134 réponses à ce sujet

[NextGenCowboy]

Can anyone honestly be surprised? Last-Gen has been hobbling the current generation like a lead ball and chain.

Is that last gen's fault though? Or the fault of developers, and publishers? For a time it felt like the only thing being released/announced on the PS4 was revamps of PS3 titles.

 

Honestly, I'm surprised, and happy with the honesty. That said, I own the game on the PS3, it was the most convenient and cost-effective way to play it. I'm obviously frustrated that things had to be cut down for it to be released on last-gen systems, but I'm also happy I have the chance to play the game. The door swings both ways in my personal case.

[Eelectrica]

Is that last gen's fault though? Or the fault of developers, and publishers? For a time it felt like the only thing being released/announced on the PS4 was revamps of PS3 titles.

 

Honestly, I'm surprised, and happy with the honesty. That said, I own the game on the PS3, it was the most convenient and cost-effective way to play it. I'm obviously frustrated that things had to be cut down for it to be released on last-gen systems, but I'm also happy I have the chance to play the game. The door swings both ways in my personal case.

Seems like a publishers decision and the devs have to make the best of it. I don't blame owners of old systems at all. they paid their $$$ and are entitled to a working, playable game.

[Fiery Phoenix]

I'm not honestly bothered by the fact that DA:I is cross-gen. They started development sometime in 2011 which was towards the end of the last console generation, but they still needed to support these console anyway because of the enormous install base. A substantial percentage of AAA titles from the last 1-2 years are cross-gen for pretty much the same reason.

 

That said, these games, including DA:I, were all a first batch whose development happened to overlap with the new consoles' launch. We already know that the next Mass Effect (aka BioWare's next major release) is next-gen only, so it's perfectly safe to say this is just an exception to the rule and the best is yet to come.

[Lee T]

Game developpers' interview are a bit like musicians' interview. You have to wait untill the next CD is out to have them agreeing there might have been something wrong with the previous one.

No kidding.

That said, I agree it's nice they (seem to) have a lot of stuff planned. Laidlaw also hits the nail on the head when commenting about people complaining about non-essential content they don't want to do, but then doing it anyway out of some sense of compulsion. Says more about some gamers and the achievement-hunting mentality than about the design philosophy.

As far as I'm concerned my problem with the way the game is built is that it's not really otional. Every now and then the game points you to the optional content and says "go fetch and I'll reward you with tasty stuff". Having to collect 30 points to be able to go to the ball nearly killed my interest in the game.

Ironically I'm all for this kind of ptional content, I don't mind fetching things here and there exploring the world o find shards, etc... as long as I'm free to do it when I want. The story should go at the speed of plot, they shouldn't have hacked it into separate sections intersperesed by power grinding.

[Ryriena]

I agree that it seems to be a publishers decision rather than a developers, I really doubt Bioware would want too not make a working game or cut content from the game. For example the scars, aren't in the last generation console and I can not understand why this is the case, since I can see Cassandra's scar very well, in fact, on my 360's. I don't understand why this wasn't included in the last gen console


I seriously think this was put up as a way to push players to pay for a newer system, even though some gamers can't afford that new system. So pushing people to pay for an newer console is the wrong choice for developers and publisher alike. Heck, for me this game cost me about 70.00 which is basically a day's and a half of day of pay. Thankfully, I used the Christmas money I had gotten and also that I had saved for my PS4 and I had enough for DAI on the PS4.

[CronoDragoon]

I seriously think this was put up as a way to push players to pay for a newer system, even though some gamers can't afford that new system. 

 

If they wanted people to pay for a newer system, they wouldn't have made a last-gen version at all.

 

Game developpers' interview are a bit like musicians' interview. You have to wait untill the next CD is out to have them agreeing there might have been something wrong with the previous one.

 

I assume you are saying this to contrast it with the interview, right? Since Mike explicitly acknowledges the lack of meaty story content in the side content.

