Questa discussione ha avuto 94 risposte

[David Gaider]

Ramante wrote...
I've checked the Varric thread and a while ago some of Varric's batlle cries were revealed (by sir Gaider himself), so is it okay for me to ask for some Fenris battle cries now?

Fenris primarily swears in Tevinter, but occasionally will break into meditation-like comments on the fight. He's one of the few soundsets that never actually yells during combat.

[David Gaider]

Herr Uhl wrote...
Doesn't Tevinterians speak the same language as the rest of Thedas now? Or do they just have their own swears?

The Imperium has its own language, just as Orlais does, even if most people speak the common tongue as well. Only in rural areas might you find people who don't.

[David Gaider]

Ramante wrote...
Not what I expected, but thanks for answering. ^^

I could provide specifics, but knowing that Fenris occasionally mutters things like "Fenedhis!" during combat isn't particularly illuminating stuff.

New questions; Does Fenris have a, I don't know how to call it, a 'signature weapon' like Varric (Bianca) or is it just some random weapon?

He hasn't given a name to it, if that's what you mean.

And something that's maybe Fenris related, in the Sebastian thread one of the devs spoke about 'flirt lines', now I was wondering do the non-romancable characters also have flirt-lines -> can you flirt with everyone and only the romancable npc's will respond to it?

You can flirt if we wrote lines allowing you to flirt. That doesn't necessarily lead to a romance.

[David Gaider]

standardpack wrote...
Will we be hearing examples of that in game like with Sten's language or will we be hearing just the common tongue for the most part?

No, he speaks in actual Tevinter-- normally only when he's upset, or swearing, but you'll definitely hear it.

[David Gaider]

Herr Uhl wrote...
Is the common tongue English due to Andraste talking it (and the chant being in English)?

Heh, no. The common tongue actually comes from the dwarves. They introduced trade and currency to humanity.

[David Gaider]

Herr Uhl wrote...
Then why don't humans speak the old dwarven language? Did they invent a new language to trade with humans?

No, they invented a new language to trade with each other. There isn't any one "dwarven" language, though humans like to think of it that way because of the old kingdoms only Orzammar is left.

[David Gaider]

Oh, I'm around-- I'm just not sure what it is that you want to know (other than the obvious). I have nothing new to say atm, other than all y'all are crazy.

[David Gaider]

MagneticDawn wrote...
they want to know how tall you are.. for starters.. its a loonggg story..

How... tall *I* am? Or Fenris?

what is this I don't even

[David Gaider]

Chagrinned Goat wrote...
You. We were discussing the height of elves. Then the heights of each other. And then the height of you, Ser.

Umm... okay.

Do I even want to know? No, probably not.

I am 180 cm.

Now it is time for the genii to vanish. *poof!*

[David Gaider]

Dr. Doctor wrote...
The one question that I have for Dave, is how do you go about creating a character like Fenris? Is the major plot of the story hammered out before characters are introduced, or are general character profiles introduced before moving along with the story?

There are two things that need to exist when creating a companion:

1) A place in the story.

2) A hook.

#1 doesn't always happen if #2 is really strong, so sometimes we forget... and then we regret it later on. A place in the story means that there is something going on in the plot (or one of the plots) that is very central to what that character is about. They care about it, so you do too. Plots can be abstract things, especially when they relate to a world you have only a vicarious stake in, so followers serve to personify those conflicts.

But #2 is enough. There has to be a hook-- for me, not the player. Something that I want to say with a character, either a moment I know I want them to have, a twist on a romantic archetype, a thing that they have which makes me excited to write them. If there isn't a hook, no matter what we do the character will be boring. That can happen, too, in which case you have to create a hook. For yourself. Nobody else needs to care about it.

For Morrigan, the hook was the Dark Ritual. I knew that moment would exist almost before the rest of the game did. Alistair didn't start off having a hook, and I realized it after I began writing him. He was a distrustful, surly sort and I hated it. So... what to do? I wanted to make his dialogue fun, the sort of person who guys wouldn't hate because he was a buddy. Since I was watching BtVS at the time, it came to me when I was (predictably) analyzing Joss Whedon's method of delivering dialogue. Anachronistic, sure, but could it be done in fantasy...? I wanted to try.

There was a hook for Fenris, but I can't tell you what it is yet. It's a spoiler. The tattoos came later (and, amusingly, before I even saw Jack), but there was an element to Fenris that made me want to write him. His #1 is also significant, which is important as I mandated that every DA2 character would need a #1. It's a more personal story, after all, without a "YOU MUST SAVE THE WORLD NO YOU MUST" thing going on-- and thus the ciphers are that much more important.

Everything else after that fact is just mechanics and plot documents. And finding the voice. That's separate and not always easy, and sometimes doesn't come until you hit the Moment-- which could happen right away or halfway through writing the character.

Modificata da David Gaider, 20 gennaio 2011 - 06:20 .

[David Gaider]

Maria Caliban wrote...
This is interesting to hear, as I don't think you did that with Origins.

Indeed. Having a plot that introduces a character, and thus they are a part of it, is a given-- I guess what I really mean is a character having a stake in the larger conflicts. Not every character in DA2 has an equal stake, it's true, but they all have a stake and I think that works better than some characters in Origins like, say, Zevran or Oghren who really had none.

[David Gaider]

MagneticDawn wrote...
1. How is all the VA's Decided?

It's between myself, the Lead Designer (Mike) and the VO Producer (Caroline) for any major characters. Caroline decides the others on her own (though she will seek out approval from time to time, or clarification if she's unsure what someone needs).

