Fun Stuff > CLIKC
Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
ackblom12:
Ozymandias:
I never want to go to hell now.
johnny5:
i love how bioware is in the same category
Dimmukane:
For the same game, even
KvP:
Patch Info!
--- Quote from: Luke Barrett ---There are a VERY large number of fixes in this patch. We've addressed everything we could - most people will be happy their issue has been fixed, unfortunately (as usual) some people will still scream obscenities for ignoring them (though the reason a fix may not be included is always more complicated than that).
The ETA is 'soon' - I can tell you for sure it will not be this week (ending Mar27th) aside from that there is nothing close to concrete enough to give you any more information.
--- End quote ---
Man I've seen developers get defensive before but throwing in jabs at malcontents in patch release announcements is a little much.
Meanwhile, I think I found the weak link, so to speak.
--- Quote from: Mike Laidlaw Interview @ Gamespot ---GameSpot: How do you think the reception for Dragon Age II would have been different if this had been the first game in the series?
Mike Laidlaw: I think it would have been different--exactly how is probably hard to tell, at this point. When you think about Dragon Age, one of the things that comes to mind is the legacy, going back to the Baldur's Gate games and that kind of thing. Actually, [that comparison] was drawn during Origins. It was an explicit, spiritual successor kind of connection. Certainly, I think Origins did a very good job of following in that vein. What Dragon Age II does, or what I perceive it as doing, is take a lot of those gameplay elements--working together as a team, functioning as a combat unit, having a story that unfolds with choices (all of those core things that I see as principal to both Baldur's Gate and, more importantly, to Dragon Age)--and tries to bring some newer ideas to the table (elements of responsiveness, elements of interactivity in the way those fights are coordinated) into what I think is a more modern setting and expectation. For most players, the idea of the solo combat is surprising.
...
I've talked to Origins players who said, "As soon as I moved it to hard, I totally see where Origins is again." That's fair, and I think that's something over time we'll continue to tune and capitalize on that fusion between the Origins experience and Dragon Age II.
...
The goal that we were going for (with a pre-defined character) is twofold. First, we did want to focus in on a more personal experience--the experience of one person and not the avatar of an organization. To be quite frank, that's a story we told before, and while there's nothing wrong with it, we really wanted to challenge ourselves to not have you end up in the Jedi Order or a Child of Baal, what have you.
...
When I look where Dragon Age II leaves us, it leaves us with a phase that's inherently more interesting--one where we see strife and things falling apart. This is in stark contrast to the ending of Origins, where we saw things resolved. Oh good, the Blight's over. That's great.
...
The key driver behind (the lack of CNPC customization) was the idea of unique visuals, being able to have Isabela stay Isabela instead of generic rogue put into the same leather armor your character is wearing. It lets us create a visual space between Hawke and the companions. And it gives the companions their own personalities [in the form of] unique body models and animations that are tied to how they idle--simple stuff like Aveline and the way she stands with more of a straightforward stance as opposed to the cocked hip Isabela has and so on. The overall goal there was to keep the companions in a place where they had more personality, but still provide customization in terms of amulets and rings, because having things like fire resistance is important.
It's likely that we'll end up coming back to a way to equip your followers, but at the same time, I really do think that having their own visual signature is really important. It's something that resolves one of the parts I really disliked about Origins where I'd see people's screenshots with their badass team and they would kind of all look the same.
...
I don't think (a tactical system) is particularly welcoming or something that I would want to integrate as core gameplay. It's a "with great power comes great responsibility" system where it's possible to make your characters do nothing as a result of it. I think it's best if someone seeks it out, looks up tutorials, messes with it in a way that they have an intent to understand how it works and to play at a higher level.
...
Looking at the fundamentals and looking at the overall pacing and flow became our focus for Dragon Age II, and the thing we have a mandate to do is add in suitable and fitting additional activities. My next big goal is to make sure that there are deeper interactions with crafting or the next steps in terms of being able to do more than talk, fight, and disarm traps.
...
You have to take a read of what the fans are saying, what reviews are saying, and what the non-fans are saying. Are there people out there who are saying, "I could not play Origins, but love Dragon Age II" or "I couldn't play Origins and this is more of the same."
I think the big key is to not adjust 180 degrees again, because we've done this. I think, as a team, we're quite happy with what we've done with Dragon Age II, and this is establishing a solid foundation that keeps a lot, in fact almost everything I want to keep about Origins, but still has tons of room to grow and, frankly, a more viable future for the franchise.
...
GS: How does this spot you're in right now compare to, when you first started Dragon Age, where you thought you might end up after a second game in the series? Are you largely where you expected to be?
ML: For context, our original expectation for this franchise was established when we were working on Jade Empire.
It has party members. It has banter. It has equipping stuff--some of those amazing, classic RPG mechanics that I loved since playing Wasteland or the original Bard's Tale. We wanted to make RPGs, especially fantasy RPGs, accessible, cool, and interesting to people who have been playing RPGs for the last seven years and not realizing that every time they ate food or went for a long run in Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, they were essentially grinding constitution.
--- End quote ---
Meanwhile, back in the blogosphere, Brent Knowles, former Bioware employee and DA:O lead designer, gives his thoughts on the demo.
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