Dragon Age: When you pay your writer enough VS When you DON'T (PART 5)

Dragon Age: When you pay your writer enough VS When you DON'T (PART 5)
A comparison between companion quests in Dragon Age Inquisition and Dragon Age 4 Veilguard.
In Dragon Age Inquisition, Solas not only provides abundant world building and is an interesting character himself, but he also has insightful, emotional and thought-provoking dialogue. In his quest, the player is presented with moral dilemma and meaningful choices.
In Dragon Age 4 Veilguard, Neve suffers from boring characterization, lack of emotion, and does not provide world building even when there exists a good chance to tell the player more about Tevinter and why she fights. In her quest, it is a cliche good VS evil story without drama or twist.
Patreon: / anbeegod

[@cybertramon0012]

Something to note about the mages in Solas' quest is that they're never portrayed as evil. It is clear that they're scared of being attacked and don't know as much about spirits as they think they do, but their actions weren't done out of malice. The Inquisitor's decision is clearly framed as whether you think that absolves them or not.

[@Lucifronz]

They reinforce the common dilemma of Dragon Age. That mages are a danger to everyone around them and have to be stopped. The game constantly gives you chances to side with mages, but almost every time it turns out for the worst. Most of the problems in the world of Dragon Age are caused by mages. You want to sympathize with the few who have done nothing wrong, who are careful and respectful of magic, but simply by being free, the entire world is constantly at jeopardy to the ignorance of the few. In order to protect themselves, they summoned a spirit they arrogantly believed they understood, turned it against its purpose, corrupting it and creating a new problem for others to contend with all so they could avoid some bandits. In DA2, even if you side with the mages, Orsino uses the corpses of those slaughtered to turn into an abomination. Meredith's corruption is apparent, but she is corrupted by red lyrium, a result of the ancient Tevinter mages who literally corrupted their world's version of heaven. Inquisition is also kicked off by one of them. The darkspawn of the original game, now sadly reduced to background threats for some reason despite being excellent antagonists and a defining and iconic enemy in the series, were also caused by them. I used to think of mages as being oppressed when I was a kid and I can't argue that they're treated poorly, which only causes more problems, but I also find it hard these days to argue with the templars. While not all mages need to be corralled and controlled like puppets, very few of them can be allowed autonomy. Magic is exceptionally dangerous and even the most incompetent mages can wield it. Even without demons and darkspawn, it's a threat.

[@ichigokage]

Hell it’s made abundantly clear through all of Inquisition that the vast majority of mages didn’t want to fight. But sadly we’re forced to because of Anders’ actions in 2’s finale. Imo Anders ruined what little peace some mages had.

[@grzegorzflorek5623]

@@Lucifronz The magic is not exactly the source of the problem, but it _amplifies_ the problem. The actual source of all this suffering is ignorance, desire for power and control, fear, superstition, oppression, and going with the easy path instead of better, but harder path to solve a problem. It's easier for them to blame the magic than to accept and combat the fact that it's all due to rotten nature of inviduals on both sides. Corypheus & Co. were terrible people with magic, but Ameridan was a good person with magic. Wynne too. Magisters unleashed the blight due to arrogance and lust for power, and the people resorted to Chantry, Templars, and the Circle to solve the problem. Eventually the Chantry and Templars started to abuse the Mages, and in desperation they turned to Blood Magic, which perpetuated the problem. Eye for an eye, and the world goes blind...

[@ObIitus]

@@grzegorzflorek5623 Treat people like monsters long enough, and they will become monsters...

[@grzegorzflorek5623]

@@ObIitus Pretty much.

[@rion9236]

Seems like "So what now" is Rook's favorite catchprase in the entire game.

[@looots1320]

Meanwhile the Inquisitor we should do this, someone disagree.. Inquisitor - enough! I've made my decision that's best for the people

[@rion9236]

@looots1320 atleast the inquisitor still got personalities based on their backgrounds. Rook...is just a surface level personality regardless of race or faction. Likely written by AI lol.

[@looots1320]

@@rion9236 I mean Inquisitor is my favorite of the 3 first 3 DA

[@Trainer-uh1zf]

Honestly this character mission for Solas is what made me like him. When he told those Mages to shut up my jaw dropped. He was so off his usual balance and finally showing emotion.

