Dragon Age: Inquistion

[aluminiumtrioxid]

the smug rogue who annoys people rather than amuses 

 

Don't hate on them, I like smug rogues. Hell, I (almost exclusively) play smug rogues. (Even when they're wizards.) But I like them even when they're stealing my thunder.

[Nepenthe]

 

Nepenthe, on 27 Jun 2014 - 10:54 AM, said:

 

This guy failed long before he reached the marketing department, unless he was originally conceived by them.

 

 

You don't know that though. Sure, he looks a bit silly in that picture but he may have good lines and a good voice actor. He may actually look okay when you're playing and he may have some great armour. He could be based on the old fashioned gentleman archetype rather than the smug rogue who annoys people rather than amuses and the picture may not reflect that. We don't know very much about what he or the pirate will actually be like until we see them in-game. 

 

 

If that happens, I'll update my opinion. I keep an open mind, but so far the DAI character reveals have me facepalming hard. Still struggling to put a 3-(wo)man team together.

[Serrano]

 

the smug rogue who annoys people rather than amuses 

 

Don't hate on them, I like smug rogues. Hell, I (almost exclusively) play smug rogues. (Even when they're wizards.) But I like them even when they're stealing my thunder.

 

 

I don't hate the archetype, smug rogues can be great and can absolutely carry a story sometimes or make great supporting characters. That said, they're not always written like that and that isn't always the role they're supposed to fill in a story. Sometimes they're meant to come across as asshats and while there can be more to them than that, they aren't going to be Zevrans or Jack Sparrows or Saeman Havarians.

Edited June 27, 2014 by Serrano

[marelooke]

I sure hope his fake French accent will be better than Leliana's.

 

Also, the guy reminds me of Zorro, so him even having a (fake) French accent in the first place might end up being rather jarring

Edited June 27, 2014 by marelooke

[Nepenthe]

I sure hope his fake French accent will be better than Leliana's.

 

 

Thanks for repeating the best criticism of DAO! (The voice actress doing Leliana is a native French speaker!)

[aluminiumtrioxid]

 

I sure hope his fake French accent will be better than Leliana's.

 

 

Thanks for repeating the best criticism of DAO! (The voice actress doing Leliana is a native French speaker!)

 

 

So it's official: true French accent is even more jarring than the fake!

Edited June 27, 2014 by aluminiumtrioxid

[marelooke]

 

I sure hope his fake French accent will be better than Leliana's.

 

Thanks for repeating the best criticism of DAO! (The voice actress doing Leliana is a native French speaker!)

 

In that case she's doing a very good job of overacting. Note that I live and work in Brussels, I have to listen to native French-speakers speaking English all day.

 

Though, on second thought, the over-the-top lisp she adds might be the thing that actually sets me off (because I hear it a lot on wannabe French-sounding actresses)

Edited June 27, 2014 by marelooke

[marelooke]

 

 

I sure hope his fake French accent will be better than Leliana's.

 

Thanks for repeating the best criticism of DAO! (The voice actress doing Leliana is a native French speaker!)

 

 

So it's official: true French accent is even more jarring than the fake!

 

Or a true French overacting a French accent for a game. I'm pretty sure she has a decent accent when speaking normally.

 

Here's a French woman (former French first lady Carla Bruni) speaking English (skip to the 4 minute mark) without trying to "sound French": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrL_lFabbQw

 

I'll admit it likely is not quite as dreamy sounding for foreigners as Leliana's acted French accent.

Edited June 27, 2014 by marelooke

[aluminiumtrioxid]

 

 

 

I sure hope his fake French accent will be better than Leliana's.

 

Thanks for repeating the best criticism of DAO! (The voice actress doing Leliana is a native French speaker!)

 

 

So it's official: true French accent is even more jarring than the fake!

 

Or a true French overacting a French accent for a game. I'm pretty sure she has a decent accent when speaking normally.

 

Here's a French woman (former French first lady Carla Bruni) speaking English (skip to the 4 minute mark) without trying to "sound French": *snip*

 

Well, it doesn't sound nearly half as bad as my thick eastern-european accent, so I guess I've got no right to complain about the French  *shrug*

[marelooke]

 

 

 

 

I sure hope his fake French accent will be better than Leliana's.

