Dragon Age: Origins has been disregarded as a Lord of the Rings clone by many gamers who haven't been paying attention, and while I completely disagree, I must admit that it's difficult for any fantasy game to stand out in a genre dominated by long-established books, movies and games. While I was in Edmonton to check out the game, I asked lead designer Mike Laidlaw how Dragon Age hopes to make its mark in such a saturated genre.
"I think we're lucky in that, as a company, we have a pedigree and history of doing fantasy games that were landmarks of their time, memorable and very strong in the way that they delivered the story, to create the experiences that I think have lingered with people," he explains. "... The pedigree helps when trying to make our mark because it gives people a bit of trust that BioWare's done this before and we're really happy with it.
"Obviously they have to be cautiously optimistic because it's a different world and a new approach but what we've got is frankly a bit of an attempt to do something different and hit the tone of dark fantasy and create a world which is grittier, edgier and honestly more unforgiving than what you'd expect out of high fantasy.
"Certainly the experience with elves, right? They're not what you expect. The dwarves are much more politically motivated. So it takes a lot of the expected and the known and twists it. I mean, if you're a dwarf, you're short, you have a beard, but at the same time you can take that base and explore and do things we haven't done to it before."
Dragon Age certainly succeeds when it comes to twisting the defined roles of fantasy archetypes. The elves of Ferelden are second-class citizens, dirt poor and downtrodden rather than aloof and arrogant. Little twists like that are what help Dragon Age stand out, and should hopefully make for a very memorable world. We have lots more coming from my chat with Laidlaw this week, so keep reading Destructoid for all sorts of Dragon Age and BioWare discussion.
Contest:
8:00 AM on 09.08.2009
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To be clear, I'm not saying either is a copy. I AM saying that I want Dragon Age....
I look forward to hearing more about what my favorite developer has to say. I recently decided I was going to buy this game knowing little more than the fact that it's developed by Bioware, everybody wants it, and I get some Mass Effect 2 armor out of the whole deal.
So this is all news to me and yet hasn't swayed my choice at all.
Is it all the blood/gore/sex-soaked ads, the huge amounts of brown and gray, or the fact that every word that's come out of their mouths when it comes to what makes Dragon Age unique and a stand-out still makes me think "Didn't The Witcher do this already?"
Obviously there's a lot of room for a great edgy fantasy RPG, especially ones that take after Baldur's Gate, but they're not talking to me when it comes to promoting the game. They're talking to the guy who bought Mass Effect thinking it was like Gears.
There's a huge amount of disconnect when I see promo videos compared to when I read in-depth previews. The previews speak of a complex, deep RPG that seems to farther than its peers in making the choices one makes - especially with regards to ethics and morality - feel meaningful. The ads and videos seem to speak of a game that's trying too hard to be on the cover of Heavy Metal.
Bioware's trying to have it both ways when it comes to Dragon Age's appeal, and it isn't working.
Suppose I were to write a gritty, "choose your own adventure" book in the fantasy setting. Just because not very many people buy it doesn't mean that they don't understand what my work is about. It means most people don't care for gritty fantasies where you get to choose your own adventure. It doesn't matter how good an author I am, if I'm making books no one is interested in, they won't be read. Bioware appears to be having this problem with their Dragon Age game, and I really wish they would realize that this is the problem, so that they can get back to making games people are actually interested in, rather than games made for themselves.
I think what Bioware is trying to do the double whammy of making a game for "real" gamers but simultaneously reeling in a more mainstream crowd. It's the golden balance that few games ever come close to.
Theoretically they din't have to try to impress you because you've been keeping up and you can tellthe game is good quality. So they've got your dollar. Then they turn around to marketing and go for the other catch that they've yet to impress.
I don't think it'll work.
Kind of like the Riftwar series in which it was a sort of European fantasy versus Asian fantasy, right?
"Hail European Dark Elf seen any of them evil Asian humans?"
@Tralfmadoria
It was actually there pretty heavily but it never materialized in the main quest or was as prominent as it was in Morrowind which had slavery and religious tension between the three pantheons of The Nine, Daedric Princes and the Tribunal. Spoiler examples-
Leyawiin's treatment of Argonian Immigrants.
Every Imperial thinking Cheydinhal's count is incompetent because he's a Dunmer.
How the Redguard & Imperials look down upon the Nord.
The general hatred Redorian Dunmer's have for Imperials.
I was only there for about two days last month. That's a shame though, I hate knowing I've missed a Dtoider.
So if they've sold it to people like you and I why would they want to waste time promoting it to us?
I guess I can see what you are saying about the promoting being off, but it is the job of the marketing department at Bioware to sell as many of these games as possible. I don't really need them to target their ads directly at me to feel like they're thinking about me. All they had to do to show their appreciation towards fans like me was say "This is the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate." Maybe that's a lame way to get their oldest fans on board, but at the same time that's what we've been asking for for all these years.
It is true, Mass Effect was my least favorite Bioware game to date yet. I still enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as I enjoyed their other games. But Mass Effect was wildly successful and I can see how they would like to hold onto some of their new fans from that franchise.
@Hacpt: Clearly, this isn't the game for you, that's cool. I don't like Halo myself, or Call of Duty, or Metal Gear Solid Bioware has been making these kinds of games for years, I'm pretty sure they know what they are doing. And whether or not they get that Mass Effect crowd completely on board they are still going to have a successful game on their hands. The BG and NWN fans will show up for this one certainly. So while you may not like the branching dialogue and story of a game like Dragon Age there are still plenty of people out there like me who do love it, and we'll keep coming back to Bioware to get our fix. To tell Bioware they can't make this type of game is like telling Bioware they can't be Bioware. This is in their DNA, this is who they are. They've been making these games since they got started, and they have a legion of fans for it. I don't think they'll be changing any time soon. And I think you'll find that dragon is does very well.
Lastly, it's probably just some server error but as of right now, it is not possible to pre-order the collectors editions of Dragon Age on gamestop.com, only the regular edition is available.
However, I say, HOWEVER...this IS BioWare we're talking about. That alone warrants a try.
Yes, I know that. My point is in answering the question "WHY AREN'T YOU PEOPLE AMAZINGLY STOKED BY ALL THIS?"
The problem is that they're sending two different messages, and one of them: the one that ISN'T in Jim's or Eurogamer's or all the other in-depth previews, is hugely different from the one that's in the ads, demo videos, and press releases.
Those bits are the ones that get gamers, those of us who HAVEN'T had the chance to play preview builds or personal experience with the title, aren't getting anything worthwhile to talk about.
Bioware knows this, and also knows most of us are going to buy the stupid thing anyway. They just shouldn't be surprised that people don't care anymore and are just waiting for day one to actually talk about it.
I was only mildly interested in it but stood in line for 3.5 hours because the shirt was awesome and I'm completely sold. The game is sweet. Definitely has the feel more like the old school BioWare brought up-to-date for 2009 than the other stuff they've put out since starting the transition to being more console-centric.
However, I say, HOWEVER...this IS BioWare we're talking about. That alone warrants a try."
Funny, I feel the same way about KOTOR and Mass Effect as you feel about Dragon Age: it doesn't look particularly compelling and I think (KOTOR at least) it involves a setting that has been done to death.
I like some SciFi, but.. Star Wars.. really? Aren't we beyond this yet?
"I like some SciFi, but.. Star Wars.. really? Aren't we beyond this yet?"
Nope.. not at all beyond it. a couple of good Star Wars games in a sea full of Star Wars shit is not good enough.