#ﾟДﾟ

So

Dragon Age 2

The Qunari.

Not loving them.

(Though getting used to them)

Linkage

Although, all of the new information about Qunari is very interesting. I do appreciate that a lot.

I think I just dislike the Qunari women. They're a little less . . . buff and awesome than I imagined ^^;



Also dwarven hooker (not really, of course >>). Discuss.

In fact, I like the big, enormous qunari in the trailer but I think they changed the race too much from what it was in the first game. We'll see eventually, they changed far too many things for me to say ''I'd love it for sure'', but we'll see. Firstly, I don't like the 'must' of being a human, just like Mass Effect

The must of being a human irked me as well, but at least they let you still choose between mage, rogue and warrior. I also hear that there's more variation of facial customization, so that's alright too, I suppose. Though, I am annoyed with how Hawke is supposed to be ending up as "the single most important person in the history of Dragon Age". I feel that that, in a way, demeans what the Warden did in the first game. I think slaying the Archdemon is pretty friggen important :/

I did like the Qunari in the trailer, yes, but it's also very different from the Qunari from the first game. Although I appreciate how they included in the new Qunari information that some Qunari have no horns from birth, and that those ones are considered 'special' or 'elevated' in society. That makes Sten extra special :3

I want to love the game. I'm excited to play it, and I want to like it. I'll reserve judgment, I suppose, for after I've played it.

I don't like I can't be an elf (I am human damnit, if I'm playing a fantasy game I want to be another thing, if you know what I mean, and Dalish are just so awesome). And another thing I don't like is not being a Grey Warden. What the hell? I thought the whole thing in Dragon Age was the Grey Warden's duty and sacrifice. I won't say Hawke is not hawt (the male in the trailer at least, yummy), but... I don't know. I surely get it because my brother is just dying for it, but... we'll see

:/ I know. I wish I was still a Grey Warden. And, even if I'm not, I don't want Hawke to be that much more important than the Warden character, as they say in the new game.

Of course, I'm sure that by the end of the game, I'll be in love with 'my' Hawke, I'll still be sad for my Warden.

As long as DA2's mechanics don't get too far from Baldur's Gate/2 and the story isn't some linear bullshit with contrived, meaningless choices that plunge you headlong into ridiculous situations that would never have occurred had your character had an ounce of sense, I don't think I'll specifically hate the game.

/jadedamateurgamedesigner

-- Griffinhart

PS. Though trivializing the first game's lead character is, IMO, a bad decision - it makes the players feel as though they accomplished nothing of great import. It can work for some things, but for the most part, you never want your player to feel as though everything they did amounted to nothing because the situation will fix itself/fall apart regardless. That just makes them regret having emotionally invested themselves into your product.

It actually makes sense for Hawke to be more important than the Warden for this reason: Blight happen every couple centuries, and thus, its a cycle that will keep continuing for as long as there are Old Gods buried beneath the Deep Roads. A Warden killing an Archdemon is his/her job, and thus, they are only fulfilling their role. Hawke is apparently a hero who had risen above and beyond the call of duty, which makes him a true hero.

Dragonis wrote:Hawke is apparently a hero who had risen above and beyond the call of duty, which makes him a true hero.

*Bitter laughter*

So, you're not a true hero if you don't rise A and B the C of D? Someone ought to tell most of these guys, then.

-- Griffinhart

I wouldn't call going 'above and beyond' to be any more heroic than 'just doing your job', especially when your job includes potentially sacrificing your life to a giant dragon for the good of the world, even in a video game setting >>

I think I'm just saying that they shouldn't have devalued the original game experience by implying that this one will be 'greater' in import. It would have been very possible to have each co-exist without one 'topping' the other, and still have made an equally engrossing and entertaining game.

Just doing my job. It's a great statement for good and ill; however, for one to have gotten to the stage of killing an Arch Demon it wasn't "just doing their job." The Wardens are there to fight the Darkspawn and yadda yadda yadda but it's like any other work you do. Some do it ok, others run from it, yet others do it extraordinarily and above and beyond the call of duty. I'd say building forces to fight the Arch Demon is going above and beyond. Knowing you may die, that others WILL die because of the choices you make yet still making all the hard decisions in order to do your duty makes the warden people play exemplary.

Look at the other wardens. Not all of them would have been able to take on that responsibility.

The statement of Hawke being the most important; however, was a blatant marketing ploy. Saying that: I don't like the comment either.

As for the Qunari, I like the ideas and all but I don't like that they decided to redesign the race. Whatever. Make them look a bit more like Draenei just without the animal style legs.

My thoughts about the second version is mixed. I hate having to choose a specific race. In fact, I always despise when it is forced upon you. I was peeved enough and didn't get the first Dragon Age partially because I did not trust Bioware after all of their promises for Neverwinter Nights (still no horses in the general game damn you, DAMN YOU!!!) and the fact I'd only be able to play one of three races. Run that down to one race and I'm dang un-thrilled.

The one thing that does interest me is Flemeth. I adore Kate Mulgrew's voice even though many others do not (stupid Trek friends who are nitpicking terrorists). That is a big plus for me. Yes, I adore voices and use that as a haggling base for myself on whether I get something or not.

Offtopic:

Maghai wrote:I did not trust Bioware after all of their promises for Neverwinter Nights (still no horses in the general game damn you, DAMN YOU!!!)

Uh, I missed the parts in NWN where there was any need for a horse. Mind explaining exactly where in the main campaign the game would have been improved with the inclusion of horses?

One of the core tenets of game design: Keep It Simple, Stupid. If there's no need for horses, don't have horses.

There are plenty of other reasons to hate NWN - the entire core campaign, for example. (BW made up for that with Hordes of the Underdark, though. HotU made NWN totally worth it all.)

-- Griffinhart

There was no general "need" in the regular games. The key to the aggravation is that it was promised and promised and promised but never delivered, just the same as they never delivered a much better and easily used module creation program. The one they had with the game was good but they kept promising ease etc etc.

The point is: don't promise if you don't intend on delivering.

Promises mean nothing if they are delivered upon and make for a worse game. Features are regularly cut - be glad we got horses at all, and in a context that makes sense gameplay-wise.

(Also NWN's module creation is infinitely better-done than NWN2's, in my experience. Haven't tooled around enough in DAO to know how well it's SDK works.)

-- Griffinhart

The one they did for NWN2 was really bad. The first one was good. Their updates did nothing for it but NWN2's was horrid. That was one of the promises they made was to make the one for NWN2 better but that was their promise every new release.

I don't know if horses would have made issues with the program but there are other games which have mounts. Maybe their format was not easily changeable for such a thing which I can understand; however, I still don't trust promises from them. The horses was simply my whiny complaint and I retain the right to whine all I like.

BW didn't do NWN2, so you can hardly blame them for that.

-- Griffinhart