Dragon Age: Inquistion

[aluminiumtrioxid]

I've actually lost my interest in this game as soon as I've realized I'd have to upgrade my computer in order to play it. I think this pretty much sums up my attitude towards Bioware games. (Although I'd probably be somewhat more amenable to this if there wasn't a plethora of awesome isometric RPGs just waiting around the corner thanks to Kickstarter.)

[BruceVC]

I've actually lost my interest in this game as soon as I've realized I'd have to upgrade my computer in order to play it. I think this pretty much sums up my attitude towards Bioware games. (Although I'd probably be somewhat more amenable to this if there wasn't a plethora of awesome isometric RPGs just waiting around the corner thanks to Kickstarter.)

 

Well that's another reason I think we are spoilt for choice this year, even if you don't like Bioware games there are other options like W2 and PoE

[GhostofAnakin]

It seems BioWare has to balance out the attractiveness of Leliana and Morrigan so their combined score never surpasses 10.  So by making Leliana more attractive, they need to make Morrigan uglier by the same degree.

 

Because the Morrigan I had in my party in DA:O certainly didn't look like Phyllis Diller.

[Orogun01]

It seems BioWare has to balance out the attractiveness of Leliana and Morrigan so their combined score never surpasses 10.  So by making Leliana more attractive, they need to make Morrigan uglier by the same degree.

 

Because the Morrigan I had in my party in DA:O certainly didn't look like Phyllis Diller.

I thought they made them both uglier so you wouldn't want to romance them over your current party members.

 

Also, for a GoT ripoff this game sure lets a lot of people live.

[tajerio]

Also, for a GoT ripoff

 No.  (h/t Volo)

[Bryy]

Wait, where was Morrigan?

[Gromnir]

Wait, where was Morrigan?

 probably the dragon... or perhaps she were the table that others has suggested needs be romanceable. *shrug* am doubting it matters.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Azure79]

Are the characters pictured in the Last Supper-esque screenshot, all of your potential party members?

 

I'm looking forward to it. In addition to regular RPG character development it seems like you'll be able to develop the Inquisition along some main pillars: espionage, politics, merchants and military. I hope you can appoint certain party members to head those factions and their abilities will determine how effective each faction is. It doesn't have to be exclusive to one character either. For example, you wouldn't appoint Iron Bull to the military just because he looks strong. You can appoint Leliana and your soldiers will become better archers, or appoint Cassandra and your soldiers become better sword and board fighters. Varric might seem the obvious choice to head merchants, but you can appoint a mage and gain access to rare magical supplies etc. 

 

Don't know if that is actually in the game though. 

 

I am hoping game events are influenced heavily by what direction you take. 

 

Will probably pre-order at a later date as things become more clear.

[Meshugger]

 

Whatever. Pre-ordered.

Ditto. Deluxe edition.

 

 

Does it come with the table?

[tajerio]

 

 

Whatever. Pre-ordered.

Ditto. Deluxe edition.

 

 

Does it come with the table?

 

 

Yeah. the table's actually an interactive thing that you use to dispose of your Inquisition forces.

[Orogun01]

 

 

 

Whatever. Pre-ordered.

Ditto. Deluxe edition.

 

 

Does it come with the table?

 

 

Yeah. the table's actually an interactive thing that you use to dispose of your Inquisition forces.

 

Are they recyclable?

[Bryy]

Dude, it comes with a Unicorn.

[BruceVC]

 

 

^ The only 'connection' I need to play with make-believe characters nowadays is an internet connection.

 

Monte I have come to realize that there is a perspective to Romance I haven't explained and you anti-romancers haven't realised. Basically promancers truly embrace and understand the RPG experience on a greater level than people who don't interact with the Romance options. I can explain it to you if you want?

 

 

In my mind, a smooth jazz soundtrack begins playing right around the last sentence of this comment.

