Interview David Gaider's Mature Storytelling Corner

[Jason]

Tags: David Gaider; Dragon Age

Gamasutra followed up their recent <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4044/rpgs_moving_forward_an_interview_.php" target="blank">chat with Feargus</a> by getting BioWare's David Gaider to open up about the <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4045/the_story_thing_biowares_david_.php" target="blank">joys of interactive storytelling</a>.
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<blockquote>Sometimes, it's just a matter of the player. They won't know how much of an effect there is, always. Or there's a follower who says, "I don't like this" -- obviously, if you do that thing, they're not going to appreciate it very much. But sometimes, that's something that nobody else will even know about. The player will have to decide based on the emotional reaction.
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We're maybe not always going to get to that point, but sometimes that's all [a choice is] there for. And if you get the player away from a mindset that they need to game it, and instead get them to go for emotional moments, taking a look at how this affects the people that they care about in the game, I think that allows us mature storytelling. I think that's what we're talking about.
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Battlestar Galactica is a very different genre, but I think what really impressed upon me as a writer was that this was a character drama that just happened to be science fiction. Obviously Dragon Age is epic fantasy, and there is a horde of evil that is affecting the world, but if the entire story was just you needing to fight that evil, that would not be mature storytelling. </blockquote>
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.gamasutra.com/">Gamasutra</A>

 

[Section8]

And ran he did.

 

[Spectacle]

How many times are they going to use the word "mature" while hyping Dragon Age?

I really don't give a fuck if a story is mature, on if it's good.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

GOD DID IT LOL I'M A GHOST I GUESS *POOF VANISHES*

 

[Angthoron]

Since when was emotionality a sign of maturity anyway? I always thought it was the opposite.

And why the hell do they have to do the same shitty dichotomy over and over and over again? I don't want to feel "emotionally" manipulated for being evil - maybe for the first time or so, but hell, being evil to an evil character is satisfying, and it was quite satisfying to rob the entire Arroyo blind before leaving it, only to circle the map in search of Slavers vs Farmers encounters for a free SMG. And yet I believe every player, with some exception for sociopaths, would know that those are evil deeds. Practical as hell, but evil.

Why these concepts evade Bio for a decade now still stumps me.

 

[baronjohn]

BSG was kind kind of interesting for the first five episodes. Then the 'character drama' part ruined it completely.

 

[poocolator]

Great. Maturity is now another buzzword.
Immersion
Epic
Mature
Visceral
etc.

Well I'm going to epically immerse my knife into your fucking viscera, bitch.

 

[inwoker]

Battlestar Galactica is a very different genre, but I think what really impressed upon me as a writer

This is the key to understanding David Gaider.

 

[Micmu]

Battlestar Galactica is a very different genre, but I think what really impressed upon me as a writer

This is the key to understanding David Gaider.

I laughed at that statement, too. Does he mean the new one, and post-season 1 ? Pretty cool.

 

[Multiple Sarcasm]

The player will have to decide based on the emotional reaction.

My usual emotional reaction to late Bio's characters was wishing I could grab them by the face and shove them out of the way before they've finished their second sentence. Sadly, the only options always were "Yes, Sir!", "KILLMAIMDESTROY!!!" and "I want a loli-pop."

And that is all the Dark Maturity this deserves.

 

[Andhaira]

Gaider considers himself an established writer now.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

Gaider considers himself an established writer now.

It's up to the Codex to correct him.

 

[bat_boro]

Battlestar Galactica is a very different genre, but I think what really impressed upon me as a writer

This is the key to understanding David Gaider.

I laughed at that statement, too. Does he mean the new one, and post-season 1 ? Pretty cool.

So what's wrong with BSG post-season 1 anyway?

 

[Jaesun]

This is the new shit. Exit is the only option.

 

[Micmu]

So what's wrong with BSG post-season 1 anyway?

It's nonsensical drivel with shitty (killed) characters?

 

[circ]

So what's wrong with BSG post-season 1 anyway?

Adama? Adamo? doesn't die. Ron D. used to say how he hated Voyager because it was seemingly indestructable and had a seemingly infinite amount of resources. He then does the exact same thing on BSG. Run out of water? Let's go explore 10 nearby planets. We found water! Thank you Ron! Everyone cries. All the time. It gets worse. It gets religious. Very religious. What happened to sci-fi? Now it's religion, mass emo-drama and everything is indestructable (save for a few token ships you never knew shit about). The cast is mostly strong, but the writing blows.

 

[JarlFrank]

BSG has about 10 times better writing than the book Gaider has written.
And turn on their FTL drives they did.

 

[Azrael the cat]

I'm going to be a dissenter here: I thought BSG was one of the best shows of any genre ever to be on television. Having said that, there is a large component of (a) personal taste and (b) how you watch it. Most of my friends hate it because the plot moves too slowly. I watched BSG as continuous downloaded episodes while working on my thesis, so slow-moving plot wasn't really a problem.