[Lee T]

 
I assume you are saying this to contrast it with the interview, right? Since Mike explicitly acknowledges the lack of meaty story content in the side content.

It's a light hearted comment on what he says on DA2 compared to what he said back in the days. The artistic defense of the repeated environments is now no more. I'm willing to bet his comments on DAI after the next DA games come won't be the same either.

It's PR 101, nothing to write home about really.

[DarkKnightHolmes]

I bet a nickel they'll change the art or gameplay for DA4 again.

[DragonAgeLegend]

Yay, at least he understand where we're coming from. We need meaty story in more of the games areas. Not just have random areas and expect people to do what they want in them. 

[Mellianna]

Sounds like there's some DLC coming 'sooner than later'. Uh... I really hope so. I need it like NOW 

[DarkAmaranth1966]

I think they understand now, after the fact, that they should have put their foot down and left the game to PC first, then New gen consoles and, said enough hacking bits out of it. Yeah that would have meant that no old gen console could run it but, no old gen (32 bit or dual core) PC can run it either so, that would have been fine.

 

Now, since they did make it available for old gen consoles, they have to try to give all of us the best experience they can with the limitations they have to deal with.

 

I'd love to see what the game was when it wasn't fit for consoles, I'd pay for a PC only pack that gave PC those things. Of course console players would scream unfair, but if it's optional and, it just happens to work only on PC, well then that's how it is. We PC players have to put up with a console UI so, why not give us a bit that only works on PC?

[frankf43]

I agree that it seems to be a publishers decision rather than a developers, I really doubt Bioware would want too not make a working game or cut content from the game. For example the scars, aren't in the last generation console and I can not understand why this is the case, since I can see Cassandra's scar very well, in fact, on my 360's. I don't understand why this wasn't included in the last gen console


I seriously think this was put up as a way to push players to pay for a newer system, even though some gamers can't afford that new system. So pushing people to pay for an newer console is the wrong choice for developers and publisher alike. Heck, for me this game cost me about 70.00 which is basically a day's and a half of day of pay. Thankfully, I used the Christmas money I had gotten and also that I had saved for my PS4 and I had enough for DAI on the PS4.

 

The simple reason is memory limitations. Yes you can see scars that are on every character but adding options that are not on every character adds memory usage. Memory the old gen consoles don't have. 

[Auztin]

It makes sense if you look at whole series.Origins was kind of a generic in all aspects the DA2 came out trying to be unique. DA:I is good way of saying "Yep.This is Dragon Age."

[SofaJockey]

"We wanted Inquisition to be the one which people would point to and say, 'they've found their feet. They've finally nailed down what this series is about.' Not that this locks us down or shackles us in any way, it just makes a clear statement on the priorities"

 

 

wtf? I can't believe I'm hearing this

DA:I is definitely not what the series is about...

 

I think the 130+ GOTY's pretty much assures that it is,

and whilst I can see the need for more finesse over side quests, plot and some game mechanics, I'm inclined to agree.

[SharpWalkers]

So basically a lot of the things that got me extremely excited for this game, after watching that PAX2013 gameplay, got removed because of the old-gen.. That blows balls of epic girth!

 

I actually watched that gameplay again yesterday, and I got extremely miffed by all the things I missed or where different in the actual game. 

[NedPepper]

Revealing interview.  Also, worrying.  Once again Laidlaw is pretty much "THIS is what Dragon is supposed to be."  No.  Not in my eyes.  It was lifeless and boring.  You used the same cave in DA2 and fans called you out on it.  The overcompensation for that in DA:I is just weird.  Creatively, in my eyes, DA 2 was a much better game.  The narrative.  The concept.  It may have lacked in some execution, but I'll take that over bland any day.  Origins set the standard for this franchise, and like it or not, it's where most of the fans came from.  It's the game, for some, that Bioware can't seem to recapture.   Inquisition, if anything, feels like a step backward.  This doesn't feel like the "arrival" of Dragon Age.  It's a departure.

