25 réponses à ce sujet

[C0uncil0rTev0s]

Personally, I'm glad BW is doing something different.

 

Thank you there for an exellent point. Because of your post here I came with an answer for the biggest question of mine - "WTF is with main plot?". That answer is:

...

There is nothing even close to new in the story.  Every part of it you touch already happened elsewhere before this.

 

Start with the main villain, that declares 'I am everything and you're nothing'. Basically Cory is a pale copy of Souvereign from ME1. Just check this.

I'm okay with copying good stuffs from earlier Bioware games (cause they're a masterpiece), but ffs, don't loose THAT much in the process.

 

Next goes the main villain's goal - Cory wants to open a Breach to assault the Veil in physical form.  And he has minor minions that are mind-controlled, however brilliant they might be on their own.

Aaand there we go - Cory acts here as pale copy of Harbinger, which wants to open an Alpha Relay to assault the Milky Way galaxy in a very physical form. ME2 'Arrival' DLC.

 

How does Cory control everyone? He sends an emissar that tricks potential Inquisitor allies into unfair agreements or total mind control.

 

Unfair agreements - here we go!

Geth were opressed by the quarians, so they've accepted the Old Machines (Reapers) as masters to defend themselves out of despair (ME3).

And rebel mages, which were opressed by the templars, accepted Tevinter to rule over the place. Suddenly - out of despair.

 

Mind control, which started with a 'fine idea to save a world'? It is present!

Cerberus were tricked into saving humanity and thus the world from Reapers by using the same instruments (ME2-3).

Templars and Seekers were tricked into saving the world from corruption by ... becoming corrupt.

 

Special forces, 'first and last line of defense', that have gone rogue in the very best reasons of their own? Yes it is!

Spectres were meant to preserve peace in the galaxy as the Council specops. Best of the Best. But they were both tricked or mind-controlled later into serving the Reapers' cause (Saren in ME1, Tela Vasir in ME2 DLC "Lair of the Shadow Broker").

Grey Wardens were meant to preserve peace in Thedas as the only force to stop the Blights. Best of the Best. But they were tricked into serving ax ex-magister that is both the cause of the Blights and one of the darkspawn himself.

 

List can go on for a very, very long time. I hope you get the point, folks.

 

So, Bioware... Are the devs of DA: I jelous on Mass Effect team?

Or maybe they're too lazy to invent something new (instead of that EA just buys astounding amounts of PR)?
Or maybe you lack new ideas to work with?

If you need new ideas and routes to go just listen to the community voice. This will make both the game and your profits better.

[C0uncil0rTev0s]

Damn, that part still gives me chills... 'You exist, because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it'.

THAT was evil. Pure, epic evil that has degraded to Cory.

[C0uncil0rTev0s]

Haha, btw. Remeber me talking about the Haven part being a copy/paste? Check this vid with a ME2 ending.

All of the main thesises are present (i'm everything, you're nothing -> you have failed -> you are nuisance -> we will find another way).

 

Boss battle in DA: I is as sucking balls as it was in ME2. Even those floating platforms are present.

 

I just can't understand this. Why take the least welcome part of most controversial game in series and restyle it into Thedas?

It looks as worst creative decision ever.

[scrutinizer]

Well, hardly a revelation.

Bioware has copied the same blueprint for years now. They have a serious creativity problem which has been plaguing their products for ~10 years.

 

The older I am, and the more I inspect the ME and DA saga, I conclude that the respective stories are uninspired at best, heavily borrowing from other works, and lacking proper coherency and resonance. Both franchises have their rare moments, but the potential is largely wasted (especially ME). 

[C0uncil0rTev0s]

Well, hardly a revelation.

Bioware has copied the same blueprint for years now. They have a serious creativity problem which has been plaguing their products for ~10 years.

 

The older I am, and the more I inspect the ME and DA saga, I conclude that the respective stories are uninspired at best, heavily borrowing from other works, and lacking proper coherency and resonance. Both franchises have their rare moments, but the potential is largely wasted (especially ME). 