 

Thanks for repeating the best criticism of DAO! (The voice actress doing Leliana is a native French speaker!)

 

 

So it's official: true French accent is even more jarring than the fake!

 

Or a true French overacting a French accent for a game. I'm pretty sure she has a decent accent when speaking normally.

 

Here's a French woman (former French first lady Carla Bruni) speaking English (skip to the 4 minute mark) without trying to "sound French": *snip*

 

 

Well, it doesn't sound nearly half as bad as my thick eastern-european accent, so I guess I've got no right to complain about the French  *shrug*

 

Oh, I have a pretty bad Flemish accent in English (too bad I'm not a girl, my sister has repeatedly been told by Americans that it's "cute" ), it's better in French although I likely butcher the grammar like there's no tomorrow

 

Anyway I'm quite willing to accept it might just be personal preference in play here. Iow that I'm assuming she's acting it while she maybe actually does sound like that (in which case I think she has a horrible accent, but hey, de gustibus et coloribus ...).

 

I don't recall being annoyed by the voice acting the The Saboteur so it must be something she does that ticks me off in which case I hope they get a better male voice actor for Zorro

[Elerond]

 

 

 

 

 

I sure hope his fake French accent will be better than Leliana's.

 

Thanks for repeating the best criticism of DAO! (The voice actress doing Leliana is a native French speaker!)

 

 

So it's official: true French accent is even more jarring than the fake!

 

Or a true French overacting a French accent for a game. I'm pretty sure she has a decent accent when speaking normally.

 

Here's a French woman (former French first lady Carla Bruni) speaking English (skip to the 4 minute mark) without trying to "sound French": *snip*

 

 

Well, it doesn't sound nearly half as bad as my thick eastern-european accent, so I guess I've got no right to complain about the French  *shrug*

 

Oh, I have a pretty bad Flemish accent in English (too bad I'm not a girl, my sister has repeatedly been told by Americans that it's "cute" ), it's better in French although I likely butcher the grammar like there's no tomorrow

 

Anyway I'm quite willing to accept it might just be personal preference in play here. Iow that I'm assuming she's acting it while she maybe actually does sound like that (in which case I think she has a horrible accent, but hey, de gustibus et coloribus ...).

 

I don't recall being annoyed by the voice acting the The Saboteur so it must be something she does that ticks me off in which case I hope they get a better male voice actor for Zorro

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwT5mOQBOIQ

She seems to use same accent in her other voice overs too, so it's her "trademark" or her natural accent, although even if that is the it is of course possible that originally her accent didn't sound that but change over time because of need to overly emphasis it to get work as voice actor.

 

But one thing that I have been grateful for long time is that I haven't encountered any video games that use Finnish English accent as I personally find it sounding quite horrific (and I know that many other Finns also have similar dislike towards it, which is why that many of those who speak English regularly learn to fake London or general american accents).

[Amentep]

What would a fake France be without a stereotypical fake French man; from now I dub Dorian sir LePew.

Could be worse, he could be wearing a a beret basque and a red kerchief on his neck

[lobotomy42]

I'm more annoyed that we're getting yet another Tevinter Imperium character who has nothing but disdain for the Tevinter Imperium and its practices.  I'd be more interested in an honest full-throated supporter of the Tevinter Imperium. It'd be difficult to sell, but would lead to much more interesting conflicts between the characters, I'd imagine.

[aluminiumtrioxid]

I'm more annoyed that we're getting yet another Tevinter Imperium character who has nothing but disdain for the Tevinter Imperium and its practices.  I'd be more interested in an honest full-throated supporter of the Tevinter Imperium. It'd be difficult to sell, but would lead to much more interesting conflicts between the characters, I'd imagine.

 

I really want a game set in Evil Slaver Blood Mage Empire, but on a second thought, I can kind of understand why Bioware doesn't want to open the can of worms that portraying the human sacrifice-y-mindrape-y slavers as protagonists would mean.

[Orogun01]

 

I'm more annoyed that we're getting yet another Tevinter Imperium character who has nothing but disdain for the Tevinter Imperium and its practices.  I'd be more interested in an honest full-throated supporter of the Tevinter Imperium. It'd be difficult to sell, but would lead to much more interesting conflicts between the characters, I'd imagine.

