Hopes for Dragon Age III

[CloudAtlas]

Well if you didn't care for either previous DA games, its pretty unlikely the third one will appeal to you.

Oh, I did care. Many fundamentals were solid. They're typical BioWare games, and, in principle, I like those types of games. There were just a lot of elements that prevented me from really liking games. But many of these elements could be rectified, and I'm actually confident that this is going to happen. Many of the flaws of Dragon Age 2 were things that were more or less objectively bad, you find them mentioned in most reviews - BioWare knows what they should do here (and if their few announcements are to be believed, they do work on some of them). Dragon Age 2, as well as the sequel's title, "Inquisition", suggests that the story will be going into the direction I would like to see.
Frankly, I am puzzled why we don't see more stories like that; don't plots about freedom, oppression, slavery and so on resonate just as deeply with people?

And, by the way, Game of Thrones should have proven by now that even fantasy fans like stories that are about something else than saving the world from evil.

You are right of course. But like i stated in my post above, if i have to choose, i care more for how a story is told, than what it is about. I mean if Game of Thrones would be badly written, even the rather interessting plot couldn't save it, at least for me.[/quote]

I don't find A Song of Ice and Fire to be particularly well written. In fact, I stopped reading after the third book. It actually is the setup, the plot, that does save it for me, and makes me still care. And watch the series, which I find better than the books.

 

[aivalera]

I'm seeing a lot of hate for DA 2, but it honestly wasn't that bad.

The main problem with the comments I see is that DAO is an RPG and DA2 is more of an action-adventure, so fans are torn and their preferences come into play.

- I, personally, like the streamlined armor system so I'm not spending freaking hours in the inventory saying "inspect, junk, inspect, junk, inspect, junk, inspect, keep, inspect, junk, inspect keep, inspect, equip" every hour, and I get stuck between fasion messes (for a lack of a better term) and practicality. DA 2's characters armor shows their story and past. I have one problem with it in that you get upgrades for the companions armor but it doesn't appear on their armor so it doesn't seem like they are growing.

- No overuse of maps.

- Since we are importing saves from DA and DA2, then have the previous decisions matter.

- A new game plus mode.

- DLC that adds to the story. Bioware seems to have an issue in predictable and bad decisions in DLC; DLC 1 add a new character and will be free if you pre-order the game, DLC 2 will add a few more hours of gameplay and some items in a side plot, DLC 3 will bring in another charcter who might stay with you, DLC 4 will be great.

(Seriously, ME 2: Zaeed, Overlord, Kasumi, Shadow Broker

ME 3: From Ashes, Leviathan, Omega, Citadel

DA: Shale, Warden's Keep, Ostagar (You can get Dog if you missed him so it counts, kinda), Awakening + A bunch of kinda crap smaller bits

DA2: Sebastian, Legacy, Mark of the Assassin, nothing for DLC 4 + A bunch of item packs)

I like the DLC that gives you new characters that stay through the game even if DLC 1 is a bit of a transparent move to get more money in that they are always day one DLC yet they affect the entire plot in something that could take months. But this isn't the place so I'll stop talking about DLC.

- A better structured story. I only fully got some parts on my second playthrough just a few weeks ago, like did you know that the second to last boss (no spoilers) knew the serial murderer and even helped him out? No? Neither did I until I remembered the boss's name and saw his initial on a random note. And this is BEFORE you've met the guy or even hear his name. What's more is that you aren't told the murderers name enough times to remember it so when the boss goes "(name) was right" it's gibberish.

- No multiplayer.

- I like the conversation wheel because there were time in Dragon Age Origins when I didn't know if what I was going to say implied that I didn't care or if I was genuinely curious and I would accidently insult my party members because my character had a bitchy tone in his voice. And the special options were a nice touch. I know the one I thought was cool was when a slaver had a hostage but Hawke could kill him with a throwing knife because he was a rogue. Plus you could get your teammates to act if they were in you're party.

- No random loot based on current level. It annoying as hell when you have the Badass Blade of Awesomeness get beaten by a regular sword and there is no way to tell unless you inspect it in your inventory because it's a generic item.

