257 réponses à ce sujet

[ThreeF]

Voiced would be fine, but they should take a page from Telltale's book and offer silence as an option for when none of the other responses seem appealing. Silence is a lot more malleable as a role-playing action for people who are really into that.

 

Not sure if this is possible, actually. if I'm not mistaken in DAO you would never see your character when he/she "spoke" a line, in DA2 and DAI whole cut scenes are made for the sole purpose to show your character speak.

 

(which is imo more natural as it puts the character directly onto the stage)

[KaiserShep]

Voiced would be fine, but they should take a page from Telltale's book and offer silence as an option for when none of the other responses seem appealing. Silence is a lot more malleable as a role-playing action for people who are really into that.

 

I made a thread a few months back asking for feedback regarding timed dialogue, based on my experience with TWD. While just a few people responding to a thread is not necessarily indicative of the fans at large, I suspect that a lot of DA fans would not look kindly on this at all, because they don't want to feel like they're being rushed through the game. In any case, this game DOES have this a little bit, but only in party banter.

[Ser Kilroy]

voiced. in my eyes going back to the silence main char. is bad decision 

 

I hope the next main char. is antivan and have Antonio Banderas as the voice actor cuz he played puss in boots from shrek

[Phoe77]

When offered the choice between the two, I will likely always choose a voiced protagonist.  You may not have as much free reign with a voiced protagonist, but I feel like they feel far more connected and, I don't know, natural? than silent protagonists when every other line in the game is voiced.  I also admit that I like the fact that Hawke, Shepard and the Inquisitor all felt like their own people.  I don't need to be able to fill in every aspect of my character's personality to be in my hands, but that's a matter of taste.  

[DomeWing333]

Not sure if this is possible, actually. if I'm not mistaken in DAO you would never see your character when he/she "spoke" a line, in DA2 and DAI whole cut scenes are made for the sole purpose to show your character speak.

 

(which is imo more natural as it puts the character directly onto the stage)

 

Well the cutscenes are made for the sole purpose of your character reacting to the situation at hand. Speaking is one reaction, but an equally valid and at times more impactful one might be to say nothing at all. There were a handful instances of this in the game, but there were also plenty of times when I looked at all the options on my screen and didn't want to choose any of them. A brief close-up of my character's face in silence would have been preferable to forcing him to say something I didn't think he would say.

[ThreeF]

Well the cutscenes are made for the sole purpose of your character reacting to the situation at hand. Speaking is one reaction, but an equally valid and at times more impactful one might be to say nothing at all. There were a handful instances of this in the game, but there were also plenty of times when I looked at all the options on my screen and didn't want to choose any of them. A brief close-up of my character's face in silence would have been preferable to forcing him to say something I didn't think he would say.

Well, this boils down to not having the option you want in the game, then. It's understandable, I had this happening to me in DAI, DA2 and DAO.

 

On the side note: I''ve found that in DAI and DA2 I can tell much earlier that the conversation tree will not end the way I wanted it and that I need to try something else, in DAO I had to wait for NPC reaction to make conclusions.

[Quaddis]

I know one thing, before Bioware "new wave" games and voiced protagonist became a thing i never had to restart a conversion. I do it quite often now and it breaks immersion more than any crappy thing developers implemented.

I also find it quite funny when people say that Warden is "silent sociopath" and facial expressions in Dragon Age games are almost the same as in Origins, difference is one is silent and other makes noise.

[Fast Jimmy]

Ok. Let's assume that voiced protagonists will always be present from now on.

What is a solution to make it easier to roleplay a character fluently on the first go?

Sorry for the lack of response; was in meetings and missed this.

I've been down this rabbit hole. Conceptualizing solutions, discussing alternatives, identifying weak links in the chain... heck, I've even done with some of the Devs like Allan and David over the years.

Long story short: given enough time, resources and commitment, anything is possible. But cinematics are already becoming more resource intensive under Frostbite - as evidenced by the complete removal of any cinematic approach on side quests. Those shiny graphics and "character creator that's able to make daenerys targaryen" means it's also a bigger sink to try new things, like player control of body language or facial animations.

If you really want a solution? Okay - take out gender and racial choice. Make the default be a dwarven female for all I care, but eliminate the variables. You can then do a dump truck worth of things you couldn't do before (or coukdnt so easily). Heck, even make the default weapon set in stone - a sword, for instance. Or a bow. Then people can have scabbards or quivers or whatever their little role playing hearts desire.

Other solution? Keep all of the character creator choice, but lock down the personality. Be an apathetic anti-hero haunted by your past (cough, Geralt, cough) or be a bad ass warrior who wants to find her lost tribe. Or whatever. Then you don't have to worry about what your character would or wouldn't say - you've got a set background and personality, so there's nothing to worry about.



Outside of those two things, the only solutions are either so high cost and high tech that they border on the ridiculous or so low tech (like simplified isometric graphics and a silent main character) that they lose their "flash" that most players today need in their games. Those are my solutions.

[Precursor Meta]

I'd prefer a silent protagonist. That'd probably save Bioware some money by not having to pay a female/male actor for the main character. And I'm sure it would be less of a strain on the animators.

[Fast Jimmy]

When offered the choice between the two, I will likely always choose a voiced protagonist. You may not have as much free reign with a voiced protagonist, but I feel like they feel far more connected and, I don't know, natural? than silent protagonists when every other line in the game is voiced. I also admit that I like the fact that Hawke, Shepard and the Inquisitor all felt like their own people. I don't need to be able to fill in every aspect of my character's personality to be in my hands, but that's a matter of taste.

