Kothoses Rothenkisal wrote...
Mike_Neel wrote...
This thread seems to be more like the constructive criticism thread at this point. We seem to now be weighing in more on the changes we do or don't like seen taken in the DA franchise now.
This is why we have had something of a downtrend in the amount of BW posts in here. Intitially it was a discussion about how the community get involved in influencing change and progress, but since there were dev posts a lot of people have just thought "ohh look devs, lets post in here" . It did however serve the purpose of proving that if you present your self in a rational way, give good commentary and feedback you can get the interaction you desire so on that score the thread probably ran its course already.
Now whats left is to discuss what was already said really, so in that sense it becomes a "what I like and what I dont like" thread, rather than a discussion of how to further enable two way dialogues.
In some ways thats good in others bad, but my own attempts to get things back towards the initial topic seem to get lost in the sea of "I want this in DA 3" so we go with the flow.
You know Kothoses, this makes me ponder...
I have thoroughly enjoyed following this thread and even made a few posts
, the community interaction has been fantastic and the dev participation has been truly amazing (FYI, as much as the devs ADORE tears, kisses seem to work as well - Mike gets a plate of fresh out of the oven, ooey gooey brownies for being the first dev evah to directly reply - yes, I'm still a bit starstruck... either that or you can always follow TEWR's suggestion about images of drunk, naked Oghren, which somehow seem to make Monsieur Epler come out of the woodwork
).
Seriously though, this has been such a tremendously enlightening experience, being on here, following the discussions between the community and the devs. The level of discussion has been positively marvellous and it all felt so natural, on that human level. I truly wish that we could enjoy more of such interactions. Perhaps what made it so was the atmosphere created in this thread, without any expectations, without restrictions (in a sence that this thread has evolved so much, we covered so many different topics, it's quite astouding really), this carefree, welcoming atmosphere where everyone (community and dev alike) felt safe to come and interact with each other. Perhpas my impressions are a bit off but I got the sense that the atmosphere that was created here (which began by rational and articulate community members coming here and voicing their opinion and providing ideas) made everyone feel safe and welcomed, perhaps some of the super tight control that the devs have learned to adopt over time while skimming these forums was relaxed a bit, perhaps this understanding came to be that while yes, the devs are around and interacting, please by no means take anything and everything what is said in this casual environment as set in stone. Things change, plans don't pan out for whatever reason, decisions are made down the line that go against what we had planned before... we merely have to keep that in mind. Of course, there still remains some measure of control and I certainly don't expect the devs to tell us everything they are working on, reveal all their secrets, but I got the feeling that the death grip of a control that the devs have learned to adopt was relaxed somewhat and thus we ended up with the splendid experience of community and dev interaction... in a relaxed, informal environment.
And I have thoroughly enjoyed experiencing that human connection of community and dev involvement and can only hope to experience it again in the future.
Of course, I could be totally off in my interpretation, but there you have it.
But anyways, my point. Yes, I have been thinking that there is only so much feedback the devs can take into consideration, right? Especially with a product like DA2, after a while it must get terribly draining to be hearing the same "flaws" or dislikes being pointed out time and again... or hearing the same old discussions on the subject that people can't agree on. It's all subjective anyways and we really can't expect for the devs to come on these forums and state the same answers or comments to the same old debates over and over again. So I wonder, at what point do these debates become redundant and the devs - and some of the community even - don't bother participating, for what can we say that hasn't been said already? But at the same time, discussions can certainly be productive and yield debates among the dev team themselves, as evidence by this thread. In our many discussions, HFIC brought up a very interesting counter-argument to the old discussion of Kirkwall being lifeless, etc. Which in turn spurred a discussion among the dev team. So my question is, at what point in the various debates do we say, "Ok, we have covered these topics so many times, debated the different points of view to death, everyone must be intimately aware about the subject matter and there couldn't possibly be any new ideas or points of view on this subject to be taken into consideration, so let's just not bother with rehashing the same old for the gazillionth time, eh?"
Furthermore, I am still curious about the issue of subjectivity and how, if at all, does that factor into the decision making process for the next product.
Apologies if this rantish post doesn't make much sense, it is rather late and I am tired. I just wanted to thank Kothoses for creating this thread and giving us this opportunity, this platform for mature and rational discussion, I'd like to thank all of you for creating the welcoming atmosphere found in this thread and I'd like to thank the devs for coming in here, sticking their necks out (perhaps even getting in trouble with PR
) and interacting with us on that (what I perceive to be) human and free level. It has been a truly amazing experience. Let's all work towards making more of these possible.
PS. LPPrince, I really like your "The Warden Rises" story. Please, would you continue? Am curious as to what happens next.
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