Dragon Age: Inquisition to Have 40 Different Endings - Update

[In Search of Username]

This sounds fantastic, I'm cautiously optimistic. I mean, I didn't even think 2 was as bad as what other people thought, nor did I think Origins was as OMG AMAZING as everyone else. I thought each was about as good as the other, in their own way. And this sounds like an improvement on both.

 

[Zeras]

How about every other game that had PR Q&A before the game was released, that ended up not being exactly what people wanted/thought they wanted? Let's just wipe out the game industry then; there is no perfect game that everyone can agree on.

 

[Zeras]

How about every other game that had PR Q&A before the game was released, that ended up not being exactly what people wanted/thought they wanted? Let's just wipe out the game industry then; there is no perfect game that everyone can agree on.

Most game companies know not to make promises they can't or won't keep.This isn't about a game not ending up like people want. This is about a developer who has made claims in the past about previous games that would amount to false advertising, if people actually applied the same ethics and laws that other industries follow.But in the game industry a game developer or publisher can lie their ass off and not expect to own up to their lies,Bioware has made some BS promises that even they knew would'nt be kept regarding their past game and people are rightfully skeptical of them.

But that hasn't stopped people in the industry from making claims, has it? I remember the excitement from E3 on Killzone 2 - wasn't that later found out to be a pre-rendered scene run on a computer, or when Halo 2 did the same thing (let's not forget the "Finish the Fight"/"Fight for Earth" claims).

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

How about every other game that had PR Q&A before the game was released, that ended up not being exactly what people wanted/thought they wanted? Let's just wipe out the game industry then; there is no perfect game that everyone can agree on.

Most game companies know not to make promises they can't or won't keep.This isn't about a game not ending up like people want. This is about a developer who has made claims in the past about previous games that would amount to false advertising, if people actually applied the same ethics and laws that other industries follow.But in the game industry a game developer or publisher can lie their ass off and not expect to own up to their lies,Bioware has made some BS promises that even they knew would'nt be kept regarding their past game and people are rightfully skeptical of them.

But that hasn't stopped people in the industry from making claims, has it? I remember the excitement from E3 on Killzone 2 - wasn't that later found out to be a pre-rendered scene run on a computer, or when Halo 2 did the same thing (let's not forget the "Finish the Fight"/"Fight for Earth" claims).

Bioware is the new Peter Molyneux. They have become known for promising things like "a ton of choice", "the story evolves around you", and "it has a ton of endings" and delivering a product that isn't really any of those things. Things they say now should be taken with a mountain of salt. Everyone does it a little bit, Bioware takes it to a new level.

 

[Animyr]

The ending is not the most important part of the story. It's AN important piece, but there's plenty of important pieces.

It is in the sense that if you tell a weak story but nail the ending, you're forgiven. Weak storytelling becomes stronger in association with a strong ending. It means you were able to draw something strong out of something weak, an admirable achievement that retroactively validates the whole enterprise. The converse is not true; if the main story is good but the ending is weak, the main story, regardless of it's deft pacing or strong characterization, steams weaker by association. Something weak was drawn out of something strong, which can throw the value of the rest of the story into question somewhat. In my opinion, Mass Effect is a good example of this.

Of course, a truly good story will have both, but if you're going to fail at one thing, the ending is not a good choice.(At least if you look at a story as a whole. Of course, a weak beginning might alienate new readers/players/viewers and hurt the story that way, so in that sense it may make more sense to have a strong beginning and slack off on everything else.)

 

[sumanoskae]

Glad they cleared that up; I suppose somebody in marketing realized that when you advertise 40 different endings, people naturally assume you intend to make all of them distinct beyond what shirt everybody is wearing.

True, you didn't technically SAY that your endings would be any more unique then different shirts, but you imply it by even bothering to bring it up as a selling point.

Anyway, it's good that they made themselves clear.

As for the state of the game: The gameplay looks amazing, but I'm concerned for the direction they're taking the story; the whole Demon thing strikes of over complicating things. We already have plenty of unrest in the world of DA, unrest that comes from more interesting places like mortal flaws and the entropic decay of society, places that have metaphorical applicability to real life and motivation beyond being inherently destructive. What about the Mage/Templar conflict? or the mysterious behavior of the Darkspawn? or the potential war with the Qunari? Why aren't any these problems enough to drive a plot on their own?

I get that relying on the mono myth is supposed to simplify things, but it's not good storytelling to artificially impose a simple conclusion on a complex situation, it robs the conclusion of pathos and weight.

 

[BloodRed Pixel]

Someone already made the joke with the 40 different colours?

 

[Flying Pilgrim]

Yea, Sure, 40 different endings. Just like Mass Effect 3 was supposed to have so and so amount of endings.

I think it's probably going to be handled similarly to how they handled DA:O's endings -- or even how the Fallout games have handled that -- you know, with a largely solid, unalterable plot, filled with decisions that don't have much of an actual effect. But once the story is finished, the consequences of those decisions will be shown; along with a ton of slides or narration that explains the "aftermath." Only a few of the major decisions will actually affect it, though. I hope that I'm not sounding like Captain Obvious...

 

[gyrobot_v1legacy]

40 different ending? this is madness! I dont even know 40 different colours?!

40 different endings: 4 different outcomes for each "major arc", so about 10 arcs each perhaps, or at least 5 arcs and fate of companions.

 

[Sack of Cheese]

People are too pessimistic. I have a lot of hope for this game, everything about it sounds sweet so far!
It's gonna be on par with Witcher 3, I'm sure.

 

[Lyiat]

Didn't Mass Effect 3 claim somewhere on the line of forty two endings? I'll believe it when I see it, no sooner.

 

[Lyiat]

Fudge, double post.

 

[Drejer43]

"now with 300% more colour variation"

 

[TheMadDoctorsCat]

People seem to be asking in-thread: is it feasible to do forty different endings? A very cynical attitude if ever I heard one.

My question would be: why STOP at forty different endings when you could do so much more?

Here's a few suggestions that BioWare might not have thought of.

- In a shocking twist, the main character turns out to be a very well-disguised kitten.

- Second twist ending: it was all a dream.

- Third twist ending: it turns out that the main character died in the tutorial, only to be replaced by a Thing.

- Not so much a twist as a "WTF moment": the final boss is killed by a random giant hailstone!

And, of course:

- Just when you think it's all over, frogs start raining from the sky for no damn reason whatsoever.

(And yes... every single one of those "endings" was taken from another game / movie. Including the frogs one.)

 

[ThunderCavalier]

Yea, Sure, 40 different endings. Just like Mass Effect 3 was supposed to have so and so amount of endings.

They're going to use the entire color wheel to make up all of the different explosions to end this game!

... In all honesty, I really hope BioWare has coded some meaningfully different endings in Inquisition. I really don't care if it's 40 unique endings or 4 - as long as it isn't the extremely disappointing ME3 endings or anywhere close to that, it should make everyone happy.

The game not sucking would be nice, too.

 

[Agent Monocle]

Dragon Age: 40 Shades of Grey