Dragon Age

[Arátoeldar]

Originally Posted by stoffe

A fantasy game without wizards? Isn't that violating some natural law?

I actually like that. It makes the game seem more Tolkienesque.

[Pavlos]

Source

Featuring the return of "Your Majesty" (a man who sounds increasingly like a children's television presenter who's just been told he's being made redundant), this new video of BioWare's latest fantasy RPG Dragon Age stands at around five minutes in length, showing off the game's dialogue for the first time. Spoiler warning.



The dialogue seems to have all the charm of Ayn Rand attempting to channel Christopher Marlowe after a late night at The Fox and Hound if you ask me. But it's BioWare and their cheese is normally good... even if it does smell a bit.

[Pavlos]

Source

Gamespot has run an interview with Dan Tudge, the executive producer for BioWare's new fantasy RPG, Dragon Age. The article details the personalities, motives, and characters that lie behind the pixels we've seen thus far and, as such, may contain spoilers.

I won't ruin it by revealing all of the characters you can invite to join your party, but I will tell you that you'll have a great selection of them to choose from. Each one will have their own unique abilities, behaviors, and personal agendas, so it's completely up to you how you want to compose your party. You can pick them strategically, depending on the scenario you're preparing for, but sometimes it's just fun to mix characters just to see how they interact with each other.

[Arátoeldar]

DT: Party interaction is one of the best parts of Dragon Age: Origins, much like it was in Baldur's Gate. The party approval system is something new we're introducing in Dragon Age: Origins, and it influences how your party members react to your decisions and behave towards you. Each character has their own personal motivations and moral code, so if you do things they don't like, they could leave your party, or even turn on you. On the other hand, if you gain favor with them, you could get special bonuses or certain other perks, which you'll discover.

tastic

[Arátoeldar]

Originally Posted by Chris Priestly, Community Coordinator

We wanted to give the community a heads-up on a recent decision to move the launch of Dragon Age: Origins for the PC to the last half of 2009. That’s a change from the previously announced date of March 2009.

Why is this happening? Both EA and BioWare are really excited about the potential of the game on both PC and consoles and we want to ensure we deliver a blockbuster, AAA BioWare-quality title - as the game is shaping up so well already. An incredible amount of time and effort has gone into Dragon Age: Origins and this extra time will ensure we deliver the quality kind of launch you have come to expect from our games.

At BioWare, our fans and community have always been top priority, so we wanted to you to hear this news from us first. Please discuss this topic here: Click Here.

I have heard two rumors for the reason of the delay. The first being consolization of the game. Secondly that until 6 months ago the the game was being developed by inexperienced people.

{snip} * Edit: PCGamer has an interesting article about the game in its March 2009 edition

* as interesting as it is, this is copyrighted material

[PastramiX]

Originally Posted by Arátoeldar

I have heard two rumors for the reason of the delay. The first being consolization of the game. Secondly that until 6 months ago the the game was being developed by inexperienced people.

Not too surprising. EA was the obvious pusher for this decision, though I wouldn't be surprised if EA's "magic" rubbed off on BioWare. PC exclusive or not, this game looked like a waste of my time in the first place.

Now, if you excuse me, BioWare, I'll be standing by Obsidian, waiting for Alpha Protocol and Aliens.

[Jae Onasi]

Well, I hope it comes out in time for my birthday then. And yes, I'll be playing Alpha Protocol too.

[Jeff]

Couple Dragon Age updates:

IGN Dragon Age Preview

Gamespy Dragon Age Preview

[Arátoeldar]

I find it ironic as all hell for the delay. BioWare didn't do KotOR II or NwN II because they wanted to do their own IPs. The biggest reason for this was complete control over the IP. Yet John "I won't mess with Bioware" Riccitiello has stated the reason for the delay is simulation release of the PC & console versions of the game. Marketing in a pigs eye.

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/57070

[Jeff]

New trailer for Dragon Age: Link

Looks pretty sweet, too bad we still have a long wait for it. :/

[Arátoeldar]

Originally Posted by Arátoeldar

{snip} * Edit: PCGamer has an interesting article about the game in its March 2009 edition

* as interesting as it is, this is copyrighted material

Online version of the PC Gamer article.

Dragon Age: Origins – hands-on

[Pavlos]

Source

BioWare will feature prominently on Gametrailers TV next Friday with previews of both Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2 along with interviews with various members of BioWare staff.

