127 réponses à ce sujet

[Lebanese Dude]

Most gamers who play fantasy games have become desensitized to the "fearsome" appearance of corrupted humanoids.

Zombies, skeletons, humanoid aliens, etc.. hardly scare any veteran gamer.

What makes them "scary" is their chaotic, unnatural, and inhumane nature. I "fear" dark spawn not because they look fearsome but because they can taint me and kill me slowly, just like I would fear a venomous snake. I "fear" them because they can randomly kill my friend over there because they exist to destroy, just like I get worried when a loved one went to a sketchy party and hasn't returned.

So I would say its fear of their actions and effects, rather than their appearance.

Given that they can potentially kill both your siblings in DA2, they are "scary" enough.

[Vortex13]

The Mother was an excellent villain.

 

The Children from Awakening, they were the right blend of creepy and "holy s@#$! They can grow legs!"

 

I think that the atmosphere has to be conductive to the Darkspawns' appearance, you have to feel vulnerable and on edge. Its not so much the jump scares that make a good monster, its the anticipation of it jumping out at you. Moving slowly around a corner, expecting to see the monster waiting for you, and not finding anything is a lot more creepy then monsters running up to impale themselves on your sword.

 

I will say that I hope BioWare brings back the body horror elements of the Darkspawn though. The nature of how BroodMothers are created, the grotesque, vaguely human appearance in the Children with their "faces"etc. So far the Mother and the Children from Awakening and the Necromorphs from the Dead Space series (seriously the corpses of dead babies trying to decapitate you) have been the only monsters to exhibit an involuntary shudder down my spine when I encounter them. 

 

The Reaper ground forces  ..eh. Maybe I just have been too scared by the Necromorphs, but I never really felt intimidated by them; with the exception of the Asari Monestary level, though that ties back into the atmosphere I mentioned. The Reapers themselves were intimidating from a Culthulu-esque perspective.

[Pottumuusi]

I have question... what enemy outside really well done bosses scary veteran gamers?

 

Spiders.

 

Oh god, spiders.

[Mockingword]

I'd rather Darkspawn went away altogether. I don't find them scary, just dull. They're like the least engaging part of the setting.

[TurretSyndrome]

They should bring back Origins Darkspawn. Everything about them, their armour, their grotesque faces, their jagged and strange versions of weapons were all way better than what I saw in DA 2. 

[Wolfen09]

Its all a matter of atmosphere, for example, in skyrim you enter a cave and in the distance you here one of those chaurus rattle, you cant see it but you know its there and the sound is just creepy...  the banshee form me3 you can hear it scream from across the map and your first reaction is oh crap i have to get ready...  i think in the book stolen throne that when maric and company got to ortan thaig that it was completely dark and they only discovered the spiders when they lit a torch....  the deep roads should be this way, have it so you know something is out there, but when it attacks is still a mystery...  it creates a feeling of suspense which in turn will lead to a little more fear being instilled even if its subconsciously

[kipac]

Darkspawns in DA are all jokes, and trying to justify their unscariness by saying that their sheer numbers are what make them scary and horrifying is just an excuse.

Look at orcs from the lord of the rings. They are basically the same as darkspawns, but the movie/book did a very good job at making orcs look terrifying even if they are just fodders against main characters.

Bioware should do better job at designing darkspawns. Right now they are lesser than random mercenary thugs.

[Hanako Ikezawa]

They should bring back Origins Darkspawn. Everything about them, their armour, their, grotesque faces, their jagged and strange versions of weapons were all way better than what I saw in DA 2. 

I agree on them getting rid of the armor from Origins. Creatures who run around in caves shouldn't have armor more intricate than armor nobles had. 

[The Hierophant]

I'd prefer it if the hurlocks and shrieks looked more feral like the Crawlers from the film The Descent.



Plus i think they should be wearing rotted strips of clothing like animal skins outside of a blight instead, due to them lacking the mental capacity to make and maintain armor without a sentient leader around.

[TurretSyndrome]

I agree on them getting rid of the armor from Origins. Creatures who run around in caves shouldn't have armor more intricate than armor nobles had. 

 

 

It was detailed in a crude way, I could see feathers, bone, pieces of leather, armour pieces etc, but definitely not better than your typical armour set. DA 2 darkspawn armour looked like chipped stone put on, which was uninspiring and felt very unimaginative. The lore also supports they have a certain level of crafting expertise to back up the existence of the armour in Origins. 

 

I suggest reading the the page about them in the wikia. They are not the simpleminded beasts a lot of people assume they are. That kind of thinking mostly came out as a result of the lackluster job done on them in DA 2.

