Dragon Age News Roundup
Dragon Age News Roundup
Game News - posted by El Dee on Thu 17 July 2008, 22:38:49
Tags: BioWare; Dragon Age: OriginsGameSpot has the E3 demo up, watch it here.
The demo is mostly combat and it seems that Dragon Age is being labeled as "Dark Heroic Fantasy", also you get to see a finishing move.
GameSpy has a preview out based mostly off of the demo:
BioWare clearly isn't shy about pulling heartstrings when it refers to the Dragon Age series as "the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate." It employs similarly loaded language when stating that the soon-to-be-launched fantasy-themed PC-exclusive (for now, anyway) RPG franchise marks the famed studio's "returning to [its] roots." The message seems pretty clear: The creators of Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights may be happy to play in space, but they've been missing their elves, fireballs, and heavy warhorses. And perhaps even the slighted hordes of PC gamers that feel entitled to an exclusive, however brief. Yup, BioWare is doing high fantasy, and apparently, it doesn't need the Forgotten Realms to make it worthwhile."Dark heroic fantasy," that is.There's that "Dark Heroic Fantasy" again.
When asked why the protagonist's dialog didn't benefit from voiceover work, Tudge replied: "You'll notice that we actually chose to use your own voice when telling the story. You're able to create such a custom character, and really, the party is you -- you are the hero. So we wanted for you to be able to tell that story in your own voice, rather than imposing one upon you." So think KotoR instead of Mass Effect. All the other characters spoke, however, and did so well, reinforcing the chasm that seemingly exists between voicework in BioWare games and those of most other developers. Their facial expressions and body language were emotive and naturalistic, barring a few awkward gestures and the odd glazed-over look, and despite the overwhelming feeling that it's all pretty generic, the narrative goings-on made one feel that there was definitely some thought put into this world.So, was it generic or was there a lot of thought put into the world?
There's also a podcast featuring Executive Producer Dan Tudge on Bioware's site. Listen to it here.
1up has a preview as well:
What's new for E3? For one, the game has a new name. "Origins" refers to the character development system that, frustratingly, is not being discussed in depth right now. All the team will say is what we already described in an earlier Dragon Age preview from Games for Windows magazine. Basically, the choices you make early in the game -- the "origins" -- develop your character in a new way not seen before in a BioWare game, and these decisions affect both how your character can play the game, and how the game plays out for you. The rules set is distinct to Dragon Age, and you'll have several character classes and traits to customize.The character development sounds interesting at this stage and, if done well, might have some potential.
The demo is mostly combat and it seems that Dragon Age is being labeled as "Dark Heroic Fantasy", also you get to see a finishing move.
GameSpy has a preview out based mostly off of the demo:
BioWare clearly isn't shy about pulling heartstrings when it refers to the Dragon Age series as "the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate." It employs similarly loaded language when stating that the soon-to-be-launched fantasy-themed PC-exclusive (for now, anyway) RPG franchise marks the famed studio's "returning to [its] roots." The message seems pretty clear: The creators of Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights may be happy to play in space, but they've been missing their elves, fireballs, and heavy warhorses. And perhaps even the slighted hordes of PC gamers that feel entitled to an exclusive, however brief. Yup, BioWare is doing high fantasy, and apparently, it doesn't need the Forgotten Realms to make it worthwhile."Dark heroic fantasy," that is.
When asked why the protagonist's dialog didn't benefit from voiceover work, Tudge replied: "You'll notice that we actually chose to use your own voice when telling the story. You're able to create such a custom character, and really, the party is you -- you are the hero. So we wanted for you to be able to tell that story in your own voice, rather than imposing one upon you." So think KotoR instead of Mass Effect. All the other characters spoke, however, and did so well, reinforcing the chasm that seemingly exists between voicework in BioWare games and those of most other developers. Their facial expressions and body language were emotive and naturalistic, barring a few awkward gestures and the odd glazed-over look, and despite the overwhelming feeling that it's all pretty generic, the narrative goings-on made one feel that there was definitely some thought put into this world.
There's also a podcast featuring Executive Producer Dan Tudge on Bioware's site. Listen to it here.
1up has a preview as well:
What's new for E3? For one, the game has a new name. "Origins" refers to the character development system that, frustratingly, is not being discussed in depth right now. All the team will say is what we already described in an earlier Dragon Age preview from Games for Windows magazine. Basically, the choices you make early in the game -- the "origins" -- develop your character in a new way not seen before in a BioWare game, and these decisions affect both how your character can play the game, and how the game plays out for you. The rules set is distinct to Dragon Age, and you'll have several character classes and traits to customize.
