Dragon Age 2 making-of video features Hawke's life and loves
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EA has conjured another video about the making of Dragon Age 2 and, in this one, BioWare talks about the way the game's story is told. According to the developer, it's a framed narrative, with an unreliable narrator recounting the action as it happens. Unlike movies or books that use the same technique, though, this is interactive -- so not all of us will see the same story. The video also mentions that another storyline, much closer to Origins, was considered for the sequel.
The hero's story will also unfold within a smaller chuck of the world than the first game's, but it'll be carried out over a period of years rather than days or weeks, which means we'll get to see his or her relationships blossom and grow. That's familial relationships in the form of a mother and siblings and, erm, concupiscent relationships in the form of any number of lusty elves, dwarves or humans. Watch the whole vid after the break.
The hero's story will also unfold within a smaller chuck of the world than the first game's, but it'll be carried out over a period of years rather than days or weeks, which means we'll get to see his or her relationships blossom and grow. That's familial relationships in the form of a mother and siblings and, erm, concupiscent relationships in the form of any number of lusty elves, dwarves or humans. Watch the whole vid after the break.
Reader Comments (52)
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 9:39PM Aussiemon said
Ehhhhhh...
...ok ok, it looks good. I still wish it was more like the first in terms of gameplay and design, but they don't seem to have screwed it up, at least.
...ok ok, it looks good. I still wish it was more like the first in terms of gameplay and design, but they don't seem to have screwed it up, at least.
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 9:48PM JnRx said
@Aussiemon I Thought the first was kind of boring O_o this one looks a little more interesting AND IT SAVES ME HOURS of time trying to customize my characters face and what not (I'm OCD like that) -_- hmm....I Wonder if you can change Hawk's looks? O_o maybe the one we are seeing now is just the Default version..who knows?
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Posted: Jan 11th 2011 11:11PM TheDarkWayne said
@JnRx The hawke they've been showing is equivalent to default male, bald and bestubbled commander shepard. So you can still spend hours (really? Hours?) customizing a guy or girl if you want
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Posted: Jan 11th 2011 11:25PM shadowskill11 said
@TheDarkWayne If its anything like the PAX Prime build the answer is no. You pick a class and gender and thats it.
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Posted: Jan 12th 2011 7:35AM StryCross said
@Aussiemon
They're not really changing anything, if anything adding more options to the players. They have clearly said in terms of the gameplay and combat designs, there will be 2 ways to play it: 1. Being just like the 1st game, more slow, tactical; and 2. More action based and up close and personal like a typical action game, tailored for more of a console game experience. They give you the option to switch between the 2. Only thing where they changed designs is the story telling (as explained in the vid above; is in frame narrative going through time ) and character development since its more like Mass Effect in where theres an already established character that you will flesh out with decisions. I personally applaud them for doing something different with it, 1st one was amazing but it was kinda dated, and if it were the same style it would draw to many comparisons between the 2, this one will set itself a lil apart from it with its designs while still staying within the same world and lore
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They're not really changing anything, if anything adding more options to the players. They have clearly said in terms of the gameplay and combat designs, there will be 2 ways to play it: 1. Being just like the 1st game, more slow, tactical; and 2. More action based and up close and personal like a typical action game, tailored for more of a console game experience. They give you the option to switch between the 2. Only thing where they changed designs is the story telling (as explained in the vid above; is in frame narrative going through time ) and character development since its more like Mass Effect in where theres an already established character that you will flesh out with decisions. I personally applaud them for doing something different with it, 1st one was amazing but it was kinda dated, and if it were the same style it would draw to many comparisons between the 2, this one will set itself a lil apart from it with its designs while still staying within the same world and lore
Posted: Jan 12th 2011 1:04PM Kevadu said
@shadowskill11
I played the game at PAX too. It was a short demo that was supposed to give people a taste for the game in just a few minutes. Why on earth would they include the character customization stuff in that? By the time you finished customizing your character time would be up.
So no, I don't expect the game to be anything like the PAX build in this respect.
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I played the game at PAX too. It was a short demo that was supposed to give people a taste for the game in just a few minutes. Why on earth would they include the character customization stuff in that? By the time you finished customizing your character time would be up.
So no, I don't expect the game to be anything like the PAX build in this respect.
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 9:41PM Saladfork said
Peter Molyneaux, I hope you're taking notes.
