Disingenuous Discussions: Dragon Age Origins

Hello and welcome to the first Disingenuous Discussions! We thought it would be fun to write an article together, and also we wanted to talk about our most beloved video games (for a change). So this will be an occasional series, in no particular order, looking at our very favourites. We've no particular structure for this - expect it to be long and meandering!

I'm Buch, and I'll be writing in this elegant, British font.

I'm Knight from the US of A, and I'll be using this typewriter-ish font, even though I've only used a typewriter twice in my life.

Ironically, Knights are from the British Isles, and not the USA.

Ironically, Americans are also from the British Isles. We make everything better.

I own that t-shirt! *looks down*
I'm wearing that t-shirt!

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For the first one we chose a very recent game - Dragon Age: Origins from last year. Nobody really seems to play or talk about this game, though there is a sequel in the works and a number of expansions available, so I guess it did well enough.

It's a story-based RPG from BioWare, using semi-turn-based, part-based combat and lengthy dialogue trees to tell an engaging and very interactive story. In that regard it bears a striking resemblance to our beloved Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, from the same brilliant developers. But I think we've talked enough about that game already.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a role-playing game set in the Star Wars universe, which also just happens to be the best game ever created by man or Canadian. The comparisons that can be made between it and Dragon Age: Origins are many, and I think it's safe to say that this is the heir apparent to the spirit of KotOR. Even after this MMO, The Old Republic, is released, I can't imagine this opinion being changed much.

I call it the 'Spiritual successor' to KotOR. Also in many ways it reminds me of Jade Empire, BioWare's wuxia-style RPG which I really loved for its simplicity and enormously fun plot. Dragon Age seems to deny itself a sense of 'fun' at times. See Landsmeet, later on.

And, to be perfectly honest, I think it's almost a crime that BioWare's Mass Effect series is being touted more than Dragon Age. If there is one series that I'd like to be stranded on a deserted island with, it would be DA:O. This is also taking into consideration that I would also be stranded with an Xbox, electricity, and a television.

I'd be stranded with the original (well, I played it first) and best: KotOR. But. Enough of that. We were talking about Dragon Age. I think what might harm this game's success is its lack of originality. The setting is a standard Medieval Fantasy World: a mix-mash of Tolkein and all the usual fantasy archetypes. There are some nice, unique (and distinctly BioWarian) touches though - the elves are second-class citizens who live in the slums of human cities as servants, the dwarves are not Scottish (oddly, they're either American or from the West-country...) So, whilst unoriginal, the story and setting are frequently refreshing.

As is the case for most fantasy stories these days. It's very difficult to market a fantasy world that DOESN'T have the elf/orc archetype in there somewhere. George R.R. Martin and Robert Jordan sort of blazed a trail of their own, in that regard. But I think it's safe to say that most are okay with that. I certainly am. It saves the player (or reader) from too much of a learning curve. The same can be said for Mass Effect, with their almost-Jedi main character, space marines, democratic order of planets (DOOP), and last but not least, blue women.

But! At the same time, while I don't mind another storyteller taking those archetypes and running with them, I sorta mind when they half-ass the originality. Yes, we have dwarves, they hate magic, and they are expert craftsmen and miners...but they are certainly not Scottish. I think that's the only part of the lore where Dragon Age really twisted my sides: their original twist on a race was to give them a different accent.

To BioWare's credit, though, they did try to make this game more about the politics of the world and not as much about the battle, which I commend them for.

Agreed. The game begins with an intro promising 'multi-racial heroes battle orc-like demons', but all 6 'origins' (the unique and superb opening acts depending on your chosen race and background) reveal much more depth than that. And with the arrival of villain Teyrn 'Stop Comparing Me To Richard III' Loghain, the secondary plot reveals itself. At that moment the land of Ferelden gets really interesting.

Similarly, the combat and general gameplay are very similar to Bioware classics like Baldur's Gate and those mentioned above. But Dragon Age seems to seek to refine all those tried and tested elements. I'm not sure if this is to the game's detriment or its advantage. Most every character, quest and location is good (the same cannot even be said of KotOR) but you often get the sense you've done all this before, in another world.

The only point of contention that I would have is the Landsmeet, which I think we both agree: sucked all the magic out of the room. If it had just boiled down to "pick who you want to be ruler" I'd have been fine with that. But, no. Like the Mass Effect 2 ending, the player lost control of the situation based on erroneous choices at some point in the game. Boo.

Agreed, a thousand times! The insanely-complex 'Landsmeet' section, right before the dramatic conclusion, threatens to ruin the game. Both times I played it, I had a walkthrough open and was studying it very carefully, just to make sure the plot didn't veer off course. Easy there, BioWare. I just want to beat the bad guy.

Anyway... we seem to be coming down awfully hard on the first entry in the Favourite Ever Games Ever series. Be assured the only reason we pick at these slight negative points is that in a game this good, they stand out. Also high difficulty and poor graphics. But who cares.

RPG's are something I've only come to love in recent years, since the advent of full voice acting. So it's not too surprising that this brand new game is on my top-twenty list - so are a lot of BioWare titles, and maybe a couple of other, similar games. Dragon Age is one of the very best of this genre - the modern, Western RPG. Even if it does seem overlooked.

I just finished playing the game again, and managed to clock in a personal record-breaking 63 hours of silly, silly procrastination (writing it down makes me wonder what accomplishments I could have made in that time...) But the game sucks you in completely. For those 63 hours (and the thirty-or-so extra hours of endless unsaved deaths) I deeply cared about stopping the Blight, confronting Richard III, romancing the French spy on my team and getting to know the varied cast of followers in my camp. Even Sten.

