i am a shameless whore and welcome any generic [albeit extremely well done] offering bioware may schlep my way.

tehbighead

I'm so glad it's not an MMO.

mgy

Now there's some OG western RPG.

TK423

Meh. Nothing against Bioware as I enjoyed more than a few of their titles back in the day, but they really haven't done anything to interest me for a good few years now. This clip and the previous cinematic trailer don't do anything to change that (admittedly jaded) expectation.

It's a damn shame, because I know they've got some pretty decent writers and designers on staff, but what they're showing seems so generic and played-out in the fantasy genre.

Calhoun

@TearsandScreams

Thanks man, appreciate the positive feedback. I actually expected to be slammed since thats' what usually happens when ideas like this are posted on a public forum.

Anyway, I'm a developer myself but the task of creating a game like this on your own (or even with a few dedicated individuals) is pretty daunting, and sadly, I think those days have passed us by (aka the days of Eugene Jarvis writing Robotron all on his own). Most games today have a budget and production like a movie (for good or bad...).

If anyone at Bioware, Blizzard, etc, is out there and wants to hire a guy who can come up with ideas like this left and right, email me. I'd love to work on games instead of C#/biz app code... Seriously, I have ideas for whole original MMO's that have gameplay mechanics that I'm amazed still haven't been done today.

niindre

@niindre: Your Wild West idea is brilliant, I love it. I don't think it'd sell well at all, just can't see there being a market for compared to this kind of thing. But prove me wrong please, if you're in any kind of position to get that made, designed or anything. And then I'll buy a lifetime subscription guaranteed. I would also say in this game's defence, whilst the setting may be somewhat familiar, Bioware will use the story to create something of their own. And if it's based on Dungeons & Dragons (I have no clue whether it is or not, kind of hoping so) then this kind of world is the order of the day.

TearsandScreams

It reminds me a lot of Lineage 2, but a lot of RPGs do these days... usually MMOs though.

What's different though is this looks Oblivion-pretty, more physics, and no running across huge massive indoor areas with 10 people in them.

But it still looks like any 3D party dungeon game to me.

fuchikoma

Man, I love BioWare and all, but seriously, can't any of these developers make a game that is original? Sure this will be great, these guys rock, but just because WOW is minting money doesn't mean you have to chase that same niche.

Here's a couple freebie ideas for you guys...

1) A MMO set in the old west. Imagine a gritty, Deadwood style MMO. You've got Law men, Bandits, Indians all in a steady state of conflict. You've got the same sort of 'law in town anything goes in the wild' setting. Train robbing, bank robbing, posy gathering good fun. Seriously, there's one great MMO idea for you that isn't another D&D.

2) A martial arts, Jade Empire/Crouching tiger style MMO. I'm not even going into detail on this one it's so rip for development.

But of course, it' costs millions to develop a MMO and these companies are too scared to try something original. Just try to make another WOW...

niindre

It kinda looks like a step back from the progress made in Mass Effect. Sure the gameplay's probably got all that classic DnD feel and good ol' rpg balance but in terms of storytelling flare and immersion it looks a little weak sauce. I mean, the last dude just totally jumped up on that big ass boss monster that pretty much wiped out the rest of the team. Before the final stab even, I guess the encounter was over and the rest of the team got revived, and stood up. That's it? No fanfare whatsoever? Just stand up and cast heal? It's little things like that, which bug me.

That and Dragon Age: Origins, isn't exactly a title that inspires wonder. If it were a fantasy novel on a bookshelf, I'd have laughed.

Psudonym

Huh - well I actually no nothing about this game. The video there actually looked really great, if thats true gameplay. However, I was hoping for it to be an MMO - Seeing the comments here, that doesn't seem to be the case.

I'm always excited to large amounts of detail put into the shield. How they were placed on their backs when not used, and also used for attack techniques as well. I guess I'm a tanker by heart in MMO's and so many of them fail to impress me with their lack of relevance placed on shields.

All that aside, if this isn't an MMO - I would guess this game is more like FF12 gameplay wise?

-Niric

Niric

For a company known for doing really interesting settings and powerful stories, this looks like about 15 steps back into the realm of overdone cliche.

Not that Mass Effect wasn't just a rehash of Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars, but at least they were trying.

Where's my Jade Empire sequel?!

Oh wait they're workin on it...

Carry on with your fantasy landscapes.

grizzlywilliam

"I need healing! *Smash*"

D-Sovereignty

@Gouki4u's avatar has a severe case of Jekyll and Hyde: @Tale: Fair enough, my memory was fuzzy on that, however I don't see most previews going on and on about the awesome 'multiple party members' feature when comparing to BG.

