Dragon Age: Inquisition

[Maria Caliban]

Fair enough. There's still the lack of thread title or page numbers (as he appears to be replying to someone else) and the various other things I mentioned.

 

It's been so long since I viewed it while logged off, I'd forgotten those elements weren't there by default. Thank you for the reminder.

Edited August 16, 2013 by Maria Caliban

[ManifestedISO]

 

Isabella, Merril

 

Writers never misspell their character's names, let alone twice. 

[Oerwinde]

Do we know the % of players who killed Anders from Bio's datamining? Because killing him was verysatisfying not because he was gay, but because he was a bad person and deserved to die.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

 

You know, I actually agree that establishing a canon is a good idea, and would take it further and completely axe save imports.

They could axe save imports if they stopped doing cameos entirely.Is there really any reason why Isabella, Merril, and Anders all have to show up in Fereldan, Kirkwall, and Orlais at the precise time that things are going on in these nations? Unless these characters all turn out to be demi-gods that exist everywhen and everywhere, it's a little silly. The world can not possibly be so small that if they feel the need to have an abomination, Dalish Keeper, and sexy pirate, there's no one else.I simply can't comprehend the argument that these characters have to be brought back to decrease complexity. It's like Vivec showing up in Cyrodiil.I said it before and I fear saying it again. At this rate and unless they start killing everyone in Inquisition, Dragon Age 4's cast will consist of Magister Anders, Wynne and her female dwarf friend, a mabari, Velanna, and Oghren. You'll run into the Dalish elves you recruited from DAO who have taken Merril in.The only new members will be Duncan's long lost twin brother and the son of Ser Jory.

With a few exceptions(if a character is part of an organization fighting on the war, like Templars, I could see them popping up) I agree. There isn't a reason Zevran should show up in DA2 to slaughter some thugs that couldn't have applied to a new character.

 

BTW.

 

Their canon, or default, is Dalish Warden, self sacrifice. Alistair King. Hawke Mage, side with mages.

 

https://twitter.com/BioMarkDarrah/status/364864515717873665

That makes sense. I'd say Mage Hawke was a given(and a Mage siding with Crazy Templars is stupid) the Dalish Warden wouldn't be as tied to the events as other origins, and not having to account for knocking Morrigan up would save a lot of time. Edited August 16, 2013 by KaineParker

[Tale]

Do we know the % of players who killed Anders from Bio's datamining? Because killing him was verysatisfying not because he was gay, but because he was a bad person and deserved to die.

HE WAS A HERO!

*shakes fist*

[Orogun01]

 

Do we know the % of players who killed Anders from Bio's datamining? Because killing him was verysatisfying not because he was gay, but because he was a bad person and deserved to die.

HE WAS A HERO!

*shakes fist*

 

And a real human being.

[Tale]

 

 

Do we know the % of players who killed Anders from Bio's datamining? Because killing him was verysatisfying not because he was gay, but because he was a bad person and deserved to die.

HE WAS A HERO!

*shakes fist*

 

And a real human being.

 

I've held for quite some time that the best way to write any human being is to write several characters and have their voices all come out of one mouth.

[Nepenthe]

Removed, pending confirmation quoted gaider post is not faked.

Edited August 16, 2013 by Nepenthe

[BruceVC]

Why is it that Gaider has to turn everything into a crusade for gay rights?

 

 

Wouldn't it  be nice to live in a world where we didn't notice that development companies offered options for straight and gay players?

 

It would just be as normal as choosing to play male or female. That's the level of progression I want all companies and people to get to, a level where we don't comment at all about this topic as its so common.

[Nepenthe]

 

Why is it that Gaider has to turn everything into a crusade for gay rights?

 

Wouldn't it  be nice to live in a world where we didn't notice that development companies offered options for straight and gay players?

 

It would just be as normal as choosing to play male or female. That's the level of progression I want all companies and people to get to, a level where we don't comment at all about this topic as its so common.

There's probably more gay gamers than straight female gamers, anyway...

[Gorth]

Let's just create a metrosexual character. Nobody will ever know what gender it is.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

 

Why is it that Gaider has to turn everything into a crusade for gay rights?

 

Wouldn't it  be nice to live in a world where we didn't notice that development companies offered options for straight and gay players?

 

It would just be as normal as choosing to play male or female. That's the level of progression I want all companies and people to get to, a level where we don't comment at all about this topic as its so common.

That sounds nice amd all, but demonizing people who don't like a character as homophobes is in bad taste. Especially a character widely considered to be a whiny idiot.

[Volourn]

"There's probably more gay gamers than straight female gamers, anyway..."
 

Why lie other than to troll?

