David Smith @undyinghunter what was the reason for the design change of the darkspawn between Origins and 2? If I may ask.
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw Art director wanted them to look distinct from orcs and like they all had the same disease.
To expand on this, I highly recommend reading Matt Rhodes's post here. It has stuff on both ME and DA, including that bit on the darkspawn.
While the concept and reasons behind the change are interesting and thoughtful, it seems to me that it wasn't executed properly and didn't really match the concept design in the end.
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National Geographic @natgeo Friday Fact: Lightning can shoot out of an erupting volcano when ash and rock fragments collide and produce static charges.
David Smith @undyinghunter what was the reason for the design change of the darkspawn between Origins and 2? If I may ask.
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw Art director wanted them to look distinct from orcs and like they all had the same disease.
This reminds me of a review/synopsis of Origins I once read that kept using the word orcs and then crossing it out and replacing with darkspawn. Like so.
"...and the orcs Darkspawn overwhelm Ostagar."
Vegan, Year 1 of Med School. Zevran, Fenris, Cullen, and Thane.
David Smith @undyinghunter what was the reason for the design change of the darkspawn between Origins and 2? If I may ask.
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw Art director wanted them to look distinct from orcs and like they all had the same disease.
To expand on this, I highly recommend reading Matt Rhodes's post here. It has stuff on both ME and DA, including that bit on the darkspawn.
While the concept and reasons behind the change are interesting and thoughtful, it seems to me that it wasn't executed properly and didn't really match the concept design in the end.
Agreed. And since they carry the Blight, I thought they should look horribly diseased, dripping with... ickyness from their mouths and eyes. The DAO versions were closer to that I thought.
If we see them again, it'd be a cool effect if they corrupted whatever they walked on (maybe like Nago from Princess Mononoke). More menacing eyes would be a nice touch too...
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"Kneel before the Lord Dragon, or you will be knelt." 21 Feb 2019 at 6:59am - It has not been forgotten. It will not be forgiven. We've now met seven times... Revenge is ice cream - Serza, April 2020 Also known as Mike, David, Scott or Bruce
I find that highly unlikely. Considering that we have no context (if we assume Darrah ain' trolling us entirely), it could as well be in-game period that separates events between DAI and DA4.
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To expand on this, I highly recommend reading Matt Rhodes's post here. It has stuff on both ME and DA, including that bit on the darkspawn.
While the concept and reasons behind the change are interesting and thoughtful, it seems to me that it wasn't executed properly and didn't really match the concept design in the end.
From the article you linked:
"You start off with your reference and research. These are well established base camps. They’re well lit, highly populated and safe. The better your reference the better your bearings will be. The artist’s job is to start at base camp with a bag of torches and run furiously out into the darkness. Every doodle, sketch, painting and storyboard is a torch lit somewhere out in the black. You mostly find weeds and rocks out there. But if you keep pushing you sometimes find a rich landscape that can hopefully become a new basecamp."
He just described how they ended up tackling the player's arrival at a new level in DAI. ^-^
Todd Doering @todd_the_Troll I've been a fan following you since Dragon Age: Origins' release. How long do you think before we see anything past Thedas?
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw I really couldn’t say. Still lots of Thedas we haven’t touched upon out there.
Todd Doering @todd_the_Troll I've been a fan following you since Dragon Age: Origins' release. How long do you think before we see anything past Thedas?
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw I really couldn’t say. Still lots of Thedas we haven’t touched upon out there.
Good. I'm not done with it either.
Vegan, Year 1 of Med School. Zevran, Fenris, Cullen, and Thane.
Todd Doering @todd_the_Troll I've been a fan following you since Dragon Age: Origins' release. How long do you think before we see anything past Thedas?
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw I really couldn’t say. Still lots of Thedas we haven’t touched upon out there.
Good. I'm not done with it either.
Indeed! We haven't even explored half the existing map yet!
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: DragonKingReborn Games: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Dragon Age The Veilguard Prime Posts: 887 Prime Likes: 590 Posts: 21,644 Likes: 44,704
Mark Darrah @biomarkdarrah Tomorrow going to be a day... And I'm still sick.
Huh, that's strange.
What could the Executive Producer of Dragon Age be up to that he's busy tomorrow? DA:I was a disaster, after all, that no one bought and millions rubbished. No news equals disaster!
/sarcasm
Seriously, though - is it just my imagination or has Darrah really upped the trolling lately?
"Kneel before the Lord Dragon, or you will be knelt." 21 Feb 2019 at 6:59am - It has not been forgotten. It will not be forgiven. We've now met seven times... Revenge is ice cream - Serza, April 2020 Also known as Mike, David, Scott or Bruce
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: DragonKingReborn Games: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Dragon Age The Veilguard Prime Posts: 887 Prime Likes: 590 Posts: 21,644 Likes: 44,704
Indeed! We haven't even explored half the existing map yet!
Half? A fraction, more like. We've only seen tiny bits of two nations (one of them a 'small' nation) and an engine/technology limited small city-state.
I don't know that I'd want to tempt them into trying a whole nation, that would require some procedurally generated landscapes which might not work so well for the types of games they are, but...I do almost want to tempt them to try it.
"Kneel before the Lord Dragon, or you will be knelt." 21 Feb 2019 at 6:59am - It has not been forgotten. It will not be forgiven. We've now met seven times... Revenge is ice cream - Serza, April 2020 Also known as Mike, David, Scott or Bruce
