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BioWare To Show Dragon Age, The Witcher At E3

Posted by simoniker on from the mysterious-shenanigans dept.

Thanks to 1UP for its article discussing BioWare's brief announcement of two new titles it'll be showcasing at E3 next week. Specifically: "The developer's own new project is Dragon Age, a new PC RPG set in an original fantasy world" - almost no other details are forthcoming for now. The piece also reveals another product to be shown at BioWare's E3 booth: "Polish developer CDProjekt will show The Witcher, a new action-RPG for the PC. It's powered by BioWare's Aurora engine, the 3D technology behind Neverwinter Nights." This title had some early previews, complete with several screenshots, back in 2003, although it's expected to have changed significantly since then.

5 of 14 comments (clear)

  1. After a brief trip to google.. by bishiraver · · Score: 4, Interesting

    In fact, the only information anywhere about Dragon Age is what was in the article. That is: It's developed by Bioware, they've cooked up their own game world and system, it's fantasy, and they're showing it at E3.

    Personally, I'm intrigued. It's too much to hope that it'd be a throwback to the Baldur's Gate days - especially since the defunct Black Isle was the one who did the content for it. Hopefully the game will be more along the lines of the Witch's Wake minimodule for NWN than the OC.

    1. Re:After a brief trip to google.. by imr · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'm in the middle of nwn right now, playing the OC. As a matter of fact I find it quite well done considering the bashing it regulary takes. I like the way all the small sub plots connect. So all this bashing actually put me in a good mood: the rest is going to be so better.
      But yes, witch wake was really going in the right direction.

  2. 3D Attack Design by orion024 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The dungeon design definetly looks Baldurs Gate esque, which I don't necessarily consider a bad thing. Hopefully BioWare can pull of what no one else has ever been able to in my book -- a 3D adventure RPG who's battle system doesn't suck.

    Controlling characters (yourself and any "teammates"), attacks, strategy is a difficult task in 3D. Morrowind was ... okay. But really it ended up being a "click repeatadly attack, hope you have more HP's and do more damage then your enemies" sort of thing, and there you didn't have teammates to manage!

    The absolute best attack system I have ever seen is Prince of Persia. I actually _enjoyed_ the battles in that game, where as most RPG battles are "well, I'll just keep clicking attack so I can get past and do the same on the next guy". Now, if such thoughtful design and execution can successfully implemented in an adventure RPG...

    1. Re:3D Attack Design by chrismcdirty · · Score: 2, Interesting

      PoP wasn't an RPG. I think he was talking about the tactical side of the fights. The movement was so fluid from one action to the next. I can see why anyone would like it in an RPG, and as long as you control only one character, it'd be fine. But introduce another character you're controlling into the mix, and I think it would be shot to hell.

      --
      It's like sex, except I'm having it!
    2. Re:3D Attack Design by orion024 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I wouldn't consider PoP an RPG. It had a few RPG aspects, but it was really an adventure game at its heart.

      I was talking more about how in PoP there was actually a little bit of thought involved in each battle. You couldn't just keep hitting attack, because your enemies would often block it. And when fighting multiple enemies, your method and manner in dispaching them mattered. You also could take advantage of local inanmiate object, like walls to jump off to jump over your enemies to escape, or deliver a jumping attack. Basically, the fighting moves mattered, and were fun. It kept the fighting interesting, and fun.

      How would this translate to an RPG? Well, if I had the answer to that question (and some good connections!), I'd be rich. And, well, a TON of time for development and implementation too.

      It is easy to see how such combat as we see in PoP might be successfully translated to the hand-to-hand "monk" class combatants in your typical RPG. Part of the problem is of course there are many more classes to address. Each weapon class, IRL, would have different moves and counter moves.

      Anyway, I just want a 3D RPG where the _way_ you fight matters. Where you have to do something other than point and click to win. It keeps things interesting, and the fighting fun.