It seems fair to say that a lot is riding onDragon Age: DreadwolfandMass Effect 4. Neither franchise has had a new game in quite some time, withDragon Age: Inquisitionlaunching in 2014 andMass Effect: Andromedain 2017.AndromedaandAnthemalso both fell well short of expectations.Dragon Age: DreadwolfandMass Effect 4represent an opportunity to get both the franchises and the studio back on track.
There are many things that BioWare could do to improve both games, and one vital but easily overlooked aspect is the dialogue system. Modern BioWare games all use a version of the dialogue wheel introduced inMass Effectin 2007, though these specific mechanics have varied widely.The newMass EffectandDragon Agegameshave a chance to freshen up this system by revamping the underappreciated Personality mechanics fromDragon Age 2.
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Dragon Age 2’s Personality System
Mass Effect’s Paragon/Renegade morality systemwas a core part of the series. However,Dragon Ageemphasizes how characters react to the player’s decision rather than adding points to a morality scoreboard. The closestDragon Ageever got to something likeMass Effect’s morality system was the personality mechanics fromDragon Age 2. The dialogue wheel would often split dialogue options into six color-coded categories, corresponding to three Personalities that Hawke can develop. Diplomatic and Helpful options were green and blue, Humorous and Charming choices were purple, and Aggressive or Direct statements were red.
WhetherDragon Age 2’s protagonist Hawkehas a Diplomatic, Humorous, or Aggressive Personality determines what they will say during scenes where the player doesn’t have control. It also unlocks new dialogue choices that allow players to talk their way past some enemies or gain an advantage in combat. Players could change Hawke’s Personality by picking enough dialogue choices from one of the other Personalities. However, the longer players stuck to one Personality, the harder it was to switch to another one. The idea was that this allowed Hawke to have a consistent Personality reflecting how they act most of the time while still allowing for emotional appeals or outbursts when the situation warrants.
One of the main advantages compared toMass Effect’s Paragon/Renegade system is thatDragon Age 2doesn’t push players into sticking with a Personality. The persuasion options inMass Effectgames are tied to the player’s Paragon/Renegade score, and it could be difficult to unlock some of them without committing fully to one path or the other.Dragon Age 2has no such problem, so players can worry more about individual choices and conversations rather than maximizing their score. The new dialogue choices each Personality unlocked also felt more like bonuses that add flavor instead of checks players need to pass to get the endings they want.
Dragon Age 2’s Personality system was not flawless. SomeDragon Age: Originsfansdidn’t like that it made Hawke less of a blank slate thanDAO’s protagonist, though that’s been true of subsequent BioWare games as well. The exact mechanics were also not as well explained in-game as they could have been. Also,Dragon Age 2didn’t have much extra dialogue to unlock and didn’t distribute it evenly. The bonus options are primarily concentrated in the game’s first Act, and the Aggressive Personality has more than the other two combined.
Still, the newMass EffectandDragon Agegames have a chance to take the Personality system and rework it into something better.InquisitionandAndromedaalready gave players opportunities to respond in ways that conveyed specific tones or emotions, withAndromedaeven tracking them in Ryder’s psychological profile. Combining these withMass Effect 2’s Personality mechanics would greatly improve both systems inMass Effect 4andDragon Age: Dreadwolf.
Dragon Age: DreadwolfandMass Effect 4are in development.
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