BioWare Hates Its Audience | Dragon Age: The Veilguard

[@AzureRoxe]

I love how the devs actually had the balls to say that the reduction from 6 skills in Inquisition to just 3 was to give us MORE choice.

[@r.e.z9428]

Whoever said that needs to be fired.

[@tokamnich4709]

8 skills in inquisition bro

[@AzureRoxe]

@@tokamnich4709 even funnier. I havent played Inquisition in a while.

[@riptors9777]

They learned their gameplay mechanics from bethesda it seems

[@garretwoeller7669]

I think it's like mass effect it's to make artificial build variety

[@vaanari305]

Dragon Age died the second David Gaider left Bioware. How are you going to be true to a franchise known for gray morality and complicated characters when the people in charge of making the game share the same black-and-white, "everyone who disagrees with me is evil" attitude to the world? Dragon Age is my soul-game. I've bought the merch, I've read the books, I know the lore by heart. Just thinking about the fate of this once incredible franchise is so depressing I can't even put it into words.

[@some_random_guy_mk2]

I'm not even a diehard fan, and I'm sorely disappointed. Have faith. More will come. I'm liking the look of No Rest and Path of Exile 2. Both developers seem legit, care about their product, not the profits.

[@rosefamilia3169]

That is just what I feel and you summed it up perfectly. I even got inspired by the lore of Dragon Age to create my own story. There are soo many themes, from religion, spirituality, social and even politics. Dragon Age is a wholesome world. Shame it reduced to this kiddie theme park.

[@TitusFlavius11]

Same here. Replaying Origins right now. I’ll miss this franchise when the EA finally shuts it down.

[@terrylandess6072]

Did we suddenly let EA off the hook? Owning a developer name does not mean it is attached to anything of value - especially in these times of company cannibalism.

[@XDarkEcho]

Hopefully, one day, an indie dev will rise up and create a Dragon Age inspired game that ticks all the boxes. Maybe even Larien Studios will create something similar, since they're pros at making RPG fantasy worlds...though, not so much of gray morality, I believe.

[@LostOneOmega]

I'm so sick of this "Joss Whedon's Avengers" meets "Guardians of the Galaxy" meets "Fortnite" meets "All the colors of the rainbow" stuff... Are our attention indicators so shot that we need a splash of neon on everything? And dialogue trying to relate to the audience... Instead of relating to the characters or the world.

[@DVX_BELLORVM]

Seriously. Why does everything have to look so bright, colourful, and cartoony? I'm a big fan of more realistic art styles in fantasy.

[@mangaka350]

​@@DVX_BELLORVMNothing wrong to be colorful and cartoony but i have hecking feeling that Fortnite actually ruined it. 🤔

[@SammEater]

It is like characters can't be serious anymore. Just Tony Stark/Buffy/Deadpool ripoffs.

[@GrecianWarlock]

This is exactly how I felt seeing Dragon Age but I couldn't put it into words. This makes so much sense.

[@Xoulrath_]

They aren't trying to tell stories, or create experiences. They are trying to make as much money as possible, for as little effort and cost as possible, while trying to appeal to everyone that they possibly can. We know that it doesn't work. But the money ghouls womho run these companies are just that out of touch that they think that what they are giving us is quality content. 😂

[@SefricFrampus]

Just like Disney and many other companies, BioWare is not BioWare anymore. The mages that made the BioWare magic are not there anymore. BioWare is BioWare in name only now. They destroyed their institutional memory, look other places.

[@failingup4907]

100% correct! This isn't a Dragon age game. It's a DEI simulator.

[@Balloonbot]

@@failingup4907 Exactly bro, if I see another woman or dark skinned person in MY video games I am going to fucking FLIP, and trust me - it wont be pretty

[@a_lost_one]

'certain people represented respectfully' Translation: We're going to virtue signal and not write real characters since we're not willing to make them interesting or give them character flaws.

[@Elora445]

Sadly, that is all too often true when people expresses themselves like that.

[@celwenileran2135]

What certain people. ITS A FANTASY GAME. NOBODY IN THERE IS REAL AND EXISTS IRL.

[@azzy9293]

​@@celwenileran2135 they represent real world groups of people though homie. This game wasn't made devoid of human culture, it was steeped in it

[@KopperNeoman]

@@azzy9293 Except when they don't. In which case, Progressives will use their vast institutional power to impose their racist stereotypes upon you and blame you for them.

[@Sabamonster]

@@azzy9293 Absolutely perfect rebuttal. *Chef's Kiss*, and absolutely poignant.

[@SammEater]

Even Baldur's Gate 3 looks more like Dragon Age than Dragon Age. How embarassing.

[@djokealtena2538]

Doom looks more like DA than DA.

[@thetrashcanman7537]

The more the days go on the more we see why they got yelled at by all the other shtty devs for being a new rpg standard 😂 🤣 replay value is through the sky too, I can wait indefinitely for a new rpg with that and elden ring and watch GARBAGE like fortnightage failguard flop its studio into the dirt

[@dagoelius]

Never understood the hype for Baldur's Gate 3. It was literally a reskin of Divinity Original Sin 2.

[@SammEater]

@@dagoelius I suppose it's mostly because of the characters over the gameplay.

[@TheLadyKemet]

@@dagoelius No, I played both and it's different, they share that it's turn-based only, which BG should always be because the DnD system is turn-based.

[@kazekamiha]

I've always said something about fans. "People don't always know what they want *but* they always know what they don't want."

[@Sorain1]

To quote a great rap song "And I dunno what's right, but I know what's wrong." It can be hard to say why we love something, but it's easy to find the words for what's wrong with something.

[@comyuse9103]

@@Sorain1 looking at criticism these days, i don't think thats true. you can have something deeply flawed on many levels and half the feed back is going to be dipshits screaming 'woke' like it means something.

[@imjust_a]

As a game developer, I've witnessed this first hand. I believe Jesse Schell's book, "The Art of Game Design" also goes into this. Not everyone has the analytical skills to explain why they feel the way they do about something, but they still know that they didn't like it. There's still value in that which game designers can glean from, it just takes more work on the part of the designer to analyze what it is that's causing that negative experience.

[@PapaRoboto]

I take issue with this statement. People know what they want, they just don't know that they're gonna like it.

[@negan2714]

I mean you're flat wrong. People express what they would like in a game to then be ignored and blamed for when they aren't listened to.

[@omegaman2846]

Another symptom of this removal of the serious dark fantasy elements (moral complexity) can be seen in the origins you can choose. I was looking forward to possibly starting the game as maybe a darker character like a Tevinter magister or maybe even a member of the Qun. Instead, the only Tevinter origin you can choose is a freedom fighter group that has only ever been mentioned in tertiary material. Can you say boring.

[@Keram-io8hv]

Absolutely, I think the most evil choices will be "I disagree with your opinion"

[@BrightWulph]

Same, I was hoping to be able to play as a Magister's slave who *unalives* their master in a desperate bid for freedom or a commoner or something that makes the character an underdog...but no...just boring "freedom fighter" route that is so cleche and generic these days that it takes the fun out of it.

[@mortemtyrannus8813]

@@Keram-io8hv To be fair, "I disagree with your opinion" is basically an endorsement of genocide in the minds of modern Bioware.

[@Arthur_Revan]

This. I was hoping to play as noble Tevinter mage, and see how my views on the state and magisters are questioned by the companions, aka character ark. But no, boring rebels, and no blood magic allowed.🤦‍♂

[@breendart134]

And they won't even let me do blood magic 😤

[@kakerbakertheprettyok2354]

glad I wasn't the only one ticked off by the "gay woman identified with quiet character so quiet character is gay now" thing

[@206Zelda]

Bioware: If You Play Its Games, You Are Compliant. If You Don't Play Its Games, You Are Homophobic/ETC.

[@jurgenp8764]

Me: I don't want Comic Characters. BioWare: Comic Charaters, check! Me: I don't want ME3 1st person Combat. BioWare: 1st person Combat, check! Me: I don't want cringe comments from companions. BioWare: cringe comments, check! Me: And also BG3 exists. BioWare : Who? Me: After 10 years in development I want a really good RPG! BioWare - Gone

[@Dr_Bille]

1st person combat? Don’t think that’s a thing

[@nifftbatuff676]

1st person? I wish.

[@Dr_Bille]

@@nifftbatuff676 I'd give it a try without any other changes if they had 1st person

[@adamaccountname]

They had to do a quick update after the gameplay reveal that the game isn't just an on rail shooter due to negative feedback. However they've now created the need for players to wait for reviewers to prove that the exploration is interesting/meaningful

[@gregowen2022]

Right? They didn’t create hype, they created confusion, and with a crowded game market, I imagine everyone will forget this game exists come launch time

[@Blodhelm]

It won't be, these people can't create anything with a committee chosen from a color palette and pride parade float more than skill or work history.

[@terrylandess6072]

Today the world is full of people that 'review' games which means NO ONE should ever be surprised by the content they pay for unless they are stupid and still believe being 'first' has any merit.

