Well I'm not expecting that part to be bad, just that it's the make-or-break part of this whole deal for me.
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Exactly. It's where the Dragon Age series has been a standout even when the visuals were underwhelming (Origins!) or the game was horribly rushed resulting in obvious cut-and-paste reuse (DA2!) The gameplay aspects of the game have always been secondary, while getting to make meaningful decisions against the backdrop of an array of compelling companions and an intriguing story is the true heart of the series for me.
Ehh, I think Inquisition's roleplaying is very "one step forward, one step back". There's more dialogue choices than DA2 or ME and they evolve the emotion-coding system. But a lot of the more interesting systems are very simplified or outright removed. And ultimately a lot of the choices end up being for flavor dialogue anyway, which is always a thing in these games but I felt it more in repeat runs of Inquisition than usual. Outside of gender, race, and romance option, I think the Inquisitor always kinda ends up feeling generally like the same person. I think if the character writing weren't as good as it is, more people would have an issue with Inquisition's roleplaying.
Also if they were hungry to get back to the Bioware of old they shouldn't have fired Mary Kirby and Lukas Kristjanson right after they were done with their work on Dreadwolf.
BioWare has run into the reality of people's choices genuinely not really mattering, or at least not really possible to matter between games. Like, you can either explicitly narrow down potential world states to a handful of options or just take away the choices that create too many permutations in the first place. Where they're at now is narrowing down some choices and trying to quietly narrow down the differences between end states in sequels.
It honestly is worth BioWare being more honest about "hey we're going to canonize X ending" then letting people go wild with choices in each game because you don't have to carry them between games anyway. CDPR ran into this issue between Witcher 2 and 3 and just generally made the choices from the last game mostly a wash. Role playing is good and there should be lots of choices, but we should be more honest with ourselves with how realistic it is to expect those choices to be represented in future titles.
It honestly is worth BioWare being more honest about "hey we're going to canonize X ending" then letting people go wild with choices in each game because you don't have to carry them between games anyway. CDPR ran into this issue between Witcher 2 and 3 and just generally made the choices from the last game mostly a wash. Role playing is good and there should be lots of choices, but we should be more honest with ourselves with how realistic it is to expect those choices to be represented in future titles.
I'm the kind of guy who'd be cool with going hog wild with choices and reactivity and then have the next entry continue from a canon outcome, ngl.
Granted, that is more regarding Mass Effect than Dragon Age, but it's something I'd like to see become more common.
Granted, that is more regarding Mass Effect than Dragon Age, but it's something I'd like to see become more common.
'Small Choices Matter' is basically the premise, the foundation and beating heart, of these games. Because you can't change the ultimate outcome--Denerim is always destroyed, the blight is always ended, Kirkwall is always blown up--the entire Bioware-branded system is about believing that the little choices you do make will lead to a better recovery, or a more just society, or a less tyrannical chantry.
If you think the small choices are meaningless, you're playing the wrong game. Or else seriously deluded about the kind of game you ARE playing, because they never actually give us Big Choices.
Loghain is a hard dude to keep alive. Much as I love Loghain, I couldn't imagine picking him over Hawke. I could feel the Bioware writer in the background smugly marking a cross through a dangling plot thread as I sent him off, though.
This is the sort of prediction that makes *too* much sense, to the point where it feels obvious. The mage v. Templar conflict was really strong and I understand why they clung to it, but at some point it's depressing to start a game about fixing something that you know won't change.
Hopefully they seize the opportunity, because you're right that it's perfectly set up.
The problem is that this is the exact wrong game to be making that decision.
For all intents and purposes this is the Mass Effect 3 of Dragon Age.
Small choices matter for your authorship of the game, that's the point I'm making. You cannot also have these small choices carry over into future games without a deep compromise in the either the choices you can make in the first place or the types of carryover you can do- or realistically both.
I mean they're trying to reconcile this problem and it's abundantly clear what the sacrifice is. I'm not saying there should be one canon ending; only that there should be some clarity and forthrightness about the reality of what is and isn't going to carry over either by writing in path-merging or just outright not canonizing things in future releases.
Could not agree with this more. The small choices do matter because they're about the characters and how you relate to them and the world around you.
Yeah, and this is my biggest... I'm tempted to say 'heartbreak'... where the games are concerned, because I started playing Bioware games with such high hopes about watching my choices play out. Experience taught me to Manage My Expectations (everyone's favorite part of adulthood!), which involved making them smaller and smaller and smaller with every successive game.
At this point, I am not surprised to hear someone say, "Stop expecting ANY of your choices to carry forward," & even if I get it, there's still that tiny little bit of heartbreak.
