There are reasons I think it's not working either, and I feel like saying them, so:
The main, general reason I don't think it's working is simply that in a lot of ways, Dragon Age is constructed like a series that has a returning protagonist, with many of the features thereof... just without the protagonist itself. As you said, this is less of an issue between DA:O and DA2, but it's still there. You have overarching plotlines, returning characters, even returning antagonists, just no returning protagonist.
Bioware still treats all the protagonists as though they're not really separate though, in the sense that Bioware just sees them as the player. With that viewpoint, they don't understand the disconnect when Alistair goes all the way to Kirkwall to meet Hawke, even if it's a bit far-fetched. I mentioned this problem with Morrigan in another thread too. Your dialogue options with her are more suited to someone who already knows her, not someone who just met her and should be suspicious. They don't understand how odd it is when the Inquisitor decides if Hawke or Stroud/Loghain/Alistair sacrifices themselves, because even though the Inquisitor just met them are really has no right to make that decision, the player does. It's really pretty contrived that the Inquisitor makes that call, like it's only there so the player can make a "tough decision", not so the Inquisitor has to. After all, there's hardly any follow-up to it, since unlike Kaidan/Ashley, the Inquisitor didn't know them. They don't realize the damage to the narrative that happens when plotlines old PCs were invested in are wrapped-up by new PCs who lack any connection to them. Because they're still wrapped up by the player. Bioware thinks the player's investment is enough to provide that satisfaction.
So I just realized, Thedas isn't the protagonist! It never has been. The Player is the protagonist. This is really how they're writing it. They're writing it on a meta level. I don't think that's a good or satisfying way to write a series. The more I think about it, the more I don't like it. (Which is also a funny thing to think about, because if the writing satisfies me at first, I don't end up analyzing this much and don't find more things to get angry about. It's like a snowball-effect for problems with the game. Happened with ME3 too.)
I hope that made some sense to people, even if they disagree.
Exactly because the choices you make as a player is influenced from previous games. most known action is not let Leliana become the divine because you assumed that it meant that she would break up with the warden if she was LI. That is also a reason why i dont like new PC along with choice matter. Because you would always make decision in perspective of warden, hawke or even now inquisitor.
Retour en haut
That's specifically what I like about it. I like that the PC - in every game - is just one character among many, not necessarily more important or special than any other notable NPC (except that the player steers them). Cullen could have fallen through the Fade and ended up with the Anchor. Shianni or Fergus could have been a Grey Warden instead. The eldest Hawke could have suffered death-by-ogre, leaving Bethany or Carver as the protagonist of DA2.
So I just say what I think fits them. For Hawke, it's usually Purple because she uses humour to deal with her rather crappy life. My warrior!Inquisitor would take some of the more direct and aggressive options, because she was more short-tempered and enjoyed fighting, compared to my mage!Inquisitor who was actually supposed to be the exact same character if she had been born a mage. So she had to learn self-control, etc. Same person, different background. So that example is a bit like how I roleplay my characters. Same general morality, different life.
