Cool explanation of lore, but his first response has me confused (and slightly hopeful?). Healing magic essentially didn't exist in Inquisition after being present in the first two games, but if their decision on whether or not to include it varies game-to-game, it makes me wonder if they might bring it back. Patrick seems to be implying that spirit healers still exist in the lore, so would they maybe bring it back as a specialization only? I'd be fine with either option, I just want to play a healer again.
While the game devs are working hard to shrink the gap between gameplay and narrative, I think it's safe to assume that there's still a lot of gray area there that allows us to say that what we see from gameplay/combat perspective isn't all there is. Besides - even limited healing/spirit tree in Inquisition still offered some healing (Revival skill), Knight Enchanter has a powerful healing ultimate and plants and potions able to restore to full health are still very much a thing (also - some enchantments that are able to heal or boost healing).
Last Edit: Dec 14, 2018 20:22:55 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.”
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Cool explanation of lore, but his first response has me confused (and slightly hopeful?). Healing magic essentially didn't exist in Inquisition after being present in the first two games, but if their decision on whether or not to include it varies game-to-game, it makes me wonder if they might bring it back. Patrick seems to be implying that spirit healers still exist in the lore, so would they maybe bring it back as a specialization only? I'd be fine with either option, I just want to play a healer again.
While the game devs are working hard to shrink the gap between gameplay and narrative, I think it's safe to assume that there's still a lot of gray area there that allows us to say that what we see from gameplay/combat perspective isn't all there is. Besides - even limited healing/spirit tree in Inquisition still offered some healing (Revival skill), Knight Enchanter has a powerful healing ultimate and plants and potions able to restore to full health are still very much a thing (also - some enchantments that are able to heal or boost healing).
True, but all that was no substitute for the DA2 Creation tree, imo.
I wonder if someone will ever mod spirit healer in as a tree in DAI? Its theoretically possible, I think?
While the game devs are working hard to shrink the gap between gameplay and narrative, I think it's safe to assume that there's still a lot of gray area there that allows us to say that what we see from gameplay/combat perspective isn't all there is. Besides - even limited healing/spirit tree in Inquisition still offered some healing (Revival skill), Knight Enchanter has a powerful healing ultimate and plants and potions able to restore to full health are still very much a thing (also - some enchantments that are able to heal or boost healing).
True, but all that was no substitute for the DA2 Creation tree, imo.
Which further proves my point. The fact that Inquisition uses less healing doesn't mean that there's all there is, especially that we saw more in previous games. And we know that healing has been limited due to meta/gameplay reasons and not narrative reasons - even if they try and knit those together, the gap (or ludonarrative dissonance) between them still exists and will likely exist in the future, even if to a much smaller extent.
I wonder if someone will ever mod spirit healer in as a tree in DAI? Its theoretically possible, I think?
I guess it depends how robust the modding tools are and how stable the game would be. I did see mods that modify different aspects of combat, but not those that add new spells or anything. It would probably require way more involved work, nevermind the lack of architecture to create new spells (animations or effects or AI behavior).
Last Edit: Dec 14, 2018 21:29:42 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.”
John Epler @eplerjc A quick clarification on the Narrative Director thing. When I say 'showrunner', I don't mean the whole game. I keep the narrative rowing in one direction. Design, art, animation, audio, UX, programming - there are other people who do the same thing for those.
And above us are the Executive Producer and Creative Director. They have the final call on everything, and are responsible for the game as a whole. My job is just one piece of that puzzle.
There are also discipline leads. Lead Level Designer, Lead Writer, Lead Gameplay Designer, Lead Level Artist, etc. etc. - they have their own teams that they work with, in a much more involved capacity.
Some folks were taking my tweets to mean that I'm in charge - that's a long way from the truth. I am a diplomat and a facilitator, a player stand-in at times, and occasionally I provide ideas/vision on narrative. That's it.
Mostly, don't overestimate my importance. Narrative is just one piece of the game as a whole.
Showrunner as an analogy came out of a training session we did, but it's a valid point that A ) a showrunner actually runs the -show- and B ) not everyone went to that same training. I am not the person who runs the game.
'Showrunner' was a poor analogy on my part and I wholeheartedly apologize for it. Narrative Director means, well, what it means. I am not in charge of the project.
Because jobs in games are a lot less standardized than other industries, it can be hard to explain what specific jobs do - so we borrow from other industries sometimes to help. And, as evidenced by me, we do it without fully understanding what those roles mean.
Narrative Director can be analogous to 'Lead Writer' at some studios. Ironically, in my attempt to diminish my importance in that area (as we have a fantastic Lead Writer in @patrickweekes) I managed to inflate it in others and that's something I never want to do.
In conclusion, I'm happy to talk narrative and how it interacts with the game as a whole. Other realms, there are folks vastly more qualified to do that work.
John Epler @eplerjc A quick clarification on the Narrative Director thing. When I say 'showrunner', I don't mean the whole game. I keep the narrative rowing in one direction. Design, art, animation, audio, UX, programming - there are other people who do the same thing for those.
