An alternative title for this video is "Can I Fix Dragon Age Veilguard by Making it a Fucking RPG?" :D but you can check out Dragon Age Total War here! - www.moddb.com/mods/dragon-age-total-war1 & check out the new Wiki that refuses to call Veilguard canon! - dragonage.miraheze.org/wiki/The_World_of_Thedas_Wiki 💖Support my Channel💖via ruclips.net/channel/UCbBednupiT5DXrzZWjjnKtQjoin
They are even not impactful option dialogues that make the background meaningful. Even if you pick Veil Jumper. Rook will act as if he has no knowledge of elven or Veil Jumpers culture.
I can live with Rook being a nice guy. But I struggled to accept no racism or slavery when I played a city elf shadow dragon. I did however think the main story (and history/lore about elves and dwarves) was fantastic. I do wish the origines were playable. Veilguard isn't really an RPG, rather a cinematic action game with a few big choices. I did really love and enjoy the game. But if they had done as you say in your video then everyone would have loved it.
I thought so, and it's hardly even that complex of an Origin really; just serves as a means to provide the player with a stage to start building their character upon - doesn't have to be all that amazing a start - just needs to allow the player the chance to make early decisions that'll shape who they'll become etc. What this all boils down to is really "What If Veilguard was a fucking RPG" lmao
@@Linkadion That's because they knew that they couldn't afford to rewrite the Wardens nearly as much as they did the others. Especially not with how they sanitized the Crows. Or their new "Veil Jumper" creation which was carefully designed to have as little character as possible. That said, I have heard that the lead writer of the game personally dislikes the Wardens, which is probably part of why they were turned into brainwashed enemies in the previous game.
And frankly, if it's deemed too complex to include this level of depth to all the backgrounds, they'd be better off just picking one and dropping the rest - Grey Warden might be good since it makes sense to still allow a choice of races and classes and making it essentially a "we started with Grey Wardens and we're ending with Grey Wardens" framing for the entire saga, with Grey Wardens in Tevinter being very different to those we played as in Ferelden. Or you could still have several origins - as many as you can confidently flesh out in the game, but not more. I still have a bit of a trauma from DA:I where my Dalish Elf mage essentially was just as much of a tourist in the ancient elven temple. I mean, I'm a Dalish Elf mage, I've been raised as future custodian of Dalish lore, tradition and beliefs - stumbling into an ancient elven temple with ancient elves and the accompanying lore should be absolutely top priority for me! Screw the Bereach threatening to end the world, I want to learn more about the gods I've been worshipping my whole life! What's the point of having loads of possible origins if they don't really get explored?
@@SoulGamesIncI hear you man. For me, my head cannon is that the Inquisitor didn't disban the Inquisition, but rather, split it up into splinter groups to prepare and strengthen Thedas for Solas's plan. The Veilguard, run by Varric, comes across the player during the player's origin story.
@@themessenger1871 this was one of the original ideas before the reboot, still baffle me how they see the whole ship and espionage concept for Joplin, or a special force of the inquisition and thinks... Well that's bad, let's reboot it, what we need is a fucking crew of who's talking about tea and camping in the middle of 2 blights.
@@SoulGamesInc Playing the older Dragon Age games will also serve the purpose of seeing what was done right in the previous games, and how can these wonderful moments and elements can be brought to what a properly made Veilguard should be.
@@SoulGamesIncthe thing is these writers hate everything that came before them, that's why they wanted to ruin it and burn to the ground the legacy of Dragon Age.
You don't criticize manipulative narcissists with deep-seated victim mentality, especially when such criticism is likely to be seen as heresy to the dogmas of their pseudo-religion.
It's not baffling at all. The writers are mentally ill gender confused far-left activist and diversity hires. They can't write anything interesting to save their/thems lives.
another reason it's zoomer writing and not millenial - gen z are the only generation super allergic to the concept of consequences and think life is all about doing and saying anything you want to any extreme and suffering nothing bad, unless it's someone you hate (usually white) then it's a-okay to go full over the top to make them pay.
When I heard you narrating at first I thought "wait this is actually sick, just like DAO. Everyone lied to me this game is awesome". Then I realized it's your re write. Too bad they didn't have you write for the game LOL
In the Tevinter Noble intro, we should partner up with Dorian, he was probably the best character in Inquisition, hell, maybe he *is* the inquisitor's lover, and he helps you get into contact with the Inquisitor for help. What about Leliana? Did she become the Divine? Or was it Cassandra? They had SO MUCH to work with….goddamn it, I hate that Bioware is like this and that they are going to ruin Mass Effect next. A part of me just wishes Bioware to be closed so this fucking nightmare can end.
Alternatively, you could team up with Neve, hired by another member of your family (sibling, mother, aunt, etc), to investigate your father's murder. The preliminary missions you go on would involve the two of you solving related crimes and piecing together the clues that eventually lead you to the tavern where Varric is staying. The only issue is that Varric shows up looking for Neve...maybe she ends up being captured in the last mission you went on, and Varric helps you find her? Needs more work, I think.
@ihavecrabs56 It's just You, well and I'm sure the portion of the "new" fans who don't care and think Veilguard is flawless - but carrying over your choices has indeed been a staple of BioWare RPGs since forever now :P
@@SoulGamesInc I concur. The feeling of revelation observing the latest string of dominoes fall and tracing the trail back to the origin (Literally Dragon Age Origins, if one has faithfully played through all games in the series) is indescribably great.
It was genuinely cathartic to hear such brilliant writing in this setting again. Dragon Age is something I hold very dear as one of the only times I got to get my late father interested in a video game, let alone arguably more invested than I was. Picturing his Warden making that one final heroic sacrifice you describe brought a tear to my eye. Breaks my heart to see Dragon Age so arrogantly disrespected by the writers whose salaries its paying on the back of a world they could never conjure themselves. Thanks for making this, gives me hope that some day incredible, infinitely resonant storytelling will come back to the medium again in force.
There's more choices/story/paths I have in mind, but the game of "What If" will drive a man quite mad :) ultimately, yes, if Veilguard actually presented itself as an RPG, wrote characters based on Quality instead of Politics and Respected established lore... well it wouldn't be Veilguard... it would be a Dragon Age title... and it might not be terrible either; the core concept isn't too bad, it just needs talented writers and directors who are focused on creating a story for You, the Player, not Themselves.
The main story writers were outstanding. The companion dialogue writers were... I think there were a few of them, because Neve and Dav and Emeric were very well written. Harding and Lucanis were fine. Bellara came across as annoying, but her personal quest was actually surprisingly good. I dont know who wrote the weird stuff in Taash side story. Definitely a separate person who doesn't know how to write immersively. I dobt care that taash is trans. I care that the language used by this companion slaps of 2020's America and not timeless in thedas.
I like this take. What was sold was a poor quality lemon. But seeing the passionate fans work hard to fix the issue is like seeing that poor lemon get processed into refreshing good quality lemonade.
@@RandomWandrer THIS. This is how I feel about the companions as a whole. Neve, Dav and Emmerich, well written, Harding and Lucanis, not as great but passable, Bellara is a watered down version of Merrill without any of the character. I personally didn't think her companion quest was anything great. and Taash would have been fine, if the modern politics weren't hammered into us and she didn't talk like a angsty teenager. I legit cannot stand her.
MAAAAN to start in the Tevinter Imperium as a mage nobleman was a colossal missed opportunity!!! I don't even understand how this was not something that was even considered for this setting.
You could have even met Dorian as early as prologue and discuss with him Tevinter politics, his time in Inquisition and your relationship with his character. Do you oppose him and stick to the old ways or collaborate with him to bring some change to the corrupted Imperium later down the line? One could only hope.
@@andersfrieden567 So sad we were robbed of this. It was also a perfect foil for the Human Noble in Origins: instead of embodying the "Warrior Noble Lord" that we were in the first DA, we could start with the ultimate contrast in the "Arrogant Noble Magister" (or offspring of a Magister more accurately) to set the tone for how different the Imperium is from the places we have seen before.
@@jakobrenner2230 maybe make the father of your character arrogant Tevinter noble, but let the player decide if he is in on it, or does he have a relationship with his father just like Dorian, constantly opposing him.
