29 réponses à ce sujet

[Farci Reprimer]

(This thought I had while ago is difficult to write on paper, especially because english is not my native language. But I try)
So, all in all the new Dragon Age story is promising a lot to us.
We would become inquisitor, a head of major organization and even wield power of a small nation. We will capture lands and castles and lead them to direction we see fit. Also we forge alliances and make decisions which will forever change the Dragon Age world.

That sounds fine and all but.... how will it have influence on our character growth/development?
It is good that my character will have strong impact on story, but will DAI make the Inquisitor too much of a semi-god who goes around adventuring in a big world and changing majorly peoples lifes while at it. And in the end he/she will modestly save the world by closing the fade-tear and returning back to his/her keep before dinner.
Briefly speaking, I think good story impact ON characters is just as important as characters impact TO story. I want my character to be totally different person at the end of the game, comparing to where i started; whatever character i create.

Main character of this story should not be some kind of B-action movie hero who does the impossible things and doesnt get even a scratch. Inquisitor should fail at times if you are not careful, fall to the ground, get wounded, have to sacrifice something dear to him, get some scars from battles (mental and physical), get stabbed in the back (maybe literally) etc etc. In other words bioware should not let their characters get a way too easily.
For example  I liked how in DAO your Warden could die in the end and suffer but I disliked how Hawke in DA2 stumbled again and again qunari, tamplar and mage conflicts almost by accident, shrugged his shoulders and rised constantly in rank in a slipshod way.

It is important that Bioware is giving us great deal of control but i think they could be even more bold in their plot twists and drama concwerning our characters.

What do you guys think?

Modifié par FarciReprimer, 23 janvier 2014 - 10:40 .

[Ailith Tycane]

I think how it affects your character is completely up to you. That's the point of making a game like this.

[Farci Reprimer]

Ailith430 wrote...

I think how it affects your character is completely up to you. That's the point of making a game like this.

Yes but total control can mean no suprises and I want to enjoy the story of DAI like any good movie or tv show. I am not saying I want any less impact to my character, I am saying more unexcpected plot twists.

I think good example is the part from DAO where you confronted ser Cauthrien. It was my favorite quest in the whole game because you could have killed Cauthrien and be done with it or lose and get captured. There was so many possibilities to that moment and you didnt even know it when you played it first time, but still you made a plot changing decision.

Maybe inquisitor for example could get imprioned at some point by his enemies and get tortured for information and it would be up to you how much you would be willing to talk in fear of death, pain and losing your pretty face:D

[Ieldra]

I think permanent changes to the physical or mental aspect of your character should remain under player control. That's part of this being a role-playing game. I hated ME's "Renegade scarring" with a passion and found it insulting that it cost three times as much as the best ship upgrade of the most important resource to remove it.

Instead, give me dialogue options to express how my character has been affected by certain events. If I want scars, I'll use something like the Emporium's mirror.

I can't control events. I should, however, have control over how I am affected by them.

Modifié par Ieldra2, 23 janvier 2014 - 11:13 .

[Farci Reprimer]

I agree with you Ieldra2, it would easily be very annoying if bioware would change our heros appearance or personality dramatically without permission, but that does not mean something like it could not work if implemented in right way.

Since we are talking about scars I will give one possible scenario about that:

Inquisitor is fighting a fierce battle against fade creatures and makes decision about strategy. As a result of that decision battle is won easily but one creature manages to wound inquisitor, leaving a nasty and ugly scar to his/her face. After that you can decide if you wish to collect some healing herbs to your face and/or seek help from powerful spirit healer.
Kinda like how in witcher 2 you could erase some hilarious tattoo from Geralts face if you wished to or keep it as a trophy from another intresting adventure.

I think that something like that would not be so bad.

Modifié par FarciReprimer, 23 janvier 2014 - 11:43 .

[Knight of Dane]

I think there should be drawn a line between "immediate reactions" and "afterthoughts" of the protagonist.

Immediate reactions being scripted reactions such as being surprised or shocked that the story has set in stone will happen, so there is actual progression. (We won't ever get a chance to develop out character if s/he is a brick to begin with)

Afterthoughts is the first quiet moment after where the player will get to decide what impppact on their PC the event will actually have. (A NPC asks "how are you?" "You okay?" etc.)

[KC_Prototype]

Like they said, the way your character reacts to the story and the world is up to you. Your companions will definitely react and change through out the events of DA:I.

[Farci Reprimer]

KC_Prototype wrote...

