43 réponses à ce sujet

[CreepingShadow]

lmao.

I guess incredible backstory is a synonym for a stock "pity me! look how much I went through" backtory. It's pretty much like they went through a checklist of bad things that can happen to a person.

 

Born Into Abject Povery: Check!

Two Dead Parents: Check!

Homelessness: Check

Discrimination (On Race, Class, and Mage Status: Check!

Slavery: Check!

Abuse: Check!

R@pe: Check!

 

All of these things are a cheap ploy to garner sympathy from the reader, and then make you gasp in aww at how much she accomplished despite her backround.

[Former_Fiend]

I disagree. I enjoyed them more than any of the game's stories. Maybe that just goes back to my preference for the medium though. There's just more to digest on in a book.

 

I appreciate the games for game related reasons more. 

 

You're welcome to your opinion. I disagree, but that's what it is, an opinion.

[Former_Fiend]

Likewise, I feel very strongly about our ability to make choices with the characters; that's what makes me invested in them. I hate games like Uncharted that are just fancy rail shooters with no real choices to be had. 

[CreepingShadow]

Likewise, I feel very strongly about our ability to make choices with the characters; that's what makes me invested in them. I hate games like Uncharted that are just fancy rail shooters with no real choices to be had. 

 

Yes but there's a difference between making meaningful choices, and dividing the main plot into so many branches that the story and it's characters are nearly impossible to revisit. (I'm looking at you landsmeet )

[Former_Fiend]

I love them both. Uncharted excels in so much great gameplay I couldn't possibly say that. Or any great game. And I don't mind being told a story.. I like choices, but I like just sitting down and have someone tell me something just as much.

 

I admit Uncharted is good at what it tries to do, I just don't like what it tries to do. If you want to make a CGI Indiana Jones movie, make a movie. 

[CreepingShadow]

I love them both. Uncharted excels in so much great gameplay I couldn't possibly say that. Or any great game. And I don't mind being told a story.. I like choices, but I like just sitting down and have someone tell me something just as much.

Yeah Uncharted was fantastic for what it was, an action-adventure shooter. The story, characters, gameplay, and visuals, were all amazing. It's a different genre than an RPG but no less valid.

[Mr.House]

Yeah Uncharted was fantastic for what it was, an action-adventure shooter. The story, characters, gameplay, and visuals, were all amazing. It's a different genre than an RPG but no less valid.

Too bad ND ruined it all with Uncharted 3.

[CreepingShadow]

Too bad ND ruined it all with Uncharted 3.

I actually never got a chance to play 3 because my PlayStation broke right before it came out, and I winded up switching to Xbox. But yeah I heard it wasn't as good as the first two. But regardless of Uncharted 3, Uncharted 2 will always have a place in my heart as one of my favorite action games of all time.

[ttestagr]

Briala's eluvians had two mentions.  In a letter you can find from Gaspard to Celene, and in a war table mission assigning Michel to a task.  Choosing Leliana has him working with your researchers about his experience in them so you have more info on what Briala can do.

[CapivaRasgor]

Is this really the BSN? The first time I see a thread here being derailed towards positive discussion, not that I’m complaining.

Hope you guys don’t mind me jumping in the middle of the conversation but what you both @Former_Fiend and @StreetMagic is something I can relate. You see, I love both books and games, albeit for different reasons. The former for the joy of digesting a good story in my own personal way, I’m free to picture characters/scenes the way I want. The latter for giving me the possibility of actually be on the story, to play a part in it instead being a passive observer, sometimes I don’t even care if the story isn’t particularly mind blowing, as long as I feel I’m part of it it, all is good. In this case I will even say that that I’m slightly biased towards games, and in them I tend to prefer games that are choice based and/or offer me the possibility of customizing the main character. I don’t really see much replay value in games that have a set plot and protagonist, I would be experiencing the exact same story again, which for me is just meh (I’m not one to reread/rewatch novels/films). Choice based games, even if said choices don’t particularly matter, at least make me feel as if the story is different on each. Don’t know why I said all this, maybe I just got a little inspired =P.