 

I tell you again - I'm fine with BW copying its early works. Those are the best games I've ever played.

Damn, my XBox gaming experience started with Mass Effect (never tried it before, twas only PC gaming before).

 

But copying has to be quality-based, isn't it? You look for a feedback, you get the best things, refining the series - and make a new game!

I kinda fail to admit that Bioware devs don't get such easy things.

 

But what I see in DA: I drives me to it.

[Aurok]

They badly need some fresh writing talent for the 'main' story threads.

These things probably weren't even deliberately copied, it's just very easy to fall back on 'idk, mind control or whatever' rather than writing a better story. It's disappointing, because there are moments in some of the companion quests and even in the throwaway war table quests which show that they're capable of more than the pantomime storytelling displayed in the main quest.

[C0uncil0rTev0s]

They badly need some fresh writing talent for the 'main' story threads.

These things probably weren't even deliberately copied, it's just very easy to fall back on 'idk, mind control or whatever' rather than writing a better story. It's disappointing, because there are moments in some of the companion quests and even in the throwaway war table quests which show that they're capable of more than the pantomime storytelling displayed in the main quest.

Well tbh DA2 was a sure copy of ME2 in case of main story focus and companion-oriented backies. And it was damn good (apart from the lack of content such as repetitive areas).

 

Being a copy doesn't always mean a bad thing. But being a pale copy surely is.

It's more of a creative quality matter I think.

[Vader20]

Well, hardly a revelation.

Bioware has copied the same blueprint for years now. They have a serious creativity problem which has been plaguing their products for ~10 years.

 

The older I am, and the more I inspect the ME and DA saga, I conclude that the respective stories are uninspired at best, heavily borrowing from other works, and lacking proper coherency and resonance. Both franchises have their rare moments, but the potential is largely wasted (especially ME). 

 

Mass Effect mas in no way shape or form unispired.. So what kind of a story do you propose since you're so certain that they borrowed and lack creativity. I've played my fair share of rpgs over the years and all of them kinda had the same thing going on. The only difference was the execution and how they made the given story interesting, but overall it was the same old thing.

[C0uncil0rTev0s]

Mass Effect mas in no way shape or form unispired.. So what kind of a story do you propose since you're so certain that they borrowed and lack creativity. I've played my fair share of rpgs over the years and all of them kinda had the same thing going on. The only difference was the execution and how they made the given story interesting, but overall it was the same old thing.

Love the 'execution' part. Sounds like a true story to me as most game plots are being publically butchered these days.

 

But there is a way to make things different, and that way is to get away from mind controlling magic - straight to complex world of human intentions. Did you try Witcher series? First game is pretty much DA:Oish, but the second one is focused on interacting with different people and making choices, based on their mentality.

It's not as most Bioware games 'i decide whether you are free to go or die by my hand', but as 'i decide whether you're good or bad or neither and should I interfere?'.

[Vader20]

Love the 'execution' part. Sounds like a true story to me as most game plots are being publically butchered these days.

 

But there is a way to make things different, and that way is to get away from mind controlling magic - straight to complex world of human intentions. Did you try Witcher series? First game is pretty much DA:Oish, but the second one is focused on interacting with different people and making choices, based on their mentality.

It's not as most Bioware games 'i decide whether you are free to go or die by my hand', but as 'i decide whether you're good or bad or neither and should I interfere?'.

 

I played the first Witcher, but honeslty as much as I love RPGs, adventure games, it was a bit too much me. The second I haven't tried, but  I might get it in the future. I agree with what you say.

 

I still don't understand what's with all this Dragon Age keep since most choices don't even matter. There was a part where they aske me if I helped Alistair's sister in Denerim or not. Why is this choice even there ? It doesn't fricking matter in this game, or I haven't seen it's effects. Haven't met Goldana to ask her

 

As for the main plot.. I didn't like the fact that we get into action right away. I mean I still don't understand who the hell is my character and where does she/he come from, why was she even at the conclave. Those * origin* stories don't help clarify this, at least for me. I was the keepers apprentice in a clan that didn't give a sh*t about humans, but now they send me as a spy. And then, they change this ingame. From a clan that had little to no interaction with humans, they turn the clan into more human friendly. At least this is the way I've seen it. And then there is an operation at the war table with the clan being attacked by bandits that is just that.. and operation. It would have been very nice to venture forth there and help out your people. Would have made it easier to understand the elven character and his or her background, and it would have added more depth to his or her character. And the same goes every bakcround. Since we have no origins like on DAO this would have compensated a bit.

