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[Ulathar]

There may be spoiler for the very first mission in here, so watch out. :-)

Okay, so I was at the behind closed doors presentation at GamesCom and even though it's a bit late I decided to post what I wrote down. I did the initial text right after I was there, but I didn't bring anything to write notes on, so this is all from memory.
An initial search didn't bring up any results on this, so I guess no one posted his or her impressions from this presentation before me. If so...well here are mine then

If a dev reads this and thinks I said something wrong at some point, please feel free to point it out, because as I said, this has been written from memory.

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This is from the behind closed doors presentation at GamesCom, held by Lead Designer Mike Laidlaw.

Mike started by welcoming everyone, introducing the BioWare employees in the room and told us that no photos or videos are to be taken here. After that we were shown the English version of the CGI trailer and a few words about Dragon Age 2. You play Hawke who can be either Male or Female, Mage, Warrior or Rogue, so nothing really new up to this point.

The first part of what I'd like to call tutorial of Dragon Age 2 was shown on the XBox. By first part, I'm talking about the exaggerated one, the part before we see the narrators for the first time. The "real" version of the story of how Hawke escaped was then shown on the PC.

We got a short glimpse of the character creation and apart from the class and gender choice, it looked pretty much the same as in DA:O. Everything, except the default male Warrior was locked, so we went on with that. Back in the story, like I said, the real one this time, Hawke and his (in this case) family try to run away from Lothering and the Blight. Hawke's sister Bethany, Brother and Mother are with him. Mike explained at this point that this is something new in DA2, that the character has a family and that Hawke's actions have an impact on the relationship with the family.

After fighting off a few Darkspawn we meet a Templar and his wife. The Templar has just been injured, but since Bethany is an apostate he's ready to attack her, but he's not yet strong enough and Hawke's intervention easily prevents any further actions. During a conversation everyone agrees to work together and they join your party.
The fight goes on to the point where the Ogre appears again and immideately kills Hawke's brother. During this fight the focus was on Avaline, the Templar's wife. The first time the sword and shield fighting was shown in DA2 and different stances revealed different attack animations. The usual "offensive" stance had your usual sword fighting animations, but as she switched to the defensive stance and raised her shield, her animations changed accordingly. As the Darkspawn were defeated here and the Orgre only had a fraction of health left, we were shown one of the new Mage finishing moves which looked very much like the one seen in the CGI trailer (the hands who ripped the Qunari apart).

After the Ogre is defeated, a cut-scene/dialog started where everyone, especially the mother, mourns the death of your brother and you have to decide how to react to it. Time is still short as new darkspawn approach. We also got a first glimpse of the new tactical camera view. You can't zoom out as much as before, but you can move the camera all over the battlefield and give orders this way and use strategies and tactics.

The exaggerated part stopped right when a dragon appeared...well, the dragon appeared again and this time the story went on. The dragon wiped out the darkspawn and just when you think it turns its attention towards the groupt it changes the form and turns into Flemeth. Not that surprising, I know, but still, nicely done. The following conversation appearantly starts the main story, or rather the quest of it.

Flemeth doesn't have the time to help the group all the way to Kirkwall as she has an appointment to keep, but for already provided help and since it's on your way anyways, she wants you to deliver something to a group of Dalish. During this conversation the Templar collapses, poisoned by darkspawn taint with no hope of survival. At this point we were presented with a choice. Either tell his wife that this is none of your business and she should decide if she wants to put him out of his misery or tell her that you'll do it so she doesn't have to or just tell her to get it over with already. Mike said that he wanted the decisions to have an impact on the story, and not just in an episogue text and the end of the game, but in the middle of it [or at some other point]. So what we decide here can have an impact later on. The decision here was to let her decide and she killed him to end his suffering. After that Hawke agreed to Flemeth's proposal and the presentation was over.


However, there was still time for questions.
First, the questions I asked:

Question: Is the interaction with the party going to be more like Origins or Awakening?
Mike: Defenitaly Origins.

Question: Are the decisions in the DLC going to have an impact on DA2? For example Wardens Peak where you secured an entire fortress for the Grey Wardens. Will stuff like that be mentioned in DA2?
Mike: Yes, we'll even go as far as having Origins DLC foreshadow events from DA2.

Question: Will Hawke's class be mentioned in dialogues again or rather more than in DA:O?
Mike: Ther are definately going to be situations where the class and origins of Hawke are mentioned. I also think that that's important.
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Question: Are we going to see Morrigan again?
Mike: We get that question a lot. Morrigan's story is far from over. As to what's happening with her...well, you may get a hint or two about that in DA2. I can't say anything else on this matter.

Question: We'll be able to import Origins saves. What about Awakening?
Mike: Yes, Awakening, too.

Question: The red glowing eyes in the trailer...is there any significance to it?
Mike: Perhaps.

Question: Why do the Qunari suddenly have horns?
Mike: Many Qunari have horns and that's something every lore-"fanatic" could tell you
[He said more about this, but I can't remember]

Question: What's up with the date in February?
Mike: That would be the date on the flyer in the Awakening box.
(A few people laughed)
Mike: Well, we planned something special for that day, but I can't tell you more at this point.

Question: Is there going to be a Collector's Edition of Dragon Age 2?
Mike: I can't say anything about possible editions at this point.

Question: Any infos on Mass Effect 3?
(applause)
Mike: Mass Effect 3 is part of a game trilogy, developed by BioWare....which will be released some day in the future.

There probably were a few more questions, but those are all I can remember.

Also, I uploaded a video I recorded of Laidlaw appearing at a DA2 presentation on the EA stage.

Modifié par Systemlord Baal, 29 août 2010 - 04:16 .

[Mike Laidlaw]

I did used to be a writer, in fact. Started out on Jade Empire where I was co-lead with Luke Kristjanson.

And Baal's done a good job of capturing the presentation. Maybe needs a few more winks after some of my answers. For instance, the Mass Effect answer is really all I can say. Never steal your brother's thunder, and all that.

And finally, yes, the change in stance to shield defense mode is carried out by firing up a modal ability. Similar to how we did it in Origins, just with more visual feedback. I'm trying to get away from the need for layers upon layers of visual effects coating your character like spell syrup, and the animators have been a great help in that.

[Mike Laidlaw]

Oh, you could convert it into text, but it would quickly descend into superlatives and purple prose.

"Mass Effect 3, you say?" He paused, an eyebrow cocked as the anticipation in the room built, becoming a pressure that weighed on every shoulder, the crowd slowly leaning forward under the sheer weight of the potential of learning some tidbit, some morsel of forbidden lore...

Modifié par Mike Laidlaw, 29 août 2010 - 04:24 .

[Mike Laidlaw]

WilliamShatner wrote...

Don't know why people bother to have a Q&A session if they would rather walk in circles than give straight answers.

Because it's an opportunity to give as many straight answers as you can, and thus far better than not doing a Q&A at all.

[Mike Laidlaw]

Rhayth wrote...
Agreed, but my concerns would be will dialogue be more like politicians like in DAO.  I hated having to figure out what my companion wanted hear versus saying what I wanted to say.

I believe you'll find this much approved. Take a look for some of Mr. Gaider's posts about changes we're making to the relationship system for more details. Short version, however, is that questioning your followers is a valid path in DA2, not just generically appeasing them.