Dragon Age - Retrospective Interview @ VideoGamer

Ray Muzyka has been interviewed at VideoGamer, in the light of the Dragon Age release, although nothing of major interest is revealed:

VideoGamer.com: One of the criticisms of Dragon Age concerns the graphics. Is that the result of the game being compared with Mass Effect, one of the most graphically stunning games of the last few years? Was it unrealistic to expect a similar quality level of graphics for a game so huge?
RM: It's a different style of graphics, I'd say. We don't want to make all of our games look like Mass Effect. Mass Effect's art style is beautiful. And even Mass Effect 2 pushes the envelope even more than Mass Effect 1. Players are in for a treat. With Dragon Age we were striving for a different art style. It's not a stylised art style, but it's not an ultra-realistic style either. It's somewhere just south of a realistic style, but with a little measure of stylised art thrown in. We're trying to find our own place and every game has to have a unifying theme in terms of the way the art works. I personally think Dragon Age is beautiful. Different players may have different perspectives on that, but Dragon Age and Mass Effect are both beautiful in different ways.

More information.

I agree that the game is beautiful. I think they'd decided on a more traditional fantasy-art take, and though it is surely fitting its square pegs in its square holes, it does so quite well. Also, it runs liquid-smooth while being maxed out on most machines produced in the last few years, so they've obviously made a little go a long way without appearing to limit the environs, objects, and characters. I don't think the art team has anything to hang their head about.

Seconded. Graphics are fine for this type of tactical rpg. On the other hand, I find design of Denerim buildings to be… uninspiring, almost "drafty" I'd dare say, not on par with other settings in the game, like Ostagar ruined-fortress(es) which is more convincing and poetic.

"And even Mass Effect 2 pushes the envelope even more than Mass Effect 1."

The console envelope, anyway.

Yeah, Dragon Age's graphics could have been a LOT better but they are being held back by the old console systems. Bioware actually did more than most to make the game look better on PC (much more detailed textures and waving flags come to mind) but they still couldn't break the bonds of old console technology.

Its just as well. I prefer nice framerates as a compromise to beauty. Its good enough.

One of my only disappointments with this game is the graphics sometimes. Especially when you get to a point and expect a nice view but all you see is the next hill with a few sparse trees and the edge of the map.

It looks great and runs nicely. Win-win, I'd say.

I think the graphics look great atleast on my pc with max settings so I cant understand what all the complains are about.

The graphics are great on max settings and above everything they don't use lot of resources so even people with mediocre PCs can play , slightly off topic but DAO proves what good coding can do sending all the resource mules back to their misery .

I can run the game on my four year old computer so I'm a happy camper. It's not the best looking game of the year though, but that doesn't really matter to me. I've played about 35 hours and it's the best gaming experience I've had in a long time. DAO is everything I hoped for… and more.

I don't like the human models and especially facial animations in Dragon Age. They look like something from 2003, much worse than Jade Empire, KOTOR, The Witcher, NWN2 or Mass Effect.
OK, I know that it doesn't really matter, it's just maybe I'm spoiled after all those nice-looking games. It's just that the faces look *so* dumb…
The rest of it - I haven't played enough yet to have an opinion. The bloom+colorlessness is somewhat discouraging though.

lol @ "retrospective". The game has only been out for five minutes and people are doing "retrospectives".

Man, do you remember back a couple of weeks ago when Dragon Age came out? Those were some crazy times, I can tell you.

Originally Posted by torrentss
I don't like the human models and especially facial animations in Dragon Age. They look like something from 2003, much worse than Jade Empire, KOTOR, The Witcher, NWN2 or Mass Effect.
OK, I know that it doesn't really matter, it's just maybe I'm spoiled after all those nice-looking games. It's just that the faces look *so* dumb…
The rest of it - I haven't played enough yet to have an opinion. The bloom+colorlessness is somewhat discouraging though.

You must be kidding?? Or then we are playing different games? Just yesterday I thought how good the game looks i.e better than kotor that is one of my bioware favorites.

Allthough there is a difference between console version ( and pc version with low settings? ) and pc version on max settings :

XBox360


PC





Perhaps its the pirate version you play is somhow corrupted? (If I got the hint right from your name) Bioware could have released an inferior torrent version just to poke at freeloaders. I know atleast THQ(?) that did so with their "leaked" diablo-clone.

Originally Posted by zakhal
You must be kidding?? Or then we are playing different games? Just yesterday I thought how good the game looks i.e better than kotor that is one of my bioware favorites.

Perhaps its the pirate version you play is somhow corrupted? (If I got the hint right from your name) Bioware could have released an inferior torrent version just to poke at freeloaders like i.e THQ? did with their "leaked" version of that diablo-clone that was "broken".

He has an opinion that differs from yours, and if you ask me that's a very poor reason for accusing him of piracy.

Whatever his name and whether you're right or not, you're being an ass.

That's how I see it, anyway.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
He has an opinion that differs from yours, and if you ask me that's a very poor reason for accusing him of piracy.

Whatever his name and whether you're right or not, you're being an ass.

That's how I see it, anyway.

Read again what I wrote:

(If I got the hint right from your name)

I was referring to his name which is "Torrents". If you know what that is. If my name was IDownLoadFromPiratebay surely people might think that I am a freeloader.

The whole thing was just a speculation about the torrent-version of the game. Its only you who is making it all "assy".

Anyways his point about dragon age graphics been worse than kotor is so absurd that there must be somthing so wrong that even a wild speculation about "tweaked" torrent-version sounds believable.

Originally Posted by torrentss
I don't like the human models and especially facial animations in Dragon Age. They look like something from 2003, much worse than Jade Empire, KOTOR, The Witcher, NWN2 or Mass Effect.
OK, I know that it doesn't really matter, it's just maybe I'm spoiled after all those nice-looking games. It's just that the faces look *so* dumb…
The rest of it - I haven't played enough yet to have an opinion. The bloom+colorlessness is somewhat discouraging though.

Now, see, if you'd said Bloodlines, I might have agreed to some extent. But there's just no way the facial animations are worse than NWN. Mass Effect is probably better, but that had a more limited focus (and isn't that much better).

Originally Posted by zakhal
I was referring to his name which is "Torrents". If you know what that is. If my name was IDownLoadFromPiratebay surely people might think that I am a freeloader.

You're making a connection between the technology, and how the technology can be abused. I could also call myself "Usenet" and be accused of downloading software illegally through news servers, right?

Also I dint say he was a pirate and purely reason just because of that. The whole thing was just a speculation. Its only you who is making it all "assy".

Whether you're willing to acknowledge how you were out of order or not, is not my concern.

I'm simply pointing out that you're being an ass, because I think you are.

Anyways his point about dragon age graphics been worse than kotor is so absurd that there must be somthing so wrong that even wild speculation about "tweaked" torrent-version sound believable.

That makes absolutely no sense to me.

Having a boring day D'argatan so your looking for an argument here? Sorry but I dont feel like wasting time on yet another pointless argument with you.

You won't get an argument if you don't initiate one

If Id name one ass from this forum its you imho. I might be one too but mainly towards freeloaders.