Like they said, the way your character reacts to the story and the world is up to you. Your companions will definitely react and change through out the events of DA:I.

Kinda missing my point I think

[wright1978]

Ieldra2 wrote...

I think permanent changes to the physical or mental aspect of your character should remain under player control. That's part of this being a role-playing game. I hated ME's "Renegade scarring" with a passion and found it insulting that it cost three times as much as the best ship upgrade of the most important resource to remove it.

Instead, give me dialogue options to express how my character has been affected by certain events. If I want scars, I'll use something like the Emporium's mirror.

I can't control events. I should, however, have control over how I am affected by them.

Dialogue to express how little or much character has been affected by events i'd certainly be in favour of.
I'm extremely against any element of forced overriding my control over the mental aspect  of the character i'm roleplaying and i'd prefer if they avoiding going down the route of forcing physical defeats.

[Big I]

In DA2 I found it weird when Hawke would talk about how evil blood magic was in auto dialogue despite being a) an apostate and (for me at least) a blood mage. Also if "blue icon" Hawke would say things regarding the Maker during combat.


In ME3 some things that annoyed me were Shepard acting like the fall of Thessia was somehow more relevant/important than the falls of Khar'shan, Dekunna, and oh right, Earth. Also the fact that one kid left behind on Earth was more relevant than Thane, Mordin, etc.


Long story short, not a fan of anyone other than myself deciding what things effect/are important to my PC.

[Sir JK]

Knight of Dane wrote...

I think there should be drawn a line between "immediate reactions" and "afterthoughts" of the protagonist.

Immediate reactions being scripted reactions such as being surprised or shocked that the story has set in stone will happen, so there is actual progression. (We won't ever get a chance to develop out character if s/he is a brick to begin with)

Afterthoughts is the first quiet moment after where the player will get to decide what impppact on their PC the event will actually have. (A NPC asks "how are you?" "You okay?" etc.)

I like this suggestion. Having the instinctual be automatic and then being allowed to reflect on how something affected the character. It's a neat approach that allows you to control your character while still actually promoting growth and being affected by the world around you.
It won't be as indepth as something fixed, but maybe it doesn't need to be.

[In Exile]

Knight of Dane wrote...

I think there should be drawn a line between "immediate reactions" and "afterthoughts" of the protagonist.

Immediate reactions being scripted reactions such as being surprised or shocked that the story has set in stone will happen, so there is actual progression. (We won't ever get a chance to develop out character if s/he is a brick to begin with)

And DA:O already did this, so certainly there couldn't be justified complaint from others.

[Fast Jimmy]

In Exile wrote...

Knight of Dane wrote...

I think there should be drawn a line between "immediate reactions" and "afterthoughts" of the protagonist.

Immediate reactions being scripted reactions such as being surprised or shocked that the story has set in stone will happen, so there is actual progression. (We won't ever get a chance to develop out character if s/he is a brick to begin with)

And DA:O already did this, so certainly there couldn't be justified complaint from others.

Unless people complained and had problems with the few times DA:O did this.

Just because it existed in DA:O does not make it immediately permissible in all other games, in any other form and with ad infinitum volume.

[DRTJR]

I don't know, I would like my character looking as scarred as Zaeed Massani.

[Willowhugger]

It'll be up to us and depends on how you want to roleplay your character, if you want to roleplay your character.

My Hawke started off as Paragon and ended up a mixture of Aggressive and Snarky.

[Farci Reprimer]

Well now David Gaider has confirmed that there is not so much auto-tune to your inquisitors personality so I quess you can decide more your reactions to events.

 

What I want is some REALLY hard decisions about how much you are willing to sacrifice to save others or do you care at all.

 

For example if Varric was about to get eaten by a dragon at some point in the story you could decide not to help him (and maybe then replace him by some nameless solider-rogue from the fortress) or save Varric and get your leg bitten off by the dragon in the progress. You would get a peg-leg and moving penalty to your character for the rest of the game, but at least you could keep good old Varric as your companion.

 

Maybe not something so drastic, but you get my meaning.

All in all I want bioware to try to further break the boundaries of how untouchable RPG heroes are in their games

What do you think?

[kipac]

If Inquisitors are really groups that use their authority to "lead" (more like forced, probably) others to the direction they see fit, and the protagonist actually believes and follows that rule like an indoctrinated minion, then I won't enjoy the game.

Maybe a part of story is about the protagonist comes to realizing the wrongdoing of his/her organization, and starts making choices (by us players) to either follow the guides of Inquisitors or revolts against your organization and starts acting on your own.

