So Dragon Age 3.... No Pressure?

[templar1138a]

As someone who actually loved Dragon Age II and hasn't been too inclined to play Origins because of how awkward the gameplay is by comparison, I hope that Bioware just continues to do what they do best: Make a well-written RPG that actually makes me care about the characters I interact with. And in the debacle over Mass Effect 3's ending, very few people acknowledged how damn good the rest of the game is.

As far as I can tell, the people at Bioware actually care about the games they make, so as long as they keep doing what they've been doing, I'll be happy with Dragon Age 3 and everyone else can keep weeping piss.

 

[Jeff Gennick]

I won't be getting it. My first Bioware game was the original Kotor, I spent more time in that then I care to think about. And they've only disappointed me since.

 

[Fappy]

DA2 was garbage.

Reusing your dungeon layouts when they're already highly linear and thoroughly unimaginative.

Side quests that consist entirely of looting a random item and returning it to someone you've never seen before (but conveniently highlighted on your map) in exchange for one line of dialogue and some pocket change.

Combat mechanics that include unpredictable ninja enemy spawns, completely invalidating the concepts of positioning and intelligent cool down usage.

Uneven, poorly paced story where none of your decisions ended up mattering hardly at all.

DA2 was an objectively bad game based on the standards of Bioware and DA:O. If they didn't want to call down that kind of wrath, they should have named it something else.

Way to tell it like it is. I always try to cut DA2 a fraction of some slack, but this logic is absolute. Unfortunately it is my belief that DAO is a game from another era, and we'll never see another RPG with that kind of development cycle ever again. I remember reading somewhere that they had worked on it for 5 years? Compared that to DA2's >2 year dev cycle.

 

[KingHodor]

Well, I'd say it's almost a forgone certainity that DA3 will be bland and generic, if not outright bad. Reason I think that is this; DA:O was a self-contained story. All the plot points were wrapped up in either the main game or the dlc.

Trying to continue on and tell more stories in the DA universe is silly really. Look what happened with DA:2, the story was a trainwreck. BioWare has the issue of "Where do we go from here?" "How do we top the Archdemon?" The short answer is, they can't. They don't have much of anywhere to go because the universe's big bad was killed in the first game. If they try to do so it's just going to feel hollow and contrived.

IMO, BioWare just needs to quit while they are semi-ahead of the game in regards to the DA franchise. Any further entries in the series are just not needed.

In case you didn't read the in-game lore, there are 7 archdemons, and the one you fight in DA:O is a particularly weak case - he was Urthemiel, "god of beauty" (a name that doesn't exactly inspire confidence in his fighting abilities), and IIRC he was awakened prematurely by the Architect, so in the end, his was a dim shadow of a true blight that fizzled out against a weakened Gray Warden order.

Also, the even bigger question than "what is the next archdemon/blight gonna be like" is "what happens when the last Old God is gone (there being only two left)", a question that led the Architect to conduct his dangerous experiment on an Old God in the first place.

Edit: IMO, Dragon Age is entirely salvageable. Just look at what you did wrong on DA2 (the story, the visual style, the annoying bisexual party members (vs the awesome bisexual party member in DA:O), the chapter-based story without emotional involvement or a satisfying climax...) and fix it, potentially by taking a step backwards to restore what made DA:O cool. Also, turn down the role of Hawke. So apparently some mages are rising up against the templars and Hawke is known far and wide as the biggest badass around, but as far as I'm concerned, that concludes his role for me. Maybe have Hawke decide he's had enough of Kirkwall and wander off into parts unknown, maybe to the Anderfels to train as a Warden.

 

[alik44]

As long a DA3 is not as rushed as DA2 was i have Faith

 

[Fappy]

Well, I'd say it's almost a forgone certainity that DA3 will be bland and generic, if not outright bad. Reason I think that is this; DA:O was a self-contained story. All the plot points were wrapped up in either the main game or the dlc.

Trying to continue on and tell more stories in the DA universe is silly really. Look what happened with DA:2, the story was a trainwreck. BioWare has the issue of "Where do we go from here?" "How do we top the Archdemon?" The short answer is, they can't. They don't have much of anywhere to go because the universe's big bad was killed in the first game. If they try to do so it's just going to feel hollow and contrived.

IMO, BioWare just needs to quit while they are semi-ahead of the game in regards to the DA franchise. Any further entries in the series are just not needed.

