139 réponses à ce sujet

[Herr Uhl]

maxernst wrote...

Neanderthal are an interesting question.  There are some anthropologists who argue that they should be called ****** sapiens neanderthalensis, implying that they are a subspecies of ****** sapiens and even that they assimilated with us, rather than becoming extinct.  On the other hand, a study a few years ago found that European humans were no more similar genetically to neanderthals than the rest of humanity, and since neanderthals were mostly seen in southern Europe, they argued that implied little interbreeding occurred, if it was indeed possible.

Well, there are studies on that subject that prove and disprove that very thing by Sverker Johansson, it is kind of fun to see what is the stance next time he publishes an article. Finding Neanderthal DNA and then disproving it himself.

[Saibh]

Addai67 wrote...

Have to come down on the side of the tall, beautiful, tragically flawed lightbringers.  It is their contrast with humanity that makes this interesting, as well as the yearning for a lost past.  This is rooted in mythology, not just literature, so if it's "wrong," then a lot of people have been doing elves wrong.

I like the DA conception, too, found it interesting, but being the underdogs, they are not going to fit well into heroic conceptions and it's hard to take them seriously.  They're losers, basically.  So the majority are probably always going to want to play humans in that setting, except for us elf fetishists.

The elves aren't exactly treated as magical creatures like, say, a nymph or a satyr might be, but rather a race of people. Magical creatures are important as individuals more than they are as a "race". They usually have no culture, but rather specific traits we remember them for. Elven culture is usually summed up as "Better than anything anyone else is doing".

As for why I don't compare them to, say, the Tuatha de Danaan, it's because they don't show up in literature often. Fairies do, but they're more often presented as malevolent and scheming than pure and good.

I don't think I felt ostracized as a player being an elf in DAO any more than mages or casteless dwarves were. There's so little mention to your species or Origin to begin with, anyway.

[Ortaya Alevli]

But then there's The Witcher style racism against elves and dwarves.

[Drasanil]

Meh I don't agree. I find humans intolerably boring in fantasy games (especially when other options used to be available) being forced to play one is like being stuck with the class' resident glue eater for a school project, you know what he's all about and nothing you do will change the fact that working with him is a chore

Being saddled with Hawke killed off a large part of my interest in DA2, sequels are supposed to give you more not less, and seeing all the other stuff that they're cutting out isn't exactly encouraging either. Mages are suddenly allergic to even picking up a sword and companions only ever own a single set of clothing... yay!

[Maria Caliban]

Big Blue Car wrote...

I always find it funny when people act like sharing 99% of our genes with chimps makes them functionally similar to us in the least.

No, I'm pretty sure that the fact that we're fictionally similar is what makes people think humans and chimps are functionally similar.

Chimp jaws have the same function as human jaws and work the same way. Same with chimp eyes. Chimp arms and legs. Chimp hands and feet. Chimp girl bits and guy bits. The same function as in humans.

[Aermas]

Maria Caliban wrote...

Big Blue Car wrote...

I always find it funny when people act like sharing 99% of our genes with chimps makes them functionally similar to us in the least.

No, I'm pretty sure that the fact that we're fictionally similar is what makes people think humans and chimps are functionally similar.

Chimp jaws have the same function as human jaws and work the same way. Same with chimp eyes. Chimp arms and legs. Chimp hands and feet. Chimp girl bits and guy bits. The same function as in humans.

That could be said of most mammals, the fact is we are mentally superior & have the ability to abstract ideas & construct things of multiple uses

[Lurklen]

Saibh wrote...
I don't think I felt ostracized as a player being an elf in DAO any more than mages or casteless dwarves were. There's so little mention to your species or Origin to begin with, anyway.

 Y'know this is a really good point, doing the kind of character based story the way they are with DA2 would be a great way to explore this. Always before because of the broad range of origins if we wanted to experience the story of an ostracized minority we'd have to get the watered down version for the PC, (because there were so many options for the main character) or we'd see it through the eyes of one of our companion characters. I'd really like to see a DA story where the default is elven or dwarven or even qunari(though I think the last one would be challenging) and see the story is shaped by that. 

 I know one of the reasons this isn't done is because it's harder for an audience to relate to a character that's not human. But I think that could be part of what makes it really interesting.

Modifié par Lurklen, 12 novembre 2010 - 03:39 .

[Lenimph]

Maria Caliban wrote...

Big Blue Car wrote...

I always find it funny when people act like sharing 99% of our genes with chimps makes them functionally similar to us in the least.

Chimp jaws have the same function as human jaws and work the same way. Same with chimp eyes. Chimp arms and legs. Chimp hands and feet. Chimp girl bits and guy bits. The same function as in humans.

Well humans are the only primate without a baculum...

Just felt like throwing that out there for being random.... 