I don't get the 'invulnerable characters' complaint. Adama might not have kicked it at end of season 1, but the show still has a higher death-rate than almost any other show to ever be on television. There is a HUGE rate of characters who become decent-sized roles and get killed off, and replaced, and the replacements get killed off etc. All of the main characters in the last season were also in the first, but some of them only in 1 or 2 episodes - there's a real feeling of some characters starting off in minor roles and growing in relevance (the obvious telegraphed one being Thrace's football-star boyfriend who leads the 'left-behind' resistance in season 1-2, but with less obvious ones as well). Most of the characters, even initially supporting characters like Felix and the terrorist/prisoner-guy, get great closure. My only complaint was that it fell to crap about 3 epsiodes to go - before then I thought it was fantastic, but then again I quite like 'one downer after another', which is basically how the show goes. I just found the ending episode badly done, and the transition from 'everything is going to shit, characters are comitting suicide and killing each other' of the 1st 2/3 of season 5, to the overly happy ending, rather contrived.

But 'invulnerable Voyager' syndrome? Fuck no - the ship itself kind of stays intact (though the ongoing wear and tear is clearly shown as a problem - by season 5 they make clear the ship is on its last legs, being temporarily held together using cylon tech), but the crew get one anal-reaming after another from beginnning to end.

Most people who diss BSG usually take the 'post-season-2-it-sucks' path, so at least watch until that. I agree the show changes in tone and focus - Baltar's plotline remains important but never pays off the expectations built for it, and with the exception of the awesome 1st half of the last season, the human side are never quite as morally grey after the first section of season 3 (season 2 very much opens up the question of whether the humans are the 'good guys' - torture and rape of prisoners, growing dictatorial leadership by the president etc).

 

[Jaesun]

I'm going to be a dissenter here: I thought BSG was one of the best shows of any genre ever to be on television. Having said that, there is a large component of (a) personal taste and (b) how you watch it. Most of my friends hate it because the plot moves too slowly. I watched BSG as continuous downloaded episodes while working on my thesis, so slow-moving plot wasn't really a problem.

I don't get the 'invulnerable characters' complaint. Adama might not have kicked it at end of season 1, but the show still has a higher death-rate than almost any other show to ever be on television. There is a HUGE rate of characters who become decent-sized roles and get killed off, and replaced, and the replacements get killed off etc. All of the main characters in the last season were also in the first, but some of them only in 1 or 2 episodes - there's a real feeling of some characters starting off in minor roles and growing in relevance (the obvious telegraphed one being Thrace's football-star boyfriend who leads the 'left-behind' resistance in season 1-2, but with less obvious ones as well). Most of the characters, even initially supporting characters like Felix and the terrorist/prisoner-guy, get great closure. My only complaint was that it fell to crap about 3 epsiodes to go - before then I thought it was fantastic, but then again I quite like 'one downer after another', which is basically how the show goes. I just found the ending episode badly done, and the transition from 'everything is going to shit, characters are comitting suicide and killing each other' of the 1st 2/3 of season 5, to the overly happy ending, rather contrived.

But 'invulnerable Voyager' syndrome? Fuck no - the ship itself kind of stays intact (though the ongoing wear and tear is clearly shown as a problem - by season 5 they make clear the ship is on its last legs, being temporarily held together using cylon tech), but the crew get one anal-reaming after another from beginnning to end.

Most people who diss BSG usually take the 'post-season-2-it-sucks' path, so at least watch until that. I agree the show changes in tone and focus - Baltar's plotline remains important but never pays off the expectations built for it, and with the exception of the awesome 1st half of the last season, the human side are never quite as morally grey after the first section of season 3 (season 2 very much opens up the question of whether the humans are the 'good guys' - torture and rape of prisoners, growing dictatorial leadership by the president etc).

:thumbs up:

 

[St. Toxic]

[Intelligence] BSG is certainly gritty and mature.

 

[poocolator]

The acting sucks in BSG; I cringe trying to watch it. Content doesn't match with fodder-actors.

 

[Silellak]

[Intelligence] BSG is certainly gritty and mature.

[Intelligence] So Battlestar Galactica is about a Battlestar named Galactica?

 

[St. Toxic]

[Intelligence] BSG is certainly gritty and mature.

[Intelligence] So Battlestar Galactica is about a Battlestar named Galactica?

[Perception] OIC WUT U DID THARE!

 

[shihonage]

BSG was space fantasy, like Farscape, only with more gay. It wasn't science fiction, not after season 2.

 

[Texas Red]

[Intelligence] BSG is certainly gritty and mature.

[Intelligence] So Battlestar Galactica is about a Battlestar named Galactica?

[Intelligence] You are quite smart to figure that out, aren't you?

The trailer with the metal or whatever song was more immature than any anime game. Of course Gaider probably didn't have a hand in it but still. That trailer single handedly made me lose confidence in DA.