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Request for Mermaids in future Dragon Age games


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#1
Mermaid Claire

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This thread is meant to make the case for the inclusion of mermaids as a playable race within the Dragon Age series of games. Let me begin by saying that it has been a real pleasure to play through the games Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age 2 and I absolutely love the world you at Bioware have created! It is my personal belief that mermaids would add something special and unique to this world of yours without altering what you have already accomplished and I hope my topic persuades those who make such decisions for future games to at least consider this. I could talk about this subject for hours, but I have made a short list of the three most compelling reasons why mermaid inclusion would make for a fantastic addition to Dragon Age! I hope you will come to agree!

1) Mermaids fit into Dragon Age lore / setting without changing Dragon Age lore / setting


This is the most important reason of them all because Mermaids are realistic to the Dragon Age series! Mermaids are also easier to include than most other mythical beings based on the fact so much compelling evidence suggests they might have actually existed more-so than dragons, fairies, elves, etc. Mermaids live in a place very much unexplored even today: Beneath the water!

Mermaids have been a part of most all historical fiction and have no official rules to adhere to because of this. They are universal but are not confined to a set of rules. The recent film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides drew upon a combination of many such rules (both Western and Eastern in origin) rather than having to strictly follow one set pattern. Writers love flexibility and mermaids allow for that more than any other race you can think of. They can be written as evil or good, corrupt or peaceful, lawful or chaotic. The options are limitless and you would not be confined when creating them!

Most characters in Dragon Age have not yet explored beneath the waters for a whole society. Writers would have a much more difficult time introducing a new race who exists above ground. With mermaids, this is not a problem at all!

Unlike other races in Dragon Age, mermaids allow you to create an entire independent world within a pre-established world. You do not have to change anything to include them! Dwarves may live isolated and Dalish elves maintain an outside society, but both of these races are influenced by the world around them. Most characters know of the existence of these races despite any attempt at isolationism. With mermaids, this is not the case at all! Here you would have an entire world set with its own independent economy and social structure without need to show how it has effected the outside world or how the outside world has effected it! Writers would have a fun time uncovering this world where their imagination is the only limitation!

2) Mermaids bring new enemies

Writers could introduce new and exciting enemies into Dragon Age! Like with mermaids themselves, you would be free to do as you please without destroying any pre established ideas of Dragon Age. Going in line with the theme of dragons, can you imagine fighting off anything so fierce and menacing as a Sea Dragon?

Sea monsters come in a variety of types and are generally accepted to be the most scary of all mythical creatures. Even today many people believe they exist because of the unexplored depths of the oceans. There is nothing more frightening than an undersea monster due to their mystery and here you would have the unique ability to create anything your mind desired to include! You could draw upon classic monsters or create your own! The Dragon Age writers are very experienced in this area and I know they are up to the task!

3) Mermaids are original and revolutionary for video games

Although there have been examples of mermaid characters in video games before, most times they do not offer revolutionary or mainstream gameplay. You would be in the unique position to lead the way! Some games such as Oblivion have had player mods created to support the inclusion of mermaid characters to great delight of the fan communities! However no developer has taken to the task of perfecting model skeletons fit for high speed flexibility in matters of swimming. The elder scrolls games have mentioned mermaids in their previous games but you would be in the amazing position of taking a lead on implementing them into your gameplay! How exciting for you!


I hope this was not too long because I have tried to condense it to make it easier to read. I appreciate your consideration regardless of what you think. I look forward to many more games in your Dragon Age setting because it is a fun universe I have enjoyed playing!

Thank you for reading and considering, both Bioware and community alike! :)

#2
Blood-Lord Thanatos

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I think this is definitely something worth considering.

#3
whykikyouwhy

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I think it might be more likely that we'd stumble upon sirens than we would mermaids dwelling in any deep sea kingdoms of Thedas.

#4
Dejajeva

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I enjoyed reading your post, anyway. It was very thought-out. I like mermaids. I don't know how you'd fight the mages and or templars with a tail, but I imagine you have that figured out too.

#5
Thor Rand Al

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whykikyouwhy wrote...

I think it might be more likely that we'd stumble upon sirens than we would mermaids dwelling in any deep sea kingdoms of Thedas.

I could see a siren maybe but a mermaid, sorry OP, don't mean to offend but please NO.  I see mermaids as kiddie stuff, the Little Mermaid, Peter Pan.  I just can't see mermaids in DA.

#6
Dejajeva

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Thor Rand Al wrote...

whykikyouwhy wrote...

I think it might be more likely that we'd stumble upon sirens than we would mermaids dwelling in any deep sea kingdoms of Thedas.

I could see a siren maybe but a mermaid, sorry OP, don't mean to offend but please NO.  I see mermaids as kiddie stuff, the Little Mermaid, Peter Pan.  I just can't see mermaids in DA.