In case you didn't read the in-game lore, there are 7 archdemons, and the one you fight in DA:O is a particularly weak case - he was Urthemiel, "god of beauty" (a name that doesn't exactly inspire confidence in his fighting abilities), and IIRC he was awakened prematurely by the Architect, so in the end, his was a dim shadow of a true blight that fizzled out against a weakened Gray Warden order.

Also, the even bigger question than "what is the next archdemon/blight gonna be like" is "what happens when the last Old God is gone (there being only two left)", a question that led the Architect to conduct his dangerous experiment on an Old God in the first place.

This is why I am kind of glad DA2 barely touched the larger lore of the DA universe considering it probably would have shit all over it. As mundane as a lot of it is, I actually really liked the Darkspawn and religious lore in DA. I really hope it is never made clear what the truth behind the Tevinter Imperium, Andraste and the Maker really is. The mystery is what makes it so interesting.

 

[alik44]

Well, I'd say it's almost a forgone certainity that DA3 will be bland and generic, if not outright bad. Reason I think that is this; DA:O was a self-contained story. All the plot points were wrapped up in either the main game or the dlc.

Trying to continue on and tell more stories in the DA universe is silly really. Look what happened with DA:2, the story was a trainwreck. BioWare has the issue of "Where do we go from here?" "How do we top the Archdemon?" The short answer is, they can't. They don't have much of anywhere to go because the universe's big bad was killed in the first game. If they try to do so it's just going to feel hollow and contrived.

IMO, BioWare just needs to quit while they are semi-ahead of the game in regards to the DA franchise. Any further entries in the series are just not needed.

Well they did have some Build up in the DLC Awakenings with the moth and the Architect Dark spawn. and you have Morrigans Foreshadowing about Flemmeth in Witch hunt. its all seemingly building towards some big climax but its been very vaguely touch upon so yeah

 

[KingHodor]

Well, I'd say it's almost a forgone certainity that DA3 will be bland and generic, if not outright bad. Reason I think that is this; DA:O was a self-contained story. All the plot points were wrapped up in either the main game or the dlc.

Trying to continue on and tell more stories in the DA universe is silly really. Look what happened with DA:2, the story was a trainwreck. BioWare has the issue of "Where do we go from here?" "How do we top the Archdemon?" The short answer is, they can't. They don't have much of anywhere to go because the universe's big bad was killed in the first game. If they try to do so it's just going to feel hollow and contrived.

IMO, BioWare just needs to quit while they are semi-ahead of the game in regards to the DA franchise. Any further entries in the series are just not needed.

In case you didn't read the in-game lore, there are 7 archdemons, and the one you fight in DA:O is a particularly weak case - he was Urthemiel, "god of beauty" (a name that doesn't exactly inspire confidence in his fighting abilities), and IIRC he was awakened prematurely by the Architect, so in the end, his was a dim shadow of a true blight that fizzled out against a weakened Gray Warden order.

Also, the even bigger question than "what is the next archdemon/blight gonna be like" is "what happens when the last Old God is gone (there being only two left)", a question that led the Architect to conduct his dangerous experiment on an Old God in the first place.

This is why I am kind of glad DA2 barely touched the larger lore of the DA universe considering it probably would have shit all over it. As mundane as a lot of it is, I actually really liked the Darkspawn and religious lore in DA. I really hope it is never made clear what the truth behind the Tevinter Imperium, Andraste and the Maker really is. The mystery is what makes it so interesting.

Yeah, it feels pretty mature how DA basically lets you make up your own mind about Andraste and the Maker - it is one of the few scenarios that allows full-blooded atheist characters to exist (Andraste may just be a deluded woman (with great charisma and possibly supernatural abilities) believing herself to be the prophet of an imaginary god, and her teachings were adopted mostly because they were a convenient tool for keeping the masses in line or calling an Exalted March/crusade on your enemies. And her teachings were pretty easy to pervert, as the anti-popes established by the Tevinters show.

Or, of course, Andraste's story and what she told of the maker might very well be real. After all, the black city is real. Which, of course, leads to the question of the (partial) factuality of the "Golden City" story on the origin of the Darkspawn.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

Dragon Age 2 had a good story I just couldn't forgive the crappy "one dungeon that looked like all the other dungeons except parts were blocked off and they didn't even bother to delete that parts there were blocked off in the map" thing.

