Wynne on 5/3/2011 at 23:29
Quote Posted by Yakoob
So having recently finished The Witcher, currently playing Morrowind, having beaten a whole bunch of various RPGs and looking at the new up and coming ones, I realize -
fuck, there is so little creativity in the fantasy genre. From the setting, to the "races" and finally the actual story, everything is almost exactly the same with tiny variations in which stat affects which skill and by how much. And what the different swords are called. And that's about it.
...
I guess my gripes wouldn't be as bad if it wasn't for the fact that, even though all this things are pretty much fantasy standards, the game designers STILL spend half the goddamn game drilling them into your head as if they had invented the greatest concept ever. Doesn't matter if it is through random conversations, game events, books, or the main story line inevitably sending you to the elfen forest to speak to the oracle who will inevitably tell you how much the elves love nature and how greedy humans destroy it. You will hear it over and over. For the 50th fucking time.
Oooh! Now, this was a meaty post. Not going to find too many exceptions to a well-conceived list like this, but let's see where Dragon Age differs. Thedas was intended to be somewhat of a standard fantasy universe; as the developers said, they weren't interested in re-inventing the wheel, but they did pretty decently in the finer details. Their intention was the subvert some of the old cliches.
World - The King... ah, doesn't fare so well as a leader, and part of your job in the game is helping to shift events around and determine who is going to replace the current power on the throne.
- The lava was actually in the caves, not in the mountains.
- The dwarves actually have some dramatic cities down below.
- There was no desert area. Ruins, but no deserts.
- The distance between the boat and the island with the Circle Tower is delightfully short.
- The only things in the caves are darkspawn, and they always come up from the Deep roads.
- No water temple.
Races -
- Elves
--- Are in the forests generally, but actually travel about like gypsies. The ones that aren't living in segregation in the cities, that is.
--- They're not really in conflict with dwarves, just humans. The elven and dwarven worlds feel quite separate.
--- There are absolutely no "good" or "evil" elves, just Dalish and City elves. Neither is inherently superior on a moral basis.
--- I don't recall there being an elven oracle.
- Dwarves
--- Don't give a crap about axes--and don't speak in Scottish accents. Ambivalent to magic only because they are magic-resistant from living and breeding near lyrium over generations, and thus birth no spellcasters.
--- Love craftsmanship and trading. There are a fair number of dwarven merchants, some living on the surface.
--- Lava rock isn't a precious building material. Lyrium is; it's a magical substance similar to a drug.
--- No clans, just noble families and a caste system. Everything is very Byzantine and old school in Orzammar. The player character in the first game can actually be either a noble dwarf or a castless, condemned dwarf lower than a servant.
--- No disappeared clans, either. The thaigs (underground cities) that were lost have been overrun by darkspawn and all the inhabitants killed.
--- You talk about and often with Dwarven women, none of whom have any stupid beards and who are often cute or sexy enough to appeal to humans yet still (
http://social.bioware.com/playerprofile.php?char_id=1578570&display=character&nid=2298459857&game=dragonage1_pc&persona_id=212511636) unmistakably not human.
- Humans
--- Humans can be masters of a trade as easily as any other character. Race has its effect in the game, but being human doesn't make one inherently worse or better, just advantaged in certain circles.
---Ogres are a subset of the darkspawn which (
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090628183442/dragonage/images/7/75/Ogre.jpg) do not look like you are used to. They cannot speak, they are as mindlessly destructive as any other type of the corrupted (which were formed when mages tried to usurp heaven and thus spoiled it, cursing themselves and their brethren, or so the Chantry likes to say.)
--- Dragon Age is utterly goblin-free.
--- Dragons are another subset of the darkspawn. They were once worshipped as gods, but now rule the corrupted and are called "archdemons."
--- There are undead, and Arcane Horrors are similar to liches (undead mages possessed by demons) but there is no turn undead.
--- There are giant rats--in the first part of the human noble origin only, and there is a sort of wink-wink in-joke tone used. They are never seen again.
Lore- Gods: Elves have a pantheon, but no shrines. Humans have shrines, but only believe in the Maker and his beloved, Andraste. Dwarves swear by the Stone and worship their ancestors, the Paragons. No offering bonuses, though you can make a sort of pilgrimage to see Andraste's ashes, as well as see some of the religions of the elves and dwarves.
- No great world war that I recall, but there are occasional Blights; the Grey Wardens is the faction that puts them down, but people haven't seen a Blight in so long when you begin the first game that the Wardens are eyed suspiciously as a mere political party looking to regain its lost influence.
- Nobody thinks you're a god. You're either a conspirator against the rightful king or a patsy in the eyes of some, but to most you're just an unknown.
- There is no secret underground cult and no factions of the kind described.
- You visit Andraste's tomb, but she was a religious figure; a little bit Joan of Arc, no war general.
- Magic doesn't really work that way. Mages are in touch with the Fade, which is a spirit realm. The relationship between mages and spirits is very important--magic comes from the Fade, and the Fade is where the spirit of a living person journeys while they sleep (dwarves thus don't dream.) Demons are spirits that go mad at being trapped in the Fade and feed off the emotions of mortals; if one fuses with a mortal mage, the result is a terrifyingly powerful hybrid called an abomination. This is why templars guard mages at all times; any mage who lives free is named an apostate and generally put down by the templars if found.
- No real super-powerful mages except for the abominations, but those you can put down.
- There's a dwarf who studies magic. You can convince her father to let her fulfill her dreams and go live on the surface in the Circle Tower, against his wishes (dwarves who live topside for too long are said to "lose their stone sense" and are no longer considered true dwarves.) But there are no outcast elves. Dalish elves are a bit Native American in feel, City elves are very closely bonded... the communities are tightly-knitted.
- I don't recall any weapons of volcanic glass or anything like that.
Sidequests - the following side quests MUST be present:
- No necromancy gone wrong quest that I recall.
- There are some ghosts... the interactions aren't exactly what you'd expect, generally.
- Don't think there's a find the spy quest exactly.
- There is an "old clan" kind of quest, sort of, but it's a female dwarf wanting to prove that her family was a noble one which emerged out of one of the lost thaigs long ago. She asks you to bring back proof of her lineage.
Gameplay- No silence spells, and no words.
- The main plot doesn't require crafting, fortunately; it's just occasionally useful or lucrative somehow, particularly in the expansion.
- No, you're no reincarnation. You're just a person.
So in the end, the game seems to do pretty well. Add to the fact that the sequel, while lacking in certain options (you can no longer play as an elf or dwarf, both of which were awesome, the dwarf noble origin being the best of them all in the eyes of many) spans the course of ten years and told in the form of a framed narrative, and I'm very much looking forward to it. Especially since the gameplay is faster-paced and better balanced and there is a voiced protagonist and three in-game relatives whose appearance changes based on the skin tone and preset that you chose (you can edit the preset but the relatives have a number of different appearances based on the original, so it's best to choose a preset that looks something like you want it to.) Oh, and they don't all get slaughtered except for you, which is nice.
All things considered, I'd recommend the series if you're looking for a change. I mean, not all the religious people are even evil. Some of them naturally are, but a few are truly kind and not so preachy. Plus, it's Bioware, so, characters, story, romance, blah blah blah.
