So I've been playing BioWare games almost my entire life, and for all of that I've been passionate about Byzantine History. When I was about 12 I was excited that some of the Temples in BG1&2 were obviously based on Byzantine, Ottoman and Venetian models.
I've not been very enthusiastic about the portrayal of Tevinter before DAI. I get that it's a fantasy version of Europe, the games have consistently played with and exaggerated certain cliches of Early Modern and Medieval Europe. I actually like that you guys have incorporated so much actual history in to the games, and hoped that eventually we'd see Tevinter and that some of the "evil evil badness" of the place was the fact of slavery, blood magic and the reputation of the place.
I was initially excited because Dorian is a great character, and we're finally starting to see some Vints who aren't completely evil. I think he represents some of the positive aspects of Tevinter-Magical Byzantine character; he's passionate, pragmatic, proud, extremely intellectual and well-educated. But I have to say, I'm a bit puzzled by the artistic direction the place is going in right now. Tevinter art and architecture has stopped looking like Byzantium and started looking like a weird blending of the Darkspawn aesthetic with 90s Goth and Southeast Asia. I get why the Darkspawn would look a bit "Vint"-y, but I got a bit tired of the Venetori dressing in fetish gear and the architecture not looking at all like anything else on Thedas, when I would presume that, as in real-world Europe, all Thedas art and architecture that isn't from the old Elven Empire would have some Tevinter roots. This is especially odd as most of the Tevinter ruins you see in DAO and DA2 are Roman-influenced.
I don't think this is a completely unreasonable request. I loved that Empress Celene was a combination of lesbian Elizabeth and Louis XIV. I'd love to see a Tevinter version of Basil I-a lithe, poor, extremely handsome Armenian boy who grew up in Macedonia, apparently became something like a pansexual giggolo, became a (probably sexual) favorite of the Emperor Michael, slept with his favorite mistress, murdered the Emperor and married the mistress, and was ultimately killed by his son Leo, who was probably actually fathered by Michael. It's easy to see this as "decadent" in the Gibbon sense, or senseless, or violent, but Basil I was one of the greatest statesmen and commanders in the 1000+ year history of the Empire. I'd love to, at some point, see a Tevinter that doesn't obey the chivalric nostrums of the rest of Thedas and is not impossibly evil like the Empire Corypheus knew. There's so much Byzantine or Venetian art to work with, too, that I don't even see why you'd need to go in this quite odd direction.
Could Tevinter Be Fantasy Byzantium Plz?
#1
Posté 29 juillet 2015 - 08:29
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- Viper371 aime ceci
Retour en haut
#2
Posté 29 juillet 2015 - 11:39
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#3
Posté 30 juillet 2015 - 04:40
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Byzantine history is crap, it should be more closer to the original Rome.
I'd argue with you but you clearly aren't worth arguing with. :/
#4
Posté 30 juillet 2015 - 04:44
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lol, that was a quick (but accurate) read! Good on you! Just ignore Dutch, he hates everything DAI.
#5
Posté 30 juillet 2015 - 04:50
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I'd argue with you but you clearly aren't worth arguing with. :/
Wise choice.
#6
Posté 30 juillet 2015 - 05:02
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Byzantines were the best in Age of Empires 2, just sayin'... 
- Jedi Master of Orion aime ceci
#7
Posté 30 juillet 2015 - 05:44
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So I've been playing BioWare games almost my entire life, and for all of that I've been passionate about Byzantine History. When I was about 12 I was excited that some of the Temples in BG1&2 were obviously based on Byzantine, Ottoman and Venetian models.
I've not been very enthusiastic about the portrayal of Tevinter before DAI. I get that it's a fantasy version of Europe, the games have consistently played with and exaggerated certain cliches of Early Modern and Medieval Europe. I actually like that you guys have incorporated so much actual history in to the games, and hoped that eventually we'd see Tevinter and that some of the "evil evil badness" of the place was the fact of slavery, blood magic and the reputation of the place.
I was initially excited because Dorian is a great character, and we're finally starting to see some Vints who aren't completely evil. I think he represents some of the positive aspects of Tevinter-Magical Byzantine character; he's passionate, pragmatic, proud, extremely intellectual and well-educated. But I have to say, I'm a bit puzzled by the artistic direction the place is going in right now. Tevinter art and architecture has stopped looking like Byzantium and started looking like a weird blending of the Darkspawn aesthetic with 90s Goth and Southeast Asia. I get why the Darkspawn would look a bit "Vint"-y, but I got a bit tired of the Venetori dressing in fetish gear and the architecture not looking at all like anything else on Thedas, when I would presume that, as in real-world Europe, all Thedas art and architecture that isn't from the old Elven Empire would have some Tevinter roots. This is especially odd as most of the Tevinter ruins you see in DAO and DA2 are Roman-influenced.
I don't think this is a completely unreasonable request. I loved that Empress Celene was a combination of lesbian Elizabeth and Louis XIV. I'd love to see a Tevinter version of Basil I-a lithe, poor, extremely handsome Armenian boy who grew up in Macedonia, apparently became something like a pansexual giggolo, became a (probably sexual) favorite of the Emperor Michael, slept with his favorite mistress, murdered the Emperor and married the mistress, and was ultimately killed by his son Leo, who was probably actually fathered by Michael. It's easy to see this as "decadent" in the Gibbon sense, or senseless, or violent, but Basil I was one of the greatest statesmen and commanders in the 1000+ year history of the Empire. I'd love to, at some point, see a Tevinter that doesn't obey the chivalric nostrums of the rest of Thedas and is not impossibly evil like the Empire Corypheus knew. There's so much Byzantine or Venetian art to work with, too, that I don't even see why you'd need to go in this quite odd direction.
I think I could see that working 
