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Pick posted:Have you seen the images that are of the original intended Act III Anders design? Pretty hot! Have not seen these. Link?
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Sep 26, 2013 04:06
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TheWorldIsSquare posted:Trapped In The Closet is a joke? I thought it was serious and R.Kelly is just really loving crazy. I'm pretty sure it started that way, but "season 2" of it he clearly embraced the "ironic humor" or whatever and it became even worse.
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Sep 26, 2013 04:07
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TheWorldIsSquare posted:Trapped In The Closet is a joke? I thought it was serious and R.Kelly is just really loving crazy.
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Sep 26, 2013 04:08
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If there's any one problem I can identify as completely ruining DA2's story for me, it's motivation. Throughout the entire game all I could keep thinking is "why is my character doing any of this?" The answer, of course, is that it was in the quest log and had to be completed, but I had little to no in-character motivation for anything my Hawke did. When I think about other RPGs I've played, I always felt like there was a clear goal or objective ahead of my character. KOTOR 1 and 2, Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, New Vegas, Alpha Protocol, The Witcher, Planescape, etc. and so on. There was a clear objective placed in front of your character, and it made sense to pursue it (ex: This guy shot you in the head, hunt him down!) Compare with DA 2: I distinctly remember my Hawke meeting Varric for the first time, and him telling her that she'd need to scrape together something like 50 gold to go on the expedition. Her response: "If I had that much money, I wouldn't need to go on the expedition!" Well for gently caress's sake, why are we going then? Maybe they wanted it to be like scraping together 20,000 gold in BG2, but rescuing Imoen/killing Irenicus was a hell of a lot more motivating than "I need to make money to make more money. Money!" Long story short, by the time I got to the choice of whether or not to kill Anders, I no longer cared so I let him live and backed the mages. But then I had to kill the head mage anyways because some idiot at Bioware didn't want anyone to miss out on a boss fight. Really, my only fond memories of this game are Hawke's mom doing the zombie mom shuffle in the background while I fought her killer and Aveline beating on Super Saiyan Meredith while she monologued (Aveline being immune to stun affects).
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Sep 26, 2013 04:17
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Your motivation is to become fantasy Batman, a rich turd who thinks he or she can individually beat the crime out of an economically-depressed city and all the poors who live there.
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Sep 26, 2013 04:39
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Pick posted:Your motivation is to become fantasy Batman, a rich turd who thinks he or she can individually beat the crime out of an economically-depressed city and all the poors who live there. Unlike Batman, Hawke can kill constantly. The fact that city doesn't improve leads me to believe Kirkwall is inhabited by Wererabbits.
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Sep 26, 2013 04:52
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So is Kirkwall at least smoldering ruins after the whole War of Mages thing?
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Sep 26, 2013 04:57
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Dragon Age 2 was a dream and Kirkwall never existed.
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Sep 26, 2013 05:16
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Crabtree posted:So is Kirkwall at least smoldering ruins after the whole War of Mages thing? As far as we know, Kirkwall descended into complete anarchy and is effectively irrelevant now. Given that the city itself is basically built to be a font of dark magic and warped by an absurdly powerful OG darkspawn nearby (that's right, the story confirms that Kirkwall itself is basically evil), it's destruction would probably be the best thing for it.
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Sep 26, 2013 05:18
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I liked DA2 better than the original despite its (many) warts. Execution sucked because the game was rushed, but I liked having the game take place in a smaller, cozier world that could have been more detailed and grow according to your choices. I liked that the campaign tracked how you rose from impoverished immigrant to high status within the city, and that this took time and effort. I especially liked how it brought different cultures together in one space. You could tell that DA:O was trying to put a fresh spin on the usual fantasy tropes, but their effort on giving the world a cool backstory and developing the different racial cultures was sabotaged by the fairly typical "gather allies on your quest to defeat the Big Bad and Save the Whole World" plot of the game. It felt like a theme park, with each race in its own walled section: you tried the rides and then you moved on, and never looked back. Bringing it all together in one city brought their differences to light. The Qunari in particular came out feeling nicely alien. If they'd given the game more time it could have been a big step forward in how to tell a good story about events that have far-reaching consequences even when you're only dealing with regional threats. This is obviously not the path that DA:I is taking, which is a shame, but I'm still excited about some of the other innovations they're trying to bring in.
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Sep 26, 2013 06:15
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TheWorldIsSquare posted:Trapped In The Closet is a joke? I thought it was serious and R.Kelly is just really loving crazy. Thirded, or whatever. Unless new minds are in charge, and it looks like they aren't, this one will be just as dark and sexy and lovely as the last one.
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Sep 26, 2013 06:22
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Lymond posted:The Qunari in particular came out feeling nicely alien. Militant Islamic Borg.
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Sep 26, 2013 06:25
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Lymond posted:I liked DA2 better than the original despite its (many) warts. Execution sucked because the game was rushed, but I liked having the game take place in a smaller, cozier world that could have been more detailed and grow according to your choices. I liked that the campaign tracked how you rose from impoverished immigrant to high status within the city, and that this took time and effort. I especially liked how it brought different cultures together in one space. I liked the smallness because I became attacked to Kirkwall in a way I didn't to "Ferelden".
