I don't think the story and writing is necessarily good in DA:I either. It's certainly better than Divinity, but not something I'd consider good. Another issue with DA:I is the new dialogue system and how most conversations with NPCs are fairly uneventful. And with the way the game is structured you can go a really long time without making any story progress or hearing any meaningful dialogue.
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Rock Paper Shotgun Best PC games 2014
- Thread starter Pranay
- Start date
I don't think the story and writing is necessarily good in DA:I either. It's certainly better than Divinity, but not something I'd consider good. Another issue with DA:I is the new dialogue system and how most conversations with NPCs are fairly uneventful. And with the way the game is structured you can go a really long time without making any story progress or hearing any meaningful dialogue.
Dragon Age has better characters too, and as corny as it is more compelling writing.
What we really need is Planescape style stroy telling/character interactions and Divinity style mechanics.
Then Dragon Age would start looking truly silly (I'll always have a soft spot for Bioware corn, though).
See above.
A man can dream.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
It's definitely turned me off in the last year or two. Long ago, I'd check the site every day, but definitely not so much anymore. I still check it every once in a while, but John Walker's worldview definitely seems to have overtaken the tone of the site's articles. I don't dislike the guy, but I find myself disagreeing with a whole lot of what he says.
You should read more of my posts if that comes as a surprise to you. I absolutely am an elitist when it comes to RPGs, and I think my opinion on them is more informed than most other people's because (i) I've played so many of them over the past 20+ years or so and (ii) I've spent a lot of time thinking about their mechanics
I've seen you do it plenty of times, and it irked me then too.
I'm with you for the most part though. Your avatar says it all, really.
Dragon Age over Divinity or DS2.... hahahahaha what? I thought this place was supposed to be the PC gaming site.
I guess baby's first RPG paired with atrocious writing is good enough for them. I'll never understand why Bioware gets so much credit for their story/dialogue when it's as bad as it is.
Dragon Age does absolutely nothing better than either of those two games though, all I can think is you guys are masochists.
I guess baby's first RPG paired with atrocious writing is good enough for them. I'll never understand why Bioware gets so much credit for their story/dialogue when it's as bad as it is.
Dragon Age does absolutely nothing better than either of those two games though, all I can think is you guys are masochists.
I absolutely am an elitist when it comes to RPGs, and I think my opinion on them is more informed than most other people's because (i) I've played so many of them over the past 20+ years or so and (ii) I've spent a lot of time thinking about their mechanics
I hope we can stop this soon and realise PC doesn't mean we always have to choose mechanics over characters, or whatever, just because we're on PC.
Oh, nevermind...
The PC RPG gaming site is rpgcodex.
I do try to channel my elitism into useful results though. That's why I pushed many of the RPG kickstarters that are now coming to fruition so hard (here on GAF and elsewhere). Oh, and I'm also an image quality elitist, for exampleI've seen you do it plenty of times, and it irked me then too.
I'm with you for the most part though. Your avatar says it all, really.
It's gonna be GAF GOTY too... absolutely disgusting.
JumpJeff84
Member
I don't have an issue with Dragon Age winning over Divinity.
I love both games, but the fact that people can prefer Dragon Age is understandable. Divinity doesn't hold your hand at all, to the point that you can get flat-out stuck with no idea where to go next. Some people love it for that, but sometimes when I sit down to play an RPG I'd like to at least have the option to have an objective marker to tell me where to go next.
I love both games, but the fact that people can prefer Dragon Age is understandable. Divinity doesn't hold your hand at all, to the point that you can get flat-out stuck with no idea where to go next. Some people love it for that, but sometimes when I sit down to play an RPG I'd like to at least have the option to have an objective marker to tell me where to go next.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Probably that or Mordor... such a damn shame, and I hate sounding elitist saying this, but I think people don't care about the "game" part of games anymore. Is this a "getting old" thing?
I say it every time when people bring up options and other self-imposed limitations, but as soon as you put in that option, the game will get designed around it, especially with something as important as quest markers.
Except opinions mean it does for some.
I love Planescape, Fallout, Neverwinter, MIght and Magic, Balder's Gate, System Shock, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Divinity, Etc...
Each one has strengths the others don't, each one satisfies a different craving. I wish we could drop this silly idea that it has to be one is better than the other, when it's just different tastes/moods.