The exploration didn't give us anything interesting.  It was just a bunch of quests without story, feeling or emotion.  I'm glad he recognizes this, but at the same time, the game design, the world design, is what created the problem to begin with.  My only hope is that he has a solution.

Also, last gen held the game back.  Good to know at least.  

 

Hmmm.  I don't know how to feel about this franchise going forward.  I really don't. Sucks.

[VahnXIII]

Interesting article. It's good to know that Bioware isn't hanging their hat on 130+ GOTY accolades and instead seek to absorb critical feedback and continue tempering this game until it gets to the level it deserves. 

[In Exile]

I agree that it seems to be a publishers decision rather than a developers, I really doubt Bioware would want too not make a working game or cut content from the game. For example the scars, aren't in the last generation console and I can not understand why this is the case, since I can see Cassandra's scar very well, in fact, on my 360's. I don't understand why this wasn't included in the last gen console


I seriously think this was put up as a way to push players to pay for a newer system, even though some gamers can't afford that new system. So pushing people to pay for an newer console is the wrong choice for developers and publisher alike. Heck, for me this game cost me about 70.00 which is basically a day's and a half of day of pay. Thankfully, I used the Christmas money I had gotten and also that I had saved for my PS4 and I had enough for DAI on the PS4.

It's a memory issue. For the scars. In DAI scars are a separate layer added on top of the skin which is why they can have depth and intensity. They're not just a texture.

[Farangbaa]

I seriously think this was put up as a way to push players to pay for a newer system, even though some gamers can't afford that new system. So pushing people to pay for an newer console is the wrong choice for developers and publisher alike. Heck, for me this game cost me about 70.00 which is basically a day's and a half of day of pay. Thankfully, I used the Christmas money I had gotten and also that I had saved for my PS4 and I had enough for DAI on the PS4.

Do you seriously think they'd spend resources on making a game for a console they don't want you to play on to make you play on a different console?

Wouldn't it be waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay smarter to just not make the game for the old console at all to really force people to get a new one?

[TK514]

If this is the one that is supposed to tell us what DA is about, then DA must be about the Elves at the expense of every other storyline in the setting.

[hoechlbear]

I think the 130+ GOTY's pretty much assures that it is,

and whilst I can see the need for more finesse over side quests, plot and some game mechanics, I'm inclined to agree.

 

 

GOTY means nothing because for one, we don't know how many of those websites EA paid to give a perfect score and second, it doesn't matter how many good reviews it gets if a lot of the fans (Bioware's customers) are unhappy with the game.

 

Dragon Age was always about story and characters, Bioware changed that to make the game more based on exploration because EA is filled with greedy people, so they need to butcher every single franchise to try to make more money. DAI is definitely not what this series is about, not to me and not to a lot of people and if they don't change that in the next game, a lot of their loyal fans will give up on this series. I certainly will if the next game turns out to be another fetch fest with worlds exaggeratedly big with nothing but wilderness in them. 

[Darkly Tranquil]

I bet a nickel they'll change the art or gameplay for DA4 again.

I sure hope they change the gameplay, because that's the only way I will buy another DA game. If the next one plays like DAI, I'm done with it.

[SofaJockey]

GOTY means nothing because for one, we don't know how many of those websites EA paid to give a perfect score and second, it doesn't matter how many good reviews it gets if a lot of the fans (Bioware's customers) are unhappy with the game.

 

Dragon Age was always about story and characters, Bioware changed that to make the game more based on exploration because EA is filled with greedy people, so they need to butcher every single franchise to try to make more money. DAI is definitely not what this series is about, not to me and not to a lot of people and if they don't change that in the next game, a lot of their loyal fans will give up on this series. I certainly will if the next game turns out to be another fetch fest with worlds exaggeratedly big with nothing but wilderness in them. 