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 9:43PM JnRx said
mmm that tan girl looks like she has alot of....Personality >_> I like :)
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 10:53PM MachDelta said
@JnRx
That "tan girl" with the huge.... tracts of land... is actually Isabela, an NPC from the first game -> http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Isabela
She's a sexy, saucy, swashbuckling pirate captain (and a cheat). Rawr!
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That "tan girl" with the huge.... tracts of land... is actually Isabela, an NPC from the first game -> http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Isabela
She's a sexy, saucy, swashbuckling pirate captain (and a cheat). Rawr!
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 9:45PM Marco le Polo said
Now this...is electric sex.
Where's Ralphie?
Where's Ralphie?
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 9:46PM oJMan240o said
I thought Mass Effect gave a pretty good sense of being a member of a family, extended grant you. The crew in Mass Effect was kind of like a big giant family. They argued, they jested, they got insulted by Joker in some form or another. Typical stuff.
I thought it odd that they emphasized the "feeling like family" perspective.
I do hope that the facial models get a bit more detailed, I'd hate to see this game suffer the exact same issues as the last, especially since Mass Effect has proven that they have so much more potential than Origins actually reached.
No more super smooth clay faces please, give them some definition. Faces are such a great way to portray a character, give them some life. Make them unique instead of everyone just being a skin tone.
I thought it odd that they emphasized the "feeling like family" perspective.
I do hope that the facial models get a bit more detailed, I'd hate to see this game suffer the exact same issues as the last, especially since Mass Effect has proven that they have so much more potential than Origins actually reached.
No more super smooth clay faces please, give them some definition. Faces are such a great way to portray a character, give them some life. Make them unique instead of everyone just being a skin tone.
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 9:51PM Crayola Q Pants ESQ said
Oh wow. Don't let the football team find out the address to Mark Darrah's house. Ogre would have a field day
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 9:52PM Robborboy said
Hopefully this will retain more RPG aspects than Mass Effect 2 did.
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 9:57PM DigitalFortress said
@Robborboy
Nah, ME2 was just about right. A little RPG goes a long way in terms of sales for the 'non rpg' player. :)
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Nah, ME2 was just about right. A little RPG goes a long way in terms of sales for the 'non rpg' player. :)
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 10:05PM oJMan240o said
@Robborboy
You do realize that the reason for the change to Mass Effect was because the inventory system was essentially broken, right? The only thing that changed about ME2 from ME was the exclusion/streamlining of the inventory and an improvement of the gunplay that hindered the first game. Mass Effect has always been a hybrid anyways, and there was no use for the inventory in the first game so why keep it when the game is so focused on the actions you take and how you get between them? Having traditional RPG trappings in ME2 would have bogged down the progression of the game's centerpiece, the storyline, like it did in the first one. Mass Effect is just not a game that you want to spend 20 minutes in a menu deciding what you can drop and what you can't.
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You do realize that the reason for the change to Mass Effect was because the inventory system was essentially broken, right? The only thing that changed about ME2 from ME was the exclusion/streamlining of the inventory and an improvement of the gunplay that hindered the first game. Mass Effect has always been a hybrid anyways, and there was no use for the inventory in the first game so why keep it when the game is so focused on the actions you take and how you get between them? Having traditional RPG trappings in ME2 would have bogged down the progression of the game's centerpiece, the storyline, like it did in the first one. Mass Effect is just not a game that you want to spend 20 minutes in a menu deciding what you can drop and what you can't.
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 10:20PM Robborboy said
@oJMan240o You assume I am talking about inventory when I am not. I am talking about skill trees that actually matter. I was able to complete Mass Effect 2 on veteran without putting a single point into any of the skills, not even breaking a sweat, and to me that is silly. The original Mass Effect however will have you talking a half an hour on up in a single engagement if you try the same thing as without training your ground most of the shots will go wide, just as they should.
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Posted: Jan 12th 2011 6:16AM This Little Man Says His Name Is said
@Robborboy
Try insane then.
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Try insane then.
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 9:54PM (Unverified) said
Hawke's voice is terrible but It will grow on me.
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 10:07PM ShadowOp said
@(Unverified)
I agree... that voice... I feel like I remember it from other Bioware games, but as an npc villain or something. It just seems like the voice of a side character, but as you said, it might grow on me. There is the option of goin female though...