@@jakobrenner2230 The plot writes itself man. The plot writes itself… This was the perfect chance to be an inverse of Kirkwall, with mages doing the systemic oppressing for a change lol And you're spot on about twisting the human noble origin. Imagine a dark mirror of the human noble origin. Hear me out: Imagine if your magister was basically Dragon Age's version of Owlman from DC Elseworlds (or Batman from Telltale's Batverse). If you're unfamiliar with it: Owlman has a similar origin to Batman. Rich parents and sibling are killed by what later turns out to be a 'corrupt' cop. Harvey Bullock. The twist? After our hero goes on his heroic training arc and returns and captures Bullock, the murderous cop hits him with a revelation. The Waynes in this universe were basically their version of the Falcones. Criminal overlords. Bullock killed the Waynes to avenge their calling of a hit on Commissioner James Gordon and his family, including his infant son, all of whom died. This... doesn't go over well with our hero, as you can imagine. This is made worse by the fact that the Waynes genuinely loved their children enough to keep them in the dark about the family business, and raised them with values that would make them repulsed by it on purpose. Reconciling this, which appears like a betrayal by his parents, with everything else more or less breaks Owlman and drives him mad. --- Imagine a similar arc for our Magister? It doesn't have to end the same way, of course. We know that while there are some decent people in Tevinter like Dorian, but it's still (unless they retconned it since Dragon Age 2) a slave empire, where blood magic is illegal on paper but not in practice. How would a character respond to loved ones who were harmed, but by the standards & values they themselves instilled in the MC, 'deserve it'? How many characters have existing or potential links to Tevinter? Isabela's backstory involves drowned slaves that were probably bound for Tevinter. Fenris is a former Tevinter slave. Anders and radicals like him might find allies in Tevinter for the more extreme elements of their cause. Merrill could find more information and assistance with blood magic there. Characters like Leliana, Cassandra, and Sebastian Vael would have many reasons to come into conflict with the Imperial Chantry and their Black Divine, especially when some of them are the Orlesian Divine themselves. Even petty blood mages like Jowan may end up there eventually. Qunari like the Iron Bull are natural enemies of the Imperium. I'm convinced the main reason they shied away from Tevinter (as well as some aspects of the Qunari) is that they would never have the stones to handle a main character being a member of a slave empire, and a game being set in it. The Qunari aren't much better with their caste system from the sound of it, and the hellish treatment their mages get never seems to be shown in all its gory detail since Dragon Age 2.
Honestly, this video kickstarted another playthrough of Inquisition and a fanfiction binge for good quality Dragon Age writing, to the point I'm half tempted to start writing something myself, because even I could put out something better (rusty as I am)
"Every man, woman and child will fight with you" Gave me chills, could actually imagine everything happening. It's fascinating how in todays day and age imagination is the thing that's lacking in narrative mediums.
OMG… Someone PLEASE show this to BioWare! It’s too late for Veilguard, but maybe someone there will get reminded of what an RPG is supposed to be. A girl can hope…. Right?
Check out Exodus, if you're a Mass Effect fan at all; is being made by Ex-BioWare staff who worked on Origins and Mass Effect - looks promising - worth keeping an eye on
If there's any hope for a good game, they should just retcon Veilguard and do a remake. With all the same characters but better fleshed out and not acting like children.
That's what I was aiming for yeah :) or Minas Tirith; something cool and epic like that at least - with the outcome of the battle (and who/if anyone shows up to help) being down to the Players choices, would've been great :D
@@SoulGamesInc There is another version I can think of if your character is a mage warden. Nobody could show up to help you, and you could have an option to bring demons from the fade. After the battle, you use your last bit of magic to seal the fade once more, but your weak state can't protect you from a demon possessing you. This would introduce a new skill set available for this path only, and the consequences of this decision show itself toward the end. The thing that possessed you might be a forgotten god that tries to free Solas or stop Solas, depending on your choices. The god could make the Rook look like a total lunatic or someone with high intelligence.
"If the hero of ferelden is a dalish elf these guys have a high respect for wardens. Look the choices that you made previously actually fucking matter. It's a fucking miracle." Cracked up laughing. Man I wish!
Sounds alright, Morrigan should then also mention that alas, HoF's search for a cure for the Calling bore no fruit (I mean I guess it didn't? No one mentions it including Morrigan, who told HoF about it in the first place) and obviously a touching scene due to HoF's death if they were friends or even a couple. It would be a good death because the Calling would have taken HoF soon anyway.
I felt more connected to your "quick fix" than anything I've seen in DATV. They put not soul or love into that game and it shows so badly. It is an empty shell of Dragon Age.
Sadly, there's such a lack of RPG in Veilguard that "Fixing" it is pretty much creating a new game from scratch - that's just how much RPG is missing from it; might as well create your own game at that point lol
loved this you did the lore justice and for that I thank you. I just wanted an end to my warden's story, just wanted him to find a cure for the calling and living happily ever after with Morrigan and Kieran
These ideas for your own personal re-write are fantastic! You should totally do more of these for other choices or origin ideas. Crazy how fans always seem to have more creative ideas…
@@SoulGamesInc Yeah, I don't blame you. Take a break from it. I became a Dragon Age fan back in late 2022 during my final year of high school and it makes me glad I wasn't waiting 10 years for Veilguard, but it still hurts nonetheless. I've been watching a friend of mine play Origins for the first time. If there's one good thing to come of the Veilguard outrage it's that it encouraged my friend to play Origins for the first time and he's loving it.
@@dostwood5103 I've replayed Origins already :) still 10/10 game and great fun, and I played it like 40+ times through back in the day heh will be doing videos on Origins, DA2 and DAI as I replay each :)
Your version gave me literal goosebumps!! This is what I was expecting/wanted out of DREADWOLF when I heard it was in production after inquisition...But then we got veilshit instead
Ha, doubt I'd last long working for BioWare with how/who they hire :) I'd likely find all my ideas shot down as being too "dark" or "problematic" lol glad you liked the video tho :D
I have said many times that the intro to Veilguard would have been significantly more impactful if Rook had been part of a Venatori massacre (no matter which faction), barely surviving by hiding, but then captured and made a slave. And if you could have played that, it would have been spectacular. Then you the slave would have then be freed by Solas. You then get to choose whether to help him or not help him. The companions could have been another freed slave, perhaps a slave rebellion leader, an elven clan leader that has beef with the magisterium, a dreamer elven mage with a blood pact, or hell even a Venatori turn coat would have been more interesting. I could do this all day by creating freaking characters that exist in lore. Anyway, this was a super good video, I've watched it twice, thanks for putting it together!!
Stumbled onto this video and I'm so glad I gave it a listen. I havent played any Dragon Age game and your re-telling was so captivating. I can't wait for your book if you end up publishing
Love it. A story beat i really wanted was: if your hawke is a mage in 2, and you leave him in the fade in 3, then he emerges from the fade, or whatever it became in dreadwolf(not calling it veilguard)
Just imagine if we had the script and scene ingame where the Hero of Ferelden and the Wardens charge the darkspawn similar to the Charge of the Rohirrim. INSTEAD WE GOT THIS 😂
I'd love to have a send-off for Fereldan Commander of the Grey (including the Orlesian Warden if HoF died). Honestly would have been poetic to have them kill off the sixth Archdemon if they did the ritual and survived Urthemiel.
Thank you for making a thoroughly valid argument without mentioning that embarasing culture war going on on the sideline. The STORY (or lack thereoff) is the issue.
The culture war isn't ultimately required to explain why Veilguard isn't an RPG or Dragon Age 🤣 as you say, writing and a complete lack of choice are the issue, I'd rather approch it focued on the Why of the thing than throw buzzwords like "woke" around heh there's an argument to be made about the writers being too focued on the wrong things, and BioWares hiring pratices both stiffle creative process - but it all results in Bad Writing :)
Looove this video!! Bioware could have really used you in the writer's room 😭The idea of using the Eluvians to travel around appealing to the different factions of Thedas & gaining support or being rejected depending on our previous decisions is SO brilliant! Imagine if you could travel to Skyhold and see your Inquisitor with their love instead of just receiving a shitty codex letter... 😓The motivation to replay the game would've been astronomical. I spent hundreds of hours over dozens of playthroughs in each game trying to fill out the tapestry in my Dragon Age Keep. Honestly, it was one of my favorite mechanisms in any game EVER. Learning that they scrapped the Keep for Veilguard was so disappointing. Oh, what we could have had. 😭
I agree SO HARD with the hero of ferelden dying if you import your save and they lived. imagine wardens that did morrigan's ritual saying that it's okay, they delayed their sacrifice by twenty years, they always knew it would come back around. their romance partner showing up. imagine divine victoria leliana getting a scene as she reads the letter that her lover sends, annoucing their return, and the dramatic irony of having just watched her lover die a heroic death twenty years late. IMAGINE DIVINE VICTORIA SHOWING UP AT ALL. IMAGINE THE CHANTRY, THE MOST IMPORTANT FORCE IN ALL OF THEDAS< FOR GOOD OR ILL, GETTING MENTIONED.
