Interview Dragon Age: Inquisition Interview at CVG

[Volourn]

"I imagine someone at EA saw how well Skyrim sold, and insisted that Bioware make their next game an open world RPG, despite them having no real experience with that."

BIO had no experience with RPGs yet did just fine with those. They had no experience with action rpgs yet did fine with those. they had no experience with mech games yet did fine with that.



"EA never controlled Bioware's marketing. That dumb trailer and everything they've done till now was all the Bioware marketing department."

Bullshit. EA controls everything about BIO because EA *is* BIO. You dumb shit.

 

[Hepler's Vagina]

"EA never controlled Bioware's marketing. That dumb trailer and everything they've done till now was all the Bioware marketing department."

Bullshit. EA controls everything about BIO because EA *is* BIO. You dumb shit.

Except for the dozen interviews where BIO boasted of their autonomy from EA as a selling point. Completely independent, they said. Oh yes.

BIO only legally ceases to be BIO if and when it is formally merged with EA and drops the 'Inc' from its logo. Until then, it is a separate company. Saying that BIO *is* EA is like saying that you *are* your computer because you legally own it 100%.

 

[Volourn]

BIo is EA. EA controls BIO 100%. BIo does nothing without EA consent. To compare that situation with owning a computer shows how retarted you are.

 

[Grinolf]

BIo is EA. EA controls BIO 100%. BIo does nothing without EA consent. To compare that situation with owning a computer shows how retarted you are.

You are computer. You control computer 100%. Computer does nothing without your consent.
I am not side with either of you, but your post wasn't that good on showing, that it is totaly dfferent case.

 

[Volourn]

Except compute does a lot of shit without my consent. How else can I explain the fact I waste time on the Codex? It sure isn't willingly on my part.

 

[Grinolf]

Except compute does a lot of shit without my consent. How else can I explain the fact I waste time on the Codex? It sure isn't willingly on my part.

But it only means, that owner can't fully control that, what it rightfully owns, because of lack of time or knowledge.
I am sure Bio has much more potential of doing shit without EA concern than your computer.

 

[Roguey]

Yeah so they could try and sell a port on the PS4/XBone, not cause they think much of the title. Otherwise it would have to be released now and they'd be praying it recoups some money on aging systems which after DA2 isn't all that guaranteed. Like this they think that a cheap port with extra HD graphics might be enough to sell at least a million extra copies on the newer systems and thus the year extention to make a 'better' game could make sense.

It was going to be a next-gen launch title actually. First western fantasy RPG out the gate, who wouldn't want to be that? Looks like CD Projekt will win the race.

It's pretty telling how we're months away from its original release date and they still feel gameplay isn't ready to be shown.

 

[evdk]

Yeah so they could try and sell a port on the PS4/XBone, not cause they think much of the title. Otherwise it would have to be released now and they'd be praying it recoups some money on aging systems which after DA2 isn't all that guaranteed. Like this they think that a cheap port with extra HD graphics might be enough to sell at least a million extra copies on the newer systems and thus the year extention to make a 'better' game could make sense.

It was going to be a next-gen launch title actually. First western fantasy RPG out the gate, who wouldn't want to be that? Looks like CD Projekt will win the race.

It's pretty telling how we're months away from its original release date and they still feel gameplay isn't ready to be shown.

It's pretty telling that they did not feel the same way about DA2.

 

[Psquit]

This was my experience on the hardest difficulty in DA as well. Fights ranged from "need to pay attention" to "fairly challenging", and then it switched to total autopilot once I got Wynne.

choose rouge class, get over 80 dex plus the rose thorn and you are done.

 

[Arkeus]

DA2 combat was largely superior to DA:O one, even counting the 'spawning everywhere' monsters. Better tactics effect and much more balanced classes would do that.

OTOH, both ARE largely 'easy' even on nightmare if you are semi-careful and don't gimp yourself too much. It's just that DA:O, as long as you take even one mage, gets ridiculously easy very quickly, not just 'largely'.

I do remember dying a couple of times to those tombstones revenant though.

 

[Psquit]

DA2 combat was largely superior to DA:O one, even counting the 'spawning everywhere' monsters. Better tactics effect and much more balanced classes would do that.

OTOH, both ARE largely 'easy' even on nightmare if you are semi-careful and don't gimp yourself too much. It's just that DA:O, as long as you take even one mage, gets ridiculously easy very quickly, not just 'largely'.

I do remember dying a couple of times to those tombstones revenant though.

The problem with dragon age 2 is that playing warrior is not fun if your regular skills can kill your team in nightmare mode.

 

[Roguey]

The problem with dragon age 2 is that playing warrior is not fun if your regular skills can kill your team in nightmare mode.

The balance patch removed warrior friendly fire entirely.

 

[Psquit]

The problem with dragon age 2 is that playing warrior is not fun if your regular skills can kill your team in nightmare mode.

The balance patch removed warrior friendly fire entirely.

well that's a relief. damn the fool who came up with warrior skills doing friendly fire.

 

[evdk]

well that's a relief. damn the fool who came up with warrior skills doing friendly fire.

Yeah, I mean the sword's probably storyfoam anyway...

 

[Tommy Wiseau]

deviants, buy our shit, kthxbye".

Their games aren't tastefully deviant enough for true deviants to give a damn.

 

[Tommy Wiseau]

That actually changes a jack-shit. Except we may witness slightly less retarded PR campaign (blood over the DA:O cartoony characters with Manson playing in the background)

Speaking of which, they seemed to have no idea as to the irony of using that song in their marketing trailer.