They don't pull that shit again I'll be fine.

 

[RobotDinosaur]

I never got into Dragon Age (always felt like a generic fantasy to me :/), but from what I heard in DA2, the game went from a story involving nations to just a family getting by. So, it essentially took a step backwards.

I don't agree that it's a step backwards simply because of a change in focus. Sure, saving the world's great and all, but it's a cliche and sometimes a bit silly that your main character, who up until that point had no remarkable skills, suddenly has to play an instrumental part in saving the world. DA2's plot was less grand but at the same time was able to focus more on relationships between characters. It also made for more interesting moral dilemmas - since you're not in charge of saving the world, not everything you do is inherently good and not everyone who opposes you is inherently evil.
Not to say the game didn't have its flaws, and I might have enjoyed it less had I paid full price for it when it first came out, but I enjoyed it. All in all I enjoyed it more than DA:O.

 

[Woodsey]

Well, there probably really is no pressure. After the screw up of DA2 I can't imagine anyone's even interested in DA3 anymore.

 

[The_Waspman]

Beware, minor spoilers ahead.

I just want Orlais, is that too much to ask!?

Yes, the movie is in Orlais. BUT IT'S A MOVIE.

DA:O gave a lot of setup for Orlais. I was angry when I found out 2 wasn't there. I mean really....

- You know a lot about politics and how their games work, from Leliana
- You know a bit about the gender inequality from that woman in Denerim's market
- You know about their fashions and cities, from Leliana
- You know they have their own Grey Wardens thanks to Riordan.

Orlais sounds like a really great setting, why on earth did they ignore it in favor of KIRKWALL of all places?

In some panel thing they did back at PAX they heavily implied it was going to be set in Orlais. Sounds cool to me, though I hope they don't half-ass the VO budget and give us a bunch of horrendous French accents. D:

Yup, they have all but confirmed its going to be set in Orlais. And really? Do you really want to go to Orlais? I didn't think anyone wanted the series to go there. When I heard that I lost further interest in the game, considering that going to Orlais feels like the franchise kicking its heels considering there's still the FRIGGING TERVINTER IMPERIUM to go to.

I was one of the seven people who actually had fun with Dragon Age 2. Seriously, not even the recycled dungeons got to me, at least not until the third act. I appreciated the different act structure (despite some jarring with the time jumps), and some of the insane difficulty spikes and the game pretty much forcing character classes/party set ups for sections of the game (most of the finale for example, where you have to play without a healer unless you're a mage). But most of this I mark down to the rushed development cycle.

But what other people have said is right. EA will market the fuck out of this game (because they think they'll need to in order to get sales). They'll hack characters and questlines out as day one dlc, just like the other two, and they'll force in a totally pointless multiplayer mode. Actually, they might save that for Dragon Age 4. Picture it. Theres another blight on the way, with not one but the two remaining dragon gods leading the darkspawn, and you'll have a mass effect 3 style war asset system in order to prepare for it. Previous game saves and decisions will of course dictate whether you have the Warden/Hawke on your side to fight, and the final confrontation will have you whisked away to the heart of the golden city, where you have a conversation with the Maker- in the guise of a child that is- who forces you into a nonsensical decision about what to do. Either destroy all the darkspawn (including your- probably by then- Darkspawn team member who is having a romance with one of your followers), save the darkspawn but give them free will and a land of their own, probably sacrificing the dwarves while you do so, or do a synthesis, where everyone becomes half human/elf/dwarf/whatever, half darkspawn.

Bookmark this page, because if this does happen, I just want to say...

Called It!

Captcha: learn from mistakes. Will they though Captcha? Will they?

 

[The Last Nomad]

I don't think they have much pressure, exactly for the reason you specified. The masses are against Bioware and as such everyone is expecting a bad game.

As Yatzee has said, that's when a game really gets appreciated.

 

[Wargamer]

Dragon Age 3 will tank. Hard.

It seems clear BioWare has decided what Dragon Age fans really want is "Mass Effect but not in space," whereas what we REALLY want is "a game like Origins, but with a new plot, polished mechanics, tweaked graphics and, well, NONE OF THE SHIT YOU PUT IN DA2!"

 

[Davlar]

I for one wish that they would just give us a Jade Empire 2, loved that game and it's fast paced combat

 

[Fappy]

Beware, minor spoilers ahead.

I just want Orlais, is that too much to ask!?