And above us are the Executive Producer and Creative Director. They have the final call on everything, and are responsible for the game as a whole. My job is just one piece of that puzzle.
There are also discipline leads. Lead Level Designer, Lead Writer, Lead Gameplay Designer, Lead Level Artist, etc. etc. - they have their own teams that they work with, in a much more involved capacity.
Some folks were taking my tweets to mean that I'm in charge - that's a long way from the truth. I am a diplomat and a facilitator, a player stand-in at times, and occasionally I provide ideas/vision on narrative. That's it.
Mostly, don't overestimate my importance. Narrative is just one piece of the game as a whole.
Showrunner as an analogy came out of a training session we did, but it's a valid point that A ) a showrunner actually runs the -show- and B ) not everyone went to that same training. I am not the person who runs the game.
'Showrunner' was a poor analogy on my part and I wholeheartedly apologize for it. Narrative Director means, well, what it means. I am not in charge of the project.
Because jobs in games are a lot less standardized than other industries, it can be hard to explain what specific jobs do - so we borrow from other industries sometimes to help. And, as evidenced by me, we do it without fully understanding what those roles mean.
Narrative Director can be analogous to 'Lead Writer' at some studios. Ironically, in my attempt to diminish my importance in that area (as we have a fantastic Lead Writer in @patrickweekes) I managed to inflate it in others and that's something I never want to do.
In conclusion, I'm happy to talk narrative and how it interacts with the game as a whole. Other realms, there are folks vastly more qualified to do that work.
So in other words he is basically a 'manager' but what a manager should be.
Last Edit: Dec 15, 2018 21:07:30 GMT by midnight tea
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John Epler @eplerjc A quick clarification on the Narrative Director thing. When I say 'showrunner', I don't mean the whole game. I keep the narrative rowing in one direction. Design, art, animation, audio, UX, programming - there are other people who do the same thing for those.
And above us are the Executive Producer and Creative Director. They have the final call on everything, and are responsible for the game as a whole. My job is just one piece of that puzzle.
There are also discipline leads. Lead Level Designer, Lead Writer, Lead Gameplay Designer, Lead Level Artist, etc. etc. - they have their own teams that they work with, in a much more involved capacity.
Some folks were taking my tweets to mean that I'm in charge - that's a long way from the truth. I am a diplomat and a facilitator, a player stand-in at times, and occasionally I provide ideas/vision on narrative. That's it.
Mostly, don't overestimate my importance. Narrative is just one piece of the game as a whole.
Showrunner as an analogy came out of a training session we did, but it's a valid point that A ) a showrunner actually runs the -show- and B ) not everyone went to that same training. I am not the person who runs the game.
'Showrunner' was a poor analogy on my part and I wholeheartedly apologize for it. Narrative Director means, well, what it means. I am not in charge of the project.
Because jobs in games are a lot less standardized than other industries, it can be hard to explain what specific jobs do - so we borrow from other industries sometimes to help. And, as evidenced by me, we do it without fully understanding what those roles mean.
Narrative Director can be analogous to 'Lead Writer' at some studios. Ironically, in my attempt to diminish my importance in that area (as we have a fantastic Lead Writer in @patrickweekes) I managed to inflate it in others and that's something I never want to do.
In conclusion, I'm happy to talk narrative and how it interacts with the game as a whole. Other realms, there are folks vastly more qualified to do that work.
Mark Darrah @biomarkdarrah Oh you’re in charge? Phew.
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One day, the magic will come back. All of it. Everyone will be just like they were. The shadows will part, and the skies will open wide. When he rises, everyone will see. -Sandal Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a world to save. Again. -Inquisitor
Kotaku @kotaku Dragon Age fan's research leads to a theory about the upcoming game: bit.ly/2S3H3MS
Fen H'arel, huh?
They really seem out of ideas as to what they could squeeze out of that DA teaser if they have to write articles about random fan's ideas I have nothing against her, it's that it's just a speculation no different than what we do on this forum all day long...
“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”
They really seem out of ideas as to what they could squeeze out of that DA teaser if they have to write articles about random fan's ideas I have nothing against her, it's that it's just a speculation no different than what we do on this forum all day long...
We need to send them a link. They’ll have months worth of stuff to talk about.
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They really seem out of ideas as to what they could squeeze out of that DA teaser if they have to write articles about random fan's ideas I have nothing against her, it's that it's just a speculation no different than what we do on this forum all day long...
We need to send them a link. They’ll have months worth of stuff to talk about.
And maybe they can learn to spell the characters' names properly.
One day, the magic will come back. All of it. Everyone will be just like they were. The shadows will part, and the skies will open wide. When he rises, everyone will see. -Sandal Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a world to save. Again. -Inquisitor
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Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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There's been a lot of clues dropped on Mike Gamble's Twitter -- a tweet he deleted that just happened to reference ME:A's launch date, changing his Twitter bio to no longer say he was "previously" on Mass Effect.
If they're not setting ME:A2 into motion already, they will once Anthem is released.
