14 réponses à ce sujet

[Wozearly]

I've griped from the sidelines about the single race issue a number of times before, so I thought I'd actually try and come up with a way to solve the problem and see what people thought about it.

As I see it, there are two problems that have to be overcome;

Problem 1 - Cost

Assuming DA:I follows in the footsteps of DA2 and the ME series, we'll have a main protagonist whose story is followed and who is fully voice acted throughout the game. Adding in a new race and voice acting to the same level of quality really requires a different voice actor for credibility - partly due to the established accents in the game, and partly because you would expect the different races to have slightly different dialogue paths at different times.

This creates a sunk cost. The extra voice acting has to be paid for, and because the only major benefit is replay value (which I expect has very limited impact on sales income of the main game, only on DLC), this would be difficult to justify adding into the main game which would require raising the retail price or dropping the profit margin to support. Neither are particularly attractive options from Bioware's perspective.

Problem 2 - Interest

Bioware's feedback from DA:O is that most people played a human protagonist only, which suggests that the enthusiasm for non-human playable races is distinctly lower. Again, this makes it difficult to justify including this as part of the retail game for the same reasons as the cost argument.


DLC as a solution?

If Bioware were to release an alternative race main character as DLC, it could be possible to resolve these problems.

I'm thinking along the lines of a DLC which revoiced the majority of the existing dialogue lines, with the addition of a new introduction specific to that race and some small tweaks and changes during the story dialogue that would be race-linked. And that's it.

The cost and time required to do this would be both predictable and easily contained, which would make it a fairly reasonable candidate for DLC if there was evidence of enough player interest in the idea to cover the costs and make some form of return.

Those not interested in additional races wouldn't have to lose out on other portions of the main game being spent on it, and those who are interested would have a way to get a different playable race than is available in the DA2 model, where you can only be human.


A win-win idea? Or a terrible one that should be promptly discarded? 

Your thoughts would be welcomed.

Modifié par Wozearly, 22 octobre 2012 - 09:54 .

[DarkKnightHolmes]

Uh, using DLC to fix your game is the first sign you've gone seriously wrong.

[Monica83]

The question is:

Why i should pay for something that should be in the base game? Origins had race selection....

Offer alternative races as dlc is the fast way for me to split in this game and pass out..

[Terrorize69]

Your suggesting a fix for something that is not an issue.

It's only a issue in your opinion, if BW feels that another race wouldn't fit the context of the story in DA3, then deal with it.

[PsychoBlonde]

I'd enjoy it if they put out game-related DLC where you play as other races for the length of that DLC, provided that DLC was its own story. I'm not looking for some cheesy cosmetic add-on that lets you put pointy ears on the PC. I don't care what race the PC is--they belong to the Protagonist Master Race no matter what. I do want to see more done with the story and themes of dwarves and elves, which are getting sidelined. But you don't need an elven or dwarven PC to do that.

[The Elder King]

Monica83 wrote...

The question is:

Why i should pay for something that should be in the base game? Origins had race selection....

Offer alternative races as dlc is the fast way for me to split in this game and pass out..

It shouldn't necessary be present in the base game. The fact that they made it in Origins doen't mean they have to put it in DA2 or DA3. Playing a different races is one of my favourite features in Origins, and a feature I'd like to have it back, but I don't believe that the fact Origins have different races options=different race options should be present in the sequels. Of course the backlash from the people who wanted them should be expected, but I think Bioware was expecting this.
About the OP, I think I'm against it, since I don't think it's a feature it should be added as dlcs.

[AlanC9]

But if this is true...

Wozearly wrote...

Problem 2 - Interest

Bioware's feedback from DA:O is that most people played a human protagonist only, which suggests that the enthusiasm for non-human playable races is distinctly lower. Again, this makes it difficult to justify including this as part of the retail game for the same reasons as the cost argument.

... then doesn't it follow that the sales prospects for such a DLC would be relatively poor?

[AntiChri5]

What is this recent obsession with asking for features BioWare decides aren't worth putting into the game as DLC? If it isn't a worthwhile investment as part of the main game, then it wouldn't be a worthwhile investment as a DLC.

[Wozearly]

Terrorize69 wrote...

Your suggesting a fix for something that is not an issue.

It's only a issue in your opinion, if BW feels that another race wouldn't fit the context of the story in DA3, then deal with it.

Fair point, the orignal title of the thread ("fixing the single race issue through DLC") could be construed as provocative. I've amended this to a more neutral way of phrasing the same idea.

However, irrespective of my own opinion, the idea that a fixed race protagonist is less preferable than a choice of races was expressed on a regular basis on these forums after it was announced that DA2 would have a human protagonist. There's a thread here by Allan Schumacher that's gone 47 pages (so far) debating how people would react to a fixed human protagonist in DA:I where a number of people clearly state that they feel that this is not desirable compared to a choice of races.

On your last point, this suggestion assumes that cost is a barrier to multiple-race protagonists. I'm not in a position to quote figures, so I don't know if that holds true or not. I'm just interested to know what people's reactions are to the concept.

If the reason to only use one race is because it wouldn't fit the context of the story to use other races, that's completely different.

[Wozearly]

AlanC9 wrote...

But if this is true...

Wozearly wrote...

Problem 2 - Interest

Bioware's feedback from DA:O is that most people played a human protagonist only, which suggests that the enthusiasm for non-human playable races is distinctly lower. Again, this makes it difficult to justify including this as part of the retail game for the same reasons as the cost argument.

... then doesn't it follow that the sales prospects for such a DLC would be relatively poor?

Potentially, yes it does. Whether that would be a significantly problem or not depends on how much it would actually cost to do something like this rather than another type of DLC, what it could be retailed for, whether it would recoup the cost and, particularly, could it be done with a smaller number of Bioware employees (most is, after all, voice acting) so as not to slow down the release schedule of other DLC.

AntiChri5 wrote...

What is this recent obsession with
asking for features BioWare decides aren't worth putting into the game
as DLC? If it isn't a worthwhile investment as part of the main game,
then it wouldn't be a worthwhile investment as a DLC.

I've amended the title (again) so that hopefully that's not how it reads any more. Not been my night for clarity in the opening line.

However, just because something doesn't work economically as part of the main game doesn't mean that it couldn't work as DLC. Equally, just because it 'could' work as DLC doesn't mean it shouldn't be in the main game.

And just because this was an idea that passed through my mind, it doesn't mean I think its the best answer...but I thought it would be interesting to see what other people thought of it as a slightly controversial suggestion to introduce alternative races if the default position is 'single race only' due to cost.

I think the answer to that question is becoming rather clear.

Modifié par Wozearly, 22 octobre 2012 - 10:02 .

[fchopin]

I posted something like this last week but nobody was interested.
 
social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/371/index/14557678 

[Wozearly]

fchopin wrote...

I posted something like this last week but nobody was interested.
 
social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/371/index/14557678 

Interesting...and yes, not a million miles away from this idea and a lot of similar reactions.

[Fast Jimmy]

I like the idea and concept, honestly I do...

...but I can't imagine a scenario where the extra DLC doesn't feel tacked on to the original experience. If they are letting us play as a dwarf, I'd rather have the story address that holistically, not in a DLC that plugs in a few references and adds a different voice.

Not to mention some of the inherent risks you propose in the original thread about if Bioware would see any returns on such a venture.

Personally? I'd prefer a really awesome mod kit that would let modders hack our characters to appear like different races and to open up more dialogue options.

But that's a different conversation.