[Orogun01]

 

Why is it that Gaider has to turn everything into a crusade for gay rights?

 

 

Wouldn't it  be nice to live in a world where we didn't notice that development companies offered options for straight and gay players?

 

It would just be as normal as choosing to play male or female. That's the level of progression I want all companies and people to get to, a level where we don't comment at all about this topic as its so common.

 

I only noticed because its a bit out of sorts and irrelevant to the subject, like if I ended this post by saying that all my enemies who are pedophiles will try to rape my children.

[alanschu]

It's a simple example that gets the message across. I could go into a variety of issues it pops up, such as small world, lack of agency, retconing of epilogues, and recharacterization. But that makes for a far more long winded post than I felt like going into at the time. And I've probably rambled at length about each of those enough. Honestly, I think people may be sick of me doing it.

 

I get that what part of you're saying is that it's about the dialogue. How the people talk to the developers affects how the developers interpret the data. That's absolutely fair. I've had my speeches on the problems of NSR. And if that's all you're talking about, that's cool. You and I agree absolutely on that point. I'm not sure that pointing to deathblows is noise, but I'm willing to consider it.

 

But it's not just Leliana's head that is a problem of that practice. For me it's more about wanting to see new people in new places. There's a whole bunch of issues I feel I can draw on in support of that argument.

 

 

I don't actually feel it gets the message across.  To me it shifts it to "You should have been more careful in allowing that animation to occur on Leliana" rather than "I think the idea of Leliana coming back is poor."  Doubly so if your message intends to be "I would like to see new characters rather than older ones."  (Since I didn't pick up on that one at all)

 

 

People use the deathblow as evidence (a definitely non-trivial amount of time as well) that Leliana should not be alive, which is akin to saying "A mistake was made, but you should be bound to it because it ultimately gets me what I want."  People scramble to come up with reasoning because they have this idea that if they can provide further justification for why the game should be a particular way, it will provide an impetus to get the game that I want.  Focusing on "Leliana was decapitated and now she's back from the dead!" is a much weaker argument than "I think this is a bad choice because it undermines my player agency, when another character could have fit the role just fine."  By focusing on the deathblow, you send an implicit message of "If the deathblow animation couldn't occur with her, I'd be more understanding of Leliana being alive."

 

I find it similar to when people conjure up economic rationalizations for why we should or should not implement a feature that they want.  Rather than simply communicating "I would really like feature X" it ends up turning into a semantic discussion over the financial implications, where you can pretty much be assured that the conclusion is "This feature I really want is good for your long term profitability" with often supplementary "supporting a feature opposite of this will undermine your profits and hurt your bottom line."

Edited August 16, 2013 by alanschu

[alanschu]

 

Specifically:

 

1) It lacks the 'Report Post,' 'Quote,' 'Link' buttons in the upper right. Those appear even if a thread has been locked. There's no 'joined by' date under the avatar.

 

 

Those features only appear if you are logged in to the BSN.  If you view the forums without logging in they don't appear. 

 

The lack of a thread title might because the "alleged" Gaider post appeared too far down in the thread.  It's absence does not disprove the authenticity.

 

I couldn't find it on google either.

 

Here's the link to where it appears:

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/dragonage/comments/1kfz0j/devs_confirmyour_choices_dont_matter_and_in_some/

 

 

Based on that reddit post, I'm convinced it's a fake.  That reddit post was started today, with Gaider's post being "about a day ago."  Gaider has made 3 posts on the BSN in the last 50 hours:

 

First

Second

Third

 

If it helps, his posts going back the last 5 days don't contain it either, and frankly I find the idea of some sitting on this message for some time before sharing it wholly implausible.

 

 

Second, "The lack of a thread title might because the "alleged" Gaider post appeared too far down in the thread." is incorrect.  There's no post above his, and in fact you can see the subscribe button that appears at the top of the thread, and where you see the two white documents is precisely where the thread title should be, and given that there are no page numbers in the upper right implies that this thread must have been started by Gaider (which I can assure you he wouldn't do).

 

There's a reason why the picture would be posted, and not a link.  I can do some poking around with the facts contained in the message, but I'm not convinced on some of them.  Without context to what he was responding to (which can't exist since there are no prior posts in this thread), the commentary at the bottom is more just reflective of the creator's impression of David.  Which, as I've been noticing, is actually indicative of said poster keeping the topic in the limelight.

Edited August 16, 2013 by alanschu

[Drowsy Emperor]

Why is it that Gaider has to turn everything into a crusade for gay rights?

 

Maybe he's a closet homosexual?