[Jeff]

An excellent preview has been posted at Kotaku giving their impressions from the Dragon Age demo shown at E3.

I am loving how much the game sounds like Baldur's Gate, but I hope the console version does not bring the PC version down. It's also too bad they have said "no multiplayer" which I wasn't aware of until now. At least they said they are using the extra time till the console version is released to improve the PC version.

[PastramiX]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SuJ5T9sfAA

[Lantzen]

I like it, and you clearly see that most of the things in there is from cutscenes so i don't understand all the whinne i have seen from multiple places that the game will just be about blood

And really, what do you expect from a trailer that is named "Violence" trailer? Not to be bloody?

[Ctrl Alt Del]

The game seems to follow Bioware's new trend of adding spiced scenes as, apparently, the appex of the romantic subplot. Hrm, but the trailer features some exciting Dinasty Warriors-esque battles.

[Rake]

I'm really looking forward to this game as I'm tired of going back to Oblivion or nwn2 in order to play a decent medieval/magic/dragon game. Hopefully dragon age delivers.

[Char Ell]

BioWare have released the system requirements for PC version of Dragon Age: Origins. link

Windows XP Minimum Specifications
OS: Windows XP with SP3
CPU: Intel Core 2 (or equivalent) running at 1.4Ghz or greater
AMD X2 (or equivalent) running at 1.8Ghz or greater
RAM: 1GB or more
Video: ATI Radeon X850 128MB or greater
NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT 128MB or greater
DVD ROM (Physical copy)
20 GB HD space

Windows Vista Minimum Specifications
OS: Windows Vista with SP1
CPU: Intel Core 2 (or equivalent) running at 1.6Ghz or greater
AMD X2 (or equivalent) running at 2.2GHZ or greater
RAM: 1.5 GB or more
Video: ATI Radeon X1550 256MB or greater
NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB or greater
DVD ROM (Physical copy)
20 GB HD space

Recommended Specifications
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4Ghz Processor or equivalent
RAM: 4 GB (Vista) or 2 GB (XP)
Video: ATI 3850 512 MB or greater
NVIDIA 8800GTS 512 MB or greater
DVD ROM (Physical copy)
20 GB HD space

Yep. Upgrading my PC is becoming a more pressing matter now that my CPU doesn't meet minimum specs for upcoming games.

[Miltiades]

Quad Core is becoming the norm for recommended specifications. Damn, technology is again one step ahead of me. But it's certainly playable on my PC, question is: will I buy it? Hmm. If E3 told me one thing, it's that I'm not very enthusiastic about the game anymore.

[Rake]

I'm really excited for this game, looks like my Cpu checks out but not sure about my video card.

Anyone know if a Nvidia 9300 GE integrated card passes the minimum or recommended?

[Miltiades]

What you do with the sausage in the dark, is your own business. A "leaked" video showing what's contained in the Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition. Sausages, okay, but Marilyn Manson songs? This must be fake.

[Sabretooth]

Cleared.

Though I'm not particularly excited about the game, looks like your generic Western RPG to me. I'll look into it if it gets good reviews or something.

[SpaceAlex]

Originally Posted by Miltiades

What you do with the sausage in the dark, is your own business. A "leaked" video showing what's contained in the Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition. Sausages, okay, but Marilyn Manson songs? This must be fake.

Fake. They're making fun of this video. Notice the night vision view at the end?

[Tysyacha]

I'm going to give this game as a late birthday present to myself for the big 30! I'm even thinking of preordering it, which I hardly ever do with games. This looks absolutely PHENOMENAL, and I can't wait to give it a try.

(That's why I created a RP in the CEC based on Dragon Age and DDO!)

[PastramiX]

Odd; I am experiencing the most inexplicable feeling right now. I feel that... I'm totally uninterested in this game. Could it be the anthems of loud noise and Tolkein-esque art direction filling my mind every time I watch a trailer? Perhaps it is the gratuitous amounts of clunky virtual sex, or buckets of blood that go to and fro across the screen? Alas, I can take no solace from what lurks around me.

[Revan 411]

I agree with PastramiX. I'm looking forward to Alpha Protocol more then Dragon Age. That being said, I'm still going to play Dragon Age when it comes out. Who knows, I might even like the actual game. But judging from the trailers, it looks nothing more then a fantasy game mixed with blood and sex. Doesn't seem to have a engaging plot. But, I'll judge that when the game comes out.

