It's amazing that Bioware reads and wants feedback like this. It's also amazing that they are so open with their design process.

I could list all the things I love about Bioware games, but that isn't really the point of this thread. Improvements for DA3:
- The ability to play races other than human. This is a big one for me. However, most elf & dwarf faces available in origins were just plain dopey looking

I'd love to play a cool looking elf.
- Preset Heads. The main character is like the star of your own film trilogy. They need to LOOK like a star. That doesn't mean handsome/beautiful necessarily, but the character
must be visually striking. There should not be a single preset head available that you would not cast as the star of a $100 million film. Most preset heads on DA & Mass Effect seemed like lazy afterthoughts. If you do it, then do it well. It should be a hard choice because they all look
so cool.
- Play against type. So far, every dwarf story in DA is about family. Dwarves are all about family & family conflicts, but the main characters (main NPC's) should play against type. Make their story about something else. Every elf character has a story about either slavery or the dalish dilemma. We need elf characters with more to them than that.
- Don't recycle levels.
- NPC activity. Skyrim did this brilliantly. NPC's don't stand around waiting to be interacted with. Part of what made that game so immersive is that characters clearly had a life outside the needs of the player. I don't think DA NPC's need to go to bed and all that like Skyrim, but at least make them walk around and appear busy beyond idle animations. Put some life on it!

- Begin with the end in mind... End with the beginning in mind... I feel like Bioware has missed the mark here on their last several games in general. The beginning of the games often has a whole lot to do with having a cool/interesting/accessible entry point and has almost nothing to do with the ending of the game. That in turn makes the endings feel week, abrupt, or just plain bad. Many "bad" endings would actually be brilliant endings if they were working together with the beginning of the story.
During testing, just play the game's opening and then immediately go play the game's ending. They need to fit together perfectly.
- Meaningful choices
- Some choices should be more obvious with NPC's. I remember finding out online after playing Origins that there was a lot of different directions I could push some NPC's that I had no idea about from just playing the game. The dialogue and my selection of choices never gave me the impression I could do those things. I agree that some choices should be vague or surprises, but I shouldn't need to browse the net just to figure out what I should be saying to the NPC if I want to change their mind. After hours of dialogue, the game should make it obvious that
this particular dialogue choice is significant in some way. I would guess that many players are like me and had no idea that they even made such choices (which then makes it feel like no choice at all).
- Character Design/Appearance Consistency - Many of Bioware's characters look one way in the cinematics, another way on the packaging, another way in the concept art, and yet another look in the game itself. Sometimes these looks are drastically different.
- Challenge Yourself With Companions - Go beyond your comfort zone. A character like Flemeth would make an amazing companion to have for a level or two (something situational). Obviously she's too powerful to just have sitting around in camp. Try to think of ways to include companions that you would normally never even consider an option. Shake things up a bit.
- NPC's that shine: Typically in DA there are about 2 to 4 villains per game with really strong character design (the kind of design that becomes iconic, such as Flemeth & the Arishok in DA2). Sometimes a cool looking character doesn't require unique assets that put a burden on design. Set higher standards for yourself to create more iconic looking characters that just use good composition/design but don't require more moddeling work. If a villain requires more than 1 hour of play to reach or to kill or to fetch their slippers or whatever, at that point they are a star in their own movie. The visual strength of their design needs to reflect that status.
- Not every single choice should be a moral dilemma. The dilemmas make for good storytelling and interesting choices, but when there is never a break from this... when every single choice seems wrought with a moral conundrum... it just starts to feel forced. Think of it like a joke in the middle of tense movie. You have to let the audience breath sometimes.
Love me some Bioware. Keep up the good work!
Modifié par Traycor, 17 avril 2012 - 04:21 .