518 réponses à ce sujet

[RohanD]

Rolds and titles in companies have meaning. It works the same at all software development and IT businesses. The lead or creative director is responsible for providing the over arching vision and in essence "leading" the project along. That is why they are called the lead or director. I seem to keep having to repeat myself because people don't seem to get it. Laidlaw is the lead. He takes full responsibility for the vision of the project and how it comes to fruition. If the result is great, he gets praised and maybe a bonus. If it's bad, he gets replaced. Simple as that.

[RohanD]

^rolds = roles

Stupid iPhone...

[Blastback]

Shadow of Light Dragon wrote...

Laidlaw's way of expressing his opinions on Origins (and by extension, people who liked Origins) left...a number of the game's fans less than pleased, or feeling as though they were being put down. It hasn't brought out the best in a lot of people. Whether or not they have the right to be upset, I don't know. I'm an Origin's fan and didn't get offended by his comments, but perhaps I didn't read them the right (wrong?) way.

Anyhoo, I liked Origins much better. It could have been improved by some of DA2's elements, just as DA2 could have been improved by some of Origins'. Being 'rushed', as people say it is, wasn't the only issue with DA2, but more time would definitely have helped even if it probably wouldn't have made it as good as the original (in my books at least).

I don't regret buying it, I'll tell my friends I enjoyed it, but I won't say 'OMG you MUST try this game!' For Bioware games, I did that for Origins, Jade Empire and BG2.

Edit: For DAO fans, DA2 also suffered the burden of being the successor. The bar was there and had to be met, so there were expectations, and for many of us these were not met. Things deemed 'sacred' (for better or worse) were changed, lore was ignored in favour of coolness factor, and elves stopped looking pretty. XD Now, it's the devs' sandpit and they can do what they like with it. But we don't have to like what they do. *shrug*

I've seen a lot of likes and dislikes, so I don't know what the overarching feeling for the game is besides 'mixed'.

Sums up my thoughts pretty well.

[passionata]

Yellow Words wrote...

It's a quest in DA2 where you meet Nathaniel.

Ahh okay I found a video about that scene on youtube:
But what can I say a supposedly dead character talking to another one who is
supposed to be dead as well and telling that he finds that odd...well it seems odd...

Seriously in my book this was a real bad attempt to bring back already dead characters and
that Anders/Justice are a main element of DA2's story makes it even worse!

See how my character meets the son of the butcher of his family and friends on
youtube.
Part1:
Part2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1QLxpPOwVw

So how comes that Nathaniel appears in DA2? Is there an explanation as well?
Also keep in mind that in the Awakenings epilogue may be mentioned that
Nathaniel dies while defending the keep if the Warden let him live. His death
in the epilogue has almost the same conditions to fire up as do Anders and Justice.
(Keep not upgraded and left them to defend the keep while PC is fighting for Amarathine)

I think that Liliana's return may be more easily explained in a DLC/AddOn but I can't see a
logical explanation of how they brought back Anders, Justice and Nathaniel!
Anders his explanation in DA2 seems very weak to me and still no one has explained
how Justice re-appeared or I missed that, if so please point it out with a link to verify.

A thought about Liliana:
In DA:O she "pretends" to have had a vision from The Maker which led her to the
hero and make her want to fight at the heroes side then in DA2 we learn that Leliana
is a very high ranked member of the Chantry and it may well be possible that she
will be the next prophet just like Andraste before her. It kinda would fit the
story as there is no other logical explanation for her return to the world of
the living. But well those are just my thoughts/assumptions 'bout Leli.

[Dragoonlordz]

Mike Laidlaw - (Destroying Brent Knowles concepts and creations since 2009).

[Pious_Augustus]

neppakyo wrote...

Zalekanzer wrote...

I found Dragon Age 2 improved over Dragon Age: Origins in nearly every way. Mr. Laidlaw should be given a hearty pat on the back and congratulations.