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Sep 26, 2013 16:35
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kissekatt posted:That goes for a lot of the game, from what I remember. Like letting your mother date a serial killer, or not doing anything about the chantry woman who keeps stirring poo poo up (forgot her name). I tried for that on my first play through. I am still pretty disappointed that I didn't get to help the Arishok destroy Kirkwall. Pick posted:Have you seen the images that are of the original intended Act III Anders design? Pretty hot!  Is this the one you mean? I can't remember if I've seen any artwork with a transition from the above picture to an even more homeless/hungover guy. Merrill's original character design concepts were a lot better, but he emphasized the blood mageness of her, which isn't what bioware wanted. Someone linked to the artist's blog in the other thread. Bored fucked around with this message at 17:19 on Sep 26, 2013 |
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Sep 26, 2013 16:58
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The question I have for this game is this : Will it have ninja roping in respawns of enemies during encounters yes/no If yes, it can gently caress right off.
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Sep 26, 2013 17:09
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^^^ They've already said that waves are out. Maybe reinforcements will happen in a rare fight, but it will be far from the norm and they will not rope in out of nowhere.Bored posted:I tried for that on my first play through. I am still pretty disappointed that I didn't get to help the Arishok destroy Kirkwall. I agree with the idea that the showdown with the Arishok was basically the best part and should have been saved for last. I think you could have had an exciting third act scenario where the poo poo with the Knight Commander, Orsino and Anders went down in act 2 and no matter how you resolved it someone would have been pissed: The Chantry could be sending an army to retake your city; marcher lords who disapprove of a Ferelden nobody rising up and claiming stewardship of an entire city could be on the way to tear you down. The Arishok could have taken that as his cue to do his duty and conquer the city to put it under the Qun. And you could have agreed and met those attacking the city with the Arishok at your side! How cool would that have been?
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Sep 26, 2013 17:13
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Bored posted:Is this the one you mean? I can't remember if I've seen any artwork with a transition from the above picture to an even more homeless/hungover guy. Merrill's original character design concepts were a lot better, but he emphasized the blood mageness of her, which isn't what bioware wanted. Someone linked to the artist's blog in the other thread. Nope, I'm trying to find it again, but it was a new face for the game model of Anders that sort of combined it with DA:A Justice, with the hollow cheeks and dark eyes.
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Sep 27, 2013 05:48
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 Is this what you're talking about? More at the source.
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Sep 27, 2013 10:38
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necessary voodoo posted:
Oh man, that would have been pretty cool.
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Sep 27, 2013 11:59
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They should have gone with that. The progression towards meth addict Anders, especially if there'd been an intermediate model for the second time period, would have have been much more appropriate than him suddenly donning a black cloak like an evil mage batman. And it would have made him more sympathetic too, pushing across the idea that Anders is actually ill, that you get in the rivalry path, rather than him just being a massive dick. Edit: But of course, we have to think about how this might hurt the fangirls' feelings. Won't someone think of the fangirls? CottonWolf fucked around with this message at 12:25 on Sep 27, 2013 |
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Sep 27, 2013 12:21
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necessary voodoo posted:
Get some sleep, Anders. I really do wish this was his design for the entire game. Maybe involving a gradual transition as he slowly loses himself to the demon inside. Normal in Act I, strung out in Act II, and half-dead by Act III. By the end scene, he'd look and essentially be little more than a dried up meat puppet for the monster Vengeance has become. I'd love to see the fangirls' reaction to that. Geostomp fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Sep 27, 2013 |
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Sep 27, 2013 19:47
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What I love is that the game gives us an Abomination and a Blood Mage--two of the biggest bad things mages can be. They greatly dislike each other, too; Anders especially hates Merrill for working with demons even though he has a spirit that is indistinguishable from a demon literally living inside him. Both are completely assured they are doing the right thing for everyone but really end up ruining absolutely everything they touch. It's a great "road to hell is paved with good intentions" parable, at least in theory. It's one of the few ways the Dragon Age lore of "blood magic and demons are bad" that's actually enforced by the game itself.
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Sep 27, 2013 20:10
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Last act Anders heel turn, please.
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Sep 27, 2013 20:29
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Geostomp posted:Get some sleep, Anders. There'd be howls for a quest to exorcise Vengeance so they could save him. And separating the two should kill him, so he gets to make a death-bed confession in Hawke's arms just for added drama.
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Sep 27, 2013 20:29
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Deleuzionist posted:Last act Anders heel turn, please.  WHY, ANDERS YOU SON OF A BITCH, TELL ME WHY
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Sep 27, 2013 20:37
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necessary voodoo posted:
Yeah, this would have been great. It would have made his whole plight more pathetic than anything, which would make him easier to sympathize with. Plus it makes him look a ton like Justice, emphasizing the barriers breaking down between them:  Seriously, was there any reason they didn't do this? Were they just afraid of fangirl backlash? Sex Beef 2.0 fucked around with this message at 20:51 on Sep 27, 2013 |
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Sep 27, 2013 20:42
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Lotish posted:And separating the two should kill him, so he gets to make a death-bed confession in Hawke's arms just for added drama. "I... I'm actually asexual and reproduce by budding" <dies>
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Sep 27, 2013 20:46
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Dragon Age 2 was Darker, Sexier, Better and Anders looking like that would not have been very sexy at all.