 

I loved Mass Effect because  the choices mattered. In Mass Effect 2 you had to prepare well for the final battle because there was a chance that some of your team might die off, including you. So the way we interacted with them mattered. Here we don't get that.. we have no loss or drama of any kind. And there are a lot of things, but overall it's a good story.

 

Have you played NWN2 ? The way some of your companions betray you right before the end was fricking epic... I wasn't expecting that AT ALL and I was like WHAAAT ? NOOOOO    So if we are talking about execution.. this is a good example of story execution.

 

These are the kind of thing players want. Drama, unexpected thing to happen

[C0uncil0rTev0s]

I played the first Witcher, but honeslty as much as I love RPGs, adventure games, it was a bit too much me. The second I haven't tried, but  I might get it in the future. I agree with what you say.

 

I still don't understand what's with all this Dragon Age keep since most choices don't even matter. There was a part where they aske me if I helped Alistair's sister in Denerim or not. Why is this choice even there ? It doesn't fricking matter in this game, or I haven't seen it's effects. Haven't met Goldana to ask her

 

As for the main plot.. I didn't like the fact that we get into action right away. I mean I still don't understand who the hell is my character and where does she/he come from, why was she even at the conclave. Those * origin* stories don't help clarify this, at least for me. I was the keepers apprentice in a clan that didn't give a sh*t about humans, but now they send me as a spy. And then, they change this ingame. From a clan that had little to no interaction with humans, they turn the clan into more human friendly. At least this is the way I've seen it. And then there is an operation at the war table with the clan being attacked by bandits that is just that.. and operation. It would have been very nice to venture forth there and help out your people. Would have made it easier to understand the elven character and his or her background, and it would have added more depth to his or her character. And the same goes every bakcround. Since we have no origins like on DAO this would have compensated a bit.

 

I loved Mass Effect because  the choices mattered. In Mass Effect 2 you had to prepare well for the final battle because there was a chance that some of your team might die off, including you. So the way we interacted with them mattered. Here we don't get that.. we have no loss or drama of any kind. And there are a lot of things, but overall it's a good story.

 

Have you played NWN2 ? The way some of your companions betray you right before the end was fricking epic... I wasn't expecting that AT ALL and I was like WHAAAT ? NOOOOO    So if we are talking about execution.. this is a good example of story execution.

 

These are the kind of thing players want. Drama, unexpected thing to happen

Which requires some writer's work on the plot before releasing. Bright kind of a work. Creative.

Maybe Biowares just can't find a person for it?

P.S. Played Neverwinter and totally liked it.

[Vader20]

Which requires some writer's work on the plot before releasing. Bright kind of a work. Creative.

Maybe Biowares just can't find a person for it?

P.S. Played Neverwinter and totally liked it.

 

I don't think that they lack talent in writing. They did well with the ME series except for the ending of the last one. Maybe creating such a big world ate up a lot of time or DAI was done by a different writing team than ME.

[C0uncil0rTev0s]

I don't think that they lack talent in writing. They did well with the ME series except for the ending of the last one. Maybe creating such a big world ate up a lot of time or DAI was done by a different writing team than ME.

 

Well why isn't there anything new invented in DA:I in means of main plot? I mean, if they CAN do things right, why they didn't?

[Vader20]

Well why isn't there anything new invented in DA:I in means of main plot? I mean, if they CAN do things right, why they didn't?

 

I'm not the best answerer for your question. Skyrim was a lot worse than DAI story wise..

[C0uncil0rTev0s]

I'm not the best answerer for your question. Skyrim was a lot worse than DAI story wise..