Ahh, a fan of dead souless cities, recycled areas and repetativnes, and mindless waves of of enemies that you just keep pressing the 'awesome' button over and over again

You do not like Ninjas with plate who can jump out of the sky from no where and not get hurt in the process, troll!

[Alexander1136]

The whole "press a button and something awesome happens" things is lame. i liked origins, the only parts of da2 that i liked were the cameos to origins and i missed a lot of those because i killed a lot of people. i dont mind improvement to the series i just dislike the direction, you could have them preform that leap move to prevent shuffling but then go back to the origins fighting w/ some of the da2 animations sprinkled in. i miss the finishing moves, and also the warden, and i want to know what im going to say, some of the dialogue wheel things were miss leading. i didnt have any problems with old system.

[Cutlasskiwi]

passionata wrote...

Yellow Words wrote...

It's a quest in DA2 where you meet Nathaniel.

Ahh okay I found a video about that scene on youtube:
But what can I say a supposedly dead character talking to another one who is
supposed to be dead as well and telling that he finds that odd...well it seems odd...

Seriously in my book this was a real bad attempt to bring back already dead characters and
that Anders/Justice are a main element of DA2's story makes it even worse!

Bringing back dead character are something BioWare has been doing since Baldur's Gate (Edwin and Xzar for example) so I never truly expect characters to stay dead anymore, unless it's tied closely to the plot like Sarevok.

[genuine666]

back pain wrote...

Mike had what, 18 months to get this game out the door, I think he did a very good job considering what he was given.

you sound like he was making this game all alone in a dark room lolk

[Visanideth]

I think that, on the other hand (and probably it's a couple decades of similar arguments over PnP games influencing me here), the entire "Good god, what's this thing about AWESOME! We're geeks here, it's not supposed to be fun, it's supposed to be exclusive!" thing is quite entertaining.

It was exceptionally bad PR on Bioware's part, but only RPG fans could turn it in such a major controversy. "How dare you try to make my hobby mainstream!". Been there already... 20 times.

[Sad Dragon]

Yellow Words wrote...

Bringing back dead character are something BioWare has been doing since Baldur's Gate (Edwin and Xzar for example) so I never truly expect characters to stay dead anymore, unless it's tied closely to the plot like Sarevok.

Just want to point out that the DnD setting do have a precidence for ressurecting people -- as far as we know, this is not the case with the Dragon Age setting.

And if you are just going for a "BioWare has done it before so I'm used to it"-approach that isn't really a good thing is it?

On a side note -- They really really liked to bring back Sten, as I had to kill and loot him 4 times at the end of act 2. Seriously that guy just wont stay dead.

/TSD

[shai-hulud-lama]

@Sad Dragon
sten is not a person. it's a rank. the sten from origins tells it at some point in origins.

[Cybermortis]

Alexander1136 wrote...

The whole "press a button and something awesome happens" things is lame.

It should have been 'Press the RIGHT button and something awesome happens'.

Of course I'm guessing that they were aiming for gamers with short attention spans, and probably didn't want to put 'Warning! Game Play may require thought!' in the box.

[Cybermortis]

shai-hulud-lama wrote...

@Sad Dragon
sten is not a person. it's a rank. the sten from origins tells it at some point in origins.

If you take him into the Circle tower in Origins, and going into his dream in the Fade he is addressed as 'The Sten'. You can ask him about this, and he will indicate that Sten is his rank/title/name.

I understand he will say the same to a Zev in party banter, but I've not heard this as I don't usually have them in my party at the same time.

[Kekkis]

Cybermortis wrote...

Alexander1136 wrote...

The whole "press a button and something awesome happens" things is lame.

It should have been 'Press the RIGHT button and something awesome happens'.

Of course I'm guessing that they were aiming for gamers with short attention spans, and probably didn't want to put 'Warning! Game Play may require thought!' in the box.

Then Bioware must start to flood DLCs fast, before new Awesome Button Game draws attention of their new customer base.

[Sad Dragon]

Fine fine, kill the joke why dont you

/TSD

[Cutlasskiwi]

Sad Dragon wrote...

