.... he left BW and went to a no-name studio? Was there some drama at Bioware it something? That would explain the ME4 delays.
As a kid growing up, I loved the Dragonlance setting. Never really got a decent game in that universe though. I know there were a couple of gold box games, but something new in that setting, I'd go for without thinking twice.
Hell I still get a kick out of BG2 when encountering those characters in that plane from the DL universe. LOL
Finished SoD finally, had re-do a few areas due to quest bugs. I might go through it again when they've fully patched it and see how the experience changes. I think coming to that from a new playthrough of PoE + its expansions, the writing and dialogue choices in PoE are so much better than in SoD, SoD looks very amateurish in comparison.
One positive thing I will say about SoD is the soundtrack was fan-bloody-tastic. Am considering getting it as they have it up for sale now.
Next up bringing my halfing assassin through BG2.
Anyway I'm still curious to see what project they've got DG heading up. If I think it's my thing, I'll get it, if not, I'll go do something else instead.
I don't know much about Dragonlance other than there are hobbit people called kinder (?) and it seems focused on dragons.
I will say that I liked some novels Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weiss wrote, non-Dragonlance books. But I haven't read anything from them for years so I don't know how the books would hold up.
I don't know much about Dragonlance other than there are hobbit people called kinder (?) and it seems focused on dragons.
I will say that I liked some novels Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weiss wrote, non-Dragonlance books. But I haven't read anything from them for years so I don't know how the books would hold up.
Yeah Kender, loved those little guys.
Actually, thinking about it, a Dragonlance game might be the last thing DG would want to work on - might be seen as too similar to Dragonage.
Dafuq he left BW and went to a no-name studio? Was there some drama at Bioware it something? That would explain the ME4 delays.
Gaider was never on the ME4 team (or any Mass Effect team, for that matter.) He went from Dragon Age to the Sekrit New IP before he left.
Alberta Venture: Why celebrated video game writer David Gaider left BioWare and joined a startup
http://albertaventur...joined-startup/
Alberta Venture: Why celebrated video game writer David Gaider left BioWare and joined a startup
http://albertaventur...joined-startup/
is quite interesting. It makes me wonder about certain things that he got overruled on, and what those might be. Or perhaps not even that, but a AAA gigantic gaming company has other, different considerations than an independent, smaller one.One day I ran into Trent Oster, one of the founders of Beamdog, at the gym. We started chatting and the idea came up of having a creative director position which would give me a little more say over what I’m working on. I was lead writer on the projects at BioWare, but had a lead designer and creative director over me. This means I have a little more input on what I’m working on.
I am still sad to see David Gaider leave, but at the same time i'm kind of happy. He probably got a much bigger pay raise, I doubt he'd leave the dragon age team if it wasn't for something big. I am just worried because he was the brains behind it and i'm cautiously optimistic to see what Weekes can do.
I am still sad to see David Gaider leave, but at the same time i'm kind of happy. He probably got a much bigger pay raise, I doubt he'd leave the dragon age team if it wasn't for something big. I am just worried because he was the brains behind it and i'm cautiously optimistic to see what Weekes can do.
He'd already left the DA team though for the secret IP they're working on. Fairly certain he'd left the DAI team just before DAI shipped as his duties as the head writer were done already.
Hopefully at E3 it'll be revealed what he's been working on over at BD. Might be a bit too soon to find that out I suppose, then again BD did announce they'd been working on their own expansion to their enhance version of BG about a year or more before release SoD, so who knows.
I get to see @davidgaider tomorrow over lunch. Perhaps he'll tell me all his secret plans for the future!
No frigging way I would have rescued that thing! (Sorry cat lovers)
The cat being grody is part of the joke 
Evil genius firestarter cat/Gaider.
Alberta Venture: Why celebrated video game writer David Gaider left BioWare and joined a startup
David seems happy, good for him!
People had complained a lot on Beamdog's BG1 expansion, saying they changed characters personalities and they are runing a classic.
When Beamgod got BG rights they were already wanting to create some expansions and BG3. They didn't want to just enhance Infinity for current OS and resolutions, they wanted to create new content. But, after so many complains, they had to do something. They had to get at all costs somebody who worked on the original game.
I wonder who the old Creative Director was, and what he's doing now. For sure Beamdog wasn't happy with him after the bad reception.
I can only hope. He's a million times the writer that Weekes is.
I disagree about Gaider being a strong writer than Weekes. He is a strong writer of the characters he cares about, but this often comes at the expense of the supporting characters, plots and general premise for his quests.
But, after so many complains, they had to do something. They had to get at all costs somebody who worked on the original game.
I wonder who the old Creative Director was, and what he's doing now. For sure Beamdog wasn't happy with him after the bad reception.
That isn't how it worked at all. They hired David Gaider before Siege of Dragonspear was even released. As far as I know, they didn't have anyone with the title Creative Director before that.
Really? I thought he was hired recently. But, did he activelly work on SoD? Or was it already being developed?
