Poll: Dragon Age: II's main problem

[Souplex]

So the collective gaming community has been up in arms over Lizard Time: Sequel. (Dragon Age: II) There are various reasons, people complaining that it's been dumbed down and the like.
However, a major problem is being ignored.
Having the player character's race be human in a fantasy game is like having their class be accountant. Fantasy is supposed to be relatively divorced from reality. It's full of things like Dwarves, Gnomes, Quinari, and other things. This is like in Space Wizards (Mass Effect) where they introduced Krogans and Salarians, two of the greatest Sci-Fi races ever, and forced you to be human.
CAPTCHA: rlyse leading

 

[Gxas]

I agree, but only to an extent. In WoW, whenever I decide to roll an alliance character, I seem to always just pick human.

So, forcing it is bad, for sure, especially when there are much better races out there, but offering it is always good.

 

[Redem]

Huh yea I am so much of an accountant that I wield a sword twice my size and can shoot chain lighting.

While its suck a bit to be force into one race and one specific character, its hardly like it had not been before, and in a way its a rather narrow way to see thing, because apparently all the fantastical things going around are apparently void because you don't have pointy ear

 

[Falseprophet]

I always play humans in fantasy RPGs. The Tolkien standard races have annoyed me since my earliest days of playing D&D. You might note that most fantasy literature stopped using them around the late 1980s as well. So even though DA's elves and dwarves are far more interesting than everyone else's, I feel no great loss not being able to play one.

And I never had the option to play qunari, or even a non-Fereldan human, in either game. (You can play an Orlesian in Awakening but that affects exactly one sidequest.)

 

[starkiller212]

Bioware needed to have a limited number of potential PCs because of the more linear story and voice acting. Most players prefer human protagonists (I suspect; I don't know of any real data on this so it might not be true) and they are easier to fit into a Dragon Age story anyway.

Personally, I would never want to be a "pretentious, androgynous" elf or a tiny dwarf so I'm content to be a human.

[Although playing as another Mass Effect race would be awesome, once Shepard's trilogy is over]

 

[Divine Miss Bee]

i agree with this, very strongly. humans are no fun, and not especially fantastic. i want to be a gnome!

 

[Togs]

I think the bigger problems are the lacklustre environments and paperthin story.

But if you'll excuse me ive got some Qunari to go murder....

 

[Souplex]

I think the bigger problems are the lacklustre environments and paperthin story.

That seems to be a common theme in recent Bioware sequels.

 

[Dr. wonderful]

Sorry Souplex, that's not the problem.


The problem is they are "forced" to be some guy name Hawke, where they couldn't create their charcters and the fact that their character is voiced.


Which is funny, because I LOVED Hawke smartass speech in Reptiles Time: Moar flying snakes.

 

[one of them]

Wait what? You have to play a human?
:|

 

[Nohra]

So the collective gaming community has been up in arms over Lizard Time: Sequel. (Dragon Age: II) There are various reasons, people complaining that it's been dumbed down and the like.
However, a major problem is being ignored.
Having the player character's race be human in a fantasy game is like having their class be accountant. Fantasy is supposed to be relatively divorced from reality. It's full of things like Dwarves, Gnomes, Quinari, and other things. This is like in Space Wizards (Mass Effect) where they introduced Krogans and Salarians, two of the greatest Sci-Fi races ever, and forced you to be human.
CAPTCHA: rlyse leading

The real problem is that we can't play an Elcor in Dragon Age. I mean, what the fuck BioWare.

 

[luclin92]

my problem is that i cant find were to go to continue with the main quest.

 

[Souplex]

Bioware needed to have a limited number of potential PCs because of the more linear story and voice acting. Most players prefer human protagonists (I suspect; I don't know of any real data on this so it might not be true) and they are easier to fit into a Dragon Age story anyway.

Personally, I would never want to be a "pretentious, androgynous" elf or a tiny dwarf so I'm content to be a human.

[Although playing as another Mass Effect race would be awesome, once Shepard's trilogy is over]

I was so happy when the first Space Wizards: Sequel trailer came out, and it talked aboot Shep being dead. I was expecting this meant we could come up with a more custom Specter. No such luck.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

honestly i nearly always play human, yes i understand that it's a fantasy game, but why can i not just play human?

i would never want to be a midget dwarf in a million years, possibly an elf but they always seem a bit..elitist, which i hate elitists with a passion, so yeah no thanks.

and even then, why stick to those main cliche races? why not make entirely new ones?

honestly DA2 was supposed to be told from a certain viewpoint, so complaining about not being able to be anything other than a human...i could just care less.

 

[Togs]

I think the bigger problems are the lacklustre environments and paperthin story.

That seems to be a common theme in recent Bioware sequels.

yeah, however their characterization and combat are are encroaching on stratospheric levels

 

[darth.pixie]

Well it's not its main problem but it is a problem. Especially compared to DA:O where you could play the origins and try to create your character from there. Could have been a naive or snarky Dalish for different reasons compared to a naive or snarky mage. Almost any choice that the player has is a bonus to a game. Like in Arcanum...where almost anything was possible.

To those who always play human...I never play human. Never. For any game that actually gives me a choice. So why not make it a choice and let everyone be happy? And Hawke could have come from Lothering and be an elf or a dwarf with the right tweaks in history, I believe.

 

[pezwitch]

My bank toon in WoW is a male human rogue because those are the things I dislike playing and I won't be tempted to play him as an alt. After 4 years he recently hit Level 2 so it is working.

 

[hazabaza1]

Yeah, a lot of the time I just play human anyway.
Plus, I'm enjoying it so far, and I'm a few hours in. Haven't really found an issue with Hawke, name, voice or race.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Well it makes sense in Mass Effect, since it's a story about humanity learning to co-operate and expand into a galactic community.

Although I would enjoy playing a Salarian or a Turian. Both are pretty freakin cool.