I can say that I wish they did A LOT of things (and they did NONE of them), but before release, (when the game was still known as dreadwolf), everyone was saying hat this most likely will be the last DA game, for various reasons. What I had hoped the devs would do, would be got ''balls to the wall'' and bring back EVERY previous protagonist. (Hero of Ferelden, Champion of Kirkwall, and The INquisitor). We would get endings to all of these 3 heroes and, most importanlty, see them interact with each other. (We could even pick our wardens voice, or they could write it that the warden has been injured and is unable to speak or something.) This wish was even far fetched for the OG bioware devs, but after release, I laugh at my naivite, What a grand fucking dissapointment.
This guy fucking gets it, holy fuck, just look at this Bioware, Fear and hunger I and 2 are proof algo that "looks" is not everything, you just need a good story.
taash is probably the best written companion besides emmrich. they have a dry sense of humor and an interesting relationship with the culture they come from that gives the player insight into the qun and the qunari diaspora. they put the didactic Very Special Episode stuff about their gender in there as a form of marketing - they knew every lonely incel on the internet would shriek and cry about it, which makes normal people want to play the game. the incel shrieking actually covers for the bad writing, drowns out legitimate criticism and provides free positive press. y'all are EA's strongest soldiers lol
@@neuropantser5 shes absolutely not the best written companion besides emmerich, she is the worst. she is always rude to you and the other companions, has besides the whole non binary thing, mental mama issues and is a risk to any "special force" than a gain. the only reason taash exists, is for checkboxes. - gender stuff - qunari is on the team - we actually fight dragons (remember? DRAGON age)
Keep going, man. This is really good. I would have liked a nod to the possible relationship with Morrigan and the hero of Fereldan. (Like if they do the final blow you hear her scream out in the distance or the Hero stops in their tacks as they see their love that they've been looking for, for years now.)
Leave a message before watching, just wanna say how much I enjoyed your datv review, your hilarious content actually made me feel so much better because I was really sad how they killed one of my favorite franchise.just subscribed !’👍
I might do more soon, people seem interested and I do enjoy making up concepts/short stories so we'll see :) nothing I do will actually Fix the game ofc but it's nice to dream lol
I’d love to listen to your own origin story’s for Veilguard. I was apparently the nicest Antivan Crow in the game lol thanks to dialogue choices. I wish the Keep was left in the game. That way the world would feel mine I helped shape and not generic as Veilgaurd made it feel.
All of the upcoming "what if"-type of videos on yt are gonna be 200% more interesting than the entirety of DAV. Which is fucking sad. Good video! I've also felt connected to the GW the most in this game, but goddamn they did them dirty. I've slapped my face a thousand times when Rook went "WHAT??? THERE IS BLIGHT HERE???" or "OH NO!!! IT'S THE BLIGHTED DRAGON AGAIN!!!" like dude. YOU. CAN. SENSE. THEM. Why are you acting surprised??? And Rook's casual mention of GW's nightmares in one of Neve's conversations... She asks why aren't you sleeping (btw How do you know if it's day/night at the lighthouse? The "sun" doesn't go down there my dude...) and you can EXTREMELY CASUALLY mention that OH YEAH! I'M A GREY WARDEN AND WE HAVE THESE TERRIFIC NIGHTMARES ABOUT ARCHDEMONS STARING US AT THE FACE AND CALLING FOR THEM! TEE-HEEE, THERE IS THAT! ugh...
Yeah, the Backgrounds are so CLEARLY an afterthought in Veilguard, they're meaningless and could be removed entirely without anything changing lol you'd never even notice the difference if they weren't there
I was hoping Merril would return (if she's still alive after 2), and depending on whether she completed or destroyed her eluvian and your choices in Dreadwolf she could potentially join Solas or the Evanuris... but we got Bellara instead
14:10 this is really similar to the start of Mass Effect 3 lol Definitely think that setup is better as a consequence of your choices rather than being forced upon you
OMG! Now that i heard that famous line of his, i 100% agree: you do sound like TotalBiscuit. Totally awesome that there's someone who might carry on his legacy. I love it!
30:02 Hot take: DA:O's story wasn't that good. It was ok. The plot is straightforward: you join the Grey Wardens, your party loses the first major battle, you gather allies in a non-linear fashion, and then your party wins in the second round. That's it. All the real substance came from the stellar worldbuilding, fascinating companions, impactful choices, and the overall quality of the writing. Combined with the fantastic music and consistent art direction, these elements created the immersion that I would argue was the main selling point of DAO. From what I've seen, Veilguard falls short in every aspect by comparison.
eh, if you pick it apart the "story" is fairly straight-forward yes I'll agree to a degree, but as you say; excellent world building, characters, companions, choices and dialogue - these things are equally if not More important than the overall Story - you can be thrown into a pretty generic "heroes journey" but then let the Player dictate their own path through it; that creates memories, attachments, if everything In that world is engaging and memorable? Well, you've got a success on your hands :) I replayed it recently, still a 10/10 experience. Veilguard, as you say, fails in every aspect of what made Origins the fan favourite it is.
@@SoulGamesInc My point is that DA:O is a simple story told well. And from what I've seen, the Veilguard is a badly-told simple story. So the hypothetical re-write needs to touch basically everything. >I replayed it recently, still a 10/10 experience. Currently going through it right now. It holds up still.
I actually agree. The story in general is a very stereotypical and simple thing: unlikely hero has to defeat the great evil. What makes it absolutely great is how things and people are presented to you, the multiple ways you can go and complete certain missions (and how this choices actually have some impact) and the constant dichotomy the game keeps you in (like, do mages deserve to be free even when they're more dangerous than your average citizen? Is Loghain a villain or a victim trapped in the past?) Just an example, Grey Wardens are presented to you as this big heroes who vanquish this absolute evil, but then you learn that they can force someone against their will to join and no one can do anything about it (hell, even Duncan was forced to join), that it requires to shorten your lifespan to 30 years from the moment you drink the blood and that dealing the killing blow goes both ways. Turns out, the GW are not heroes, but somewhat of a necessary evil
@@vanessab.s2596it's the thing that made the Wardens compelling and different to every other fantasy trope, they protect everyone from great evil for a great cost. The last entry to the franchise reduced them to nothing.
@@andersfrieden567 Inquisition made them look like unexperienced children who can't tell the difference between dreams and reality. Also, no one stop to wonder why the calling was, well, calling young Wardens (because I assume there were people who have been wardens for less than 10 years) and the convenient timing that guy (can't remember his name) shows up with this great plan to save them. Veilguard made them look like minions who's only braincell is the First Warden, and so they won't lift a finger unless given orders or permission even when there's a gigantic threat right in front of them (basically like a soccer team and their coach/trainer/whatever you call it). Hell, templars had a law where the 2nd in command can challenge the Kgnight Commander's authority if necessary, but GW had nothing, a complete stranger (or exiled Warden) had to stand up for them so they wouldn't get killed
I would gladly play this remaster over DA:V. Choices? Intrigue? What is this, an RPG? Sign me up! Would be interesting to hear an Act 2. As a palette cleanser at least. That battle you described is so Helm's Deep coded. 👍 Some details that come to mind: 1. Varrick has no business searching for Solas. They are not "friends". They never got along - more like "coexisted". Varrick is the Viscount of Kirkwall. Let him be for a change😅. Should have been either Cassandra or Leliana depending on who is Devine - also ties it to the Chantry. 2. Venatori have no business here. Their cause died with Corypheus. But some Tevinter mages manipulated by the Blighted Gods? Or elves? Yes, that could do. 3. The way in which the ritual gets interrupted is BS. A 6000+ year old "god" wrestling Varric for a knife? Badly secured scaffolding? What? What if the events of DA:I have left the Veil "thinner" and the Blighted Gods have found a way to "sing" to some Tevinter Magister? And that's how you come to unknowingly disrupt the ritual and free them? By manipulation which you diacover much later? 4. The Qunari invasion. The Devine would have declared an Exalted March. We should have been given a choice to either recruit the technologically advanced but foreign Qunari or secure the Devine's aid by helping one of the sides there. Instead it's just brushed off. Queue conflict with Cassandra/Lelliana if you choose the Qunari. Or visa versa with another companion. Not some therapy session *sigh* 5. The Veil and the ending. I was expecting it to be destroyed in DA:4. Sandal (the enchantment boy) all but predicted it in DA:2. Veilguard's ending is cowardly in every single aspect. I like what you did with the Forgotten Ones coming in. In Origins we had the common denominator of the Archedemon dying, here we could have had the Veil being destroyed. But how? Maybe you side with Solas as he promises to "be gentle about it" - and maybe the thruthfulness of that depends on your decisions in DA4/DAI. Maybe you side with the Forgotten One. Maybe the Blighted Gods (with the Architect joining them if he lives). Maybe you trick them into killing each other but the Veil is still too damaged and crumbles uncontrollably. Maybe the Inquisitor approves/is horrified by your decisions based on the personality/decisions you gave them in Inquisition - maybe they'll attack you. 6. The "Messenger" who comes to the Grey wardens after the battle you described isn't necessarily Morrigan but whatever *mage* that drank from the Well of Sorrows. That's how they know what they know - Mythal gave that person her memories (that thing she sends through the Eluvian at the end of DA:I before Solas kills her). And if the Inquisitor drank and isn't a mage - it's him/her + Morrigan who gets Mythal's memory in this case. Alas, this is not meant to be. Forgive my ranting. Still heartbroken over my beloved series getting gutted like that. Our only hope is EA putting BioWare out of their misery and the IP getting picked up by someone who cares. I have already seen several "Veilguard fix-it" fanfics on the web which look better that a real AAA product made by people who got PAID to write it. Edit: That thumbnail "fix" 😂 👍
Hehehe, yeah the thumbnail fix 😂 you're welcome :D as for the rest, yeah agreed, ultimately while making this I came to the conclusion that - in order to fix Veilguard - one would basically need to add SO much RPG to it that you might as well make your own RPG lol
AMAZING! I want to play YOUR version of the game. You did a better job than a whole team of writers. And yes, absolutely make a videos for all the origins!!
Some of the choices I would have expected were stuff like this: - Supporting Aelia’s Blood Magic rituals to unlock a blood magic skill or recruting her by sacrificing Neve. - Aligning with Anaris and his quest to transform the veil jumpers into demons and make an uneasy alliance to fight for you. - Siding with Isseya in blighting the griffons and using them as weapons making the wardens not support you.
As someone that played through each origin story in DAO 4 times (male and female, good and evil each), I love your fixes. Edit: Come to think of it. It was even more because I also played through wether you live or die at the end. I don't care about getting 100% completion on games. Yet DAO was the first game I ever platinumed. And I did it just from playing and wanting to see everything.
@SoulGamesInc That was such a great game. I still get goosebumps when I think about the dwarf talking in the background when you are heading towards the broodmother. Seriously, it's such a shame what has happened to the franchise.
The intro for the warden alone was better than the entire game. Man, I miss the days when passionate people like you made games to tell a story that captivated their audience.
With good writing and characters, I would have probably bought it. But I still would have been disappointed with the combat/mechanics. I like bioware of old. I miss the 3d real time with pause crpg esk gameplay of many older bioware games. I wanted them to keep making those games, but now nobody makes fantasy rpgs like old bioware.. NO ONE.. ive been looking. Every recommendation is nothing like the games Bioware used to make.
Yeah, no getting rid of the smell, I simply wanted to do this video to highlight how - given proper Choices and Story - it could've still been a half-decent Dragon Age experience; instead of whatever abomination we got that's wearing a Dragon Age skinsuit lol
OMG! This dude has made the game 100x times better and more interesting in jsut 8 minutes. I like the idea hunting down the previous game's companion. imagine hunting down Fenris from DA2, because he went rogue and started to kill everyone with no reason whatsoever. Your job is to track him down and either kill him, agree with him, let him go. The game would've been so mcuh better!!!
fenris could've tied into neve's shadow dragon quest, of fenris going rogue and killing any and all mage in minathrous and neve is trying to hunt him down cause he became a problem omg bioware whyyy
You read my mind. From one author (still writing my book) to another, I salute you. That is some writing I respect. I wish this was the writing of the game.
@SoulGamesInc Sad that Bioware fumbled this so badly after all of us waiting for so long. I'd love to hear your take on the other origin stories, so I hope your will consider giving it a go :)
This is definitely 100x better than what veilguard provided. I would have definitely implemented The Keep again, so your choices from the other games help shape the world you will play in. Part of me wishes that they would let play with your Grey Warden from Origins again
Yeah 100% the choices from your previous games should've had impacts on the whole Fate of Thedas :) as for the Warden, yeah I'd love that, but BioWare would never do it justice; best left alone or at best given a massive epic sendoff if your choices allow it
Its "doable" if you let the player customize their "Warden" at the start of the game; otherwise the game would struggle to make your warden Look the same... also the issue that the Warden was a Silent Protag; would need those voice actors who did what few sounds/voicelines the Warden(s) had etc Would be cool, would love to see it, but it would likely be rather challenging.
Your first concept of the warden is really cool, Soul. And i would like to know about act 2 of your version. 👍 I would implement the Inquisition as a possible factions, depending if it still exits either as faction or the honor guard of the divine. In their origin you could either be a human, dwarf or qunari, who prepares an ambush for a band of Solas' elvish follower. But if you should play as an elvish member, you got the unique opportunity to start as a spy among Solas' followers. As for the mages. If you choose to me a tevinter Mage, I would implement the inner conflict between Dorian's group against the conservative and more ruthless magistrates of the imperium. Here you could desite, to which political party you belongs, which would influence certain relationship. For Example. If you are part of Dorian's party you will have very good relationships with the inquisiton, while on the magistrate sites, you would be despise by not only the inquiositon but the elves too. There are indeed a million ways to make Veilguard a lot more better than... this.
All I think about when playing Veilguard is what this game COULD have been like and you put it to words perfectly. It's actually sad that one guy with limited time did a better job than a whole team in 10 years. I miss origins :(
I think Total Biscuit would be pleased that you have his voice. As someone who watched him for many years ♥ I also love your ideas and hate what they did to our dragon age and now i see another video of yours that I need to watch!
Definitely could of been a good or at least decent addition to dragon age. Unfortunately in my opinion the amount of story changes and undoing of terrible retcons while adding actual meaningful choices and companions that aren't traash is a feat I doubt most would undertake. We might as well make it from scratch. Lol
Yeah haha that's the vibe I got while making this, that ultimately if I was going to put all the effort into creating everything Veilguard lacks, I might as well create my own fucking RPG lol it's missing so much of what Makes an RPG that fixing it pretty much means creating an RPG xD
I've seen some say Just make this game a Spin off based on Cassandra Trying to write a Good story and after she closes the book Varric and The Inquisitor say "Damn you wasn't kidding when you said your bad at writing stories" 😂
@@SoulGamesInc If Bioware decides to do that just to get Another Retry At Making a Another good Game. All of a sudden Everyone definitely will feel better. This time they will know what the fanbase really want and they'd have a chance to GET it Right.
If the Hero of Ferenden is the one who kills the Archdemon in act one and dies, there needs to be a scene with Morrigan at their funeral. If they were just friends and Kieran doesn't exist, then she will reminisce to "Rook" about their time during the fifth blight and express sorrow that they are gone. However, if Morrigan was Romanced during Origins and Kieran exists then the scene that plays is far more impactful. We would see a grieving Morrigan and a now adult Kieran standing together as the Hero's Pyre burns. Kieran has tears in his eyes and although Morri isn't crying you can tell from her expressions that she is barely holding it in. This time when she speaks to Rook, her tone will be far less controlled as she speaks of how much he meant to her. She will also go on to mention how the HOF traveled west in search of a cure to the blight but was forced to return empty handed when rumors of increased darkspawn activity reached them. Eventually everyone, Kieran included, will depart as the pyre burns down leaving only Morrigan standing there alone among the ashes. The scene will end with Morrigan saying something like "Forgive me, My Love. I wasn't able to save you this time" before it cuts to black.
I feel like this game had so much potential even Taash could jave been a compelling character based off of Quanri culture and how stringent but seemingly open it is. IE feeling like a lady while being good at fighting which is a man's role in the culture. God this game sucks.
