For sure the Witcher, but maybe have some of the romance options not feel as forced? Or have the intimate encounters feel more romantic than sexual? That would be nice
Yeah agreed the Witcher games feel like more of a male fantasy – being the alpha dude (the exact one most gamers despise irl, ironically), fucking chicks left and right, having sex as the reward for every second side quest, the "good old" damsel in distress being saved by a big strong man kind of narrative. Though there are some strong female characters in the series but honestly to me they seemed more like Mary Sues thrown in there in order to shut up the women who would potentially complain about every female character being a useless fuck doll.
BioWare games are a lot better in that respect, in my personal opinion. The characters aren't just two dimensional playthings, their romances and characters feel real and somehow truly human (even though there are aliens and elves and qunari lol). I really hope BioWare gets to the top again, Mass Effect (original trilogy, I haven't played Andromeda yet) and Dragon Age are my favorite series ever because of their characters and writing.
I've never played the witcher games, but I've heard a lot about the way they decide to handle sex and such, and I've seen the "collectible cards," some of which look very very rape-y out of context tbh. Or maybe they're rape-y in context, not really sure. I've heard the stories aren't bad if you ignore the female characters though.
As for BioWare, I didn't actually know anything about Dragon Age when I started playing it, and had absolutely no idea there was even player-npc romance in it. I just was impressed with the dialogue options and character interaction overall, and how much was put into the game.
Then at some point I overheard Alistair talking to Wynne about liking someone and I thought he was trying to hit on her, and I thought "well, that's unexpected, normally it's just Morrigan making suggestive commentary, and Zevran hitting on everyone."
Then I went to talk to Alistair about some quest or another we were on, and instead we started talking about a fucking rose he'd been carrying around forever and I was like "wtf is happening??"
Still, all in all, outside of awkward campfire sex, they handle all the relationships (romantic and otherwise) pretty damn well
Exactly. I'm not against sex in games, but I am against it when it's treated as a way to get attention to the game. It's cheap and lazy, but it gets the horny teenage nerds who bring the profit. And yeah the collectible nudes thing is just disgusting to me. Idk, I have a pretty strong opinion on treating other people like trophies and using sex for attention, I even argue with my boyfriend about it cause he's a fan of the Witcher series. And while the games are not bad per se, there is some clever writing and I've had a bit of fun with them, imo they're pretty mediocre (well okay the first one is just bad. And not even funny bad, just bad bad. The other two are okay though), they bring nothing new to the gaming industry, just rehash popular elements from other games, and bring a lot of attention to themselves with the pretty excessive sex scenes.
When it comes to Dragon Age, the Alistair romance is my favourite by far. His character development (btw, look up "hardening", it's a pretty important element later in the game, I'm sure you'll find a spoiler-free guide) is amazing, and he's just so adorably bashful and charming. And sometimes he's hilariously dumb. Steve Valentine really did an incredible job on the voice acting.
Morrigan's romance is interesting as well, though her friendship is more interesting imo. And yes the suggestive comments she makes to Sten are hilarious.
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· 6 years ago
I have both Dragon Age and The Witcher. I didn't like the fighting dynamics in DA but I loved everything else about it (especially the relationships)I liked TW3 but I got stuck on this bit where I had to kill some bandits and that put me off it (that and the stupid card game).
That's fair enough. As I said, I haven't played the witcher games, so it's hard for me to provide any real input on them, but I always assumed they must be doing something right or they wouldn't be so popular. And witcher 3 actually looked pretty decent from the little I saw of it.