[@adamaccountname]

@@terrylandess6072 back in the long long ago we used to pre order games we wanted to support because we trusted developers.

[@realtalunkarku]

I'm out , eff that "as a black gay trans queer " BS ​@@gregowen2022

[@SirMirror890]

In regards to there being a cast of varying sexualities in these games: I think it’s incredibly telling how unqualified the new developers at BioWare are to make RPGs by how mind blown they seem at the concept of a ROLE PLAYING game giving you options to role play

[@celwenileran2135]

It's so shallow and boring. Not saying that it doesn't work. BG3 did it well. However it just takes away part of characters if they suddenly entirely change their sexuality just to accommodate YOUR personal tastes.

[@ZedZod_666]

EVERYBODY IS BISEXUAL NOW!

[@hardbrocklife]

Plus there is a no alphabets mod for bg3 that removes 98% of the ghey. Lore accurate ghey is left in. The insufferable nocturne character is made male and not insufferable lol. You can tell after it became popular in EA cultural Marxists at WotC stepped in with diversity consultants. It's also why EA shadowheart looks more feminine than release shadowheart. I fixed that too. Game is actually playable now, after I was bait and switched with garbage Act 3. It's telling when BG3 is "the best game ever" but less than 52% of players even finished Act 1.

[@KopperNeoman]

@@hardbrocklife It's miserable that we need a mod called "No Alphabets" to recapture the developers' original vision.

[@lewstherintelamon1377]

@@celwenileran2135 Well, there is a not insignificant portion of the Trans movement--I used to think it was a small but loud minority, now I'm not sure--that wants to force people to do exactly that in reality. I guess the DA4 director is a part of that movement.

[@pedroares6562]

The theory about the "modern audience" will ruin many companies. Yes "The customer is always right" was bad in many senses, but this new "kick the customer in the crotch" because "they will buy your product no matter what, because they are loyal" doesnt't work either. Fans aren't idiots, and not because you call your videogame Dragon age, it means it's a dragon age. I hope elder scrolls 6 that will come out like in 2040 doesn't look like that XP

[@gregowen2022]

Elder scrolls 6 in 2040 is no joke. I heard even Todd Howard had to address it the other day. The original announcement is like 6 years old, lol

[@neodigremo]

The full quote was always “the customer is always right in matters of taste” as in “the customer is right if they tell you what they like”. The modern audience is a search for the customers who already said they didn’t like your stuff and changing their mind.

[@0giwan]

@@neodigremo "...in matters of style or taste", but yes.

[@Zodroo_Tint]

@@neodigremo So they changed it to "the customer is always right" to pander their feelings meanwhile rhey started selling things what was made for making money and not for satisfying customers.

[@Lex_Nocturna]

Customer is always right in regards to their taste.

[@matthewtanous7905]

I remember when Dragon Age was a morally dark fantasy where the source of the Blight and how it affected everyone was the thing. Remember Blights? Are Grey Wardens even a thing anymore?

[@matthewtanous7905]

And geez, I am so tired of dodge and slash. So, so tired.

[@derekthomas2940]

Yeah kinda pissed me off when DA2 came out and we dealt with the blight for 10 minutes and then abandoned it for the rest of the game. Darkspawn being the main antagonist was always my favorite, let the humans and elves be grey but the Darkspawn are a natural and inherent evil, representing the evil that lurks in the hearts of all men on this earth.

[@faberofwillandmight8758]

The description of the new game is that 2 Blighted elven gods are freed and rampage Thedas.

[@CraigHamil]

Yes. One of the party companions is a Grey Warden. The player can choose a Grey Warden origin for their character. The Anderfels will feature heavily in the game. People (you) sure do see to be getting upset prematurely about something that they clearly haven't read enough about.

[@asain3586]

​@@CraigHamil Based on their recent projects, surely i trust them.....

[@blvalverde]

Did we really needed a detective and an army scout to find the giant green glowing fortress?

[@SeventhheavenDK]

Well, yes, because in this case (I think ) because they needed an Eluvian to reach that segment.

[@djokealtena2538]

​@SeventhheavenDK for which we need a 'veiljumper'😂😂😂. Do we remember the last time we interacted with the eluvians? Poor Tamlen.

[@AlmaNegraPirata]

​@@djokealtena2538that eluvian was corrupted by darkspawn

[@dmorfeus3910]

I honestly think that they think of us as blabbering monkeys, therefore the hand holding never ends ; like *those* games that even half way thru still get tutorial stuff at any new interaction ...*ugh*

[@MumRah]

This is what happens when all of your creatives never actually had to learn or grow themselves and basically just googled their way through life.

[@bizantura1091]

It is the opposite, skill is the underpinning to creativity. What is in charge now, are kids in adult form living out their phantasies. Big difference!

[@crazyfnjoey]

Maybe I'm wrong here but did the people that work on this not understand that scaffolding's purpose isn't to be a load-bearing support structure? Like it's just there so people can climb it to work, it's purpose isn't to hold up 100 ton stone statues.

[@MumRah]

@@crazyfnjoey no, you're exactly right. It's just another brick in the wall of things these people don't understand.

[@MumRah]

@bizantura1091 I agree that they are living out their fantasies but they think they are being creative and great.

[@Blodhelm]

@@crazyfnjoey These are the same kind of people who think fire can burn in space and needs to be put out with an extinguisher...that works by keeping oxygen from the fire, oxygen that space already doesn't have.

[@Rockstar-bq5fm]

Minrathous was disappointing for me, I was expecting Greek Byzantine inspired architecture and culture. The great thing about the Dragon age series was it was almost a dark fantasy version of are own earth Fereldan - England The Free Marches - German States Orlais - France Tevinter - Byzantine Empire It’s a story driven dark fantasy where you’re choices are meant to shape the world around you. Veilguard just looks like Suicide Squad meets Overwatch.

[@eastbow6053]

no way dude we cant have old whyyyyyyyyyyte based city, it has to be diverse like california nia bet you some gold that the evanuris will also be diverse even though they are all related xD

[@GeraltofRivia22]

​@@eastbow6053it's funny, considering the defining characteristic of Tevinter is being the only nation to still practice slavery.

[@trolldrool]

@@eastbow6053 Not sure if you're joking or not. As far as diversity or "wokeness" goes, Bioware has always gone out of their way to be ahead of everyone else. Origins was one of the first games on the Western market to feature guys kissing guys or girls kissing girls without fading to black the second before their lips touched. Same with Mass Effect 1 by making Liara a love interest for both versions of Shepard. We can complain about execution and whether we should expect it to be handled well, but diversity in and of itself has been part of Bioware for so long that complaining about it now is almost 20 years late.

[@eastbow6053]

@@trolldrool we have zero str..ight romance in their new game so they are discriminating against hetero and no making them p..nsexual is not hetero people have different preferences this should reflect in games as well if someone wants to sleep with the opposite that is that if someone wants to sleep with the same then that is that this is why people liked Dorian he came out as a real human with preferences now you are telling me all 7 of this companions happened to have the same sexuality? Really? This was the weak link in baldur's gate 3 as well

[@trolldrool]

@@eastbow6053 Okay, from that perspective I can understand. Everyone having the same sexuality, regardless of what it is is hardly diversity as much as it's just going in the opposite extreme of the 90s/early 2000s when same sex romance wasn't allowed at all.

[@Jetsetradio]

You know, I'm suddenly seeing a lot of similarity in this and Saint's Row... And we all remember how that turned out.

[@lewstherintelamon1377]

At least Saints' Row was fun. This doesn't look fun.

[@DFRetha]

Game Informer revealed the title change was also because Solas - the Dreadwolf himself - is not even the villain. It will be other Evanuris. I feel like that was not the original plan. But why make the main villain a former friend with complex motivations when you can have generic baddies?

[@RealCoachMustafa]

I disagree about Bioware "fixing" the Mass Effect 3 ending. They updated it to make the endings slightly different, but it doesn't change that all 3 endings were still crap.

[@EcardEcardian]

There are 4 endings in Mass Effect 3. Blue is for indoctrination. Green is big dumb, Shep atoms somehow goes all over the galaxy, changes the DNA in everything living, all living things get tech in them, glowing green eyes, eyes works by absorbing light, even plant got tech in it. Red was go balls to the wall and put a cap in the reaper machine, the goal from day one, also all AI gets yeeted. 4th ending, shoot the ghost kid in the face and everyone dies. So all 4 endings where crap, I rather see that dark energy ending. That was hinted in the game but was a nothing burger. You always put in the microphone into the tampong at the end, Also if you got high warscore, you see a blasted N7 looking armour, so did shep survive another planetary re-entery. Space Jesus second coming. Bioware in name only lacks the stones to make good stories this days it seems, RPG is not something they know what that even means.

[@GeraltofRivia22]

​@@EcardEcardian destroy is the only valid ending, anything else is letting the Reapers win.

[@EcardEcardian]

@@GeraltofRivia22 Indeed. Thus me typing it was the goal from day one.