Yes, the movie is in Orlais. BUT IT'S A MOVIE.

DA:O gave a lot of setup for Orlais. I was angry when I found out 2 wasn't there. I mean really....

- You know a lot about politics and how their games work, from Leliana
- You know a bit about the gender inequality from that woman in Denerim's market
- You know about their fashions and cities, from Leliana
- You know they have their own Grey Wardens thanks to Riordan.

Orlais sounds like a really great setting, why on earth did they ignore it in favor of KIRKWALL of all places?

In some panel thing they did back at PAX they heavily implied it was going to be set in Orlais. Sounds cool to me, though I hope they don't half-ass the VO budget and give us a bunch of horrendous French accents. D:

Yup, they have all but confirmed its going to be set in Orlais. And really? Do you really want to go to Orlais? I didn't think anyone wanted the series to go there. When I heard that I lost further interest in the game, considering that going to Orlais feels like the franchise kicking its heels considering there's still the FRIGGING TERVINTER IMPERIUM to go to.

I was one of the seven people who actually had fun with Dragon Age 2. Seriously, not even the recycled dungeons got to me, at least not until the third act. I appreciated the different act structure (despite some jarring with the time jumps), and some of the insane difficulty spikes and the game pretty much forcing character classes/party set ups for sections of the game (most of the finale for example, where you have to play without a healer unless you're a mage). But most of this I mark down to the rushed development cycle.

But what other people have said is right. EA will market the fuck out of this game (because they think they'll need to in order to get sales). They'll hack characters and questlines out as day one dlc, just like the other two, and they'll force in a totally pointless multiplayer mode. Actually, they might save that for Dragon Age 4. Picture it. Theres another blight on the way, with not one but the two remaining dragon gods leading the darkspawn, and you'll have a mass effect 3 style war asset system in order to prepare for it. Previous game saves and decisions will of course dictate whether you have the Warden/Hawke on your side to fight, and the final confrontation will have you whisked away to the heart of the golden city, where you have a conversation with the Maker- in the guise of a child that is- who forces you into a nonsensical decision about what to do. Either destroy all the darkspawn (including your- probably by then- Darkspawn team member who is having a romance with one of your followers), save the darkspawn but give them free will and a land of their own, probably sacrificing the dwarves while you do so, or do a synthesis, where everyone becomes half human/elf/dwarf/whatever, half darkspawn.

Bookmark this page, because if this does happen, I just want to say...

Called It!

Captcha: learn from mistakes. Will they though Captcha? Will they?

That is the most appropriate Captcha I have ever seen.

I honestly can't see any of the game taking place entirely in the Tervinter Imperium simply because it would be like a LotR book taking place entirely within Mordor. They have already painted the picture of it being a godless/evil/nazi magic baby-eating land of amoral deiciders. It would be fucking badass though.

 

[Fappy]

Unfortunately it is my belief that DAO is a game from another era.

If it was truly a game from another era, it wouldn't of had that shitty MMO style ...I AM GOING TO CHASE THE WARRIOR WHO IS RUNNING AWAY FROM ME IN CIRCLES WHILE IGNORING THE 5 WARRIORS THAT ARE WHACKING ME WITH THEIR SWORDS AS WELL AS THE THREE MAGES FIRING SPELLS AT ME BECAUSE THIS ONE WARRIOR HAS THE HIGHEST AMOUNT OF "AGGRO" bullshit.


It would have alot better enemy variety (not this fighting darkspawn after darkspawn bs), better rpg mechanics based on an actual p&p system (not they're own homebrew crap), and less emphasis and $$ spent on all this romance nonsense.

Yeah, I have never been a fan of the DA stat system. Call me old fashioned, but I like my STR/DEX/CON/INT/WIS/CHA. I much prefer building characters in Kotor I & II for example.

 

[Flight]

Speaking as someone who enjoyed DAII for what it was (but holy cow, was it ever rushed), I'm going to say I hope III wraps up the larger conflict that was sparked in II, as well as it being set in Orlais (because honestly, there has been so much hinting at it already). Yes, I know the film will be set there, but I don't care. I want a game in Orlais already. And for goodness' sakes, let's not have any multiplayer, shall we? We don't need it.

Although my opinion doesn't really matter anyway, since I have no intentions of buying a BioWare game as anything other than used after the fiasco that was Mass Effect 3, but I'd rather not go there.