Post by UutIVvdPw7END0Ef on Dec 15, 2018 15:53:55 GMT
I remember them talking about a possible Jade Empire (nothing specific), but if it were to happen it would be after DA4, because the people that did JE are on DA team. (if i remember correctly)
Yea, but the Keep isn't there just to record the game-states from our saves, but also set up new world-states without the necessity to replay all of the games, including DAI - which is one of the things I like the Keep for, and I suspect I'm not the only one. I mean, even if I replay DAI multiple times prior to DA4, I don't think I'll have the time or will to replay any scenario I'd like to potentially use in TDWR and that would certainly impact my willingness to then replay DA4 or any other future game.
Nevermind that I don't think there are many games in recent memory which utilize game saves from one game or another...? I think that's a thing of the past. The DA Keep is just a more modern and less bug-prone way to do that.
This is one of my favorite parts about the Keep, honestly. I love Origins and Inquisition, but I never want to play DA2 again. This way, I can play Origins, randomize some DA2 choices in the Keep, and jump straight into Inquisition.
I also just really love the randomize feature. For my current Origins/Inquisition run, I randomized a world state in the Keep for all three games (after locking a few specific options) and am trying to adhere to it as closely as possible. I like being able to see all of the potential consequences for the choices, but if I'm not feeling particularly strongly about something, randomizing helps me not make the same decisions over and over again out of habit.
Basically, the Keep is awesome from a narrative exploration/what-if standpoint. Please, Bioware, keep the Keep!
Just saying I forgot I could randomize! Thank you! For at least one future DAI playthrough I may do that. Perhaps my Female Elf RomanceSolas one, as a new 'fresh start' to the series world state (but others will be established; like my Always MaleMageHuman canon, and if I want to tinker with the series further).
-I believe DA4 is still technically 'unannounced'. So still possible there. -A ME game is possible, yes. And I'll err on that being what's being looked at, if they want to release a MEA followup (in any form) sooner (early 2020s) than later. -JE I highly doubt, but it is indeed technically true that an expanded Bioware could be looking into it. I really don't think so though. But I do want a reimagined (though perhaps still including the original game as some form of canon) Jade Empire.
I remember them talking about a possible Jade Empire (nothing specific), but if it were to happen it would be after DA4, because the people that did JE are on DA team. (if i remember correctly)
I’m upset at how hyped this instantly made me. My rational brain knows JE is never getting a sequel, and that honestly it’s probably better as a standalone gem... but by god, my lizard brain wants one.
Right, because no one who chooses evil, ruthless, desperate, pragmatic, trollish, silly, insane, and /or stupid choices in a fictional RPG does so because they want to see how the story plays out. No one who plays dark characters do so as a creative outlet, using the games like collaborative fan fiction. No one has their PCs do these things because of tortured pasts, or because the events of the game broke them. No one uses these choices to explore how their characters might look upon their actions and seek to change and atone. None of them are capable of playing characters completely unlike themselves, instead of only self inserts. Most importantly, none of them know the difference between fantasy and reality.
Computer RPGs can never cover everything. Bioware's games are clearly focused on creating heroic characters - there are other RPGs (I think Tyranny is one?) that allow for more morally grey or downright evil PCs. Even better, though, would be Dungeons & Dragons. That would allow you all the freedom you seem to desire.
Previous Bioware games (Baldur's Gate, KoToR, Jade Empire, Origins) allowed us to be heroic, pragmatic, selfish, crazy, stupid, cowardly, malicious, and anything in between. So it's not like they don't have the experience, or resources.
Until then, I recommend role-playing someone less judgmental and presuming of your fellow players' playstyles and motivations I admit I play a lot of kind, empathetic, selfless PCs in my Dragon Age playthroughs. Some would call it boring, and I totally understand that viewpoint, but it's what resonates most deeply with me.
At the end of the day, we all play for different reasons, all of which are valid. One of the most useless things you can spend your time on is convincing other people that their fun is wrong.
Funny, I've had several people tell me I was a horrible person just because I wanted to create multifaceted, fictional characters who mostly make different choices in a fictional setting . I don't create darker PCs for revenge and power fantasies, as that's too easy and boring. I do it to explore the character's motivation, their effect on the world around them, and how they could evolve over the course of the story.
Previous Bioware games (Baldur's Gate, KoToR, Jade Empire, Origins) allowed us to be heroic, pragmatic, selfish, crazy, stupid, cowardly, malicious, and anything in between.
Yeah, and so did the Mass Effect trilogy, Dragon Age 2, and Dragon Age: Inquisition.
Even if you don't want to acknowledge that...solely so you can complain about that.
Yours_Truly @ytcshepard How did planning the trespasser eluvian scene with Solas work? Did you have a big flow chart? Did you get an artist to draw different faces for different world states? Or did you just look at the finished video, point, and say “more sadness here plz?”
John Epler @eplerjc We did boards first, and then got motion capture data from our lead cinematic animator. The facial emotions on that one were mostly me, though - but the boards informed the shot selection.
Emily (aka Domino) Taylor pentapod Hey @patrickweekes Daniel Kading last night we came to the conclusion these are some kind of weird Fade monsters. Especially the spooky all-white one that appeared later! 😂