[@shiningfennec2360]

Same, he seemed human in his rage! And it is so rare for him. I really don't like him, but I do respect his knowledge, his confidence and the ability to effortlesly lie and manipulate - and if someone can appreciate and find a character interesting while hating them, that means that this characer's been written really well

[@KisekiFan]

i really felt the anger in Solas' 'SHUT UP' meanwhile i feel like all conversation with Neve is monotone, also the F is with Neve's hat? It looks like she is wearing a mosquito coil on her head. Here's another great detail in Inquisition, if you are an Elf Inquisitor you can understand what the spirit and Solas are saying, if you are any other race the subtitles will just be in elven language.

[@zarthemad8386]

and here i though the mini kite on her head was stupid ... she decides to wear a toilet seat lid cover....

[@masterblaster2678]

Meanwhile Qunari protag in Veilguard needs explanation on basic Qunari terminology from Traash.

[@user-eb6fm8db1m]

I swear for my love for dragon age , I will just pretend Veilguard never existed and the story ended in inquisition

[@coreydaprince]

Same

[@Aurilndia]

I'll drink to that! 🍺

[@mrmasky9783]

Just a fanfic. 'tis not canon to me.

[@chekhososlanian1942]

I feel, that in distant future that disaster of a game will be retconned

[@beardedmetalbox9791]

@@mrmasky9783 An overbudgeted fanfic.

[@Pastafari4]

If Neve's quest was in Inqusition, you would be able to: - Kill Aelia - Tell Neve she should kill Aelia - Tell her to spare Aelia - Let her decide (As Veilguard just assumes) Also feel that would have made for some more variety when Aelia tries to stab her. Maybe if she's un-hardened or something on the way there she might even get killed, etc.

[@bookmarkyourthoughtsblog]

i was honestly shocked for both Neve and Lucanis's stories, you didn't get a kill option... I did have fun with DAV but it didn't FEEL like a Dragon Age game. It felt like a weird spin off Marvel friendly Disney friendly game. It's not necessarily a BAD thing but if you're going to have it connected to the previous games which had some HEAVY consequences throughout the entire story, then it should feel that way in the sequel.

[@Tito_michi]

Neve sounds like a NPC in Oblivion and Skyrim, where actors are not playing because they read their lines in alphabetical order without context.

[@anbeegod]

Skyrim's NPCs had more emotions

[@grzegorzflorek5623]

​@@anbeegodYup.

[@cagla8055]

I think Neve is the most emotionally wrotten and gaven voice of in the party

[@thistles]

Taash is the worst

[@KSAlejo]

@@thistles Taash sucks, don't get me wrong, but for me, Bellara is BY FAR the worst.

[@dreadwolfcult]

That quest in Inquisition was so beautiful.

[@thesunisup_]

Listening to the Veilguard dialogues is like a lobotomy simulator, I swear

[@eddapoetica]

But don’t you know the most rewarding part of Veilguard is Building Your Team™️????

[@anbeegod]

There's more drama in teambuilding events in a corporate than whatever Neve has

[@Eclipse4589]

Can’t wait to assign story points with my TEAM on Jira

[@shrubninja6444]

The irony of that is that you don't actually recruit any of them. They're all just already there.

[@zarthemad8386]

and here i though the mini kite on her head was stupid ... she decides to wear a toilet seat lid cover....

[@artemislove2941]

they really do try to give you the illusion of choice when literally there’s no consequences to your actions.

[@kaylee42900]

Lots of people didn't like Inquisitions gameplay / loot but the writing and characters were still awesome. Definitely pulled me through the entire game.

[@Xxsorafan]

The only thing I disliked with inquisition was the levels were massive but empty. Had a mmo feel to it. Otherwise it beats dragon age 2 just under origins.

[@sub-jec-tiv]

Personally i liked all the DA games… until now. This second-rate Guardians of the Galaxy 2022 millennial-slang writing, it’s garbage. This game will age like a dead animal.

[@Lucifronz]

Inquisition is a good game. It's marred by EA's greed (no more of this "hide the real ending behind DLC" bullshit) and it's subpar in a lot of respects to previous titles, but it was fun. Things only get worse the longer EA holds an IP, though. They're the model for corporate greed in the games industry. No one really comes close.

[@looots1320]

Inquisition is way better than Origins, only 40 year old who like crpg prefer Origins

[@filkin2791]

@@looots1320 Buddy I'm 24 and I like Origins more :D. Not saying Inqusition is bad or something but Origins just captures the atmosphere and the despair of all the events much better.

[@laningsmith9163]

I love how inquisition has just aged like fine wine

[@ObIitus]

It had pretty decent story and characters. The problems were more with technical issues (the engine simply wasn't working for the genre) and mid-development shifts which left a lot of MMORPG style quests and locations.