 

[Delterius]

I find it always quite strange when people consider DA2 more tactical than DA:O, when it was the stated goal of the developers to leave the need for tactics entirely up to the player. As below:



Given that both games are mostly composed by trash encounters, I'd say that, overal, both games aren't so different. Tactics and planning is something that, in 90% of the encounters, is done simply because the player want to, not because its a necessity. However, I do think that the amount of interesting encounters dropped between the first and the second game.

What improved, in a twisted sort of way, between the games was class balancing. Classes, in general, became more bland but also more equal.

OTOH, DA2 is RTwShit. I see little point in making an 'fast-paced' RTwP game that isn't a straight RTS, except if you want to please everyone and their mother at the same time. The result is a system that is neither an ARPG or a CRPG. Not unlike Arcanum's bizarre combat system.

The problem with dragon age 2 is that playing warrior is not fun if your regular skills can kill your team in nightmare mode.

The balance patch removed warrior friendly fire entirely.

well that's a relief. damn the fool who came up with warrior skills doing friendly fire.

Its not so much that this specific mechanic was badly handled, rather that BioWare overreached with DA2. Its clear that they didn't have time to appropriately balance Normal mode as a quasi-single character game and the higher difficulties as a more tactical environment, which appears to be how they attempted the goal above.

Hence the utterly bizarre rules of Nightmare mode: friendly fire, as mentioned before, can be a frustrating mechanic, especially given how the limited camera makes AoE targetting a pain; but there are troves of weird stuff that holds Hard and Nightmare modes together like a patchwork. One that I found particularly jaw dropping was how random bandits would be near if not straight up immune to certain elemental attacks. While in DA:O, it mostly makes sense, with undead resistant to cold and rage demons, fire. DA2 keeps that while distributing random resistances between the cut out of cardboard mobs, which ultimately does not reward the player's learning and becomes frustrating.

 

[Arkeus]

Hence the utterly bizarre rules of Nightmare mode: friendly fire, as mentioned before, can be a frustrating mechanic, especially given how the limited camera makes AoE targetting a pain; but there are troves of weird stuff that holds Hard and Nightmare modes together like a patchwork. One that I found particularly jaw dropping was how random bandits would be near if not straight up immune to certain elemental attacks. While in DA:O, it mostly makes sense, with undead resistant to cold and rage demons, fire. DA2 keeps that while distributing random resistances between the cut out of cardboard mobs, which ultimately does not reward the player's learning and becomes frustrating.

Yeah, that was pretty bad, especially as a LOT of the 'anti-demon' weapons (weapons that give bonuses against demons) were spirit-based, which demons are immune from on nightmare.

Also, friendly fire + low-angle view meant that a lot of spells like mind blast and exploding corpse are op in non-nightmare, and suicide in nigthmare.

 

[Roguey]

One that I found particularly jaw dropping was how random bandits would be near if not straight up immune to certain elemental attacks. While in DA:O, it mostly makes sense, with undead resistant to cold and rage demons, fire. DA2 keeps that while distributing random resistances between the cut out of cardboard mobs, which ultimately does not reward the player's learning and becomes frustrating.

You're thinking of it in quasisimulationist terms whereas DA2 went full abstract. Any given enemy type consistently has the same immunity. You attack, you see they're immune, you no longer use that kind of attack against that particular type anymore.

 

[serch]

when did bioware begin to parody itself better than Codex does?

 

[Delterius]

You attack, you see they're immune, you no longer use that kind of attack against that particular type anymore.

How is that different from making immunities that actually contribute to the storytelling? That describe the enemies you're facing?

Not at all, its just the mark of a laziness in retaining the pokémon elemental game like it should be a central element of game balance.

 

[Roguey]

You attack, you see they're immune, you no longer use that kind of attack against that particular type anymore.

How is that different from making immunities that actually contribute to the storytelling? That describe the enemies you're facing?

Not at all, its just the mark of a laziness in retaining the pokémon elemental game like it should be a central element of game balance.

IMO adhering to quasi-simulationism is unnecessary. It's already fantastic so nothing has to "make sense". I think they didn't go far enough in combining enemies with different immunities.

That being said it was wrong of them to make a more-abstract sequel to a game that already made a few concessions to quasi-simulationism since it flies in the face of many of their audience expectations. Imagine if BG2 were suddenly a 4e game and the disappointment that would follow.

 

[Delterius]

You didn't answer the question, what did the game gain from resisting the terrifying influence of mechanical storytelling?

 

[Roguey]

You didn't answer the question, what did the game gain from resisting the terrifying influence of mechanical storytelling?

It meant there were no elemental-damage spells that would work in every situation on nightmare. You're mostly fighting humanoids, so elemental resistances would be the exception and not the norm if it were handled otherwise.

 

[Delterius]

You didn't answer the question, what did the game gain from resisting the terrifying influence of mechanical storytelling?

It meant there were no elemental-damage spells that would work in every situation on nightmare. You're mostly fighting humanoids, so elemental resistances would be the exception and not the norm if it were handled otherwise.

I agree with the role of the rock paper scissors minigame, I disagree that it depends on being arbitrary.

While you say that, because most of what you fight are humanoids, then the balancing factors for magic combat must apply to them as well. I could also claim that you're only mostly fighting humanoids because the game doesn't have to deal in a more fantastic and varied beastiary, or in a more exotic and interesting encounter design. Everything ambushes you the same way, every trash monster behaves the same charge-with-all-you've-got way, and every trashy bandit only have offensive abilities. Hence how the spellbook is balanced by a single factor, elemental resistance, and not much else.

And the result is a silly situation where a street thug (fire immune) can be more of a danger to a Mage than a Templar (weak to certain elements, resistant to none).