[Sabretooth]

Originally Posted by PastramiX

Odd; I am experiencing the most inexplicable feeling right now. I feel that... I'm totally uninterested in this game. Could it be the anthems of loud noise and Tolkein-esque art direction filling my mind every time I watch a trailer? Perhaps it is the gratuitous amounts of clunky virtual sex, or buckets of blood that go to and fro across the screen? Alas, I can take no solace from what lurks around me.

Somebody linked me to a great forum post somewhere about how fantasy isn't fantasy anymore. Fantasy is supposed to amaze you and hold you in wonderment, you don't have that anymore. You just have a disposable world with elves and knights and whatnot, the same stuff you've seen over and over. Ultimately it's extremely overused.

And that's Dragon Age's problem. We've already had Baldur's Gate, Fable, Neverwinter Nights, who knows what else. There's been way too much High Fantasy in RPGs. Dragon Age is uninspiring because you don't have a reason to be excited in it. It won't be doing anything new, it's an RPG, just like any other RPG, it's set in a world of dwarves and elves, like all other Fantasy games. And nobody's really impressed by the whole 'characters-affect-story' charade.

Alpha Protocol on the other hand, is innovative. You have a spy game, that is an RPG. It's something really new, maybe no 100% originality, but it's something different for sure, something you'd be excited for.

Only thing I have going for Dragon Age is the cover art, really cool stuff there. Beats Alpha Protocol's cover any day of the week.

[DarthParametric]

Originally Posted by Sabretooth

There's been way too much High Fantasy in RPGs.

DA is supposed to be low fantasy, or at least approaching it, according to Bioware. I think half the problem is the marketing BS put out by EA. Given that the game was in gestation long before Bioware was bought out, I'm hopeful EA's baleful influence won't extend too much to the game itself.

[Jeff]

I love fantasy settings so I am not too burned out on them. And they have changed it up a bit by creating their own universe. I think it will be a great game, though I am with most of you in anticipating Alpha Protocol more. Also I am a huge Baldur's Gate guy so if this lives up to the title of spiritual successor then I will surely love it.

Also... you can "wind up face-to-face with a woman, a man, a transsexual, or an animal" according to the ESRB rating. o_O

[Sabretooth]

Originally Posted by DarthParametric

DA is supposed to be low fantasy, or at least approaching it, according to Bioware. I think half the problem is the marketing BS put out by EA. Given that the game was in gestation long before Bioware was bought out, I'm hopeful EA's baleful influence won't extend too much to the game itself.

Definitely ain't Low Fantasy, and I've heard them say its Dark Fantasy, it pretty much looks that: lots of blood and sex.

Originally Posted by Jeff

Also... you can "wind up face-to-face with a woman, a man, a transsexual, or an animal" according to the ESRB rating. o_O

Heh, wasn't totally surprised on that one, tbh. In Arcanum, you get to pick between four prostitutes who have different fetishes/temperaments, or Dolly the Sheep.

she was nice

[DarthParametric]

If you can call the Witcher low fantasy then I see no reason why DA couldn't qualify. It has much the same bent from what I've seen of the background.

[PastramiX]

Originally Posted by Sabretooth

Somebody linked me to a great forum post somewhere about how fantasy isn't fantasy anymore. Fantasy is supposed to amaze you and hold you in wonderment, you don't have that anymore. You just have a disposable world with elves and knights and whatnot, the same stuff you've seen over and over. Ultimately it's extremely overused.

And that's Dragon Age's problem. We've already had Baldur's Gate, Fable, Neverwinter Nights, who knows what else. There's been way too much High Fantasy in RPGs. Dragon Age is uninspiring because you don't have a reason to be excited in it. It won't be doing anything new, it's an RPG, just like any other RPG, it's set in a world of dwarves and elves, like all other Fantasy games. And nobody's really impressed by the whole 'characters-affect-story' charade.

My thoughts, exactly. I feel that there's an abundance of untapped settings that aren't Medievalist in nature, but would still conform to the term of high fantasy. As of now, a LotR-esque world is extremely redundant and entirely unoriginal. The best thing for developers to do would be to completely break away from the Medievalist stereotype of high fantasy, and go into unexplored territory, that would still be very fitting of the fantasy title.

The period of the classical Maya, for example, would perfectly fit an open-ended world, complete with mythology & magic, long-gone ruins of ancient civilizations, and independent and competing city-states. The result would be radically different in setting from what anyone once knew of fantasy in RPGs, yet it would fill in all of the preexisting pillars laid out from previous titles.