I wouldn't go that fair, but yes, the combination of hair (and beard) rendering and options in Inquisition was pretty bad, especially considering the rest go the CC was quite good.
I think the illusion that all of your choices matter is far too important tbh.
I think most people are aware that only a handful of decisions actually carry over but the belief that any of them *could* goes a long way.
Also, so many of the impactful decisions in BioWare games are because of the emotion or impact in the moment, not necessarily the affect it has on the future. Sometimes it's also not super apparent which events and outcomes are a result of prior decisions.
I think "choices matter" is always the appeal of these games but players also always need to be willing to meet them halfway. I will say that I think Bioware has a history of handling this both well and not so well. Both Mass Effect and Dragon Age had moments where they went "even though you picked X, Y happened eventually anyway". And that's always a disappointment when it pops up. But it's not SO frequent that I think it's a major problem or anything.
But there's also literally nobody in this industry that has carried forward progression as well as Bioware. People are talking about Loghain and that's the perfect example. The fact this character can still be around for some, even though it's statistically going to be such a small number of people with him around, is something no other game series really offers. No Dragon Age game at this point can account for every single choice made in the previous ones. But as long as they account for a few for everybody, it'll be satisfying enough.
But it's also been a decade since Inquisition, which is... something else to consider. Not saying that's an excuse for a clean slate on the choices. Just that it's a different vibe going into this game than the previous three (four if we count Awakening as it's own thing) which all launched within a 5 year span.
But there's also literally nobody in this industry that has carried forward progression as well as Bioware. People are talking about Loghain and that's the perfect example. The fact this character can still be around for some, even though it's statistically going to be such a small number of people with him around, is something no other game series really offers. No Dragon Age game at this point can account for every single choice made in the previous ones. But as long as they account for a few for everybody, it'll be satisfying enough.
But it's also been a decade since Inquisition, which is... something else to consider. Not saying that's an excuse for a clean slate on the choices. Just that it's a different vibe going into this game than the previous three (four if we count Awakening as it's own thing) which all launched within a 5 year span.
Past choices will barely matter anyway since we're going north. Things like who rules Ferelden/Orlais, the status of mages in the south, etc. are easily accounted for by just changing a couple lines.
They tried to make the protagonist less defined in DA:I, which I think was a reaction to fan feedback and something I personally was strongly in favour of at the time, but I think it was a failed experiment. Making the protagonist a blank slate doesn't work when they're voiced, it just makes them extremely bland. Compare that to the three distinct personalities you can choose from and shift between that give your Hawke a certain presence and make them feel like a real character who's part of the cast, or the Paragon/Renegade system that does the same for Shepard. I really hope Dreadwolf has something like this.
It's the perfect opportunity and I think BioWare, the fanbase and the franchise itself all agree it needs a refresh after Dreadwolf. A lot has happened in the franchise, a lot has been told by these four games and their DLC and that will never change, but we also need to move on from these events. Much like Mass Effect will try to do now.
I don't mean visually I mean like overall how the game looks in terms of quality, gameplay, etc.
Should've worded it better
tbf a lot can happen in a decade that make anyone's choices a wash lol; like witcher 3 takes place a year after witcher 2 and almost nothing carried over in a permanent way because the invasion sorta made it irrelevant which is fine as far as storytelling goes- that's life. I get DA is different, and I want choices to maybe uncover more of the world and stuff, but I can accept limits if BioWare is up front about it.
like, Dreadwolf will be what, 24 years after Origins? (Origins was 9:30, Trespasser was 9:44, and Dreadwolf seems like it'll be approx 9:54)
Co-authorship in games via choices I think lets players create stories for these characters in their head, which is IMO a good thing, but they're going to run into the problem of reality not matching what they imagined.
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like, Dreadwolf will be what, 24 years after Origins? (Origins was 9:30, Trespasser was 9:44, and Dreadwolf seems like it'll be approx 9:54)
I think this is important too; I like seeing how having certain choice flags being set lets me pick up different elements off lore and worldbuilding, but I can't begrudge the limitations in making that materialize in more substantive ways.
I think the hard thing to balance with fans is that there are choices that fans might think are important and might be important in the game, might ultimately not be important in like 5-10 in-game years. Is "respecting" player choice the same as revering their choices? These are more general questions and not aimed at anyone specific. Like is it wrong if the "Warden" whether it's the DAO MC, Loghain, or Alistair just... dies from old age or sickness? Do they need to be handled grandiosely? Is having the Warden die off screen not "respecting" player choice when their choice is acknowledged and integrated in the story of the world by dying offscreen? There's a lot of ambiguity about what respecting player choice actually means and I get the sense that this hasn't been engaged enough with in general.