 

He'll stuff it down your throat and if you don't like it he'll actually go so far as to say that the problem is in you, not in his persistence. Because you're obligated to be thrilled when your favorite method of escaping to childhood for a little while all of a sudden features male companions that proclaim their love for your junk.

 

Its like walking through Disneyland and finding Mickey and Donald Duck at it behind an ice cream stand.

Edited August 16, 2013 by Drowsy Emperor

[alanschu]

Gaider is actually openly gay.  I actually didn't know until recently, but he mentioned it at a con panel recently (he and Jessica went to GaymerX recently), though it's actually not hidden (I was able to find a reference to a poster pointing it out in response to DA2's "insulting depiction of gay characters" thread from a couple years ago).

 

Now, it's awfully easy to go all dismissive about the impetus as a result of that (which is probably why he doesn't advertise the fact, since frankly it IS irrelevant and he has no issue not doing homosexual relationships), I am not gay and think that, in general, doing stuff like this isn't a bad idea and it's one I support.  Of course, we'll likely disagree on the nature of "shoving it down our throat" because I do get the impression that its existence in any capacity, for some people, is equivalent to "shoving it down one's throat."

 

 

Although the post itself is bunk so using it as ammo for David's willingness to turn everything into a gay crusade is misplaced.  Although it is interesting how frequently you guys bring up the topic (and romances) yourselves, despite your apparent dislike of the discussion.

Edited August 16, 2013 by alanschu

[licketysplit]

Gaider is gay. Totally missed that one. My gaydar is broken.

[Drowsy Emperor]

Well then he's even more dishonest than I thought. Talking about inclusivity of minorities when he's actually doing it because of his own inclinations, the latter not being a bad thing if you're honest about it. "I'm gay and I want to write and create gay characters" - that's perfectly fine.

 

Just give us a call when someone less gay gets your job s'il vous plait.

[BruceVC]

 

 

Why is it that Gaider has to turn everything into a crusade for gay rights?

Wouldn't it  be nice to live in a world where we didn't notice that development companies offered options for straight and gay players?

 

It would just be as normal as choosing to play male or female. That's the level of progression I want all companies and people to get to, a level where we don't comment at all about this topic as its so common.

That sounds nice amd all, but demonizing people who don't like a character as homophobes is in bad taste. Especially a character widely considered to be a whiny idiot.

 

 

It wasn't meant to sound nice, it is reality I like would like to live in when your sexual orientation doesn't make a difference for the optional character relationships offered to you in a game. I also never mentioned I have any problem with someone disliking any character, I have an issue with someone disliking a character just because they are gay. Its not hard to understand?

 

 

Why is it that Gaider has to turn everything into a crusade for gay rights?

 

 

Wouldn't it  be nice to live in a world where we didn't notice that development companies offered options for straight and gay players?

 

It would just be as normal as choosing to play male or female. That's the level of progression I want all companies and people to get to, a level where we don't comment at all about this topic as its so common.

 

I only noticed because its a bit out of sorts and irrelevant to the subject, like if I ended this post by saying that all my enemies who are pedophiles will try to rape my children.

 

 

Okay, I think I understand. My point was more a general one and wasn't necessarily directed at you. And that point, without repeating myself, is that I want society to get to a level where the types of relationships provided in games are irrelevant as we will make the choices that we want around those relationships. Its all about choice and equality for the fans of the games

Edited August 16, 2013 by BruceVC

[BruceVC]

Well then he's even more dishonest than I thought. Talking about inclusivity of minorities when he's actually doing it because of his own inclinations, the latter not being a bad thing if you're honest about it. "I'm gay and I want to write and create gay characters" - that's perfectly fine.

 

Just give us a call when someone less gay gets your job s'il vous plait.

 

Your point is silly and doesn't make sense. How is Bioware being dishonest?

 

Should a gay person complain about the fact the straight writer of an RPG only includes heterosexual relationships in games and then claim they are doing this only because they are straight and are catering for a certain segment of the fan base. The types of relationships in games are the decision of the development company and the decision for Bioware was to be inclusive. This has nothing to do with the fact that Gaider is gay

[alanschu]

I'm pretty sure straight writers are only allowed to write gay characters now, lest they just be shoving their agenda down our throats.

 

What's more is the sickening dishonesty of those heterosexual writers.

Edited August 16, 2013 by alanschu

[BruceVC]

I'm pretty sure straight writers are only allowed to write gay characters now, lest they just be shoving their agenda down our throats.

 

What's more is the sickening dishonesty of those heterosexual writers.

 

Really? That would be sad, the assumption around this would mean a gay writer can't be objective and offer a balanced view of  basic human emotional interaction

Is this an official policy caused by negative feedback from past experiences or just something you suspect?

[Drowsy Emperor]