 

 

Okay since no one insisted I explain my point in detail I thought I would just jump in and explain it before someone asks, I believe in proactivity  

 

So the point is " Promancers embrace and understand  the RPG experience more than anti-romancers"

 

So we all come from different backgrounds and have different hobbies. But one thing that unites all of us is our love of RPG. We all share that common thread of thoroughly enjoying immersing ourselves in a fantasy world and experiencing a vicarious thrill of the trials and tribulations of people on epic quests to make a certain fantasy world a better place

 

And when we spend time playing RPG most of us try to identify with the party and characters that make up that party. We can spend hours choosing what our characters looks like, we study books around lore, we choose spells and we adopt combat strategies. We also tend to consider choices in the game and what the impact those choices would have around future events. These are all normal tenets of what makes a RPG an enjoyable genre

 

So now work with me good friends while I discuss what a typical day in a RPG game world constitutes and what this means for your character and party. Imagine what our  protagonist goes through from a mental perspective. In the evening the party retires in the wilderness around a campfire after a hard day of adventuring. He has faced death and danger all day, he is probably on a quest to save the world or the kingdom. He could have traversed the planes and faced ancient demigods. In fact he could have realized he is immortal and has lived a thousand lifetimes

 

And  let us never dismiss the mental fortitude required to go on these epic quests, imagine knowing that this day may be your last and if you fail there could be a cataclysmic event that effects millions. This is not your typical bad hair day or bad day at the office. The stress levels that face our party must be huge and dilapidating

 

Now our noble character sits around the campfire ruminating on the various choices that he needs to make, the choices that have global consequences. He looks up and see the voluptuous form of Isabela positioned against the campfire. She turns and walks towards him. Her full bodied breasts have a few drops of perspiration on them and her knee high pirate boots are glossy. She smiles, leans over and says " come to my tent, I want to ravish you "

 

In what world or universe is any person under any circumstances going to say "no ". Why would you deny yourself that small amount of pleasure and diversion? It would be utterly unrealistic for your character to not say " yes I want to spend time not thinking about how I am going kill the ancient demon lord who devours souls for breakfast"

 

And more importantly how can you not think that Romance would not naturally flourish amongst people that face death on a daily basis. Life would be short so any person would obviously look for ways to add meaning and significance to there existence outside of the epic quest and what is expected from them

 

So good friends in summary, Romance should be seen as a realistic and obvious component of a RPG if you think of what a RPG means and all the factors that make up our adventures. Now promancers understand this, that is why we expect this type of interaction in our games. But to not believe that Romance should be part of overall game design demonstrates you don't have a realistic understanding of what our characters go through or what factors would help to ameliorate there mental state on a grand quest

[mute688]

In other words, it's not romance you want included in your games, it's sex.  I've yet to play a Bioware game that has romance as anything more than a trivial mini game to unlock a shallow, uninteresting dry hump scene.  If my dislike of their implementation of romance makes you a better RPG'er than me, I can live with that.

[BruceVC]

In other words, it's not romance you want included in your games, it's sex.  I've yet to play a Bioware game that has romance as anything more than a trivial mini game to unlock a shallow, uninteresting dry hump scene.  If my dislike of their implementation of romance makes you a better RPG'er than me, I can live with that.

 

Wowzers, someone is taking this very seriously. I just used sex as an example of what would be the realistic outcome to a party of people going on a epic journey where they have to save the world. The point being it would be unrealistic to suggest relationships wouldn't develop under the circumstances and yes I'm sorry to say this but sex would more than likely occur.

[mute688]

My point being, romance is not included in Bioware games, they have unlockable sexy time cut scenes.  They have mini games such as guess the correct present for your targeted love interest to unlock a sexy time cut scene.  The "romances" have no integration into any other aspect of the game or storyline, there is no upside or downside of participating in their romances.  They are inconsequential.  If Bioware want their romances to be taken seriously, they need to integrate the mechanics into the game as a whole, not have them as some silly mini game.

 

As an aside, I don't take Bioware or their romances seriously.  I have an opinion that took me a minute to type out.  Not a very large commitment on my part.

