20 réponses à ce sujet

[Paragon Aeducan]

It's very hard to include every area of the lore in each game because the Dragon Age world is so large. Instead of doing everything at once BioWare could do some smaller scale games each focusing on one piece of the lore. You could even get a better chance to revisit old characters. This would also free up the main games that focus on the main story, allowing BioWare to focus on just that story instead of scattering a bit of everything here and there.

 

Origins was the introduction to the series and that's why it worked well as a "do it all" game. However it's hard to make a story that dives deeper into every area in the lore while flowing together with the main story. Inquisition tried to do a bit too much at once and could have worked better if it was narrowed.

 

For instance one game could be about Orzammar/Kal-Sharok and the Wardens working together to reclaim thaigs in huge battles with the Darkspawn in the Deep Roads. In that game there could be a possible return for Warden Alistair/Oghren/Hero of Ferelden/etc. maybe? Another could be about the Qunari, giving us a true insight on the Qun and their lifestyle. Another game could be about the First Blight and so on, the possibilities are endless!

 

Shutout to Andreas Amell and straykat who I got the idea from. Let me know your thoughts on the matter. 

[Krypplingz]

I love the idea. Like little short stories between big novels. 

 

It would also be interesting if those had somewhat more defined protagonists, like dwarf only or warrior class only, so you could focus on that persons culture. Like seeing an event from a dwarfs point of view and seeing how people react to each race. 

And if the plot was linear it could be referenced in the next big game without needing that many variations.

It would also be cool if the lore bits built up the plot of the next game. Like each group finds or does something that then ties together later and becomes vital to defeating the next big evil. 

[Andreas Amell]

Another benefit to having short spinoffs is avoiding problems with the Dragon Keep histories. Some of my DLC results still haven't registered in my Inquisition tapestry. 

 

I don't think spinoff games need to contribute to the main tapestry if the focus is stopping Solas' big plans. Spinoffs don't even have to take place around the same time as the next game. What happens in Orzammar stays in Orzammar. 

 

To establish small details they can make a Q&A stage like what happened in Mass Effect 2. Or they can design a minature Dragon Keep in each spinoff with a storybook or journal-type interface. This can help deal with details that weren't included in the Dragon Keep, like the exact fate of those judged by the Inquisitor. 

[straykat]

Another benefit to having short spinoffs is avoiding problems with the Dragon Keep histories. Some of my DLC results still haven't registered in my Inquisition tapestry. 

 

I don't think spinoff games need to contribute to the main tapestry if the focus is stopping Solas' big plans. Spinoffs don't even have to take place around the same time as the next game. What happens in Orzammar stays in Orzammar. 

 

To establish small details they can make a Q&A stage like what happened in Mass Effect 2. Or they can design a minature Dragon Keep in each spinoff with a storybook or journal-type interface. This can help deal with details that weren't included in the Dragon Keep, like the exact fate of those judged by the Inquisitor. 

 

Or maybe just have like... one big choice. Nothing too extensive. Like you see with some DLCs (whether you killed Avernus, pissed off Tallis, etc).

[GoldenGail3]

Good idea, lol. But I'm not sure they'd have time to create the base game of DA4 if they did that...

[Andreas Amell]

Good idea, lol. But I'm not sure they'd have time to create the base game of DA4 if they did that...

Is there an expected release date for the next game? I say now is a good time to keep developing!

[Paragon Aeducan]

Good idea, lol. But I'm not sure they'd have time to create the base game of DA4 if they did that...

It could mean a lot more time and work, but these spinoffs could be very linear as Andreas mentioned. The spinoffs reduce the workload of the main games, so if they would split up with 1 team working on the main game and the other working on spinoffs they wouldn't in theory lose much time.

However, the main point with the spinoffs is to give them a chance to better focus on different areas of the lore. It could end up making the main games better as well. 

[straykat]

If not that, I would just take more books then. Not to derail too much though.

 

This is a big plus of, say, D&D. The worlds are so fleshed out..so many stories to tell...and not every character is doing everything at once.

[Realmzmaster]

The problem with the suggestion comes down to budget. Everything has to budgeted. You have to make the case that financially the investment would pay off. The suggestion would better as dlc rather than a whole new game. The base game could then be used to run the dlc. Also who would write these short games. The lead writer and new keeper of the lore (Peter Weekes) is busy (hopefully) working on DA4. Also the writing all has to be done before the other pparts can really start.

[Paragon Aeducan]

The problem with the suggestion comes down to budget. Everything has to budgeted. You have to make the case that financially the investment would pay off. The suggestion would better as dlc rather than a whole new game. The base game could then be used to run the dlc. Also who would write these short games. The lead writer and new keeper of the lore (Peter Weekes) is busy (hopefully) working on DA4. Also the writing all has to be done before the other pparts can really start.

At the end of the day it's about the only way they can really go into some areas of the lore. I don't think a dlc alone is enough in most cases. Maybe they would make more books, but let's face it it's a game series and surely that's what the fanbase prefers. 

I'm no expert on these things but the spinoffs would have a smaller budget/smaller requirements and therefore a lower risk. Why not try it out and see where to go from there, not just for the sake of it but also to help build the story of course. Maybe people would really enjoy more linear and shorter games and it would be a success. 

[Enigmatick]

Well I guess tactics might be that game but every AAA publisher has some big hangup about not doing smaller titles.

[Andreas Amell]

At the end of the day it's about the only way they can really go into some areas of the lore. I don't think a dlc alone is enough in most cases. Maybe they would make more books, but let's face it it's a game series and surely that's what the fanbase prefers. 

I'm no expert on these things but the spinoffs would have a smaller budget/smaller requirements and therefore a lower risk. Why not try it out and see where to go from there, not just for the sake of it but also to help build the story of course. Maybe people would really enjoy more linear and shorter games and it would be a success. 