Co-authorship in games via choices I think lets players create stories for these characters in their head, which is IMO a good thing, but they're going to run into the problem of reality not matching what they imagined.
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This too 100%; players might need to meet studios halfway on this but studios need to stop blowing smoke up our butts here.
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I think in general developers need to stop hinging their marketing on "choice and consequence", even though I know they won't, since it creates an expectation that can't ever really be reached. BioWare's own devs have mentioned that they often use the DA wikia to remember lore bits. Inevitably you are going to get oversights or convergences, especially as more and more games add additional branching points.
The good news for Dreadwolf is, even though it has been nearly a decade since Inquisition, the comics and Tevinter Nights have kept true to the tone and direction that was set up with Trespasser.
The good news for Dreadwolf is, even though it has been nearly a decade since Inquisition, the comics and Tevinter Nights have kept true to the tone and direction that was set up with Trespasser.
Inquisition's graphics looked nice but the animations were like egregiously janky to the point of ruining dramatic (and comedic) scenes sometimes.
Honestly the character creator for Inquisition is still one of the fugliest ones out there. Sure it has sliders galore but I remember taking several tries to create an inquisitior that looked halfway decent back in the day and I was still not satisfied. Didn't help that the lighting in said character creator was atrocious. To me it's very telling that most inquisitors that people show off online thend to look very similar (pale, elven, white/blond hair and big eyes). When it comes to an RPG it feels incredibly lame to have your PC look the most mundane and boring out of the entire cast. Modding exists, yes, but I shouldn't have to mod in some good eyebrows, you know? Other than that the graphics of Inquisition are great, especially when it comes to environments and the design of some of the companions/side characters.
As for the personal choices discussion, it has always been the biggest asset and burden for a Bioware game. Like, I'm still a bit peeved that some of the ending slide outcomes you could get back in Origins were retconned/removed. Giving players the illusion of choice, you kind of have to keep that illusion up. They did that great with some characters like Loghain, but it's obvious they didn't really try with other stuff, like literally anything you do with regards to the mage/templar conflict. And while I understand and empathize that the devs literally have an impossible task trying to give satisfying repercussions to every choice, they shouldn't lean so much on the "your choices matter" gimmick in the first place. Like half of the stuff in the keep don't even show up in Inquisition outside of a war table mission or some easily missable NPC, it feels silly to have them put so much weight on it.
As for the personal choices discussion, it has always been the biggest asset and burden for a Bioware game. Like, I'm still a bit peeved that some of the ending slide outcomes you could get back in Origins were retconned/removed. Giving players the illusion of choice, you kind of have to keep that illusion up. They did that great with some characters like Loghain, but it's obvious they didn't really try with other stuff, like literally anything you do with regards to the mage/templar conflict. And while I understand and empathize that the devs literally have an impossible task trying to give satisfying repercussions to every choice, they shouldn't lean so much on the "your choices matter" gimmick in the first place. Like half of the stuff in the keep don't even show up in Inquisition outside of a war table mission or some easily missable NPC, it feels silly to have them put so much weight on it.
There are animations in Inquisition that you can see in Origins. Obviously reusing assets is understandable but I remember it standing out when I first played DAI.
[Jeff Grubb] Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is Scheduled to Release This Fiscal Year (Until March 31st 2025)
https://twitter.com/JeffGrubb/status/1787946128903643502 https://twitter.com/shinobi602/status/1787945970069643655
www.resetera.com
Definitely what we already knew. Hoping for a fast marketing blitz like Fallout 4. EA seems to be targeting less marketing spend over FY2025 so it explains the tight timeline.
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Yeah, it's very obvious that this is what's happening haha.
To think I only managed to finally buy Inquisition in March and am now in the middle of my first actual playthrough after waiting a decade for something that could actually run it
First off, the obligatory warning to take this with a hefty grain of salt, considering the source.
On the r/dragonage Discord, there's an user who is allegedly involved with the whole leaker/insider sphere and had some behind-the-scenes information.
In essence, what they've said is that most of the extra dev time they got (I'm assuming from the originally projected 2023 release to this year) is QA work, and they'd be surprised if it got delayed further (also compared it to Starfield, in the sense that it's categorically not the same kind of situation that befell that one), and also gave a few extra remarks, quoted below:
Once again, grain of salt, since even if they're on the up and up, they're not any sort of established leaker/insider.
On the r/dragonage Discord, there's an user who is allegedly involved with the whole leaker/insider sphere and had some behind-the-scenes information.
In essence, what they've said is that most of the extra dev time they got (I'm assuming from the originally projected 2023 release to this year) is QA work, and they'd be surprised if it got delayed further (also compared it to Starfield, in the sense that it's categorically not the same kind of situation that befell that one), and also gave a few extra remarks, quoted below:
Once again, grain of salt, since even if they're on the up and up, they're not any sort of established leaker/insider.