[aluminiumtrioxid]

 

And  let us never dismiss the mental fortitude required to go on these epic quests, imagine knowing that this day may be your last and if you fail there could be a cataclysmic event that effects millions. This is not your typical bad hair day or bad day at the office. The stress levels that face our party must be huge and dilapidating

 

Now our noble character sits around the campfire ruminating on the various choices that he needs to make, the choices that have global consequences. He looks up and see the voluptuous form of Isabela positioned against the campfire. She turns and walks towards him. Her full bodied breasts have a few drops of perspiration on them and her knee high pirate boots are glossy. She smiles, leans over and says " come to my tent, I want to ravish you "

 

In what world or universe is any person under any circumstances going to say "no ". Why would you deny yourself that small amount of pleasure and diversion? It would be utterly unrealistic for your character to not say " yes I want to spend time not thinking about how I am going kill the ancient demon lord who devours souls for breakfast"

 

The only problem with the scenario you outlined is that most people would probably be near a mental breakdown and most certainly not think "I totally want to ravish our Fearless Leader now". And even if they did, Fearless Leader would probably have all kinds of erectile dysfunctions, because the level of stress he's living with generally tends to cause exactly that.

 

(As an aside, DAI should totally have "scrotal trauma" as a new injury type you can get when your HP gets to zero. It should lower your max HP and close you out of romance dialogue.)

Edited April 24, 2014 by aluminiumtrioxid

[BruceVC]

My point being, romance is not included in Bioware games, they have unlockable sexy time cut scenes.  They have mini games such as guess the correct present for your targeted love interest to unlock a sexy time cut scene.  The "romances" have no integration into any other aspect of the game or storyline, there is no upside or downside of participating in their romances.  They are inconsequential.  If Bioware want their romances to be taken seriously, they need to integrate the mechanics into the game as a whole, not have them as some silly mini game.

 

As an aside, I don't take Bioware or their romances seriously.  I have an opinion that took me a minute to type out.  Not a very large commitment on my part.

 

The upside or downside of Romance  is actually inconsequential, this is about the overall RPG experience that is offered to your character during the quest.

 

For me the discussion is more about why people think that certain components of an RPG need to be part of the game like multiple spells, immersive lore, loads of dungeons to explore, non-Romance interaction with party members but the idea or concept of Romance is considered childish and anathema. Its a contradiction to what we say when we ask for " a realistic and immersive RPG experience". Yes work can be done on the implementation of Romance but Romance is still relevant  

[Monte Carlo]

The real issue, sadly, is Bruce's obsessive / compulsive tendencies concerning this subject. The entire BSN is the same, a fetid hothouse of cognitive dissonance for the sexually frustrated.

Edited April 24, 2014 by Monte Carlo

[mute688]

 

For me the discussion is more about why people think that certain components of an RPG need to be part of the game like multiple spells, immersive lore, loads of dungeons to explore, non-Romance interaction with party members but the idea or concept of Romance is considered childish and anathema.

 

 

My opinion, because Bioware treat them as childish.  There's no depth or substance.  They treat their romances as fan service, putting the minimal effort into them that allows them to check that off the list.  Romances?  Check.  It seems to me as if Bioware themselves are embarrassed by the romances. Multiple spells, immersive lore and loads of explorable areas ( or dungeons ) are integrated into the game, they affect your character level and how you play the game.  Romances do nothing to affect your character or how the game plays.  If they can be removed with no discernible change to the game, how relevant does Bioware consider them to be?

[Drowsy Emperor]

There were no sex scenes in BGII  just the fade to black and that was that. You either participated in the "relationship" for the in game dialog or didn't and you got a little epilogue post ToB for your trouble.

 

That was better.

 

In other words they were better before they became a feature. Now they're obnoxious, made for the type of people who peruse tentacle hentai and have inflatable dolls of their favorite anime characters.

Edited April 24, 2014 by Drowsy Emperor

[HoonDing]

There was no black screen when Aerie popped her sprog during the battle with Abazigal.

[BruceVC]

The real issue, sadly, is Bruce's obsessive / compulsive tendencies concerning this subject. The entire BSN is the same, a fetid hothouse of cognitive dissonance for the sexually frustrated.

 

Monte you can't be seriously suggesting that because I think Romance is an important of an RPG experience  that I am sexually frustrated....please tell me I am misunderstanding you?

[Monte Carlo]

Not necessarily but possibly. It's certainly obsessive. Tell me about your childhood.

[Meshugger]

Sexual frustration is why men build things, and thus, civilization was born.