@coffeehair: Glad you agree!

@crim: They totally did. Yet another way NWN was similar to BG.

@Arttemis: Well, they sure weren't critically recieved that differently:
[www.gamerankings.com]
[www.gamerankings.com]
Are you suggesting they should market it based solely on yourself and your friends' opinion?

gaijira

You know, this could be great. I was a huge fan of Icewind Dale for the combat focus rather than quest and dialog focused Baldurs Gate. I like it.

kseezy

Thanks for finally posting this video, McWhertor! :P

My favorite part is the lightning strike during the large battle. Looks like some powerful atmosphere.

jettokisora

@gaijira: Well those in the know,would consider the fact that this is being sold as a baldurs gate successor of sorts and baldurs gate lan was one of the most fun ways to play it.As a bit of an oversight,but heh,good try Digital

xIvSlowDeath420

@gaijira: They compare it to BG because it was received with much more critical acclaim by both the public and the media.

I didn't exactly love NWN, and neither did my friends (and we're a big group of BG fans), so marketing it as something we didn't exactly enjoy wouldn't be the most wise choice for them.

Arttemis

@gaijira: I didn't really ever play NWN but I didn't think they had the fully pause-able turn-based combat that was at the core of my fondness for Baldur's Gate. Could be wrong of course, but that's the part that's drawing comparison between the two games.

crim

@gaijira:

I agree, and I think I said that in the previous DA:O thread. This is much more like NWN than Baldur's Gate.

Besides, NWN was better in my opinion - but then I'm in dangerous territory saying such a thing ;)

coffeehair

@gaijira: Because NWN didn't have multiple party members. The most it had was one guy who followed you around that you couldn't control. NWN was not created with the single player experience intent that Baldur's Gate was.

Tale

@gaijira: Neverwinter Nights didn't have multiple party members unless you played it online. You could only have a single henchman in single player. Also NWN sucked, but that's just my opinion.

Gouki4u's avatar has a severe case of Jekyll and Hyde

I'm just curious why everyone (Bioware included) keeps comparing this to Baldur's Gate only...what about Neverwinter Nights? I mean, I understand the nostalgia factor, I loved BG I&II all the expansion packs + Icewind Dale I&II, etc. But even Tycho at Penny Arcade was like "This looks like some kind of crazy 3D Baldur's Gate!" Um, that's exactly how I remembered NWN being marketed. It had the same isometric view, quite similar gameplay, multiple party members, etc. What gives?

gaijira

@xIvSlowDeath420:
KOTOR I had no online co-op or multiplayer
KOTOR II had no online co-op or multiplayer
Jade Empire no online co-op or multiplayer
Mass Effect no online co-op or multiplayer

See my point, so he was stunned why?

DigitalHero

Oh wow. That looks and plays nothing like I thought I would.

I was expecting... uhm.

Anyway.

Impressive video in some ways. Has the look of your average MMO at first glance - and then they pull back the camera and it looks like a very modern Baldur's Gate. The level of detail is impressive - from the enemy turning to look at the other character when they pull the bulk of the damage, to the cinematic kill.

Just. Was expecting something very different.

sir_carrot

Looks interesting, and I'm sure it's hard to demo games like these. But still, I'm really, really not getting the "Baldur's Gate III" feel. The characters, setting, and atmosphere just seems a little too generic.

Darlan

Looked like whoever was controlling that mage was having some trouble with the entire "blast radius" concept. Kinda reminds me of playing DnD in the old days and someone deciding it was a good idea to cast fireball in a 5x5 room.

I Think We're Property

@xIvSlowDeath420: Why would they be stunned? Mass Effect has no online mode...

gaijira

@zdevex:

I think it's supposed to be "Dragon Age: Origins Gameplay". It's probably just become natural to write "nline" after a colon and an 'O' in a title by now.

Heliophage

I heard directly from the lead designers mouth on a 1up interview that it had no online,it was actually a really awkward moment as the interviewer was just stunned to hear that:)

xIvSlowDeath420

Looks like WoW?

okrangerbob

Game seems to be a Baldur's Gate game, spiced up. Which is AWESOME.

Ashurahori

This video definitely rekindles a lot of my hope.

Damn, the group of adventurers running into a boss room, the isometric view, the shouts of "I need healing!" bring back incredible Baldur's Gate memories.
The enemey-specific attacks and animations are pretty awesome and give that KOTOR-esque feeling...

