30 Days of DA: Reference post and Day One

[owlmoose]

I like these 30 Days memes. Something about answering questions posed by another gets me to thinking about things in new ways. Also, it forces a regular posting habit, which is always a good thing for me. I've wanted to do the Dragon Age one for awhile, but I was holding off until I finished my second time through DA2, to give me a more rounded picture of that game and its possibilities. That happened a couple of weeks ago; then I decided to wait for the new year. Now that time has come, so here goes!

Cross-post note: I will be posting shorter versions of most of these answers to Tumblr, then linking back here for the full-length entries.

Day One: Favorite Dragon Age game (ie: Origins, Awakening, Dragon Age 2)
My favorite game in the series so far is Origins. Awakening was fun, but not substantial enough for me to consider as full a game as the main titles. Dragon Age 2 was probably a better and more complex story than DA:O -- I love how it deconstructs the fantasy and heroic tropes that Origins plays pretty much straight. But in terms of the game as a game, Origins wins for me, hands down. I found it more fun and more engaging. I also appreciate the greater variety in the kinds of missions and characters and places -- and I don't just mean the repeating maps, but the epic sweep of the story and the settings. I'm particularly fascinated by the Grey Wardens: their history, the lore, the outsider culture they have created for themselves.

But even if that weren't true, I expect Origins would still get the nod for sucking me into the world of Thedas so quickly and completely. I haven't fallen in love with a source this hard and fast for a long time -- for a game, not since Final Fantasy X. If I had played DA2 first, I don't know that I would have been quite so compelled by the series. As it is, I have my first new fandom obession in six years, and my life is definitely the richer for it.


The Questions

1. Favorite Dragon Age game (ie: Origins, Awakening, Dragon Age 2)


2. Favorite character


3. Least favorite character


4. Favorite Love Interest


5. Least favorite Love Interest


6. Your Warden’s story


7. Favorite quest


8. Least favorite quest


9. Favorite class (ie; mage, warrior, rogue, assassin, healer…)


10. Favorite party banter


11. Favorite song from the soundtracks


12. OTP


13. Mages or Templars?


14. Character you wish was a romance option


15. Your favorite “Bro”


16. Your ultimate team from all games


17. Favorite Origins story


18. Character you are most like


19. Character who’d be your best friend


20. Character you wouldn’t get along with


21. Favorite villain


22. Favorite NPC


23. Scene you wish you could change the outcome of the most


24. Most shocking scene


25. Scene that made you cry


26. Crack OTP


27. Best part of the games


28. Worst part of the games


29. If you made a deal with a demon what would your bargain be?


30. Hopes for Dragon Age 3

Comments

[sarasa_cat]

Perfect timing on this meme! :)

Given that I haven't yet started DA2, is it possible for you to say something about how the game deconstructs the fantasy and heroic tropes without slapping me with huge spoilers?

Regarding DA:O's treatment of the hero and playing it straight vs deconstructing it: given the world's grey-on-black morality and the need to "do whatever it takes to stop the blight," the player's Warden could be a horrific bastard yet still go down in history as The Hero of Ferelden. So, it's probably fair to say that DA:O's sliding scale of morality edges into deconstruction of The Hero, depending on how the player plays it and how the player interprets dis/approval from each of the party characters.

As for the Grey Wardens, yes, their entire history and lore is really interesting. After one complete DA:O play through plus a few hours of Awakening, I still feel as that there is so much about the Wardens that I either haven't uncovered or I haven't applied enough fridge brilliance to have the correct "ah-ha" moment to piece bits together.

So, here's the thing that is bugging me: can a person truly stop being a Grey Warden? After all (strange research aside, such as what Avernus is looking into), once a person lives through the joining ritual, they have been permanently changed through the taint and, in a sense, is a ticking time bomb on the way to ghouldom. It isn't like you can say, "oh, sorry, I don't feel like being a warden any longer." This is the primary reason why I didn't support Alistair during the landsmeet (my warden, on the other hand, had a mix of reasons). The taint issue coupled with the political lack of neutrality in putting a warden on the throne makes me feel all sorts of grumbling weirdness about DA:O's end-game storyline. Admittedly, if you put Alistair on the throne and refuse Morrigan, Alistair's reasons for taking the final blow are, IMHO, absolutely correct, but I just do not feel that that from Arl Eamon's early support for Alistair onward that the game's characters delved into a proper exploration of the consequences of Ferelden having a GW king. Even Alistair himself doesn't say enough about it! I wanted to kick him because of it. Thus, I found this whole issue the one annoyingly weak part in the whole story because it felt, at least to me, like the writers themselves were very all enamored with the idea of King Alistair playing the "bastard-prince becomes good king" trope very straight without dealing with the problem of who Alistair had become. The only way I can explain any of Alistair's support (and his grudging semi-willingness) for taking the crown is that those who want to see Alistair on the throne are ignorant about what a GW really is (and I, the player with the codex, have a much better idea). So, what am I missing here???