63 hours is something I've yet to beat in terms of Dragon Age, but I have over 70 on Fallout 3 and Poke'mon Sapphire, and over 3000 hours on World of Warcraft. Don't beat yourself up.

Your mother has three hundred hours on World of Warcraft.

And the camp itself is wonderful. Traditionally, BioWare provide a place where the player can wander around in peace and with all the time in the world, and manage inventory / chat with his party. But not since the Ebon Hawk has one of these home bases felt so much like home. This time, we get a dimly, warmly-lit makeshift camp in the Fereldan countryside. Our wardog (I named him Molyneux, after Peter) stands guard and barks, a lovable pair of traveling merchants are with us, there's a big fire, and representatives from the various groups you recruit to your cause. As you progress, the camp gets more and more populous. And there is lovely, soothing, Tolkeiny music in the background.

The camp is my most favorite part of the game. Perhaps because of the way the game is structured so that no place in the world feels safe, except for that damn camp.

Even the camp is attacked at one point.

Fuck. Get on that BioWare.

And the music, well I'm listening to it right now.

Me too!!

Combined, it represents the spirit of the genre in my mind. Something that you find often in R.A. Salvatore's writings, for instance.

The soundtrack is generally very nice, if a lot of it is forgettable (compared the the brilliant 80's synth style stuff for Mass Effect, the very cool pseudo John Williams for KotOR or the astounding Chinese-esque epic score for Jade Empire.) I already mentioned in an earlier blog how much I adored the scene where Leliana sings a beautiful, beautiful elven song - in camp.

The camp also happens to be where you come to know your party members more intimately, so you come to associate the camp with the pleasant feeling of growing closer to your companions as friends and, sometimes, as more-than-friends.

Even now, I'm thinking about Duncan...

I would've liked more moments like this throughout, but the game suffers from one of KotOR's biggest drawbacks: world creation. The zones are confusing and it all feels like on-the-rails exploration. Oblivion and Fallout 3 did exploration justice, and even though Fable 2 had some pretty straight paths, there was so much to see/discover. Dragon Age feels like the worst parts of KotOR at times: i.e. Manaan, the Shadowlands, and Dantooine - all of them are pretty to look at, but feel like mazes and are confusing beyond all reason. Ocarina of Time did exploration better than DA:O and KotOR and that was a generation before.

The Brecilian Forest reminded me very, very strongly of the Shadowlands. There was even a mad hermit.

Gimme some open zones BioWare! Orzammar's very pretty, but here's what the map looks like: |-------------|-------------| Boo. The visuals and gameplay need to catch up to the storytelling in a lot of respects. If they sprint fast enough, they just might catch up by the time Dragon Age 2 is released.

In that sense, I suppose that's why I adored this game (go figure), the story is amazing, because you actually feel like you're a part of it, as I've mentioned before. Just like KotOR, you feel like you have the freedom to behave as polite or as foul as you would if you were presented such choices in real life. Bethesda almost allows this, but they don't have the writers for it. Lionhead has the writers, but all the choices are fairly black and white (hehe). Until the sequels to all these games come along, Dragon Age provides the best interactive stories of all time.

Lionhead has the....
I strongly disagree with this. This is why we used separate fonts.

Say what you will, British, but Fable 2 was consistently clever and engaging. The gargoyle quest had one of the worst rewards ever (initially) and I still felt satisfied. And my font's better anyway.

Hm.

In conclusion, I think we both agree that Dragon Age: Origins is a game that deserves our admiration, with a side of scorn. The formula for this game is dated to the point where it shouldn't even exist in this generation...

I disagree... hugely...

...but BioWare's writing staff, led by the Fabulous David Gaider, have managed to create a story that's sure to pull you in, even if the gameplay and visuals do no such thing. Give us a game that doesn't molest us with loading screens, give us some open zones that don't look like a crossword on paper, and for the love of god: NO MORE DARKSPAWN.

When that day comes, BioWare, you have my axe.

And my massively-underpowered bow.

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Knight's Review:

+ The characters are some of the best BioWare have created.
+ The interaction with said characters is very dynamic and real. You really come to genuinely feel like you're a part of the gang.
+ The world at large is very well crafted, believable, and open for more exploration that I wouldn't mind being a part of.
+ The origins are an amazing gameplay element! One can only hope more games adopt this as a way of giving their players more unique experiences.

- The graphics.
- The gameplay could use more depth.
- Exploration has been done better in text-based games of yore.
- Fighting three kinds of darkspawn for hours sucks.
- Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening

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As for me, I'd say DA:O is made up of everything you've seen before (plus some Canadian-style twists), but it's undeniably more than the sum of its parts. Despite the GOD-DAMN LANDSMEET and a very steep difficulty, this is up there with the very best of BioWare.

Buch's Top Five Random Awesome Things:

1) Leliana's song
2) You can have a male/may gay relationship in this. YES. There is even a sex scene, albeit a very muted one. BioWare remains the gay gamer's best friend. Seriously, they're really doing their best. That move HAD to hurt sales, but they did it.
3) Despite smallness, Orzammar and the Dwarven culture are fasinating and beautiful pieces of background.
4) The prequel novel, Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne, is very good. Much better than a game tie-in has any right to be. And it really enhances the game too - makes certain themes more apparent and certain characters (Loghain, Alistair, Shale) a lot more fun to speak to.
5) As you explore or dungeon crawl, your party-members will have funny little conversations. They're very funny. And there are tons of them in this game.