It was already well in development. To the point where , I would be very surprised if he had any input, creative or otherwise on it. Bug testing, maybe?
I guess they've got bigger things in the pipeline and brought him on with those things in mind.
Yeah he was hired just before SoD was released, I believe. No way he could have had any input on that expansion.
And as far as I know, he's keeping mum on what he is working on there.
Yeah he was hired just before SoD was released, I believe. No way he could have had any input on that expansion.
And as far as I know, he's keeping mum on what he is working on there.
There's a thread in Beamdog's forums about Gaider asking what people would want to see in a hypothetical new D&D game.
"For the sake of argument, let's pretend we were making a D&D game of some kind.
What would be your top-three list of things you absolutely, positively would need to see present in that game -- whether it be in the story or the feature list?"
https://forums.beamd...needs-a-list/p1
I disagree about Gaider being a strong writer than Weekes. He is a strong writer of the characters he cares about, but this often comes at the expense of the supporting characters, plots and general premise for his quests.
Agreed, and I think this was especially evident in DA:I where the plot holes are kind of all over the place. IE: We never learn why Fereldan even invited the mages into its borders in the first place, how Morrigan ended up at Celene's court, why Hawke would think the wardens would be a good source of authority on red lyrium, etc. Weakes wrote some of the strongest characters in DA:I (Solas, Iron Bull, Cole). I mean just look at what he did with Solas's fade lines (setting it to the exact same meter as Hallelujah) and writing Cole is basically like writing poetry. And then of course what he did in Tespasser was masterful. (And the icing on the cake, he finally solved the Leliana decapitation controversy by revealing she was a spirit a la Cole when she disappears at the end if she's not the Divine and was killed in Origins). The one thing I think they're both lacking at though is writing convincing, fleshed out political plot lines. I hope they get some writers who are better at this sort of thing for future titles. The Landsmeet came close but was still a bit lacking and Wicked Eyes, Wicked Hearts was just an anti-climatic disaster.
Weakes wrote some of the strongest characters in DA:I (Solas, Iron Bull, Cole). I mean just look at what he did with Solas's fade lines (setting it to the exact same meter as Hallelujah) and writing Cole is basically like writing poetry. And then of course what he did in Tespasser was masterful.
Gaider agree
I am perfectly fine with people liking what Patrick did with Cole, even moreso than what I did with him.
I wouldn't have let Patrick write him, after all, if I didn't think he could do Cole justice. He obviously can and did, in my opinion.
Agreed, and I think this was especially evident in DA:I where the plot holes are kind of all over the place. IE: We never learn why Fereldan even invited the mages into its borders in the first place, how Morrigan ended up at Celene's court, why Hawke would think the wardens would be a good source of authority on red lyrium, etc.
There's a difference between 'left unexplained' and 'plotholes'.
That's what I meant, I was just wrong on timing in that they still didn't know ppl would hate SoD when they hired him.
So, I believe what Beamdog have always wanted was to develop BG3. They had to buy the rights for it, and that would include rights to work on BG1 and 2,so they decided to remain on Infinity engine.
That's the first mistake IMO. Pillars of Eternity proved that a new engine is much better than an "enhanced" Infinity. Anyway, they bought the rights, and they needed to work on Infinity anyway, so they decided to developed EEs for old BG games. That would provide them experience on the engine and games, would allow them to sell a game made with much less effort, and would also let them grab feedback from gamers.
Once the EE work was finished, they created an expansion to keep cash coming while they planned BG3.
It ended up with ppl complaining a lot on the changes they've made on the plot, specially the feminazi crap. So, yes, they need to rethink a lot of things and get some better writers.
Also, it would sum A LOT if they'd have somebody who worked on those 18 months on BG3. IDK if they got any of that work, but, even more now, they really need to recover that work and the feeling around people who worked on it.
I'm hoping they will get it right now, or at least better.
It ended up with ppl complaining a lot on the changes they've made on the plot, specially the feminazi crap. So, yes, they need to rethink a lot of things and get some better writers.
The Dragon Age games contain at least as much 'feminazi crap' as Siege of Dragonspear, if by 'feminazi crap' you mean 'well-rounded female characters and LGBT people existing' which I gather is the substance of the complaints. I sincerely doubt there'll be less of that under Gaider's stewardship, given that we're talking about the man whose last major characters for BioWare were Cassandra and Dorian.
I do think it's a very good thing for them to have Gaider on board if they're trying to make a sequel or spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate - partly for name recognition and partly because he's good at doing interesting things with the cliches of the Forgotten Realms. I think they're likely to be using a new engine, because apparently WotC stipulate that new D&D games have to use the current rules set and Infinity isn't really set up for that. (Fingers crossed for a better implementation of 5th Edition than Sword Coast Legends turned out to be.)
Many years of enjoying David's characters for Bioware, and the Dragon Age novels - bringing his new studio into my to-watch list.
It's more people making more great things, not a competition 
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