Elhanan wrote...
It shows me that there are some out there that actually watched Super Mario Bros, Avatar, and Final Fantasy. But I once made the mistake of going to see Howard the Duck, so....
*goes back to reading how one makes whine from sour grapes*
Redcoat wrote...
I was thinking of something. I can't play DA2 again, but maybe I'm just looking at it the wrong way...
I'm sure many of you have seen the Super Mario Bros. film, then wondered "What the hell is this? How do you go from a cartoonish 2D platformer to a film like this?" That was my reaction, until someone opened my eyes and told me, "Don't look at it as a video game movie; look at it as a parody of terrible movie adaptations of video games." When I watched the film again, it went from something utterly stupid to bloody brilliant!
I wonder if DA2 could be approached the same way. The game could so easily be made into a Horatian satire of RPGs, both from BioWare and others. It hits all the right notes for a parody; you've got the clueless, incompetent hero, the comical exaggeration of just about everything, and the art style that seems to borrow from everything from Avatar to Final Fantasy.
The game opens with mockery, presenting Hawke as this bad-ass anti hero, only to give him a stiff British accent! Ho ho! And where does Hawke find himself? In a sea of ugly brown landscapes, a biting satire of the "Real is Brown" trend of modern games. Then there's the combat, where enemies gush fountains of blood from the smallest nick and then explode into a blossoms of gore if someone so much as looks at them the wrong way. Take a commonly used aspect of something (e.g, gore) and exaggerate it to comedic effect - that's a major element of parody right there! And the combat animations, with people swinging two-handed swords like wiffle bats and performing cartwheels, spins, flips, and kicks will surely call to mind a hyper-violent version of the classic Looney Tunes short, Robin Hood Daffy.
You know how BioWare games always present at least two love interests, one of whom is sweet and innocent, and the other who is sultry, dangerous, and wild? Well, DA2 plays this to hilarious extremes by giving us Merrill, sweet and innocent to the point of comedic stupdity, and Isabela, whose whorishness is so ludicriously exaggerated that no one could possibly take her seriously. And Aveline in the middle, as a perfect Straight Man...err...woman. And the other characters are obvious send-ups of cliches, too! Fenris is a clear parody of the typical brooding, bishonen JRPG protagonist (complete with massive, two-handed sword), and Anders is a satire of the Byronic Hero of the Romantic period, with melodrama and angstiness taken up to eleven. And if the player doesn't want any of these obviously deranged individuals for a love interest, they gave you one sane individual - Bethany - but then BioWare pulls a fast one on the player and makes her YOUR SISTER. A clear parody of the situation with Imoen in Baldur's Gate 2 and all the people who were crushed when they learned she was the protagonist's sister and thus unavailable as a love interest! BRILLIANT!
The game sends up other RPG tropes, like how many RPGs send you on pointless fetch quests, by giving you those quests in abundance! It also takes to task the notion that "RPGs equal combat" by forcing the player into combat so often that it reaches the level of absurd. Just when you think the fighting is over...BAM! Another wave teleports in! And you wouldn't think a quest to help your friend hook up with a man she's too socially-inept to approach would involve fighting, but DA2 once again subverts the audience's expectations and turns it into a hack-and-slash affair! Ho ho! And you know how BioWare RPGs have touted "Big Choices" that supposedly affect the entire world? Well, DA2 turns that completely on its head by making your choices utterly meaningless! DA2 surprises and delights at every turn by brilliantly subverting every expectation the player has! Just look at the elves, for example. What do people think of when they think of elves? Someone lithe, slender, and attractive? DA2 turns that right around and gives us elves that are so slender they'd make an anorexic cringe, and utterly inverts the idea of them being "attractive" by making them hideous, fish-eyed, donkey-folk! But this is actually a one-two punch; see, not only are the elves ugly, they strongly resemble the Na'vi from Avatar. Since the Na'vi were portrayed as an insufferably superior species, and the classic fantasy elf is also portrayed as the superior species, DA2 manages to parody the entire notion of "fantasy elves" with one single redesign. BRILLIANT!