But yea, I don't have a problem with sex at all in games, but if there's no legitimate reason for it in a game that's supposed to be legitimate, and it's happening alll the time. Idc how gifted a character you are, girl or guy, unless you're a sex demon not every single person you meet is going to want to fuck you
Alistair is definitely the best romance in the game. Haha, well at this point I've replayed DA several times so I know a lot of the ins and outs (hardening refers to a choice that alters his personality, for all you gutter-minded people <.<), but ty for the tips. He's just a great character overall. Like "a date rape drug." (<- this is a reference, but most people probably won't get it, please don't take it seriously). And Steve Valentine did a pretty damn good job. I imagine he must have had lots of fun with the character
Zevran's relationship actually can be very sweet towards the end with the earring part. It's easy to miss it, though, unfortunately, but I don't think he gets enough love (<- the irony in saying that is overwhelming me atm).
I like Morrigan's character a lot.
Tbh, the only romance I dislike in the game is Leliana. Her character annoyed me so much for a lot of the game haha.
I actually didn't even get Sten and Leliana on my first playthrough.. I got confused and couldn't figure out where to go in Lothering (I thought I'd already been in the bar etc for some reason), so I left, and I guess they burned to death. Which is a pity because I absolutely LOVE Sten. He has some of the best interactions in the game-- including the one with Morrigan. ("You will need armor, I think. And a helmet. And something to bite down on. How strong are human teeth?")
I could literally rave about this game for hours, but, again, it was the first one like it I ever played, so I may be bias.
What was your favourite origin?
Same! I somehow got Sten (which is weird, considering that my first ever character was a mage and I didn't actually get Leliana. Maybe it's because I threatened the revered mother?) But yeah my very first playthrough was without Leliana and I didn't really miss her. She has some nice stories and the quest where she's hunted by Marjolaine is interesting, especially after having played Leliana's Song, but her romance is overall just... eh. The part with the nug is kinda cute though.
I could be talking about this game for hours as well. I've played it so many times, but it always manages to surprise me with its little secrets and undiscovered hidden quests and thingies. Part of the reason why I love it so much.
My favourite origin is probably mage. The "true tests never end" line really got me when I played it for the first time. And the cute conversation with Cullen if you're a fem!Warden is hilarious! The dalish origin is interesting also, especially its later effect. What's yours?
My only regret with Sten is I wish they'd managed to render him in proper Kossith form. I know they probably didn't have time for it, but the Kossith had a good look in DA2 imo, and they seem such an interesting race. (Haven't played da3 yet sadly). His interactions with Shale and Dog are always really entertaining, too.
I'm not sure what bothered me about her haha. It's just like, Morrigan's sassy and has her ulterior motives, Sten's literally willing to die for killing people he didn't care about, Zevran has all the ridiculous sex-humor but then has such a dark back story, Alistair is just enjoyable overall, and they're all having these major moments, and then Leliana kind of turns up and keeps trying to make me decide whether she should join the church. Like, girl, I got darkspawn to deal with, you do what you gotta do. The nug bit is cute haha
All this talking about it is making me want to play it again lol
City elf was my favourite. The stakes felt high from the start, I think it's interesting that the perspective changes based on your gender, and the alienage being the last place in the game you can visit makes everything feel full circle. I think I liked dwarf noble the most after that.
I forgot about Cullen's little crush on the warden haha. Doesn't he turn into a bit of a prick later in the game? I can't remember. I don't remember if I ever fully played Dalish origin
There are mods for that, actually! I downloaded a bunch of graphical/style mods until the game crashed, then I found out there's a 4gb patch for that but it only works with Origin because Steam will recognize the patch as a corrupted file and will repair it automatically lol. But luckily the same CD key works with Steam AND Origin so if you have one version you can just type it in.
In DA3 they kept the DA2 look but basically they explained Sten with "not all Kossith have horns, it's not looked down upon if one doesn't" so yeah.
I do like the city elf origin a lot too, it's really interesting how it influences the game much later on during the Landsmeet. (If you kill that scumbag elf rapist, you won't have a vote from him obviously.) In the Dalish origin, your companion gets infected by the Blight and later appears as a half-transformed Shriek, which is pretty haunting.