[@ObsidianKnight90]

@@ObIitus The combat in Inquisition also sucks and the main issue is the introduction of Barrier. In DAO and DA2 health was a resource you'd manage like any other, and mages could easily dip a point or two in order to help top it up. In DAI enemies do high damage even on normal mode and you're expected to have barriers up nearly all the time to negate it. You're not managing your team's health moment to moment, you're slapping on a shield of invulnerability and building your Mage so by the time it wears off the cooldown is back.

[@AZIONG651]

The combat and mechanics were (and still are) definitely annoying, but the characters amd dialogue were just a chefs kiss.

[@enrique6335]

@@ObsidianKnight90 Also Inquisition is really meant to be played with ability combos yet this is left to the player to discover themselves as enemies are just too numerous and damage spongy to make regular attacks viable long term.

[@ObsidianKnight90]

@@enrique6335 The problem is that Inquisition starts you off with so few abilities and you're going to spend a fairly sizeable chunk of the game at level 7 or under, so access to maybe 4 skills and 3 passives. Combos are great and all but it takes a while before you can even start to land them so the early game feels terrible to play.

[@joshuapatrick682]

Dragon Age ended with Solas giving the Inquisitor the warning that they only had a little time left. Everything that happens afterwards is just stupid fan fiction BS.

[@sub-jec-tiv]

And the writing feels exactly like bad fanfic writers given a job.

[@antiochus87]

I would think fanfic would probably do a better job, because it would presumably be written by fans who give a damn about the lore.

[@sub-jec-tiv]

@@antiochus87 Snap. You’re so right. 😅

[@denalisparkinglot5091]

@@sub-jec-tiv No one would write fanfic like that, it'd be much more interesting

[@katerinasmirnov]

How about a game of taking a shot every time Neve says "dock town"? Ah wait, your liver will fall off after first cut scene. Scratch that.

[@Silentpoppy]

take a shot everytime an elf tells you what it means to be an elf while you are playing an elf.. you'll die before you even meet bellara

[@BBS-dl1lt]

Take a shot every time Solas says spirit

[@MsSilentGaming]

Inquisition - companions give you the finger and leave. Veilguard - you can;t say no to anyone.... eff this game!

[@ninjafrog6966]

i mean you wouldn’t want to be rude right? lmao!

[@hartoz]

The dialogue in Veilguard is about as inciteful as an episode of Power Rangers. Also, you would think that after 10 Years that they would have been able to improve facial animation. The animated emotional responses were far more nuanced in DAI.

[@ZanronProductions]

Power ranger can also be really compelling like with time force, RPM, and SPD for example

[@BBS-dl1lt]

lol ok I know you’re coping when you say anything about inquisition animation being good. Like yeah we all know veilguard is bad, but let’s stop pretending previous games were good 💀

[@hartoz]

@@BBS-dl1lt Inquisition was and still is 100x better than Veilguard. It's lucky that I got a refund from steam for this POS game.

[@BBS-dl1lt]

@@hartozinquisition is no better lmao. That’s the joke. People coping about the franchise so hard now that it’s getting media attention. It’s been bad since the beginning. Sorry your favorite series sucks. Just the truth.

[@abcdefghij337]

Power Rangers Jungle Fury also had some excellent moments.

[@adamjenkins7653]

5:52 why am I affirming Neve? The bloodmage is attacking right? Should I not be; you know, dealing with that?

[@Chronostra]

Neve's hat looks like those mosquito repellent that you burn on sunmer days...

[@Sl33pwalkeruwu]

Rook bending over at the slightest whiff of controversy? My inquisitor would never.

[@aleksanderf4672]

Imagine the Grey Warden from Origins there

[@Sl33pwalkeruwu]

​@@aleksanderf4672 omg I can't even fathom. After Part 9 with the gloom stalker, when Rook has the team together asking what to do next, I lost my fucking mind that rook's response to everyone basically telling him they needed to focus on themselves before they could save the world, was saying "okay, I'll help you." Half of these companions have no business saving the world, the hero of Ferelden would see that... assuming they ever return from "the west"

[@ashavellanar1965]

I really hated the hands on hips during conversations. Like , come on, show us more scary faces, more sad faces, more fury like we had with the inquisitor. I only see rook like a Disney character movie more than a compelling character with own emotions.

[@melissalayton213]

Agreed, after BG3, this kind of limited facial animation is a step back. You are right Inquisitionn had more nuanced and in depth animation.

