551 réponses à ce sujet

[Ginasue]

David Gaider wrote...

Ginasue wrote...
Sometimes I wish I could have a say in what is said. Instead of what you have a choice to say, that you had a way to say something yourself to the others. Yet we can't because so many people would say things that maybe just aren't right and it would mess up the game

Actually, the fact that the player can't participate in the banter was something we couldn't avoid. I would have liked to do it, but the way the engine works you either have the full cutscene-like conversation -- which stops all action and zooms in to provide you with reply options -- or it's ambient dialogue that is going on around you. We didn't want banter to force the player to stop and listen to it if they didn't want to, and there's no way for us to provide response options to ambient dialogue you may not be paying attention to.

Glad you enjoyed the banter, however.

Just to point it out, this can't be laid solely at my doorstep -- Sheryl Chee and Mary Kirby are responsible for just as much writing as I was, and some of their stuff is far funnier than mine is.

When I asked the same question this was the answer that David gave me.

[Templ]

Ferret A Baudoin wrote...

I'm not mad I tell you. No, the voices tell me I'm quite sane.

Bah! A "sane" person can't honestly call him/herself a good writer. In order to be a good writer, you have to be a little bit insane. Therefore, you should take pride in your insanity. I know I do.

[Jawa Bane]

I love Oghrens dialogue with Alistar. The one about polishing his 'weapon'. Hilarious.

[Bryy_Miller]

SpaceAlex wrote...

Ferret A Baudoin wrote...

I'm not mad I tell you. No, the voices tell me I'm quite sane.

Bah! A "sane" person can't honestly call him/herself a good writer. In order to be a good writer, you have to be a little bit insane. Therefore, you should take pride in your insanity. I know I do.

No, in order to be a good writer, you need to be a little douchey. 
That is to say that you need to recognize your own talent, and fight for its "honor" when need be.

Modifié par Bryy_Miller, 09 janvier 2010 - 07:19 .

[Ginasue]

A good writer has pride in his work.

What he feels about his work, no mater what, that's the important thing.

Others can say, well this is a piece of trash, but let them try and do it, and you will find they can't even put two words together and make them mean something.

Also, what one person likes, someone else might not like. It's a mater of taste.

Some writers go for years without someone given them a chance to have there work printed. Others come out with one hit wonders and then are gone.

A writer lives in his own little world, the world he has made in what he writes. Sometimes others are given the chance to come into that world and live out the dream with the writer. When that happens they tell others, and soon other people are enjoying the dream.

[David Gaider]

glenboy24 wrote...
I have to ask if there were 'any' moments or lines of dialogue to which you were partial that you were forced to cut from the final cut of Dragon Age?

Oh, sure. Some of them were painful, too, and made the story less reactive than I might have wished. That's part of game development, however. Unlike with a movie, the story can't be our only focus -- it has to be a game, as well, which is why writing is only one amongst the equally-important Design disciplines. Sometimes you need to do the best you can, and overall I think we did pretty damned well.

If so, I would very much like to have a few examples and wonder if we might see those moments brought out, modified slightly, and shown in future chapters of the DA Saga, and if so, which ones?

Oh, I don't know that I really want to get into the "Might Have Been" game. The trouble with talking about such things is that folks tend to leap on them and start picturing them as these perfect gems that were unfairly cut -- rather than how they probably would have ended up had we attempted them, with the limited resources we had to allocate. I think everyone's still a little too emotionally invested to start teasing them with that stuff.

And some of them are really just too painful for me to discuss, yet. You think the "Might Have Been" game is bad for you guys? Us developers have a bit of trouble looking at our own projects objectively towards the end... we see every missed opportunity, every story that was short-cut out of necessity, every plot that didn't turn out like we'd pictured, and often these things become all we can see. You have to remind yourself sometimes in those dark, final days that there's still good there at all and that most people will never see behind the red curtain quite as thoroughly as you do.

As for seeing these things in the future, it really depends. A lot of it was just variants to the story, things like alternate ways the game ended or variations on how some of your companions turned out, and they're pretty specific to this story -- they're not really things you can use again. A few things, like some of the cut companions or specific plots are things I wouldn't mind using again elsewhere. I won't go into details on those, either, because I probably will.

Maybe later there will be enough distance to start talking about the Lost Tales of Dragon Age. But not today.

Modifié par David Gaider, 09 janvier 2010 - 07:54 .

[Bryy_Miller]

That day will be awesome. I enjoy hearing about cut stuff from TV or games years later.