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I agree... that voice... I feel like I remember it from other Bioware games, but as an npc villain or something. It just seems like the voice of a side character, but as you said, it might grow on me. There is the option of goin female though...
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 10:16PM FlashJS said
Why is Hawke wearing a spitoon at 1:42-1:45? Anyone know what purpose it serves?
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 11:13PM Nova17899 said
Yeah. Sure you beat it without using any skill points. I bet you also beat it without shooting any bullets or using powers, in under 20 minutes huh? Most of the leveling from the first game was broken anyways. It didn't matter how you leveled up, just which attachments you had on each gun.
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Posted: Jan 11th 2011 10:25PM 2late2die said
I have to admit this game is getting better every time I see it. When it was first announced I wasn't thrilled - MassEffication of Dragon's Age, no race choice for character, and so on, and while I still wish there was a way to include more of the character customization elements, I also realize that the more of those you include the less tight of a story you can tell. It looks like whatever was lost with the shift to DA2 would be more than compensated by whatever is added - the story looks intriguing, seems like more emphasis were put on characters and environments, combat is looking better.
Time will tell if the game is really good or not but at least now I'm looking forward to it. :)
P.S. One thing seems like they're gonna miss on after all - a good female version of Hawk. Like with ME1/2 it seems that a male hero is what the plot really has in mind, and the female version is a kind of a secondary consideration, i.e. dialogue changes, token romances, and that's about it. I can't blame them of course, I imagine it's nearly impossible to really write a story while having your protagonist be both genders - they probably initially write it with a male protagonist and then do the female version. I guess I just think it would've been interesting to take the reverse approach - first write a strong story for a female champion and then adjust it as need to accommodate a male version.
Time will tell if the game is really good or not but at least now I'm looking forward to it. :)
P.S. One thing seems like they're gonna miss on after all - a good female version of Hawk. Like with ME1/2 it seems that a male hero is what the plot really has in mind, and the female version is a kind of a secondary consideration, i.e. dialogue changes, token romances, and that's about it. I can't blame them of course, I imagine it's nearly impossible to really write a story while having your protagonist be both genders - they probably initially write it with a male protagonist and then do the female version. I guess I just think it would've been interesting to take the reverse approach - first write a strong story for a female champion and then adjust it as need to accommodate a male version.
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 10:59PM Jawmuncher said
@2late2die I completely agree about the gender as well.
Would be cool to set the main character as female for once and the male as the secondary.
I've played as females in all of biowares games and like you said I wish they were sometimes a bit better in terms of being fit in.
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Would be cool to set the main character as female for once and the male as the secondary.
I've played as females in all of biowares games and like you said I wish they were sometimes a bit better in terms of being fit in.
Posted: Jan 12th 2011 12:33AM Crayola Q Pants ESQ said
@2late2die
Agreed, the only reason I'm considering a second playthrough of ME2 with a male Shepard is because I want to get some Tali loving. Sure I could get some Samara, but bitch be trippin!
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Agreed, the only reason I'm considering a second playthrough of ME2 with a male Shepard is because I want to get some Tali loving. Sure I could get some Samara, but bitch be trippin!
Posted: Jan 12th 2011 1:13AM TheDarkWayne said
@2late2die I think we've seen too little of DA2, particularly of romances, to make that judgment. A lot of people say that lady commander shepard is actually the better of the two in terms of romances and overall story anyway.
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Posted: Jan 12th 2011 6:18AM This Little Man Says His Name Is said
@Jawmuncher
KOTORs Revan is canically female. 1 and 2 played just as well if you were male or female.
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KOTORs Revan is canically female. 1 and 2 played just as well if you were male or female.
Posted: Jan 12th 2011 7:47AM Irem said
@2late2die
I never felt like femShep got shorted in terms of story, or that the story was "written for" a male protagonist. Shepard handles things the same whether s/he's male or female, and for the most part, people react to him or her in the same way, and that's actually really refreshing. I'm not sure that there's anything BioWare could change in their approach without destroying what makes female Shepard appealing in the first place. For many femShep players, seeing a female character in the traditionally masculine role of the alpha badass who commands respect, admiration, and fear is the major draw. As my roommate says, a lot of times when a game company tries to write a story specifically for a female protagonist, they screw it up; I don't think there would be so many differences in how people react to Shepard and how Shepard behaves that writing the story from a "female perspective" would make any impact at all.