[Beerfish]

The part leading up to the brood mother was well done to put one on edge the little poem you get.  They need a whole lot more of that, yeah mostly they are mook fodder but there are a lot of mook fodder in these games, templars, mages, bandits.

[The Spanish Inquisitor]

Well DA2 and DAI are not about the darkspawn , we already had a blight, and lets say I hope it takes a while before they find the next archdemon.
But when ever you travel to deep roads we should see plenty of them. Now I prefer Origin Version over what we saw in DA 2 but Darkspawn doesn't need to be scary to the saver of the world, in most Bioware game you play as the guy/girl that will save the world, so Darkspawns become another type of monster you fight.

But I don't agree that we are to avoid darkspawn and not mow them down, Darkspawn are ever growing threat, they spread like vermin if left unchecked. same reason when a Grey Warden is old they retire in the deep roads, to kill as many Darkspawn as possible. Same thing with the Dwarven legion of the dead. 

Dark Spawn represents the Makers wrath and the Taint how where it goes the nature gets tainted, so where ever they go they corrupt their surrounding so the solution is to mow down the hordes. so Darkspawn are not that big of a threat as a horde corrupting lothering.

[KaiserShep]

I'd prefer it if the hurlocks and shrieks looked more feral like the Crawlers from the film The Descent.



Plus i think they should be wearing rotted strips of clothing like animal skins outside of a blight instead, due to them lacking the mental capacity to make and maintain armor without a sentient leader around.

 

Man, these were fantastic monsters. I would totally get on board with that.

[Hanako Ikezawa]

It was detailed in a crude way, I could see feathers, bone, pieces of leather, armour pieces etc, but definitely not better than your typical armour set. DA 2 darkspawn armour looked like chipped stone put on. The lore also supports they have a certain level of crafting expertise to back up the existence of the armour in Origins. 

 

I suggest reading the the page about them in the wikia. They are not the simpleminded beasts a lot of people assume they are. That kind of thinking mostly came out as a result of the lackluster job done on them in DA 2.

That link states that "the average Darkspawn possesses no intelligence beyond a simple animal cunning." 

 

In fact, I believe for what little smithing they have is done by ghouls and not Darkspawn themselves. And while they may get good blacksmiths from time to time, the sheer number of Darkspawn needing to be outfitted versus how little resources there are makes the DA@ armor much more believable than the Origins armor.

[TurretSyndrome]

That part refers to their combat prowess. Ghouls are not technically Darkspawn, but corrupted creatures. The traps are set by Genlocks and ambushes by Shrieks which does explain it since their counterpart races, the elves and dwarves are known to be capable of such tactics. Genlocks are also capable of forging weapons and armour and since they are the largest in number, it is not hard to imagine how they are able to supply the rest of the horde.

 

Again, they are not as mindless as you think they are. With all that said however, most of their skills seem to stem from their brethren race(human, dwarf, elf and qunari) rather than from learning. It's more like instinct and therefore doesn't really require actual intelligence to learn.

[Hanako Ikezawa]

That part refers to their combat prowess. Ghouls are not technically Darkspawn, but corrupted creatures. The traps are set by Genlocks and ambushes by Shrieks which does explain it since their counterpart races, the elves and dwarves are known to be capable of such tactics. Genlocks are also capable of forging weapons and armour and since they are the largest in number, it is not hard to imagine how they are able to supply the rest of the horde.

 

Again, they are not as mindless as you think they are. With all that said however, most of their skills seem to stem from their brethren race(human, dwarf, elf and qunari) rather than from learning. It's more like instinct and therefore doesn't really require actual intelligence to learn.

The link also says they have a "a certain limited crafting expertise." And that plus once again the sheer number of Darkspawn born daily compared to how much ore can be found, smelting, and turned into armor, leaves them with having to go with bare necessities per each set.There was none of that with the Origins style of armor. The armor in Origins is something that would take weeks to make in optimal conditions by the best blacksmiths. The Dakspawn don't have that.

 

I'm not saying they are stupid. Compared to humanas, elves, dwarves, and qunari they may be but they are at least sentient and barely sapient. As such, they are not capable of what the other four races are in terms of craftsmanship. 

[TurretSyndrome]

You're combining game design limitations and logic. One doesn't have to always and perfectly fulfill another. But let's say you're right , neither you nor I really know what goes in the underground to assume that they cannot outfit all of their kind with armour and weapons. They are always digging the ground, they have control of so many thaigs. So it's very likely that they have no problem being able to outfit each and every one of their kind with proper equipment regardless of their population count.

 

Whatever the case may be, we know that they are capable of creating Origins level equipment. Of course it is not on par with what humans can create but it is there. And their advantage is that they don't have to learn, they have the skills tailored to them by instinct because of being born from a particular race.