 

hmm, lot's to disagree with there.

 

GOTY means nothing because it suits your argument? That's totally illogical.

Pity companies like Ubisoft and Bungie forgot to spend their marketing budgets buying people off then.

DAI probably had a 'fair wind' on the GOTY front, but it did well because it was best on offer, according to critic and gamer opinion.

 

The franchise was butchered to make more money? No more sense in this statement either, you don't butcher something to get people to buy it.

In any case, if you theory was true, the game would have been released in October 2013 as originally planned.

One reviewer described DAI as an almost hilarious overcompensation for the criticisms about DA2.

The clear message from EA's annual reports suggests DAI was a financial as well as a critical success.

 

Exploration was something that games like Skyrim set a lead on, and a move to Frostbite 3 allowed,

the Witcher 3 has done the same. DAI side quest balance and cut scenes need refining, that's certainly true.

For example. There's nothing wrong with finding Ram meat for starving refugees, its just that the 'pay-off' was so understated.

 

With all that success I see the model for DA is now very clearly set, with enhancements to come on top of the first outing for Frostbite 3.

If some fans who prefer a 'Pillars of Eternity' style or seek a DAO2, can no longer follow the franchise, that's fair enough and good luck to them,

I'm certainly not taking a pop at those people as there has definitely been a style change from a 'directed' to a more 'action oriented' story telling style.

But I have no doubt that as many and more new gamers will join for the ongoing ride, and other games will address the needs for those players who preferred the style more akin to BG & DAO.

 

By all means, express that the modern game formula is disappointing for the way you like to play,

but it is not credible to suggest that most purchasers of DAI view it as an 'open world full of nothing',

nor is it reasonable to suggest that the game is as it is due to some evil conspiracy to upset 'loyal gamers'.

 

I don't expect DA4 to be quite as large, though I'm sure the 'open areas' are here to stay.

As a significant amount of the effort on DAI was on adaptation of Frostbite 3,

more focus can be put on gameplay, content and story, including features that last gen could not cope with.

I guess we'll know in 2017 won't we...

[hoechlbear]

GOTY means nothing because it suits your argument? That's totally illogical.

 

Well, it is known that EA pays Youtubers to promote their games, so I wouldn't be surprised if they paid websites as well. Not to mention that some of those websites that gave perfect reviews are people who probably judged DAI as a stand alone game and didn't even played it on PC.

 

 

The franchise was butchered to make more money? No more sense in this statement either, you don't butcher something to get people to buy it.

In any case, if you theory was true, the game would have been released in October 2013 as originally planned.

 

I don't play a lot of games but one example of EA ruining a franchise is The Sims 4. They probably didn't release DAI earlier  because they know what happened with DA2. They made DAI more like Skyrim because it's a popular game and they wanted to be popular. There's an interview where the devs talk about that. So they did in fact changed the formula to appeal to more people therefore make more money. Not to mention the content that got cut because of old gen consoles. In my eyes they butchered it, yes. 

 

DAO (and even DA2) is all about story and memorable characters while DAI is more concentrated in exploration so by saying that DAI is what this series is all about is just... a punch in the stomach to people like me that fell in love with this franchise because of DAO, because of the story and because of the characters. DAO didn't have pretty graphics and pretty open worlds but to this day is still the favorite of most fans. It's one thing to say, "with DAI we're going in the right direction" and another to say "DAI is what this series is all about". I don't mind the open worlds myself, while they are beautiful they failed to fill them with challenging and in depth sidequests. Also the fact that there isn't a single cutscene while you're doing these sidequests or just exploring the world in general, which makes everything seem forgettable. I'm pretty sure the open worlds are here to stay, and I don't mind that, as long as they don't exaggerate in the number and as long as they give us some proper sidequests and incorporate these worlds into the main story. The fact that you can finish DAI without visiting half of the worlds is pretty sad and a waste of potential.