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[PotentPotions]

I was going to post in the Top 5 Things You Would Like to See... topic, but once I got going, I realized I had more to say than I originally thought, and figured I'd just put it here instead of hijacking a good topic with a really wordy post.

What follows is mostly just me on my soapbox, but I don't often slip out of the shadows to say anything, so I hope you will forgive me. :-)

**  What the heck.  I will throw in my $0.02 worth.  I will apologize in advance because I did indeed type this up in Notepad so I could see the whole mess before I posted it, and it became sort-of an editorial and soapbox speech by the time I got to the end. <grin>  I decided the points I made were valid, though, so I tossed caution to the wind and posted it anyway.  **
I've been lurking and reading what the other fans are interested in seeing in the upcoming DA3.  For myself, I find that one of the things that has made me one of the most devoted of fans has been the ability to alter my game through the use of fan-created content.  Dragon Age: Origins was ground-breaking in it's inclusion of a Toolset that allowed players to access/alter/create content for the game and then share it with others if they so desired.  
When I first encountered Dragon Age: Origins, it was on the Xbox 360.  I had just gotten my very first DevKit box, and having fallen in love with the RPG genre (Oh, God I feel old now...) back in the late 70's, early 80's playing pen and paper games, I saw it on a shelf at my local game retailler and just HAD to have it.  I bought the Ultimate Edition, of course...  <grin>  After playing the "Vanilla" game through almost to the point of complete obsession, I wanted MORE.  I started hunting on the internet to see if there were other games related to DA:O or that were similar in look and feel, but, alas, nothing.  I then discovered the BioWare Social site and the fan modding community, and that was when I found that the Toolset was available to owners of the PC version of the game.  My very next purchase was an electronic copy of DA:O Ultimate Edition from my favorite online retailler.  I had it installed, updated, and had the Toolset up and running a couple of hours later.  
Since that time, I will shamefacedly admit that Dragon Age has been rather an obsession of mine, and modding became something of an unshakable addiction.  I have actively participated in the creation of/addition to several (I think they are anyway) fairly awesome fan mods, and I have found and connected with other authors/creators of fan mods that have done and are continuing to do amazing things in the Dragon Age universe.  Anyway, the whole point of all of that was to explain why Dragon Age continues to live on inside my computer though many other titles have come and gone.  The Dragon Age series (and yes, Mass Effect series also -- I'm almost as obsessed with it. <grin>) is, for me ultimately -always- replayable.  It never gets old or dies, it changes and evolves and I'm continually finding something out there that sparks my interest in picking up my staff, pulling on my leathers, and daring to drink from that chalice once again in order to have the opportunity to listen to Alistair tell bad jokes and laugh at Wynne explaining to him where babies come from.
The Dragon Age universe is a pretty amazing place.  It's filled with stories and lore, and there's always another piece out there that sparks the imagination for someone and makes them want to add their tale to the world.  I am hoping most sincerely that DA3 will continue to flesh out that universe and encourage it to continue to grow and evolve so that I can drop in and visit and lose myself in the magic and wonder of Thedas.  Isn't that, afterall, why one plays an immersive RPG?  
I will make an appeal to the Powers That Be (who may or may not even see my little soapbox sitting here - lol)