 

I really want a game set in Evil Slaver Blood Mage Empire, but on a second thought, I can kind of understand why Bioware doesn't want to open the can of worms that portraying the human sacrifice-y-mindrape-y slavers as protagonists would mean.

 

That's probably one of the things that's keeping the medium back, aside from the fact that if they did it would be written as a teenage boy's fantasy. Kinda like everything in gaming right now is.

[AGX-17]

Here's a French woman (former French first lady Carla Bruni) speaking English (skip to the 4 minute mark) without trying to "sound French": https

I'll admit it likely is not quite as dreamy sounding for foreigners as Leliana's acted French accent.

Amazing, you've managed to prove scientifically that there is only a single "correct" French accent for spoken English. A French actress speaking English in a game world where French doesn't even exist so it's actually irrelevant is simply faking it, obviously. You should have a PhD in linguistics for this remarkable discovery.

[lobotomy42]

 

I'm more annoyed that we're getting yet another Tevinter Imperium character who has nothing but disdain for the Tevinter Imperium and its practices.  I'd be more interested in an honest full-throated supporter of the Tevinter Imperium. It'd be difficult to sell, but would lead to much more interesting conflicts between the characters, I'd imagine.

 

I really want a game set in Evil Slaver Blood Mage Empire, but on a second thought, I can kind of understand why Bioware doesn't want to open the can of worms that portraying the human sacrifice-y-mindrape-y slavers as protagonists would mean.

 

 

Believe me, I understand *why* they didn't.  I'm just saying that the companion tension would have gotten a lot more real, maybe even eliminating the possibility for a merry-band-of-warriors feeling.

 

EDIT: Although now I'm kind of laughing trying to imagine Bioware's marketing department coming up with cute Whedonesque quotes to tweet out to its followers for such a character.

Edited June 27, 2014 by lobotomy42

[Meshugger]

I do not see why they couldn't do it. I mean in Jade Empire you could enslave a God, kill of several members of your party, resurrect Death's hand as your puppet and become Emperor for the whole kingdom.

[Hiro Protagonist II]

I would like to see the focus group that Bioware's marketing is showing these new companions to. Also in other news, Bioware just upped their ESRB rating with DA:I from E to T (Teen).

[Calax]

I would like to see the focus group that Bioware's marketing is showing these new companions to. Also in other news, Bioware just upped their ESRB rating with DA:I from E to T (Teen).

I'd hope it'd be above an E game... I don't want my Blood Mage to be making little hearts come out of his hand instead of actual blood.

[Gromnir]

I'm more annoyed that we're getting yet another Tevinter Imperium character who has nothing but disdain for the Tevinter Imperium and its practices.  I'd be more interested in an honest full-throated supporter of the Tevinter Imperium. It'd be difficult to sell, but would lead to much more interesting conflicts between the characters, I'd imagine.

"I really want a game set in Evil Slaver Blood Mage Empire,"

 

am supposing this is your obstacle. how do you write the "full-throated supporter" o' guys who has been written as over-the-top evil? 

 

 

it works for a comic book villain, but it is tough to write as a companion.

 

alternative, is likely that you could create an eyes-wide-open supporter o' tevinter that has either personal or practical reasons for his support. is still not an easy write, but it is a bit easier than vandal savage.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Nepenthe]

 

 

I sure hope his fake French accent will be better than Leliana's.

Thanks for repeating the best criticism of DAO! (The voice actress doing Leliana is a native French speaker!)

In that case she's doing a very good job of overacting. Note that I live and work in Brussels, I have to listen to native French-speakers speaking English all day.

 

Though, on second thought, the over-the-top lisp she adds might be the thing that actually sets me off (because I hear it a lot on wannabe French-sounding actresses)

Yes, because

A) all francophones have the same accent in English (and French!)

B) Leliana isn't actually from a fantasy country called Orlais but Brussels and your criticism is entirelyvalid!

 

(Edit : Agx beat me to it)

Edited June 28, 2014 by Nepenthe

[Blarghagh]

Thread closed due to length. Topic continued at this location.