- Lastly, have the comparison window up when you are picking up equpiment. Bioware, why did you have this in Origins but then took it out for DA2? That makes no logical sense from any perspective!

As long as DA3 has these rules then I would be all over it.

 

[Mycroft Holmes]

I think they need to spend even more time developing for and talking about making female hawke's butt swing even more perfectly as she walks. That was a good line of development.

 

[TWEWYFan]

If what I've read so far is right, you will not be playing as Hawke or the Warden, although they might make cameos. I'm hopeful that the game will at least have some pretty good writing, since Bioware games usually do, even when the games themselves aren't as well received.

While I wish I could say I had high hopes for the rest of this game, given what EA has done lately I have my doubts. Frankly, I worry that this might be Bioware's last game before EA decides that they've been bled dry and cuts them loose.

 

[Misterian]

Speaking as someone who enjoyed both games, I'm quite looking forward to Dragon Age 3.

Especially since it'll involve the mage-templar conflict, speaking as a pro-mage fan, I'm looking forward to more chances to take the templars down a notch and hopefully make things better for the Mages as well.

Must be ironic that I'm optimistic about a game franchise as cynical as Dragon Age, isn't it?

 

[MrBenSampson]

I'd prefer a direct sequel to Origins and Awakening, using the same aesthetics and mechanics. I want to continue as my warden, and take the fight to the darkspawn. The old gods need to be destroyed/set free, before the darkspawn have a chance to corrupt them.

Dragon Age 2 might as well had been a different franchise. After playing through Origins 3-4 times, I was so excited when the demo for #2 was available... and then I played it. It felt like Bioware designed the game for everyone who didn't like the previous installment. ME2 gave me the same impression, and that was the last time Bioware/EA saw any money from me.

 

[Goofguy]

The biggest thing I'd like to see is more variety in the locations. Kirkwall changes so little over the span of all those years and it's pretty fucking drab to begin with. And of course, there are the copied and pasted dungeons.

I'd also like see more compelling and interesting squad mates. Apart of Varric and Aveline, the rest are pretty boring and generic. And those rest also happen to be available as LI's to both female and male Hawkes. Kind of lazy if you ask me. It's evident it was one of the corners Bioware cut. Rather than make meaningful heterosexual or homosexual relationships, those four squadmates bat for both teams so that the illusion of choice is presented without putting in the effort to flesh them out properly.

 

[TallanKhan]

With DA2 I broke my rule of never preordering anything. I won't be making that mistake again.

If it has favourable reviews, and specifically, alot of the DA2 damage gets undone then I'll buy it, if not, then I won't, After DA2 I'm not invested enough in the series anymore.

 

[Amanda Diamond]

I'm really hoping they WON'T turn the mage resistance into the titular bad guys.

 

[bug_of_war]

I'll still probably check out DA3, but the information that again you can't choose race and are forced to play human is already a bad start.

Aww fuck. I mean, I don't mind playing as a human, but...ah well.

I enjoyed DA:O and DA2, so I'll still probably get DA3 and enjoy it.

 

[Sack of Cheese]

I'm one of the few who liked both DAO and DA2. DAO is better, obviously, but DA2 wasn't all that bad. I love the cast and appreciate Bioware doing something else other than "gathering a group of outcasts and save the world from the big bad evil."

For DA3, I want a jump button!! I'd give anything for a jump button, I just wanna jump over fences and up the stair.
And bigger map! I love love love to explore!! I have high hope for this game.

 

[ImperialSunlight]

I'll still probably check out DA3, but the information that again you can't choose race and are forced to play human is already a bad start.

I am actually hoping i get to be Hawke again, otherwise DA2 would be completly futile and the only important part would be a short summary of the last act: Templars and Mages in Kirkwall went batshit crazy and kicked off a big ass war.

I feel DA2 already was pretty futile. Heck, the ending is the epitome of futility; No matter whose side you choose, everyone's a bad guy and you have to kill them all.

