David Gaider Responds to Fans

Hmm. What IF we changed more about a future Dragon Age than you might like? Quel horreur!

I imagine it would look something like this:

Stage 1: Denial
Posts of "no, it can't be true!" and "maybe they didn't mean what we think it means!"

Stage 2: Anger
As the truth sinks in, posts of "Bioware, you have betrayed all that is good and righteous!" and furious predictions of financial collapse and boycotts, etc. etc.

Stage 3: Bargaining
Hopeful posts of "Well, if we don't get X will we still get Y?" and "Well, since there's still Z maybe X won't seem that bad" or even "Will we be able to change X ourselves?"

Stage 4: Depression
"Bioware is dead", "RPG's are dead", etc. ad nauseum as that glorious, scintillating might-have-been is now really gone.

and finally Stage 5: Acceptance
You see whatever game it is for what it actually is and enjoy it on its own terms.

or, alternatively Stage 5: Acceptance
You realize it's not the game for you, but might be for other people. You move on.

or, if you really must, you go back to Stage 1: Denial
You refuse to accept the presence of X in your beloved game, or any game for that matter, and begin a bitter campaign to convince everyone else that it is the travesty you think it is. If you play the game, you are determined to hate it-- and voila! You do! Possibly you hang out on RPG Codex.

...at least, that's how it usually happens. Or so I've found over the years. ;)

- David Gaider
Lead Writer for Dragon Age II


Well, I think Twilight is far more effective with its romantic elements than most people give it credit for. Granted, it has little else going for it-- but the romance it does well. I find it a fascinating exercise to analyze exactly why that is (which I do for many romances... thankfully Cori is a giant romance movie buff).

- David Gaider
Lead Writer for Dragon Age II

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[Zulmoka]

And people wonder why so many are worried of the direction mass effect 3 is taking.

[williamthebrit]

David Gaider is such a dick sometimes, he just doesn't seem to cope with criticism well.

That's a major problem for someone who deals with the public as often as he seems to.

Maybe they should let someone else run his Bioware forum account, someone a little more diplomatic.

[FutureXGeneration]

Videogaming is a business, and in business, customer isn't always taken into account...

[thevoiceofmidnight]

wow... copyright much fucktard???

[SpartanOnFire]

I'll just wait until EA has this taken down, then I'll watch the reupload.

[WarriorOfSunlight]

I love the close ups of DA2's N64 character models.

[STRING3R]

@saygoodnightmanuel I didn't know that abysmal storytelling was one of Bioware's trademarks.

[DrackMcRae]

@saygoodnightmanuel “u know that u dont need to repeat everything i say to address my points, right?” With statements like “which would mean that your opinion somehow carries more weight.” I do believe I need to hit the points directly with you Better game yes but people still complained about the lack of customization which is something that BioWare didn’t listen to in DA2 but did in ME3 And like you pointed out DA isnt ME I'll add nor should DA be like ME in anyway

[saygoodnightmanuel]

@DrackMcRae u know that u dont need to repeat everything i say to address my points, right? mass effect 2 was a hugely successful game and it set some definite Bioware trademarks. most of the changes to first mass effect game were widely welcomed by fans and an overwhelming majority of people consider ME2 the better game (even if customization got simpler). if anything, Bioware was encouraged to take on a ME2 approach with dragon age, exactly because fans liked that game so much.

[DrackMcRae]

@saygoodnightmanuel “they have already improved customization for me3, isnt that what everyone wanted?” But they didn’t do that in DA2 “ME crowd isn't identical to the DA crowd” that is the most important thing about this DA2 was made more like ME when it didn’t need to be “unlikely that complains about a game will have repercussions for a completely different game” it’s very likely that complaints are felt company wide not just team to team

[saygoodnightmanuel]

@DrackMcRae they have already improved customization for me3, isnt that what everyone wanted? the ME crowd isn't identical to the DA crowd, and there are diff people working on each game. its unlikely that complains about a game will have repercussions for a completely different game.

[DrackMcRae]

@saygoodnightmanuel “many other reviewers mentioned the reused environments” they also complained about that in ME1 They also removed the ability to equip companions something that people complained about in ME2 they also take out many of the RPG elements from ME2 which people complained about I’m starting to see a pattern here