I have had several weeks now since finishing my first playthrough to let things sink in. At first, I was downright appalled at what I was experiencing. After letting everything settle in, I realize that a certain part of it was the shock factor, if you can call it that. Looking back now, with a calmer outlook and cooler head, I can see that it wasn't a miserable peice of trash. It was a "good" game. However, all said, I feel DA2 fell far short of the epic precedent set by origins. Even if you strip away all the trappings of interface, mechanics, questionable (by some) artistic changes, etc - the core of the came just did not have that same "epic" feel that origins did.
Stanley, In one of your posts, you made comment that, perhaps we should have not purchased, because, well, it wasn't for us. I would counter that with the fact that, first of all, this modern industry pushes pre-ordering on us - if we don't pre-order, we end up getting things removed from the game. You can call them bonus's, but I won't, so that is something we will have to disagree on - but I thing we can agree that, from a marketing perspective, a lot of pressure is being presented to preorder.
As a further example to counter that point - If I am reading a series of books (take "game of thrones series" for example) I would not simply skip book 2 if it received bad reviews (assuming i didnt pre-order). So the notion that maybe hardcore fans of DA:O who didnt want change shouldnt have purchased DAII is a bit of a silly one. Maybe if all we cared about was the gameplay that might make sense, but, as clearly indicated by the ending of the game (or lack thereof), the stories are certainly connected. If we didn't buy II, but then bought III because it had better reviews, we would be left with a gaping hole in the narrative.
Further, the changes shown and revealed before the game was actually released might have been acceptable to some (compared to origins) however, when the game was actually experienced, things were even more drastically changed.
I know that as a developer/president/whatever, a Bioware rep cannot be expected to bash their own product. Hell, I don't think it needs bashing at all. I think the crux of the issue, the discontent that I am feeling lies with the framing of responses and comments that are being made in interviews. While we seem to have a certain understanding here on these forums, now months after release, it seems like the comments being made in interviews lack a certain... tact... a certain modicum of respect for fans.
I am not seething with dissappointment as I was at first. I have calmed, and have been able to realize, retrospectively, that there *were* some cool changes with DAII. But I cant help but get the feeling that, the answers being given keep putting the .. blame? i dont think its the right word... I can't help but feeling like we are being told that it's our fault that we were unhappy with DAII. Yes, some mistakes/missteps have been admitted... but it still feels like every time it comes up in an interview, the boilerplate response is that DA:O fans didn't like the INNOVATION in DAII.
And it is that, and only that insinuation that keeps aggravating the heck out of me. We could debate all year long wether innovation is the right word to even use, but that would be pointless. There WAS some geniune changes in DAII - some geniune changes for the better even. But to make the suggestion that, well, the CORE fans of DA:O are, essentially, being "stubborn" to the changes, or don't like them is quite simply a bit asinine.
I knew going into DAII there would be alot of changes. I had armored myself against what some might refer to as "consolization" - I knew there might be less depth to character creation. What I didn't expect was a product that felt unfinished. Retrospectively, DAII really makes me feel like there was a grand vision at play, but that the budget and development time was cut in half a quarter of the way through. Obviously, we consumers do not have information about the truth of it all, but from all outword appearances, that is what it feels like.
I have nothing but the utmost respect for those who worked on the game, and even more so for those who are willing to brave these forums and deal with the seething masses. But I am quickly and ever more rapidly losing more and more respect for those who are acting as the public mouthpieces in published interviews.
Time and again I feel like responses put the weight of complaints with the complainer - which I find odd, generally. Video games seem to be one of the only industries that work in this fashion. If I pay 60 dollars for a jacket, and the next day I wear it, one of the seems pops open for no apparent reason, I can return that jacket to the store and purchas elsewhere. Maybe if we could return our copy of DAII, then things might be different. However when one pays 60 dollars for a game, they tend to expect a certain level of service. That is why gamers tend to be so loyal to developers - because they come to expect that level of quality and service.
I am not sure what I want from bioware in regards to DAII. I can't say for sure what would make me a happy consumer at this point. I would hope, in my heart of hearts, that Bioware would end up doing the "Right Thing ™" and fixing what is generally agreed upon as "missteps" by both parties in a patch. But from the sounds of things, both here on the forums, and in the interviews, any fixes that are other than "technical" or "balance" in nature (eg game crashes, combat balance) are going to be provided via DLC. I would love to be wrong on this, but everything I know about BioWare as it is now under its parent co, tells me that anything called "DLC" will cost me money.
And quite frankly, I am unwilling to pay for what I feel should be fixed in the core game. There is another RPG developer who currently does just what I describe - fixes things for free - and I personally feel that is a model that should be subscribed to by all development houses. I know it is a different world than it was 15 years ago - the financials are completely different. But I still think that in the end, a happy customer is a repeat customer. You don't build success by making your customers unhappy (regardless of the cause).
I only hope that, going forward, my concerns and fears end up being unfounded. I hope that, like Stanley Woo, and John Epler, who are truly two of the most patient people I think I have encountered on these forums, the rest of Bioware hold their fans in high regard, and truly, truly takes them seriously. And I hope that Bioware is able to dedicate the resources to the dragon age franchise going forward that it truly deserves.
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