314 réponses à ce sujet

[Yalision]

I do hope players will be able to choose their respective race this time around, unless Dragon Age moving forward means to focus on human exploits. I know Mike Laidlaw said they would have full transparency through development of this next product. I wonder where we should set our expectations on this?

[saga56]

male/female Qunari - it would be good to play as newer races not just standard ones

[caradoc2000]

To paraphrase Henry Ford - you can play any race you want so long as it is human.

[Great_Horn]

saga56 wrote...

male/female Qunari - it would be good to play as newer races not just standard ones

And why in the name of Thedas should a Qunari solve the Mages vers. Templars conflict? I fear that the plot will dictate the main character not the player.  

Modifié par Great_Horn, 25 mars 2012 - 11:22 .

[AkiKishi]

caradoc2000 wrote...

To paraphrase Henry Ford - you can play any race you want so long as it is human.

[Tirigon]

Not letting you play as elf and dwarf was one of the many reasons DA2 sucked.

I hope they change it back, or I see no way DA3 could be any better.

[syllogi]

From what was said in the thread announcing no more DLC for DA2, the odds of being able to choose our race in the next game doesn't look good.

It's pity; it's something most people want, and while I understand wanting to give the player character a deeper background, I think it can work with choosing your own race. The Bhaalspawn growing up at Candlekeep is a good example of how a character can have a background that is not restricted by race.

[Unknown_Warrior]

I always play Human anyway. I only did the other 4 origins for the achievement.
I have a feeling it'll be hard to disappoint me.

[The Elder King]

I'd like to see the return of race selection in the CC, but I doubt it'll be the case. I preferred the HN Origin, but I liked playing as a dalish or an Aeducan.

Unknown_Warrior wrote...

I always play Human anyway. I only did the other 4 origins for the achievement.
I have a feeling it'll be hard to disappoint me.

What if Bioware suddenly decide to have a dwarf of elf PC?

[Unknown_Warrior]

hhh89 wrote...


I'd like to see the return of race selection in the CC, but I doubt it'll be the case. I preferred the HN Origin, but I liked playing as a dalish or an Aeducan.

Unknown_Warrior wrote...

I always play Human anyway. I only did the other 4 origins for the achievement.
I have a feeling it'll be hard to disappoint me.

What if Bioware suddenly decide to have a dwarf of elf PC?

As ironic as that would be, it won't happen. Human player characters has proven more profitable, games with forced non-human PC have been linked with a decrease in sales.
Of course, many games have multiple races, but they always have a human character, which is almost always the one they show in trailers.

[Xeyska]

I hope race selection will be back, I don't like playing human characters.

[BanksHector]

I want to play as A Qunari!! If not I think I may .

[Worrywort]

Does it really matter? Only a small portion of DA1 was slightly different depending on your race.
Not even different in a good way. The exiled prince come back to Orzammar and people are too preoccupied to care.

[Maria Caliban]

Unknown_Warrior wrote...
Human player characters has proven more profitable, games with forced non-human PC have been linked with a decrease in sales.

It's true. Like that 'Link' series with the elf boy? I think that came out in 1986 and promptly bombed. Pretty sure they never even managed a sequel.

And what about that stupid game staring a hedgehog? I mean, lol, a hedgehog? I bet whomever came up with that is in the poor house now.

[Cyberarmy]

saga56 wrote...

male/female Qunari - it would be good to play as newer races not just standard ones

Yup this, maybe even let us recuit one of the "intelligent" darkspawns as group member.

[Nurot]

I prefer one race, so that they can focus more resources on more important parts (more important to me, that is) of the game and to be able to do less generic story lines. It is difficult to come up with a story that would work equally well for all races, the story of DA2 sure wouldn't have. As much as I loved parts of the DAO story, overall it was too generic. Fight big bad, gather allies. Luckily, the subplots were really good, but I prefer it if both the overall story and the subplots are good and unique.

I wouldn't mind playing as a non-human race though, as long as it was the only one. And it is not like I am going to refuse to play the game if they do have multiple races. Actually, considering how interesting the "world of the dwarfs" is, playing a dwarf character could be fun. I loved the dwarven politics in DAO.

[Wulfram]

Worrywort wrote...

Does it really matter? Only a small portion of DA1 was slightly different depending on your race.
Not even different in a good way. The exiled prince come back to Orzammar and people are too preoccupied to care.

Even in the sections where the game itself changed minimally, the different experiences of the PC gave a different perspective.

[Unknown_Warrior]

Maria Caliban wrote...