[Sabretooth]

Originally Posted by DarthParametric

If you can call the Witcher low fantasy then I see no reason why DA couldn't qualify. It has much the same bent from what I've seen of the background.

Dunno about the Witcher, but here's why DA doesn't qualify the basics:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Low Fantasy is a sub-genre of Fantasy fiction in which the setting is the real world with the addition of fantastic elements.

Low Fantasy is all about Real World with some different things. Here BioWare has created their own world from scratch. Its dark fantasy.

Originally Posted by PastramiX

The period of the classical Maya, for example, would perfectly fit an open-ended world, complete with mythology & magic, long-gone ruins of ancient civilizations, and independent and competing city-states. The result would be radically different in setting from what anyone once knew of fantasy in RPGs, yet it would fill in all of the preexisting pillars laid out from previous titles.

Agreed, there's also Chinese, Japanese, Native American and Indian mythologies to explore. And of course, Darathy's favourite Egyptian civilisation could lend itself well to role-playing.

[DarthParametric]

I don't personally consider the Witcher low fantasy, however you cited that Wikipedia entry as your definition of low fantasy and that does specifically call it out as such. By those standards therefore you must also include DA.

As far as real world settings go, the overwhelming majority of Western fantasy RPG settings are based partially or wholly on medieval Europe with magic, monsters and non-human races thrown in.

[Char Ell]

Originally Posted by Jeff

Also... you can "wind up face-to-face with a woman, a man, a transsexual, or an animal" according to the ESRB rating. o_O

Definitely not picking the "Surprise Me" option.

Like others in this thread, I'm generally not into the D&D fantasy stuff anymore. I haven't played any of the Baldur's Gate, NWN, or Elder Scrolls games. The only one I've played is The Witcher and I think that was because there weren't any other new RPG's for PC when that game came out. I freely admit that I enjoyed playing The Witcher though it didn't revive my interest in the D&D style fantasy games as a whole.

But I decided to take the opportunity to go to San Diego yesterday and check out Dragon Age: Origins. I'd never been to any type of gamer event like this before so I wasn't sure what to expect. But the BioWare folks lived up to their reputation as being approachable and answered the questions that they could. I couldn't get an answer on the BioWare Edition of DA:O . I liked a lot of what I saw. It definitely seems to be the game where you need to control your entire party during combat instead of just controlling your main character, especially during boss battles. I do plan on getting this game though I too think I'll probably start with Alpha Protocol.

[Sabretooth]

Originally Posted by DarthParametric

I don't personally consider the Witcher low fantasy, however you cited that Wikipedia entry as your definition of low fantasy and that does specifically call it out as such. By those standards therefore you must also include DA.

I really don't see how the Witcher is low fantasy, but I'll reserve my judgement as I haven't played it. If it does not involve the real world we live in, in even the most distant of ways, it cannot qualify for Low Fantasy.

Dragon Age as far as I know, it set in a world quite distinct from our own and is automatically booted out of the Low Fantasy camp and into High Fantasy. And as it has dark themes, it qualifies as Dark Fantasy.

[DarthParametric]

Meh. The whole high/low thing is a complete crock anyway. As far as I'm concerned there's either fantasy or realism. Sticking an elf in either the middle of London or the middle of some imagined world makes no difference - it's fantasy whatever way you want to cut it.

[Pavlos]

Both Kotaku and Gamespot have uploaded their impressions of the hands-on demonstration of BioWare's "dark fantasy" RPG, Dragon Age, at Comic-Con. While Kotaku's is a basic, and positive, overview of the 360 edition, the Gamespot article is a little more interesting, dealing with the "Origins" part of Dragon Age: Origins through a discussion of character creation and how it affects the progression of the plot. The information is made available in brief via a video interview with Lead Designer Mike Laidlaw.

[Rake]

Some nice previews at gamebanshee:

Preview 1

Interview 1

Interview 2

The more info that is released, the more psyched I am for this game. The combat and chracter creation/origins look great, looks like NWN-esque with all the hassles taken out of it. With probably around 70+ hours of gameplay + modules + DLC; this game could last awhile, hopefully the long gameplay is accompanied by an amazing story.

[igyman]

As far as I know at least one party member is some sort of mage, so it's reasonable to assume that there will be a mage class available to the player as well.