DESIGN DEBATES: Dragon Age: Origins/Rock Band iPhone/Assassin’s Creed II

By Julia Pung

On January 27th, IGDA members headed out to the SAT to participate in the first meting of 2010. The new format for the meeting was a “design debate” with game developers facing off against a panel of peer reviewers. While the reviews were mostly positive, the evening did present an interesting opportunity for game developers to respond directly to critiques from industry professionals.

Dragon Age: Origins - Tony de Waal (BioWare) vs. Matthew Jackson (A2M), Leonard Teo (Gnomon School of Visual Effects) and William Robinson (McGill)

The first game to face the critics was Dragon Age: Origins from BioWare. All three critics praised the game, particularly the scope and depth of the game’s lore and its overall attention to detail. The in-game decisions and the emotional investment players had in the characters were similarly admired, with Jackson calling them “weighty and serious.” The cinematic qualities of the game drew comparisons to The Lord of The Rings and led to an interesting sidebar about where Dragon Age falls in the distinction between games and cinema.

When it was his turn, Tony responded that it was a conscious decision to have the game “mimic the choices we make in real life,” and compared the game’s structure with a choose-your-own-adventure book. He said that Bioware’s approach to telling stories was akin to making movies and that the goal was to make games more cinematic over time. He also addressed some of the negative comments about the “graphical letdowns,” noting that the Xbox 360 is the least powerful platform and the game had been optimized for the PS3. One question from the audience touched on the sexual orientation of characters in the game, a controversial issue upon release. Tony addressed the lack of exclusively homosexual characters as a pragmatic decision, a result of needing to limit the size of the game and avoid hundreds of hours of additional cutscenes.

iPhone Rock Band - Andre Fleury and Olivier Proulx (EA Mobile) vs. Hugo Morin (game entrepreneur) and Laurent Mascherpa (Massive Finger)

The second game critiqued, EA’s Rock Band on iPhone, was also well-received. Overall, the game was enjoyable and a good fit for short-session gaming. While both critics expressed a desire to see more from the game, they felt it was still effective on a mobile platform.  Hugo Morin expressed a desire to see more song choices and customization options, while Laurent Macherpa was disappointed with the online features.

EA Mobile’s Olivier Proulx responded that it had been a challenge to bring a solid music experience to the iPhone platform. The difficulties they had navigating the “muddy waters” of music licensing resulted in a limited track list as well as a high price point. The choice to limit animations and customizations had been a conscious one, favouring responsiveness and a high framerate instead.  Andre Fleury apologized for how the multiplayer mutated into a “Facebook mixed beast,” integrated too late to create a real tutorial for it. However, he assured it would be improved for the next version.

Assassin's Creed II - Charles Randall and Corey May (Ubisoft) vs. Phil Fish (Polytron), Eric Chartrand (EA) and Matthieu Mazerolle (Autodesk Games)

The final presentation of the evening was Assassin’s Creed II.  It was the most animated debate of the evening, with Eric Chartrand earning applause as he expressed pride that the game had been made in Montreal. The realism of the game was a focus for critics, with Chartrand lauding Ubisoft for their successful creation of a real and compelling world with a “high level of polish.” All three critics commented on how immense the game felt, although some found this to be detrimental to gameplay. Mathieu Mazerolle found there to be a “Pokemon effect,” with the player getting sidetracked from the main narrative by the sheer amount of secondary missions. The idea of genetic memory in the storyline seemed a particular sore point with Phil Fish, who found it difficult to play the “most realistic game ever” while being constantly reminded that the world you are in is fake.

In response to the critics, Corey May was defiant, saying that genetic memory is an integral part of the Assassin’s Creed storyline and those who still have a problem with it should “get over it.” Charles Randall elaborated on how they had tried to address as many criticisms of the first game as possible, resulting in wider variety of secondary missions in the sequel. While the critics found the controls unusual, Randall said that through playtesting the controls were found to be the most accessible to new gamers.

                Overall, the new format for the event was successful, bringing out a large crowd who was eager to participate. And while the panel members were called “critics,” their feedback was primarily constructive. It also gave the developers the chance to respond to some of the questions and concerns while providing insights into their decisions.  As members left the presentation room and gathered for drinks and conversation, there was no debate that the first meeting of the New Year was a success.

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