Unknown_Warrior wrote...
Human player characters has proven more profitable, games with forced non-human PC have been linked with a decrease in sales.

It's true. Like that 'Link' series with the elf boy? I think that came out in 1986 and promptly bombed. Pretty sure they never even managed a sequel.

And what about that stupid game staring a hedgehog? I mean, lol, a hedgehog? I bet whomever came up with that is in the poor house now.

I just KNEW people were going to bring up Link after this, and thank you for earning me a buck from a bet I made.
The fact is: do they target the same audience?
In simpler games, a furry/non-human mascot works, as they're easily identifyable and ooze family friendliness (not to mention: the Merch). In mature "one wrong move could mean genocide", they don't work.

Name me some really popular games (that means both good sales figures and good reviews) with a forced non-human PC with a Mature or older rating. Don't worry. I'll wait.

Modifié par Unknown_Warrior, 26 mars 2012 - 03:57 .

[Relshar]

Yalision wrote...

I do hope players will be able to choose their respective race this time around, unless Dragon Age moving forward means to focus on human exploits. I know Mike Laidlaw said they would have full transparency through development of this next product. I wonder where we should set our expectations on this?

BioWare has already stated that you will only be picking one race in the next DA game.

[Relshar]

Xeyska wrote...

I hope race selection will be back, I don't like playing human characters.

I always pick a different race in RPG's usualy a dwarf.

[WardenWade]

Yalision wrote...

I do hope players will be able to choose their respective race this time around, unless Dragon Age moving forward means to focus on human exploits. I know Mike Laidlaw said they would have full transparency through development of this next product. I wonder where we should set our expectations on this?

I absolutely agree with this.  IMO we need races back in DA3, for several reasons.  Please forgive the large post...for my part this is an extremely important concern for DA3.

(1) As others on this thread have mentioned, the different perspectives the races would have are essential to understanding the "history/story of Thedas" that Bioware wants to explore.  The many peoples of Dragon Age are Thedas.  I recall feeling so incredibly, depressingly on the outside of things on Sundermount in DA2, for example.  Hawke was there, but it was very clear he/she would never fully be able to participate what the Dalish were going through, Merrill or no Merrill, and many of the elves made it very clear he/she was an outsider (particularly sad if you import a Mahariel). 

Same with the dwarves, as the Deep Roads for Hawke were IMO mainly a source of treasure at the expense of dwarven culture.  We would have had little perspective on the dwarves at all if not for Varric, and that isn't the same thing by any means.  How much more impactful would the Deep Roads and Sundermount portions have been if you could have played as a dwarf or elf?  How much more poignant would the repercussions of Act 2's events in DA3 be (should there be immediate repercussions) if you could play as a kossith?

(2) I'm not so fond of the one race per game idea myself, as I believe it would essentially repeat the same problem (IMO) with "human-only" that we had in DA2.  Locking us into one race is bound to upset some people...so instead return to players the freedom to choose any race.  And as others have pointed out on this thread, I'm just afraid that despite the popularity of characters like Link, Legolas, Gimli and so on, when the time comes where a DA title could dictate a non-human only PC, as Mark Darrah suggested, it will be easy for Bioware to step back and simply say they didn't believe there was a market for such a game, and return to human-only.  Sacrificing race choice for basically, as has been hinted, a greater "dress up" option for the protagonist is not, to me, a fair trade...especially when--as others have pointed out--body models/outfits for the other races will already exist with NPCs and could be used for the non-human PC.

There is a market for multiple races, and it's a disservice to the robust tradition Bioware has of providing such options to abandon it forever.  As I and others have said before, I am human every day.  When I play an RPG I want to be something else.  Not to mention, as others have said previously, racial options should impact the story, but if it is a huge hurdle to storytelling they need not impact it to the point such options are untenable in a single game.  Origins balanced delving into cultural lore and ingrained prejudices with the ability of all races to get things done and earn respect, and it worked well, IMO.  To suggest otherwise seems to me to undermine a non-human Warden's work in changing opinions...and a reappearance of the Warden in DA3, incidentally, given the proper resources to do it (especially in a significant manner), is something else I hope to see

(3)  A fundamental issue I see is that making all races playable (including kossith) in DA3 is not the gamers asking for something new and burdensome in itself; it is returning something we already had in Origins.  I personally enjoyed playing a non-human Warden--I prefer it over human--and it was a bitter disappointment to realize DA2 would be, in terms of player freedom and my personal definition of customization, a huge step back.  The sense that we must beg for races to return when they were freely offered before is a shame, in my opinion. 

