Hammer6767 wrote...
Interview is here: http://bit.ly/hAPwy4
Q: Looking back at Dragon Age II, there was some fan disappointment with certain aspects of the game. Is there anything behind the scenes that you think contributed to that and are there any big changes in store for the next installment?
Muzyka: It’s been polarizing to see the feedback, frankly. There’s been a lot of people that have been really delighted about what we’ve provided in Dragon Age II. People rating it 90 to 100 and really being happy with all the features and the focus on action intensity and the voiced protagonist and the way the story unfolds with the framed narrative and a lot of the things that are quite innovative and different.
There are other people that were expecting more Dragon Age Origins and more of the spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate. Some of them have expressed disappointment. It’s something we really take seriously. We’re taking that feedback to heart and we’re seeing what we can do to continue to surprise and delight our fans in the future.
We’ve actually attracted a lot of new people to the franchise. Dragon Age II is selling faster than Dragon Age Origins. It’s probably part because it’s drawing a lot of new fans in. And that’s exciting to us. But our core fans are really important to us. I can’t emphasize that enough. They helped get us to where we are today. They’re the core of what we do, and we want to make sure we’re making games that satisfy them.
I am actually kind of tired of the sentiment I italicized, above. I have a lot of respect for the good Doctors but I wish Bioware would not dismiss legitimate concerns with the game as "nostalgia." I have heard others mention this in interviews, as well. I liked DA2 but felt it could have really used a lot more work in some areas and none of them are related to me pining for DAO. Some examples are:
* Recycled environments, which are a result of either too short a design cycle, limited resources or laziness.
* Spawning enemies...should have been implemented better than ninjas dropping from the sky. This has nothing to do with DAO.
* Inventory junk. Just pointless waste of space.
* Kirkwall did not feel alive (should have felt like cities in the Assassin's Creed series). Templars didn't notice mages casting spells in the streets, guards didn't join battles, etc.
* All of the quest bugs. Technical glitches are there for any game, but DA2 had so many quest bugs that it was ridiculous for an AAA game.
I digress here, but most of the criticism I have seen has been constructive and doesn't reference DAO. Sure there are some people who have issues letting go of the past games, but as a whole, DA2 just seems like it could have used much more time in development and QA. Let's hope our issues with the game aren't marginalized like this.
I can deal with recycled environments. I can deal with sky ninjas. Heck! I could care less if they parachuted to you or got dropped off by a taxi cab. I can even deal with the "lack luster" city and poor ingame economy. Even freezing I can cope since it's common in most games but what really grinded my gears was the QA.
How could a game-breaking bug like the Isabela/Sebastian frienship bug get pass QA?
Dd anybody bother playing through the game during development? How do you miss that when just about everyone else experienced it during their first week of play. Come on people! It wasn't resources or laziness. The game feels rushed. I still like the game and enjoy playing it but some things should not be acceptable by the gaming communinity. Poor QA is definately one of them specially when it's for a big sequel game to a previous "big hit".
I knew it wasn't going to be DAO. I looked up info on the game before it came out. I played the demo so I somewhat knew what to expect with the new revamped combat system. I knew I wouldn't be able to be a dwarf. And I was ok with all of that. I like most of the changes and hated a few.
I'm not getting into the whole DAO vs DA2 debate with the superfanboys. That's mostly a matter of subjective and personal opinion. But I will express my dissappointment with the QA side of house. I really expected better. I do hope that unlike Origins, which to this date still has unpatched bugs, BW does a better job patching DA2.
You know it might not even be the QA team or Dev team's fault. I think alot of it has to do with the release schedule being rushed. That's fine if it's only a few benign glitches that filter through but things that seriously impact gameplay should really be considered prior to a games release. If the publisher was to say "hey we are pushing the date back two months" then I would be like ok at least I know I can expect a quality product in the end.
Modifié par Warlock of the Wilds, 13 mai 2011 - 09:56 .
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