However...
One must take notice of certain things which have come to light in recent weeks, the foremost being the difficulties and set-backs in regards to Dragon Age and many associated features and add-ons. The issue at the heart of my question is simply, "Did Dragon Age release at the wrong time, in the wrong way, and did it focus upon the wrong tech medium?"
Allow me to clarify further.
We have Mass Effect. A console title that despite garnering 'some' negative attention from right wing pundits for so called 'inappropriate' content, became a massive success and exceded most if not all expectations. Now, on the near horizon, we have Mass Effect 2, a title which has taken all the success and lessons learned from ME1 and added to or improved upon them. Also, much as it's predecessor, it is a title which was designed as a child of the console generation, though a port to PC is obvious. Another observation in regards to the Mass Effect IP is a consistant lack of critical, or at the least frustrating, problems with development time and implementation. Simply put, aside from a somewhat lack-luster piece of DLC -i.e. Pinicle Station- Mass Effect has come and gone and come again with little to no amount of confusion or difficulty. Not to say that there has been none of these things, but what has come about has been little to nothing or handled quickly. Sadly, this brings us to Dragon Age. In the time we have had with Bioware's new IP there has been excessive delays, confusion regarding multiple topics including level of maturity, content, genre, and implementation. Originally slated as a PC "only" IP, that statement was latter recinded and the efforts begun to port the game to consoles. First one console, than others. To say that 'many' last minute choices were made in regards to what and how Dragon Age would be brought to the people would be an understatement. And this brings us back around to my primary inquiry. From what we have witnessed in regards to how Mass Effect has been handled and how Dragon Age has been handled, I find myself wondering, and I pose these questions to you in the forums:
"Would it have been a better choice to not only release Dragon Age in the same manner as Mass Effect, i.e. make it a Console focused IP with options to port to PC later?"
"Would it have been a better choice to take everything learned from the Mass Effect trilogy, it's victories and short-cummings, wait until said trilogy was completed and then utilize all knowledge and resources to not only modernize the look and game-play of Dragon Age but also the manner in which it would be developed and released?"
To sum everything up, to me -in my own opinon and mine alone- Dragon Age suffered. From what? Being intented for the PC first for the sake of Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights nostalgia, in a time when PC gaming is becomming too expensive to maintain and enjoy and is taking a fairly noticable back seat to the console generation. It has suffered from poor marketing, i.e. How far and how dark should we take Dragon Age? Let's show blood and gore, but not nudity. Let's show emotionaly impactful moments like the rape of a loved one, but let's not give any clear indication of it except through later dialogue. Etc, etc. And, it has suffered because the amount of work and time that should have gone into making Dragon Age into everything that Mass Effect has become was not used as effectively as it could have been had this title been maintained in pre-production until after the completetion of the ME Saga. I understand that Bioware has mutlple teams and production facilties, but in this day and age, when an interactive gaming experiecne can take as much time and resouces to develope as say a major Blockbuster film, allocation of people, time, and money is key. Frankly, I feel these things slipped through the cracks. Now, is the point of all this to blame any single party or person? No. I love Bioware. I love the Doctors, Chris and all the massive brains behind the scenes. However, no one is perfect. Mistakes can be made, and all we can hope is that we learn from them.
And now, I pass this thread on to you. I only ask that we try to maintain a level of maturity and open mindedness. I do not expect this thread to be open long, as mine never are. But, I would hate to see it become locked because people could not maintain conversations for more than a few hours or a day. Lastly, let me point out that these views are mine and mine alone. If others share them, so be it. Simply, my Arashok had a question, and this is my pursuit of the answer.
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