[@BrightWulph]

​@EcardEcardian Pretty much, I know from an old R2ddit AMA about the endings if ME3, to summarise, the lead writers locked themselves in a room, churned out the ending in two days then, without submitting for peer review, told the animation/story team to "make it happen." Everyone working on those endings knew it was crap, tried to suggest changes and adjustments, but the leads weren't having it, juat stick your nose down and do as you're told. Basically, the lead writers took a weed break and then assumed the audience would suddenly become philosophical in the last fifteen minutes with themes and crap that were never part of the series to begin with. I know ME4 has been announced and everyone is expecting it to finish the OG story, but if people were still upset by the time Bioware tried to move onto Ancromeda, they're not going to be ready for ME4 either.

[@EcardEcardian]

@@BrightWulph That 4 braindead endings makes a ton of sense now. Like how bad it has gotten. ME1: You can talk down Saren. With Paragon or Ranagate. You can make one boss battle go away. ME2 you where forced to fight human baby reaper and regardless if you kept the Collector base or not. Tim got the reaper human head. ME3 last boss in that game was a turian husk. That toke a shot at Shepard shoulder, but Shep got shot in the gut somehow. Anyways that ME3 ending felt more like a fever dream than a real ending. I was expecting something else when it came to the ending. But not the first time the higher ups did a game dirty. Bioware is a EA product after all sense they bought up Bioware and quality has gone down hill when it comes to that studio. I remember the days Bioware was such a massive heavy hitter. Each game they made was a masterwork that went down gaming history as woha! What a good game. Into corporate slop. Still ME is a far better place than Dragon Age. Because ME still has its personality, even with all the downgrades and wonkyness. Have you seen the newest DA trailers? It is really that bad. ME 5 trailers are in a far better place. I still wonder what happened to ME4. Because now they make trailers for the 5th game. Andromeda was a side project that didn't lead anywhere. Nor was any good. If anything. Andromeda was so bad. That game put ME on ice. The gameplay was different from all the ME games. I heard the story, characters, dialogue was abysmal.

[@mchammer5592]

It feels like Ubisoft has been having a mid-life crisis for a decade

[@gregowen2022]

Always chasing trends. It’s sad to watch

[@some_random_guy_mk2]

Like the teenagers have the keys to the Ferrari, but no one's buying groceries... 😄

[@Apt23-v8u]

I hate teenagers

[@brentlee082]

How can you go from fascinating character like Morrigan to this

[@Blodhelm]

Fire everyone involved in the good games, hire people based on arbitrary scores of WHAT they are and not what they can do, have no passion for the original and thus care nothing for it being changed or outright ruined. Same as everything else in Hollywood and AAA entertainment these days.

[@DustinBarlow8P]

My orginal DA MC sacraficed his life fighting the Final Dragon, only for the world to become this.....

[@malcolmfowler5663]

Ok....do you know what the new charecters are like? We don't know so just wait and see

[@brentlee082]

@malcolmfowler5663 no fure sure and I absolutely hope they are fantastic. Just based on initial impressions Morrigan was incredible and intriguing and I'm not speaking of only this game in the series I found the inquisition characters lacking as well.

[@Keram-io8hv]

Fascinating? She was white and straight, doesn't belong into 2024

[@Dokopi]

As an asian woman and an active gamer, please! Do a good representation or don't, many of us don't give a fvck. I switched from FPS to RPG because I was instantly sucked into Witcher and Dragon age's world due to its rich stories and lores, vast and beautiful gameplay, not because i want to be represent or some shit. It had gotten so bad that I instinctively cringe when I see an asian face in a Middle Earth setting/inspired world.

[@fierce8943]

This is refreshing. We all feel the same way. If AC Shadows or GoT2 (both in trouble by the way) featured a white dude protagonist, I’d be pissed. I don’t want to be represented, I want well thought out sensible decisions given the context. Why the f$&@ wouldn’t it be a Japanese dude?

[@RM_VFX]

I'm still waiting for publishers to have the characters do KZbin style ad-read segues, to keep it "organic". "Wait, you need a shield. Just like Surfshark shields your data."

[@gregowen2022]

HAHAHA. That would be kind of hilarious and amazing. At first. "Our enemy draws near, and I know you're hungry for revenge. When I get hungry, Blue Apron makes it easy to prepare a quick and fulfilling dinner." Oh man, someone get VLDL to make this a skit.

[@jyphelballet7569]

The end of Bioware, really. Shutdown for the best, of a ghost of a studio which is no more.

[@beastness501]

Lol I thought that was anthem…. I don’t think BioWare will shut down for a long time because ea gets all that money from loot boxes sold to little kids playing their fifa/sports games in general.

[@lewstherintelamon1377]

The thing of it is, Bioware games failing may be a net profit for EA, because it can write those losses off at tax time.

[@lewstherintelamon1377]

@@beastness501 Yeah, and then it can use Bioware losses as a tax write-off to boot.

[@Yatukih_001]

I think it began with all these people hating UFO believers, then hating flat earthers, then hating everybody who is not a leftist. So what they are really interested in are communist books. They should stick to that instead of making games. That seems to be their main speciality.

[@Dark_Voice]

The downfall of bioware started when they sold their company to EA. During ME2 development it was the end of the golden age because they fired most of their last bits of competent staff and replacing them with no skill yes-men and from ME2 onwards its just dreadful and getting worse and worse.

[@ТАДАМ-ю4ж]

Me 2 and 3 both masterpieces what you talking about

[@matthewtorley6508]

Agreed. There is a clear decline in quality starting at that exact point. The target audience began to shift, and that was a mistake. The things that made BioWare games great weren't appealing to all audiences, so they had to go. And so they went.

[@MistressMaeve3]

I believe EA has owned Bioware since 2007. If that's the case Mass Effect 1 came out that same year and Dragon Age: Origins (arguably the best DA game of the series) was released later, in 2009 already under EA's umbrella. I'm not saying EA didn't have a hand in the downfall, but I'd say the direction Veilguard has gone is totally on Bioware. They've made good games under EA, unfortunately the talent at Bioware now is lacking.

[@SerahBay]

ME2 is not flawless. it gets a pass because the companions and their personal quests were great, and the final mission was epic and consequential. the actual plot and story were weak, and aside from the ending, ME3 was superior in every other regard.

[@ТАДАМ-ю4ж]

@@SerahBay gets a pass? Bro game literally top 10 RPG ever on every topic duh

[@JonDoe..]

BioWare appear to have gone full Disney. Seriously though, Bioware aren't the old BioWare of old, the company that made great games, It's been more than a decade since they've done that. What's bad for them is that there's going to be a direct comparison between what they sh*t out and BG3, because BG3 is more Dragon Age than what this game will be. It'll be a perfect demonstration of what can be achieved when you have qualified adults making a game and whatever the hell is going on at BioWare.

[@gregowen2022]

Yep. This probably wouldn’t have done incredible in the first place, but the fact that they decided to move away from CRPGs and then less than a year ago, a CRPG became one of the best selling games of the year is going to doom them

[@williamjones3534]

​@@gregowen2022 Bioware lost its soul the moment it was purchased by EA and like the sarlaak from starwars (EU) began to slowly digest it forcing the original development team to escape lest they get consumed themselves 😝

[@Mark-vr7pt]

I heard that the old people left the company and made their own, and currently working on exodus game. dunno how true it is, but that game trailer made me cry a little

[@shinian6523]

They were doin this in 2014 with DEI, I mean DAI. It might be more accurate to say Disney went full Bioware

[@rbu2136]

DEIsney and gay games and girl bosses. What could go wrong for the overwhelming male audience.

[@PaganPolska]

Can we talk about Verrics jet-black hair though? Like are we really gonna sit here and pretend he wasn't a redhead? I know it's a smaller detail but it's really bothering me.

[@johnsmith-de3tl]

he got the disney treatment. now i dont know why but these "modern audiance" types realy hate redheads with a passion.

[@AmySorrellMusic]

You're not alone. It is bothering me too.

[@breendart134]

Fr! People keep trying to defend that choice with "well he's aged, your hair changes color when you age :P" but it turning this dark brown color does not seem right

[@lewstherintelamon1377]

@@breendart134 I mean, if he did nothing but sit in his mom's basement for a decade his hair would darken. And that's about all the people who are stoked after this footage can relate to. . .

[@TheJewishAzovMember]

​@@johnsmith-de3tlI guess red hair means they are northern European if i had to guess

[@AnimeNPC.]

Origins had 6 starting paths that tie into the story and give you unique dialogues… DA2 no real options, 80% reused assets… DA3 fake dialog options. Look at all the fetch quests !… DA4… My Face is Tired.

[@Watheverable]

Dragon Age origins was really great, too bad they never made more games in the series, it had potential.

[@gokux75]

Dragon Age II grew on me and funny enough I appreciated it a lot more after Inquisition came out.

[@terrylandess6072]

Yes, but it is also very depressing which limited my playthroughs to 2 times. Luckily mods gave it a little zing to help take my mind off of the encroaching doom.