[Ginasue]

Having just read the new update for this week, I'm glad to say that the writers will still be hard at work, doing great things for the rest of us to enjoy.

Modifié par Ginasue, 09 janvier 2010 - 08:06 .

[TheMadCat]

Dragon Age: Origins - Director's Cut. Bring it out in a year or two, maybe 6 months or so before the true sequel to wet everyone's lips. That's money in the bank right there and we all know cash is what makes EA go round and round.

[Chokra Broodslayer]

I have to say I have been very impressed with the dialogue thus far.



My favorite funny part was "First it's all, 'I like you,' then it's *zap* frog time!" I guess it was unexpected.



Overall, the dialogue has been outstanding and fits the characters perfectly. I just can't get enough of this game.

[K2daE]

just want to add my love of the writing team. everything shale says cracks me up! looking past the great plot and the fantastic dialogue, the codex entries are brilliant. just like in Mass Effect they built the world.

[Abriael_CG]

I have (even if a bit late) to join the bandwagon and give my best compliments to the team of writers. DA:O is probably the best written western RPG i ever played (I tend not to make direct comparison with Japanese ones, which I love as well, but the writing syle and character presentation is simply too different). I never have been so fond of the characters in a western RPG as much as I am being with Dragon Age. And I played basically them all since Pool of Radiance

In spite of my overly lawful-good-ish self, this is basically the first gaming-based fantasy world in which I'm not left wanting by to the lack of my most beloved class (the paladin). It just makes so much sense that they don't exist (alongside clerics), that I had absolutely no problem transitioning to other roles, RP-wise. That happens very, very rarely to me. This is a little personal boon to the overall coherence and beauty of the world you guys created. May not mean much, but it's what I feel.
You pulled the envelope, and it shows.

Now, the first of you writers that creates a beautiful, witty, hardcore, bossy, heavily-armored and armed lady-knight as a (possibly romanceable) companion for a future expansion/DLC will become my personal hero/heroine
It's my very favourite kind of female character, and the only thing that I really missed in the game.
If you don't, I'll be forced to make my own, and my real life will suffer because of all the hours spent with the toolset and recording. If I become a pale, spider-web-covered basement-dweller it'll be your fault

Modifié par Abriael_CG, 09 janvier 2010 - 09:28 .

[steinvegard]

[quote]David Gaider wrote...

Oh, sure. Some of them were painful, too, and made the story less reactive than I might have wished. That's part of game development, however. Unlike with a movie, the story can't be our only focus -- it has to be a game, as well, which is why writing is only one amongst the equally-important Design disciplines. Sometimes you need to do the best you can, and overall I think we did pretty damned well.[quote]

I just want to add that this sentence sums up my feeling about this subject. From beginning to end, I enjoyed the writing in this game. I look very much forward to following the story and characters further.

Modifié par steinvegard, 09 janvier 2010 - 09:50 .

[hyrulehistorian]

David Gaider wrote...

aries1001 wrote...
Did you know that in BG2:TOB there is sort of hommage to the old text adventures? You have to actually tell the player to go n,s,w,e - just like in the day of the text adventures. This is certainly a feature I would like to see included in DA:O (again).

A clever modder could maybe make a little mod that works the way, you've explained in this thread - or maybe a Bioware employee will take a shot at it?

Well, I don't know if we would actually do anything text-related, but I'm not above a bit of an homage to text adventures of old. I broke my teeth on Infocom games -- to this day, I still think "A Mind Forever Voyaging" as one of my all-time faves.

That and I'm scared of grues.

have you found yourself in front of a white house with a mailbox latley? And have you ever happend to play the mostly forgotten but still absoulute masterpiece that was Zork Nemesis?

[DragonRageGT]

Hey David, since you never answered me, I'm taking one from my friend Himura and even with the risk of a "pladurism" (you get that joke right?), here's one for you and the whole fraking awesome team! Cheers!

MrHimuraChan...

here, have a brazilian drink, caipirinha, on the house 


In case anyone wants, the recipe is here:
HINT: also works with vodka or rum
HINT2: If you decide to use cachaça, be avare that this baby is strong enough to power a car.

Modifié par RageGT, 09 janvier 2010 - 10:12 .

[Chokra Broodslayer]

HolyRomanCousinConsort wrote...

This is the first game where I liked ALL of the companions. In fact it's really hard to even pick a favorite.

I hear you!

I end up switching them in and out just so I have some variety.

