/rivalry? SWTOR though is my favorite game because the individual class stories span the whole huge game. Omg, so awesome. By comparison, FO4, DA1and DA2 are nothing. Ryders are more like it, and I love the family quest there, and the personal story.
I glad they took the time to data-mine David Gaider's head though as well as all the effort that went into creating the DA Keep. But now I'm struggling to remember who they brought in to replace Ben Gelenas...
I thought it was funny though, Mike throwing a little (friendly) shade Alexis' way for the recent DA interview... as though Mike, Mark, Patrick, and Co. haven't been teasing for a year & a half now.
It almost feels like an intended scapegoat xD Alexis did say that the interview didn't happen without them knowing about it or its contents - maybe they wanted the 'outsider' to spill the (more obvious) beans.
Last Edit: Aug 25, 2017 0:14:42 GMT by midnight tea
“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”
Actually, one thing I liked about FO4 was that it gave you an option to play a mother that saw her husband killed and child taken. It's like an ultimate motivator, very powerful.
That's a fair point, most games that center around "I must find my child/avenge my spouse/etc" have a male protagonist, so the option to play a woman in that narrative would be nice, for people that are interested in that narrative.
For me, the whole premise of rescuing the PC's child is hard because I wouldn't want to have one to begin with. I like kids, but I in no way want to have one of my own.
So it's extremely challenging for me to relate to that protagonist, because they're all smiles when (in my mind) the catastrophe has already happened. I'm usually able to roleplay and separate myself from the character, but "having kids" is a hard line for me. If it's an option that's one thing, but when it's the core defining trait of the PC, I can't get past it.
It's valuable to have games like that, though, because people are interested in different things. It's just... not for me.
I think time separation helps a bit. If something happens in the distant past, I feel less like I need to "own" the character's actions. As an example, the very first narrate-y bit of DA:O ("You are a casteless dwarf...") is the same for every protag of a given background. But it doesn't feel intrusive or railroady because it describes stuff that happened before the PC belonged to me.
And yet, I feel it does almost as much to situate the unique race/class backgrounds as the full origin story quests. That seems like a pretty good value for what is basically "guy reads what would have been the background text blurb while a noninteractive cinematic plays".
No, the time separation would not help. I don't want a great deal dictated about my character's origin. Full stop. I greatly preferred the bare bones origin DAI gave us for this reason. It gave me just enough bits to build on, without, for example, saddling us with specific people we have to care about, as did the origins in both DAO and DA2. Yeah, you can certainly roleplay that you don't care about these people, but the game expects you to; that much is evident from the dialogue options you're presented with, autodialogue, and animated expressions on your character's face (that you can't control).
The Temple of Sacred Ashes presents the PC with Jowan if you play the mage origin. I don't give a shit about Jowan; fuck off, Jowan.
I do not consider my Inquisitor to be "bland," and in fact he is my favorite Dragon Age PC because of they way they did it.
I think the story from Fallout 4 is probably one of the worst examples. Here you are in a typical Bethesda open world game, where you can go anywhere and do anything, yet you are forced to play as a person with a spouse of the opposite gender with a child (a son). NPCs ask you questions about it and following the main story, which you have to do at some point to get to certain parts in the game, forces you to think about it, so you can't ignore it completely.
My biggest peeve with origin stories is being saddled with people at the beginning of the game I have no emotional attachment to or investment in, yet the game expects me to care about them simply because they exist. I felt disconnected from the DA2 siblings because of this, especially in successive plays.
I don't want to be saddled with people. I don't want many facets of my character's life and experiences dictated. Saying that someone is a noble, or a slave, or lived in poverty are things I can work with. More than that I don't want.
I suppose I should be clear that I don't expect this from games with a more defined protagonist, like Witcher. But since Dragon Age allows you to create your PC, I do want that level of freedom.
That is also true. I also didn't give two shits about Jowan but he was shoved down on my throat. But it can be a very good thing too if done right (Cousland and Aeducan origins for example). I guess I understand the devs not wanting to do it but I also understand fans wanting it. Man it should be hard to be a DA dev right now
Actually, one thing I liked about FO4 was that it gave you an option to play a mother that saw her husband killed and child taken. It's like an ultimate motivator, very powerful.
That's a fair point, most games that center around "I must find my child/avenge my spouse/etc" have a male protagonist, so the option to play a woman in that narrative would be nice, for people that are interested in that narrative.
For me, the whole premise of rescuing the PC's child is hard because I wouldn't want to have one to begin with. I like kids, but I in no way want to have one of my own.
So it's extremely challenging for me to relate to that protagonist, because they're all smiles when (in my mind) the catastrophe has already happened. I'm usually able to roleplay and separate myself from the character, but "having kids" is a hard line for me. If it's an option that's one thing, but when it's the core defining trait of the PC, I can't get past it.
It's valuable to have games like that, though, because people are interested in different things. It's just... not for me.
Well, I ended up not buying a FO4 after that, so it was not enough. I also never played a game that had the PC with her or his own children. The closest I saw was when Blade and Soul saddled the PC with the antagonist who was aged backwards into a little girl so he can raise her properly and be her chi-master. Then they added like 5 more kids to it, and suddenly my young adventurer (that started the game by being referred to affectionately as Junior) was in a possession of many, many kids sans the benefits of all the pleasures that goes into conceiving them & the one possible object of his affections turned into a kid & on a quest for saving them all.... I filed it all under the mysteries of the oriental mind I cannot start comprehending. I kindda got the general idea that arguing with Celestial beings is pointless.
At least Mike sort of mentioned in the podcast that there are other DA things coming our way after Knight Errant. I hope one is a book...I really, really, need another DA book.
The Goddamazon™ @milkdromeduh I just realized y'all literally gave the Inquisitor a flashlight ability as part of their skill tree whose idea was that? 😂
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw I think @hanlsp ‘s?
seb hanlon 🔵 🗣 @hanlsp Wait, which ability are we talking about? inquisihand explosions cause light? I think that might have been a daniel_Kading jam.
All of the mark-explosion progression items were a negotiation between gameplay and the LDs; it’s all tied to the plot.
Is there a summary of the podcast I can read somewhere? I just don't care to listen to a full hour of something like that. I do wish they provided transcripts of these things.
Mountains. Cold. "Let's bring Dorian!" It's good to be Champion!
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition PSN: InquisitorBunny Prime Posts: 430 Prime Likes: 1114 Posts: 2,652 Likes: 10,087
Not necessarily a tweet but looks like Dragon Age *insert name* is possibly going full production now.
Looks like the article is a combination of info from the Alexis Kennedy interview, the recruiting bump, and the podcast with Laidlaw. Nothing we don't already know from other sources.
Hmm, only two are listed specifically for Anthem...
Watch out, maybe they're hiring to work on NugElope.
...
Well, we now know from the interview with Mike that the codename for Inquisition was "Project Nugstorm". What if NugElope is codename for DA4?
And let's not forget that they're trolls enough to reveal the real thing (ZITHER!) but it was so ridiculous everybody thought that it's April Fools' joke XD
“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”