More on topic, the above paragraph is likely the reason why I think that gaming franchises should stick to being just that: gaming franchises. As much as I enjoy BioWare (or any developer really) enriching their franchise with external media like novels/films/comics/etc, the way they are tying all that is introduced in said external media into their core product – the games – is just unsatisfying.. to me anyway.

[PrinceLionheart]

It's not just with the novel characters. Every npc whose fate we get to decide in the Keep (doomed or alive) end up being underdeveloped.

-Connor was just there to say "hey, this is what happened in Redcliffe 10 years ago". He contributed nothing to the plot.

-Alistair/Anora just show up to kick the mages out, plus a few war board missions.

-Zevran just gets a war board mission

-Harrowmont/Bhelen gives the exact same war board mission, just either signed Bhelen or signed Harrowmont

-Anders (one of big reasons the war broke out), if alive, is simply mentioned as missing by Varric. If dead, Hawke just has this very pissed off tone when talking about him.

-Sebastian has a war board mission. Either mourns for Justinia if Anders is dead, or is besieging Kirkwall if Anders is alive.

-Amalia (girl from Shale dlc) wasn't mentioned. Why did we save her again?

-Feynriel (Dreamer boy from DA2) wasn't mentioned. And we saved him twice, both in main plot quests.

-Keran (templar kidnapped by blood mages in DA2) wasn't mentioned. We also saved him twice, both in main plot quests.

 

These are the guys that I can remember off the top of my head. I'm sure that if I combed through the Keep, there are more npcs there that are barely mentioned, or not mentioned at all.

 

This is the crux of why people should never make a huge deal about choices. This goes as far back as Mass Effect 2; the simple fact is choices will never have a major impact on the game like they would with a Choose Your Own Adventure book because of he money needed to develop the game. 

[CreepingShadow]

This is the crux of why people should never make a huge deal about choices. This goes as far back as Mass Effect 2; the simple fact is choices will never have a major impact on the game like they would with a Choose Your Own Adventure book because of he money needed to develop the game. 

Yes, but it's also why Bioware should be more careful with the choices they give you. They basically screwed themselves on several fronts, with a lot of the more major choices.

[Cainhurst Crow]

I have to say I was hyped when I heard about Imshael, hyped about this powerful demon/spirit whatever that was on the loose and figured it'd be a pretty awesome fight. Then it turned out to be some guy...yeah...not really feeling the tension compared to the envy demon ya know? Would have been cool to play some tricks with the environment and such, maybe had a cutscene of Imshael before he transforms and all, give it a bit more cinematic weight?

 

Stead the whole thing feels underplayed and unimportant, sorta like Gaxkang was know that I think on it.

[CreepingShadow]

I have to say I was hyped when I heard about Imshael, hyped about this powerful demon/spirit whatever that was on the loose and figured it'd be a pretty awesome fight. Then it turned out to be some guy...yeah...not really feeling the tension compared to the envy demon ya know? Would have been cool to play some tricks with the environment and such, maybe had a cutscene of Imshael before he transforms and all, give it a bit more cinematic weight?

 

Stead the whole thing feels underplayed and unimportant, sorta like Gaxkang was know that I think on it.

The Forbidden Ones are just elite bosses that get included in every DA game, I wasn't expecting much with Imshael. Even with his tiny role in the game, he still got more than Gaxxkang and Xebenkeck, so no I wasn't disappointed.

[Eggplant Hell Princess]

There's isn't anything wrong with Expanded Universe, but it should be relegated to side stories, not to develop the main plot, otherwise it really takes away from the game. For example if you didn't read Asunder or The Masked Empire, you miss a lot of important plot details for the game's story, which just isn't cool.

 

Like in Halamshiral you're given very little information on any of the three leaders, just tidbits, everything else is in the novel. Celene and Briala's love affair, Gaspard's wife killing Celene's parents, really the motivations of all three are largely left out or given passing mentions.

 

Yes thank you.

 

Not to mention that the little information they did give you was delivered in the most uninspired infodumpy way possible.