[@josepher9071]

6:04 We now know that the ancient elves were once spirits given form by lyrium. (That bit must have been written beforehand since it's too interesting to have been written by the current team) So when this spirit dies, it makes sense for Solas to be so upset. They were likely friends since the beginning. She's his own kin, except he has a body and she doesn't.

[@Squirmychair]

I think I’m part he is also so upset because he went through something so similar. He was a wisdom spirit who did not want to join the physical. His wisdom was twisted and used for war, which in turn, twisted him. The parallels are clear

[@stephenreyes2632]

I can't take Neve's dialogue seriously. Especially not when she's wearing that stupid hat.

[@panwu6602]

Dude I hate this hat so much.

[@Thagyr]

Fits the ridiculous tone shifts. World is ending and the characters really don't act like it many times. Who charges into battle with a hat that makes her blind on one side and think it's practical?

[@MrPainwind]

@@Thagyr Caitlyn from league of legend?

[@bezallielodmwarden3578]

It's funny that they put more effort putting on a board or shield on her head, instead of good dialogue

[@arantir4150]

I remember thinking Fenris' armor looked ridiculous and didn't fit the tone that the first game had. Now we have this.

[@4RedJohn]

Even the name of this quest is a clever wordplay.

[@dreadwolfcult]

Dread Wolf Fen'Harel 😎

[@cagla8055]

for anyone wondering its “all new, faded for her”

[@Agent789_0]

Just so everyone knows, there is a Dragon Age TTRPG that got made after Origins and updated after Inquisition. You can buy/download it and make your own ending instead of spending your money on this. Whatever you make, I guarantee you it will be better than Veilguard.

[@pietd4781]

Got a link? A name?

[@rociohernandez3077]

​@@pietd4781 search for Dragon Age rpg core rulebook, that one has everything released and properly tuned to avoid too much unbalance in power scaling. I own a physical copy and it's a lot of fun

[@Bookah09]

What even is that "big choice" in Neves quest? "You protect docktown" or "You give docktown hope", it's basically the same.. And all these cartoony villains in the veilguard companion quests, I can't

[@Avyrsoul]

Basically the difference of "Aelia gets taken back into custody by the Templars" and "Aelia is killed off-screen by the Threads"

[@fildyb]

The idea is that one is more mafia like, while the other is more police like. The police type will act more officially, while the other one is more discreet and more the power behind the throne. That’s the idea they were going for, and it becomes clearer later, but I feel like they could have executed it a bit better.

[@kellyflores4931]

Off topic, but your inquisitor is gorgeous. And I love the outfits she has.

[@murkythreat]

Shit like this made me excited for the "Dreadwolf" we had an excellent set up for a show down with Solas. What a fucking waste.

[@darthraptus289]

Bioware is not the same and that is clear. There is a level of respect for the players intelligence in DAI, that is clearly not the case in Veilguard.

[@lisdraconis2212]

Now I remember what that scene with Neve reminds me of! It was once a paraody in the Mark of the Assassin DLC of DA2 when Hawke walked away from the Duke who hanged over an edgeand cursed at them. And now we see such a scene in a serious manner in DAV... sigh...

[@chargers0001]

These videos truly illustrate Biowares failure in writing.

[@Carnage7209]

Not biowares fault. It's the purple and blue haired freaks making up it's staff😊

[@chargers0001]

@Carnage7209 I really want to believe that but I don't think they have the same talented writers really either..

[@leila13dnd]

I'm sorry, you WATCH Neve being blasted with magic and do NOTHING to step in other than... Some encouraging words??? You don't even TRY to, oh Idk, ATTACK the woman currently blasting your teammate with powerful magic???

[@r.e.z9428]

I don’t know whos worse, Neve’s voice actress or the one who voiced Ada in the RE4 Remake.

[@ph4kiew]

Neve is worse. Flat voice acting, and the lack of facial animation is just the icing on cake.

[@melissalayton213]

​@ph4kiew I feel for the actors, not only that script would be difficult to work with, the voice direction seems to have stifled everyone's performance.

[@thistles]

Trash is the worst.

[@alilaro]

I don't think the blame is necessarily on the voice actors. They're just reading the lines given to them, which are bland as anything.

[@r.e.z9428]

@ I blame both, ain’t no way you hear that yourself and be like “Yeah, I sound pretty good.”

[@Oozaru85]

I still believe Neve was voiced by AI. There is no way a real voice actor would speak this robotic. Well, unless its Megan Fox.