Yellow Words wrote...

Bringing back dead character are something BioWare has been doing since Baldur's Gate (Edwin and Xzar for example) so I never truly expect characters to stay dead anymore, unless it's tied closely to the plot like Sarevok.

Just want to point out that the DnD setting do have a precidence for ressurecting people -- as far as we know, this is not the case with the Dragon Age setting.

And if you are just going for a "BioWare has done it before so I'm used to it"-approach that isn't really a good thing is it?

On a side note -- They really really liked to bring back Sten, as I had to kill and loot him 4 times at the end of act 2. Seriously that guy just wont stay dead.

/TSD

Yes, I know that Dragon Age doesn't have resurrection spells and when you fall during battle you're unconscious(?), at least that's the case in the tabletop version. But wasn't there a spell in Origins that can "wake people up" if they fall during battle? I'm far to lazy to check if there is. Also, Anders has one in DA2 if I remember correctly so for me it's not such a long stretch and not something that bothers me, for the most part.

[addu2urmanapool]

Visanideth wrote...

I don't see anything wrong in Laidlaw's work.

It's clear that DA2 was rushed out of the oven and would have been a massively better game with 1 more year of polishing and expanding, but that is something DLC can easily fix. If two years from now I've shelled out 30 more euros on DLC and got 20 more hours of story and a couple more acts, and some bug squashing and some interface fixing, I'll have nothing to blame Bioware for.

DA2 is a flawed game. It is however an ambitious, innovative and creative RPG. It's a huge step forward for Bioware, because it breaks most of their tired conventions, it improves their core mechanics (expecially the party system) and excels in terms of storytelling and narrative presentation in a way no WRPG did.

Considering it's the sequel to DA:O, which was an extremely polished yet the most aggressively mediocre RPG I've played in decades, I'm really pleasantly surprised. I'll take the flawed gem over the polished piece of turd.

In fact, it's almost unbelievable that we went from a game that borrowed its entire aestethics from a certain set of fantasy movies (down to a T in terms of enemy design), that managed to put us through the most trite plot ever (Sauron is waking up, kill him), that managed to get away with the most incredible and lazy subplots (the king is dying, send the knights to find the Holy Grail and save him... really?) and extended that even to companions (look, the insecure, unproven knight with an heart of gold is actually of royal blood... really? There's a dwarven warrior with red hair who's into food and beer and belches every minute, oh and a somewhat sexy witch who doesn't need men and only thinks of her own good, and the big "monster" strong and stout that seems dumb but is actually noble and loyal and.... yes, really).
I don't think anyone will manage to top DA:O as the most predictable, clichèd and, once again, aggressively mediocre RPG in the next few years. It's like Bioware was trying on purpose not to put anything original in it, to follow every storytelling clichè and to re-create every situation people has seen 2000 times before.
Coming from THAT, we got a game that did away with the concept of the fellowship travelling through the world, the empowerment of the lead as the Chosen One mechanic, that introduced companions that aren't immediately relatable walking clichès, that restrained from fanservicing the players by inflating their egos at every dialogue while knowing the fanbase is actively looking for that, tried to build up on the combat system moving away from the 3rd edition DnD alpha strike mentality of their previous iteration, actually pulling off a "shades of grey" morality system instead of DA:O's "white is cool and black is too" one... it's quite a long list, and while the list of flaws and mistake is nearly as long, once again I'll take the flawed gem and not the polished lump of coal.

You say interesting things, but in the end, you don't get it. Dragon Age: Origins was great because it breathed new life into and executed flawlessly those beloved tropes. That it is a good thing. You are correct that Dragon Age 2 was right NOT to take that path again, as that would be lame. You can't do a "fresh spin" on that set of things twice, really, and have it be as good the 2nd time (exception: Lord of the Rings films, or something like that where there's a clear planned-in-advance trilogy, which was not the case for DA:O).

