Polygon: Dragon Age: Inquisition's ending was brought to you by Indiana Jones and Captain America
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Archaeology angle was totally effective and completely awesome, in my oh so humble opinion.
Patrick Weekes - GDC @PatrickWeekes
All writing credit to @Sylvf1 and @BioMaryKirby for their great work in elven ruins, Deep Roads, library, and Darvaarad. 
Why are people surprised by this? They said ages ago that the plan was for every DA game to have a new protagonist.
Well they have a new lead writer now. Patrick could have changed things, but it looks he also likes the idea of a new protagonist every DA game. There's also probably some good story reasons from when Gaider mapped out the gist of the first 5 games to have new protagonists.
Why are people surprised by this? They said ages ago that the plan was for every DA game to have a new protagonist.
Because the the idea behind that was that every game would be it's own self contained story in Thedas, which was true for Origins and 2. But which isn't the case anymore, as the writers said that the story for Inquisition was supposed to be twice as long, and we've only seen the first half. They have said that Dragon Age 4 is actually going to be the second half of the story that was meant to be in Inquisition. The actual plan for the plot of the next game was originally going to have the Inquisitor deal with it unless Inquisition was also originally planned to have duel protagonists which seems unlikely.
So, either way, one of their plans have changed. Doesn't seem impossible that they would forget the different protagonist rule for one game in order to tell the story they originally had planned. There's also the fact that everyone was fine with having a new protagonist for Dragon Age 4, as there was no reason for the Inquisitor to return, but then Trespasser went out of it's way to have the Inquisitor repeatedly declare that they were going to be involved.
Because the the idea behind that was that every game would be it's own self contained story in Thedas, which was true for Origins and 2. But which isn't the case anymore, as the writers said that the story for Inquisition was supposed to be twice as long, and we've only seen the first half. They have said that Dragon Age 4 is actually going to be the second half of the story that was meant to be in Inquisition. The actual plan for the plot of the next game was originally going to have the Inquisitor deal with it unless Inquisition was also originally planned to have duel protagonists which seems unlikely.
Where did they say all that?
Where did they say all that?
Because the the idea behind that was that every game would be it's own self contained story in Thedas, which was true for Origins and 2. But which isn't the case anymore, as the writers said that the story for Inquisition was supposed to be twice as long, and we've only seen the first half. They have said that Dragon Age 4 is actually going to be the second half of the story that was meant to be in Inquisition. The actual plan for the plot of the next game was originally going to have the Inquisitor deal with it unless Inquisition was also originally planned to have duel protagonists which seems unlikely.
I doubt when Bioware said that it meant the whole game was gonna be the second act, and I think that's alot of assumptions to say that the Inquisitor themselves was going to deal with it
Where did they say all that?
Various interviews over the last year!
I doubt when Bioware said that it meant the whole game was gonna be the second act, and I think that's alot of assumptions to say that the Inquisitor themselves was going to deal with it
How is it a large assumption to say that the Inquisitor was going to deal with the plot when it was still planned to be a part of Inquisition? 
Like, it could have been the plan to switch protagonists half way through the game, but that seems much less likely.
How is it a large assumption to say that the Inquisitor was going to deal with the plot when it was still planned to be a part of Inquisition?
More likely the plot of Inquisition would have been much shorter, with the big reveal about Solas happening midway through.
More likely the plot of Inquisition would have been much shorter, with the big reveal about Solas happening midway through.
That's missing the point - either way, the original plan was for the Inquisitor to deal with the Solas plot, which answers the question of why some people think Bioware could stick to that plan.
Anyway, the thread isn't for discussing this, I just wanted to answer the question of why people thought the Inquisitor could return.
For me the bizarre thing about this whole situation is that there appear to be quite a few people who think that the successful continuation of the story hinges on Inquisitor returning as a PC and nothing else. Or that the info from recent panel apparently means that we'll not be seeing Inquisitor at all, or that BW will entirely forsake the themes or relationships introduced in DAI 
It seems to be... a very black-and-white sort of approach.
I never looked at it that way - for me, for a future story to make sense, it will require Inquisitor to return and have a pretty major role, but that "major role" doesn't necessarily means "main protagonist". So long as they find a way to implement the character well and write the story competently (and there are oh-so-multiple directions I can think the story could go, especially if we'd get two main characters *hint, hint*), they'll get a cookie from me.
Patrick Weekes - GDC @PatrickWeekes
Great talk by @alexiskennedy on Choice, Consequence, and Complicity at #GDC16 . Plus cocktails!
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Kennedy mixed a cocktail on stage and drank it during his talk. Inspirational.
Not sure if this has already been posted, but I only just saw it. More detailed review of the talk than I've seen elsewhere, including the detail that Arl Teagan was originally even more unlikable?
Gamasutra @gamasutra 5h
5 hours ago
Bioware writers offer tips on building to an emotional theme http://dlvr.it/Knlnvg 
Work tonight was fun... And by fun I mean explodey. Game development really is this meme.
Even if I believed that (which I don't) it doesn't change the fact that the inquisitor is no longer the hero and the interesting story potential of a closely connected protagonist and antagonist with elements of betrayal and revenge is just thrown away in favor of some new nobody with no connection.