I feel basically the same way. Thats kind of my point, if I get to be Hawke again, at least I would be "reunited" with my character, who at least saw that sh*t happening even if he couldn't make a difference.

I'd like Hawke to be a character (either a companion or a side character). We know he's got to be alive in DAIII (unless he was killed or something, but that's doubtful). I think having a NPC character with experience in this conflict would be interesting, and it would force Bioware to put their money where their mouth is with their whole "player choice should matter and go on to the next game" attitude by changing the character completely depending on your actions in DAII.

I don't think I'd like to actually have another game completely focused on Hawke, though. He's had his story, along with DLC. I would really like to either see a new named hero with a new backstory (or preferably multiple backstories) or a completely custom character. Sadly, you can't choose races, so the latter isn't likely. Regardless, I don't think having Hawke return would offer enough new and interesting stories for the main character to explore. All of Hawke's personal ties are pretty much resolved (his mother, siblings, etc.) and he's fairly well-off at the end of DAII. A lot of what I like about the Dragon Age series is how involved and invested the main character can be in the world. In Origins, the origins really set up a feeling of immersion in which you can understand your own character's history and ambitions, something that is uncommon in VG RPGs. In DAII as well, Hawke having personal and family relations gave him a strong connection to the world that the player could understand and identify with. Hawke doesn't really have that in Dragon Age III. Sure, he has a backstory now, but he has no real ambitions or goals besides "Well, this mage-templar war kind of sucks. Maybe we should stop it... or something," which is what I imagine every sane person will be thinking anyway.

 

[Xdeser2]

- the PC doesn't have to be voiced.

Oh god, no. Dear mother of god, NO!

If you're going to be programming in specific dialogue anyway, the dumbest idea you can think of is "Hey, let's have everyone be voiced except for this ONE woman! And besides, if Mass Effect and SWTOR are anything to go by, BioWare has no intention of returning to silent protagonists anytime soon.

Silent protagonists are fine if they either don't speak at all (IE Zelda) or if the entire game lacks voiceovers (IE Pokemon). But Silent protagonists make absolutely no sense in a game where everyone else speaks, but the player doesn't. And no, Immersion is far too subjective and dependant on individual players to be a valid design choice.

Plus after Kari Wahlgren and Mark Bazely in SWTOR, Jennifer Hale in Mass Effect, and Jo Wyatt in DA2, please don't drop character voices... please?

It worked perfectly well in Origins (IE the GOOD one)

In Mass Effect, the PC talking worked, the series was introduced that way. In Origins, it actually gave you a wide variety of options to say the thing you ACTUALLY meant to say, not some rough facsimile.

OT:

A return to the Original style of Combat (yes, pausing and playing)

A Silent PC

A good story

Non-whiny characters

Hopefully it will have an actual story arc, rather than 3 mini-adventures

The return of the AMBITIOUS and REVOLUTIONARY.....................ability to change you parties' armor sets

 

[Carnagath]

I have some hopes for Dragon Age III, because I see some potential, but I'm skeptical, because I didn't particularly like either predecessor.

Potential because, first and foremost, the game seems to be about the mages vs. templars conflict. This can make for a much more original, interesting story than your generic "save the world from evil" story that plagued Dragon Age: Origins. The big theme, freedom vs. security. Moral ambiguity. No good vs. evil conflict. Perhaps slavery and the Qun both play a major role as well, because both fit to the same theme, freedom. And so would the Dwarven caste system. Ending slavery, that would be something that would motivate me much more than fighting some arch demon. And, by the way, Game of Thrones should have proven by now that even fantasy fans like stories that are about something else than saving the world from evil.


Oh, and BioWare said (I believe) that Dragon Age III will be more open-worldish, so that should be an improvement over the ridiculously small levels of both predecessors.

