The Dragon Age: Inquisition Thread

[Telengard]

That's where all the focus grouping comes in. This is EA we're talking about here now, not just Bioware. You can be sure that any large expense involved has been focus grouped absolutely to death as to the percentage of their current audience that it would turn away if they removed it.

A fully-voiced story is hugely expensive, but it's also currently Bioware's only hook, the only thing that distinguishes them from the pack. Any change to that centerpiece is thus a danger to the particular core audience numbers they have built up. At least for the moment, EA is to all appearances having Bioware build on that audience rather than go off chasing a new one.

 

[Garryydde]

This person has awful taste.

 

[Morality Games]

Guys, guys, guys! There's something wrong with me. I... am enjoying it.

Could you please post some impressions? This thread is about as good for divining anything meaningful about DA:I as a turd is Bethesda is good for designing sandbox games.

I'm not sure whether it will amount to anything, but the dialogue wheel seems improved from DA2 and ME.

Specifically, the three main options (Diplomatic, Jokey, Angry) seem less polarized than in DA2, so it feels more like shades of personality in the same person. In that sense it is more like the dialogue in the Witcher series, where Geralt can veer between merciful or ruthless without it seeming inconsistent with his character. This allows the player to use the system to make more organic role-playing choices rather adhering strictly to a given alignment or personality type.

Instead of Persuasion being tied to scores (in DA:O) and personality + companions (in DA2), you conquer territory on behalf of the Inquisition and get Influence levels. Each Influence level you can go to your War Room and buy a perk. Several of these perks (I think they are Arcane, Criminal Underworld, and History) give supplemental dialogue options (aside from the standard three) in different scenarios and encounters for a maximum of six. Essentially, you use Influence points to buy Etiquette that gives you more pull in certain situations or social circles. This reflects the growing standing of the Inquisition and expertise of its leaders.

Other dialogue options seem Race, Gender, Class, and Companion dependent. Aka, elves will give you extra treasure if you indicate your elven companion should talk to them in the dialogue wheel.

It's not Planescape: Torment or Fallout 1-2, but its not bad.

 

[Ninjerk]

Before my physics lecture today, I heard some guy talking to a girl about Skyrim and how the first RPG he played was Oblivion and how great a game it was. I'm starting to think they were melonheads and I'm truly 'thal. What's happening to m

 

[RK47]

You're in the wrong thread nigga.

 

[Talby]

Sigh. Well, I've met "that" character. Every (modern) BioWare game has one. Dragon Age had Morrigan, Mass Effect 2 had Miranda and Dragon Age: Inquisition has Sera. Thank god you can tell her to fuck off, I hope she doesn't come back.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

Now, that moon would create some killer tides.

Jesus, didn't even notice it until you mentioned it. Just glazed over and thought it was fluffy bright clouds given how bright everything else in the scene is.

 

[set]

Dragon Age 2 had Anders and you could tell him to fuck off but he always comes back for more.

 

[DalekFlay]

So the game is decent if you reprogram yourself to judge it as a console game rather than as a PC game? What kind of bullshit argument is this?

The point is this IS an action RPG designed first for consoles. If you don't want to play that, don't play the game period. If you do play it, the controls are fine for the kind of game it is. People complaining about the controls are mostly focused on how not-Origins it is, but that's the core game more than not having click-to-move. Witcher 2 didn't have click-to-move either.

 

[Talby]

:incloosive:

 

[RK47]

Kill it with fire.

 

[Avellion]

Who the hell do they hire to write these monstrosities?

 

[circ]

What the fuck kind of language is that anyway? Also what a hideous face. Lesbians can't catch a break.

 

[Zyryanoff]

DAI could be a better game for me... if I was able to recruit more characters from DAO (or at least DA2).

 

[Achiman]

I just picked up a copy, I actually blame this thread. Gotta see what all the fuss is about, damn you all.

 

[Avellion]

What the fuck kind of language is that anyway? Also what a hideous face. Lesbians can't catch a break.

Sex Negative Feminists did complain about video game characters being too attractive.

An :incloosive: company like BioWare, spends more time listening to what SJWs like Anita Sarkeesian says, rather than actually figuring out how to make a good game.

 

[Jaesun]

Who the hell do they hire to write these monstrosities?

What specifically is wrong with this conversation?

 

[Seerix]

Hey, so.. does anybody knows why they choose new Battlefield engine instead of Unreal? There was like half of BioWare doing Mass Effects on this engine and instead of going with it they... bought friggin Frostbite engine which is purely for fps games AFAIK. No wonder it took fuckload of their resources to get it working for ARPG

 

[Jaesun]

Could you provide us the specifics of the Unreal and the Battlefield engine differences?

 

[Zyryanoff]

Hey, so.. does anybody knows why they choose new Battlefield engine instead of Unreal? There was like half of BioWare doing Mass Effects on this engine and instead of going with it they... bought friggin Frostbite engine which is purely for fps games AFAIK. No wonder it took fuckload of their resources to get it working for ARPG

Unreal engine looks so unreal and expensive.

 

[Avellion]

Who the hell do they hire to write these monstrosities?

What specifically is wrong with this conversation?

Writing Related:
"Just say what"
General immaturity throughout
Repetitive usage of words.
"People people"
I am poor and I hate rich and powerful people

Misc:
Pause at 0:03 in the video. The bowstring clips the breast.
The voice acting. Admitedly, this is probably what made me cringe the most, not the writing.
Animation Quality

I understand she is meant to be uneducated, but even then it is not enough to justify how badly written she was.

 

[Talby]

She's annoying as fuck.

I wish BioWare wouldn't attempt these Joss Whedon style characters. "Swooping is bad."

 

[Jaesun]

What specifically is wrong with this conversation?

Writing Related:
"Just say what"
General immaturity throughout
Repetitive usage of words.
"People people"
I am poor and I hate rich and powerful people

Misc:
Pause at 0:03 in the video. The bowstring clips the breast.
The voice acting. Admitedly, this is probably what made me cringe the most, not the writing.
Animation Quality

I understand she is meant to be uneducated, but even then it is not enough to justify how badly written she was.

How exactly should her character have been written then?

 

[Zyryanoff]

General immaturity throughout

IMHO: That's because nowadays gaming industry forcefully tries to capture bigger part of young audience.

Writing Related:
Repetitive usage of words.

I remember Two Worlds and repetition of phrase:"Aye, indeed."

The voice acting. Admitedly, this is probably what made me cringe the most, not the writing.

I don't like voices too, especially comparing to Mass Effect.
Sometimes our localization is able to fix it.

 

[Haba]

Guys, guys, guys! There's something wrong with me. I... am enjoying it.

One more for ze ovens.