Although I quite like the Dragon Age franchise, and have enjoyed all three games, I can't say I'm among its biggest fans. And one of the things that really stop me from appreciating that universe like I do from other games, most notably RPGs, is what I perceive as a lack of identity, derived strongly (although not exclusively) from a lackluster artstyle.
Simply put, there is nothing I look at and thinking: this reminds me of Dragon Age. Or in the game I look at a building and think: this was definitely built by this or that faction (with some exceptions). Or armors, weapons, etc...
I was rewatching the recent semi-trailer for Dragon Age 4 and some other images from EA Play and found myself thinking of this. If I didn't already know it was Dragon Age, there would be nothing in those pictures to make me think that (with the exception of the Qunari, which I think is a particularly interesting aspect of DA's lore). And playing the games everything feels... without identity. A castle just feels like a generic castle. A city just a generic city. An armor just a generic armor.
It's hard to not to think of Mass Effect. In a way, both series have a similar beginning which is to try to put together a lot of different influences from their respective genre and create a new universe with them. But where ME became something that is much more than the sum of those influences, becoming a rich and unique universe in its own right, Dragon Age never managed that. And I feel the lack of a cohesive artstyle that creates a signature look to the universe and each of its races and places is a important factor in that.
And I was wondering what do you think.
edit: one thing that I should add is that I do think the games try. I think Dragon Age do try to look like something that isn't just a copy from some human culture, which is commendable. Both in terms of architecture and equipments, but most of the time it ends up just looking bland and uninteresting.
Simply put, there is nothing I look at and thinking: this reminds me of Dragon Age. Or in the game I look at a building and think: this was definitely built by this or that faction (with some exceptions). Or armors, weapons, etc...
I was rewatching the recent semi-trailer for Dragon Age 4 and some other images from EA Play and found myself thinking of this. If I didn't already know it was Dragon Age, there would be nothing in those pictures to make me think that (with the exception of the Qunari, which I think is a particularly interesting aspect of DA's lore). And playing the games everything feels... without identity. A castle just feels like a generic castle. A city just a generic city. An armor just a generic armor.
It's hard to not to think of Mass Effect. In a way, both series have a similar beginning which is to try to put together a lot of different influences from their respective genre and create a new universe with them. But where ME became something that is much more than the sum of those influences, becoming a rich and unique universe in its own right, Dragon Age never managed that. And I feel the lack of a cohesive artstyle that creates a signature look to the universe and each of its races and places is a important factor in that.
And I was wondering what do you think.
edit: one thing that I should add is that I do think the games try. I think Dragon Age do try to look like something that isn't just a copy from some human culture, which is commendable. Both in terms of architecture and equipments, but most of the time it ends up just looking bland and uninteresting.
Last edited: