#and it's not like bioware has to do something. they're fucking bioware it will sell regardless

[thirstyforred]

i was thinking today about the fact that i have played many interesting games this year, and when December comes I'll be very excited to write a post about it, explaining what I found cool about this game, both this year's releases and things that came out in the past but I discovered them only now

and as i was thinking about it, i realized that obviously, I would have to write something about Dragon Age the Veilguard

the game hasn't come out yet, so i can't really say anything, and I didn't have the opportunity to play the demo or anything like that, however, over the past few weeks I have been feeling a little bit apprehensive about this title, and I couldn't figure out why

lately, but especially this year, I have been trying to choose the games I play to provide fun and be the kind of games that are "trying to do something," even if it's something relatively small. Prey 2017 is literally my sleeper agent phase to start me ranting

and so i have been thinking, what new interesting thing in the genre of action RPG does DATV do? so far based on the things said by BioWare and journalists/content creators, it's still just perfecting this Mass Effect/Dragon Age formula, which isn't necessarily bad, I do enjoy it a lot! even changes to the fighting system I wouldn't consider "new thing" bc 1. it was the direction DA series slowly but steadily was going towards, even the change from 3 to 2 autonomous party members in ME style isn't that surprising, 2. some people who played demo have been comparing the playstyle to something like new God of War games, so really had to call it anything new

even the fact that im excited about the dodge button is solely bc I have been playing a lot of Guild Wars 2, and I love it there

i mean i hope DATV will surprise me in some way, and even if not I will likely enjoy the game bc Im a lore head and I'm invested in Thedas as a setting

but just, at this moment, while the game still hasn't come out, if it was December and i were to do top 10 of the games i played this year, Veilguard would end up somewhere low, just on the "introducing new exciting Thing to the games" criterium. that's the vibe I'm getting now

[klerothesnowman]

Roleplaying on Neverwinter Nights is one of a kind

Or: Klero desperately tries to sell you on their hobby

This is long and rambly as always, so if you want to be sold on NWN skip to the end without all the preamble. Star Wars fans pay attention because I'm gonna talk about a Star Wars server too.

Roleplaying is a weird hobby, innit? I think whenever people think about it their go to mental image is Sephiroth and Tails having an epic battle where Tails totally juked him with a hologram

And like, yeah, this is what public social media RP tends to look like. I'm sorry guys with unironic open RP posts on your dash, every time I look at you I can't tell if it's a joke or not. I'm not trying to dunk on you, that's just how it is.

But there's all kinds of roleplaying isn't there? For every open RP on social media, there's a private, curated RP being done play by post on a dedicated RP forum. People lovingly writing full paragraphs of their characters thoughts and feelings.

Sorry guys, I don't fuck with that one either. It's like everyone is taking turns doing soliloquies.

One of the best stories I've ever read has its origin in a play by post RP so I can't dunk on it too hard. Read Unsounded

Then there's MMO RP, this one's a little more palatable to me. People interacting in more immediate fashion, and there's even a visual element to keep your attention. ADHD sufferers unite.

But there's a problem with that too, and that's the... I want to say, impermanence. Unless you're playing in a kind of closed garden RP group the things your character does is never going to have a major effect on the world around you. There's a reason most MMO RP tends to just be hanging out at a tavern or something.

But then, there's Neverwinter Nights.

Released in 2002, and the last D&D game Bioware made, Neverwinter Nights is a weird game. The campaign is mid at best, the characters barely memorable, you could only have a single companion with you at a time. It doesn't look too great visually. Though I do think its visuals have a charm to them that I can't really explain.

But, Neverwinter Nights has three features that marked it as a cult classic that people still play 20 years later.

Multiplayer. You can have your buddies play with you.

The Dungeon Master. You can have one of your buddies possess and play NPCs, spawn new creatures and loot and all sorts of things.

The Toolset. You can make your own campaigns, import in custom content and even code new systems and features into the game.

If you've heard of Neverwinter Nights it's usually in the context one of these features. There are some high class player made campaigns out there. Shout out to Luke Scull.

But the thing that's really made this game stand the test of time is the 24/7 servers referred to as "Persistent Worlds."

These places are, effectively, small scale, community made MMOs, all with their own changes to the rule sets, some of them effectively completely different games. Imagine a D&D game that is always running, even without a DM but you can still play. Except also, there is a DM sometimes, running events that have consequences and continued relevance even after the people involved in them have logged off.

And! The majority of them are roleplaying servers, being in character is enforced. Imagine MMO RPers, if everything you were doing was in character, and you can expect everyone to be roleplaying too. You don't need to do the awkward feeling out of if the player you just met while out leveling a skill is up for doing some RP. They do, they're here, RP away!

But even still, this is all just my preamble. Because I'm not pitching NWN in general, I'm pitching it to people on Tumblr specifically.