[@JustAnOldStone]

I have spent numerous hours listening to audio of this character based on this comment and I'm willing to agree, but not just on this. There are MANY portions of dialogue in this game that feels so stilted, I can only assume it's an AI

[@16Vagabond]

Neve was supposed to have been Calpernia according to the concept arts, but I guess she was too white and blonde for the current dev team, Neve is literally a last minute replacement

[@justinnyugen7015]

Peter Dinkelege

[@JustAnOldStone]

@@justinnyugen7015 Just shut up and go back wherever you came from because this is so far away from what we're talking about you might as well be from Mars.

[@kilodarin1827]

@@16Vagabond Would also be difficult to implement a character that has a vast potential to die or not even be around from choices made in Inqui. Since she was a leader of the Venatori, and only by doing all the side quests and choosing the right dialogue would have her survive Inqui, it would make little sense for her to be a companion in Veilguard. Unless they took even more choice away from Inquisition as to the world state of Veilguard, which is not the right way to do it. Though it could be interesting if the companion was completely different depending on your choices from Inquisition. For instance if they did a redemption arc for either Samson or Calpernia depending on who you sided with and if they survived or not. and then had Neve as a back up incase Samson or Calpernia died in Inquisition. But that is Larian Studios level of detail, not EA.

[@Mick_Unfiltered]

the story ends at inquisition.

[@ReasonablyMark]

That inquisition dialogue just hit heavy.

[@NightBane345]

Title could also be when you hire good writers vs bad writers

[@vernonhampton5863]

I've played all of the Dragon Age games, read one of the books and watched the animated shows... Veilgard sounds like a Netflix cartoon set in SoCal.

[@weareharbinger914]

Whats worse about Neve's thing is its meant to be the big finale of her arc...but who is this woman, who cares about stopping her? What is our investment? Also I don't find her very threatening if a second rate mage can just beat her. Solas Quest is a minor bump in Inquisition. But theres actual effort and emotional depth, even some decisions. Veilguard is just so...clean and bland. Lothering in origins is more complex and interesting on its own.

[@canvascutter7818]

I pretend that Veilguard ended with the veil falling. I pretend it was not garbage. I pretend we actually got the clean slate ending.

[@aronhauptman1784]

Closing my eyes and I swear Neve sounds like an AI reading AI written script in an emotionless and bland british accent.

[@sarbnitrof4663]

I forgot the point of the video. I'm gonna romance solas again for funzies

[@maiafay]

And if you know the context of lore, this quest is even more heartbreaking. Solas was coerced into his body. He sees the same thing happen to another of his kind. It’s why he had such a strong reaction. The Veilguard may be a toothless dragon gumming itself it to death, but the lore drops on the Evanuris and Solas were the highlights.

[@BBS-dl1lt]

@@itarH hate to break it to you, but this has been the plan for the story since the beginning. David Gaider talks about it in interviews. Writing could be better, but in terms of lore reveals, this is exactly how it’s been planned.

[@adamsirin7249]

Nah its pretty dumb. The whole idea hinted at in dragon age was that the evanuris were very mortal and just made excellent use of propaganda. Veilguard destroys all of this as well as Solas character by making them super strong spirits. Also in some endings Solas berates Rook for being an arrogant mortal, which is completely counter to his character.

[@BBS-dl1lt]

@@adamsirin7249 oof I see you didn’t read codex entires in inquisition at all. They hinted at Solas being a spirit multiple times. His relationship to Cole, his old friend being a spirit of wisdom, the way his tone in interactions is shaped by how you speak to him (similar to that of a spirit), the unique dialogue spoken by the forbidden one Imshael if Solas is in your party. It’s ok if you missed all the hints, but being so salty about it that you disparage the story is a bit weak lmao.

[@adamsirin7249]

@@BBS-dl1lt lol what. You assumed I'm salty because you're most likely projecting. NONE of the things you mentioned hint at Solas being a spirit. I'm familiar with everything you've mentioned. "All new faded for her", could've just been a spirit who was a person before Solas tampered with the veil. It could be many things. It doesn't hint at anything particularly. In fact, in the DLC, you find the secret chamber of Fen Harel where they make it very EXPLICIT that all the Evanuris started as mortals and always were. And all else is propaganda.

[@BBS-dl1lt]

@ please provide the quote for this specific lore entry you’re referring to that makes it clear the evanuris were mortals :) I’ll wait

[@RikkeDK1996]

gods... the contrast. i was captivated, interested and heard every word Solas said about his spirit friend. then there was the lecture with Neve and Rook. I literally said "so BORING" out loud when i saw that "conversation" so many words wasted with no meaning or world building.

