Dragon Age III looks to Skyrim for inspiration

  • In response to Tygravius's blog post "Show Me the Money", I wrote the following:

    "...I would hate for Bethesda games to fall into the Dragon Age trap.  DAII was a very disappointing game, to me.  BioWare is usually much more on the ball.  But frankly it seems to me like EA pressured BioWare to pump out a second Dragon Age very quickly, and that BioWare succumbed to this pressure.  DAII's environments were just horrible (especially when you look at Skyrim!), the gameplay was dumbed down, and the RPG elements were streamlined out to the point of it being mostly an action game.  PLUS...the "decisions" amounted to nothing.  The ending was the same no matter what you decided to do as Hawke.  I get the feeling the BioWare treats Mass Effect like it's baby, and is very protective of that brand.  (And it shows!  ME and ME2 were both awesome).  But they allowed themselves to get sloppy and release a basically unfinished game with DA2."

    Come to find out today that BioWare itself feels like there's alot to be learned from Bethesda!

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2011/12/21/bioware-says-next-dragon-age-will-look-to-skyrim/

    Here's to hoping that BioWare takes their time with the next DA installment.  I looooooved the first Dragon Age, and the fact that it took BioWare 5 years to make is likely no small coincidence.

    Bethesda, BioWare, and Rockstar (in no particular order):  Best developers out there!

Comments

6 Comments
  • The Shadow
    The Shadow   ·  December 23, 2011
    I really enjoyed DA:O, but I didn't get around to play DA2 ( and from what I have read about I don't plan too). The only problem in my opinion is that it isn't actually open world it's just a bunch of not that big maps in different parts of the land. If t...  more
  • Paul
    Paul   ·  December 21, 2011
    I didn't bother with DA2, but I did very much enjoy DAO.
    The two obvious things that spring to mind immediately when I think of what Dragon Age could 'take' from Skyrim are:
    1. Diversity and individuality of the races 
    2. Genuinely open ...  more
  • Ponty
    Ponty   ·  December 21, 2011
    I read this last night and I'm really looking forward to what they draw out of Skyrim. The first DA game was great (70 hours on my first playthrough) the second one was alright but dissapointing over the first one (30 hours).
  • Tygravius
    Tygravius   ·  December 21, 2011
    Agree. Everyone should look for inspiration from Skyrim. I tried the DA games and didn't enjoy them that much. In general, not a big third person view fan. I did like MA and MA2 though. Go figure. ha! I've always enjoyed TES/Fallout games by Bethesda and ...  more
  • Donivan
    Donivan   ·  December 21, 2011
    Vix, you're dead right about how Laidlaw seems to be digging in his heels, which is unfortunate.  Whereas Howard takes the criticism seriously and tries to improve things as a result.  (Who knows, maybe BioW's declaration that they're going to learn from ...  more
  • The Nexus
    The Nexus   ·  December 21, 2011
    I think the only problem I had with DA:O was that the class choices were very strict. I LOVE playing hybrids, it's the most enjoyable thing in the world, but DA only had three choices (the specs were pretty linear too). So I had to force myself to pick on...  more