Though, in the end, how they all just get back up after the fight was kind of disappointing.
Also, after seeing the variety of gameplay and options dwindle from Baldur's Gate to KOTOR to Jade Empire to Mass Effect, I can only imagine this game will be relatively short and linear... =(

Arttemis

looks very....PCish....which is good seeing as its a PC game, and Bioware are pretty good at making them! Lip syncing appears nowhere near as good as Mass Effects though

excel_excel

"Dragon Age: Online Gamplay"

Is this supposed to be online gameplay? I am confused. I didn't know it had online gamplay.

zdevex

Eh, We'll see. I dont much like the Party type real time games, but Im getting into them with Spellforce 2 of all games, so we shall see.

I tend to feel Party = Turn based. Looks possibly fun,... my micro sucks though, glad I can (seemingly) pause anytime to queue up actions!

Ken

@niindre: Why are you comparing it to WoW and MMOs? This game is not an MMO. It's an RPG like Baldur's Gate.

Narishma

It looks like a Bioware RPG. Certainly a good thing, and I'm looking forward to it. I'm not particularly excited, but its on my buy list.

Sight

A big mainstream studio making a high-profile, PC exclusive, TRUE RPG? In this day and age? Wishes do come true!

I'll be playing this on PC of course, but I hope it does hit consoles eventually as the devs have said it might, because I want to see if a game like this could be successful with the console crowd that for so long has been viewed by developers and publishers as less tolerant of more cerebral games like this.

Pantsman

Wow, totally underwhelming. Could've been any number of games. Nothing made it stand out at all.

trigger2

@SwimOdin: This is a very low quality video.

jettokisora

AWESOME !!!
Want want want want want

Ycare

Am I wrong in thinking these look like Xbox 1 quality visuals? It looks like Morrowind.

SwimOdin

Doesn't look like any fun at all.

everybest

@Psudonym:
Nice summary of my thoughts. Just curious: What would everybody write if this was a game done by an unknown Russian developer and not by Bioware?

robur

looks like some folks still wrongly use "MMO" synonimously with "RPG". this is BIOWARE not BLIZZARD so subtley shift your expectations accordingly!

this clip totally has me stoked and will most definitely fire this game up once I finish the witcher enhanced!

yes, i loved NWN =D

Crazy_Buffet_Happens

I was so disappointed by NWN i nearly cried when i played it, and the disappointment just kept coming too. The campaign was just, to me, the worst thing that's ever come out of Bioware. Ye gods it was boring.

Compared to BG2 or Icewind Dale 2 which basically CONSTANTLY gave me a sense of epic wonder, entering Generic House A to fight Dude over and over and over just crushed me.

Still can't make myself stoked about this one either. I'm almost shocked by how little Bioware has truly captivated me the past few years, even with subject matter i should be loving. I'm a huge scifi nut; why did Mass Effect strike me as so generic and run-of-the-mill i can't make myself TOUCH that game after finishing it once? Shouldn't i want to play it again differently? I've done chinese martial arts for years and years; Why did Jade Empire violently turn me off?

There's got to be something wrong with me. I guess what i want from an RPG is to be placed in constantly INTERESTING settings and situations, more than just lopped into a generally "different" world with completely MUNDANE situations. Yeah, to me fighting a big horned devil thing, in the rpg context, is mundane, not WHOA AWESOMES.

This is why The Witcher was so fresh i think, just the sense that the world was new and dangerous and worth exploring. Fallout and Planescape Torment had the same thing going for them. Christ, so many 90s rpgs did. Every time you arrived at a new map location you felt like you should get prepared for something unexpected.

Someone needs to show me something super KILLER about this game and its world before i get excited for yet another Bioware rpg that's exquisitely crafted but has no real character to it. A good first step is a setting that isn't a fecking burning castle in a rainstorm. Show me a thick jungle or something. Or the inside of a whale. I dunno, BE PLAYFUL.

Sunjammer

Michael McWhertor "You'll feel like you were there - minus the swag and European journalist aroma."

That's actually pretty funny! But not quite like the hamburger & fries smell of American journos...

Andronix

It's -all- about playing this game, like NWN, on Player Worlds.
Singleplayer will just be an accessory.

Azurite

Game of the year 2009

SicariusIV

oh and for the record (and because I forgot), I think that no multiplayer = a GOOD thing. Death to MMOs!

SicariusIV

@Azurite: No. There is no multiplayer, no online features (unless they include achievements or something). Only singleplayer.

SicariusIV

the way he finished that dragon off is more than enough to make me wanna buy this game

LoganForge

Love that ogre!

Boozerz

@Sunjammer:
Great comment. I also had to think of Icewind Dale - I was in a constant state of amazement about the icy setting and couldn't wait to see what would be coming next.

robur