[Wulfram]

I think all RPGs need some mooks, and darkspawn help fill that niche.

 

Having some more special darkspawn could be good, though.  And Emissaries should be scarier, I think.

 

Also, part of what's needed to make enemies scary is that they have scary abilities.  Unfair abilities.  If a Shriek Alpha is just a tough fight, even a very tough fight, that's not scary.  If you hear the Shriek alpha's howl and know that soon something will leap out of the darkness and quickly do enough damage to knock your mage out of the fight, that's scary.

Banshees in ME3 are pretty scary.  Partly because of their look, but also because of their god-damned magnet hands sync kill.

[Chewin]

Not really that much interested in making Darkspawn scary looking. I'm much more intrigued by what Awakening offered--by making the Darkspawn sapient which made them far more interesting rather than serving only as mindless creatures whose only purpose is to bring destruction to the world.

[Tevinter Soldier]

My understanding was that darkspawn were not "scary" nor were they meant too be.

 

apart from ogres you dont fear darkspawn.

 

your fear the horde! thats the whole point of why a blight is scary because all the darkspawn rally together. It's not individual darkspawn thats the problem but the HORDE!

 

Where do people get this idea that darkspawn were these great demons? dwarves have kept them at bay since the first blight they couldn't do that if the darkspawn were unstoppable menaces.

 

That was the whole point with king Cailan he didn't take the darkspawn NUMBERS seriously. darkspawn themselves are not a problem its the taint they carry and numbers that makes for a problem.

 

IF its anything its BLOOD MAGES that need a boost, if a blood mage is this big threat lets see it not another "oh its just a mage!" I want to see demon summoning, party members being turned against you. your very life sapped from you treat it with the fear its supposed to interject.

[MrMrPendragon]

^

Right. But we probably won't ever face a horde. The game will make every excuse to "send in a small party" and have us avoid the horde, which kinda sucks because the numbers game is really what makes the darkspawn to be feared. The people of Thedas even gave that a name ---- The Blights.

I like the idea of making Blood Mages scary. Usually I just mow down mages in combat, since I always have a tactic set for every companion every time a mage appears.

There should be villains that you can't ever hope to defeat directly, like again, a sovereign-class reaper than can wipe out innocent people and seasoned veterans alike in a matter of seconds.

[Tevinter Soldier]

tactic set?

 

i play as a mage my tactic is always the same.

send in my tank! followed by mana clash!

[Cyr8]

I'm disappointed in the Darkspawn characterization overall. Not just in looks, but overall presentation. In DA:O the hurlocks laughed at you; this deep gutteral laugh that infuriated and startled at the same time. In one of the books (I don't remember, I think Stolen Throne or something) it is said that the magical darkspawn (sorry, forgot their names) could even talk and hurl insults at you while fighting. I'm yet to see that. Finally, looking at Darkspawn concept art from DA2 just pisses me off. The concept art is cool, even though they simplified (greatly) the look from DA:O, but when you actually look at the Darkspawn designs in game, you see that it's nothing like that.

[Maria Caliban]

Now try this in a third-person party based game. The camera is pulled back so your sight lines aren't blocked by narrow corridors, darkness, or just your limited field of vision, and you can pause the game in the middle of the action. You can't have as many subtle sound cues because the PC can't crouch and move slowly. The environment won't be as detailed either.

[Aimi]

Now try this in a third-person party based game. The camera is pulled back so your sight lines aren't blocked by narrow corridors, darkness, or just your limited field of vision, and you can pause the game in the middle of the action. You can't have as many subtle sound cues because the PC can't crouch and move slowly. The environment won't be as detailed either.

F'true.

What I was getting at is less the reproducibility of fighting poison headcrabs, and more that the player's fear in that situation wasn't really based on the appearance of the zombie and more on the other factors like the ones mentioned in the post I quoted. You couldn't see the zombie, but you could hear ominous sounds. When the zombie finally did appear, it showed up and attacked quickly, virtually out of nowhere. The sound that it made when attacking was startling, if not terrifying. Stuff like that.

Dragon Age games never really managed anything similar. There were some elements of anticipatory terror with the runup to the Broodmother and Hespith's creepy rhyme, and the "out of nowhere with scary sounds" kinda happened in DA2 whenever spiders would show up in caves (although that might just be a touch of arachnophobia on my part). And, like you said, there are ways to mitigate fear because the viewpoint is different and pausing in mid-combat is not only easy but helpful and encouraged.

In that light, I think that the appearance of the darkspawn is a red herring. It's a video game; unless a player has a particular phobia (like, again, spiders) she's not going to be scared of the way something looks. More important is what the thing does, how it is framed, and how it appears.