Dragon Age: Inquisition (Plot Details in Spoilers!)

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Eonan

Doer of Things
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Didn't see a thread about this...I know we had one over at FoH. Saw this on the front page of DragonAge.com today

An open letter from Mark Darrah, Executive Producer
Hey everyone,

We are going to do things a little differently today. Some of you may not know who I am so to start out, I'm going to tell you a little bit about myself.

I joined BioWare in May of 1997 making this year my 15th year with the Company (So, old?). I am a programmer by training and implemented the AI, scripting, and combat systems in Baldur's Gate. After that, I moved into a lead programmer role on Tales of the Sword Coast, BG2, and Throne of Bhaal. I kept my hands dirty during this time; you have me to blame for the wild mage.

After the Baldur's Gate series, I was the lead programmer on Jade Empire, though I made a brief detour to implement the first version of the DM client in Neverwinter Nights.

Then through a weird series of un-relatable stories, I ended up on BioWare's handheld title Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. I started out as Lead Programmer and finished in charge of the project. Along the way I managed to write a scripting language somehow WORSE than the one in BG, yet at the same time coded a stats system that I am VERY proud of. Fundamentally, the core achievement was that you could not die after you had already; it's surprising how hard that can be to ensure, sometimes.

Finally I moved over to the Dragon Age franchise. I have been the Executive Producer since just before Dragon Age: Origins shipped.

I am part of an active D&D campaign, love collecting pen and paper stuff and like walks on the beach.

Actually I don't like walks on the beach, too smooshy.

Okay, enough about me, why have I called you all here today?

I am pleased to confirm that we are, in fact, working on the next Dragon Age game. Not a big surprise to most of you, I know. We have been working on it in some way for about two years now with the bulk of our efforts ramping up about 18 months ago.

Part of that effort has involved you, our fans, and the feedback you've provided for Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II, and their DLC. We've visited message boards, read reviews, and we've gone to events to have direct face to face conversations with some of our most passionate fans. We've been listening, and we will continue to listen.

Recently, I said that we didn't want to talk about Dragon Age III unless we had something to show. I'm trying to stick to that plan and won't be revealing much today. That said, a lot of information and rumors have surfaced recently and we don't want to hide from them. There are a BUNCH of things that I really want to share with you but I want to do this right, and doing it right requires some more time.

So here's what I can confirm for now:

The next game will be called Dragon Age III: Inquisition.
We won't be talking about the story of the game today. Though you can make some guesses from the title.
This game is being made by a lot of the same team that has been working on Dragon Age since Dragon Age: Origins. It's composed of both experienced BioWare veterans and talented new developers.
We are working on a new engine which we believe will allow us to deliver a more expansive world, better visuals, more reactivity to player choices, and more customization. At PAX East, we talked about armor and followers? Yeah, that kind of customization. We've started with Frostbite 2 from DICE as a foundation to accomplish this.
There's much more to talk about, of course, but it will have to wait until it's ready for the prime time.

We are going to be as open as we can. We will continue to have a dialogue with you and answer what questions we can. Keep providing us with your feedback. I'm excited about what we are working on and I hope that you will be too. I know this is going to be hard to believe, but it is just as hard for me not to tell you stuff as it is for you to wait.

With thanks for your enthusiasm, and your patience,

Mark
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Bigguy28

Bigguy28

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They've already said that they are forcing a character on you again like they did with Hawke so I have next to no interest in it, had they allowed us to make our own like in Origins I might have given it a chance. I don't trust Bioware anymore so this will have to get glowing reviews from almost all players before I even think about buying it.
 
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Zhaun_sl

shitlord
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Bigguy28_sl said:
They've already said that they are forcing a character on you again like they did with Hawke so I have next to no interest in it, had they allowed us to make our own like in Origins I might have given it a chance. I don't trust Bioware anymore so this will have to get glowing reviews from almost all players before I even think about buying it.
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While I agree with this sentiment in general, can someone explain to me the difference between how DA2 "forced" Hawke on you and how Mass Effect "forced" Shepard on you?

Is it the same thing really, the difference being people liked Shepard/Mass Effect and didn't like Hawke/DA2?
 
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mixtilplix

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Zhaun_sl said:
While I agree with this sentiment in general, can someone explain to me the difference between how DA2 "forced" Hawke on you and how Mass Effect "forced" Shepard on you?

Is it the same thing really, the difference being people liked Shepard/Mass Effect and didn't like Hawke/DA2?
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I totally agree with the sentiment. How's it any different from other rpg games like the witcher where you have just one protagonist? In all honesty I would rather they just have one protagonist then a bunch of generic ones. It tends to dilute the story quite a bit when they have to write a bunch of shit for each choice.
 
Azrayne

Azrayne

Irenicus did nothing wrong
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Yeah I didn't mind Hawke so much, I think the tradeoff in allowing more in depth story material and dialogue is worth the loss of a little customization.

This is definitely a 'wait and see,' I enjoyed DA:O quite a bit, and DA2 could have been great if they'd just avoided some of the fundamental flaws they built into the game. but it wasn't because they didn't, so there's no way I'm putting any money down on this one until I see how people react to it.

One thing I'd really like to see is the option to switch between the Mass Effect style dialogue outline wheel and the more traditional approach of showing you the whole text like in BG2 etc. There's absolutely no reason they can't have both, and that way those who want their allegedly more cinematic experience can have it, and those who want the chance to examine the dialogue more closely and determine the tone of the dialogue in greater depth can do so.
 