 

Skyrim and the whole ES series after original ES:III wasn't meant to be rich in main story content.
Skyrim is barely a box you fill with mods you desire, that's how everyone gets his/hers own adventure.

 

So you can't compare DA series to ES. Not really.

[DaemionMoadrin]

If you reduce a story to its basic elements, then no story is going to be new. There are no new stories, there are only variations on the archetypes.

Neither DA:O or DA2 or any of the Mass Effects were new stories, but the way they were told was new. None of those stories was without its flaws either. There are some glaring holes in the logic of most.

 

DA:I's story is neither original nor surprising, not even the Solas part was unexpected. It's not a bad story, but it can't support the entire game because the game tries to do too much at once and at some point things start to lose importance.

[C0uncil0rTev0s]

If you reduce a story to its basic elements, then no story is going to be new. There are no new stories, there are only variations on the archetypes.

Neither DA:O or DA2 or any of the Mass Effects were new stories, but the way they were told was new. None of those stories was without its flaws either. There are some glaring holes in the logic of most.

 

DA:I's story is neither original nor surprising, not even the Solas part was unexpected. It's not a bad story, but it can't support the entire game because the game tries to do too much at once and at some point things start to lose importance.

So tell me, please, what's left of the plot if the only attractive thing - the way it is told - is wasted?

[DaemionMoadrin]

So tell me, please, what's left of the plot if the only attractive thing - the way it is told - is wasted?

 

A boring story that doesn't engage the player and is utterly predictable.

[scrutinizer]

Mass Effect mas in no way shape or form unispired.

Obviously depends on how developed culturally one is. CoD story may appeal to a certain audience, etc.

For me, ME looks like a ripoff of Prey (video game), Revelation Space (novel), Space Odyssey (novel and movie - aesthetically), etc. A myriad of elements, both small and substantial, seem borrowed to me, like I've known them already. Nothing inspiring here.

Same with the execution. I've recently finished Deus Ex Human Revolution. Both games are set in the future (though ME further), and I was amazed by the attention to detail and how believable the setting of DE:HR is. All the little things that had no relevance to the story, yet contributed to creating the feel of neo-world. Pondering upon their vision, one is convinced that yes, it may look like it one day. 

ME is set in a distant future, the technology present should be mind-blowing - far beyond anything we can imagine now (consider, if someone told a 1950 man that in fifty years there will be these little pocket devices which will enable the user to connect to this whole network where all the information of humanity is stored, he would certainly not believe it). The drastic technology leap is encapsulated in space travel. That's it? Even the stations' utilities and devices resemble those of our times. Alien races are variations of humanoids. The world feels flat. It has no authenticity to it. 

 

I've played my fair share of rpgs over the years and all of them kinda had the same thing going on.

RPGs do not equal story. Bioshock, abovementioned Deus Ex, Spec Ops: The Line, Remember Me, Alan Wake, Brothers, Limbo, Mafia, Mark of the Ninja, even the Hitman series. These are stories.

You cannot have a truly great story in a bland world. Both need to compliment each other, and only then both shine. Otherwise they are merely shadows of what could have been.

 

Peace.

[C0uncil0rTev0s]

A boring story that doesn't engage the player and is utterly predictable.

Couldn't put it better.

[Zachriel]

Well, hardly a revelation.

Bioware has copied the same blueprint for years now. They have a serious creativity problem which has been plaguing their products for ~10 years.

 

 

 

This.  A thousand times this.  It's something you probably wouldn't notice unless, like me, you've played pretty much every Bioware game every.

 

I wrote the following over a year ago (Nov, 2013).  It contians plot information for several past Bioware games and is rather long, so thus the spoiler tags.  Some of my predictions regarding the plot of DAI were off, but others were spot on.  Nevertheless, I think the entire thing really showcases Bioware's general lack of creativity when it comes to writing original story arcs.  They still excel at world building and writing fun an interesting companion characters, but the stories they tell in their games have all pretty much followed the same blueprint since NWN with a couple of notable exceptions (DA2, ME2). 