I think Hale's voice acting and the interaction with the LIs available to femShep do a pretty good job of differentiating female Shepard's playthrough from a story told from a male perspective.
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I never felt like femShep got shorted in terms of story, or that the story was "written for" a male protagonist. Shepard handles things the same whether s/he's male or female, and for the most part, people react to him or her in the same way, and that's actually really refreshing. I'm not sure that there's anything BioWare could change in their approach without destroying what makes female Shepard appealing in the first place. For many femShep players, seeing a female character in the traditionally masculine role of the alpha badass who commands respect, admiration, and fear is the major draw. As my roommate says, a lot of times when a game company tries to write a story specifically for a female protagonist, they screw it up; I don't think there would be so many differences in how people react to Shepard and how Shepard behaves that writing the story from a "female perspective" would make any impact at all.
I think Hale's voice acting and the interaction with the LIs available to femShep do a pretty good job of differentiating female Shepard's playthrough from a story told from a male perspective.
Posted: Jan 12th 2011 1:33PM TheDarkWayne said
@This Little Man Says His Name Is That's not correct. Revan is canonically male, the Jedi Exile from KOTOR 2 is canonically female, not the other way around.
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Posted: Jan 11th 2011 10:31PM DeeZeee said
I admire what they're doing, but his still feels like a bait and switch.
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 10:52PM ZAXBY said
@DeeZeee
I felt the same way when I first found out what they were doing but honestly I don't anymore. It legitimately feels like they are trying to do something new and fresh for the sequel. A part of me wishes I could import my DAO character but im not sure if I would want a direct sequel since Dragon Age is bigger than 1 person/character.
Having said that Bioware hasn't given me a reason to doubt so I wont start now.
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I felt the same way when I first found out what they were doing but honestly I don't anymore. It legitimately feels like they are trying to do something new and fresh for the sequel. A part of me wishes I could import my DAO character but im not sure if I would want a direct sequel since Dragon Age is bigger than 1 person/character.
Having said that Bioware hasn't given me a reason to doubt so I wont start now.
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 10:49PM Shig said
I am too excited about this game.
March can't come soon enough.
March can't come soon enough.
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 10:56PM Jawmuncher said
Looking Good, recently picked up the Ultimate Edition.
Hope I can finish that before 2 comes out
Hope I can finish that before 2 comes out
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 11:08PM TheDarkWayne said
Varek is Keiser Soze?! Man, I'm getting really excited about this game, but this one kind of tempered it a bit. I hope Isabella isn't the main focused romance they put the most effort into like Morrigan in the last one, she looks like she has a really sloppily put together face with poor graphics, moreso than the other characters. Of course I know it's just a game, but that could be really immersion breaking if not damaging to the story for me.
Posted: Jan 12th 2011 12:04AM El Centenario101 said
@TheDarkWayne
I dont think shes that bad but I know what mean from the last one
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I dont think shes that bad but I know what mean from the last one
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 11:21PM irishchad said
wait a second, did i sense a threesome in there?
Posted: Jan 11th 2011 11:51PM The Only Girl said
Ok, so we've heard about this male Hawke. But really, nothing for the female Hawke? They wouldn't be so cheap as to just change the "he"s to "she"s, right? The "him"s to "her"s...?
I've only seen this related to her:
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/5349/dragonage2female.jpg
I've only seen this related to her:
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/5349/dragonage2female.jpg
Posted: Jan 12th 2011 12:29AM Ender7 said
Visually its looking better, however I want to find the writers and beat them to death. It seems you have very limited choices in the game like ME2, which I hated. It was the ONE thing that I loved about rpg's more than anything, playing the character YOU want. With 6 or more possible anwsers/questions you can give with branching trees based on your character, now its going to be stripped down to 2 to 3 it seems like. You know, good and bad choices, that's it. I KNEW as soon as they said the main character would be voiced it would be dumbed down BS. It also seems like we have a sarcastic character..whoopie, so much for my serious mage character I try for in most RPG's. Oh, and the best part is that we don't even know what they will say until we select it, we just get an icon and a rough idea of what they will say. Grrrr. This is ME2 all over again, I hate you EA for killing bioware.
