BioWare said at PAX East today that it's taking fan feedback on the future of its Dragon Age series — and harsh criticisms of Dragon Age II — to heart. At the developer's first panel today, Dragon Age creative director Mike Laidlaw walked fans through some of the most frequently vocalized criticisms and suggestions, hinting at three key changes coming to the next entry: equipment for your followers, decisions that matter and no more reuse of levels.
Laidlaw couched his statements about the future of Dragon Age by saying that the topics under discussion were not official announcements.
"We're not making promises here, we're talking about ideas," he warned.
On the subject of equipment for followers in future Dragon Age games, Laidlaw illustrated how armor sets might look different on different classes of followers.
"Suppose, in your party, you have a Gray Warden. And suppose you had a Seeker," he said, showing a male Gray Warden and female Seeker. "And you had this thing: a suit of armor, a chest piece, and it had stats and stuff."
Laidlaw showed that armor set applied to the Warden, then to the Seeker, in concept art form. The armor looked slightly different on each, with "thematic" aesthetic differences applied so "they don't lose their identity in the process." Laidlaw then showed a slew of concept art, with various armor pieces from helmets to shoulder guards to bracers, then full sets, each applied to the two different classes.
He also teased the possibility that players might be able to fully customize armor pieces, applying color and types of material (cloth, leather, mail) to armor sets.
On the topic of "decisions that matter," Laidlaw said BioWare is looking to add more character agency ("My character has an active effect on his or her world, determined by my choices") and player agency ("I have control over my gameplay experience") to future Dragon Age games.
And player decisions that carry over from game to game could be given more attention, he said.
As for the oft-heard critique of Dragon Age II, that BioWare recycled dungeons and environments to an annoying degree, Laidlaw said it will stop reusing levels again and again and again.
"We're looking for variety, space and scope," Laidlaw said, showing concept art of huge open spaces (and at least one dark dungeon). He hinted that players will likely "go somewhere new, somewhere a little more… French" in the future.
All that said, all of it to a warm response from the hundreds of gathered Dragon Age fans, Laidlaw reiterated all of this would be "kind of cool, in theory" and that the developer wasn't ready to announce anything it wasn't comfortable showing.
I liked the part about the armors in companions.
He said exactly the same thing i said on a topic about this 1 or 2 months ago. I remember giving my opinion that they go in the same direction that MMOs like Lineage 2 have.
In L2 for example, the same set/piece of armor looks completely different when applied on one race or another, reflecting their cultures and so on. Same could be done in DA3, but reflecting companions personalities.
I liked to see they are thinking on going this way.
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Update:
Finally found some pics of the panel.
Jessica Merizan doing Cosplay :lol and the the compect art of the same armor on a Warden and a Seeker character!
The Team
Jessica as Female Hawke
Some cosplayers
The fans
And 1 of the Concept Art (Warden on left, Seeker on Right)
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XBOX Magazine Article:
The creators of Dragon Age II took the stage this year at to host a panel focused on repairing ties with the hardcore gaming community after the adverse fan reaction to Dragon Age II. And also to be very clear (while being very careful never to say as much) that Dragon Age III is in the works.
Throughout the panel, Bioware creative director Mike Laidlaw and Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider fielded harsh questions from enthusiastic fans with the help of Executive Producer Mark Darrah. That said, while there was an overt sense of disapproval of DAII, that accounted for only maybe 10% of the panel. The vast majority was a hooting-and-hollering celebration of all things Dragon Age. “It's so great to leave the internet and get back to real life,” said Laidlaw, speaking about getting back to interacting with fans and away from angry internet trolls.
Fans stared on with visible (no, seriously, visible) glee as Bioware showed slides of proposed armor customization as well as the various post-mortem faults pinpointed by the developers of Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II. Among their most frequently received complaints: Stop re-using levels. Create decisions that matter. Allow equipment for followers. All three admissions were met with raucous applause from the crowd.
However, it wasn't all smiles and cheering. Several times during the panel, Laidlaw and Gaider had to fend off aggressive questions about the quality of Dragon Age II. “How can [the fans] be sure this wont happen again?” said one fan referring to what he felt was a failed DAII. To which Laidlaw responded simply that the fan should be paying attention to what Bioware is showing about the game, and deciding for himself if he likes it.
“Sometimes people think that we just arbitrarily make decisions [about the story/mechanics in Dragon Age],” said Laidlaw. “No, no, no, we argue,” replied Gaider. “So much,” quipped Laidlaw. It was a joke, but it underscored one of the major themes of the evening. The desire for Bioware to communicate to the fans that they care just as much about the series as the fans do. If they've done something the fans don't like, that's just because they disagree. Not because Bioware has been cavalier or careless with their decision-making.
Nearly every fan who asked a negative question to the panel was quietly booed by the outweighing majority (some of whom were in incredible Dragon Age cosplay) of die-hard fans. From Bioware, the tone was of an apology. And from the fans, the tone was of forgiveness. After all, as one fan said when he took the microphone, Dragon Age II may not have been everything the fans hoped for, but it was still an incredible game.
There was only one concrete hint about the undoubtedly upcoming Dragon Age III. Though every word of their presentation was prefaced with something like, “if maybe we ever wanted to consider working on Dragon Age III... (wink wink nudge nudge)” the only real information came when they expressed some regret over setting Dragon Age II in the bland city of Kirkwall. “We want to see open areas and exploration,” said Laidlaw as concept art of green valleys and gray mountains flashed behind him. “And if we must go to a city, let it be someplace...French.” Without missing a beat the crowd screamed, “ORLAIS!” That may not be final information, but it seems like a pretty strong hint to go on.
http://www.oxmonline...uring-pax-panel">http://www.oxmonline...ring-pax-panel
Update2 (amateur video!):
Thks to Jasmine96 for fiding it!
(presentation and Q&A)
part1
http://youtu.be/RxKB8EFFXv0
part2
http://youtu.be/q_a6CzCXxBU
part3
http://youtu.be/vhTnVS2_RsE
Update3 (gamespot video)
Thks to wetnasty for fiding it!
The quality is much better, but the video only covers the presentation part, NOT the Q&A
http://www.gamespot....nk&sid=6370583
or
[url=http://youtu.be/OZhTbhUpixY]
Modifié par DiegoRaphael, 10 avril 2012 - 06:06 .
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