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Sep 27, 2013 20:47
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ARACHNOTRON posted:Dragon Age 2 was Darker, Sexier, Better and Anders looking like that would not have been very sexy at all. But it would have been darker. So which one to go with!? This was probably a conundrum that the Bioware writers could not wrap their heads around and flipped a coin to resolve.
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Sep 27, 2013 20:50
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quote:You bloody kidding? That girl through the link slobbers over him throughout her blog, and this didn't change that. Even so I'd be damned if that girl can't give a drat good argument going off that first link. The girl's got persuasive powers.
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Sep 27, 2013 21:29
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I can kind of see them taking a 3 prong design philosophy in the development of DA2 where every element of the game must be Darker OR Sexier OR Better. Like the combat is Better, but the encounter design is merely Darker. The influence system is Better but the companions and dialogue are merely Sexier.
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Sep 27, 2013 21:47
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TheWorldIsSquare posted:Yeah, this would have been great. It would have made his whole plight more pathetic than anything, which would make him easier to sympathize with. Plus it makes him look a ton like Justice, emphasizing the barriers breaking down between them: Justice only looks like that in Awakening because he was possessing a corpse. I'm guessing they planned to use this if Anders died in your Awakening play through and was possessed post-mortem, but ran out of time.
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Sep 27, 2013 22:06
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For those of you who would like this Anders to appear like that in A3, here is the .erf for you to put in your override directory: https://mega.co.nz/#!DFhywaST!G4WJ6EY3FVz_n3k9sk1QeiM_8wAM51q0uwJa8da5zvQ Just remember to do when you get to Act 3, or your Anders will always look like that.
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Sep 27, 2013 22:34
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I'm speculating that there is a Venn Diagram showing a major overlap between people who like DA2's story and characters, and people you love posting Supernatural/Doctor Who/Sherlock fan art on Tumblr. It seems like David Gaider would be in a much better position if he was just put in charge of  vision is so much more important than player choice, why even give players a choice?Also, so what ever happened in the comics? Isabella, Alistair, and Varrin were all traveling together and Alistair killed a dragon witch and then Isabella was about to get mindraped? I think that's something that really bothers me in storytelling - especially in the Mass Effect and Dragon Age universes. After each game, your party members go on to be like the most important people wherever they end up, whether or not it makes any semblance of sense. "Oh, Alistair, Varian, and Isabella all end up traveling because of course they do and then they go to Qunari homeworld. Who's the Qunari leader? Sten. Because of course he is."
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Sep 27, 2013 22:54
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Mordiceius posted:I'm speculating that there is a Venn Diagram showing a major overlap between people who like DA2's story and characters, and people you love posting Supernatural/Doctor Who/Sherlock fan art on Tumblr. Welcome to a generation of writers that educated themselves through fan-fiction. Well, it's not just that, but the whole truth isn't as dark or sexy to say. 
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Sep 27, 2013 22:59
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Mordiceius posted:I'm speculating that there is a Venn Diagram showing a major overlap between people who like DA2's story and characters, and people you love posting Supernatural/Doctor Who/Sherlock fan art on Tumblr. I can live with the party members becoming important. It's a strain, but they are supposed to be extraordinarily capable (not that you'd know given how they're all emotional wrecks when we know them) and are usually made visible during these adventures. What gets me more is that they somehow end up meeting up or discovering some long-lost connection. The stories are contrived to force all these people together despite having nothing in common and no reason to throw their lot in with each other. The setting is supposed to be the story of Thedas over a century, not some sort of Medieval fantasy version of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.
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Sep 27, 2013 23:12
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Strict Picnic posted:Justice only looks like that in Awakening because he was possessing a corpse. I'm guessing they planned to use this if Anders died in your Awakening play through and was possessed post-mortem, but ran out of time. Well abominations look like lumpy messes of torn flesh for the most part so I think it's safe to assume that anyone possessed by a demon is going to have their body start falling apart at some point.
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Sep 27, 2013 23:31
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Internet Kraken posted:Well abominations look like lumpy messes of torn flesh for the most part so I think it's safe to assume that anyone possessed by a demon is going to have their body start falling apart at some point. True. He's also wearing chainmail, which leads me to believe that's intended for a dead Anders fighter class Justice. It would have been great if they physically depicted how twisted he was becoming though. Why does Wynne stay pretty well intact? Wasn't she possessed after dying?
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Sep 27, 2013 23:55
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Strict Picnic posted:Why does Wynne stay pretty well intact? Wasn't she possessed after dying? Yes, but she was specifically possessed by a truly benevolent spirit that was capable of healing. Her body won't fall apart like other possessed mages, but keeping her alive and well was slowly killing the spirit. She even talks about how she doesn't know how much longer the spirit will be able to keep her alive, if you go far enough in her dialogue in Origins.
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Sep 28, 2013 00:05
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