-- Please --
Don't do to Dragon Age what you did to Mass Effect.  I've never come out publicly before and said anything one way or the other about ME3, but I will state here that I can't say I've ever been that saddened and let down by a game before.  I had -so- much fun losing myself inside Shepard's head in Mass Effect and ME2, (and yes, I'm one of those crazy people that dusts them off and plays them over and over) then to have the story come to such a painful, tragic and final end --  I played through with no spoilers/cheats from beginning to end the first time -- I actually stood up from my chair and yelled "How could you DO that??!" at the screen as the final sequence played out.  
I don't want to feel like that when I reach the end of DA3 -- I'm not saying it should have some sappy and trite ending or anything. (In fact, I would vastly prefer it if the ending were open for the series to live on) That would certainly -not- fit with the dark overtones of the whole series.  I rather expect "...all of the death and fighting and tragedy," but I also expect it to be laced with the light-heartedness that infused it's predecessors and made me keep wanting to come back for more.  
As for -actual- content?  I would love to see some of the original characters return -- somehow I sincerely doubt that Flemeth will fail to involve herself in the telling of this tale, for example -- In addition, I would love to see Cullen, Jowan, Irving, Gregoir, Morrigan, Leliana, Sten, Anders, Fenris, Sebastian, Tallis....  The list goes on and on and on.  (Oh, let's not forget Varrick.  I simply loved his rather sarcastically humourous take on the world and would love to hear some of his commentary on the more interesting occurances of the game.)
I want better romances!  More interaction and conversation with your chosen LI.  There should be more to a romance than four or five conversations, one brief (and rather unsatisfying) fade-to-black roll in the hay, and then pretty much nothing but the occasional ambient line or conversation throw-in if they happen to be in your party to indicate they're your partner.  DA:O at least let you continue to interact with your LI, even if it was only a "Let's get some sleep" fade to black or a kiss.  DA2 was frustrating for me in that once you bedded your LI, that was pretty much it for conversation and interaction options unless somehow quest related.  I much preferred the Origins romances.  (And I admit it, part of the overall charm of the game for me is the social aspect of it -- I'm one of those that plays more for the storyline and character/plot interaction than for action or combat.  I do the combat stuff because it's a necessary evil to progress the story/plot. <grin>)
More personalization options for character generation.  One of the very first player created mods I ever added to my game was a custom character generation pack that added hairstyles, makeup, hair/eye/skin colors and so forth.  The original selection was okay, I guess, but rather limited.  For example, most of the RPG characters I create have long hair.  I -like- long hair, and to me walking around in-game as a character with short hair due to limitations in the character generator limits my immersion experience.  I would never choose that hairstyle personally, so naturally it follows that a character I play wouldn't either.  I think most people create characters that represent themselves in-game.  Whether it's a character that looks like you, a character that looks as you wish you looked, or a character you've created to be as different from yourself as possible, the point is that while you are in-game, that face is who you are, and being able to customize your look makes it lots more fun.
Decisions that matter!  One of the things I really liked about the Mass Effect series is how (if you started at the beginning of the series) decisions you made way back in the first game had actual repercussions in the events and outcome of ME3. What you said, how you handled people, what sort of person you tried to be -- all of it had weight.  That was really well done.  I've even gone all the way back to the first game and created a whole new character just to play through the entire series and make different choices.  (There's that whole "Of course I have to buy ALL of the games in the series - they're connected!" thing right there, if you're looking at generating revenue.  Just sayin...  :-)
A strong plot and good storytelling!!  You've got the wonderful Mr. Gaider there, so that shouldn't be a problem, but making sure the programming sets all of the flags so the plot hooks up correctly -- well, that's definitely an art form.  Fortunately, BioWare's software gurus seem to be pretty good at that one too.  I had to mention it though, because recently a game I bought for it's potential died a horrible death and wound up expunged from my hard drive because though it had a good premise, the rest just didn't live up to the hype.  It was very disappointing.
As for the rest, I'm just going to say I agree with far too many of the great ideas others have already come up with to list them all.  In the end, I am putting my faith in BioWare to put it all together and show me again why I keep spending my money on every game they put out, and why I continue to play them over and over.  I have no doubt the end product will once again include characters I utterly love and others I love to hate, and even perhaps one or two I want dead from the start.  <grin>  I have yet to find a BioWare game that I didn't ultimately find engaging in some way - I always find something to love about a particular game's quirks, though I will admit that sometimes it takes a little more effort than others.
Ultimately, for me, what would be whipped cream and a cherry on top would be for BioWare to release a Toolset for the new game engine that would let those of us who love Origins for it's mutability continue to do what we love to do:  create beautiful additions that add our own imaginings to the end product.  That, right there, is the one single thing that has set BioWare and Dragon Age apart from all the rest (and there have been many) of the games I have played/written/edited/developed over the last <shudder> almost 40 years.  

As a fantasy fiction writer, there was sometthng about the storyline in Dragon Age that captured my imagination and tugged at my heart.  Then, when I discovered that BioWare had provided the tools that would allow me to not only write fiction placed in the Dragon Age universe, but to make it actually live and breathe inside the game, I was hooked.  I'm not even going to comment on how much time I've spent inside that world or on how much money I've spent on BioWare products since then. (Though I will note that DA:O was my first BioWare game, and now I own them all AND all of the commercial DLC)  I know I am not the only one out there who loves the development aspect available to them thanks to whomever it was who made the decision to release the Toolset -- The BioWare Social website is littered with all sorts of ongoing projects and the fan-sites housing content are pretty much innumerable -- and I forsee at least equal devotion to future installments in the series should they prove as well done and enjoyable as the first.  Just reading the "Top 5 Things You Would Like to See..." topic before posting has given me enough fuel that I could probably write a whole new chapter in the ongoing story of Thedas, the Grey Wardens and the ongoing struggles of all of the factions who continue to fight for their right to exist. 
I suppose that was rather more that $0.02 worth, but I hope you'll forgive me.  <grin> I very seldom actually come out of the shadows and say anything, so when I -do- actually feel strongly enough to say something I do tend to go on a bit.  
I suppose a summary of this whole opinionated mess would be this:  What I want to see in Dragon Age 3 is a well-crafted story where the decisions and events in-game connect and lead up to an ending that makes sense in relation to game lore, a good social sub-structure that lets the player character interact with the other characters in the game and have them relate to the PC differently based on the decisions and play style of the PC,  the ability to customize the avatar and visual aspects of the game to suit the personality and style of the person playing the game, and an overall feeling of continuity in "my" version of the universe -- let my decisions from previous games affect how the universe is shaped when beginning the game.  Finally, if you want my more ongoing devotion <grin>, give me the tools to help my own vision of the world evolve inside my machine.  

Last, but probably most important of all -- Take your time and get it right.  I know there are those who would like to see it rushed out to the shelves just so they can get their hands on it, but I'm one of those who would rather get it later when the whole team is satisfied they did their best than play something that frustrates me no end because it's obvious part of the story was cut out or some of the programming doesn't quite work right because it was released just to "get it out there" as fast as possible.  
I think I'll go back to hiding in my tent now.   Hmmm... on second thought, perhaps I'll roll over, shove that rotten Mabari off the foot of my bed, and go convince Alistair we need to go see what's really happening in the Tower.  Those rumours we heard about Templars and the Rite of Annulment have me really worried.  I hope Cullen's okay.  He seemed so sad when I had to leave the Tower with Duncan...

[Jerrybnsn]

Origins and its toolset was finished before EA. EA doesn't do toolsets for its games because they don't make any money. There will be multiplayer for you to enjoy with updated maps, all for a reasonable price of course.