But DA2 doesn't limit its satirical bite to just games, oh no, it gets into full-on Juvenalian satire of politics as well! Knight-Commander Meredith is an obvious parody of British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, and the final confrontation with her is clearly meant to evoke the well-known incident where Thatcher obtained Soul Edge, then walked into the British parliament and used it to slaughter members of the opposition parties. Likewise, First Enchanter Orsino is a clear reference to Osama bin Laden, who was reported to have transformed himself into a Lovecraftian abomination before being killed by US special forces. The conflict between the mages and the templars can be thought of as a satire of the polarised American political scene, with several obvious references to that incident where several Republican congressmen summoned demons during a particularly heated debate session.
And the game doesn't stop with the biting satire until the end, oh no! Players of RPGs might expect a long, drawn-out ending, but DA2, like with so many other RPG tropes, utterly inverts it and gives you an ending so brief and pointless that comparisons to the ending of Monty Python and the Holy Grail are sure to be made.
So there you have it. Dragon Age 2, one of the greatest parodies of the RPG genre ever made.
suprhomre wrote...
I feel the same like U OP. In my opinion I like DA2 better then origin. But, because of all the hate around these forum. Playing DA2 is like having an affair. You like it but you don't really want people to know about it.
Zanallen wrote...
Hey! I liked Howard the Duck! You guys have no taste! No wonder you don't like DA2!
MerinTB wrote...
Wow.
We should do a poll to see if people who liked DA2 liked Howard the Duck. Assuming you mean the Lucas film and not the character.
Just. Wow.
Well, I can't say I'm the slightest bit surprised.Sylvius the Mad wrote...
That behaviour is completely alien to me.PuppyFlavour wrote...
I can attest to that. In the pant-wetting minutes before an exam I always make more friends out of the complete strangers who are there to take the exam with me than in any other situation even though the conversations invariably consists only of "ARE YOU NERVOUS I'M NERVOUS boy I should really have started studying sooner than just a WEEK AGO ahaha *sob*".In Exile wrote...
It's a psychological/biological mechanism. People (typically) will form an emotional connection more often when they are vulnerable in some way. Lots of theoretical reasons you can throw around for it, but for many people this is true. It is a kind of hard-wired quid pro quo. With emotional trauma.
True, that. No matter how much BioWare insists it isn't so.Sylvius the Mad wrote...
The
trouble is, the sarcastic response in DA2 is generally the only option
between unequivocal support and unequivocal opposition, and it's not a
viable option for characters who wouldn't use sarcasm.
DA2's dialogue system is restrictive to an absurd degree.
jbrand2002uk wrote...
Totally and utterly agree Origins felt so slow and dull 1st time round that it was criminal now after playing DA2 it feels even worse thank god for DA2 because if DAO was all there was then i'd rather stab myself it would be more entertaining
simfamSP wrote...
Aradace wrote...
Sylvius the Mad wrote...
That you use it in a different way doesn't change what it is. Mockery.In Exile wrote...
Sylvius the Mad wrote...
Other than open derision, I don't see any use for sarcasm at all.
I don't see != there isn't.
I'm simply surprised that mockery is so popular.
Not attempting to be disrespectful in the least Sylvius, because I respect alot of what you post. But are you capable of humor? Seeing your view on this, and then thinking about alot of your other posts Ive seen, I have yet to see you use humor of any kind whatsoever. Just seems to me that you're very...well..."serious" all the time. With that being the case, I can understand why you wouldnt have use for something like sarcasm. But to those of us who arent serious and logical all the time, we enjoy sarcasm and/or humor. And because of that, it's safe to assume, using your metaphor, that there exists a Hawke in his/her universe that is the same way, snarky and/or sarcastic whenever the opportunity arises. It might or might not be meant as scornful. Or, it could be deeper (depending on how you rp it.) in that he/she is sarcastic because it is a defense mechanism that allows them to cope with stress.
