Dragon Age Central

Quote: Posted 05/25/04 20:45:02 (GMT) by Hades_One
So, no sneaky evil?

I take it then its going ot be more of the same then?

Right. It's going to be all more of the same just because we wouldn't consider doing sneaky evil quite like that.

I really like George R. R. Martin's work, as do most of the designers on the project. As a "for instance", anyway.

Ummm...

...I'm thinking no.

There's other neat stuff that can be done that is far less confusing, I think.

Quote: Posted 05/25/04 20:24:05 (GMT) by Althernai
Why can't we have more of this type of betrayal plots, where how you behave can actually change people's minds?

Oh, there's no reason we can't have more plots of this type. We just have to pick and choose where to spend our time, and if betrayal is a feature that fits into the story then maybe we'd do this.

The reason you don't normally see it, however, is that having an NPC who you've had in your party all this time betray you or run off... well... kind of sucks, good story or no. If it's done, it should be done sparingly or at the very end of a plot (like ToB or HotU) where all stops can be pulled out.

I would say, personally, that I like having NPC's who react realistically to your decisions. Have a paladin in your party, for instance, and he should really get upset if you start doing evil things. Unless you give the player a lot of alternative party members as options, however, you don't want to have every NPC running off like that, either, and while everyone automatically goes "yes! lots and lots and lots of NPC's! And all of them detailed with stories and quests and romances!" that isn't always an option.

Quote: Posted 05/25/04 19:21:06 (GMT) by koronus
Judging from David's comments, I'm sure something diabolical is being planned for DA. Woo-Hoo!

Oh, I have quite enough writing on my plate without making every party member both romanceable as well as a potential traitor, thank you very much. Talk about your pipe dreams, sheesh!

I kind of like the fact that every keen story idea that the fans come up with, like having every party member able to betray you, just happens to also involve working me to death.

We didn't feel constrained. In fact, built-in preconceptions can be advantageous for several reasons.

While I love City of Heroes, I would have to comment that the cool flying/teleporting/super-speed not only is pretty integral to the whole superhero thing (integral as opposed to a nifty addition) we're also talking about a game that is purposefully massive to allow hordes of fellow players in at the same time you are and where you spend lots of time traveling.

If flight were similarly integral to DA's theme and gameplay, it would pretty much be a given.

If it makes sense in the overall context of the story that might be cool to consider. I always liked the class-specific stuff from BG2. If it doesn't make sense, however, there's no way we would put such a thing in... putting an urgent quest on hold so you can run an inn or shop around for a new castle only fits in certain campaigns. If it doesn't fit in ours we'll just have to find other neat stuff.

I think there are certain things people expect to see in any race that is called 'elf'. Some preconceptions can be done away with, however, but we've tried to do that in a way that is refreshing rather than jarring. I suppose some people will be jarred anyhow, but I expect they might just be those looking for the LoTR elf verbatim and nothing else... in which case they will be disappointed.

I'm going to close this one down, mostly because it's gotten too long but also because it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the original question anymore.

All I can say, personally, is that some folks seem to have some fine ideas for games should they ever decide to make one.

Quote: Posted 05/21/04 19:34:57 (GMT) by Gromnir
am not privy to testing results... not stood over the shoulders of play testers as they bang their head 'gainst wall over and over, but we does not like to accept the fact that if you gots multiple dialogues that make apparent that you gotta get past The Dragon, but that the Dragon is Immortal and Unkillable, that any but the most inconsequential number of folks will try to kill the dragon. (is probably true, but we not wanna accept.) no matter what you is gonna get savagely beaten or impoverished getting past the Dragon. just no way to get by w/o taking your licks, and success is measured by how little pain you suffer.

Well, now, that's not quite what I said. It IS perfectly acceptable to provide alternate solutions to combat... just like telling the player that they should sneak by the dragon and not try to kill him. And if they do... well, better reload that game, pally.

What I said is that you don't want to present a situation to the player where fleeing is the best or only option... because it will not happen. When presented with a fight (meaning the player is attacked/encounters hostiles) a player simply will not back down.

I remember a plot where a first-level player was put in a single hallway and the door at the far end burst in to admit a large group of monsters. The NPC with the player ran the other way and said "Quick! Run this way!" as the monsters advanced and attacked. The idea was that the player was supposed to retreat down the hall to "fall into" the next part of the plot and not fight the impossible-to-beat monsters.

What do you think happened 9 times out of 10?

Quote: Posted 05/21/04 19:45:54 (GMT) by Ixatar
Geeze, David. You almost sound a touch .. irked by old experiences.

Why? I'm not bitter. *twitch*

Quote: Posted 05/21/04 19:37:37 (GMT) by Ixatar
I yet have hope that the name will be altered to better reflect the game you are trying to portray. Honestly though, why not use the world's name?

I truly doubt the name will be altered at this point. And as I've said before, give it a bit of time and you won't be able to think of the title being anything but... names are like that.

We did consider naming the game after the world. That might have been okay after a time when that name became associated with the game in everyone's mind, but prior to that really wouldn't mean anything at all.

Had we named the game "Ice Age" does that suddenly mean that the story would have necessarily revolved all around ice? No, though you'd be surprised if it wasn't a feature and this is the same thing. The only way that the title implies masses of dragons in the plot that you fly and use to rule the world is a combination of overactive imagination and maybe a bit of wishful thinking.

Much quicker in that things don't need to be constantly approved by twelve different vice presidents or hung up by cautious lawyers who don't want to set any kind of precedent that would lose them control over the license. We can change plans and make decisions much, much quicker... something that should make the support we can provide after release a whole different ball-game than what you're used to.

In the meantime, however, all the usual work still has to be done and there's plenty of it to do, so you won't be seeing it any sooner per se.

Is it more fun? Well... I imagine many of you out there have created your own world for your campaigns. What difference does that make to you?