[@comyuse9103]

@@gokux75 the story has the makings of a dragon age game, unlike anything that followed, but it fell pretty short. like, it felt like they were trying to make a game about inevitability, about struggling to make your life slightly better while being helpless to improve the world around you, but the fact that every major issue was _caused_ by one of your companions just ruined the entire thing. what if, instead of anders just doing the big terrorism it showed the escalation like a realistic revolution, with dozens of independent attacks until someone with systemic power (meridith, or whatever the templar bitch's name was) just decided to kill every mage? that would have been far more effective than a single guy lighting a powder keg.

[@svartrbrisingr6141]

@@comyuse9103 you also have to remember, Dragon Age 2 only had 18 months of dev time. the fact that the game was as good as it was is a testament of the skill of the people who made it. of which none remained for the shit that was Inquisition

[@adrumm03able]

100%

[@Matt620]

I don't remember where I read it, but there was a comment that said something along the lines of "if you can only imagine being in seeing yourself, than little outside yourself interests you." And self-interested people are boring.

[@terrylandess6072]

Welcome to the age of internet - where narcissism is king. When you have 7 billion people say "Look at me" - then no one is looking at anyone except to figure out how to get more to look at themselves.

[@eclipseesx]

Despite my love of all the Mass Effect games, (yes Andromeda too) I think Woaz was right back when the Anthem trailer dropped and he said, "EA killed Bioware and is wearing its skin"

[@seeinred]

Bioware killed Bioware. Neither ME3's ending, nor Andromeda, nor Anthem was on EA. It was all Bioware. Or rather, the pale shade that's left, after all the talented people were gone. I'm always up to shit on EA like any normal human bean, but this is just not it. Even the surface-level dive into development of those games reveal who is responsible. Example - Kai Leng from ME3, the cringe space weeb ninja - oh right, that was lead writer of ME3 taking NORMAL character of the other writer from novels and turning him into a f*cking joke.

[@MrDezokokotar]

@@seeinred Agreed, its on Bioware. DA2 i'd say was the first signs of it, then Inquisition even more so. Bioware's downfall was for the same reason as many other western studios - hiring and replacing devs with mostly progressive queerdos and giving them power in the company. (see Patrick Weekes, Corinne Bushe, etc.) That's what resulted in bad writing and bad game design.

[@transient_moonlight]

The director: "The companions are autonomus, they're their own person!" Also the director: "The companions can't learn new skills unless you become their bestie". Just...💀

[@auraguard0212]

Autonomous without AI. XD

[@Sabamika1]

Well looks like if I some how get the new Dragon Age, they're going to be dead/under skilled/equipped for the large majority of the game. Because I'll go out of my way to annoy the living hell out of all of them.

[@MrsSpring1]

What if I don’t want to befriend/romance them, what if I want a rivalry play-through like in DA2 for example, do they keep being useless npcs?

[@Sabamika1]

@@MrsSpring1 Yes, on top of romancing each other.

[@transient_moonlight]

@@MrsSpring1 "Wdym you don't want romance? Everything is about romance!" --Modern game writer, probably

[@beastness501]

Finally someone whose speaking facts… all I’ve been getting is recommendations of how great the game is going to be and blah blah blah no calling out the “modern audience” bs injected into the game. It’s safe to assume ALL triple a companies hate their fans. Except maybe larian, which has only recently become triple a. I mean, we’ve even seen cdpr hire Anna megil (the person who wrote on the flop avatar game) as their HEAD WRITER for their next cyberpunk game; as well as even directly saying they’re making their games for “modern audiences” if larian falls there will truly be no triple a companies standing.

[@BiriBiri925]

Larian is not a AAA company. Just because they made a lot of money on BG3 doesn't mean they're automatically AAA. They make their games through early access. That's anything but AAA. Now, if their next game is without early access, and is much higher budget, then yes. CDPR wasn't even AAA when they released The Witcher 3. They only became AAA when they were developing Cyberpunk. At the time of The Witcher 2, the game just had a ridiculously small budget (10 million dollars), it was still more of an ambitious but not very big game from eastern Europe.

[@riftshredder5438]

Dragon Age already was the Game of Thrones for video games, and we would love it if the series went back to that

[@DustinBarlow8P]

In the Dragon Age Game of thrones you either win..... or you end up gay.

[@codyvandal2860]

This might be more true than you realize. DA:O was released in 2009 and specifically cited ASOIAF as an influence. Before the tv show!

[@dani_i8942]

Bioware has been trash since last generation and is only getting worse. Stop hoping snd just learn to let go and play better games. How can anyone want to play these games when you see how the developers behave and what they say? Utterly disgusting.

[@stephanmarcouxdrums4877]

@@dani_i8942 Damn I agree with you... but... There is always hope! I want another Dragon Age Origins so much, DA2 was the biggest deception in my life and Inquisition isn't the amazing experience I did have with the first one... I know it, we should start our god damn video game compagny and make Dragon Age Origins II for ourselves!!!

[@tomigun5180]

Exactly. It was always subversive crap, a huge disappointment for BG2 fans.

[@paininthepatoot]

I have always wondered where these companies get their data that tells them they can attract a new audience. Business logic is that is always cheaper to keep a customer then it is to bring in a new customer. Is it some marketing company that has supplied a line of BS that they can bring in all these new people who don't currently play games if they just change direction?

[@victordavila9812]

Is the "growth at any cost" mentality I can totally imagine that they have a bunch of suits whose job is to always tell the investor that they can get a bigger audience if they do X and these people are probably as disconnected with reality as your average game journalists

[@Zodroo_Tint]

Suits tell them who learned this from teachers in schools who have to be a teacher because they are not good enough as a businessman.

[@matthewcarroll2533]

@@victordavila9812 What you described in quotations is called "Neoliberalism" and it's a relatively modern concept, a sub-category or extremist angle on capitalism. It's disgusting and it rules our world, sadly. Look up the history behind it and you'll see what I mean.

[@NickSargent-cy1il]

It's the dystopian d.e.i. liberal politics fever dream of the all accepting "modern audience" of mindless consumers

[@leshtricity]

they don't need a new audience; when they put queer and LGBTQ+ propaganda in their games, Blackrock will subsidize them.

[@fcold9402]

You know what I would like? I would like companions that are your friends not a bunch of lecherous losers who think everytime you are sort of nice to them that you want to sex them up. Dragon age 2 was like this as well, so nothing new. You could see the igit mages stupid plan a mile away and no matter how many times you dont do what he could "not do without you" he does it anyway. And then at the end if you choose not to kill him immediately he acts like you love him or somthing whereas I am thinking "you will help clean up this mess and THEN I will kill you or maybe just throw your corrupt criminal self in jail for eternity".

[@gregowen2022]

That would actually be a fresh idea. When I played BG3, I was chatting with all my teammates, getting their side quests going and everything. After I saved the Emerald Grove I went to the party and EVERYONE offered to do me. It felt odd. Shouldn't someone have just congratulated me and called me a hero and wished me well without a solicitation?

[@_acidbath5077]

To be fair, even DAO was like this. I'm in the middle of replaying it and it turns out I was accidentally romancing Leliana because I was nice to her a few times- even kept calling her a friend 🤷‍♀️

[@BiriBiri925]

​@@_acidbath5077You know what to do. Use Andraste's ashes. She'll never call you friend again.😏

[@azzy9293]

Actually in da2 the red head girl is always just a friend, you can try but she never feels the same

[@lewstherintelamon1377]

This. If I want to play a Hentai game, I'm going to get a hentai game. I don't play Dragon Age to scratch that particular itch.

[@sarahnantz1364]

You've perfectly described my feelings towards the trailer...makes me very sad that over the past 11 years, this is what they had for us. Their goal was to move in a more "Origins" direction, and they went for Overwatch vibes instead. Nearly heartbreaking man...how are they THAT disconnected??? Who's choice was this? Why didn't anyone say anything when they thought this was a good idea?

[@arostwocents]

You literally cannot understate how much DEI has infected all companies in the west 😢

[@arostwocents]

The charity I used to work for literally told applicants who wanted to provide a food bank for all those in poverty, to come back with a project that didn't benefit whites, once DEI took over their minds. I don't work there anymore.

[@marconeves1979]

Thank you for this video! I'm so sick and tired of the Dragon Age subreddit and their forced positivity, and immediate demonization of ANYONE who dares to criticize, or even question the upcoming game. Or better yet, if you want a guaranteed slew of downvotes: make a post about how much you love Dragon Age Origins, and miss certain aspects of it. I feel like a small insidious group of weird-ass people appropriated/STOLE Dragon Age from David Gaider/Mike Laidlaw and all the OG creators.... in order to make something else out of the game -- a game that was supposed to be OG BioWare's original and creative response to D&D: a gritty, violent fantasy Lord of the Rings-like game where the world/lore and its stakes were desperate and extreme, and the characters felt REAL.... (or maybe the original creators brainwashed themselves into wanting to make something different, yet failed.... but were never humble enough to admit it and change course?) Even a simple thing like that sepia/war-torn filter the game had, gave that world a grim yet still grounded (not to mention immersive) feel. I mean.... how did it come to this?