Narcissistic writers: They don’t like Taash because Taash is nonbinary!!! Reality: Nobody would care if Taash was written as a person and not political propaganda. If it was lore and story accurate and not thrown in your face Taash could’ve been decent for sure. The Qunari term her mother had being owned would be realistic. Or when expressing herself, “just Taash,” and having backstory from qunari culture. A lot of people like Qunari but this abysmal writing ruined everything and Taash is insufferable and obnoxious
@@nulla.9045 I am genuinely considering a "Can I Fix Taash" video where I show how they COULD'VE been a perfectly liked character or even a fan favourite, given even half decent writing, the early concept art looks actually really promising - whoever wrote the character however seems to have utterly scrapped the artists early concepts and gone off the rails with a self-insert. I've compared it thus: you write 1 page of a 10,000 page book, publish the page, then belittle the reader when they ask where the other 9,999 pages are :D I've 0 issue with diverse characters or complicated emotional plots - if anything I LIKE my characters having emotional baggage; makes them more human - but such topics need to be handled by TALENTED writers able to properly portray such depth, instead of- well you get the point ha :) Tldr is yes, if it was done WELL nobody (mostly nobody) would care in the slightest. Fact is however, its done extremely poorly.
I hate how Morrigan has a whole ass kid with my warden and I never get to see them being a family together. Your idea with the warden showing up and saving the day would be such a nod to our dedication as a fandom. Let us choose if he gets his or her blaze of glory or maybe he spends his late years leading the grey wardens till age finally catches up with him. Last I heard of the warden he went to the deep roads for the calling and I’ve just been itching to know what happened.
I really didn't like how the wardens were written in this game. Your version is pretty cool. The First warden sucks. That much so I made a video how I wish the First warden was.
You are describing something I would have actually played, shame bioware no longer has competent writers they left when they weren't listened to. I'd love to hear an act two
I wish the game would be exactly like you wrote it, I would buy two copys for ps5 disk version and for pc. My EA play pro description will end this month. Damn now I am sad, the new BioWare peeps are incapable of writing a good story 😢
I could write far better ha that's the amusing thing, it boggles my mind how anyone at BioWare willingly created what they did; with no choices at all :( just isn't an RPG at all as things stand
If Veilguard was a proper RPG, I would play it. Your story sounds very interesting and so much better. Would play it 10/10. Having HOF/Alistair/Loghain show up, depending on who is alive (so both DA:O and DA:I consequence), could be bit of a branch, but would be awesome. And I agree that 'bad endings' are part of roleplay. FAFO and such. Current Rook is not 'your character'. Totally fine with people liking the game as it is, but I mourn the potential it had. I recall discovering DA:O and being unable to continue in Skyrim after that, with how utterly bland the npc's and world is. I need a good story and being able to roleplay in order to get the most out of it. Not some slop that goes above and beyond to crap on the older games and seems made for the children of those who played DA:O/DA:2, instead of well... those original fans. Veilguard would have been fine as a spinoff, but it is an insult as 'follow up' of the story of the worldstate people have been buiding for a long time.
Yeah that's the major fault, Rook simply isn't Your character at all; its BioWare's character and you're just along for the ride - while the game pretends like you have any choice how the game ends lol
@@zackcook5123 yes :) I've always been a defender of 2 it's not perfect certainly, it's rushed and I wish so much wasn't cut from it that BioWare wanted to do; but ultimately its really not a terrible game - gets a lot of heat - will do a video about it at some stage
BioWare would fire me in less than 24hrs for my ideas being "too dark" and "problematic" lol but glad you enjoyed the vide :) if I do more similar videos to this, they'll have more effort put it :D
@whitneyholland3703 for You and I perhaps but the average BioWare employee would faint if I so much as wrote a character that was even a little morally grey 🤣
Na, if I had to make Any connection to them; I'd have them be the enslaved and corrupted spirits of the Old Gods and that's why Morrigan/her Mother wanted one uncorrupted and freed - but I'm no fan of the connection - you could also make them the Forgotten Ones spirits, bound to the dragons and driven insane... really any story is better than the whole "lol normal dragons just elf god pets" I agree it's dumb lol
@@SoulGamesInc My hypothesis back from origins was that they are indeed the "Forgotten ones", imprisoned deep beneath the earth when the Veil was put up, with the elven gods lost in the fade. That, or they were the elven gods' bodies, separated from their bodies and basically made into Tranquils, and thus the Taint was a corruption of the body caused by being "soulless" and the desperation of those spirits, hence why all Darkspawn could be then shapeshifted into the Archdemon if not killed by a Grey Warden. Another was that all the stories were true at the same time, that the Maker is real and did indeed give life to many spirits, but some became corrupted like Melkor/Morgoth. Over time the "Valar" or in this case the Evanuris also became evil and demanded slaves and worship to fight, and to make sure they all lived, the Maker separated realities to weaken them with the help of (or even being himself) Fen'harel, whom could have been the first human, hence why the elves blamed humans for their short lifespans. It's sad however that in making Solas the "word of God" by having him being one of the gods, so many possible stories were cut.
@@Artemisarrowzz I like Solas (in Inq mostly) as a character 'cause I personally like this "God with unholy amount of power hiding in plain sight" type of stuff lol But the difference between Inq's Solas and this one is kind of jarring. Inq's Solas was lead by ideas and beliefs, not by a person (Mythal). If anything, Inquisitor's reappearance in Veilguard (10 years have passed, might I remind you) and her (yeah, I like the Inquisitor-Solas romance lol I know some hate it, but I like it. I think it makes the story so much more personal) is what should drive Solas into listening to reason. No his fucking "muh mythalussy!!!!11" shit. Oh, and yeah, Inq's Solas would never scream -no, he wouldn't even entertain the idea of pretending for the fear factor - to scream YOU'RE A MERE MORTAL AND I'M A GOD! Lame.
@@anotherguyIoLoLo27 XD oh the Mythalussy, suddenly EVERYTHING is about that Mythaulussy. I personally didn't like how they handled Solas in either game, because they destroyed all the mystery. Ironically tho I did like the romance, because it made it all personal, as you say lol Still, it would have been more interesting if they had at least kept things complicated instead of taking EVERYTHING Solas said as the word of God. And had kept his sick braids as shown in the concept art, those were neat.
I don't every like/comment or engage in any way on RUclips, but I saw your view/comment counts and felt the need to interact to do what little I can for the algorithm. I loved DA:O, but never gave 2 a chance with the shift in gameplay. Tried DA:I but quit immediately when it felt like a single player MMO. This video was a wonderful listen on my commute and I hope your channel gets the traction it deserves.
I and the algorithm appreciate it :) I'd recommend giving DA2 a try one day, the story isn't bad if you can get past the hyper-speedy combat; it's kinda short and its development was definitely rushed as hell, but it has its moments. DAI yeeah, I plan to replay it when time permits but I had a similar experience heh
To add. Like in many rpg( or good rpgs of old or those new rpgs like parhfinder). When u have time to prepare and go back to previous regions. U the player find new evidence, depending on ur skills or companions. So if u have a elf or delish with u or they respect wardens . U might find evidence to give to the first commander to help solidify ur claim that elven gods are behind it Rewarding players for exploration or with good game sense. Allowing the wardens to be better prepared to what they are facing instead of getting caught with their pants down. Repelling the darkspawn properly and minimising or negating casualties. If u just rushing the game and do minor quests, if not, delish to uncover that piece of evidence(that warden scholars and leaders should know about). Then ur main scenario is the most plausible. Most players would not want to get in trouble again and lose standing with the wardens so they would rush to base at weissotp. Same in the warden civil war. Depending on the quests u did the outcomes might give the resources and food needed to avoid it, although the first warden will always protest no matter what if we are making him an unreasonable douche. a -We can convince him with the silver tongue, aka talk no jutsu. If we do not make him a 1 dimensional uptight noble. The first commander could tell us is a swell guy if get to know him, and he had a reason to join the grey wardens. Such as valor and whatnot. b - Have the commander arrest breaking the chain of command and arrest him; c - or piss him off so the first commander and first warden Duke it out. Never the less ur rewriting already got me more pumped for the game than the actual story
You cant fix something that was already broken in DAI, the lore got fucked by this game, they made the previous games lore irrelevant, the only good thing DAI had going for was Morrigans re design which looked perfect.
I'll be going back to replay DAI after replaying 2 as my opinion of it isn't too high... but after Veilguard... well I'd rather play anything else :D this video is largely just to highlight how fucking Bad it is that Veilguard has 0 player choices and literally 1 ending that's just the colour purple in 4 different shades lol
@@SoulGamesInc I should also say that the choices that you made in DAO and DA2 were implemented good in DAI, thats also a positive I should mention but the choices you as the Inquisitor make are really just useless overall, I really dislike the world building and tone of DAI If you cant tell, I think that was the mercy kill for Dragon Age for me, Failguard is just a walking corpse of two games I loved.