But with DA2's high and innovative concept, the problem is the execution. For this kind of new concept, the execution is EVERYTHING. Because it is about immersion, bugs are gamebreaking. And DA2 has some of the worst bugs of any game of this type; and WORSE, these bugs haven't been addressed THREE WEEKS after release.

[axl99]

Ok. So it's just bugs we're complaining about?

I honestly don't care about the recycled levels. Assassin's Creed reuses them SHAMELESSLY, but the difference between them and DA2 is the fact Ubi has insane level designers on their side who do their damnest to hide the reuse from players except for the ones who actively look for things to pick apart. Like me.

If the rumours about the rushed pipeline are true, I'd be shocked and amazed at how much content they're able to put out. 20 hours of gameplay in a 8 month production timeframe? Unbelievable.

DA2 has a lot of potential on many fronts, and of course there were many missed opportunities, but if that means the devs end up learning something new and constructive from the experience, then the 60 bucks I put into a signature edition will be worth something.

We can keep whining and complaining all we want with all our armchair theories about game design, production art and writing. But we're not helping the devs if our responses aren't constructive and specific enough to address our issues with the game.

[addu2urmanapool]

My specific and constructive response is for them to fix major bugs for all systems as soon as possible. They seem not to have gotten the message yet.

[neppakyo]

Zalekanzer wrote...

neppakyo wrote...

You mean there were more than 20 people in the entire city of kirkwall? You mean i didn't pass through the city of static NPC's, maybe the odd group of 2 or 4, in sparse locations?

I really want your copy of DA2, sounds better than mine.

You mean just like there were more than 20 people in Denerim? You should probably take off those rose colored glasses and take a second look at what you're comparing. 

I did not say Dragon Age 2 was a flawless masterpiece, I said it improved upon the original in nearly every way.

Dude. The entire game is IN Kirkwall. DA:O Was not limited to the city of Denerim, which by the way, had more NPC's than kirkwall.

Combat wasn't an improvement. They should of tweaked the DA:O combat, not make it a console bash fest at super sonic speeds. The camera is even worse. (on PC at least) It gets stuck on walls, can't move it around once that happens to see the rest of the battle, drop an AoE and hope no party members die (FF turned on. Lame on their part to not even have an option to turn it on, or even put it on in normal mode)

I agree somethings were improved, but most of it was a 180 for the worse. The horrid execution of the frame story narrative, worse sidequests than DA:O, and one of the worst executed endings I have ever seen. 

Again, for being stuck in a city for roughly 30 hours of gameplay, its quite dead and soulless. Nothing changes, and its supposed to happen over a 'decade'.

[Orion34]

We all make mistakes. I just hope the people who called the shots for this project learn from them,that's all.

[Omika_Pearl]

Saboera wrote...


If you are actually trying to argue, you are failling to do so. The ''if you ain't happy, do better'' argument is as pathetic as it can get. In case you missed it, it's divided pretty evenly between those who praise it and those who hate it (even bioware said it), it makes the ''minority of old schoolers'' not much of a minority after all. As for complaining not doing anything, you couldn't be farther from the truth. The very concept of complaints is to let them know what we wanted and expected so they can adjust for the future, which every worthy game developpers take in consideration at the very least.

Missed what?  What did I miss?  What evidence of your disgruntled nerd majority is there, beyond internet slamming and screaming?

If there's a mass demonstration of 200,000 gamer activists at ComiCon this year to protest Mike Laidlaw's existence as a human being, I'll start to take you jackasses seriously.

Hell, if even TWO of you showed up to attempt a real, human conversation with either him or other Bioware employees about this very thread, I'd be flabbergasted.

As it stands, you're all hot air and fluff.  Venting into an indifferent digital space.

And to answer an earlier assumption, I am not an EA/BW employee, but I've been around.  I know what kind of heartache and hard work goes into making most games, films, books, and other things that enable otherwise paralyzed, ambition-less people to pretend, vicariously, that they are for just a few moments, someone or something beyond themselves.

Modifié par Omika_Pearl, 28 mars 2011 - 05:46 .

[Aireoth]

Omika_Pearl wrote...