Yeah, Cullen becomes a bit of a prick later on, and kinda remains like that during DA2. In DA3 you can romance him and you can see that he's trying really hard to change his views (especially if the Inquisitor is a mage). I don't think he actually hates mages per se but he's been tortured by Uldred and the other blood mages so it's understandable that he's afraid and wary of them. Still it's nice to see him change in DA3, and he stands up for Hawke and against Meredith at the end of DA2 as well so I guess he managed to get his shit together in the meantime haha
Haha I tried some mods and such back when I played it. But yeah, he pretty much looks human in origin and it just kind of sticks out now .
Since city elf was my first playthrough, I actually thought the game was designed deliberately so that the place you start (ie: alienage, orzammar, Dalish) would be the last place you could unlock. Wasn't until I tried another origin I found out that's not true.
Yeah, I remember the start of Dalish origin and I heard he turns up again later. It's actually interesting how you can find evidence of all of the origins you don't pick throughout the game also though. Like "this is what would have happened if Duncan hadn't gone to them." Like if you don't pick the dwarf commoner, later on in the game you can go down to the dungeons and find the dwarf commoner's skeleton after they just "quit eating," etc.
Well I'm glad he gets his shit together haha. I could understand his anger somewhat, though, since the torture and all that.
Kind of like Fenris hating mates after being enslaved by them for so long.
I forgot Cullen was even in DA2 tbh. When I first played it I was just super excited there was another DA game, and that Anders was in it. And then Anders ended up pissing me off. I don't even remember Cullen's role in DA2
That's true! I love those little references. Dwarf Noble too, Orzammar nobles mention what Bhelen had done and talk of the *possible in another reality* Warden as the one being blamed for it and exiled/killed? (I don't remember exactly) And I think that in DA2, Merrill also mentions the Dalish origin since it happened in her clan, whether you picked a Dalish Warden or not (she either says that both died or one died and the other became the Warden if I remember correctly).
Yeah, Cullen in DA2 is I think like a second-in-command to Meredith, and later in DA3 he blames himself for not noticing her insanity earlier. And yes Anders pissed me off as well. In Awakening he was funny and light-hearted, in DA2 he was just mopey. I mean, I guess it makes sense because of the whole Justice thing, and there were a couple years between Awakening and DA2 so he could've changed, but I just much prefer the older, funnier version who just wanted a pretty girl and the right to shoot lightning at fools.
A lot of "gamers" I've met claim they really into gaming and then when I mention anything that isn't "halo," "call of duty," or "gta," they blank-face me for at least 5 minutes. And then if I try and explain them a bit, the moment it deviates even a little from "shoot or run over all the things," they just immediately lose interest. Now, I'm not saying these people ARE human, I'm just saying they're out there.
No no haha. The song shifting sands was referencing is called by good charlotte.
https://youtu.be/3FTS2tdmyYM
The chorus is:
Girls don't like boys, girls like cars and money
Boys will laugh at girls when they're not funny
The guy I was talking about is the guy in the song. Beginning of the song says:
"Educated, with money. He's well-dressed; Not funny."
BioWare games are a lot better in that respect, in my personal opinion. The characters aren't just two dimensional playthings, their romances and characters feel real and somehow truly human (even though there are aliens and elves and qunari lol). I really hope BioWare gets to the top again, Mass Effect (original trilogy, I haven't played Andromeda yet) and Dragon Age are my favorite series ever because of their characters and writing.
Then at some point I overheard Alistair talking to Wynne about liking someone and I thought he was trying to hit on her, and I thought "well, that's unexpected, normally it's just Morrigan making suggestive commentary, and Zevran hitting on everyone."
Then I went to talk to Alistair about some quest or another we were on, and instead we started talking about a fucking rose he'd been carrying around forever and I was like "wtf is happening??"
Still, all in all, outside of awkward campfire sex, they handle all the relationships (romantic and otherwise) pretty damn well
Morrigan's romance is interesting as well, though her friendship is more interesting imo. And yes the suggestive comments she makes to Sten are hilarious.
