If you've been using the Internet for longer than a week, you may have predicted the reaction to Dragon Age II and the Mass Effect-style changes to its characterization and dialogue system. To put it bluntly: many hate it.
BioWare is ever diligent, responding to fans on its forums, asking them for a little faith and clarifying a few important points. You'd think after about eight solid RPGs, they'd assume the best, but that's not the case, so here's us bringing some reason to the table.
Firstly, the changes. We've known the lead character is Hawke (last name), a human survivor of the Blight who goes on to do great things. Unlike in Origins, Hawke is not completely customizable, though you can choose class and gender. We also know Hawke will be fully voiced, taking a step away from the Baldur's Gate roots of the series.
The main concern stemming from these changes seem to be despite Dragon Age: Origins being possibly BioWare's best selling game ever, its sequel is catering to a less hardcore audience (e.g. the Mass Effect audience). If you can't see the sarcasm there, have another read.
Series lead writer David Gaider is quick to put fans in their place, reminding there's lots more to be revealed.
"People appear to be acting as if the scant details we've revealed are all they'll ever learn about the game ever, and they're thus required to render judgment immediately," he says.
"You're really not. You might, in fact, want to see exactly how we're implementing these features you dislike and seeing for yourself whether they differ from, say, Mass Effect's. There are similarities, of course, but there are also differences."
He later remarks they're certainly not using Mass Effect's exact implementation or even overall style.
Also, it's not at all intended as a "slap in the face" as some are taking it, merely a choice in creative direction. As noted in our previous article, it could be argued this new approach makes more sense for the Dragon Age universe. While traditional dialogue mechanics are a nice homage in a way, it's hard to say confidently they're best in a game that features otherwise full voice acting (unlike the Baldur's Gate series). Besides that, Dragon Age broke the mold in many other ways (and fans decried BioWare for it then, too), so it's not as if this is anything altogether new, or bad.
Meanwhile, writer Mary Kirby comments Hawke is not a specific character like Shepard is, and as was stated from the beginning (perhaps we didn't emphasize that point enough), you will have great influence on exactly how he or she evolves.
To be fair, we haven't played the game yet, and we could very well dislike the changes. The designers aren't afraid to concede on this and know they won't please everyone no matter what they do or don't do. But somehow, after all this time, we have the feeling it'll be as solid as ever, and hopefully even better than Origins (no small feat).
On a happier note, Gaider says we "might recognize a few people" from Origins, though the details seem to be up in the air at the moment.
Source:Dragon Age 2 General Discussion | BioWare Social Network
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