On The Ball: A Little More Conversation, A Little Less Action

Jordan Deam

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On The Ball: A Little More Conversation, A Little Less Action

Shooting's dead. Long live the third-person talker.

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JeanLuc761

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Great article but you'd be surprised as to exactly how much conversation there really is.

It likely took BioWare thousands of hours and millions of dollars to produce what amounts to an hour or two of a 20-hour experience
I'm barely past recruiting Garrus and I've already recorded 2 hours and 15 minutes worth of cutscenes and dialogue. And those are just the IMPORTANT pieces.

I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if the game has a good 8-12 hours worth of conversation, and really, it's what keeps me hooked.
 

Jared

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Jul 14, 2009
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JeanLuc761 said:
Great article but you'd be surprised as to exactly how much conversation there really is.

It likely took BioWare thousands of hours and millions of dollars to produce what amounts to an hour or two of a 20-hour experience
I'm barely past recruiting Garrus and I've already recorded 2 hours and 15 minutes worth of cutscenes and dialogue. And those are just the IMPORTANT pieces.

I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if the game has a good 8-12 hours worth of conversation, and really, it's what keeps me hooked.
Much the same. I love the conversation patterns, and ever just listening to my crew talk when I walk by...especilly the little narrative which occurs in the crew quarters.

If there is something bioware is good at, it is making you really, really go deep in conversations with NPCs
 

Jhereg42

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I love how the dialogue and the interupts seem to integrate perfectly into the animation. Even though I'm playing Paragon, my right trigger finger always gets itchy because the Renegade interupts are all filled with awsomeness.

The character interaction in ME2 really is a joy to experience.
 

Jordan Deam

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Jhereg42 said:
I love how the dialogue and the interupts seem to integrate perfectly into the animation. Even though I'm playing Paragon, my right trigger finger always gets itchy because the Renegade interupts are all filled with awsomeness.

The character interaction in ME2 really is a joy to experience.
Agreed. I may enjoy cutting off Mordin Solus mid-sentence a little too much.
 

WafflesToo

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"You're working too hard"
BZZZRKT!

Too full of awesome really. I love the amount of work they put into these scenes, from breaking Joker's arm (on accident) to having a drink with Dr. Chakras. All of the stuff happening between the shooting is what is captivating me with the sequel to my previous favorite game ever since "Starflight".

And I think cutting Mordin off mid-sentence is about the only way to get a word in.
 

JeanLuc761

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Loop Stricken said:
People interrupting Mordin, people being mean to Tali, what is this world coming to?
People are being mean to Tali? I can't manage that even if I'm TRYING to be an asshole. Damn you Bioware for making such compelling and likable characters!
 

oneplus999

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I don't know about ME2, since I haven't played it yet, but in ME there were a lot of cases where you said the same thing whether you chose the "good guy" or "bad guy" responses, so you might not be missing out on quite as much as you think.
 

Playbahnosh

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Cutting off Mordin mid-sentence? Why would you do such a thing? Even if I play Paragon, I never do it. For one, I enjoy listening to his ramblings. The assistant girl said it best, he is like a hamster on caffeine. A hamster, that has a brain two sizes too large. I mean, what he says is actually clear and logical (at least it sounds logical anyway), and I love how he deducts huge revelations from the tiniest bits of information by piecing them together in a very convoluted but awesome way. For me, he is the most interesting and memorable character in the ME universe so far (and of course, Tali).
 

300lb. Samoan

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Article said:
you're not really talking to someone - you're making your way through a flowchart.
This is why I'll always prefer shooters. I'm all for the development of cinematic games (mostly so they'll take their cutscenes home and leave my shooters alone). But I will always be acutely aware that I am talking to a program as long as I'm conversing within a game. The interaction in a shooter is much more natural (or can be, at least). Why am I still playing Borderlands after 50+ hours, of TF2 after 250+ hours? Because the fight is always different, and not dependent on a dichotomy.

I am all for the development of new means of interaction, but I'll always prefer those that are natural and reactive, rather than predetermined and predictable.
 

Landslide

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Friggen pansies. I communicate in short, clipped sentences from my SMG. Headshots are just a more efficient way of driving my point home. Home being the central nerve ganglia buried in the brain, and my point being bullets. Space bullets. Thermal space bullets of well formed, albeit harsh dialect.

Lock n Load.
 

StriderShinryu

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Have to agree with this article, at least when it comes to Dragon Age. The actual gameplay is great fun, sure, but I'm really 100hrs in because of the characters, the stories and the conversations.
 

AC Medina

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Great piece; what Bioware accomplished in Mass Effect 2 is really remarkable.

I also think the character-importing system and the ways they work in your decisions in ME1 is truly revolutionary, groundbreaking stuff that added a dimension of depth and continuity to a game unlike nothing we had ever seen before and may have forever redefined what we expect of an RPG sequel.
 

seditary

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The brilliance of bioware is even more apparent now that I'm replaying with a fresh me2 male shepard as opposed to my imported female one, not only is half the interactions different because he has a different backstory to my female (I played my female as a paragon with occassional impatience issues) but the very fact that he's male changes some of the interactions and such (apart from romancially) in subtle ways so the choice of gender isn't simply cosmetic like in pretty much every other game ever made.

I'm actually not skipping over any dialogue in my second playthrough cause its so different, which has never happened before.
 

wench

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May 1, 2008
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StriderShinryu said:
Have to agree with this article, at least when it comes to Dragon Age. The actual gameplay is great fun, sure, but I'm really 100hrs in because of the characters, the stories and the conversations.
Same here - I've done whole replays of the game to see what additional options I would get, and have been known to get up and do dances when I can get them to do something new. Can't wait to try ME/ME2 - I'm almost done with Dragon Age now, at least until the expansion. =)
 

copycatalyst

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In ME2 I find I look forward to the talking bits and the combat bits equally, and there's a great balance between them.
 

TarkXT

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It is nice to see how games, particularly roleplaying games, are evolving to the point where they take the character interaction seriously. For some games it's hit and miss as is the case in Oblivion. Some quest lines and characters were really good its just sad that they rendered the whole speechcraft skill into a silly minigame.
 

kawaiiamethist

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And this is why I loved Dragon Age. I am planning to give Mass Effect and its sequel a go later this year, and it sounds like I'll get more of the same. Excellent :D