The Israeli website
www.vgames.co.il has conducted an interview with Yaron Jacobs, DA2 lead level designer (before the game was released). The interview is entirely in Hebrew so I assumed most people here never saw it (and if I'm wrong and it has been published here before then forgive me). So for the people here interested to hear about some more developer interviews I translate here some of the most important parts of the interview:
Q: Who are you and what is your job on the DA2 team?
A: Hello! My name is Yaron Jacobs, lead level designer of the game. I'm Israeli and I've been working here at BioWare for 8 years.
Q: How was the development process of DA2 different than DAO?
A: First of all, we started with a working engine this time. It enabled us to create content much faster and earlier during the development process. Nevertheless, there were still aspects of the game that have changed since DAO so we faced a few challenges along the path.
Q: What were the main designing objectives for DA2?
A: Everyone were very enthusiastic about creating a game which will be more accessible for a wider audience, without giving up the core components of the original game, while trying to add to the player pool for this game those people who felt intimidated by elements of DAO - such as the UI.
This is especially true for the console version of DA2 - we wanted to make the game more responsive and fun when you use a controller.
Another main objective was to improve the look of the game. DAO was in development for a long time and was lagging behind a little in the graphics field when it came out. We tried to improve all of the game's graphical aspects including textures, models and animations, while giving the game a more unique art style.
Q: It seems that DA2 has learned a few things from its stepbrother, Mass Effect. If that is true, can you provide examples?
A: In contrast to popular belief, only few design elements were borrowed directly from ME. One is the talking hero and the other is the dialogue wheel. All other changes and refinements were completely independent, although a few of them may look similar, such as the customizing options for the hero and his companions.
Q: It seems DA2 abandons the free origin choice and its predecessor's variety of powers in favor of a defined and dubbed main character. What was the thought line behind this change?
A: In this game we wanted to tell a specific story, more personal. A talking hero is a very strong thing and so is a specific man with a history and family of his own. This is a different approach which meant we had to give up the freedom of the character designs. The team believes that overall this approach is better and developes the genre towards more interesting directions.
Q: Kirkwall is a very small area compared to vast Ferelden we could play during the first game. Have you prefferd giving the city more depth over creating more places where you can hang around? Can you give an example?
A: This time we tried a different approach - enable the players to investigate only one main area, which has more depth and responsiveness. You can compare it to GTA game, where you are always in the same city, or maybe even compare it to Assassin's Creed to a certain degree. The player gets the chance to learn about the history, characters and secrets of one place instead of visiting a place briefly once before moving on to the next destination in his journey. It also enables a story arc which has a central link - a lot of things happen during the same time and not a long and flat timeline of events.
Q: Why are the city's streets not as crowded as one can expect from a city as congested as Kirkwall? Is it due to technical limitations?
A: Yes, this is completely due to technical limitation. We had more people crowding the streets in early stages of development but we had to cut the number to be able to cope with the limitations of game consoles and low-end computers.
Q: Could prolonging development time for the game result in a better variety within the city itself and avoiding reused areas, as seen in the game?
A: Obviously, more time would enable more areas and bigger variation. Honestly, we did not expect this to be such a big deal, but it seems the subject gave rise to a significant number of complaints by both critics and players alike. We listen to the reviews and we will try to address the issue in future games.
Q: Does every battle consist of enemy waves? What is your answer for all those people that claim the lack of ability to know the number of waves and where they will pop up causes a battle that consists of reactions instead of tactics and planning?
A: Part of the tactical game is adapting to changes. The waves might feel different, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. I do not agree with those that think the wave pattern is terrible as of itself, but I do agree that there are things it's possible to do in order to improve the use of the waves. We can use them less often and improve the breeding mechanic, for instance. All in all I think the waves are an excellent addition to the game.
Q: Why is the tactical game view unavailable in this game? Is the reason technical, aesthetic or a design problem?
A: Support for upper angle of view means creating the graphics in such a way that'll enable cutting the upper parts of the geometry, when you use that option. This causes a decline in quality because it's impossible, or at least very hard, to create the same environments in this way. In short - it was a difficult decision but we believe it was right.
Q: Blood Magic is a forbidden art in the world of DA2, but the main character uses it freely during the game against civilians and Templars. How is that logical?
A: Well, sometimes you have to give up perfect inner logic to make the game more fun. This is one of these cases. Anyway, this can be explained by the fact that the champion is someone who can do whatever he wants. No one is bold enough to lecture him about that. This is kind of like when the authorities ignore certain crimes because the criminal's aid is of great importance.
Q: Why is it no longer possible to manage your party's gear? Why is it that an armor worn by Hawke cannot be given to other characters?
A: There are many benefits of keeping a unique appearance for the companions: it gives them presence during cutscenes and dialogues and it's even useful during combat - they're easier to tell apart that way. I know it limits the possible customization but there are still many other elements you can upgrade such as weapons, accessories and even upgrade the main armor's stats.
Q: How much content is in DA2? Does it even get close to DAO's 100 hours of gameplay?
A: Everyone plays the game differently, and so the game's length varies greatly. In the end, DA2 is very long and can be prolonged by replays. It may not be as lengthy as its predecessor, but it is certainly epic RPG, far longer than many other games out there in the market.
Q: How were DAO's DLCs accepted? Did it influence your plans for such content for DA2?
A: The DLCs have been very popular. We broke all kinds of inner records at EA in this area. Of course DLCs are now an integral part of the game. We want players to continue enjoying the game as long as possible and DLC is the best way to achieve this goal.
Riferimento: Dragon Age 2
Originariamente Scritto da Hellcobra
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