[@Blodhelm]

The moment they start talking about how they are queer and it's so important to the game, it tells us this will be a stinker. That's all cover for crap work these days so they can excuse failure with bigotry while reinforcing the position of bigots by pushing this crap and ruining franchises.

[@johnsmith-de3tl]

when someone starts talking about themselves and their sexuality when presenting a product you just know that it's just a bad expensive fanfic.

[@RhysTurner-hr6yg]

When it fails it will be because we are all a bunch of right wing knuckle dragging homophonic misogynistic haters.

[@matthewtorley6508]

@@johnsmith-de3tl When you select the director on the basis of their mental illness, things aren't going to go well.

[@0giwan]

After Dragon Age "God Damn It Anders!" 2 and Mass Effect "Color Coded for Bioware's Convenience" 3, I decided that the Bioware that I loved, and had set the standard for character writing, plot, mechanics....hell, for creative game development, was dead. I never looked back, and entered EA in my Book of Grudges. They would have to make Something Special to draw me back in, and I'm not seeing that. Re: Quips, quipping was part and parcel of DA and ME. Listening to Morrigan and Alaistair tear into each other was like popcorn-eating entertaining. Garrus or Tali was always good for a smile-inducing comment, and Zaeed just had an air of, "yeah, tell me your stories, man!" that my brother got sucked into hardcore. The difference is that the quipping was always done when things were calm, so you could appreciate it. I think the current stack of devs looked at the "What Makes A Bioware Game" checklist, saw "quipping", and said, "OK, we'll put in quips like it's an Avengers movie! That's what the kids like, right?" and as a result, you really can't appreciate the character moments because you're trying to kill a demon or something. But, what do you expect of a pale imitation of the original. edit: Spelling mistake that was bothering me.

[@smeissner328]

That's a great take on quips that I hadn't thought about before. I think you're absolutely right. Professionals like your crew in ME should be serious in serious situations (i.e. the middle of life-and-death battles) but capable of relaxing and joking around in the quiet times. Non-stop banter and quips while fighting changes the whole atmosphere of the game into an unserious one. How can the players take the story and stakes seriously if the characters in the game aren't taking things seriously?

[@atpyro7920]

Getting banter to feel natural is a talent old Bioware had in spades. Current Bioware wouldn't know what talent is if it sodomized them with a bad dragon dildo.

[@danielmejorado6098]

I think you absolutely nailed it.

[@TheRedHaze3]

@@smeissner328 Alternatively, it should be just one guy. The guy who cracks jokes to cope with the stress and nerves of high-tension situations. If it's everyone, then it just looks like the situation isn't tense, because the idea that *everyone* on the team copes with comedy is too implausible.

[@terrylandess6072]

Star Lord in a bottle - No thanks.

[@patriot639]

Mass Effect, Jade Empire, and KOTOR were the golden age. 100% all of those games are what made me a fan of bioware....too bad that's all in the past.

[@gregowen2022]

They were good times and will always be good memories. It's sad it had to end

[@hankracette]

Greg, non-topical comment here, as I'm not a gamer, just a sixty-something freelance industrial automation programmer and father of six. I've watched a lot of your videos now, and enjoyed them. There are a lot of bright people in the online review space, but you're an outlier -- in a good way -- both for your insights and, frankly, for your obvious decency. Well done. -- Hank

[@b3rz3rk3r9]

The painful thing is that the approval ratings from partners were part of the first three games. Thing was they weren't just bone meters; they were Loyalty scores. If you got high enough, that person would be either your lover or your brother in arms. Low enough and they would actually try to kill you upfront. Hell, sometimes you needed a high rating to guarantee they'd live or stay loyal and not turn on you at a certain point, like Zevran. I severely doubt that Snoreguard will keep it the same there as it looks like they'll be dumping the idea of Brotherhood or Sisterhood. True Camaraderie. And speaking as a fan, no, the fall began with DA2, a game I sorta consider a guilty pleasure because there are certain parts of the story that I like. Yes, Inquisition was the last of anything GOOD in the list of disappointments. Dragon age 2, Mass Effect 3, The Old Republic, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem, and now THIS. This company was screwed the moment all the old guard left. Especially lead writer for Mass Effect, Drew Karpyshyn. Unless there's a top-down culling of lazy Idealogues, this WILL be awful and fail. My advice: keep am eye out on Exodus by Archetype games, because it's being made by the Old Guard that has long left Bioware.

[@DblyaC]

Nothing will match the magic, dark edge and replay-ability that DA:Origins instilled.

[@the8thvictim]

[@matthewtorley6508]

I replayed DA:O multiple times. The Origins concept made each replay amazing! Well worth the sticker price. DA2... I never got close to finishing it. Too busy throwing up. Glad I never paid for it. DAI... Too boring, not fun, but I got a little further in than with DA2. Thankfully, it was steeply discounted.

[@oddbod4442]

So we have a mentally ill game director who believes in the plodding team mediocrity attitude of many large companies who is making a new game because they don't understand the old game. Awesome.

[@enkiduthewildman]

So the "Pride Demon" is only purple. Shouldn't they also be red, orange, yellow, green, and blue?

[@Jehuty256]

Weren't the pride demons sexier too. I remember one of them being naked and hot

[@ArtemisKing2468]

This is coming from a gay person . . . STOP GIVING THEM IDEAS!! 😭

[@JEEPER7788]

🤣

[@thetrashcanman7537]

😂 might as well right? The devs are the real pride demons

[@arostwocents]

I was actually confused it didn't have any rainbow element. I'm sure it will in the final game 😂

[@Seanhmattson]

I'm excited I found your channel. What a great, clear commentary on the state of an industry.

[@Highwynd]

Dragon Age Origins had 2 party members who were bisexual out of 10 companions and a couple coded NPCs/expac characters. And this handful is what allowed these people to say, 3 games and 15 years later that DA was always an lbgt culture and experience? Such absolute lies and cope. There's a reason why they retconned the absolute Jesus out of the lore. Tevinter was a slave owning society that oppressed with an iron fist for thousands of years, the Qunari had fierce gender roles, Elves were genocided upon and are now 2nd class citizens, and your best friend in one of the origin stories was graped by a human PoS noble. Good lord. DA was never an inclusive rainbow themed paradise and utopia of fairness. And thank God it wasn't, it wasn't afraid to have teeth and problematic themes to explore, grapple with and overcome.

[@victordavila9812]

Morrigan had one of the most interesting and complex relationships I had seen in a videogame romance expanding from the base game to a dlc to inquisition not only does the hero of ferelden can romance her but they can even have a child together and become a family compare that with the new rolance sistem where you are all basically a poliamorus party where the only reason to romance a especific character is to unlock skills ...... Man I hate modern writing so much is the artistic equivalent of junk food pure superficial trash with no deep value

[@stevenceja4706]

I'm gay and even I think every companion being pansexual is a piece of crap. Takes a lot out of the replay value of games. In Origins, Morrigan was always my go to romance but I would occasionally play a different character and romance Zevran. Even in inquisition, I would mostly romance Dorian but occasionally I would play a female character and romance Cullen because their relationship is so sweet 💛. If everyone in this game is attracted to everything, then what the hell is the point???

[@tiendatiendosa1666]

I think is good that everyone is free for all at least this time the character will not be completely based in their sexuality like Dorian, and can give a a better backstory, It makes me sad that Dorian's story was revolutionary in is time but now I cannot help to see it like the template of this woke trash, is whole character is just the stereotypical gay guy that is sassy and loves fashion and his whole character development is about his sexuality and is complete personality and story is just "yes I only like men" even his development to be a magistrate is him about "I going to fight the evil corrupt and conservative magistrates back in home" just like a woke panflet, just like Disney acolyte, I can help buy seeing Dorian as a plain, flat, woke character now u.u my boy Dorian aged like milk

[@Scott-ql2kx]

@@tiendatiendosa1666 woke woke woke rant waaah waaah woke woke

[@KopperNeoman]

@@stevenceja4706 It makes me long for the days when everyone was straight and no-one cared. I've had enough of being exposed to the sorts of people who are the reason why homosexuality is sinful.

[@mightquinnable]

The biggest red flag is the fact that there no true leader ship. This is also a sign in the game, during the gameplay, the boss is in the air well doing aoe attacks on the ground, what are you supposed to pay attention to

[@gregowen2022]

That's a big concern for me. The current director has been there for two years, I think. They've had big names dropping from the company for a few years and I'd be surprised if even a quarter of the people working on the game right now have been there from the beginning. That might lead to an incohesive tone and feel

[@terrylandess6072]

Your Wallet.

[@VinceLyle2161]

Robert Conquest said: "To understand the behavior of any bureaucratic organization, assume it is controlled by a cabal of its enemies." It also explains the last five years of game development.

[@krodmandoon3479]

"Five years" lol LMAO, even

[@DeusMachina_EXE]

10 - 15 years is more accurate.

