Atmosphere and Party Mechanics

[Saber-Scorpion]

Hi from a massive Western RPG fanboy (I own every Dungeon Siege game and every Obsidian title, and that's just the tip of the iceberg)... I was overjoyed to hear Obsidian would be developing Dungeon Siege III! I've never registered for the forum here, but I thought I'd drop by to get two things off my chest concerning this latest sequel to a franchise I can't help but love for some reason:

 

1: LIGHT ATMOSPHERE

Looking at the early screenshots, I'm worried about the game's atmosphere. The original Dungeon Siege (still the best) had a mostly light-hearted, brightly-colored atmosphere that (especially combined with the lovely soundtrack) really endeared me to the game. It also helped make it different from Diablo and its copycats. I realize dungeons must be dark and scary, since they're dungeons, but some games like to make even the quaintest of villages and farms look almost post-apocalyptic, thus making the dungeons of the game actually look less evil due to lack of contrast.

 

I really hope that Dungeon Siege III steers FAR clear of the current trend toward a bleached, grayed-out color palette and tons of blood-splatters (examples include Dragon Age and Hunted: The Demon's Forge). Dungeon Siege II steered the series away from its pleasant medieval village atmosphere and more toward the spiky, bloody, grim-dark sort of thing (see: rainy, destroyed second hub village), which was a shame. I hope DS3 turns back the clock a bit and gives us a pleasant world worth saving.

 

 

2: PARTY-BASED GAMPLAY

I recall back when Chris Taylor said that Dungeon Siege III, were he to design it, would emphasize controlling a single character instead of a party. I was immediately depressed. It's a shame the RPG genre has moved so strongly away from anything party-based. I am happy with the way the parties in the first two DS games worked (especially the first game with its HUGE party capacity and pack animals), so I hope to see more of that. Steering the game toward control of a single character in single-player would be terrible, and would also make the game (again) too much like Diablo.

 

And you know what would be awesome beyond my wildest dreams? If someone were to bring back the ability to create your entire party from scratch if you prefer. This was my main draw toward NWN2: Storm of Zehir, since it hearkened back to the days of Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale when this sort of thing was not only possible, but a pretty standard feature. I've scoured the Internet endlessly for some kind of mod that would enable me to create all of my party members in the first two DS games myself, but no luck. If Dungeon Siege III is party-based, I'll be happy. But if it includes an option to create every character in your party from scratch, I'll be ecstatic.

 

 

Anyway, I just had to get all that stuff off my chest. I'm sure I'll probably purchase this game no matter what Obsidian decides to do with it. Here's hoping it turns out great!

 

 

P.S.: please don't make the mistake of pre-expansion DS2 and leave out dwarves! I love playing as a dwarf, and I hate it when they get the short end of the stick! (excuse the pun)

[Draganta]

Good to have another true DS fan here!

 

I completely agree with 1. The athmosphere of DS1 was really magical, when I think back about those days, I caqn still taste that feeling a little bit. Although the screens of DS3 indeed look dark and grey, I can assure you, the outdoor areas look very colorful. I have seen the demo at the gamescom, the player was in a forest-like area which lightly resembled the forest of the farmlands (startlocationm ehb map ds1).

 

I don't know about 2 though. It could be fun to create all your party members, but isn't it more fun to have heroes join your party on your journey?

[Humodour]

Good RPGs have existed in both party/squad-based form as well as solo form. This point is simply not at all relevant to how good an RPG the game is.

 

Regarding point 1) Well, Obsidian has always been a company of dark, deep games. Light-hearted is not their forte from what I can tell, so I for one am happy for them to go with what they're good at. I think we'll get a strong mixture of both with DS3 though, from what I've seen so far.

 

I did prefer the 'lightness' of DS1 to the 'darkness' of DS2, though, in terms of palette, art, atmosphere, and story.

Edited September 5, 2010 by Krezack

[Purkake]

DS3 will be darker and edgier.

 

Maybe Obsidian is drawing inspiration from George R R Martin?

[Flouride]

DS3 will be darker and edgier.

 

Maybe Obsidian is drawing inspiration from George R R Martin?

 

Maybe they will release a cinematic trailer featuring music by Marilyn Manson...

[Purkake]

Only if it's all slow motion as well.

[Alvin Nelson]

can do

[Purkake]

I'll hold you to that.

 

See if I won't

[Bos_hybrid]

I vote for the stoning of Purk and Flouride.