[Luigitornado]

 Dragon Age 3?

What's stopping them from adding an expansion to 2 that'll give you an option to choose a race in a new adventure?

[Schwadragon]

Addai67 wrote...

I like the DA conception, too, found it interesting, but being the underdogs, they are not going to fit well into heroic conceptions and it's hard to take them seriously.  They're losers, basically.  So the majority are probably always going to want to play humans in that setting, except for us elf fetishists.

See, this is why a game starring an elf could work. As lot of good stories start with the protagonist being a loser and then, ever the course of the story, he or she claws his or her way up. Isn't that basically what the city elf or the casteless dwarf was?

[In Exile]

An elf-protagonist with an oppresive human majority is not likely to make for a good game when it's likely the majority of the audience will not relate to the protagonist but rather to the antagonist.

[GodWood]

Meh, I can play practically any race and like to be given the option to choose which one I want.

[Alexia89]

I was an elf first time, i like to play the race with the lowest standing....Dalish it was. underdog story see...dwarf common too for the 2nd.



Hawk seems to start off with about nothing so it fits

[Maria Caliban]

Lenimph wrote...

Well humans are the only primate without a baculum...

Just felt like throwing that out there for being random.... 

A genetic disease much like gulonolactone oxidase deficiency.

Or dudes are just lazy.

[Avilia]

I find humans the least interesting race to play. If given a choice I'll play any other race.



Even a rat ;-)

[Aermas]

The fact that we have mastered fire has been what changed us genetically most recently, it wasn't an evolutionary breakthrough, it was human ingenuity/adaptability. Our ribcage has narrowed, our jaw has straightened, tonsils & adenoids had become obsolete along with the appendix. We started to settle down, domesticate dogs & livestock.

[GameBoyish]

DarthCaine wrote...

I think it's boring to play as a human in a fantasy game

Yeah, I only play dwarves 80% of the time, elves 18% of the time and humans the 2% (and ALWAYS incomplete)

I guess that makes me racist too.

[Wyndham711]

For the Horde! But otherwise I do usually play humans. Depends on the setting a bit, though.

[Maconbar]

Lenimph wrote...

Maria Caliban wrote...

Big Blue Car wrote...

I always find it funny when people act like sharing 99% of our genes with chimps makes them functionally similar to us in the least.

Chimp jaws have the same function as human jaws and work the same way. Same with chimp eyes. Chimp arms and legs. Chimp hands and feet. Chimp girl bits and guy bits. The same function as in humans.

Well humans are the only primate without a baculum...

Just felt like throwing that out there for being random.... 

Has BW ever indicated whether or not dwarfs, elfs, and qunari have baculum (baculi?).

[Ymladdych]

Technically, if a union between two individuals produces fertile offspring, then they fall into the same species. Substantial morphological or genetic variance might cause you to classify them into different subspecies, however.

***Edit*** By "substantial" genetic variance, it would be in comparison to the mean of the species as a whole.  In reality, the genetic variance between races and subspecies is statistically very, very low.  (Ugh, exposing the nerd here, but I wanted to be clear.)

Modifié par Ymladdych, 12 novembre 2010 - 03:45 .

[MAD WHITE HAM]

since when did this post become a physical anthropology class.  I hope bioware is putting this under consideration because i promise i won't buy any DA title if i'm forced to be a nonhuman... and judging from this board...  alot of people agree with me:devil:

Modifié par MAD WHITE HAM, 12 novembre 2010 - 03:48 .

[Ymladdych]

since when did this post become a physical anthropology class.  I hope
bioware is putting this under consideration because i promise i won't
buy any DA title if i'm forced to be a nonhuman... and judging from this
board...  alot of people agree with me

It didn't. Some people were wondering if they were different races or species, though. Now they know.

Yeah, I don't see them forcing anyone into being non-human and they probably view the dwarf/elf lovers in the same light as female gamers: they're used to the lack of attention, so they're more likely to "go with the flow" when a game doesn't appeal to their personal interests.

And they're not entirely wrong in that philosophy; it's a safe rule of thumb for now.  Markets always change, though.

Modifié par Ymladdych, 12 novembre 2010 - 04:03 .

[OneMore1968]

I hope for DAO 2 they will give us a character selection screen that has much greater variety for customisation. I mean BW are promising better graphics, they are ok in the existing game but there is definitely room for improvement here. And having more options in this section would help, especially for those without access to mods.

[naledgeborn]

It usually depends on the lore of the game. In TES I usually played Dark Elf because they had the best lore of all 9 races of Tamriel. If I had the choice in DA future games I'd play Qunari in a heartbeat. As of right now I like the Dalish but as we all know DE drew the short stick in Origins. So I stuck with vanilla HN Warrior which isn't bad but played out.