The Inquisitor was a nobody before DAI too (same for the Warden before DAO and Hawke before DA2). Don't worry, they should know how to make good stories.
The Inquisitor was a nobody before DAI too (same for the Warden before DAO and Hawke before DA2). Don't worry, they should know how to make good stories.
DA:I and DA2 didn't have good stories IMO. Them not throwing away this plotline would indicate to me that might change. (DA:O didn't have an interesting premise but it hooked me with the lore, the characters, the details, the Origins, and the different ways to roleplay my character. ) The base game of DA:I made me uninterested in the series, it was Trespasser that sparked my imagination and gave me hope and now that's gone. 
Sounds like this isn't your series, if having a different PC means they are throwing away "this plotline" (I assume you're speaking of Solas coming back and the now inevitable elven uprising?). One of the core tenets of the DA franchise is that the series isn't about one person (like The Witcher or Mass Effect was) but about the world and the lore. Different PCs allow you to see Thedas from different viewpoints, which not-coincidentally is exactly what the Inquisitor says they need to fight Solas.
Sounds like this isn't your series, if having a different PC means they are throwing away "this plotline" (I assume you're speaking of Solas coming back and the now inevitable elven uprising?). One of the core tenets of the DA franchise is that the series isn't about one person (like The Witcher or Mass Effect was) but about the world and the lore. Different PCs allow you to see Thedas from different viewpoints, which not-coincidentally is exactly what the Inquisitor says they need to fight Solas.
It really isn't and I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that it's never going to be. DA:O was my game and it was just wishful thinking to hope the other games in the series would appeal to me in the same way. One of the things I loved about Origins was all the lore and the world, everything was new and interesting. In DA2 and DA:I we learned hardly anything new about the lore or different cultures. Most of it was just carried over from DA:O. Ideally for me each game would have been set in a different country amongst a different people and a different culture with different protagonists, NPCs, companions, and storylines. At most there might be a mention or 2 of some huge choice your previous character made that would be gossip worthy. I don't feel like I experienced different viewpoints in DA2 and DA:I than I did in DA:O. Even the Qunari PC which was one of the few new things wasn't raised amongst the Qunari. But yeah it doesn't matter what I liked or didn't like.
I just need a little time to come to terms with it, then I have no reason to hang around. I was waiting for news on who the protagonist was and I got it. Feel free to celebrate
Maybe next game we'll play as the Starchild. 
It really isn't and I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that it's never going to be. DA:O was my game and it was just wishful thinking to hope the other games in the series would appeal to me in the same way. One of the things I loved about Origins was all the lore and the world, everything was new and interesting. In DA2 and DA:I we learned hardly anything new about the lore or different cultures. Most of it was just carried over from DA:O. Ideally for me each game would have been set in a different country amongst a different people and a different culture with different protagonists, NPCs, companions, and storylines. At most there might be a mention or 2 of some huge choice your previous character made that would be gossip worthy. I don't feel like I experienced different viewpoints in DA2 and DA:I than I did in DA:O. Even the Qunari PC which was one of the few new things wasn't raised amongst the Qunari. But yeah it doesn't matter what I liked or didn't like.
Wait what? So why aren't you happy about a new PC in a new country?
Wait what? So why aren't you happy about a new PC in a new country?
Because there will be the previous character's story, companions, NPCs, nemesis, etc...it's not a fresh start. I doubt the new character will even be from Tevinter. The only thing they're switching is the protagonist which is unappealing to me and makes no sense. Remember how at the end of the Empire Strikes Back Luke got closure and his story was done so it was only logical that a new random person joins Lando, Han, and Leia instead as the protagonist of RotJ and new random Joe defeated Vader and Luke just retired into obscurity, possibly giving random Joe some advice? Me either.
Because there will be the previous character's story, companions, NPCs, nemesis, etc...it's not a fresh start. I doubt the new character will even be from Tevinter. The only thing they're switching is the protagonist which is unappealing to me and makes no sense. Remember how at the end of the Empire Strikes Back Luke got closure and his story was done so it was only logical that a new random person joins Lando, Han, and Leia instead as the protagonist of RotJ and new random Joe defeated Vader and Luke just retired into obscurity, possibly giving random Joe some advice? Me either.
Star Wars is a trilogy with the same characters and one single plotline running through all three movies. It's not a good comparison to Dragon Age. You'd have a better comparison with something like Dune, where the first major plotline is resolved at the end of the first book. Book 2 begins to add new plotlines, and Book 3 introduces a new protagonist. Book 5 then introduces a new protagonist.
Additionally, nothing suggests the Inquisitor is retiring into obscurity. Quite the opposite, in fact: Trespasser shows they are actively pursuing Solas to stop him. I don't agree with your implication that if the Inquisitor isn't the PC then nothing they do can be important and they cease to be Solas's rival. So long as we're guessing, I'd be willing to make a bet that Solas will not be the front-and-center antagonist of DA4. He'll be in the shadows, manipulating events and possibly backing the main antagonist...just like the Inquisitor with the DA4 PC. What Inquisition and Trespasser have done is compelling: they've established the high-stakes conflict through Solas and the Inquisitor, and now they can keep evolving that and tying it in to whatever local conflict they are focusing on for a given game.
In DA2 and DA:I we learned hardly anything new about the lore or different cultures. Most of it was just carried over from DA:O.
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