Aww, that was mean. Mermaids aren't kiddie stuff! Plus I have a feeling the OP is a stalwart defender of merpeople. At least the OP had a thoughtful post, with easy to understand presentation of her opinion without inflating her own sense of worth. I think that alone deserves a high - five.

#7
PsychoBlonde

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Are these mermaids with legs? How are they going to get around? Crawl?

Having some underwater sections/adventures might be cool, yes. Having a new, aquatic-only race as a possibility for the protagonist? We're not even sure at this stage if you'll be able to play a Dwarf or an Elf (let alone a Kossith or Fex), and those are races that ALREADY EXIST IN THE GAME WORLD.

Might as well ask for a pony while you're at it, maybe you'll get lucky.

Me, I'm going to ask for a million dollars.

#8
Thor Rand Al

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Dejajeva wrote...

Thor Rand Al wrote...

whykikyouwhy wrote...

I think it might be more likely that we'd stumble upon sirens than we would mermaids dwelling in any deep sea kingdoms of Thedas.

I could see a siren maybe but a mermaid, sorry OP, don't mean to offend but please NO.  I see mermaids as kiddie stuff, the Little Mermaid, Peter Pan.  I just can't see mermaids in DA.


Aww, that was mean. Mermaids aren't kiddie stuff! Plus I have a feeling the OP is a stalwart defender of merpeople. At least the OP had a thoughtful post, with easy to understand presentation of her opinion without inflating her own sense of worth. I think that alone deserves a high - five.

LOL didn't mean to be mean but I'm really having a hard time picturing this in the DA universe.  I can't lol

I did say sorry Posted Image

Modifié par Thor Rand Al, 29 mars 2012 - 01:47 .


#9
David Gaider

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We could certainly do a Dragon Age version of a mermaid-- the same as we do a Dragon Age version of other "standard" fantasy creatures. The problem here would be combining that creature with the requisite aquatic setting. Water involves a number of brand new elements-- like swimming!

Which... cool, yes, but yikes! If there were a lot of other elements that went along with it, and used such features (like an adventure set primarily in the water) then that would be much more plausible.

Modifié par David Gaider, 29 mars 2012 - 01:56 .


#10
CENIC

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I'd like to be running along the beach and have sirens ambush my party from the water.

Or maybe there could be a segment in the game where you're riding a pirate ship and they're climbing up on the deck to attack you?

I'd love to see the "dark fantasy" version of a mermaid as an enemy creature OR a new race.

#11
Mermaid Claire

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Thor Rand Al wrote...

whykikyouwhy wrote...

I
think it might be more likely that we'd stumble upon sirens than we
would mermaids dwelling in any deep sea kingdoms of Thedas.


I
could see a siren maybe but a mermaid, sorry OP, don't mean to
offend but please NO.  I see mermaids as kiddie stuff, the Little
Mermaid, Peter Pan.  I just can't see mermaids in DA.



Sirens are very similar and I could see them being implemented, but I do
believe mermaids are more geared for player control, which is my
personal hope for future games in this series. It is a common
misconception to see them as "kiddie stuff" because of how they became
associated with fairy tales in the 1800s and yes there is an argument to
be made there, because they are considered elegant and exotic. But this
would be the same as saying pirates are not scary because of Captain
Hook - who also was in Peter Pan.

But if you look at the history of merpeople in mythology and history you
find that long before they were in fairy tales they were considered
scary and mysterious - at a time when people believed by and large that
they existed in real life. The pirate Blackbeard was terrified of
mermaids based on logs he kept and he was considered the most terrifying
of all known pirates. But as I said in my first post writers could be
free to interpret them any way they wish, be they evil or peaceful. They
would not have to strictly adhere to depicting them as innocent or
fairy tale oriented. I hope this better explains what I intended!


PsychoBlonde wrote...

Having
some underwater sections/adventures might be cool, yes. Having a new,
aquatic-only race as a possibility for the protagonist? We're not even
sure at this stage if you'll be able to play a Dwarf or an Elf (let
alone a Kossith or Fex), and those are races that ALREADY EXIST IN THE
GAME WORLD.



That is fair. I do not think this is something that could be added to Dragon Age 3 as it is
probably too late but I do hope that for the future it is something
they can consider. I realise dwarves and elves are more popular and
being that they have been established this is probably more likely than
mermaids being playable. But this does not deter me from hoping and
requesting. Again, mermaids could already exist in the Dragon Age world
so this would not require anything to be changed in that regard.


David Gaider wrote...

We could certainly do a Dragon Age version of a mermaid-- the same as we do a Dragon Age version of other "standard" fantasy creatures. The problem here would be combining that creature with the requisite aquatic setting. Water involves a number of brand new elements-- like swimming!

Which... cool, yes, but yikes! If there were a lot of other elements that went along with it, and used such features (like an adventure set primarily in the water) then that would be much more plausible.