But yea, I don't have a problem with sex at all in games, but if there's no legitimate reason for it in a game that's supposed to be legitimate, and it's happening alll the time. Idc how gifted a character you are, girl or guy, unless you're a sex demon not every single person you meet is going to want to fuck you
Zevran's relationship actually can be very sweet towards the end with the earring part. It's easy to miss it, though, unfortunately, but I don't think he gets enough love (<- the irony in saying that is overwhelming me atm).
I like Morrigan's character a lot.
Tbh, the only romance I dislike in the game is Leliana. Her character annoyed me so much for a lot of the game haha.
I could literally rave about this game for hours, but, again, it was the first one like it I ever played, so I may be bias.
What was your favourite origin?
I could be talking about this game for hours as well. I've played it so many times, but it always manages to surprise me with its little secrets and undiscovered hidden quests and thingies. Part of the reason why I love it so much.
My favourite origin is probably mage. The "true tests never end" line really got me when I played it for the first time. And the cute conversation with Cullen if you're a fem!Warden is hilarious! The dalish origin is interesting also, especially its later effect. What's yours?
I'm not sure what bothered me about her haha. It's just like, Morrigan's sassy and has her ulterior motives, Sten's literally willing to die for killing people he didn't care about, Zevran has all the ridiculous sex-humor but then has such a dark back story, Alistair is just enjoyable overall, and they're all having these major moments, and then Leliana kind of turns up and keeps trying to make me decide whether she should join the church. Like, girl, I got darkspawn to deal with, you do what you gotta do. The nug bit is cute haha
All this talking about it is making me want to play it again lol
I forgot about Cullen's little crush on the warden haha. Doesn't he turn into a bit of a prick later in the game? I can't remember. I don't remember if I ever fully played Dalish origin
In DA3 they kept the DA2 look but basically they explained Sten with "not all Kossith have horns, it's not looked down upon if one doesn't" so yeah.
I do like the city elf origin a lot too, it's really interesting how it influences the game much later on during the Landsmeet. (If you kill that scumbag elf rapist, you won't have a vote from him obviously.) In the Dalish origin, your companion gets infected by the Blight and later appears as a half-transformed Shriek, which is pretty haunting.
Since city elf was my first playthrough, I actually thought the game was designed deliberately so that the place you start (ie: alienage, orzammar, Dalish) would be the last place you could unlock. Wasn't until I tried another origin I found out that's not true.
Yeah, I remember the start of Dalish origin and I heard he turns up again later. It's actually interesting how you can find evidence of all of the origins you don't pick throughout the game also though. Like "this is what would have happened if Duncan hadn't gone to them." Like if you don't pick the dwarf commoner, later on in the game you can go down to the dungeons and find the dwarf commoner's skeleton after they just "quit eating," etc.
Kind of like Fenris hating mates after being enslaved by them for so long.
I forgot Cullen was even in DA2 tbh. When I first played it I was just super excited there was another DA game, and that Anders was in it. And then Anders ended up pissing me off. I don't even remember Cullen's role in DA2
Yeah, Cullen in DA2 is I think like a second-in-command to Meredith, and later in DA3 he blames himself for not noticing her insanity earlier. And yes Anders pissed me off as well. In Awakening he was funny and light-hearted, in DA2 he was just mopey. I mean, I guess it makes sense because of the whole Justice thing, and there were a couple years between Awakening and DA2 so he could've changed, but I just much prefer the older, funnier version who just wanted a pretty girl and the right to shoot lightning at fools.
Screw you guys, I'm goin' home.
https://youtu.be/3FTS2tdmyYM
The chorus is:
Girls don't like boys, girls like cars and money
Boys will laugh at girls when they're not funny
The guy I was talking about is the guy in the song. Beginning of the song says:
"Educated, with money. He's well-dressed; Not funny."
And yes Good Charlotte, I'm guessing that what this post was referring to.