I don't know how big Bioware would need to get to make spinoff games. I'm already worried that financing is becoming harder to secure with today's economic scandals. 

 

But I'm not demanding that they release these spinoffs at the same time as the next main game. At best I hope they would be well developed with as few bugs as possible.

[straykat]

Well, they don't need to make big games like DAI to get a story across. If the stories weren't all over the place, they could do more than one.

 

I don't know how much it cost though. I'm sure it was quite a bit. Witcher 3 cost 80 million.. I'd be surprised if this wasn't more.

[GoldenGail3]

Is there an expected release date for the next game? I say now is a good time to keep developing!

I don't know, lol, but just saying they'll spend all of their time on the short DA game and welp, that doesn't sound so good..

[dgcatanisiri]

Well, they had The Last Court through the Keep in the lead up to Inquisition's release - outsourced, text-based, and online exclusive. A few more in that vein, of a sort of 'choose your own adventure' style story could probably be done. And of course, a few extra novels or comics wouldn't be a bad idea either - there's plenty of aftermath of the Inquisition to explore, like a proper look at the Freemen of the Dales, or the way that things are shaking out in the aftermath of the mage-templar war. Sure, they'd probably get tied up in a certain version of choices, but they've already had stories like that - Wynne can die in Origins, but she's a main character of the novel Asunder, Alistair might still be with the Wardens and Isabela handed off to the Qunari, but they're both main characters in the Silent Grove/Those Who Speak/Until We Sleep comic trilogy.

 

They've already said that while the novels/comics use a certain play path, that doesn't mean these things ONLY happen there, just that they don't quite happen the way they're depicted in them in those other versions of Thedas.

[bzombo]

I like this idea. Maybe even small stories about individual characters. Maybe more about Shale after the Warden kills the Archdemon. Or Isabela after leaving Hawke. Something that delves into Morrigan's mysterious whreabouts between DAO and DA2. There are endless possibilities. They could be sold as direct downloads from Origin, Xbox Live, and Playstation Store or whatever it's called. Each one $10-$20 filling in more and more lore. Or even never before seen characters in something the devs want to explore but isn't enough for a huge game. This would be a great thing to play.

[Paragon Aeducan]

I like this idea. Maybe even small stories about individual characters. Maybe more about Shale after the Warden kills the Archdemon. Or Isabela after leaving Hawke. Something that delves into Morrigan's mysterious whreabouts between DAO and DA2. There are endless possibilities. They could be sold as direct downloads from Origin, Xbox Live, and Playstation Store or whatever it's called. Each one $10-$20 filling in more and more lore. Or even never before seen characters in something the devs want to explore but isn't enough for a huge game. This would be a great thing to play.

I think one reason why devs shy away from making smaller linear games is the price tag. It's like they need to add more content just for the sake of it, so the consumer can't cry that there's too little to play for the 60 bones. Then why not just make the price more reasonable and try it out, just saying.

[Realmzmaster]

I think one reason why devs shy away from making smaller linear games is the price tag. It's like they need to add more content just for the sake of it, so the consumer can't cry that there's too little to play for the 60 bones. Then why not just make the price more reasonable and try it out, just saying.

 

Charging less for a smaller game does not change how resources need to be allocated. Where are the additional resources (time, equipment, money and people) going to come from for the spinoff? Everything has to budgeted.

 

The writing process is the first step in the game's development. If the writers are tied up in development of the large scale game's content who is going to be available to write the content for the smaller spinoff? The same scenario will occur with the artists, programmers etc in each stage of development.

 

This spinoff would require additional resources to be needed over and above the needs of the large scale project. How is the lead writer going to oversee the development of the spinoff story if the lead writer is concentrating on the content for the large scale project? It is not simply a matter of charging less.

[Teddie Sage]

Call me dumb if you think so but I would actually enjoy a visual novel, BioWare style. All in the writings and choices, followed by artworks made by the team.

[Paragon Aeducan]

Charging less for a smaller game does not change how resources need to be allocated. Where are the additional resources (time, equipment, money and people) going to come from for the spinoff? Everything has to budgeted.

 

The writing process is the first step in the game's development. If the writers are tied up in development of the large scale game's content who is going to be available to write the content for the smaller spinoff? The same scenario will occur with the artists, programmers etc in each stage of development.

 

This spinoff would require additional resources to be needed over and above the needs of the large scale project. How is the lead writer going to oversee the development of the spinoff story if the lead writer is concentrating on the content for the large scale project? It is not simply a matter of charging less.

The spinoffs may reduce the time and workload and budget of the main games like stated previously. They don't need to waste time thinking of how to include everything in a convenient way instead just focus on the main story. They can split up into 2 teams, many developers even smaller ones do this.

 

And again, there is no way they can fit in every relevant part of the lore at the same time as the main story. I'd say it's worth a shot, no? It's not a huge risk to try it once and if it works out, then good.

[Eelectrica]

Well I guess tactics might be that game but every AAA publisher has some big hangup about not doing smaller titles.

I hope they still go ahead with the tactics game - I won't lose sleep if they don't but I feel it would be a worthwhile thing.

It's proven turn based games can be successful with the X-Com's and D:OS. Some of my most tense gaming moments have been in X-com as I try to figure a way of whatever mess I've got myself in.

 

I'd love to play through the Andraste overthrow of Tevinter, or even part of the resistance as Solas upended the world. Or even a side adventure in some unseen corner of Thedas.

 

Take a leaf out the Divinity:OS book and have an option co-op campaign with dual protagonists. I played through D:OS both as an SP game and co-cooperatively and it was a great experience either way.

 

Being turn based, they could even add an X-Com style PVP battle arena as well if they wanted.