123 réponses à ce sujet

[Sylvianus]

Yes, destroy is the best option with the reapers ! They destroy us or we destroy them ! ( to sum up ) Good choice Allan.

Modifié par Sylvianus, 30 septembre 2012 - 10:03 .

[Jerrybnsn]

This is probably one of the more enlightening threads that I have read in awhile. Nice job OP.

[Allan Schumacher]

If any have ever wondered what I mean when I refer to "iteration" in any of my posts, it's pretty much akin to "opportunity time."

[DarkKnightHolmes]

Allan Schumacher wrote...

For reference sake:

Isolde is dead, while Connor is alive

Same here. *High five*

[obZen DF]

DarkKnightHolmes wrote...

Allan Schumacher wrote...

For reference sake:

Isolde is dead, while Connor is alive

Same here. *High five*

For me it is Isolde alive, while Connor is dead:devil:

[DarkKnightHolmes]

obZen DF wrote...

DarkKnightHolmes wrote...

Allan Schumacher wrote...

For reference sake:

Isolde is dead, while Connor is alive

Same here. *High five*

For me it is Isolde alive, while Connor is dead:devil:

Isolde: My Baby! (Commence annoying scream)

Modifié par DarkKnightHolmes, 30 septembre 2012 - 11:28 .

[Fast Jimmy]

This thread is pretty amazing, thanks to all of the devs who weighed in and have their feedback.

I know someone had mentioned Bethesda's dev process, but I thought I'd showcase one particular aspect of it I found interesting: two is the senior devs had a competition prior to Skyrim coming out to see who could complete a speed run of the entire main plot of the (essentially) finished product. This created lots of excitement, both for the fans as well as the other developers, installing a sense of competition and reinvigorating the content they had all played a million times.

While I don't think a speed run of a DA game would be the best idea, have you all thought about something similar, as a way to get senior developers/writers/QA workers excited about the final product? Maybe have a competition on who can do a run through of the game with the most creative/depressing/crazy plot flags? I've seen threads on these boards talking about the best way to do 'evil' playthroughs, where the most companions are killed or the more reprehensible decisions are made.

I think that might be an interesting way for the writers to enjoy knocking over their own sandcastles, so to speak, and also get a better idea for how the fan might enjoy the final product?

Thanks again for this thread!

[TheBlackAdder13]

Allan Schumacher wrote...

Is this really so difficult to understand or have you all just decided to "gang up on the badguy" because you think I'm somehow "attacking" bioware?

You weren't attacking BioWare. You attacked the posters in this thread specifically when you stated they were just a bunch of maroons white knighting us.

You shouldn't be surprised that your posts in this thread end up seeing resistance as a result, similar to how you're now speaking up as you are feeling slighted.

I'm willing to chalk it up as a poor choice of words and thing people should just keep a cool head. I have no issues discussing the actual methods of how we experience content, if that's what you would like to do.

TROLL!...In the dungeons...thought you ought to know...*faint* 

[Iron Star]

Will we see Aeonar? You know, that chantry prison that knight-commander Greagoir threatens a mage warden with at the end of the magi origins? Seems fitting to visit in a mage-templar war...

EDIT: Also, if we visit in-game, it'd be pretty hilarious to meet Lily, Jowans girlfriend, there. She can't die in DA:O so putting her there won't hurt anyone who didn't play the mage origin, while adding a twist to all of us who did.

Modifié par Get fired up, 30 septembre 2012 - 03:38 .

[jkflipflopDAO]

Avejajed wrote...

What's a Marroon?

A term of derision often uttered by Bugs Bunny when referring to an interaction with a dopey adversary. It is a mispronunciation of the word "Moron"


That's gotta be tough "romancing" anyone after you've seen the game from the inside. To you guys, Morrigan is just a collection of textures and clipping problems you constantly have to fix. She's not really a person at that point, she's a digital puppet.

Modifié par jkflipflopDAO, 30 septembre 2012 - 04:33 .

[Allan Schumacher]

While I don't think a speed run of a DA game would be the best idea, have you all thought about something similar, as a way to get senior developers/writers/QA workers excited about the final product? Maybe have a competition on who can do a run through of the game with the most creative/depressing/crazy plot flags? I've seen threads on these boards talking about the best way to do 'evil' playthroughs, where the most companions are killed or the more reprehensible decisions are made.

We do do such things. For what it's worth, I have heard that the BG2 speed run was clocked in at less than 2 (maybe even 1?) hours

[LPPrince]

^Interesting dynamic to think about. Thanks for sharing.

Modifié par LPPrince, 30 septembre 2012 - 10:06 .

[panamakira]

Thanks for sharing. It's interesting to know a little behind the closed doors of a game in development.

I think if I had to play 100 times over the same game, no matter how much I'm invested in it, it would loose the spark or the mystery as Gaider calls it. I think you can still enjoy it but I wouldn't be as excited over especially if you knew everything there was to know about it.

One downside of being a game developer.

[LPPrince]

Its not just a downside of being a game developer, but a downside of any sort of creator.

You'll never perceive your own work the way a patron or fan would.

[SeismicGravy]

Allan Schumacher wrote...

I romanced Morrigan

[head canon]You realise of course she was only using you to get to me.  [/head canon]

Seriously though, a big thanks to all the devs who are taking the time to chat with us.   It's a service some companys don't seem to know too much about (I'm looking at you Sega).

[LPPrince]

Bioware's good at interacting with fans.

Unfortunately for both sides, thats a double-edged sword.

[SeismicGravy]

True, and it's no more evident that in the ME camp. Hundreds of threads complaining that the ME devs are completly ignoring them, yet as soon as one appears, he gets verbally mugged and has so much venom thrown at him it's unreal

So unfair.

