cljqnsnyc wrote...
What I don't understand is DAO was a hit! It won several awards and overall praise from the majority of people who bought it and critics alike. Does this sound like a major call for change? I don't buy this whole "change" argument, not for a single second.
Your point is 'never change a winning team' with this but we all know also that stagnation is decay. Clearly Bioware felt that DAO was nice but not what they wanted to make again. I'm sure they were happy with the results and rewards but the redesign was in before DAO even came out.
I dont know what prompted that, but its pretty clear that the senior people were less happy with DAO than the fans were.
This game is controversial for a multitude of reasons. My feeling is this argument for change is a smokescreen, an excuse to transform a classic rpg into something more along the lines of a straight action adventure game to attract the COD crowd, who for the most part would never touch a game like DA2. Most of the people who play that series and others like it don't play it for the campaign. They play for the online multiplayer. A typical fps fan just isn't going to buy an rpg, let alone DA2. The whole point of rpgs for me is that they are not fps or action adventure games. I enjoy a story driven game with realistic characters that you are able to inhabit. If I wanted to play an action adventure game, then that is what I'd play. There are plenty of them out there to choose from. Why would you buy DA2 when you can buy games from any of the following series: "Gears Of War" "Halo" "Call Of Duty" " God Of War" or "Crysis?" If action or fps is what you enjoy, are you really going to add a game like DA2 to this list? Some might. The majority? Absolutely NOT!
Yes, but you assume they're making the game for you, I dont mean that negative, btw, what I mean by that is this: Suppose a million (and this is just a number I grabbed out of thin air) buyers of DAO never got past Ostagar, now, you are still happy but a million players are not. Perhaps the thinking was that they wanted to engage both you and that million in the next game. Clearly, that hasnt worked for you, whether its worked for the million remains to be seen.
Perhaps it was a big miscalculation, perhaps not, perhaps they simply got too ambitious, hell, I could be totally wrong but I'm not convinced they did this just to spite you (by you I mean the DAO fans), that doesnt sound like a smart move.
What's wrong with variety? Choices? Is everything supposed to be variations of the same thing? Take films for instance. Would you transform a classic love story into a summer action film to pull in the popcorn crowd? How about your basic slasher flick. Do you need to add elements of romantic comedy to it to pull in a that demographic? No. People like having choices, variety. If I want to see an action film, that's what I'll go see. Not something that incorporates elements of that genre simply to pull in a wider audience. It loses it's identity.
Hah, come on! Have you seen whats been playing? There's hardly an original movie around anymore and now they're talking a remake of Die Hard!
This is part of the problem with DA2. It has an identity crisis. In trying to serve so many purposes simultaneously, it forgot what makes an rpg an rpg. Role playing, exploration, customization, and having an effect on the world you inhabit. Creating a hybrid is a very tricky prospect. It would only work if the game retains it's identity while incorporating elements of other genres. In this I believe DA2 does not succeed. The fan outcry is the proof of this, not to mention the fact that the COD audience did not rush out to pick up this game. Worse, the fanbase of DAO are largely turning their backs on it as well. The major component of that games' success was word of mouth, something DA2 has working against it.
All of this in the name of change? Was it really worth it? I don't believe for one second the rhetoric that classic rpg fans are afraid of change. That sound like pr spin doctor nonsense! just like the word "streamlining." Call something by it's name. For me, "streamlining" is just a nicer word for "gutting" in much the same way as the government transformed the dire and more serious "global warming" into the more pleasant sounding "climate change." Whatever
But, with all opinions, my take is completely subjective. Still, I own my feelings and opinions. Challenges to persuade me to see things differently are futile. I'm very stubborn. Disagree if you must. This is my take on the whole "change" rhetoric.
Change is painful, mistakes get made. The long and short of it is perhaps that Bioware gambled and did not produce the game they perhaps even wanted to make. That's a strategic decision and I'm sure they'll analyze that before embarking on DA 3.
Lets also not forget that nothing in Bioware's makeup suggests they're not interested in making good games, they clearly are, they've also shown a willingness to take risks and sometimes that blows up in your face. Thats good because you learn from that and lets hope they will and move forward.
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