DAI was, least from my memory of it atm, certainly the weakest of the series in terms of story and choices; no doubt about that imo tho I do aim to replay it and refresh myself on the game... tho DA2 is up next first... while Veilguard is just so far removed from Dragon Age that its not even a fucking Dragon Age game, yet alone an RPG :(
An alternative title for this video is "Can I Fix Dragon Age Veilguard by Making it a Fucking RPG?" :D
but you can check out Dragon Age Total War here! - www.moddb.com/mods/dragon-age-total-war1
& check out the new Wiki that refuses to call Veilguard canon! - dragonage.miraheze.org/wiki/The_World_of_Thedas_Wiki
💖Support my Channel💖via ruclips.net/channel/UCbBednupiT5DXrzZWjjnKtQjoin
They are even not impactful option dialogues that make the background meaningful. Even if you pick Veil Jumper. Rook will act as if he has no knowledge of elven or Veil Jumpers culture.
Would u Consider, to make a audiobook style of it????
I can live with Rook being a nice guy. But I struggled to accept no racism or slavery when I played a city elf shadow dragon.
I did however think the main story (and history/lore about elves and dwarves) was fantastic.
I do wish the origines were playable.
Veilguard isn't really an RPG, rather a cinematic action game with a few big choices.
I did really love and enjoy the game. But if they had done as you say in your video then everyone would have loved it.
@eestiny9734 Yeah you could remove Backgrounds entirely and you'd never notice their absence lol
@theazhang997 We'll see :) I've thought about doing Lore videos before, for now I plan on replaying the old DA's
Youre Grey Warden Origin has already more depth than the entierty of Veilgaurd itself XD
I thought so, and it's hardly even that complex of an Origin really; just serves as a means to provide the player with a stage to start building their character upon - doesn't have to be all that amazing a start - just needs to allow the player the chance to make early decisions that'll shape who they'll become etc. What this all boils down to is really "What If Veilguard was a fucking RPG" lmao
@@Linkadion That's because they knew that they couldn't afford to rewrite the Wardens nearly as much as they did the others. Especially not with how they sanitized the Crows. Or their new "Veil Jumper" creation which was carefully designed to have as little character as possible.
That said, I have heard that the lead writer of the game personally dislikes the Wardens, which is probably part of why they were turned into brainwashed enemies in the previous game.
most of Modern BioWare actively dislikes anything to do with Origins, and it really shows lol
Mythal is black now and she like white people as body so (white face?)
And frankly, if it's deemed too complex to include this level of depth to all the backgrounds, they'd be better off just picking one and dropping the rest - Grey Warden might be good since it makes sense to still allow a choice of races and classes and making it essentially a "we started with Grey Wardens and we're ending with Grey Wardens" framing for the entire saga, with Grey Wardens in Tevinter being very different to those we played as in Ferelden.
Or you could still have several origins - as many as you can confidently flesh out in the game, but not more. I still have a bit of a trauma from DA:I where my Dalish Elf mage essentially was just as much of a tourist in the ancient elven temple. I mean, I'm a Dalish Elf mage, I've been raised as future custodian of Dalish lore, tradition and beliefs - stumbling into an ancient elven temple with ancient elves and the accompanying lore should be absolutely top priority for me! Screw the Bereach threatening to end the world, I want to learn more about the gods I've been worshipping my whole life!
What's the point of having loads of possible origins if they don't really get explored?
Also: If you come up with video concepts for every possible background in this game, I will watch ALL. OF. THEM.
I may do in time, right now I plan to replay the old DA games and take a nice break away from Veilguard lol
@@SoulGamesIncI hear you man. For me, my head cannon is that the Inquisitor didn't disban the Inquisition, but rather, split it up into splinter groups to prepare and strengthen Thedas for Solas's plan. The Veilguard, run by Varric, comes across the player during the player's origin story.
@@themessenger1871 this was one of the original ideas before the reboot, still baffle me how they see the whole ship and espionage concept for Joplin, or a special force of the inquisition and thinks... Well that's bad, let's reboot it, what we need is a fucking crew of who's talking about tea and camping in the middle of 2 blights.
Agreed. Please do more videos for the other Origins, I would love to see them
@@SoulGamesInc Playing the older Dragon Age games will also serve the purpose of seeing what was done right in the previous games, and how can these wonderful moments and elements can be brought to what a properly made Veilguard should be.
Bro, your Grey Warden story sounds like something that would come right out of Origins and i dig it.
YES!! I SO want to play that version!! 😭
Geezus, just the origin story alone makes me want to play your game
And that's what I consider pretty mediocre lol I could do so much better with enough time :)
@@SoulGamesIncthe thing is these writers hate everything that came before them, that's why they wanted to ruin it and burn to the ground the legacy of Dragon Age.
@@SoulGamesInc I'm sure you could, but it's soooo much better already than what they did with DA: The Safeguard
It's baffling that having so many people responsible for the writing of veilguard that none thought to make an interesting story with consequences.
Choices and Consequences in an RPG? Madness
You don't criticize manipulative narcissists with deep-seated victim mentality, especially when such criticism is likely to be seen as heresy to the dogmas of their pseudo-religion.
It's not baffling at all. The writers are mentally ill gender confused far-left activist and diversity hires. They can't write anything interesting to save their/thems lives.
another reason it's zoomer writing and not millenial - gen z are the only generation super allergic to the concept of consequences and think life is all about doing and saying anything you want to any extreme and suffering nothing bad, unless it's someone you hate (usually white) then it's a-okay to go full over the top to make them pay.
Having many writers on one project is more a staple of bad writing: something like "too many cooks ruin the soup".
When I heard you narrating at first I thought "wait this is actually sick, just like DAO. Everyone lied to me this game is awesome". Then I realized it's your re write. Too bad they didn't have you write for the game LOL
Haha, sorry to get your hopes you; but really this isn't too impressive - I could do far better given time :)
@SoulGamesInc it's a great add for the book you're working on ngl.
@@Slyslug we'll see if that ever sees the light of day :) been working on it slowly for a few years; I'm my own biggest critic lol
In the Tevinter Noble intro, we should partner up with Dorian, he was probably the best character in Inquisition, hell, maybe he *is* the inquisitor's lover, and he helps you get into contact with the Inquisitor for help. What about Leliana? Did she become the Divine? Or was it Cassandra? They had SO MUCH to work with….goddamn it, I hate that Bioware is like this and that they are going to ruin Mass Effect next.
A part of me just wishes Bioware to be closed so this fucking nightmare can end.
Alternatively, you could team up with Neve, hired by another member of your family (sibling, mother, aunt, etc), to investigate your father's murder.
The preliminary missions you go on would involve the two of you solving related crimes and piecing together the clues that eventually lead you to the tavern where Varric is staying. The only issue is that Varric shows up looking for Neve...maybe she ends up being captured in the last mission you went on, and Varric helps you find her? Needs more work, I think.
idk if its jsut me but i dont really care if my past choices carry over into a new game lol
@ihavecrabs56 Yes dude, it is just you. Stuff carrying over was a staple of Bioware.
@ihavecrabs56 It's just You, well and I'm sure the portion of the "new" fans who don't care and think Veilguard is flawless - but carrying over your choices has indeed been a staple of BioWare RPGs since forever now :P
@@SoulGamesInc I concur. The feeling of revelation observing the latest string of dominoes fall and tracing the trail back to the origin (Literally Dragon Age Origins, if one has faithfully played through all games in the series) is indescribably great.
It was genuinely cathartic to hear such brilliant writing in this setting again. Dragon Age is something I hold very dear as one of the only times I got to get my late father interested in a video game, let alone arguably more invested than I was. Picturing his Warden making that one final heroic sacrifice you describe brought a tear to my eye. Breaks my heart to see Dragon Age so arrogantly disrespected by the writers whose salaries its paying on the back of a world they could never conjure themselves. Thanks for making this, gives me hope that some day incredible, infinitely resonant storytelling will come back to the medium again in force.
Glad you liked it :) might do more "What Ifs" in the future, but for now I'm gonna replay the old DA games ha
video for each origin- YES GIMME
I KNOW RIGHT, god, I wish this was a game, someone need to mod Inquisition to make this
I want to play THIS version of the game
“I can fix her.”
- Captain SaveAHoe
lol
There's more choices/story/paths I have in mind, but the game of "What If" will drive a man quite mad :) ultimately, yes, if Veilguard actually presented itself as an RPG, wrote characters based on Quality instead of Politics and Respected established lore... well it wouldn't be Veilguard... it would be a Dragon Age title... and it might not be terrible either; the core concept isn't too bad, it just needs talented writers and directors who are focused on creating a story for You, the Player, not Themselves.