It is a matter of taste; you are right.

Bioware is courting two mistresses. They know in their heart they are in love with the cinematic approach that favors a set protag (with superficial customization, like face and gender and a few perosnality types that give the illusion of diverse options), but have an old, ongoing fling with more traditional character-created-role playing. At this point, I think everyone should see Bioware is just leading on those who want to make their own characters, but they just haven't broken it off yet, despite bending over backwards to make both work.

Just let it go, I say. Let it go. Can't hold it back anymore.

The cold never bothered me anyway.

[Heimdall]

Playing DA:O I never felt limits I always have proper response my character would say. Sometimes I even get better line than myself would say. In DA:2 and DA:I is not just worse it horrible I don't know what i am picking and what I pick is not even same character say.

I'm glad that's worked out for you in DAO.  I've certainly had plenty of times in all three Dragon Age games where I end up frustrated because none of the available options allow me to say what I'd like to, voiced protagonist or not.

 

As for not knowing what you're picking, lets not conflate the voiced protagonist with the paraphrase wheel.  They are two distinct features, non-dependent on one another.  I find the paraphrases annoying myself, but its a separate issue as to whether the protagonist is voiced.

[TevinterSupremacist]

Yeah but this often limited the options of the more sane Wardens

Existence of more options isn't limiting yours.... ....also, you have darkspawn blood in you, you're not supposed to be sane!

[ThreeF]

I know one thing, before Bioware "new wave" games and voiced protagonist became a thing i never had to restart a conversion. I do it quite often now and it breaks immersion more than any crappy thing developers implemented.

 

hmm... I remember restarting Alistair's dialogues constantly. DAO taught me to save prior all conversations.  In terms of restarting I would say that it is similar more or less for me, only for different reasons.

[TheJediSaint]

The silent protagonist boat has sailed.

[Heimdall]

 

I agree that having a silent protagonist affords more role-playing opportunities, but at the end of the day, if those don't effect major changes in the narrative, what's the point? In Origins you could select from five or six dialogue options, but the way those impacted your story wasn't much different than in Inquisition.

Actually, the amount of times you could select from more than three or four lines in Origins was rather rare.  Contrary to popular belief, dialogue options were not significantly more plentiful in Origins than in succeeding games.

[XxPrincess(x)ThreatxX]

I prefer silent PC's for 1st person games, is just weird looking in DA:O when everybody spoke in cutscenes apart from the Warden so i hope for more voiced PC's in future games

[Bayonet Hipshot]

It is a matter of taste; you are right.

Bioware is courting two mistresses. They know in their heart they are in love with the cinematic approach that favors a set protag (with superficial customization, like face and gender and a few perosnality types that give the illusion of diverse options), but have an old, ongoing fling with more traditional character-created-role playing. At this point, I think everyone should see Bioware is just leading on those who want to make their own characters, but they just haven't broken it off yet, despite bending over backwards to make both work.

Just let it go, I say. Let it go. Can't hold it back anymore.

The cold never bothered me anyway.

 

I agree with this. 

 

The multiple races, multiple sexes, multiple classes thing works really well for a non-cinematic and non-voiced protagonist. Hence why the Dragonborn, Hero of Kvatch, Nerevarine and the Soulless One work just fine.

 

If you want a cinematic voiced protagonist with an actual personality, you have to be just one specific character with a specific sex, specific race and specific playstyle.

 

That is the reality.

[ThreeF]

 

The multiple races, multiple sexes, multiple classes thing works really well for a non-cinematic and non-voiced protagonist. Hence why the Dragonborn, Hero of Kvatch, Nerevarine and the Soulless One work just fine.

 

Erm... not the same, you can play exactly the same game in ES if you never have any sort of character in there, you can role play all you want in your head, but there is almost no role-playing in the game itself.

 

There is no need for these kind of extremes, non-character vs pre-made character, there  is a lot in-between those options, it's completely other thing if you as a player prefer one such extreme.

 

BW doesn't need to go into any extreme it does what it does fairly well and it is unique at what it does.

[o Ventus]

I prefer silent protagonists as opposed to a voiced one but again, the market is dominated by instant-gratification-all-flash-no-substance crowd so it doesn't really matter. 

Right, because as soon as the protagonist has a voice, that's the point where you can say, with confidence, that the developer is going for style over substance.

 

How does that not immediately strike you as both ignorant and flat-out stupid?

[Phoe77]

I think you can maintain character creation options like choosing sexes or races without sacrificing personality.  In my opinion, it has more to do with expectations than anything else.  You can't expect to be allowed to define every aspect of your character's background and personality, but you can probably influence it a decent amount and you'll hopefully be able to flesh some aspects out.  

 

One of my favorite things about the early game is when you can talk to Josephine about your Inquisitor's background.  It's not big and flashy, but I like the options you're able to choose from (especially if you're a human mage or a dwarf for some reason).

[Karai9]

I am a huge fan of the voiced protagonist. I love DAO, but the voiceless, blank faced warden always felt so awkward to me when everyone else had a voice. I was super excited when they announced that your character would be voiced in DA2 and even more excited for the announcement that Inquisition would have four voice options.

[Vilegrim]

I prefer silent pro tag but that ship has sailed

[KaiserShep]

Actually, the amount of times you could select from more than three or four lines in Origins was rather rare.  Contrary to popular belief, dialogue options were not significantly more plentiful in Origins than in succeeding games.

This makes me want to fire up Origins just to do a real comparison between the two to see just how many more options you really have.

[draken-heart]

I would be angry if they got rid of the voices. I just wish they gave Dalish elves a more...Dalish(?) accent.