Dragon Age - Violence Trailer
 

In a bizarre piece of marketing, BioWare has released a new Dragon Age trailer replete with buckets of blood and a dash of alien sex (well, she looks alien with that neck) all set to Marilyn Manson. VoodooExtreme has the choice of hi- and lo-res or you can just go to Youtube. Dark and gritty.
More information.

Is this real? Did Bioware really make that trailer? I don't know what to say… bizzare indeed :S

I think I understand a bit better now. This trailer is generating massive numbers of comments all over the internets. It's all about mind-share.

Looks like they're trying to grab the attention of people who play ultra-violent games like Gears of War. Doubt many of those such people would like the gameplay, but a decent little video. After reading the book, I get more and more worried one of my favorite characters Loghain (the guy who calls out the grey wardens in the begining of the video) will end up being an antagonist.

Wow, looks quite good. And there's plenty of interesting ingame cinematics, aside from just having characters talk. I like it. It might seem mindless, but I like it. And Simon Templeman is awesome as always.

They're not exactly overestimating their audience, but then I sort of suspected as much :)

It's a simple marketing move and they're going for shock-value. There might be a bit too much blood and gore, though. Or at least too much too fast. They could've given it a different tempo and it might have been more atmospheric. Imo anyways.

I almost feel compelled to Post "LOL" … almost…
Anyway this game has come a long way from the initial hype of a "low magic, mature
setting" (some were expecting something along the lines of what G.R Martin is doing)
and my interest is dropping accordingly (its now in the maybe buy when it hits the
bargain bin point). Oh well.

Mmmm-k. :|

That was silly. I can only imagine the meeting where they decided on this odd little piece of PR…

Yeah, I know it's a marketing move and it's pretty obvious what they think about their primary audience.

Pretty hard to deny after seeing that trailer.

Nothing but blood and violence, with a touch of sex, whilst "This is the new shit" is being repeated loudly over and over.

Yeah, that's the way to etablish the game as mature.

Can't wait until one of our resident Bioware dudes explains how we've got it all wrong, and that this is necessary for the mass market. They certainly seem to have most of you convinced the game will be a classic before it's even out.

Well, at least we know where the blood spatters on the logo came from. And it looks like they took a page from CDP's marketing book and their video with Vader.

Strangely, I'm starting to like it. One of the things that's been irritating me about BioWare lately is that they seem to want to please everyone and not offend anyone. This stuff goes some way to dispel that notion -- although I still find this Dark! and Gritty! thing… endearing.

So basically, they know their game is shit so they're resorting to this tactic… I suppose we should at least be happy they didn't throw in gigantic tits in the mix, but still it's sad… I mean, OH MY GAWD DID U SEE DAT GIRL GET IMPALED EXTREME!!!!!!!!!!!

Look at the armor. Seen that anywhere before? Yup, same thing that "graces" every other fantasy game. Same boring thing. See the green grass? Every fantasy game has to take place at the same season. I'm sure the moon will look strangely similar to our own. Wouldn't want to get creative here now would we! See the common looking castles? See the generic enemies?

And Marilyn Manson… a perfect spokesperson for something so irrelevant and uninteresting. Dark and Gritty indeed.

It's one trailer, and it's hardly representitive of the approach to marketing in general. This trailer is certainly designed to appeal to a certain demographic, but it's not their primary one. David Gaider made a couple of posts about it, making it pretty clear that they are (with this trailer) just trying to reah an audiene that might not otherwise take a first look at the game.

I liked the trailer. It showed two aspects of the game and did it pretty well. Sure as a rpg gamer should be worried if this was the only part of the game they had shown or written about but it isn't. We have seen lots of great rpg elements in the other videos. I am highly optimistic this game will deliver.

Stefan9, I think that is a very reasonable position. I watched some other DA videos on you tube today, and came away very encouraged. Some of the combat videos looked really good, and the role playing elements are clearly very prominent.

It looks like Dragon Age is the computer game equivalent of Torchwood, a mature and adult science fiction series as interpreted by a prepubescent child.

If that content is predominant, then it will assuredly be banned in my backward country (Australia, that is).

this is gonna be the most stereotyped nonsense ever.
________
HEMP

I guess DA is now so big that, no matter what they show, will be both applauded and sneered at. Not enough blood, too much blood, it's too dark, it's too light, it looks boring, it looks too action oriented…
I just wish they released the damn game tomorrow so each person can draw his/her own conclusion by actually playing the game instead of looking at a new logo or video.

Who cares about cutscenes. Is there blood ingame?

whoa!
looks lika a trailer for some brainless action movie.

thats totaly unfair to all the people out there.
they will think now DA is some badass buttonmashing action game.

Reminds me of the LotR movies,I like it(except that love part).
I guess I'm a brainless teen….

This is the first trailer for Dragon Age that I've looked at. To me, graphic blood isn't mature, it's for the kiddies. Teen-age boys mostly. You wanna make an adult game? Put in graphic sex, instead of graphic violence. Everyone has done graphic violence, so EA's game doesn't stand out. The Witcher put in some really tame sex, so up the ante in that direction. As an adult male, I'd rather watch a nice sex scene than cut off heads and watch blood spurt. Of course, what I'd really rather do is PLAY a good game with exploration, stat/skill/attribute-manipulation, magic, etc. Would that be too much to ask for in a crpg?

At least now I know which kind of audience they do NOT want.

Me.

If they're REALLY brilliant, then they'll show as the next trailer considting of nothing but the direct opposite.

THEN they would get my attention.

Because it would show to me that they're not just fishing for … an audience.