I hope Bioware will realize whatever lies in store for Thedas involves all races, and that all should have an equal share of "the driver's seat."  To do otherwise belittles their importance in "the world of man," which is particularly unfortunate for Bioware's original race, the kossith.

(4)   It is doable.   I can only speak for myself and I know others may have strong feelings on this, but I am perfectly willing to accept a single voice for them if it means I can have races back.  City elves, dwarves, some humans and in general qunari all share a similar "accent," for example.  I realize I don't know the ins and outs of organizing something like this, but to me it seems a single voice actor and actress for male and female characters, respectively, could simply adjust tone and pitch as needed to accommodate racial variations.  It wouldn't affect gameplay any more than Hawke's voice did, as you could only play one character/race at a time, same as in DA2.  After all, the VAs for Hawke essentially recorded each conversation three times for the different personalities...why not for the different races?

Failing that, as many have mentioned in regard to a silent protagonist, Bioware could simply give us the option to mute the voice if it must lean more heavily to one race or another.   I personally do not care what my non-human protagonist might sound like fully voiced.  I'm willing to accept whatever option is most likely for the devs, to be able to play this way again.  And I personally think it could be done.  I think a single voice actor could conceivably adjust to convincingly portray multiple races.

(5) Lastly, nothing is certain.  Bioware has not, as far as I'm aware, hinted one way or another who the protagonist of DA3 will be.  It isn't like DA2 where we knew more or less immediately we would be Hawke, the refugee from Lothering.  As such, it seems valid in my mind at this fluid, embryonic and even pivotal development stage to ask for this.  If the PC isn't defined, why not make it available for any race after all? 

If we play a Seeker, for example, as many suspect, the events of Asunder have sparked hope in some that mages as well as other races might be allowed to join under the more lenient reign of Justinia V.  I know the devs are listening, and that listening and being able to act on feedback aren't the same things, but I respectfully ask that we don't get locked in again.  Bioware, please don't take the "easy" or mainstream route.  Exceed expectations!  You will be rewarded by a fanbase out there for greater freedom. 

Thanks for reading through all that.  It's my own opinion, of course, but seems clearly to be shared by many on the BSN.  There is a market for this, and I feel it is worth the time to pursue.  Thank you

Modifié par WardenWade, 26 mars 2012 - 07:27 .

[Restraint]

 
One of the most interesting aspects of this series is racial politics. For example the Dwarven caste system, elven oppression, and humanity's myriad issues. The thing is, they can either explore these issues in depth, which requires a strong narrative, or they can give us racial choices to go along with a generic story. Personally I'm not willing to give up a good story and deep involvement in the things that make the setting interesting for the opportunity to play any race, when in practice the only difference between the races is that every so often an NPC will make some shallow offhand comment that has no real effect on the game.

It's a lot like how being a mage had almost no effect on Dragon Age 2's storyline, which was one of the game's worst aspects. They are not going to make three wildly different stories to go along with three wildly different races, and anything else would undermine the races, just as it did in origins and just as being a mage did in both games.

Incidentally this is also why I wouldn't be disappointed if they restricted us all to playing mages in the next game. They could make up the gameplay difference with Arcane Warrior and a shadowcaster archetype instead of warrior and rogue, and this would allow the narrative to actually show how difficult and dangerous life for a mage is in the setting. 

[Maria Caliban]

Unknown_Warrior wrote...

I just KNEW people were going to bring up Link after this, and thank you for earning me a buck from a bet I made.

You said something absurd and just KNEW someone would disagree with simple, well-known example? Your grasp of human psychology is impressive.

[David Gaider]

syllogi wrote...
It's pity; it's something most people want

I think that if one were to ask a fan "do you want more options?" the answer would always be yes-- regardless of the cost. Cost is not an issue to a fan, and neither should it be. We, of course, have no such luxury.

The difference here is that the fans see that they had three race options in DAO and only one in DA2... and thus that's less, and thus inferior, with the trade-off being not in evidence or simply not being worth it in their eyes. Which is a fair comparison, it being a sequel and all. There's no inherent benefit to race selection itself insofar as it being an RPG goes, so long as there are customization options (either in the story or in chargen)-- whether there's enough such options is really the trick, and on that front we'll be talking more once we have stuff to show.

Modifié par David Gaider, 26 mars 2012 - 06:42 .

[upsettingshorts]

Wouldn't the most cost-effective method of expanding race options with a voiced protagonist be to link accents to location - that would remain fixed across said options - and not race?

Since the latter is, you know, stupid?

Modifié par Upsettingshorts, 26 mars 2012 - 06:41 .