The main story writers were outstanding. The companion dialogue writers were... I think there were a few of them, because Neve and Dav and Emeric were very well written. Harding and Lucanis were fine. Bellara came across as annoying, but her personal quest was actually surprisingly good. I dont know who wrote the weird stuff in Taash side story. Definitely a separate person who doesn't know how to write immersively. I dobt care that taash is trans. I care that the language used by this companion slaps of 2020's America and not timeless in thedas.
Please make it
I like this take. What was sold was a poor quality lemon. But seeing the passionate fans work hard to fix the issue is like seeing that poor lemon get processed into refreshing good quality lemonade.
@@RandomWandrer THIS. This is how I feel about the companions as a whole. Neve, Dav and Emmerich, well written, Harding and Lucanis, not as great but passable, Bellara is a watered down version of Merrill without any of the character. I personally didn't think her companion quest was anything great. and Taash would have been fine, if the modern politics weren't hammered into us and she didn't talk like a angsty teenager. I legit cannot stand her.
Final Veilguard video?
Maker forbid, don't. Constructive criticism is still needed, alot
We'll see, I at least want a lil breather away from this garbage fire - the fumes aren't healthy lol
@SoulGamesInc
Your Armor is Contempt.
Your Shield is Disgust.
Your Sword is Hatred.
Let none survive, brother!!!
@@SoulGamesInc you and 42000 others (who refunded it on Steam).
MAAAAN to start in the Tevinter Imperium as a mage nobleman was a colossal missed opportunity!!! I don't even understand how this was not something that was even considered for this setting.
You could have even met Dorian as early as prologue and discuss with him Tevinter politics, his time in Inquisition and your relationship with his character. Do you oppose him and stick to the old ways or collaborate with him to bring some change to the corrupted Imperium later down the line? One could only hope.
@@andersfrieden567 So sad we were robbed of this. It was also a perfect foil for the Human Noble in Origins: instead of embodying the "Warrior Noble Lord" that we were in the first DA, we could start with the ultimate contrast in the "Arrogant Noble Magister" (or offspring of a Magister more accurately) to set the tone for how different the Imperium is from the places we have seen before.
@@jakobrenner2230 maybe make the father of your character arrogant Tevinter noble, but let the player decide if he is in on it, or does he have a relationship with his father just like Dorian, constantly opposing him.
@@jakobrenner2230 The plot writes itself man. The plot writes itself…
This was the perfect chance to be an inverse of Kirkwall, with mages doing the systemic oppressing for a change lol
And you're spot on about twisting the human noble origin.
Imagine a dark mirror of the human noble origin.
Hear me out:
Imagine if your magister was basically Dragon Age's version of Owlman from DC Elseworlds (or Batman from Telltale's Batverse).
If you're unfamiliar with it:
Owlman has a similar origin to Batman.
Rich parents and sibling are killed by what later turns out to be a 'corrupt' cop.
Harvey Bullock.
The twist?
After our hero goes on his heroic training arc and returns and captures Bullock, the murderous cop hits him with a revelation.
The Waynes in this universe were basically their version of the Falcones. Criminal overlords.
Bullock killed the Waynes to avenge their calling of a hit on Commissioner James Gordon and his family, including his infant son, all of whom died.
This... doesn't go over well with our hero, as you can imagine.
This is made worse by the fact that the Waynes genuinely loved their children enough to keep them in the dark about the family business, and raised them with values that would make them repulsed by it on purpose.
Reconciling this, which appears like a betrayal by his parents, with everything else more or less breaks Owlman and drives him mad.
---
Imagine a similar arc for our Magister?
It doesn't have to end the same way, of course.
We know that while there are some decent people in Tevinter like Dorian, but it's still (unless they retconned it since Dragon Age 2) a slave empire, where blood magic is illegal on paper but not in practice.
How would a character respond to loved ones who were harmed, but by the standards & values they themselves instilled in the MC, 'deserve it'?
How many characters have existing or potential links to Tevinter?
Isabela's backstory involves drowned slaves that were probably bound for Tevinter.
Fenris is a former Tevinter slave.
Anders and radicals like him might find allies in Tevinter for the more extreme elements of their cause.
Merrill could find more information and assistance with blood magic there.
Characters like Leliana, Cassandra, and Sebastian Vael would have many reasons to come into conflict with the Imperial Chantry and their Black Divine, especially when some of them are the Orlesian Divine themselves.
Even petty blood mages like Jowan may end up there eventually.
Qunari like the Iron Bull are natural enemies of the Imperium.
I'm convinced the main reason they shied away from Tevinter (as well as some aspects of the Qunari) is that they would never have the stones to handle a main character being a member of a slave empire, and a game being set in it. The Qunari aren't much better with their caste system from the sound of it, and the hellish treatment their mages get never seems to be shown in all its gory detail since Dragon Age 2.
Absolutely need act 2 and 3 for this. I would play this a million times over
We'll see :) I want to replay the other DA's first, get the taste of Veilguard outa my mouth ha
Honestly, this video kickstarted another playthrough of Inquisition and a fanfiction binge for good quality Dragon Age writing, to the point I'm half tempted to start writing something myself, because even I could put out something better (rusty as I am)
"Every man, woman and child will fight with you" Gave me chills, could actually imagine everything happening. It's fascinating how in todays day and age imagination is the thing that's lacking in narrative mediums.
OMG… Someone PLEASE show this to BioWare! It’s too late for Veilguard, but maybe someone there will get reminded of what an RPG is supposed to be. A girl can hope…. Right?
Check out Exodus, if you're a Mass Effect fan at all; is being made by Ex-BioWare staff who worked on Origins and Mass Effect - looks promising - worth keeping an eye on
If there's any hope for a good game, they should just retcon Veilguard and do a remake. With all the same characters but better fleshed out and not acting like children.
they wouldn't recognize a good story anyways.
@@andersfrieden567 Or similar to Mass Effect 3, a proper "Director's Cut" edition that fixes the issues.
I just want to say I felt the Helm's Deep vibe as you were describing the battle.
That's what I was aiming for yeah :) or Minas Tirith; something cool and epic like that at least - with the outcome of the battle (and who/if anyone shows up to help) being down to the Players choices, would've been great :D
@@SoulGamesInc There is another version I can think of if your character is a mage warden. Nobody could show up to help you, and you could have an option to bring demons from the fade. After the battle, you use your last bit of magic to seal the fade once more, but your weak state can't protect you from a demon possessing you. This would introduce a new skill set available for this path only, and the consequences of this decision show itself toward the end. The thing that possessed you might be a forgotten god that tries to free Solas or stop Solas, depending on your choices. The god could make the Rook look like a total lunatic or someone with high intelligence.
"If the hero of ferelden is a dalish elf these guys have a high respect for wardens. Look the choices that you made previously actually fucking matter. It's a fucking miracle." Cracked up laughing. Man I wish!
Sounds alright, Morrigan should then also mention that alas, HoF's search for a cure for the Calling bore no fruit (I mean I guess it didn't? No one mentions it including Morrigan, who told HoF about it in the first place) and obviously a touching scene due to HoF's death if they were friends or even a couple. It would be a good death because the Calling would have taken HoF soon anyway.
Viewers - "Hey man.....how are you holding up? How's the brain doing? Good, I hope."
I felt more connected to your "quick fix" than anything I've seen in DATV. They put not soul or love into that game and it shows so badly. It is an empty shell of Dragon Age.
Sadly, there's such a lack of RPG in Veilguard that "Fixing" it is pretty much creating a new game from scratch - that's just how much RPG is missing from it; might as well create your own game at that point lol
Veilguard needs a prologue so desperately that it seems like you're missing an entire, much more interesting game before the intro.
Same with inquisition. Character introduction could be at a conclave
loved this you did the lore justice and for that I thank you. I just wanted an end to my warden's story, just wanted him to find a cure for the calling and living happily ever after with Morrigan and Kieran
These ideas for your own personal re-write are fantastic! You should totally do more of these for other choices or origin ideas. Crazy how fans always seem to have more creative ideas…
Glad you liked it :) might do more, we'll see, want to replay the original DA's first I need a break from Veilguards stench lol
@@SoulGamesInc Yeah, I don't blame you. Take a break from it. I became a Dragon Age fan back in late 2022 during my final year of high school and it makes me glad I wasn't waiting 10 years for Veilguard, but it still hurts nonetheless.
I've been watching a friend of mine play Origins for the first time. If there's one good thing to come of the Veilguard outrage it's that it encouraged my friend to play Origins for the first time and he's loving it.