[@theoroderick782]

Imagine if instead of fighting Aelia, Neve was friends with her and she tried to persuade her to join Rook and Co. But nah, that would mean to make a story around the character instead of just a basic plot hook that goes to crap

[@Squirmychair]

Yes!! She alluded to all this freaking history with aelia but we never get to ask about any of it! Like okay you got aelia arrested before but the corrupt templars let her go… what was she doing last time? How did you get on the case? You two seem to know each other in a personal way. Tell me about that!

[@gonkdroid5851]

-10 points from veilguard for that stupid hat

[@Alknix]

On an unrelated note, does that horrendous "satellite dish" thing on Neve's head serve any purpose, or is it just a "fashion" accessory?

[@captainofthelemonwipes4160]

It's a robotic extension where she can pass on information to other robots in the game.

[@Silentpoppy]

the one thing i liked about neve was her hat D:

[@zarthemad8386]

The Dev's have her wear it for "personality"

[@Squirmychair]

I kinda like her sideways hat. It hides her eyes, which makes sense for someone dealing with the seedy underbelly of minrathous. I just wish her character had any real level of depth. I played as a shadow dragon and the only time our shared background comes up is when I have a dialogue option to say some version of “we are from minrathous”. And neve responds by saying something along the lines of “we certainly are from minrathous” girl wtf

[@CringeArchon]

Why those face animations in Veilguard look so... AI-like??? 😭😭😭 Not implying that they were done by AI alone, but implying that they are SO BAD they could've as well be

[@Assailant17]

The writers got paid plenty the live in big cities in Canada. They just didn't give a shit.

[@LOVEPHOENIXDANCER]

the VG characters sound bord like they know they are in a fan fic. anyhow in this solas quest i stopped solas from killing those mages yes he disapproved but hes one who dislikes volance his fiend disliked volance so in memory of his firend i stopped him from giving into the baser nature and it won some respect later.

[@turtle5578]

Solas is my absolute favourite in Inquisition but I sometimes like to disagree with him just to prove that he's wrong about the modern world, like stopping him from killing the igorant mages and making Cole more humanlike!

[@deathsdoor07]

I hate how Neve wears her hats.

[@MajorSmurf]

What you don't like the coiled rope hat? Honestly it looks more like a drinking mat she stole from a pub.

[@RalphCifaretto-iy1hk]

​@@MajorSmurfI can't unsee this😂😂

[@zarthemad8386]

and here i though the mini kite on her head was stupid ... she decides to wear a toilet seat lid cover....

[@miscielrossvillegas6307]

As an amateur character designer it raises my blood pressure and piss. Half of Neve's face is already covered by her hair and the hat covers whatever's left of her face! It looks EXTREMELY stupid ESPECIALLY since she's supposed to be a DETECTIVE. Her design doesn't communicate that at all-- and no, her vaping, still doesn't communicate "detective", I just think "Oh she smokes because of course she does 🙄🙄🙄." The character designer really thought having a silly hat and a smoking habit is all it takes to make a detective character-- and it's a concept that doesn't make any sense.

[@cellano5223]

I call it her graduation hat. 😅

[@steveng6721]

Honestly, the bastardization of media that has happened through marvel films will make this much more common all over. Games, shows, other films, books.

[@Lucifronz]

Marvel is not responsible for this, don't even go there. This has been a recurring problem in the games industry for a long fucking time. I can't think of a single IP EA hasn't ruined with greed and incompetence. Hell, people didn't even like Inquisition when it came out. The only reason anyone's praising it is because its successor is so incredibly bad by comparison.

[@VictorKane115]

The real tragedy is that both writers were paid. It's possible the Veilgaurd writers were even paid more.

[@leonkennedylk18]

Neve's voice acting also lacks any kind of emotion. No excitment, no sense of urgency, its just flat and wooden.

[@drpretzel2086]

The Veilguard delivery feels so dead pan

[@HLGToys]

You could show the people this who thinks Veilguard is the best out of the series and they will still be disillusioned seeing no difference.

[@Vherstinae]

You mean deluded. To be disillusioned is to have the falsehood stripped from you but with nothing to replace it. Someone who's disillusioned is usually spiraling into depression.

[@MajorSmurf]

Honestly every time failguard zooms in on a characters face to show expressions, I just have this gut feeling of it being unnatural like it was created by someone who has never seen a human expression before. The older games might not be able to do expressive facial animation but MY god it's so much better by using larger gestures like the turning of a head, looking down, looking over someone's shoulder and so on. Doesn't help that it's combined with the most boring dialogue that would not be out of place in a daytime murder drama. It's also the fact that for an RPG you are so locked in on a track that it might as well be a movie. None of your choices matter, I mean try and select a different dialogue option and you say the exact same thing maybe with some different synonyms. I hate where writing is going.