[@HeyJoeHUN81-PCRPGCommunity]

Don't worry, most of us still feel about this new DA the same after the gameplay reveal as after the 1st trailer. It's gonna be a pile of sh*t. -__- :D The BioWare we knew, long gone. And the original core team members of BioWare coincidentally started to move (escape), just around EA bought them... Sadly BioWare is just a sinking ship since.

[@haylenchan139]

13:33 THIS is my biggest worry for DA:VG!!! That decisions don’t matter!! Just like Inquisition!!!! I really hope I’m wrong. Thanks for making this video! :)

[@Rikalonius]

6:00 What we have here is Dragon Age: Andromeda. I guess the wizards at BINO (Bioware in Name Only) didn't learn their lesson from the Mass Effect: Andromeda debacle (and the aforementioned game for which ME:A was a tech demo for, Anthem), they think they can repeat it in Dragon Age. Bioware-EA have very little fans left for their games. The "Nu" audience is not coming.

[@terrylandess6072]

When effective profit becomes unsatisfactory, then feeding greed becomes king and everything else becomes food. Once you begin eating your cooks, it's just a matter of time . . . .

[@michaelh878]

Inquisition was already Andromeda. Unfortunately it got a lot of sales.

[@nottodayimbusy7146]

Love the BioShock reference

[@TheNuclearGeek]

At the end you hit on the root problem in media today - they make it for themselves and not a wide audience. That USED to be the goal of those in Hollywood and the games industries. They used to make movies, shows and games that did have a target audience but could also appeal to a wider audience outside. That is how you end up with Star Wars having a 70% male and 30% female audience. That 30% is NOT insignificant, yet they constantly act like it never existed. That 30% is proof of widespread appeal. Today we have creators making things solely for themselves and then telling the world if they don't like it they're a bigot of some sort. How is it not blatantly evident why this has led to failure after failure? They act like the LGBTQIABCDEFG+/& community didn't have a strong presence in Hollywood and gaming before now, which is absolutely ridiculous. They seemingly want to have majority representation for minority groups instead of equitable representation and widespread appeal. They want to make things for the smallest parts of our population and then cry "bigot" when the majority of the population can't connect with it because they reject doing anything that would increase it's wider appeal beyond that small target demographic.

[@Levolun]

I wonder if it's like in the News industry. Back in the day, you had to learn how to be a journalist before working the news desk. Then, social media appeared and the 'social media correspondent' was created.. a person who had no knowledge of the news or journalism or the industry, in general.. they only knew how to read tweets and comments from 30-second videos.. Then, these folks with no knowledge got promoted into positions of authority.. I wonder, since we have writers who can't structure a story properly, directors who can't direct and actors who can only pretend to be themselves..

[@TheNuclearGeek]

@@Levolun I agree that we live in a world now where people no longer have a healthy respect for their level of competence on almost ANY subject thanks to social media. It's amplified the Dunning-Krueger effect which is why we things like "Queers for Palestine" exist. However, when it comes to media, it seems the problem is the echo chambers which have also been amplified by social media, but also largely exist in the few places movies, shows and games are created. When it comes down to it, they are a reflection of California, New York, Austin, Montreal, etc. which all share very left populations that don't realize the rest of the world isn't like the few places they live. Now, why is it that these huge companies seem to continue to hire unknown people to head up projects they haven't come close to earning the right to do, I still don't understand that.

[@TheNuclearGeek]

@@Levolun Plus, too, the news used to have a morality and ethics to reporting. Once they chose to erode and eventually completely remove those rules they worked by it inevitably led to news organizations that no longer cared about maintaining an unbiased view. Frankly, IMHO, that is what led to the rise in more "independent" news sources, some good and a lot not.

[@Sorain1]

@@TheNuclearGeek Because there is big money funding that. Blackrock, Vanguard, etc. Tens of trillions of dollars lets you afford a lot of unprofitable behavior, by making pandering to them profitable (for you.) until those funds run down.

[@TheNuclearGeek]

@@Sorain1 The terms on loans this big has a huge impact on profitability. Now, they still have to be profitable eventually but it reduces risk a lot and these companies are willing to do anything to get those more favorable terms as we've seen.

[@bennygerow]

This aged like fine wine

[@aweetodd]

Got a marvel ad right when you were taking a sip of mug around 15min. Thought it was part of your video for a sec. Timing was perfect and hilarious

[@michaeleverett9091]

This looks like the kind of game that will pretend to have stealth elements and deep crafting just to get them on the box. The original Dragon Age was a great blend of tactical combat and a story you cared about. Dragon Age 2 was an experiment that failed, and Inquisition felt like an experiment they realized would fail so they changed direction at the last minute. But this? This isn't Dragon Age. This is Dragon Age Cosplay. If they hadn't insisted so hard that it was single player and offline I'd expect Twitch integration to help decide what demons spawn. Because the audience watching you game is more important than the handcrafted experience and story. And honestly, I'm half still expecting it.

[@terrylandess6072]

Cosplay is King right now - everywhere you look - Film, TV, Internet, Games. Kids got too old to play with their 'Barbie's' so now use film, tv, games, etc. as their new toy houses to play out their personal fantasies. Yep. A certain function of maturity has been deleted from (western) society.

[@AKABoondock19]

Its both an incredible time to be a RPG fan.....and a terrible time. We got BG3 and some good AA titles......but on the other hand if you are a older RPG fan who grew up with Bioware being your favorite PC developer, and Square Enix being your favorite console developer, you really cant help but feel a sense of existential dread.

[@jointkay-y5i]

To say they hate their audience isn't really fair because this is a different bioware. Most of the OGs are not around anymore.

[@gregowen2022]

They definitely aren’t. At this point, it would be better if they renamed the company, because their past reputation is killing the new folks that obviously want to go in a new direction

[@jointkay-y5i]

@gregowen2022 I was thinking the same. New name for the studio working on new IPs so they can be judged by their own creativity. I will be checking out this game tho cos I liked Inquisition. Love your content bro, greetings to the family.

[@smeissner328]

But that's the exact reason why they hate their audience. It's a game studio that's now run by developers who don't like the audience they inherited along with the studio.

[@GLJosh]

@@jointkay-y5i But the only reason people buy the games is due to the IP. They want to take someone else's IP (legacy) and tell their own story because no one would buy their story otherwise. No one is lining up for "Pangenderism On-Rail Fantasy Loot Shooter 3-Now with Non-Colonizing Steampunk".

[@terrylandess6072]

Although quoting the 'name of a rose and smelling sweet' line would be redundant - it still remains valid. Just like the calling a rock a fish won't make it swim. Names have some power but they aren't magic.

[@memoryhero]

I'm just here for the blip of a moment at 24:26. The understated and practically lightening-speed tip of the hat to ground-floor reality over ideology is my spirit animal.

[@kuokublaikhan]

For me, Bioware's downfall started with Mass Effect 2. Don't get me wrong, I like that game (that's why it's only the *start* of the downfall), but you can clearly see that game discarding what made Bioware games distinctive and replacing it with a 3rd person corridor shooter, i.e. chasing what was popular at the time. This was the start of the rot.

[@NothingHereForYou]

I blame D&D getting popular with bigger audiences. Same with Star Wars. Its cool to be a "nerd" now. This new game direction feels like " LOL Im so nerdy Tiny Tina's Wonderland and Vox Machina are my whole personality"

[@terrylandess6072]

I finally got TTW on sale and wanted to see what this developer was doing. Not my cup of tea. Are more and more games under the impression every release is best created as an amusement park of unconnected activities all painted up as if they were? Systems existing for their own sake and not for the sake of story.

[@sarahnantz1364]

That's not an excuse in my opinion. Companies need to stop riding on the coattails of other popular media and stick to their guns when it comes to what people already loved and valued them for. A complete miss of the mark. Really just seems like the people in charge are CLUELESS. And even then, if they were to listen to us die hard fans over the past decade, they'd know that this is so far from what was needed. I'm convinced that the people now working for Bioware are both blind and deaf 👀

[@BrightWulph]

I hate that the things that used to get me bullied in school, (pokemon, card games, comics, video games) are now popular and becoming destroyed by the mega corps who just want to get rich.

[@marcusclark1339]

yup, trendy "mainstream" appeal ruined the culture of it, grifters taking over the industry and pushing their agenda onto the product cause they always project, they don't care for the audience and only want it for themselves

[@xxtianxx11]

Its crazy how not even long ago i used to get bullied for being a nerd, and liking fantasy, comices and stuff, now dont get me wrong im not one of those "i suffered so everyone has to too" but its starting to be weird that its mainstream since that was the idea of it, it wasnt, it was for those who felt left out by popular people by the "normal" people, it was escape for those who were weird and didnt fit into norms, i liked it even when i got bullied since i was 8 (since my dad is a nerd and he made me one lmao) then pandemic hit, and suddenly everyone wants to be diffrent so bad and wants to be a "looser" so they can get validation of of that, i aint hearing girl who laughed at me for reading manga talk about her favourite animes now

[@shayliakara]

I feel like they are treating us all like we are 9 years old. "Click this and win" This does not feel anything like Dragon Age. I wanted the story to continue. Are we just assuming that our character died off camera, and she never got to find Solace? That is just sad. I hope there is something more than that about the end of Inquisition.