 

Spoiler

This post will discuss major plot points of several Bioware games:  Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, Mass Effect 1 and 3, Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age: Awakenings.  If you have not played any of those games but plan to at some point and don't want any part of the story to be spoiled, you should stop reading now.  Sorry.

 

This post will also be very long.  It was 4 pages when I wrote it out in Word.  Here's the TL:DR version:  Bioware uses a very formulaic and predictable method for writing the stories in the games.  They have basically been telling the same story over and over again since NWN but in different settings and with different characters.  My concern is that they're just going to do the same thing again with DA:I.  Now, on to my long-winded musings.....

 

                Bioware is often praised for their excellent story telling.  They are known for their epic narratives, memorable characters, and intricate universes.  As someone who has played almost every RPG Bioware has ever made I've noticed a pattern.  There is a very predictable and formulaic approach to Bioware story lines.  It is most obvious in the similarities between Neverwinter Nights and Knights of the Old Republic.  Let's compare the two....

                In Neverwinter Nights you start as a recruit for the new Academy of Heroes.  After a brief test of your abilities, you are accepted into the ranks.  Then the city of Neverwinter is attacked.  The academy is all but destroyed, yet you survive.  You are then sent to investigate the attack.  You learn of an ancient tablet that could explain where the enemy gained all of his power and could provide the key to stopping him.  But the tablet is broken into several pieces and scattered around the world.  You have to recover each piece.  Each time you journey to the location of a piece of the tablet is located there is always something else wrong, some kind of other problem you have to solve first.  After gathering the first few pieces of the tablet, you learn that there is another final piece that you have to recover from an ancient and long forgotten city.  While searching for the last piece you learn of an ancient "Creator race" that literally created all of the other sentient races and once had a mighty empire the spanned the entire world.  The ancient artifact that your enemy is using is one of their power sources.  Over the course of the game, around the time you're searching for the third or fourth piece of the tablet, the leading female character Aribeth betrays you and joins the enemy, becoming general of his armies. 

                In Knights of the Old Republic you start as a recruit for a new organization specifically chosen for your great potential.  You're aboard the Endar Spire on your way to a secret training facility when the ship is attacked.  You miraculously survive and after escaping the imperial controlled planet Taris you are given a series of tests and inducted into the ranks of the Jedi Order.  You learn that enemy who attacked you was Dark Lord Malak and he is using some kind of ancient device to supply power and resources to his forces.  You are sent to investigate.  You learn that there is an ancient star map that can lead you to the source of his power and could be the key to stopping him.  But the map is broken into pieces and scattered around the galaxy.  You have to recover each piece.   Each time you journey to a lcation where a piece of the star map is located there is something else wrong,  some kind of other problem you have to solve first.  After gathering a few pieces of the star map, you learn that there is another final piece that you have to recover from an ancient and long forgotten planet.  While searching for the last piece you learn of an ancient "Creator race" that literally created all of the other sentient races  and once had a mighty empire that spanned the entire galaxy.  The ancient device that Malak is using was one of their power sources.  Over the course of the game, around the time you find the third or fourth piece of the star map, the leading female character Bastila betrays you and joins Malak, becoming the commander of his forces.

                The stories are virtually identical.  The setting is different, the characters are different, and there are a few additional story elements in KOTOR, but the essence of the story is exactly the same.  But don't take my word for it.  Play both games back to back and try to tell me the story from one wasn't copied and pasted into the other.  And the pattern doesn't stop there.  Ever since Neverwinter Nights, Bioware has basically been telling us the same story over and over again in different settings with a few notable exceptions.  It goes something like this....

 

First, there is an introductory sequence that sets the stage and gives us the first glimpse of the enemy....

• The City of Neverwinter is attacked by mysterious enemy forces - Neverwinter Nights
• The Endar Spire is attacked by the Sith - Knights of the Old Republic
• The town you were raised and trained in is attacked by mysterious forces - Jade Empire
• Various origins, followed by the Battle of Ostagar - Dragon Age: Origins
• Eden Prime mission - Mass Effect
• Reapers attack Earth - Mass Effect 3       

The hero is then inducted into an elite organization or discovers that he or she is somehow special....