[@roiking2740]

Notice that Solas has no illusion as to what the Spirit is using "It" and not a he or a she.

[@gaz4553]

Framing as a pay issue instead of a skill is crazy work.

[@user-ps6do9lu3n]

Watching this makes me realise there's no difference in the quest if minrathous is saved or treviso is saved. And there's no consequences to siding with the threads or not with their absolutely weak end cards

[@professorxavier620]

The aftermath of Neve's questline seems a bit weird. It's like they tried to do something emotional but pulled back a bit

[@theoroderick782]

That is one beautiful outfit on your inky

[@leaxl08]

The voice actors sound so stiff and bored too lol

[@Melcolloien]

I pray that if we get a Dragon Age 5 it starts with Varric closing Cassandras first attempt at a book, "The Veilguard", is a bit insulted that she killed him off as a plot twist and then tells her to try again...and then they go after Solas. I mean a girl can dream?

[@KaelynRowk]

My personal annoyance with Veilguard writing is the amount of time characters say "yeah". There are places where they repeat it every second sentence, like there are no variety of yes/indeed/agreed and so on

[@zenibas_seal]

even fan fic writers can create a better dialogue than whatever veilguard’s is

[@rolandosanchez2019]

We don´t talk about Veilguard

[@masha22092000r]

Solas's personal quest was what made me raise an eyebrow at him during my very first playthrough. I sympathized, sure, but I didn't know he was capable of such anger [killing the mages]. So I spent the rest of the game squinting at him like a templar. That "Neve" dialog? Google Translate has better voice over! Also, how is facial expressions and body language better in a 10 year old game?!

[@Siege_Panda]

If anything, the Veilguard writers got paid *too much*

[@Dokopi]

Ah the demon quest. Tbh I wanted to say no killing to Solas but considering it is his friend he had to mercy kill and his revenge, i chose not to say anything and let him kill those mages. That is what a good written character is. It let us, the player see more than our own point of view and considers theirs view too.

[@Capta1nD1abetes]

The more I watch the clips you post, the more convinced I become that when the game was called Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, they had a whole different team working on the story. The teaser trailers that we got a couple years ago felt like they were made by different people who probably wanted Solas to have a more prominent role. Then their ideas probably got scrapped when they left and we got the Veilguard instead with a whole new team of woke writers trauma dumping and propaganda pushing Like damn, I come to games to escape my life not be reminded of what I was escaping.

[@walterf6095]

The last part is SO TRUE... the scene when Taash comes out as non-binary to their mum hit me (someone of an east asian family background) like "Why am i here? Where tf am i? This is getting way too real and i hate it"... Just... WHY did they write the way they did? Im so f-ing disappointed.

[@Squirmychair]

I think they did have a whole different team initially. And then four years in they scrapped it entirely and started fresh with a whole new team. I heard at one point it was going to be online multiplayer… thankfully they did realize that was a bad idea and didn’t do that but… yeah

[@Mechanical_Turk]

Classic logical fallacy: if a) most people are dumb, and b) dumb people will buy anything, then making the dumbest game possible will get us the most money.

[@addex1236]

Money isnt the problem its ability id say frankly the vielgard writer was over paid

[@AstrusEminus]

Why do the faces of all characters in Veilguard look so off? It's like they all have crazy eyes

[@Yata544]

6:30 I'd pick "I don't know what to say" so the Inquisitor will say "Well, shit" 😅 That's the most hilarious yet a little disrespect response to someone's death 😅

[@Rhysdux]

Sounds like the Veilguard voice actors weren't paid enough, either.

[@ethansnyder3401]

Good writing is a measure of talent not compensation

[@Squirmychair]

Yeah but if a company is unwilling to adequately treat their good/employees well and to keep them around. Well taht how you end up with a whole team leaving and a project being scrapped 4 years in and the end product being really terrible

[@ethansnyder3401]

@Squirmychair The greats with few exceptions tend to start as visionary passion projects of modest teams. Crunch and compensation is usually not the best

[@Azdroc96]

There is another detail in Solas' quest that people will notice if they have played Dragon Age 2. The mage says that he was an "expert" in the Kirkwall circle. Most of the mages you meet from the Kirkwall circle in DA2 are either highly incompetent or crazy. So returning players will know how bad the situation actually is when they see the failed summoning.