[@johnsmith-de3tl]

there is but rest assured that they will cuck your old toons as much as they can.

[@MrsSpring1]

Exactly my thoughts, I don’t believe my inquisitor would give up on Solas that easily, especially when he’s romanced. “I’ll prove to you you don’t need to destroy this world” my ass.

[@logansgun]

I swear we live in the dumbest timeline. It feels like all new games or movies are soo stupid and/or bad! I've been relying on older content for my entertainment. Rewatching all my favorite childhood movies because I own a physical copy. Until the Dead Space remake the last new paid at full price game I got was Borderlands 3. I soon thereafter decided to play only older games or at least games on sale and so far I haven't been disappointed since. Most excellent video, Greg.

[@avrivah1101]

It's not just dumb, it's insidious. We live in the Age of Activism, where politics permeates everything from sports to literature and it's only going to get worse, believe me. Everything we hate about activism has found its way into some dangerous sectors of the economy. Take hospitals, for example. Critical care services will soon be allocated on a racial basis, as was tried in the northeast during the pandemic. Buckle up, my brother.

[@some_random_guy_mk2]

You're already succeeding by not buying their dogshit. Hell, I bought MK1 before I realised SBI infested. If a company like NetherRealm can be corrupted we basically up shits creek... The tide is turning but these clowns have infiltrated our once beloved past time. Stay vigilant. ❤️‍🔥

[@DogeickBateman]

​@@avrivah1101 Allocated on a racial bias? That sounds oddly similar to a certain race-fascist nation that they love calling their conservative critics that...

[@avrivah1101]

​@@DogeickBateman “Accuse your opponent of what you are doing, to create confusion and to inculcate voters against evidence of your own guilt" -Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals

[@jw7500]

Someone hasn't taken their meds...

[@radioactivegum2298]

I was seeing similar patterns when Andromeda was releasing. A lot of over hype, gaslighting, coping, followed by guilt tripping everyone for low ratings.

[@projectikaruga]

As a 39 years old man, i more excited to play Final Fantasy II pixel remaster on my Xbox than anything else. Industry is dead, we just have to enjoy what's left from it

[@joeymobb8438]

I'm getting some serious Redfall vibes here, and we all know how that went.

[@DarkKing009]

I remember in Dragon Age Origins companions, I believe Shale and Sten would try to stab me if I attempted to romance them.

[@SeventhheavenDK]

Why do you post this same comment in many videos? It's so out of context, and it actually never happens, you don't even have any chance to flirt with Shale or Sten.

[@DarkKing009]

@@SeventhheavenDK I believe the point of the comment. The companions did not need romance to make them real characters. They are not lesser characters because you could not romance them.

[@svartrbrisingr6141]

Shale would probably ignore your attempts at flirting to keep crushing that Pigeon you gave her a few hours back.

[@theobserver6579]

Dragqueen Age: The Vileguard

[@digthesechild-bearinghipsb2842]

More like Failfart

[@thetrashcanman7537]

😂 😂 THOSE VILE CREATURES! Why is it everything these consultant controlled companies get their decrepit claws on turn into flamboyant eye bleed inducing vomit

[@Apt23-v8u]

Wokeshit age: the gayshit guard

[@somederp8915]

The Wokeguard

[@tourbean790]

Banger comment

[@solicitr666]

4:10- the Destiny thing is a bad rap. Anthem (project Joplin)was already underway before Destiny ever appeared; it just took a stupid amount of time to get it finished, or what passed for "finished"

[@LordReginaldMeowmont]

The Wayward Realms is the only game that aims to accurately represent medieval fantasy cities. It's on Kickstarter now.

[@podzing]

It is such a weird decision to be inclusive by making every character a sexuality that excludes the majority of people on the planet. Gay, straight, by, whatever. Most people aren't pan sexual. Being inclusive means excluding every sexuality that isn't inclusive enough. Inclusivity would be having different characters with different sexualities, or just letting the player choose what they are interested in (the whole point of an rpg). Anywa, point is the more inclusive modern companies and societies are, the more exclusive they get. Being gay isn't inclusive enough, so no characters can be gay. They must be pan sexual.

[@DustinBarlow8P]

Put a Chick in it and make her gay! -Eric Cartman

[@mspointyears]

Just my theory, but I think they are using the term pansexual because if they used bisexual instead, they would have to admit something they don't want to. Honestly, I think they could have gotten around the issue by just saying that there aren't any restrictions on which party members your character can romance. Nobody would have cared then.

[@Anna-B]

@@mspointyearsmy guess is they wanted them to be playersexual (which is a totally fair thing to want) but they didn’t think it was inclusive enough. That ambiguous sexuality isn’t good enough

[@terrylandess6072]

Your post reminds me why I tend to ignore that entire societal argument as the confusing dumpster fire that it is. (This is a complement in case the entire thing is too confusing)

[@spaghetto9836]

​@@Anna-BI agree with you & the commenter above you. It's just better to say "You can romance any party member" if you don't wanna further customize mechanics bc you're lazy. I actually prefer it when they're not all canonically pan, but player-sexual, bc I can imagine each having the orientation I want based on who I'm romancing + who I play as atm, for RPG's sake. Like, folks might tell you every team member in BG3 is pan, and they technically are, but lots of players see Astarion as either gay or closeted asexual. It seems the writers were inclining that way, with the "Idek if I want anyone to see me in terms of sex" comment, though that can be interpreted differently.

[@bonaggy]

Look, no one is saying you can’t craft a more personal head-canon for your favourite book, film, game. When we like something we use our imaginations and try to include ourselves; that’s part of being a fan. You love something so much, you want to join in. However, your head-canon is yours. It does not overwrite the original work - the canon. It’s easy to feel a connection to something that moves you emotionally, but that doesn’t make it exclusively yours or “coded” to you. Fandoms are a shared universe. Loads of fans have their head-canon and that’s cool, but the original material must be respected. If you don’t, you’ll soon go from a series selling millions of copies, to a series bombing because it appeals to one sole vision. You’ve pushed out everyone else … in this case paying customers … that is not a fan … I adored the rendition of Scout Harding in Inquisition. A hard working, professional scout who started as a farmer and developed a positive working relationship with the Inquisitor and then their friend. She could have just been your standard signpost NPC, but some people at BioWare invested in making her more than that and the audience loved it. Now, we have “Grizzled Harding” for the trailer. I don’t recognise our earnest, humorous friend from the earlier game. Hard-drinking. Hard-brawling. Sassy-ass. That is not Scout Harding. As for Varric having a beard … don’t get me started on not recognising your own lore. It doesn’t surprise me to learn Varric’s creator is no longer with BioWare. Again, making an established character change like some multifunction jigsaw piece. Again, that is not Varric, that’s a clone, Varric-01234. I do want to congratulate them on the positive aspects, as you say. No “surprise mechanics”, no always online, or live service rubbish. Doesn’t it just feel odd though to praise them for what should be the basics though? Great video. Great talking points. Keep up the spectacular work.

[@KopperNeoman]

"headcanon" itself is a ridiculous term and I have no idea who the hell coined it. Back when I was a lad, we called it "fanon" - something that we explicitly wished was canon but acknowledged that it may not be. Much less of a "denial of canon" tone to it. Take Skyrim for example: "headcanon" turned Serana from a Molag Bal worshipper who in no way dislikes being an undead bloodsucker, but just wishes her dad wasn't crazy and her mum wasn't distant, and who doesn't like temples as a Daggerfall reference (and I believe a remnant of a cut marriage quest that would have cemented her uniqueness) into some kind of uwu soft victim. There's a reason that ridding Serana of vampirism is so hard. You have to manipulate her into doing it - make it seem like it was her decision, and not at all anything to do with the silver tongued aspect of Akatosh that wiped out the rest of her bloodline.

[@bonaggy]

@@KopperNeoman Appreciate the comment. Have a great day.

[@dragonhold4]

(19:40) "Could we crowdfund the KOTOR 1 remake?" > The people that has it in custody would ruin this too somehow.

[@nebohtes]

I can't choose to push the like button; I can only be told.

[@BlackMage_BlackMage]

I like that I'm in the background of your videos :D

[@gregowen2022]

You've been my most favorite character since about 1992!

[@BlackMage_BlackMage]

@@gregowen2022 *tips large brimmed yellow hat in big respect*

[@KopperNeoman]

@@BlackMage_BlackMage Are you Mr. Evilwizardington or do you just wear his outfit?

[@Rockstar-bq5fm]

Also don’t appreciate that voice cast actors like Greg Elis and Freddie Prinze jr got ousted because they don’t bend the knee to the new creatives political and social views..

[@SeventhheavenDK]

I didn't know about Freedie Prinze Jr? What happened with him? However, with Greg Ellis, I remember that it actually goes beyond that. He really screwed up.