I don't really know much of lore about Inquisitor and DA:I world, but I hope the Inquisitors are not some dictators that's not any better than Templers.

[Vulpe]

I'll just present my personal philosophy here just because it fits.

Your choices dictate what and who you are. What you chose (or not chose ) to do, how you do it , what you think (or don't think), what you say (or don't say) and how you react to other people actions, words et cetera shape you as a person. The one you are today is not the same person that you'll be tomorrow. The changes can be bigger or smaller, depending on circumstances, effects and other things. You're the sum of all your actions and interactions.

 

The same applies here with the Inquisitor. You'll develop one way or another depending on your decisions and the way you interact with others. You make a good decision...everybody lives or at least the lesser bad happens. You make bad decisions...things will not go that well if someone else isn't there to fix your incompetence. What the Inquisitor feels and thinks is what you think and what you feel ( or what you decide to feel and think if you want to play a certain type of character ) because in the end the Inqusitor is a character that is controlled by the players...he/she is an extension of us.

 

If you want to be better immersed into your character and to better present your thoughts through him/her it can be very easely resolved by making the companions and other NPCs ask the Inquisitor about his feelings/opinions, to which you'll respond accordingly. If I remember correct, they said that the player can ask companions how they fell / their opinion or even have more or lesser acidic confrontations with them after certain events take place + that the companions might do the same thing to the Inquisitor. 

 

This is enforced by the fact that in some conversation the player will have the option to chose what type of emotion they'll send when choosing their responses, thus the Inquisitor can say something which might express anger, sadness, happiness or can remain stoic and neutral, based on what you prefer in the given context.

 

As for the unexpected events; you're always confronted with unexpected events (more unexpected than others). It's your "fault" that you are so good that you always overcome them, thus you or your companions are not being affected in a negative way by them.

[LinksOcarina]

It should be a balance of the two. Some stuff you do can change what happens around you, but other stuff should be a reaction to your presence and therefore force you to react, and impact it,afterwards.

[Bob from Accounting]

Minor physical effects are great.

 

A character breathing hard after a battle, accumulating bruises and scratches, sweat. Maybe their voice becomes hoarse. They get sick. Clothing damage. 

 

Subtle touches like that are great for reinforcing the vulnerability of the protagonist without forcing any unwanted characterization or weakness on them. They still remain powerful. I would tend to think the lack of such touches has more to do with the work involved in animation and modeling than any writing issues.

 

However, it really needs to stay subtle. Getting a grevious injury every hour is going to stop becoming fun and start becoming stupid real quick. Mass Effect did it best by having Garrus and only Garrus get scars on his face. They got the appropriate amount of attention. It was neither ignored nor overblown.

 

It should also be story occurances, instead of random injuries sustained in combat.

[Zatche]

What Julian said. Your own choices define your character.

The writers have 9 companions and certain important NPCs to write character development for. I think that's enough.

[Calendril]

I get the impression that the OP would like to see more concrete personal consequences for actions chosen by the player. Many of the choices in the DA series have felt like there was always one "right" answer that allowed you to have your cake and eat it too.

 

One of the best examples I can think of is in Awakenings. You have to choose one: Save the Keep or Save Amaranthine. If you save the Keep, Amaranthine is toast. But if you save Amaranthine, it's possible to have minimal damage to the Keep and it's population.

 

An example that I think matches the OP's idea (If I'm reading it right) would be taking Bethany on the Dark Roads expedition. If you do... things will happen. If you don't, things will happen but not so bad

[Iron Fist]

I think it would be cool if the Inquisitor could actually receive permanent physical disabilities that affect gameplay.

 

You lose an eye and your accuracy is halved. You lose an arm and have to make custom armor, as well as being unable to use a weapon on that side anymore.

 

There would have to be (admittedly immersion-breaking) limitations and liberties taken with this mechanic, but I think it's something that should be explored in a game.

[Iakus]

It is important that Bioware is giving us great deal of control but i think they could be even more bold in their plot twists and drama concwerning our characters.

What do you guys think?

 

just don't turn my inquisitor into Walter White at the very end.

[Laughing_Man]

I have no problem with plot twists, and various surprises the story throws at you - those things usually add to the quality of the story. (when done well of course)

 

However, I would hate to see my ability to control my PC's reactions get hijacked by the writers like in ME3.

Those tiresome dreams, and Shepard's various automatic whiny responses served only to annoy me, instead of what I assume was the original goal behind them - to point out the and immerse the player in gravity and hopelessness of the situation.