• The Academy of Heroes - NWN
• The Jedi Order - KOTOR
• Hero is a Spirit Monk - Jade Empire
• Gray Wardens - DA:O
• SPECTREs - ME1
• SPECTREs - ME3

The hero is then sent to investigate, usually retracing the enemy's steps, and finds some ancient "thing" that can be used against said enemy....

• The ancient tablet - NWN
• The star map - KOTOR
• The jade amulet - Jade Empire
• The ancient treaties - DA:O
• The prothean beacons - ME1
• The crucible - ME3          

But this ancient thing is either broken and scattered around the world or must be presented to various factions around the world, so the hero must....

• Travel the world looking for pieces of the tablet - NWN
• Travel the galaxy looking for pieces of the star map - KOTOR
• Travel the world looking for pieces of the jade amulet - Jade Empire
• Travel the world and convince various nations/factions to honor the treaties - DA:O
• Travel the galaxy looking for more beacons - ME1
• Travel the galaxy looking for pieces of the crucible - ME3

Along the way, the hero discovers that there is another objective that MUST be completed before the primary mission can be completed...

• Find the last "secret" piece of the tablet - NWN
• Find the last "secret" piece of the star map - KOTOR
• Fight your way out of the spirit world - Jade Empire
• Find a way to cure Arl Eamon - DA:O
• Find the Conduit - ME1
• Find the Asari artifact needed to complete the Crucible - ME3

 

                See what I mean?  The same basic story elements are rehashed over and over again.  Bioware changes the setting, changes a few names around, and creates a few new characters and viola!  A "new" story is written.  Some other elements are common among Bioware games as well.  The player is almost always faced with betrayal at some point.  If not in every game, then usually at some point in the series to which the game belongs.  I didn't add that to the bullet points because betrayal is a common theme in a lot of good stories and Bioware has done a good job of mixing it up.  Who does the betrayal, when they betray the hero and why are all very different across Bioware franchises, with the exception of NWN and KOTOR.  Another common theme is a trial.  There has been some kind of trial in nearly every Bioware franchise.  It is usually impossible to get a unanimous guilty or not guilty verdict, but possible to influence the jury or judges enough to get the verdict you desire.  Again, this doesn't appear in every Bioware game and it has been handled differently enough that I didn't feel the need to include it in the bullet points above.

                Notable exceptions to the Bioware story formula are Dragon Age 2, Mass Effect 2, and Star Wars: The Old Republic.  SWTOR is an online game with 8 different stories depending on class.  I know from personal experience that at least one of them does follow the formula to the letter, but I can't honestly say that they all do.  DA2 and ME2 are even more exceptional.  Neither game really follows the formula at all.  Each of those games focus almost entirely on recruiting new party members and dealing with their issues.  In both games, the main storyline is almost irrelevant.  It takes a back seat to working with your crew on resolving their personal missions or quests.  In DA2 none of the choices you make regarding the main story make any difference.  The same events play out in the same order no matter what you do.  The story of ME2 wasn't quite as bad, but was ultimately rendered moot by the complete disregard the writers of ME3 gave to anything you did in ME2.  Ultimately, all of the most important decisions you made in ME2 were rendered completely meaningless by events of ME3.

                All of this gives me some concerns regarding the development of Dragon Age: Inquisition.  I had high hopes for the game when Bioware first started giving us some actual information about it.  However, the more I think about what they've been saying the more I begin to feel like the game will be a disappointing rehash of the same tired old ideas.  There are two things in particular that Bioware has said that have fueled this feeling of trepidation.  First is the company line regarding DAI, which I have seen both Mike Laidlaw and Mark Darrah say in interviews:  "It's the game we've always wanted to make but were never able to."  I think the impression they are trying to give is that they've always wanted to make an enormously expansive and epic game but the limits of available technology made it impossible for reality to live up to their vision.  But what I hear when they say that is "We're going to take all the same old ideas and present them to you in a brand new shiny engine!  Ooooh, shiny!" 

