1st, a small mini-rant. If you want to skip straight to the list, look for where it says "LIST OF WHAT NOT TO CHANGE".
Bioware took a significant risk with this game, as they changed so many aspects from Dragon Age: Origins. The pace of combat, the storytelling-technique, animations, art-direction, speech, etc. Some of these changes were done for expediency, some were done for the sake of pure experimentation.
It was a risk. Change can alienate people who are used to the way things are done. Change can also be done disastrously (for those of you looking to quote what I'm saying to make the simple point that DA:2 is crap, let it be known you've read about a third or less of my posting at this point). But change can also bring on wonderful innovation that can make the game/series better.
That's why I think it's important, especially for game devs, not to be afraid of change. Without that experimentation, we'd still be stuck playing the simple games of yesteryear. Things cannot improve overall without change. This doesn't just apply to video games - it applies to all things genre. Comic books, movies, tv shows, you name it.
Stagnation, while the safe thing to do, will not lead to bigger and better things. We all want bigger and better things.
That being said, some of the changes in DA:2 didn't work out. The rehashed level design, for example. Now we've seen dozens of lists on this forums of things people didn't like, so I'm going to post of things that SHOULD NOT be changed for any subsequent Dragon Age or other RPG title Bioware plans on doing.
LIST OF WHAT NOT TO CHANGE (BUT MAKE EVEN BETTER).
1) The Conversation Wheel.
People like to call this a "Mass Effect wheel", but it's actually a little more advanced than that. In the ME games, Shep can choose a Renegade or Paragon option at any time, but it was those options that you chose that made him, at that moment, a Renegade or Paragon. In between actions, he was the same, generic Shepard. Dragon Age 2 took that to a new level.
In DA2, the game recognizes which options you lean towards - Paragon, Smart-ass, Renegade, and Hawke acts that way WITHOUT PLAYER INPUT. This makes Hawke a much more living character than Shepard. If you've been playing Hawke as a smart-ass, and say you meet a new character or undertake a new quest, his simple answer options will sound smart-ass, but if you've played him Renegade he'll sound Renegade.
This isn't a ME Wheel, it's a DA2 wheel, or at the very least an Evolved ME Wheel. Please don't change that. Go forward, add more conversation options, and bring that to ME3.
2) Battle Animations.
Well most of them. Some of them are a little over-the-top, but still, changing the battle animations was a great idea. This works especially for the Mage class.
The Mages always fascinated me in DA:O. Here were people born with an extraordinary ability that made them above normal men, who made them feared, hated and persecuted by society (This feels familiar somehow. *hums X-Men 90s theme). But they acted like schoolteachers. Even the badass ones acted like 1000 year old wizards. That fight in Lord of the Rings between Gandalf and Saruman? Yeah, they were OLD, so they fought like old men, and even THEY had more swagger than the mages in DA:O.
In DA 2, these beings were given a bit of extra swagger in everything they did. Yes, the staff-twirling did get excessive, but don't remove all of it! I'll get to that in a second, but their spell animations, the animation they did when they summoned or cast a buff on the party, all of this helped show how badass ALL mages are. They were born with this ability and a lot of them have attitude because of it.
So don't remove it - evolve it. Maybe have battle animations be different depending on the level of the character. At level 1 they're n00bs, so their battle animations would be awkward, but the higher level they become the more slick their animations become, because they're learning and gaining confidence with every battle. Maybe have different animation depending on the style of mage they are, or on how many abilities from certain trees they have. The possibilities are endless.
Just don't go back to the "poking" animation for mages, PLEASE.
And maybe Rogues are a bit too bombastic. Again, modify, don't remove.
Of course, don't go back on the Battle Speed either. Yes things can be improved, but don't go back to the same plodding pace of Dragon Age: Origins.
3) The Storytelling.
I don't mean to use a Framed Narrative all the time. I'm saying to continue to experiment. Yes, the old-school RPG storytelling is fun and all, and it's classic... but things are classic because they're tried, true and accepted. They're EASY. But the story that can blow us all away, that becomes the NEXT classic.
I really don't have much else to say except that I enjoyed the story in DA2, and I wouldn't want DA3 to regress back to the old-style of doing things.
4) The Inventory System
One of the changes to DA 2 that actually really grated on me was the Inventory system. It felt clunky and a chore to use. But the more I used it, the more I noticed its charms, then its usefulness.
I think it's important to get more people into playing the games we like. That doesn't mean dumbing anything down, but it does mean making things more intuitive. This happens with software all the time. Just because something is overly-complicated means its good. I get that some people who are used to a clunky old system might like it because they feel like they're in on something others aren't, but I think that when you spread the joy of RPGaming, which is different from other kinds of gaming, to others, that can only be a good thing.
That said, the Inventory system in DA 2 is quite intuitive. All loot goes directly to the Junk pile and can be sold easily without moving through every object to wonder if it's useful or not. A star rating next to an item corresponds directly to the character, their level and strengths, and gives a cursory glance as to whether the item is right for them or not. It's not necessary to go by the star rating. I don't, I make my own choices, but for someone new at the genre, It gives them a leg up on LEARNING what it takes to equip your hero. This doesn't take anything away from the game, it only adds to it.
This system can be improved, so improve it! But don't go back to the old inventory checklist, I beg you.
While I'm at it, add the Ability Tree to this. Don't regress, improve. It's already a great improvement on DA:O. Again, it's more intuitive. Being able to see at a glance what is a Passive, Sustained or Activated ability? It sounds like a small change, but it's huge to people who are first time RPG players. Again, it doesn't take anything away. Just keep improving things.
5) The art style.
I nearly didn't get into Dragon Age: Origins, and it was because the art-style didn't sell me. It was just too bland. I laughed at the Darkspawn in DA:O. I thought they were an obvious rip off from the LOTR *drawing a blank on the name* monsters. I laugh at the Darkspawn in DA:2 now because they look a bit clownish....
But the redesign of everything else? Humans, elves dwarves, demons? Qunari? Excellent. They give things more character. It's not the same generic "Whatever, it's medieval and swords and magic and this is a monster" artstyle from DA:O. The Character Creator especially was a great improvement on things. Please continue to improve, but don't go back to the bland art of before.
Let me conclude by saying that I see DA 2 as flawed, but more enjoyable than DA:O in many respects. But this isn't a review, it's a telling of, from my pov, the risky but successful changes made from Origins that made it more respectable. I don't know how they do things in Bioware, but I hope that they're always looking forward, even when things don't necessarily go the way they expect.
Move forward!
Modifié par Rockpopple, 14 mars 2011 - 02:34 .
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