Both the above posts are accurate.
They feel good about it. Now we'll hopefully see if everyone likes what they made.
They feel good about it. Now we'll hopefully see if everyone likes what they made.
It lines up with what another alleged insider has said about the game; that it's been mostly finished for a while and there's no way it won't launch this year. Of course, they could all be just repeating the same lie, but I hope it's true, specially the part about development not facing many troubles.
The leaked footage seemed rather far along and that was from early 2022. Later that year the game reached alpha, and it's been 1,5 year since. So these claims make sense, even if they're just guesses.
I know at least I will like it, even with the leaked gameplay.
It would take something truly colossal for me to dislike any game in DA or ME's setting.
My hunger for knowledge compels me to ask for elaboration even though I know I will get no answers
It's good to hear BioWare feels good about the game, because it's been a minute since the last time that happened. And morale is extra important for this particular studio after the rough years they have endured. We know they can tell when the game is just not going to be good, we've heard the stories from Andromeda and Anthem, and even Inquisition had them nervous about public reaction.
This gives me confidence that even if the combat changes ruffle some (many...) feathers among the core Dragon Age community, this game will find an even bigger community when it launches.
I have no idea either, there was no follow up information besides it being in the Warrior tree. Could be changed by the time of release.
I remember being confused by that stuff as well, so I just chalked it up to being placeholder or incorrect lol
I'm looking forward to finding out more about the whole class and character progression system, what they're going for seems like such a departure from Inquisition, which was, admittedly, rather bare-bones.
Inquisition's combat was my favorite so far, personally, as it holds up the best to me on repeated play-throughs.
I feel like the people who have been complaining about DA combat not being like Origins need to move on imo if they aren't into it because it hasn't been that way 1:1 since 2009-2010. Darrah himself even said that they don't see the combat needing to be the same across every game as a key defining feature of Dragon Age in general so it's not a surprise that things haven changed over time. Now, don't get me wrong, the changing in how companions are handled in combat are definitely aspects that I can see as people feeling disappointed/tentative about and that's fair. Regardless, the full extent of the leak footage looked interesting so I'm excited to see how far it has come since then with fewer placeholders haha.
I will miss being able to control companions directly, but that's just because it felt like such a Dragon Age thing. But the truth is I only used it when my character died lol
I loved Origins in spite of its combat - I'm not too interested in deep strategies and pausing and positioning my characters before each combat encounter, and micromanaging my party so each one of them has a role. I'm more of a real-time kind of player, I'd rather rely on my motor and reaction skills because that's more fun to me. So when Dragon Age 2 came around, I was actually relieved because that was the first time I actually enjoyed combat in a Dragon Age game. It was more fast paced, I could actually just let the combat flow and have fun and when I got in trouble, I'd switch to Anders to heal the party. Fun. Then Inquisition came and made it even better. So if they kept going like that, I'd be more than okay.
When I watched the leaked footage, I literally paused when combat started and went "oh." lol Mostly because I knew that was going to be a controversial direction. It felt weird even to me, but at the end of the day, if it's fun, I'll enjoy it. It's good that Dragon Age decided to get off the proverbial fence when it comes to its combat and trying to be both an action RPG and a CRPG, and failing at being exceptional at either of those things.
And I'll say this: the combat in Anthem was fucking good. I trust BioWare to pull that off.
Definitely in the same boat as you with regards to Origins. When I go back and do full series play throughs (currently doing my 103901232038th Inquisition play through right now and will then loop back around to starting from Origins again once more details come out and I get inevitably hyped lol) I definitely have to have faster combat mods and/or one hit kill mods just to get through it. Once I get to DA2 I'm like, okay, thank god we picked up the pace. Same with Inquisition.
It's funny because my most-used reason for the pause and play/swapping characters was for taking screenshots lol so in that sense I'm a bit sad about it. Though like you, it's hard to imagine me not having fun because they actually made a concrete decision on what they wanted to do. Fingers crossed!!
A couple of encouraging tidbits from Jeff Grubb's recent Game Mess video:
"... everyone seems really happy with that game. They're pleased with how it turned out and the plan is to launch that this calendar year..."
View: https://youtu.be/BPtzkxO0Ges?si=JUCkkANdgL6ue4Jx&t=250
We've heard DW seems to be in good shape before, but still good to hear.
"... everyone seems really happy with that game. They're pleased with how it turned out and the plan is to launch that this calendar year..."
View: https://youtu.be/BPtzkxO0Ges?si=JUCkkANdgL6ue4Jx&t=250
We've heard DW seems to be in good shape before, but still good to hear.