                The second thing they've revealed that fills me with doubt is an in-game event they have shown to pretty much every game journalist they have done an interview with or given a preview of the game.  In it, the hero must choose to either defend his or her keep or defend a nearby village.  Hmmm.  That sounds awfully familiar, as it should to any Dragon Age fan.  Maybe because we were put in EXACTLY THE SAME SCENARIO in Dragon Age: Awakenings.  If I remember correctly, Mark Darrah even said that if you explored thoroughly and did certain things in a certain way, the keep in that segment of DA:I might be able stand on its own without the hero there to defend it.  That is exactly the way it worked in Awakenings.  If you explored thoroughly and found the resources to fortify your keep and give your soldiers better armor and weapons the keep would be fine.  If you completed all companion quests then any companions left at the keep survived as well.    Even the demon invasion in DA:I sounds pretty similar to the Reaper invasion in ME3.  So even with the tidbits that Bioware has given us so far, we can already see that they're not being terribly creative here.  It seems like they're just doing a mash-up of ideas from Mass Effect and Dragon Age titles.

                Based on that and my experience with all of Bioware's past here is my prediction for how the story of Inquisition will go....

• The Reapers Demons will attack Earth Thedas
• Sheppard  The Warden the Inquisitor, and maybe a potential companion or two, will be right in the thick of it but will somehow survive.
• The hero will be inducted into the SPECTREs The Gray Wardens The Inquisition
• The hero will investigate some clue left behind in the aftermath and learn about The Crucible some ancient thing that could close the tear in the Veil and send the Reapers Demons back to Dark Space The Fade
• But The Crucible ancient thing (device, ritual, whatever) will be broken up and scattered around the world, so the hero will have to travel to various planets nations to recover the pieces
• Everywhere the hero goes, things will have gone to **** so he or she will have to resolve everybody's issues before he or she can do anything else
• Along the way another "surprise" objective will be revealed that MUST be completed before the hero can move on
• We already know that at some point the hero will have to save either a castle or a nearby town
• The hero may or may not be betrayed at some point, and there may be a trial.

               

                So what was the point of all of this?  Am I just hating on Bioware?  Well no, not exactly.  Despite the similarities in the story arcs, I have played every game I have discussed here multiple times and loved every second of it, except for Mass Effect 3.  But the thing I loved about those games wasn't necessarily the story.  As I've outlined here, Bioware has been telling the same basic story with minor variations over and over again since Neverwinter Nights.  No, what I love about Bioware games are the two things they have always done well:  The great characters and the fantastic worlds they live in.  I didn't write this just to bash Bioware.  I wrote it as constructive criticism in the vain hope that they might actually see it and do something truly amazing and totally unpredictable with Dragon Age: Inquisition.

 

 

[C0uncil0rTev0s]

 

[skipped]

They didn't.

[GrimReaper]

It's pretty much the standard "Hero's Journey" storytelling trope that has been used in almost every Fantasy / Sci-fi movie and other medie since the invention of the genre. Cant really rip on bioware for adhering to an age old formula that works and people apparently love:

 

1: The hero's journey is forced upon him/her by outside forces. (If the hero is an average joe, his/her family/village etc. will be attacked. If the hero is a soldier he/she will most likely be a sole survivor)

2: The hero joins La resistance or the special forces depending on origin, and has some initial success.

3: First encounter with the Big Bad or the "Dragon". Epic fail for the hero who might be taken prisoner, lose his/her mentor or something like that.

4: The hero must now escape and/or find some way to defeat the Big Bad. A lot of traveling usually ensues.

5: The hero recruits an army / trusty companions / finds the phlebotinum / finds the artifact of doom.

6: The Hero confronts the Big Bad and triumphs.

 

It's the plot of Conan, its the plot of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings etc. Minor variations apply, but the core formula is the same. 

[SwobyJ]

DAI is Shepard's dream story.

 

"What is Green?"

[LupoCarlos]

Thedas is more complex than you seem to think it is. It has so little to do with the galaxy from ME.

 

The biggest difference: in Thedas, evil actually exists and not just the "you don't think the way i do (or they did)" kind of evil from ME.