Drajakur

Drajakur

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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH! Go fuck yourselves. Until someone on that team comes out and says explicitly "DA2 was a complete fuck-fest, full of shitty ideas lazily implemented" they can go and stick their social media campaigns up a basilisk's cunt. I don't believe a fucking word of it.
 
Bigguy28

Bigguy28

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The difference is, in Mass Effect you started from the first game having this character so didn't bother me. In Dragon Age you started the first game getting to make your own character then in the second one you only get to choose your class. I'll take a silent character with the ability to choose my race and class over a "forced" character just so it can be voiced any day. But really had Hawke been a decent character I wouldn't have minded so much, but Hawke was one of the most ineffective "heroes" I've ever seen. He/she did almost nothing on their own, only reacted after something already happened. Plus there is the whole Dragon Age 2 sucking thing.
 
Tuco

Tuco

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Drajakur_sl said:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH! Go fuck yourselves. Until someone on that team comes out and says explicitly "DA2 was a complete fuck-fest, full of shitty ideas lazily implemented" they can go and stick their social media campaigns up a basilisk's cunt. I don't believe a fucking word of it.
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Yep. DA1/2 was a day one purchase and runthrough for me, but after ME3 and DA2 I'm not playing this until people here say it's good.
 
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Sean_sl

shitlord
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I'll take Hawke and Shepard over any silent protagonist ever. Silent protagonists are a relic that served their purpose, and served it well, and they do not need to make a return. In the age of high definition and cinematic scenes a protagonist who does not actively participate in events and conversations massively takes away from the experience. Your hero needs to be part of that, not a bystander.

Bioware's systems for their characters and how you shape your hero need to progress and move forward, there's tons of room for improvement and things can only get better going in that direction. Regressing to silent protagonists would be amassivestep backwards.
 
Vorph

Vorph

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Yeah, DA2 had a lot of flaws, but the switch to Hawke was not among them.
 
Tuco

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Both are fine. In DA3 though you better have very strong control of your character. In a GTA game the devs can go nuts controlling the character.
 
Bigguy28

Bigguy28

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It's just my opinion, I prefer to choose the race and class of my character when playing an RPG, it makes it a lot more fun to me. If I have to deal with a silent character to get it I'll happily accept it. It'd be really boring to start a D&D game and your DM told you everyone can only make Human characters.
 
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Asherah

Silver Knight of the Realm
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I think the Shepard/Hawke solution works very well. A fully voiced protagonist definitely adds a lot. As long as it does not limit your ability to customize your character I'm all for it. However, if I have to chose I would take a silent protagonist over limited customization.
 
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Izuldan_sl

shitlord
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Sean_sl said:
I'll take Hawke and Shepard over any silent protagonist ever. Silent protagonists are a relic that served their purpose, and served it well, and they do not need to make a return. In the age of high definition and cinematic scenes a protagonist who does not actively participate in events and conversations massively takes away from the experience. Your hero needs to be part of that, not a bystander.

Bioware's systems for their characters and how you shape your hero need to progress and move forward, there's tons of room for improvement and things can only get better going in that direction. Regressing to silent protagonists would be amassivestep backwards.
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How do you feel about Dead Space then? Even though Isaac never spoke a word in the game, I felt it was a lot more immersive than DS2. I haven't even bothered with DS3. I think if a game is done well, it doesn't matter if the protagonist speaks or not. I'm not torn either way as long as the game is good.
 
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Sean_sl

shitlord
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Apples to Oranges, they are not comparable scenarios. Dead Space worked because it was a survival horror game that was about isolation and being alone. You should know better than to try to make such a bad comparison.

In big RPGs that have a narrative a silent protagonist only detracts from the quality of the game. Mass Effect would have been a terrible game without Shepard interacting with and talking to people, being part of the action, actively participating in events, etc. People give such a huge fuck about Mass Effect because they connect withtheirShepard far more than they do with any blank hero.

The worst part of Skyrim and other ES games for me is how disconnected I feel from the world because my character is a mute. Everyone just talks at you and it's impossible to care about anything that actually goes on in those games. The only good part of them is the exploring, everything else about them is garbage.
 
Vaclav

Vaclav

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Bigguy28_sl said:
It's just my opinion, I prefer to choose the race and class of my character when playing an RPG, it makes it a lot more fun to me. If I have to deal with a silent character to get it I'll happily accept it. It'd be really boring to start a D&D game and your DM told you everyone can only make Human characters.
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Nothing in Shephard/Hawke style inherently forces the removal of secondary races from the equation you do realize, right? Yes, it complicates them but absolutely doesn't mean they HAVE to be removed. (And that complication should be gone with the next gen I'd imagine, with internet accessibility becoming almost assumed and better media options for the consoles) Frankly, thinking it removes them would imply they couldn't do second sex and class specific conversation options. [Latter in DA2 exclusively of course and limited in use]

And again, gonna have to go with Sean and Vorph here - there's something to be said of the cinematic quality that Shep/Hawke style adds to a game, the wife (previous to having her own PS3 now) would literally sit there enthralled watching many games that sit there almost the entire time barely breaking cinematic quality. (She loves DA:O for example, but actually found it impossible to watch me play - versus the worse game of DA2 actually was more watchable for her)

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy Bethesda style games still even without a voiced character - but in comparison it feels more like a game and less like an experience/movie. Which isn't a bad thing, but the latter is so much fresher of a concept - in games - that it's more appealing.
 
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