Why Bioware or Bethesda still exist while Troika is dead? :| It makes me sad :(

Hm. I have no problem with blood and gore, but this is just OTT. It's like every creature has an internal ketchup reservoir that pops whenever they're hit! It looks…stupid. I think that if Mr Gaider is trying to 'appeal to another market that might not even consider this game otherwise' - i.e. gore-fest action junkies - then he's misleading them and he should be ashamed. I assume they won't like an RPG, regardless of how much violence it has… I know many such people, who simply don't like thinking about choices, reading dialogue etc. They want to destroy stuff. Unless DA is in fact NOT an RPG, in which case he's misleading us. So which is it? I hope thye're not planning to use that music in the game…I tolerate that crap in FPS's, but after the great atmospheric/period/appropriate music in titles like Icewind Dale, Baldur's agtre etc, that woud be unimaginably hideous.

Some people here are obviously not tough enough to handle a Bioware game.

Priestly has already said Manson's music won't be in the game.

Bioware treating objects like women man.

But it *is* Dark! not to mention Gritty! no?

What I'd really *really* want to play is a good game with exploration, stat/skill/attribute manipulation, magic, copious use of social skills, choices with consequences, an exciting narrative, *and* graphic sex and violence (involving a codependent elf girlfriend with blue skin and/or tentacles for hair). I'm willing to cede Marilyn Manson, unless he plays the codependent elf girlfriend, in which case I definitely want him in. What are the odds, d'you reckon?

RPG? Tentacles? Little elven girl? Choices and consequences?

Damn! That would be awsome!!!



And DA will be about destrying stuff not about boring dialogues and choices. Like most of latest "cRPGs". Fallout 3, Oblivion, Ass Deffect (ok, this one wasn't so bad as cRPG), Gothic III… which one was about something more that killing?

So this is what the children like nowadays. EPIC, DARK, HEROIC FANTASY… hahaha. I hate this game now more then ever. All of this gritty, dark thing is just being forced too much - "Look Dragon Age is so mature!!!!111 Did we mentioned it's very mature!!!!111". Looks like they don't believe themselfs in what they're saying.
Another so so game by BioWare.

Because games without tons of stupidity don't sell that well.

We don't actually know that yet, you know, and there are even indications to the contrary.

Don't you think Troika's inability to ship a game that isn't chock-full of bugs, some of them game-breaking, might have something to do with it too?

Looks awesome for a game from 2005.

I think there are not so many games where themes, stories, characters and world settings are expected to be consistent. Bioware says that Dragon Age is a dark and heroic fantasy. The world is gray and dark enough for you to indulge yourself with violence and sex but, be assured, you can still be one of epic heroes. I know main stream games require much money but don't you think they are trying to appeal too many audiences?

Hey! You forgot Gritty!

It's a shame, though, if things have gotten to the point where you can only engage in sex in gray, dark, and violent (not to mention gritty) worlds.

I've only been keeping about one eye on the DA hype, although lately my interest level has been rising. And no, I don't think so. They've been pretty clear from the outset that this is a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, only Dark! and Gritty!. What they've shown so far is pretty consistent with that basic line. PnP based character development system -- check. Gobs of quests -- check. Epic main quest -- check. Gobs of character customization options -- check. Character background and development affecting plotlines -- check. Lots of dialog -- check. Blood -- check. Sex -- check. A color palette that looks like a garlic omelet vomited into a London sewer -- check.

I hated David Gaider's writing sample so much that I can't take this thing entirely seriously, but from where I'm at, it *looks* like they're trying to appeal to the hardcore cRPG crowd who liked the BG's, the Fallouts, the NWN's, The Witcher, and so on, and not console jockeys who have never played anything more complex than Oblivion.

IOW, I'm not expecting an OMG! instant classic here (although that would be nice), but I do have a much better feeling about this than I ever did about Jade Empire (which I rather liked) or Mass Effect (which was a disappointment).

It's unreasonable to expect BioWare to do a game that isn't a BioWare game, which means that a certain amount of (OK, rather a lot really) of cliché and formulaic writing is to be expected; BioWare never was particularly strong at breaking clichés or making huge creative leaps.

It is somewhat more reasonable to hope that they try something else than consolizing everything like they've been doing ever since KOTOR, and since this is -- I think -- what they're trying to do with DA, they deserve a bit more encouragement than they're getting here.

So I'm fairly certain I'll be buying this as soon as it hits the shelves.

Seems the trailer did exactly what it planned to do. Create a lot of good and bad publicity. And there is no bad publicity. :D Ergo, they did a good job.

Liking violence, blood and gore has nothing to do with maturity. I love violent movies/games/books and am quite mature. (at least I think so :p ) If you don't get what the trailer was meant to do you're going to feel offended. The very fact that you already hate the game speaks volumes. You're already making it personal. :)

I'm also quite sure I'll be getting it since it looks like it's gonna be quite good. Yeah, I can see past marketing and still see quality in this one. :)

@PJ

At least, I understand this kind of business model works and, to be honest, the story is almost same here: I haven't played Jade Empire and Mass Effect but I have keeping an eye on Dragon Age simply because I'm interested in some classic RPG elements. Also, the lack of the universal morality slider appeals me. A part of me would like designers to take the content of their works more seriously while another part, or, probably, consumer part, is O.K. with the game as a whole. Although I'm not totally happy with it, I guess it's a "deal" to me.

Amen!

I think bioware should just do hardcore porn. Elf porn to be exact. There aren't many games with that kind of content.

Seriously though DA is a game with tons of potential. Hopefully it is as memorable as bg2 :)

So he already hates the game without playing it, and you already love the game without playing it. Personal as well, no?

Looks like the trailer is doing its job (besides appealing to a certain demographic) - it's provoking plenty of discussion. Hell I'm commenting and I haven't even seen it.

What did you expect? A bunch of numbers floating by as elven maidens crunch "to hit" math?