[@BrightWulph]

​@@SeventhheavenDKFrom what I remember about Elis is that he was the target of an online harrassemnt campaign, because people kept conflating him with how traumatised Cullen behaved in DA2 and how he tried to change (but wasn't punished) in DA:I. Iirc, Elis's only mistake was that her verbally lashed out at the people attacking him (which included people he worked for BTW) for simply voicing a "controversial" character. If there's more to it, I'd like to know, because the above are cliffnotes I remember reading ages ago.

[@tae-joon]

​@@BrightWulphdidn't he have extremely misogynistic takes and got cancelled for them? He called one fan a whore.

[@KineticCode]

In my headcannon the series ended at Origins

[@danielbroome5690]

In regards to bridgerton, the issue was more that the wrong character got turned into a lesbian, because Eloise was clearly coded that way in the show, not her sister. But as to changing things from the books, it's hard to argue that any change is unneeded or bad considering the books are kinda trash compared to the show.

[@kostadinpantev]

I still remember getting torn to pieces by the dogs in the dungeon at the beginning of DA:Origins.

[@rickc-arelsii6276]

I think the greatest tidbit of information received in this video is that there are cheeseburger mugs available at your local Hobby Lobby. Thanks Greg's Wife! 🤘😃

[@joeherrera8826]

One of the things that always puzzles me is when companies want to change their own franchises to try to look appealing to a wider audience. The final fantasy series is an example of this. Fans want the turn base system for FF not the action based system but for some reason Square thinks that an action based system is better because its what their audience wants and they are wrong. Elden Ring is a real good example of what allot of companies should be doing. It is a hard game with a dark mid evil violent tone but fromsoftware didn't need to change their formula to fit a wider audience and till this day is the biggest game of the year.

[@omegaman2846]

BioWare is having a severe self esteem issue. It used to be my favorite game company. Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and KOTOR are classics from my teenage years. The problem is that they are so insecure that (unlike Larian and CD Projekt Red). So they rely so hard on superficial “marvel” humor and Overwatch character designs. The lack of confidence in IP has become a plague in entertainment.

[@Perfidion]

I think the actual problem is they're beholden to EA, and EA has them chasing trends because EA only ever cares about increased quarterly earnings. Sometimes I fantasise about what Bioware could have been if only they'd remained free of EA's diseased tentacles. I remember Ray and Greg (Bioware's founders) claiming the EA deal would be "great for Bioware", while I screamed at the screen, "No! No! What are you doing?! You're sacrificing your firstborn child to Lucifer! Are you insane?! Have you seen EA's track record of burying developers in shallow graves?! Nooooooo!" But yeah, they did it anyway. The smart folks saw the writing on the wall and bailed. And now we have this. This Bioware bears no resemblance to the Bioware of old.

[@darkshamrock5763]

Wasn’t this rumored to have begun production as a online multiplayer game and they halfway through decided against it?

[@gregowen2022]

I believe so. The story I've gotten is that after Andromeda crashed, they scrapped the whole multi-player aspect, but it's tough to know how much of that is in the DNA of the game, or if they started over entirely.

[@AntonShields]

Andrew Wilson with Ultimate Team is one of the major reasons why we have loop boxes and predatory micro transactions in video games. And he has profited well from it and the gaming, industry, and games have never been the same. Gamers are so starved for a decent video game we will take crumbs if it gives us a semblance of what we want. I’m glad to see some of that behavior changing over the recent years, but we have a long way to go.

[@DKannji]

Eveyone loves the characters of ALL Dragon Age games, in no small part BECAUSE they have defined sexualities. Sera from Dragon Age: Inquisition(DA:I) is a lesbian, this means that through her own agency and through your friendship growing, if you are male you can become great friends in a platonic relationship. Morrigan from DA:O is straight, and if we are a female warden, we can be great gal-pals. It's annoying seeing BioWare not remember that the exclusion of boning is also good. There's a reason why I kinda fell off of BA3 with everyone wanting to waggle my dwarven sceptre, just because I was oathbound to be nice to everybody. Also, it's sad seeing every character become the same character with a different hight and skin tone.

[@DaLittleBull]

The "You have to invest in the relationships in order to unlock skills" seems like an (poorly done) attempt to mimic Persona 5 Social Link system. In that game, investing in relationship quests unlocks bonuses that make your playthrough easier and that is on of the game's shortcomings imo, since sometimes you NEED to spend time with a character you don't really like because the bonus skill locked behind the Social Link is just that essential. Here it seems to be even worse, since you'd be locked with an useless character unless you actually spend time with them. "Oh but if you don't like them, you'd probably not use them anyway", I hope that's the case because lord knows I've played a plethora of RPGs that force a specific character in your party at times.

[@SeventhheavenDK]

I don't like this either, because I play the Dragon Age games by following the personality of my main character, I am not playing seeking to please my companions, I find it more immersive that my character gets along with some and doesn't get along with others. I think only Origins is the one that my character gets along with all of them, despite being a ruthless and pragmatic character. But in DA2, Fenris betrays me for example. In Inquisition, my character ends with only Cassandra, Varric and Vivianne in the party, (and Iron Bull too until he betrays us), and my Inquisitor never gets along with Solas. But I still use the characters, so I don't want them to force me to be nice with them just to progress with their skills.

[@davidglenn2739]

Did no one at Bioware play Baldur's Gate 3?

[@Doomwolf82002]

I see what you're saying but the thing is this game was trapped in development hell for over a decade, during which time it went through several creative directors before its current one.

[@davidglenn2739]

@@Doomwolf82002 That's true, the game would have been in development well before BG3 was released. Good point.

[@BigPuddin]

Irrelevant. BG3 is overrated as fucking hell, and the characters are cringey.

[@Wolf-bz6kq]

So the companions are gonna be cheerleaders...

[@poetscotty]

Also BG3 took out the upper city where nobles lives among other things. Inquisition had the perfect set-up sequel all past companions and heroes come together to stop the biggest threat but no rainbow borderlands hack&slash.

[@atpyro7920]

I put in a funny little comment in my Dragon Age Origins analysis script that I believe will age like fine wine: "Who the fuck are you marketing this towards, because it's absolutely not the people that used to buy your games."

[@L1v3W1r3d]

Dropping Bioshock references is tight!

[@techromancerzero2709]

Saw what you did there, Mr. Producer.

[@alessandrobaggi6129]

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah..." 🤓📋

[@quentinchambon9362]

What is sure is that is was Barely an inconvennience

[@Cheattoe]

Ok but why is it at my Japanese manufacturing company we focus on meticulous customer feed back and quality control and we are known for quality…. What do you think my Japanese overlords would do to this American based company if we just throw out the data rules and engineering we’d built up for almost 75 years now and said fuck it we’re going to put out what we want because we’re amazing and smart? We’d be fired and shut down immediately huh maybe that’s why Godzilla minus one was soo good and cheap to boot

[@AeonPhoenix]

That's because Japanese society isn't ruined by the same obsessive individualism and materialism that the West has gleefully embraced for four centuries.

[@TheDovahkinia]

11:00 oh my god, I just now realised something when I looked at the background. There are SEVERAL copy pasted towers there, no changed whatsoever made to them.

[@dank2804]

It's pretty clear to me after having had the misfortune of playing through DA: Inquisition, that this franchise is increasingly turning into a dedicated, progressive dating simulator and i just can't be bothered with it. Romance is fine but it needs to accompany a good story and interesting characters, that are more than one of three dating sim options: Quirky Stoic Traumatised

[@00-Diesel]

When ea bought them and pushed out Mass effect 2 is when the enshitification began, I was there.

[@stevereynolds5684]

Mass Effect 2 was mostly finished before EA. It was more or less intended as presented. It was pretty good, choices still felt like they mattered. It was 3 where the actual feeling of things mattering was completely dumped.

[@00-Diesel]

@@stevereynolds5684 I completely disagree, I know that’s what they claimed, but the writing of me2 is hot garbage. Totally undercooked product that ea forced bioware to push out. The hack journos all praised it at the time because the combat was more “fun”.

[@00-Diesel]

@stevereynolds5684 Completely disagree, ea forced bioware to rush out me2 right after they bought them, the drop in quality of the writing and “streamlining” of the gameplay is immediately apparent.

[@zhongliimpact6220]

@@00-Diesel ME2 writing don't make any sense yeah. This game just have no story. It all starts with Shepard dying then coming back from the dead immediatly then WOW new ennemies ! let's find them but first let's make a big team, ok now we''ll find them ! Ho they're dead ! Good. The End. Absolutely peak writing.

[@00-Diesel]

@@zhongliimpact6220 Haha this guy gets it. Yeah man Shepard just randomly dying and coming back to life right away was so stupid. All of his dialogue was so weird, it’s like he got turned into a soulless robot, and every other character was equally lifeless. Then i found out they turned planet exploration into point and click on a circle instead of searching the planet with your own space car like the original and I was just so done. But all the journos kept kissing ea’s ass even back then and so everyone thought me2 was the best. Sheep

[@bryannacaldwellsoccer]

Just discovered your channel and watched a whole bunch, Wanted to compliment you on far you’ve come & how much you’ve improved: pacing, wittiness, comfort in front of the camera. So good Greg, keep it up!