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Dragon Age Forum News (Nov. 13, 04)

Discussion in 'Game/SP News & Comments' started by chevalier, Nov 14, 2004.

  1. chevalier

    chevalier Knight of Everfull Chalice ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

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    Here are today's Dragon Age forum highlights, collected by NWVault. Please take into account that these are only single parts of various threads and should not be taken out of context. Bear in mind also that the posts presented here are copied as-is, and that any bad spelling and grammar does not get corrected on our end.

    David Gaider, Designer

    Combat XP System or the "Good Characters Having to Kill Everything Syndrome" is WRONG
    We rant because Bioware has posted that DA would be an "adult" game -- yet DA, at times, seems aimed at 14 year olds (my initial guess last June at the target age).
    Hey, whoa, let's not get carried away on our assumptions. The majority of the conversations on this forum have less to do about what DA is and more about what you all think DA should be (or, really, what you think RPG gaming in general should be). We have said that we intend to aim DA at an adult audience, but I don't really see why you would say that DA "seems aimed at 14 year olds". Based on what? We haven't talked about game mechanics or even whether there's an XP system or where you're getting it from, and from our comments on the story I hardly get where teenagers would seem to be our focus.

    Tell us what you'd like to see, even if it's "I don't want my fantasy to include combat" or whatever... but keep in mind that we've not talked about anything that the game actually involves at this point.

    In-game languages
    Will the game have situations where NPCs speak in other languages than common?
    Yes. The VO direction should prove... interesting.

    Georg Zoeller, Designer

    will persistent worlds be in?
    2) The toolset was more difficult to use than some people imagined it would be.
    I think a lot of people gained respect for Trent's grandmother over the course of using the toolset :) - for reference, I think that particular quote I am refering to was probably taken out of context.

    I still think it's the easiest toolset ever released (with compareable power) for any game, but as a programmer scripting isn't really an issue for me and especially with the plot wizard (which was released shortly later) you don't even need to script to do plots ... unless you want to do the really fancy stuff ... which people love to do :)

    Well, to extend to DA - if you had trouble scripting in NWN, don't expect DA to be significantly easier, it may probably be a bit more appealing to powerusers however.

    Stanley Woo, Quality Assurance

    Is a trend toward "Arcade" style gameplay in CRPGs a good thing?
    <sarcasm> Oh, I agree. Arcanum, Knights of the Old Republic, Morrowind and (arguably) Dungeon Siege are all sooooooo similar, I can't hardly tell them apart. And if you like on, you'll like 'em all, they're so similar. All of that "arcade-style" gameplay that one found while playing all of those games is a sure sign of the trend towards "dumbing down" gameplay y'all are talking about.

    Why, at this rate, in another couple of years one won't be able to tell the difference between Epic Knightly Adventures and Blastertron 4000! </sarcasm>

    The above sarcasm was intended to illustrate my disagreement with the sentiment in this thread that CRPGs are sliding down a slippery slope towards mindless action. With games like Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and Dragon Age on the horizon, both of which sound like very heavy RPG games, and the constant influx of Asian-style RPGs, I don't think CRPG-lovers have anything to worry about. Any "trend" one sees is just a natural shift in the way games are made, much like the switch from text-based to graphics-based games, or the old-school grid-based movement to 3D. Heck, I can remember when my favourite RPGs were nothing more than 2D turn-based hack-and-slash adventures (Might and Magic III, anyone?).

    So, no, I don't think there is a trend toward "arcade" style gameplay. BioWare, for one, is committed to story-driven RPGs that have memorable characters, epic story arcs and more than a little action.

    Some good discussion going on in here, let's keep it civil, please. Thanks, ladies and gentlemen. :D

    More:
    I have to say that Arcanum is a great game, not as great as fallout but very good _RPG_. I'm surprised that you mentioned Arcanum, because it's a perfect example of non-arcade game that we won't be ever seeing seeing again. Another fine example is Planescape: Torment.
    I think there were a number of reasons we won't be seeing a game like Arcanum anytime soon. Personally, one of the problems I had was with the experience gained in combat being dependent on the amount of damage done as opposed to a per-encounter or per-opponent basis.
    Quote: Dungeon Siege is basically a copy of Diablo, So DS is perfect example of what I was trying to say in my post.
    Some do consider Diablo and Dungeon Siege to be RPGs. I like them for their simple, accessible gameplay, Diablo's skill tree and Dungeon Siege's advancement system, and their general level of fun.
    Quote: <sincere>
    It's very relieving to hear that Bioware is not dumping down their games and DA is not going to be hack & slash game.</sincere>
    I don't think any developer goes into a project thinking "let's make this a dumbed-down version of MegaSword Dragons." Each developer has its own style and its own audience. Morrowind, for example, really impressed a certain group of RPGers, and NWN really appealed to another. Some people will enjoy both, some neither. And some preferred the modding community!

    We can't please everyone all the time, but we can try to make each game the best it can be, and appealing to a great many people most of the time. :D

    More:
    Categories such as Action RPG or RTS RPG might be a helpful first step when trying to sell copies of a game, but they tend to be inaccurate at best.

    If Dragon Age or any other game could be summarized in two words or less, what's the point in making the game? That's like calling Moby Dick a sea adventure or the Bible a self-help book. :)
    Agreed, PIPBoy, but the alternative would be much worse. imagine going to your local Electronics Boutique or Joe's Game Store to find the categories "Epic story-driven RPG," "non-epic realistic high fantasy MMORPG," "epic free-range single-player non-party cartoon steampunk RPG," "sci-fi FPS/RPG," "sci-fi third-person adventure shooter," "real-world war simulation," "real-world turn-based top-down multiplayer-compatible RTS" and "arcade-style cartoon multi-game driver."

    Let's keep the categories small. :D
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 3, 2018
    chevalier, Nov 14, 2004
    #1
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