Saboera wrote...


If you are actually trying to argue, you are failling to do so. The ''if you ain't happy, do better'' argument is as pathetic as it can get. In case you missed it, it's divided pretty evenly between those who praise it and those who hate it (even bioware said it), it makes the ''minority of old schoolers'' not much of a minority after all. As for complaining not doing anything, you couldn't be farther from the truth. The very concept of complaints is to let them know what we wanted and expected so they can adjust for the future, which every worthy game developpers take in consideration at the very least.

Missed what?  What did I miss?  What evidence of your disgruntled nerd majority is there, beyond internet slamming and screaming?

If there's a mass demonstration of 200,000 gamer activists at ComiCon this year to protest Mike Laidlaw's existence as a human being, I'll start to take you jackasses seriously.

Hell, if even TWO of you showed up to attempt a real, human conversation with either him or other Bioware employees about this very thread, I'd be flabbergasted.

As it stands, you're all hot air and fluff.  Venting into an indifferent digital space.

And to answer an earlier assumption, I am not an EA/BW employee, but I've been around.  I know what kind of heartache and hard work goes into making most games, films, books, and other things that enable otherwise paralyzed, ambition-less people to pretend, vicariously, that they are for just a few moments, someone or something beyond themselves.

And your just a bad as every one else, digital hot air .

People have a right to complain, support or be indifferent, its called freedom of speach. Everyone hopes they are listened too, at the end of the day. In reality all these posts, reviews, comments, come down to numbers, pumped into a business model to try and predict/analyse successful and unsucessful traits of the game. If you want to pay for me to fly to ComiCon to talk to Bioware directly, by all means. In the mean time most of us will have to use the internet to communicate (the wonderful tool that it is). 

[Omika_Pearl]

Aireoth wrote...

Omika_Pearl wrote...

Saboera wrote...


If you are actually trying to argue, you are failling to do so. The ''if you ain't happy, do better'' argument is as pathetic as it can get. In case you missed it, it's divided pretty evenly between those who praise it and those who hate it (even bioware said it), it makes the ''minority of old schoolers'' not much of a minority after all. As for complaining not doing anything, you couldn't be farther from the truth. The very concept of complaints is to let them know what we wanted and expected so they can adjust for the future, which every worthy game developpers take in consideration at the very least.

Missed what?  What did I miss?  What evidence of your disgruntled nerd majority is there, beyond internet slamming and screaming?

If there's a mass demonstration of 200,000 gamer activists at ComiCon this year to protest Mike Laidlaw's existence as a human being, I'll start to take you jackasses seriously.

Hell, if even TWO of you showed up to attempt a real, human conversation with either him or other Bioware employees about this very thread, I'd be flabbergasted.

As it stands, you're all hot air and fluff.  Venting into an indifferent digital space.

And to answer an earlier assumption, I am not an EA/BW employee, but I've been around.  I know what kind of heartache and hard work goes into making most games, films, books, and other things that enable otherwise paralyzed, ambition-less people to pretend, vicariously, that they are for just a few moments, someone or something beyond themselves.

And your just a bad as every one else, digital hot air .

People have a right to complain, support or be indifferent, its called freedom of speach. Everyone hopes they are listened too, at the end of the day. In reality all these posts, reviews, comments, come down to numbers, pumped into a business model to try and predict/analyse successful and unsucessful traits of the game. If you want to pay for me to fly to ComiCon to talk to Bioware directly, by all means. In the mean time most of us will have to use the internet to communicate (the wonderful tool that it is). 

I'm not as bad as everyone else, becuase I'm not claiming that YOU MUST LISTEN TO ME, FOR I AM LEGION, BEHOLD: THE MANY NUMBERS ON YOUR INTERNETS INDICATE THE IMMENSE THREAT TO YOUR LIVELIHOOD THAT IS WE.  TREMBLE, FOOLS, TREMBLE FOR WE ARE MIGHTY, AND WE ARE MANY.

I'm just expressing my feelings.  I don't claim anyone else's.