Skepticism because, well, everything else. All these story elements were already present in Dragon Age: Origins, but the main story was instead the generic "save the world from evil". And I'm afraid Dragon Age 3 might end up just the same. Maybe some new arch demon forces templars and mages to work together and... blablabla, same old. I know many love Dragon Age: Origins, but I just found the story and the world to be very derivative, bland, boring. Okay, the story changed in Dragon Age 2, but that story is a mess for other reasons. Almost the whole game I felt like I was doing nothing but secondary quests, just running errands for anyone with a problem. And excepting me to care for the death of a character (your sibling) that I know for just 15 minutes or so, that just doesn't work.
Both Dragon Age games were visually unappealing to me. Dragon Age: Origins was entirely devoid of style in my eyes, and DA2 was better, but with recycling the same environment to infinity there's only so much effect you can achieve.
The combat system was nothing particularly creative, but serviceable in DA:O, I guess. But it was sooo incredibly repetitive in DA2, every single fight played out exactly the same way, even many boss fights. Not to mention the parachuting enemies. And the AI was horrible in both cases.
The characters were such a mixed bag as well, in both games. Not bad, sure, but today, I expect more. And BioWare did better in Mass Effect. Many were just too one-sided, and sometimes over the top too, like Merill and Isabella. I get it, Isabella is sexually liberated, that's great, but does the game have to comment on that every damn minute?

In short, I want to be hopeful for DA3, not the least because good western RPGs are rare, but DA1 and DA2 are so full of design decisions that I think were bad or lazy that I am very skeptical. And if I have to save this damned world from evil again... I don't want to return to DA:O.

That pretty much covers my opinion on the franchise as well. I played through DA:O consciously trying to think of a more boring, generic fantasy story, and I could not. This is possibly the lowest point of AAA RPG's, story-wise. Even Kingdoms of Amalur was more interesting. The combat also felt sticky and unresponsive, it never got anywhere near the tactical precision of the old Icewind Dale games. Its only saving grace were a couple of fairly well written characters.

In DA2, the combat changed and became more action-oriented, losing some of its depth, but it made sense and felt good. The story was also a huge step up from DA:O, since there was actually something going on instead of you running around from town to town and gathering the hordes for 70 hours. There was a political and moral clash, there were lots of grey areas, the protagonist was not a robot and once again some of the characters were fairly well written. Unfortunately the game was clearly rushed, assets were reused constantly, and yes, the "parachuting" enemies instantly obliterated any sense of immersion that one might have built up.

For DA3, they really need to come up with an engaging story, and take the time they need to make the world feel detailed and varied. They will surely be facing some fierce competition in the "let's make it more like Skyrim" wave of sequels, starting with Witcher 3.

 

[Maeshone]

I have high hopes for DAIII, but I might be the odd one out since I think DAII is way better than DAO...

What I'd like to see changed:

No more re-use of the same dungeon layout with different doors filled in. It's lazy and cheap

No more wave-based combat with ninjas leaping in from the roof, that was really silly

Overhaul the combat engine. I would rather see a proper action-RPG, with direct inputs like light attacks, heavy attacks and parries (No dodge rolling, that's what made Witcher 2's combat look really silly after a while)

Keep companions with unique looks, but do something to help differentiate them when you give them new armor. Like give each companion a skin for light, medium and heavy armor, or something along those lines.

Playable Origins would be cool, I know they wont happen but at least they're bringing back the ability to choose different origins

No focus on the Darkspawn. They are really derivative and unoriginal. Focus on the Mage/Templar war, and hopefully have some more details on the Qunari

Please Bioware, for the love of god! I know that the game is set in Orlais, but don't give everyone a horrible french accent. Most Orlesians in the previous games really annoyed me with how they sounded

Since the new engine is Frostbite, please add environmental destruction. It could really help show the power of a fireball if it sends pieces of the environment flying

Keep the focus on a more personal story. I can get a "saving the world" story anywhere, do something different

Less ridicoulus-looking weaponry please. The weapon designs in DAII where really stupid sometimes, DAO outshines the sequel in this regard

 

[piinyouri]

I'm neutral/don't have a stake in it.

If it turns out to be good, yay, new RPG to try out.
If it sucks terribly I won't be plussed.

 

[CloudAtlas]

- the PC doesn't have to be voiced.