It is not safe to say, however, that every single Hawke, in every single variation of Thedas, is a "logical, serious, and helpful being" all the time or even part of the time. Its another one of those, "the only limits to hawke's personality is the bounds of your imagination as the player". It may be hard to fathom that not everyone is a serious and logical person all the time but that's what makes us diverse.
Again, not attempting to be disrespectful to you but that's just what Ive seen. You seem like you could benefit from some humor in your life Sylvius. In the words of the Joker: "Why so serious?"OMG this made my day
But yeah... Sylvius is a freaking awesome guy. But he always seems robotic, worries me manSMILE FOR GODS SAKE!
Modifié par Aradace, 03 septembre 2011 - 11:18 .
Reno_Tarshil wrote...
Alright you people and your silly shenanigans listen up!
I have come to the realization, that I can indeed afterall still play DA:O.
Is it as fun and exhilarating to the point of playing nonstop? No, not anymore BUT that doesn't mean i'm saying it's not fun, it just doesn't grab me like it used too.
That's my final verdict on the matter. You may now return to your throat slicing and slander.
jbrand2002uk wrote...
yep each to their own indeed my DAO disc was gathering dust lol but i have now found a better use for it------ I laminated the disc and use it as a coaster/beermat for a nice cold 1 while playing DA2
Reno_Tarshil wrote...
Alright you people and your silly shenanigans listen up!
I have come to the realization, that I can indeed afterall still play DA:O.
Is it as fun and exhilarating to the point of playing nonstop? No, not anymore BUT that doesn't mean i'm saying it's not fun, it just doesn't grab me like it used too.
That's my final verdict on the matter. You may now return to your throat slicing and slander.
erynnar wrote...
Reno_Tarshil wrote...
Alright you people and your silly shenanigans listen up!
I have come to the realization, that I can indeed afterall still play DA:O.
Is it as fun and exhilarating to the point of playing nonstop? No, not anymore BUT that doesn't mean i'm saying it's not fun, it just doesn't grab me like it used too.
That's my final verdict on the matter. You may now return to your throat slicing and slander.
ROFL! *HUGGLES* No slander here sweetie. I enjoy your posts. Silly Reno. But playing DA2 non-stop still I hope? Because I know you really enjoy it.
i'd love to join you with 1 but since alcahol was responsible for my more vocal postings over the last day or 2 i think i'll have another................very strong black coffee after looking at my previous and going OMG did i really say thaterynnar wrote...
@Andrace, yeah, I worry about Sylvius too. I hope he does smile and laugh in real life.
@jbrand2002uk yum, alcohol....*goes to get a glass of wine*
Reno_Tarshil wrote...
erynnar wrote...
Reno_Tarshil wrote...
Alright you people and your silly shenanigans listen up!
I have come to the realization, that I can indeed afterall still play DA:O.
Is it as fun and exhilarating to the point of playing nonstop? No, not anymore BUT that doesn't mean i'm saying it's not fun, it just doesn't grab me like it used too.
That's my final verdict on the matter. You may now return to your throat slicing and slander.
ROFL! *HUGGLES* No slander here sweetie. I enjoy your posts. Silly Reno. But playing DA2 non-stop still I hope? Because I know you really enjoy it.
Custom Black and Red Champion Armor Act 1 Rogue Hawke with Dual Finesses says so! I only stop to check the forums for more crazies!
jbrand2002uk wrote...
i'd love to join you with 1 but since alcahol was responsible for my more vocal postings over the last day or 2 i think i'll have another................very strong black coffee after looking at my previous and going OMG did i really say thaterynnar wrote...
@Andrace, yeah, I worry about Sylvius too. I hope he does smile and laugh in real life.
@jbrand2002uk yum, alcohol....*goes to get a glass of wine*
P.S do you have a rock big enough for a 6ft 2 man to hide under.
Most welcome!jbrand2002uk wrote...
oooh was that Typhooooo with the xtra ooooooooh thanks *HUGGLES*
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