Dragon Age: Thread View

Well, you can ignore the storyline, but only for so long.

There are a lot of side quests, subplots, party/NPC stories, etc that you can choose to do as you play Dragon Age: Origins. These are optional content that will be presented to the players to pursue or not as they choose. In general, you can spend as much time trying to complete these as you choose.

However, over and above all the subplots is the core game story or "critical path". The only way to make it from the beginning of the game to the end of the game is to complete the critical path. Some areas of the game (and the subplots they contain) will only be accessible after you have completed otehr sections of the game revealed through the critical path.

Edit: Darned fragments.

Defragged. Better?

Quote: Posted 05/28/09 20:35 (GMT) by Hawkeyed Cai Li
I don't think "spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate" should have been said at all, in any format, in reference to any game. It's becoming too much of a tagline (right along with "dark and gritty" and "dark, heroic fantasy") and, from what I know (obviously, I can't speak for how the devs see it), it doesn't feel at all like BG or BGII. The only things they seem to have in common is an epic quest and great characters, and that's just about every other BioWare game

We call it that because it retains the spirit that we feel distinguished the Baldur's Gate series from other games that we've done -- having a sizeable party, for one, and a focus on tactical combat and a traditional fantasy story. This hits a lot of the same notes, and I (as someone who worked on both games) have no trouble with the comparison whatsoever.

If someone wants to nit-pick that they liked Baldur's Gate I's specific elements more or how it's missing this specific thing or that -- sure, that's fine, I guess. I remember there was someone during BG2's development who went on and on about how we couldn't properly call ourselves a Dungeons & Dragons game unless we made the Fire Giants have coal-black skin exactly as per the Monster Manual... there's no shortage of opinions on such matters, I'm sure. Be that as it may, when it comes to what consitutes the spirit of the game I'm pretty confident that most people understand it just fine and that it will bear out in Dragon Age once you've played it.

Or it will, anyway, for most people who aren't fixated on how the list inventories and unrealistic weapon sizes or the skin colours of the giants or what have you ruin their immersion. And we'll be okay with that, I suspect.

Quote: Posted 05/28/09 22:20 (GMT) by Sylvius the Mad
I suppose that's a good reason not to use a licensed IP.

Because there aren't as many pedantic fans of RPG's in general as opposed to pedantic fans of D&D specifically?

Quote: And in 2nd edition it would have been the Monstrous Compendium, not the Monster Manual.

Case in point.

Quote: Posted 05/28/09 23:21 (GMT) by empetus
still it would have been neat if he was on Dragon Age team and maybe he could recreate the magic of BG.

Err... he's not on DA now but he created the project and was around during its inception and the first several years. Make of that what you will, I guess. *shrug*

Quote: Posted 05/28/09 23:33 (GMT) by Sylvius the Mad
But there are fewer things unrelated to gameplay about which for them to be pedantic.

All evidence to the contrary.

Quote: How the game plays is, however, affected by whether one can travel freely, or if one can manually sort the inventory, or there's an accessible combat log.

Which game? Our game? I'm sure you must be thinking of some other game. Because you don't know how our game plays.

Quote: Posted 05/29/09 00:47 (GMT) by LdyShayna
I personally wish this was emphasized more in the advertising. It would stir up fewer doubts in my sad little heart that I'm totally mistaken about the nature of the game.

I'm not sure we could have hit that connection more strongly. If you doubt us, you doubt us. There's only so many constant reassurances we can make -- I know that the hardcore audience demands that all marketing be aimed at them and only them lest we risk dire offense, but at the end of the day we can only say this is a game worth checking out, not that it's the game you personally hope it might be.

Quote: Posted 05/29/09 01:55 (GMT) by LdyShayna
So I'm left puzzled, wondering if I should believe what I've learned in the forums, or if I've only "learned" what I hoped to see, and I need to re-adjust my expectations. A lot.

I find that fair. Certainly I wouldn't hope to "trick" someone into playing a game that they wouldn't like, and if you get the sense that DA or any other game isn't a game you might want to play then you should watch for news that tells you otherwise or avoid it. Caveat emptor -- that's your right as a consumer, and when it comes to games that are being made your vote is your dollar.

That said, I think we have spoken a lot about the tone and the gameplay and the story when it comes to Dragon Age. These things have not changed. Why would they? I would hope that most people would be able to parse the media accordingly -- unless, of course, the assumption is that all we're doing is trying to grab attention, in which case there's probably not much we could do to reassure you, and asking us for those reassurances an exercise in frustration for us both.

Quote: Posted 05/29/09 02:12 (GMT) by imported_beer
One thing that I share with ldyshayna is the desire to play a good, decent human being who does right by her fellow men and makes a difference in their lives. When the game posits that this is a dark and gritty world where there are only grey choices, and where you will have to sacrifice folk for the greater good, we wonder what role our hero will play in it.

Then let me state unequivocably: you can play a good, decent person who does their best to be a hero. I have said this before. Being a hero may not be the easiest choice, but it is possible. Saying that you must make sacrifices to achieve your goals does not mean that you are forced to stab your friends repeatedly with your sword while you cackle evilly -- but it does mean that not everything you do is going to come effortlessly and without a little pain in some form. If that's what you are seeking, then perhaps getting a heads-up that this is a game that involves occasionally making some harsh, bloody choices is not a bad idea.