Like everyone else mentioned... love the banter between the companions as you travel. It's funny to hear them argue amongst themselves or to hear their sighs when they're disappointed in your choice, or whatever is going on at the time.

I think the deal is that they're all solid characters. Bladur's Gate series had some great characters but a few really stood out, so you ended up just keeping them and ditching the others. I mean... who didn't want Minsc in their party?

To me, Morrigan really stands out -- but that's not because the character is any stronger than the others, but because of Claudia Black doing the voice acting -- I really enjoyed her on Stargate SG-1 and Farscape.

Otherwise, I think all of the Dragon Age characters are well written with strong backgrounds and interesting personalities.

[Terwox_]

I find Dragon Age to be one off the best written games ever tbh. Kept me at the edge off my seat from start to end. Another great work from the Bioware writers.

[Mahumia]

I would like to compliment and thank the writers and other developers for how this game is put together. I've been searching for a game like this for ages. One becomes emotionally attached to the story, their character and, what makes it really stand out imo, the characters around them.



I love the party banter and the conversations in camp and during quests. It makes it a 'realistic' word, with 'realistic' persons. That is what improves the RPG part of it, and that is what most games lack big time.



Personally I'm not that fond of Eastern RPG.. dunno, I've always had a weakness for Western medieval stuff.



My wishfull thinking includes hoping that you'll continue this way and give us fanatic RPG-fans something to hold on to. But I guess that was the plan anyway?

[UltraBoy360]

Love all the companions and totally agree with everythingl that has been written on this lovely thread. One thing I wanted to add that I REALLY appreciated from the writers, was the PC dialogue. I was a bit sad initially about the lack of voice actor having loved ME, but I can't imagine it now.



So many PC dialogue options were awesome - some laugh out loud funny, others bad ass, others cool in a low key way (one of my random favourites was my last pre-Landsmeet area and yet another NPC was asking if he/she could ask a favour - one of the dialogue responses was as simple as "Sure. Why not. Everyone else does" Which completely read my mind and caused me to spray coffee over my controller.)



I really appreciate how the varied options allowed/helped me to really role-play my guy. I really loved developing my Cousland from heartbroken and angry dude to bad-ass, lover of life with a great sense of humour. I really felt he went on a journey through the dialogue option writing and I have a sense of his personality now in the way I do with many of my favourite other heroes of fiction. Obviously over-the-moon he'll be back in Awakening.



Final case in point (and one of my favourite, character-defining convos in the game): PC to Wynne: "Griffons?" Wynne (exasperated) "YES! The story will have Griffons in it." Brilliant!

[Truedor]

Great thread



Sheryl, David and Mary can I just add my thanks to the others already expressed here. The writing in this game is outstanding. I'm playing 8 different characters simultaneously just to get a flavour of the different party banter and situations. The amount of variety and interaction is just nothing short of incredible. I am very, very grateful for all the effort that has been put into this game by you three and everyone else involved with the writing effort. This aspect of the game just brings the world to life.



My favourite bit at the moment actually is the two chantry sisters in Denerim, I actually take the party closer to the chantry to hear what they're saying. Love that.

[Naamah_bb]

When a story like this completely envelopes you, when it becomes something you think about, when you wonder where will the story lead and when you grow attached to the characters in the story then you know that the work is a master piece.
So...thank you for providing a master piece of a fantasy tale.

[Bunzan Cardinal]

thought the books were more well written. DA:O felt a bit bleh as it was just another story of uniting the country and defeating the evil monsters. Doesnt mean i didnt enjoy it, i just liked the books more.

[Few87]

This is so awesome the way the writers actually respond! What a nice group of people. Just had to say that.

[stardazzled]

So this thread is kind of a "thank you for the story"? (I only got aware of it three minutes ago by reading the weekly update.)

Even though my English is far from perfect (average school English), I would like to add and express my gratitude to all of the creators for having the bullocks to create a very grown-up game with several serious topics that sometimes are hard to swallow. It surprised me and made me very proud.

It's hard to explain but to a European that is deeply interested in the (early) middle ages of Central Europe, the story seems so familiar and yet, at the same time, to see it bound to a game - it just feels special.

Add the (sometimes) very funny dialogues, the party intern banters, greatly drawn characters - without them, DA:O would still have an excellent serious story, but the funny parts... uhm, hard to explain, they feel like they just belong there.

Thank you soooo much for the game's story and for the believable (imho) setting. Love your work.