For major characters we start either with a suggestion, if someone has a particular VA in mind, or with the bible entry that determines things like apparent age, accent, role in the story, etc. At that point Caroline would start rounding up suitable candidates (either from actors she knows about or through casting agents-- she searches around a lot) and will get Mike and myself (and sometimes the other writers, who I will get involved if it's their character) to listen and make suggestions on who could be a good pick. Sometimes it works, sometimes we try someone out and recast. Sometimes we recast after a lot of recording has been done, but that's a hard decision.

Every now and again, if it's a hard role, we'll make up an audition script and send it out to casting agents so they can have actors send in audition recordings for that role specifically (which is a bit easier to discern, as opposed to listening to commercials or other characters they did and trying to figure out if they have the range to do the character you want).

Make sense?

2. Boxers, Briefs or Commando for Fenris?

You could ask that about any character. I'm of the opinion that people in Thedas don't really wear underwear, per se... maybe a slip for girls and "small shorts" for men... but the artists disagree. So I suppose boxers would be the best answer.

[David Gaider]

MagneticDawn wrote...
1. How tall is Fenris Compared to Fem!Hawke?

I don't know. I've never compared the two. I think elves are now the same height as humans, so he'd be a bit taller than FemHawke, but I could be wrong.

2. Will Fenris ever wear shoes?

No. The artists have this thing about elves and shoes. Don't get me started.

[David Gaider]

MagneticDawn wrote...
...
Ah HELL NO!! If he dies, I'll be shouting
"AH HEELLLLL NO YOU DON'T! I Spent three months on the forums taking questions and making an effort to get to know you before the game came out! Hell, I HATE DA2! YOU WERE THE ONLY REASON I BOUGHT THE GAME!!! DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON MEH!!!

I must admit, it's a bit of concern. Not the "don't die on me" bit, just the idea that you guys may be building this character up into something he isn't or can't possibly be-- and then ending up disappointed not because he isn't great but because he isn't what you assumed. I realize you can't help it, and certainly appreciate the excitement, but if I were you I'd be careful how much you invest in your assumptions.

[David Gaider]

Tashash wrote...
Ianto Jones (AKA Gareth David-Lloyd) THE BEAUTIFUL WELSH VOWELS.

He's definitely on my List. I love Ianto with a the fiery heat of at least one sun.

...but he's not Fenris.

[David Gaider]

Careful, all. If this thread turns into the equivalent of a hangout which is all spam and any semblance of productive conversation is non-existent, we'll shut it down. The idea that someone would need to start a new thread just to stay on topic is disconcerting.

There is no need to "keep it going". If you have nothing to discuss, there is nothing to discuss. End of story.

Only warning.

Modificata da David Gaider, 26 gennaio 2011 - 09:44 .

[David Gaider]

Minxie18 wrote...
Mr. Gaider, a question Ser, if you will: Is Fenris like Isabela in that it's possible to go the whole game without ever meeting him?

Correct.

[David Gaider]

tankgirly wrote...
Can't he simply be an unfortunate soul abducted from an nearby Dallish camp/alienage?

He was actually a unicorn prince that got trapped in elven form and then kidnapped before being sold into slavery. About halfway through the game a flying purple cat arrives to tell him that unless the player helps him ascend to the Unicorn Throne the world will come to an end. Angst ensues.

[David Gaider]

ankuu wrote...
It's Zevran, Tamlen, Soris and Fenris ^^

Through 99% of DAO's development, Tamlen was the spitting image of Corey Haim. I will never be able to think of him as anyone else now.

[David Gaider]

slimgrin wrote...
Please don't ruin the game for us David...

I am totally on your side. Some of the earlier versions of Fenris had me going to the artists all OMG WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU ARE RUINING MY LIFE.

Thankfully they were very accommodating.


EDIT: Except for the shoes.

Modificata da David Gaider, 30 gennaio 2011 - 06:23 .

[David Gaider]

fighterchicks wrote...
To be fair, I *think* that it's mainly because it's a game.  The whole possessive/overprotective/violent thing works in fiction.  It can be considered hot/sexy and I can see that to an extent, mainly because it's just fantasy and not real.  Whereas if you encounter someone like that in real life, it's different and you decidedly do not want someone like that.  I remember Gaider said something about this that rang true with me.  

The short version of that is "people don't fantasize about their boyfriends".

[David Gaider]

Minxie18 wrote...
Ser Gaider, since you're here, could you confirm if that line in the Giant Bomb video at around the 2:00 minute mark, "We should move on," is Fenris speaking or not?

I think so. It's kind of hard to hear.

And regarding the "people don't fantasize about their boyfriends",  I suppose I should amend that to "people don't fantasize about things they can have". Fantasy is attractive because it's not possible. That's the whole attraction.

Which sort of defeats the purpose of my saying it more briefly, I suppose. But brevity is never a virtue when people are prone to nitpick.

[David Gaider]

Dr. Doctor wrote...
Watches G4TV trailer again. Whoa. Fenris didn't punch through that guy's chest, he phased through it Kitty Pryde style. Perhaps that's one thing that the lyrium does, allows Fenris to somehow transition parts of himself into the fade.

Partly, yes. Enough to phase through someone's chest and wreck havoc on their insides, anyhow.

[David Gaider]

yukidama wrote...
But Varric <3s Bianca. I imagine the others don't mind so long the weapon works.

Correct. Varric is the only follower with a specific weapon fetish.

[David Gaider]

Maera Imrov wrote...
And now, finally listening to it, yes. I agree 100%. If that is not Steve Burton, I shall eat my non-existant hat.

Better find one quick. I suggest adding salt.