Orogun01

That was my complaint about DAO. I think I harped on it enough that I have to let it go, now. But I agree. However, there was ONE instance that did have that. The Dwarven choice. Harrowmont is clearly the ideal choice, but the epilogue of that ending is fairly negative. Bhelen, the tyrant, turns out to be progressive. Even knowing he's progressive, he still murders a fair man for your choice. I think whoever designed that plotline and choice should be given more responsibility. So either you can choose to be a kind and honest person to end up with a Orzammar in civil war and isolated or you can help a tyrant and murderer free the casteless. It boils down to the fact that the Dwarven system is ****ed up and that greed, "greed is good" I thought it was a realistic outcome, the best intentions and kind hearted choices shouldn't always lead to good outcomes. That's not the way the world works after all.

So a good dentist may have prevented the Holocaust? No if Hitler was a better artist then the Holocaust would had been averted? Also, a guy taking that many amphetamines can't possibly be bothered by his teeth.

God Tier:

I'm not sure that it's just about the scare factor, for a lot of people is about self discovery (finding out what makes them queasy or scared) I would say that for them is about the art of horror. Psychological, Thriller, Body Horror, Slasher a lot of those movies are actually about themes greater than their gore. Interesting angle. Would you say the same is true of other forms, like comedy? Sure, comedy is sometimes a form of social or personal commentary. Satire specially, I won't so far as to saying that every movie (horror or comedy) is up to those standards since to a lot people; those working in the industry also, the messages are lost. To be more concrete I put forward the example of "Dawn of the Dead" is pretty known that the zombies where a metaphor for mindless consumerism. Edit:I just remembered Open Waters is a good film, has a great sense of danger.

Well, his BAaT experiences are pretty damn close to crossing the line to whining. It could but then he brings it back to a level headed perspective, the guy has pretty much a mellow approach to life. I never saw him as an over the top whining about everything, is just that aside from being a very "down to earth" personality he has nothing else going for him.

No, you got the lingo right. Kind brings me back to the whole discussion of the level design in BW, how "the gamer completely missed the little details" and how the big empty spaces where their attempt to "manage resources" so that the characters all look pretty. Which they do, and considering that a BW game these days is 65% romances/dialog I would say that they are right, why even bother populating the levels with scattered books since nobody notices them?

I'm not sure that it's just about the scare factor, for a lot of people is about self discovery (finding out what makes them queasy or scared) I would say that for them is about the art of horror. Psychological, Thriller, Body Horror, Slasher a lot of those movies are actually about themes greater than their gore.

After a second attempt at a play-through I realized that magic apparently causes growth hormone deficiency. Mages apparently can be muscle bound and hardcore but not tall, otherwise they turn into warriors. I think this demo sealed it for me, i'm probably just gonna borrow the game from one of my friends after a few months.

No, but it's a rule of thumb that tends to work better than approaching anything and everything with wide-eyed innocence and high expectations. Do you accept that stupid(-er) people prefer simpler entertainment formulas? Do you accept that the distribution of intelligence in a given sample follows a gaussian distribution? DA2 is, by virtue of being defined by conclusions drawn from customer behavior analysis, a lowest common denominator game. This doesn't mean DA2 will be a thoroughly unenjoyable piece of **** with no redeeming qualities whatsoever - rather, it means that BioEA would rather serve Whoppers than filet mignons, because demand for the former is bigger and they understandably want to make more money in a business where filet mignons and Whoppers are priced equally. Would you believe that entertainment doesn't need to be a masterpiece in order to entertain, or that it's indifferent to the intellectual level of the viewer? Messages can be universal and appeal to a larger audience that has no insider knowledge of the themes. Unless games are now a substitute for a teaching experience, I don't see how an 120 IQ is required to enjoy them. DA2 may be a Whopper but that doesn't say that a gourmet doesn't enjoy eating one once in a while. Maybe DA2 won't be up to the standards of many people and BW practices have left many disappointed (myself included) we should just take for what it is and stop crying for their lost glory.

I don't think that modders work exclusively for personal recognition, maybe it's just me being naive but I actually believe that when you spend that much time working for free, and for a limited amount of recognition has a love for games. Plus being a dev in the original DOTA or any other large scale mod looks better on a resume than "developed a 100 Iphone games" even though it is a growing market I don't see it as a high accomplishment. Also on this day and age we have great mods like Stalker' L.U.R.K. and some of the mods around the nexus. My guess as to the lack of mainstream popularity would be a combination; of both the reasons aforementioned by you (development time being extensive) and an over saturation in the mod world, which requires a constant following to dissect the bad from the good.

Not from the Dragon Age forums, from what I remember we were pretty much level headed. Discussing the politics, metaphysics and religion in the Dragon Age universe and Maria spent a lot of time fishing information from the devs and being the first one to post in every thread answering questions in that glorious brusque manner that only she can do. Good times

I'm going to disagree with you here, total conversion mods of older or substandard games have been prevalent in the last few years. Team Fortress was originally a mod of Quake and DOTA also became a game. I don't think that there is much initiative from the industry to incorporate great mods into their IP but that fault lies mostly in the publisher's side, IMO.

He looks familiar... Why do I get the feeling that he sounds just like Mark Veer and it's kind of a ponce Edit:Sexy Einstein is sexy

I get it man, I get it. You are not alone

Personally I don't see both fields opposed, based on the fact that some games aren't "moddable" enough. What you say about DLC is true, and it has been one of my biggest issues with the quality of most current DLCs. I'm hoping that once sites like the Nexus gain more of a mainstream popularity with the casual crowd, DLC's sales wane enough to make developers realize that they need to step up their game and surpass the modders. I too was sorely disappointed by the DA modding, it was one of those games that didn't lend itself to drastic changes. Probably because BW only intended to see campaign, and aesthetic mods and not animation replacer or new classes (even though there has been some success in modding those 2). With sites as the Modb and the Nexus it's hard for me to believe that modding is dead, maybe it won't make a breakthrough into the mainstream any time soon. At the same time it has never been something for everyone, definitively not for the casual crowd who only wants to pop in their discs and play right away with no trouble.

I actually was convinced in GI Jane, but I still think that Easter Promises was his best.

He did say that it was going to be a trilogy, so your analogy is not too far off. I really don't care too much for this 3d oversaturation, on the other hand it does mean that people like me will get a job.

That's pretty much every tactical shooter out there you have described

Just like Dragon Age: Witch hunt and the big threat looming over the horizon will be

I haven't clicked the link, but I'm going to guess it's David Silverman. He's not well liked; there's a poster on the BSN named FireDavidSilverman. Wow, are you psychic?

I've heard very similar stories about that industry too... Creative industries all seem to be the same. I wouldn't say that my experience in the games industry has been a horror story, alot of art guys work in movies and games at somepoint, there is a crossover. Anyways, sorry to hear that you couldn't hack it mate, shame, I'd seen you do some good art, best of luck. Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but i'm also looking to enter the game industry as an artist. But i'm still getting a footing on what could it be, do you have any tips or stories that you could share?

Nothing, he didn't know how to use his victories. Instead of using his gift to turn that rag tag band into a proper force and actually conquer "something" he failed miserably at even scratching the walls of Rome.

I'm a Julius Caesar fan too, the stories that guy has.

I learned something new today, thank you Speaking of which, have we spoken about Jeremy Irons yet?

Either these people were payed off, or they are complete morons that don't realize that all that BW has done is play around a little with the Warhammer designs. Ohhh and elf with a spiky costume, that's not generic at all.