[@jmajewskiz6u]

In fact DAV had greater budget than Baldur's Gate 3. Title should really be like "When you hire GOOD writers vs. when you DON'T".

[@damedeviant1388]

I think what’s more telling is the skippable factor. With Inquisition I was IN IT, heart racing, when Solas was showing his anger. Whether to let him kill the mages or not. In Veilguard, it’s rush through the subtitles and skip. Skip. Skip. Skip.

[@leisurelyplaythroughs7744]

It's like Pixar wanted to do an epic fantasy but Disney demanded it be rated "G."

[@BlazingMarauderDCUO]

You know the writing is bad when I almost turned this off to make it stop 😂

[@modow001]

do one of these videos where you just put up the best War Table cards, no audio, against literally anything from Veilguard 😂 “I can destroy Caralina's marriage with four words and the proper glove left on the proper table.” -Josephine

[@guardian-angel615]

Ah, is this Lizard Hour: Veilguard, a notoriously low-grade action-misadventure executable program, made by Wiobeer?

[@alnnorry]

i cant take neve seriously with that met gala hat

[@verena11]

This game had so much potential. Especially the lore of the Solas parts (which were already planned, when they created DAO.) The companions and their backgroundstorys could have been so interesting. Neve and Lucanis really were promising in "Tevinter nights" (book). I also like Emmerich. Playing the game I thought so many times: if they had done it like this. Why didnt they do that? There were so many possibilities to bring back players past game choices without much effort. Or to have more conflict or arguments with or between your companions. Or at least choose which opinions and attitudes your Rook has. I dont need to play an evil character, but I want my avarar to have some kind of profile Everything including the world is so smooth, so nonoffensive, so cleaned up... it is so difficult to be emotionally involved. Like I said: This game is so full of wasted potential, possibilities not used. To quote Sera: "Wasted"...

[@mimi013]

5:20 is she wearing a mosquito coil as a hat? lmfao

[@josepher9071]

4:27 My reaction to half of the Veilguard dialogue

[@abdullahalaa9691]

maybe the veilguard was the skip button we had all along

[@healsallwounds]

Oh God, the Veilguard dialogue is so CORNY.

[@BelieveIt1051]

Meanwhile, Ancient Solas sent an entire battalion of spirits to their certain deaths so his team could steal a relic while the enemy was distracted. Though, Trespasser Solas also twisted the librarians from their purpose so they could kill the qunari. So it's clear to see Veilguard's problems started with Trespasser.

[@Valkyreon]

Even though I enjoy Veilguard overall, the RP factor and the writing have declined so much, especially when compared to other DA games. It's like the writers can't escape Hollywood clichés in their dialogues ("It's quiet here. Too quiet!") and seem to have no idea what "subtext" is. From the beginning, there's this "We have to tell the player what to think."-trope. When we arrive at D'Metas Crossing in the early missions, Bellara tells us THREE times that "something is wrong" and "there should be people here". I did like the plot twist an the end though.

[@zarthemad8386]

and here i though the mini kite on her head was stupid ... she decides to wear a toilet seat lid cover....

[@hristoalovski8048]

I find it funny that someone had to play Veilguard, in order to get clips of Veilguard

[@jonp799]

Veilguard writers got paid more...

[@viy4581]

Neve feels like how highschoolers are told to stand up and read frm page 6-15 in English class. So they read both A and B's lines alone with no emotion,no distinction and thus u cant even tell if the lines are A's or B's and all in a bland monotone voice. The reader basically has no idea what the hell is even going on and thus is just reading for the sake of reading

[@PhantomV_]

Inquisition's writing: deep, insightful, belonging to some Victorian classic novel Veilguard's writing: shallow, bland, immature, it was written by a 13 year old in wattpad and adapted into a Netflix movie

[@joshuapatrick682]

Good experienced writers probably demand 3-5 times what a grad will, and with a production cycle this long that seems like a great idea however if you take the latter you must accept that while less expense was paid you’re not going to recoup the cost, much less profit. Kind of dumb from a business perspective regardless of the socio political baggage.

[@danielv4793]

Correction: When you pay a Good writer And when you dont have a good writer

[@lt.mouse1485]

A lot of people don't understand a simple writing concept called "Giving a shit about humanity." You can't write fake people if you don't care about real people. It is evident by this writing that the writers don't care about people. They only care for themselves. All the dialog in Veilguard is quite conceited.

[@foxtrotwhiskeytango7405]

And imagine what a good game it would be using frostbite.