Modifié par SeismicGravy, 30 septembre 2012 - 11:47 .

[Foolsfolly]

Allan Schumacher wrote...

I feel a need to interject into this thread since I am a member of the group that DOES play through the game and provide feedback on said content.

Pretty much the first thing any new QA member does is play through what content is there. We recognize that we only get one shot at the "fresh perspective" with a new tester. Now there's a window when this is most useful: Too soon and you don't really have systems in place and not much iteration has happened. Too late and stuff is locked down and simply cannot be changed unless it's a breaking issue.


Now, since someone asked, allow me to share:

I started on DAO in June 2009, which was towards the end of the project. So my job for two weeks was literally "Play DAO." Which was a bit surreal (I'm getting paid for this!) but it makes sense, as they need me to know what someone is talking about when they say "Nature of the Beast."

I played through DAO as a Male Human Noble Rogue. I found it fun, though perhaps more challenging until I got Wynne (I went to the Circle second). I try to playthrough in a "logical" manner, in that if I have Objective A and Objective B and A is on the way to B on the world map, I go to A first (Redcliffe).

In general, I prefer to play martial classes, so while running around in the DA games, I usually default to either the rogue or the warrior. Though I do mix it up more now since there's advantages to me seeing how it all works for all classes (note: I'm not actually a content tester, so any time I spend in game doing this stuff is typically while verifying something systemic and so forth. I'm not the type of QA that gets paid to just playthrough the game and provide feedback on the content, though I will send writing and design feedback if I notice anything ).


It CAN be tricky though, because not only when you play through the same content repeatedly skew your perspective on whether or not something is "fun" (it may be fun to start, but is it still fun the 100th time you've run through it?), there is also issues with understanding the motivations behind particular decisions.

I have no doubt that, compared to some, I am able to appreciate DA2 more simply because I know what was trying to be done in a particular situation, skewing my perspective on the actual system as it's in place. It's a challenge, and it is an effort to make sure things don't become pure autopilot. To say otherwise is just disingenuous.

Since I'm a Tech QA, I do have the advantage of being able to be surprised since I spend less time doing actual content. And, for example, I have given feedback on encounters that I find tedious when playing through the game. Where I could have done better was exploring the game more fully (I saw Act 1 waaaaaaay more than any of the other Acts, simply because when testing a system in game I knew where to find thorough tests of the system in a variety of places). There was some stuff that I definitely wish I had seen earlier in the dev cycle because when I finally experienced some of it, it was while reproducing critical issues during cert. Far too late to actually enact any changes.

Note that this is also why we do things like focus tests (which seem to be a curse word on these forums and many seem to think we shouldn't do them because they prevent true RPGs). There's also no shortage of people just in the company (there's a lot of people that work here) that don't typically play the game. I know many people on DA team that took part in ME3 playthroughs (I played through the first 30ish minutes in front of all the senior devs for it, and pointed out a lot of issues that I struggled with in terms of GUI and it was great to see them get remedied in the final project), and a lot of us actually took part in ME3 MP testing (to the point where it wasn't uncommon for people to just stay late and play it for fun).

But I digress....

I romanced Morrigan and in general got along really well with my party in both games. I never actually did a full "proper" playthrough of DA2 (I only did one of DAO, when I first started at BioWare), though I tended to gravitate towards sarcastic Hawke and Isabela as a romance (Isabela is my favourite NPC in the DA universe).

I'm usually the hero type that tries to save the day, but when push comes to shove I am able to make hard decisions and if someone wrongs me I can let my emotions get the better of me (i.e. punching Admirals in ME3). Speaking of ME3, I chose destroy. Though it'd probably be easier to look up one of my rather lengthy posts detailing why I liked it as an option and why I thought it was actually emotionally powerful. I say this with the belief that I found the endings to ME3 disappointing too.


That being said, while the repetition can sap some of the fun, seeing some stuff for the first time can be really freaking awesome. Crafting for DA3 has me super giddy. There's my tease for this post

You're a cool cat, Allan Schumacher.

A cool cat.

obZen DF wrote...

DarkKnightHolmes wrote...

Allan Schumacher wrote...

For reference sake:

Isolde is dead, while Connor is alive

Same here. *High five*

For me it is Isolde alive, while Connor is dead[smilie]http://social.bioware.com/images/forum/emoticons/devil.png[/smilie]

While I've played the game enough to have done every thing possible... there are two ways in which I prefer to end that quest. One is to have the Circle Mages come and have Jowen right his own wrong. Feels good all around (right before he's made tranquil after the fact). The second is killing Connor.

First time through the game I honestly thought the line of dialogue "two days trip" to the Circle meant if I went there and came back the situtation would honestly be worse. More people would die.  It was a question of time and risk management. And it was time to kill the child responsible to stop others from suffering.

Good moment in DA:O.

Hey, David Gaider and other BioWare writers. This year I got to hear dialogue I wrote performed by actors for the first time. I had a minor crisis of... "I suck forever and no one speaks like this but me." Specifically I told the director "Oh ****. I wrote me speaking to also me." How do you guys deal with hearing your dialogue. Does it get better? Will I ever stop cringing at it?

[Vaeliorin]

Allan Schumacher wrote...

While I don't think a speed run of a DA game would be the best idea, have you all thought about something similar, as a way to get senior developers/writers/QA workers excited about the final product? Maybe have a competition on who can do a run through of the game with the most creative/depressing/crazy plot flags? I've seen threads on these boards talking about the best way to do 'evil' playthroughs, where the most companions are killed or the more reprehensible decisions are made.

We do do such things. For what it's worth, I have heard that the BG2 speed run was clocked in at less than 2 (maybe even 1?) hours

23:09