The PC RPG gaming site is rpgcodex.
I do try to channel my elitism into useful results though. That's why I pushed many of the RPG kickstarters that are now coming to fruition so hard (here on GAF and elsewhere). Oh, and I'm also an image quality elitist, for example
Oh absolutely, we need people like you to keep pushing these things. My tastes are too broad for that. I'd have never found D:OS if it handed been funded by the faithful, and I'm very grateful for it.
It's the guys who rush in with cheapshots and nothing else to offer that are annoying, but I mostly ignore those.
Unless a dragon age expansion releases.
Stop it. Don't get my hopes up.
It's kinda like when someone says an RPG that isn't Planescape has the best writing ever.
Remind me to murder you when this comes true.
LurkerPrime
Member
Experiences are the new games. Dragon Age: Inqusition is a great experience. Mordor is also a great experience. Both are simple, straightforward, and bombastic enough to keep viewers engaged for the entire experience. The gameplay is there to keep the users physically engaged until the experience is over, at which point they enter stasis and wait for the DLC to release.
The problem is that developers are focused on the experience firstly, even before the game itself. But this is not a problem for the most part, because the poor or malformed gameplay can be overlooked, because the "experience" is worth the time investment.
Basically, MMOs ruined everything.
This is where a "/s" would go if this post were actually sarcastic.
I'm a bit suspect as I was in the alpha and loved the game even then. But, yes, it is actually proper good. Excellent even, in my opinion.
Getting mad about awards of any sort is silly.
That said I am mildly discontented.
This is why I kind of wish they'd make some kind of HD version with a good modern UI so people would actually play it and realise.
NumberThree
Member
People are paying way too much attention to the specific "awards". RPS has never ordered their list apart from the very best game (on 24th), and the same is true this year. They didn't pick Dragon Age over Divinity, they both got picked.
Unless you really think MGR got awarded for the best word instead of being a wonderful game.
Unless you really think MGR got awarded for the best word instead of being a wonderful game.
Indeed.
naw, it's a 'not being mainstream' thing, like not enjoying superhero movies or Doritos. & I agree, that's why I think entertainment software is a much better phrase for what we see at retail than videogame.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
I don't even hate "experience" games. I generally enjoy Telltale's The Walking Dead and beyond adventure games. I like what I've seen of Kentucky Route Zero. I more or less enjoyed Gone Home.
I guess I just have an issue when games try to be about both, but end up simplifying the "game" side of things so much in an attempt to make sure that no one could possibly have a challenging time and get discouraged that it just feels like a huge waste of time.
Except it should be about both, imo. A game has yet to strike the perfect balance.
When it does it could be phenomenal.
Stop it. Don't get my hopes up.
On which part? Pillars of Eternity being the greatest game crafted by mortal hands or Fallout 4 releasing in 2015?
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
They really should just do away with the titles introducing the games, then. They chose to praise Divinity as a fine example of what crowd-funding can do, not that it's a good RPG. That's fine and all, but they also have a "Best RPG" category, which means that the winner trumps all other RPGs released that year according to them.
I really don't know why they assign arbitrary categories considering they don't seem to put much thought into them. Why not just have a "notable games of 2014" list and write about the games they liked that year?
The way they currently handle it is just begging for controversy.
There can be no perfect balance because everyone is different.
Screaming_Gremlin
My QB is a Dick and my coach is a Nutt
I said this in the GOTY thread, but that is to be expected on a site the size of GAF. For a game to win GOTY here it has to be played by a large section of the users. That means it is most likely going to be a large AAA game with a lot of marketing (which doesn't mean the game isn't good). There are a few exceptions like Journey, but those games usually have some sort of advantage like being pushed heavily by one of the console manufacturers.
CecilRousso
Member
I would have been happy if Dragon Age: Inquisition was just an experience, and actually didn't bother with the combat part at all, since after closing your 20th rift and killing your 30th bear, it start's to get a bit old.
I mean, you can't really ignore the bad part in Dragon Age, because you have to fight these battles, the landmarks are everywhere with their "press A to claim" thing, and the requisition soldiers will pester you about the worst quests in the game in every area.
But I do like the characters, and the enviroments, so I would be fine with it being just an interactive novel instead.
