I'm disappointed by the choice of a human character, but that's partially a body-type thing. I'm so tired of playing the video game equivalent of an anorexic runway model with plastic surgery; I liked being able to play a short, round, busty character in DA as that's my perspective on the real world. I look up at people. If I look down, I see my rack. Anything else feels a bit disorienting at first, and not in a fun way. I feel more immersed on my first playthrough if I can choose a character similar to myself, and in later playthroughs when I'm a tall, leggy warrior woman instead of a tiny rogue, it feels different. It makes the new playthrough feel different. It's a far more enjoyable experience that way.
Though I prefer playing dwarves and elves, I would mind a lot less if they have more than one human body type this time--short, tall, round, and muscular. If I'm a warrior, I'd like to be tall and strong, not a waif! If a rogue, I'd like to be lean and compact. If I'm a mage, I'd like to be plump and short. I want to either choose body type, or have it chosen for me by class. I think character choices like that are part of the fun of an RPG like this--I
really don't want them to just have you choose your
head and have nothing else be different but armor piled on top of your figure. In DAO, there was no difference between close-combat large-weapon-wielding people, who should have built ridiculous amounts of muscle, and mages, who do run around and wave their arms but aren't exactly using any strength. So I don't think you should have corpulent PCs, that wouldn't make sense for the lifestyle, but I think you should have a range so that people can choose what they want, if only by class. It adds very much to immersion when the people you see vary a bit by height and shape.
The origin story not being selectable... I'm a bit sorry about that, but I vastly prefer this idea to the way it was in DAO--I'd rather have a really well-done story that I can affect and that is persistent throughout the game than a story that grabs me, makes me love it, and then turns into a few offhand lines and a cameo for the rest of the game. I would have preferred 3 origins instead of 6 or 1, but I still prefer 1 to 6 based on the way DA turned out, simply because I want them to do the main character justice. Set variables, have NPCs form opinions, say concrete things... I want it to feel interactive, not have the NPC I'm talking to say, "Oh, yeah, your family died, sorry, let's not talk about that" and then go on about their family and their problems as if they have no interest in anything not related to them.
The voice not being selectable... GOOD, I say. Maybe it will be something other than poor quality this time. DA voices were better than in BG, but still not anywhere near the quality of, say, Claudia Black/Steve Valentine/Kate Mulgrew/Simon Templeman. Which it should be, because it's one of the main characters, even if you don't hear them speak as much as others. (If it really didn't matter, there wouldn't be a mod to erase the "ladder" line.) As long as they choose mid-range voices and actors with the same level of skill as the guy who voiced Mike Thorton in Alpha Protocol, I can almost swear we won't mind. I sort of wish they'd give two options, but that would probably cost a lot and for not so much gain in comparison with other things they could be spending time and dough on.
The dialogue being focused on Hawke instead of focused on nothing...
HALLE-FREAKING-LUJAH! Seriously. Now that the writers are seeing the protagonist as a personality of sorts instead of a generic vehicle for the player to interact with the characters who are actually interesting, maybe this time we'll get more lines that exceed the quality of "Sorry, but I'd rather just be rid of your evil right now." Which is sad. It's just sad. Maybe this time we'll have things to say about our character's past, options to express feelings which have more subtlety and range than "I love you" vs. "I hate you." I loved the NPCs in DAO, but man, were the interactions inconsistent. For every Warden line I liked there were four that made me cringe if I really let myself pay any close attention to them.
All in all, I trust Bioware. I'm a bit skeptical, but then, I was skeptical about Awakening, and they pulled that off quite nicely. The Deep Roads felt like I imagined them when reading the books this time, for one thing.
I'm actually very happy that they're refusing to stagnate here. I want to see what they can do with the ideas they're presenting. But I do hope they'll do future games with elven and dwarven protagonists if they continue in this vein. You can't exactly call a human a bold, exciting choice. You play a human in most games ever made. But for this one, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that there's a good reason why they chose that race. Maybe racism will be more pronounced and you'll have to work hard to gain the trust of any elves and dwarves you encounter. That would be fun. I love it when a game asks me to fight racism. I can argue passionately about that in real life and I love to have the option to do so in a game.
If they can find a happy medium between Mass Effect and DAO, I'll be plenty happy with Hawke and DA2. That, I'm sure of. And if they keep most of what I loved about DAO, like the depth of the NPCs you travel with, the scope of the world, and the varying settings, while stepping it up a notch, this could truly beat the last one. I just hope they hold on to the best of what DAO was, and make sure they give us lots of options for shaping Hawke in fun, rewarding ways, related to appearance (not just the head and clothing!), personality, and history.
Modifié par Wynne, 11 juillet 2010 - 12:25 .
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one thing doesn't exclude the other. We want to develop our very own character (which to us the things that have been announced so far make it extremely difficult) and we want to roleplay this character through events that bioware sets in our path. AKA what happens in a pen and paper RPG