Oh god, no. Dear mother of god, NO!

If you're going to be programming in specific dialogue anyway, the dumbest idea you can think of is "Hey, let's have everyone be voiced except for this ONE woman! And besides, if Mass Effect and SWTOR are anything to go by, BioWare has no intention of returning to silent protagonists anytime soon.

It worked perfectly well in Origins (IE the GOOD one)

If you think that, good for you. For me, it certainly didn't. It felt so weird. Like I'm playing a mute who scribbles his answer on a scrap of paper, while all others had the ability to talk. No you just cannot mix cinematic dialogue cut scenes and a silent protagonist. I think that's something that's just objectively bad design.

But, yea, like Tara I'm fairly confident that that's not going to happen in DA3.

 

[CloudAtlas]

But all the romances in DA2 (except the DLC one) can be followed by a Hawke of either gender.

Oh right. I was talking more specifically about the male romance options. I understand all the possible male LIs are quite broody, and that's a character type that very rarely appeals to me. Not sure what the female LIs are like but I haven't really liked any of Bioware's previous female LIs (although I might be warming up to Tali) so I'm not particularly optimistic on that front.

Well, with Isabella you got a pirate that seems to have slept with half of Thedas, and that's her most defining trait. I still liked her, and the concept of the character, but really, you gotta tone it down a little. You run into an NPC every few minutes that seems to had intercourse with her. Merrill is extremely socially insecure. She reminded me of Tali a lot, just here, it's way over the top, I couldn't take it seriously anymore.

I definitely get what you mean. I love Jennifer Hale in ME and when I played DA:O for the first time, I found the mute PC very jarring. DA2 has a voiced protagonist but for some reason I find it even more jarring than the mute protagonist in DA:O. I guess I'm just not a huge fan of Fem Hawke's voice... combine that with poor dialogue mechanic and ughhh...! So yeah, I generally prefer voiced protagonists too but in DA2 I'm really not digging Fem Hawke. I guess I just figured that having a silent protagonist would be less disruptive.

That might also have to do with the fact that the facial animations in DA2 are just way worse than in ME2&3.

 

[Frotality]

dragon age origins was an attempt to try and bring back a little of the old baldurs gate magic, and dragon age 2 was bioware not wanting to do that anymore and deciding to copy mass effect instead because people seem to like that. as much as i want to like it, i know dragon age 3 is not going back to its "roots" and is not going to be good. most likely itll be dragon effect 3, which might be decent but makes origins look like the spin off of the series its started, or theyll continue this incredibly vexing and unintentionally hilarious anime-ish thing they seem to think is appropriate for the series now.

either way youre going to end up with a trilogy of strangely unrelated games no matter what, because it seems bioware has no f**king clue how to keep an overarching plot. ME1 was about stopping reapers, ME2 about daddy issues in space, and ME3 about the awful last 10 minutes so bad the 20+ hours before it still dont begin to excuse it. DAO was about a gray vs black conflict where you have to get a little dirty if you wanted to win, DA2 was about......... nothing in particular, and even if DA3 is entirely about the mage/templar thing, its only relation to the trilogy is the last 3rd of DA2.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

The biggest problem with DA2 is that they tried to turn it into Mass Effect, while it was perfectly fine doing its own thing.

I'll still probably check out DA3, but the information that again you can't choose race and are forced to play human is already a bad start.

Homogenization, it's what's for breakfast.
OP: I have no hopes for DA3. Race locking and having a voiced MC were the death knell for me. Look, I understand the complaints about DA1's combat. If you don't like slogging through old school strategy combat to get to the writing beyond it, that's cool. I beat the game 5 times (3 were in casual). Why they couldn't have just overhauled the combat and left races and the silent protagonist alone... well Mass Effect was popular and they only had about 18 months of development time. But they are still doing it for the next one? In a freaking high fantasy game, forcing me to play as the most boring race possible after giving us freedom in the first game is just inexcusable. I'll get it 3 months after release when it is 20$ in the bargain bin after failing to meet expectations (again).