Thank you so much for reading, David Gaider! I am glad to know you are at least open to the idea even if it is not something you may be able to do right away. I enjoy the way Dragon Age set up the social/political aspects of the races it has used and I would imagine your writing team could come up with something very clever for mermaids if it so chose. As I said there is a whole vast arena involved in what might lie beneath the waters of the Dragon Age world. With or without their inclusion, I am still looking forward to your next Dragon Age as I have very much enjoyed the first two!

Modifié par Mermaid Claire, 29 mars 2012 - 02:33 .


#12
John Epler

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Oh dear. The idea of undersea adventures gives me all sorts of flashbacks to Kedge Keep.

#13
Brockololly

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More sea monsters in general would be cool. Granted, you need bodies of water to make them work, but thats not something you generally see in most games.

#14
Maria Caliban

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Sirens are bird-women, not fish women. That's why their song is so enchanting.

For mermaids you'd want water and some way of navigating in it. Something BioWare has never been interested in.

Rusalka fit better in my mind. They're the souls of young women who committed suicide. They lurk in the bottom of lakes, come out at night, and lure men to their death by drowning.

Image of Siren below. Notice the wings and bird feet.
Posted Image

Modifié par Maria Caliban, 29 mars 2012 - 03:07 .


#15
Thor Rand Al

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Maria Caliban wrote...

Sirens are bird-women, not fish women. That's why their song is so enchanting.

For mermaids you'd want water and some way of navigating in it. Something BioWare has never been interested in.

Rusalka fit better in my mind. They're the souls of young women who committed suicide. They lurk in the bottom of lakes, come out at night, and lure men to their death by drowning.

I've always imagined Isabela's ship, (well the one that Hawke has made for her since she lost hers) anyways with a Siren on the front of it.  Be a really cool image I think, but hey that's just me lol.  I get wierd like that Posted Image

Modifié par Thor Rand Al, 29 mars 2012 - 02:57 .


#16
Shadow of Light Dragon

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Just what Thedas needs...aquatic darkspawn and Blight Dolphins.

#17
Maria Caliban

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Shadow of Light Dragon wrote...

Just what Thedas needs...aquatic darkspawn and Blight Dolphins.


Posted Image

It even looks like a darkspawn.

#18
Shadow of Light Dragon

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^^ Win.

My gold's on them fleeing the planet before it gets that bad, though. :)

Modifié par Shadow of Light Dragon, 29 mars 2012 - 03:18 .


#19
MagmaSaiyan

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like it was mentioned, mermaids definitely could work if we are sailing to some place, otherwise no, didnt the last PotC have evil mermaids?

#20
Melca36

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Swimming/Water takes far too much resources and I would rather see those resources used accordingly.

#21
Maria Caliban

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Melca36 wrote...

Swimming/Water takes far too much resources and I would rather see those resources used accordingly.

Ignore this woman. She knows not what she says.

We want water, BioWare. We want it to rain. We want to see waves. We want to splash around in shallow streams.

Swimming is optional.

Modifié par Maria Caliban, 29 mars 2012 - 03:43 .


#22
Blood-Lord Thanatos

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Maria Caliban wrote...

Melca36 wrote...

Swimming/Water takes far too much resources and I would rather see those resources used accordingly.

Ignore this woman. She knows not what she says.

We want water, BioWare. We want it to rain. We want to see waves. We want to splash around in shallow streams.

Swimming is optional.


I want to wield Blood-Magic and let the Blood flow hot and free. Blood for the Blood God! give me some blight fishwomen to slaughter in Blood-magic rituals!Posted Image

#23
Dejajeva

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I don't know why I end up agreeing with Maria Caliban so much. I'm totally down with bringing water into it. As it is, I looked up Rushka (I might, no probably, misspelled that.) and think it sounds familiar to a banshee. Fable had banshees and they were hella creepy. Maybe something between mermaid/siren/banshee could work!

#24
caradoc2000

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Maria Caliban wrote...

Rusalka fit better in my mind. They're the souls of young women who committed suicide.

Huzzah, we need yet another angsty party member... :D

On a more serious note, some background information on them.

Modifié par caradoc2000, 29 mars 2012 - 05:21 .


#25
thats1evildude

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As with all undersea monsters, they sound cool in principle but they're virtually useless. It's hard to build encounters around them, as sea monsters cannot come on land and us land monsters (ie. humans) can't face them underwater. Even if you solve the problems of breathing underwater and depth, you just can't swing a sword beneath the waves like you can through air. Thus, the sea monsters always have a huge advantage. It's one of the reasons that Atlantis is boring.

Anyway, if they're going to introduce some kind of underwater monster, they really should use hydras. Dragons of the sea!

Modifié par thats1evildude, 29 mars 2012 - 05:27 .