Posted: Jan 12th 2011 12:39AM Crayola Q Pants ESQ said
@Ender7
I;m kind of torn on this. While I love having more options to choose how to mold my character I have to admit I also love the dialogue wheel, purely because it keeps me interested in the entire conversation since I have a general idea what I was going for but don't know for sure what they're going to say until it's said.
Direct dialogue options is great but I tend to gloss over what my character is saying since I already read the text. The only way I pay attention to text I just selected is if I'm playing Guybrush Threepwood, because the man is hilarious. So far Hawke doesn't appear to have any charisma anywhere on par.
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I;m kind of torn on this. While I love having more options to choose how to mold my character I have to admit I also love the dialogue wheel, purely because it keeps me interested in the entire conversation since I have a general idea what I was going for but don't know for sure what they're going to say until it's said.
Direct dialogue options is great but I tend to gloss over what my character is saying since I already read the text. The only way I pay attention to text I just selected is if I'm playing Guybrush Threepwood, because the man is hilarious. So far Hawke doesn't appear to have any charisma anywhere on par.
Posted: Jan 12th 2011 1:19AM TheDarkWayne said
@Ender7 You hate EA for killing bioware? You hate EA for killing bioware? What the hell, really? You think putting dialogue on a wheel was not only a direct command edict from EA, but it KILLED bioware? Geez. Get over it. It was still entirely possible to make your character be who you wanted them to be even with only a few possible choices, and they've already said their dialogue wheel will be more inclusive and extensive than ME2.
That said, I do sort of agree about the sarcasm thing. When the lady in the video said "it wouldn't be dragon age without sarcasm" , all I could think was, really? It wouldnt be dragon age without sarcasm? Not without darkspawn, or dragons, or mages? Sarcasm?
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That said, I do sort of agree about the sarcasm thing. When the lady in the video said "it wouldn't be dragon age without sarcasm" , all I could think was, really? It wouldnt be dragon age without sarcasm? Not without darkspawn, or dragons, or mages? Sarcasm?
Posted: Jan 12th 2011 2:37AM isotrex said
Still looking awesome! Interesting style of story-telling. Looking forward to it.
Posted: Jan 12th 2011 2:42AM Misguided Terran said
Goodness I absolutely HATED Origins... but... this one looks so damn tempting. Let me be frank, I hate the traditional tale of dwarves are hardy beard wearing drinkers that prefer weapons with bigger smacking space than their heads. I don't really care for the evil beings if all they do is SKRAWWGH and charge at you with spikes and stuff. I hate a story told so badly I wanted to shut everything out and rush through the game just to see the ending. And I absolutely hated the cast in the first game, well, of all the members I attracted. Allistair was annoying, I couldn't care at all about Morrigan who seemed so uppity I didn't bother to interact with, Leliana appeared convoluted and mysterious if you could get past that damn accent, Sten was an insulting jerk and uninteresting, and then there was that mage lady who was slightly interesting, but never bothered to delve into, and Zevran or whoever... just... yeah enough about him. AND WHY DID DUNCAN HAVE TO DIE?!?
So yes, the entire story of the first game was so damn BAD I took it back and traded for something else. This was without the fact that the gameplay I also found tedious and too much like WoW. I dunno, I just hate clicking on one guy to attack him, then clicking buttons to do other things.
So yea, this new one looks interesting from the standpoint of the story being embellished to the very nice character animation, what with all the moving around and such... so yeah, I may check this one out.
So yes, the entire story of the first game was so damn BAD I took it back and traded for something else. This was without the fact that the gameplay I also found tedious and too much like WoW. I dunno, I just hate clicking on one guy to attack him, then clicking buttons to do other things.
So yea, this new one looks interesting from the standpoint of the story being embellished to the very nice character animation, what with all the moving around and such... so yeah, I may check this one out.
Posted: Jan 12th 2011 3:51AM Operator said
Nice try guys, but Alpha Protocol did the interactive framed narrative before you.
Posted: Jan 12th 2011 6:09AM Dumac said
Characters look more uncanny than Oblivion ... Hope they're still working on that.
Posted: Jan 12th 2011 12:06PM thesage42 said
No signature edition on Steam means no sale. Screw you EA.
I'll pick up the deluxe version for cheap down the line.
I'll pick up the deluxe version for cheap down the line.
Posted: Jan 12th 2011 12:26PM Swift said
Can someone ask them why all the enemies are re-used from the last game? So disappointing.
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