I think there’s a lot of times where you were given choices and it didn’t seem like there was a big consequence to it and we’ll absolutely be working on that in the future, for sure.
My primary disappointment of DA2 was from what I felt was a lack of player agency. I think that more significant visual and narrative consequences to certain choices would go a long way towards feeling like Hawke is actually making a difference. It's not quite the same thing as being proactive, but I think it would impact the feeling of player agency, so I am pleased if this is something that is receiving focus.
With Dragon Age 2 Legacy, we spent a lot more time making sure that the content was as good as we could get it. There’s a lot more content in there, but there’s also – I think the quality was quite good as well. It’s comparable to at least the main game or better, and that certainly takes time to do, and we want to continue to deliver high quality DLC.
I'll also be pleased if this shift towards quality over quantity is achieved. Legacy is easily the best quality post-release DLC of the Dragon Age IP, imo.
So, for Dragon Age 2 we wanted to create a story that was a lot more intimate. And in order to do that we had to revolve it around making you feel much more attached to an individual. And, this plays into the fact that the character now speaks. We also brought in family as a component of what’s happening to the world of Hawke and the issues that he or she is trying to deal with in Kirkwall. So it’s very important to try and build that up.
I wanted to mention that of all the characters in DA2, Carver, Gamlen and Charade were among my favorites, and some of my favorite moments are those between Hawke and his family members. This is actually a large part of why I liked the Legacy DLC so much. I do enjoy the familial conflicts in DA2 quite a lot, much more than I enjoyed most of the LIs. However, I do prefer for these conflicts to be integrated into the Main Conflict of the game, rather than to play out like side quests.
So, for some people that means the story doesn’t feel as epic – it’s not as world-changing as what we did with Origins. But, fromm our perspective, I thought it was actually a much stronger story from that side.
For me, the story didn't feel as epic because the acts felt like they didn't lead into each other very well, or rather that the primary conflict in each act was completely separate from the primary conflict of the next act, leading to a weakness in the main conflicts overall. I think the mage-templar conflict did not feel as epic, to me, not because the story was too "intimate", but because of the disconnected conflicts, the lack of player agency, and the lack of impactful consequences.
To me, I think DAO felt epic, not necessarily because of the environmental scale of the conflict, but because of the narrative focus on the main conflict.
The decision of whether to have a set character in the style of DAII, or multiple origins a la Dragon Age: Origins will be based on fan feedback.
As much as I am a supporter of the silent protagoist, such as in DAO, I think I could come to enjoy the voiced protagonist, such as in DA2, if the agency or consequences aspects were stronger.
The team will try to resolve the situation regarding the "Old God Baby", and will try and show fans what happened regarding the child.
Whatever form of media this story were resolved via would be a pretty much automatic buy for me.
Melo has some regrets regarding DAII, where he feels things
could have been executed better. He mentions that Bioware wants to make
sure combat feels natural, and no environments are reused.
I personally liked the combat in DA2. The reused environments did get on my nerves, and I was happy to see new areas in Legacy.
He also
mentions that he agrees with people who reacted negatively to the impact
of choice (or lack, thereof), saying that the quest All That Remains comes to mind. He says that choices and their consequences will be a major focal point of future content.
This is easily the best news I've read, that impact of choice will be a major focal point, going forward. I'm excited.
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