There's a recurring motif in fanworks that I'm sure you're all familiar with. You're all really interested in the mundane parts of your fixations, the kind of things that get cut for time. You all love thinking about what characters do in their time off, what little quirks people when they're doing chores, the little moments that don't exist on the screen. You all love watching characters do things like go to coffee shops and enjoy each other's company. For the Star Wars nuts, you love to theorize and imagine what the day to day life of a member of the Jedi Order would be, how these ascetic warrior monks interact with each other when the responsibility of protecting the galaxy hangs over their heads.

When a server is on 24/7 every moment can't be the exciting adventure. These mundane little moments happen, they happen a lot. And what I've found is a roleplaying environment that is uniquely personal and warm, where you can spend hours just sitting around a table with friends talking nonsense. Where you can go through the motions of a relaxing routine, find people who matter to you, enjoy the mundane. It's "Comfy"

And it enhances the exciting adventure too, because you have explicit, obvious contrast to know what you're fighting for (or fighting to escape, depends on your character obviously). And when you get back the things you did mattered, you'll keep talking about them, they might impact people you haven't met.

And obviously I don't need to tell you that when you've grown close to someone it hurts all the harder when they're in danger.

Just to be clear, I don't have an ulterior motif for this. This isn't a dying hobby I'm trying to breathe life into or anything. I just think that this is the kind of thing that people here would be really into, and I've mentioned it in posts in the past so I'm just throwing it on out.

[swordsoul2000]

speaking as someone who has played Inquisition and loves the lore of the dragon age games.... I'm scared. no, scratch that. I'm pissed.

Trespasser, the last DLC, the last piece of gameplay content in Dragon Age, ended in a fucking cliffhanger. and we have remained on that cliffhanger for NINE *FUCKING* YEARS.

we have been patient. we have sat patiently through reboots and restarts. we have watched the disasters that were Andromeda and Anthem. (alright, Andromeda wasn't THAT bad, but the first game to not feature Shepard was ALWAYS going to get pushback, and the day 1 bugs gave it's detractors CONCRETE ammunition to use against it. But Anthem truly WAS *THAT* bad). we've been quiet despite all the staff turnover.

We are not quiet now.

that first Veilguard trailer? sucked fade-touched, bronto-dung soaked, pride demon BALLS. this is DRAGON AGE, not Borderlands or Fortnite! comparing ....THAT to Inquisition's Lead them or Fall trailer, or Origin's Sacred Ashes trailer... it's not even in the same ballpark. Sure, Dragon Age has always featured a group of quirky, quippy heros, but the darker fantasy elements have always balanced it out.

and while the gameplay DID relieve SOME fears... it added others. Varric isn't acting like Varric(in that him being so determined that he can talk Solas down he forgets how he completely wrote off Anders - who varric had known for longer - for what is comparably a scaled DOWN version of what solas is attempting). the PC seems to have zero stake in taking down Solas. and they also seem to lack actual decision making powers which takes out one of the central selling points of the series: player agency. the "companions" that were the focus of the "trailer" apparently do jack shit, and you can't control them at all. it also mirror's Inquisition's opening mission virutally beat for beat, far more than any attempt to pass it off as "there's only so many ways to open a "trying to stop a world ending threat story" decision.

and the worst thing of all, at one point in the gameplay reveal... Solas destroys Varric's crossbow, Bianca. which is tragic in and of itself, but I found myself disappointed that they didn't have the balls to go to the obvious conclusion and have Solas kill Varric - which still might happen in the game. which means that they're fucked either way. either they welsh on the story they are trying to tell and have Varric survive, or they kill him as mandated by the story and get buried ALIVE by his fans (this is Varric's THIRD game btws, he's one of VERY FEW legacy characters that have been in multiple games, I think only Leliana and Cullen - who's almost certainly not in this game thanks to his VA having some rather... problematic views - have been in more.

so make up your own mind. I'm pissed and it will take something SPECTACULAR for me to buy and play this game. but as it stands now, Bioware can go out of business, and hopefully ME5 can be bought by some enterprising studio to save it from the implosion. which company is working on Exodus again?

Hi, I know many people are excited for the new Dragon Age, me too, but just a reminder: DON'T PREORDER IT

No seriously, don't. I advise not preordering any game actually, but especially not one that is from EA. I fully expect it to launch with at least one game breaking bug, not counting the plethora of just highly annoying ones. Nowadays, so many games are released in a barely playable shitty state, but companies don't care since people keep preordering the games so the money is flowing in.

Just wait. A day, two days, see if it's actually playable, then buy it if everything is alright. It's better than throwing away a shitload of money (and it's a 2024 AAA game published by EA, it's gonna cost A LOT) and then feeling shitty when the game is just bad.