Careful, or the pitchforks might come out. http://observationdeck.io9.com/female-writer-quits-bioware-over-graphic-threats-to-ki-1153849581
NumberThree
Member
They've just had a list of games previously, no idea why they went with the silly categories this time. I thought the lists were fine.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
I totally agree. Since it's completely obvious that Bioware cares no longer about creating a compelling combat-driven RPG, I think I'd prefer it if they just did it Telltale style. Playing their recent Game of Thrones title made me feel that way even more strongly.
I feel like the main weakness of the Telltale games is how low budget they feel and the fact that they are still episodic for whatever reason. I would love to see a full big-budget game in that style with a ton of polish. Bioware have the writing down already, so I think they could totally do it.
SuperSonic1305
Member
How dare someone like Dragon Age. HOW DARE THEY
LurkerPrime
Member
I don't either, for the record. The truly good ones - like this new wave of nouveau adventure games - use the game side to amplify the experience side. Walking Dead uses dialog as gameplay to make the experience more impactful; Gone Home uses a clever game environment/progression to craft a very moving experience. Stuff like that shows that experience has a place in games, so long as its not at the expense of the game.
Like you (sorta) say, it shouldn't be used to excuse design problems. Both Shadow of Mordor and DAI have huge problems in their second half, not to mention numerous gameplay problems, that shouldn't - and cannot - be overlooked.
Obviously.
Bioware style experience.
Planescape quality characters/writing.
Divinity style mechanics.
That could be my dream rpg.
Sentenza
Member
That would make two of us.
It's not even consequence of any deliberate stance on some matter of principle (and no, I don't hate them for being "SJWs" either).
I just found myself bored by most of their content most of the times, and I found harder and harder over time to relate with their reviews and tastes, so I lost interest in reading their articles.
On a side note, here's another PC centric site (which I wasn't even familiar with) that did a pretty damn good job with their GOTY awards:
http://www.incgamers.com/2014/12/incgamers-reader-awards-2014-the-results-and-winners
Screaming_Gremlin
My QB is a Dick and my coach is a Nutt
Well on the plus side, at least it is a better argument than the one that broke out in last year's RPS GOTY thread where people who had never heard of the site complained that it didn't include console games.
Man, the general consensus on DA:I is very negative from this thread. Wouldn't be the first time an EA or Bioware game gets solid reviews from the press and panned by RPG fans.
The reviews and gameplay I watched showed that the game doesn't particularly conform to my taste.
Sentenza
Member
I swear the tactical camera is virtually unusable to me, regardless of the control system used, because of how hilariously cumbersome and non-intuitive it is to plan and perform even the most trivial group coordination.
It sort-of-works as a button masher, I guess.
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
The biggest issues I have with it are technical; total mess on my PC with completely unacceptable bugs popping up all the time. But I'm not really a fan of how it plays, and how overloaded with useless filler quests it is.
LurkerPrime
Member
It's not a bad game, but it's not great either. DAI is very front-loaded quality-wise, which makes for a wave of positive impressions early on that cools towards the end of the game. Also, being the immediate sequel after DA2 leads to only positive comparisons.
It could have been much worse, all things considered.
It's useless by design.
The myriad of design oversights in the tactical view makes it seem like it was there to just "check the back of the box," so to speak.
Leafhopper
Banned
I kinda wish you read the thread. People aren't saying the game is down right garbage but if you are looking at just PC games this year there were better RPGs available, that's what people are getting at.
Dragon Age on consoles, sure why not there weren't even a lot of RPGs this year on that. Then again this might be a drive by post.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
It continues the decline that began with Dragon Age 2. If you didn't like the direction it was going with that game, you probably won't like Inquisition all that much. They certainly fixed the issue with the lack of environmental variety, but they forgot to populate it with interesting content. The visuals also look a ton better. Otherwise, I think it's a far less interesting game.
Playing it right now as I type. Nightmare difficulty and I'm constantly pausing to place orders or refine party movements, it's not the most in depth system and it's not perfect, but combat is flowing and I'm nowhere near button mashing.
It can be awkward, especially when used to more refined PC systems (like the outstanding D:OS UI), but you can definitely make it work.
I did spend the first few hours trying to freeze/electrocute puddles on reflex, though. ;_;