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
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