@@dostwood5103 I've replayed Origins already :) still 10/10 game and great fun, and I played it like 40+ times through back in the day heh will be doing videos on Origins, DA2 and DAI as I replay each :)
Your version gave me literal goosebumps!! This is what I was expecting/wanted out of DREADWOLF when I heard it was in production after inquisition...But then we got veilshit instead
You did such a good job fixing the unfixable! I was going to say Bioware should have hired you, but I wouldn't wish bad on you...
Ha, doubt I'd last long working for BioWare with how/who they hire :) I'd likely find all my ideas shot down as being too "dark" or "problematic" lol glad you liked the video tho :D
@@SoulGamesInc Wait? It's possible that something is "too dark" for the f**cking dark fantasy?!
@@bezirochepolska1295 yes, that is why we got Veilguard, a very safe, light hearted, conflict free action adventure
7:25 I vividly support the autistic detail.
Second the motion-love autistic detail about story content
I have said many times that the intro to Veilguard would have been significantly more impactful if Rook had been part of a Venatori massacre (no matter which faction), barely surviving by hiding, but then captured and made a slave. And if you could have played that, it would have been spectacular. Then you the slave would have then be freed by Solas. You then get to choose whether to help him or not help him. The companions could have been another freed slave, perhaps a slave rebellion leader, an elven clan leader that has beef with the magisterium, a dreamer elven mage with a blood pact, or hell even a Venatori turn coat would have been more interesting. I could do this all day by creating freaking characters that exist in lore. Anyway, this was a super good video, I've watched it twice, thanks for putting it together!!
Stumbled onto this video and I'm so glad I gave it a listen. I havent played any Dragon Age game and your re-telling was so captivating. I can't wait for your book if you end up publishing
Time will tell :) been writing it for awhile, very slowly, my own biggest critic so we'll see if it ever sees the light of day haha
"Not even a complete overhaul mod can fix this game". Change my mind (please).
Sadly, can't help you, no Mod is going to be able to fix this haha outside of it pretty much just being a different game :)
@@SoulGamesIncmaybe ya can buy the company and be the new ceo?!lol
Maybe when I win the lottery next week sure lol
This reminds me of Mauler's "A critique of Star Wars: The Force Awakens", but with less swearing. I like it.
@@bitesizedhero8030 if I swear more RUclips takes away my adrev 🤣
Love it. A story beat i really wanted was: if your hawke is a mage in 2, and you leave him in the fade in 3, then he emerges from the fade, or whatever it became in dreadwolf(not calling it veilguard)
Just imagine if we had the script and scene ingame where the Hero of Ferelden and the Wardens charge the darkspawn similar to the Charge of the Rohirrim.
INSTEAD WE GOT THIS 😂
I'd love to have a send-off for Fereldan Commander of the Grey (including the Orlesian Warden if HoF died). Honestly would have been poetic to have them kill off the sixth Archdemon if they did the ritual and survived Urthemiel.
Hearing that the hero of fereldan plays a vital part in this story gives me goose bumps
Thank you for making a thoroughly valid argument without mentioning that embarasing culture war going on on the sideline. The STORY (or lack thereoff) is the issue.
The culture war isn't ultimately required to explain why Veilguard isn't an RPG or Dragon Age 🤣 as you say, writing and a complete lack of choice are the issue, I'd rather approch it focued on the Why of the thing than throw buzzwords like "woke" around heh there's an argument to be made about the writers being too focued on the wrong things, and BioWares hiring pratices both stiffle creative process - but it all results in Bad Writing :)
Looove this video!! Bioware could have really used you in the writer's room 😭The idea of using the Eluvians to travel around appealing to the different factions of Thedas & gaining support or being rejected depending on our previous decisions is SO brilliant! Imagine if you could travel to Skyhold and see your Inquisitor with their love instead of just receiving a shitty codex letter... 😓The motivation to replay the game would've been astronomical. I spent hundreds of hours over dozens of playthroughs in each game trying to fill out the tapestry in my Dragon Age Keep. Honestly, it was one of my favorite mechanisms in any game EVER. Learning that they scrapped the Keep for Veilguard was so disappointing. Oh, what we could have had. 😭
BioWare would've refused all my ideas as too "dark" and "problematic" lol
I agree SO HARD with the hero of ferelden dying if you import your save and they lived. imagine wardens that did morrigan's ritual saying that it's okay, they delayed their sacrifice by twenty years, they always knew it would come back around. their romance partner showing up. imagine divine victoria leliana getting a scene as she reads the letter that her lover sends, annoucing their return, and the dramatic irony of having just watched her lover die a heroic death twenty years late. IMAGINE DIVINE VICTORIA SHOWING UP AT ALL. IMAGINE THE CHANTRY, THE MOST IMPORTANT FORCE IN ALL OF THEDAS< FOR GOOD OR ILL, GETTING MENTIONED.
You can certainly try!
Mr.Beans mona lisa.
Game reviewers wouldn't have needed to lie if they hired you
I'll stick to my channel where I'm allowed to be brutally honest and not care about anyone's feelings haha :D
I can say that I wish they did A LOT of things (and they did NONE of them), but before release, (when the game was still known as dreadwolf), everyone was saying hat this most likely will be the last DA game, for various reasons. What I had hoped the devs would do, would be got ''balls to the wall'' and bring back EVERY previous protagonist. (Hero of Ferelden, Champion of Kirkwall, and The INquisitor). We would get endings to all of these 3 heroes and, most importanlty, see them interact with each other. (We could even pick our wardens voice, or they could write it that the warden has been injured and is unable to speak or something.) This wish was even far fetched for the OG bioware devs, but after release, I laugh at my naivite, What a grand fucking dissapointment.
This guy fucking gets it, holy fuck, just look at this Bioware, Fear and hunger I and 2 are proof algo that "looks" is not everything, you just need a good story.
fear and hunger looks appropriate for what it is. Veilguard looks like mobile game desperation.
Whenever you finish your book i hope you post it as this is great storytelling.
Remove Taash, that also fixes 99.9% of the toe curling cringe.
100% correct
taash is probably the best written companion besides emmrich. they have a dry sense of humor and an interesting relationship with the culture they come from that gives the player insight into the qun and the qunari diaspora.
they put the didactic Very Special Episode stuff about their gender in there as a form of marketing - they knew every lonely incel on the internet would shriek and cry about it, which makes normal people want to play the game.
the incel shrieking actually covers for the bad writing, drowns out legitimate criticism and provides free positive press. y'all are EA's strongest soldiers lol
Well, 75% at least.
@@neuropantser5Yes because the small child in an adult body who thinks they are more important than an apocalypse is certainly worth championing...
@@neuropantser5 shes absolutely not the best written companion besides emmerich, she is the worst. she is always rude to you and the other companions, has besides the whole non binary thing, mental mama issues and is a risk to any "special force" than a gain. the only reason taash exists, is for checkboxes.
- gender stuff
- qunari is on the team
- we actually fight dragons (remember? DRAGON age)
hi, this prologue you are describing as an alternate to the game sounds better than forcing you with that outcome as your back story! thank you.
Keep going, man. This is really good. I would have liked a nod to the possible relationship with Morrigan and the hero of Fereldan. (Like if they do the final blow you hear her scream out in the distance or the Hero stops in their tacks as they see their love that they've been looking for, for years now.)
Leave a message before watching, just wanna say how much I enjoyed your datv review, your hilarious content actually made me feel so much better because I was really sad how they killed one of my favorite franchise.just subscribed !’👍
Glad you had/are having fun :) that's the goal, first and foremost, I try to keep things entertaining ha
My betrayed soul heals while I listen and pretend that this is the actual game.
Your version brought back the magic that is dragon age. It's a shame we'll never see it. Would love to hear your other ideas!
I might do more soon, people seem interested and I do enjoy making up concepts/short stories so we'll see :) nothing I do will actually Fix the game ofc but it's nice to dream lol
I’d love to listen to your own origin story’s for Veilguard. I was apparently the nicest Antivan Crow in the game lol thanks to dialogue choices. I wish the Keep was left in the game. That way the world would feel mine I helped shape and not generic as Veilgaurd made it feel.
We'll see :) going to replay the original DA games first; have some fun after suffering Veilguard heh
@@SoulGamesInc lol I redownloaded Origins as well ty for the upload!
Please do the rest of the videos, please, please, please
I need more DA lore-content, and the game does not scratch the spot no matter what I do
@@YueAki I probably will 😇 with more time put in tho, this video was quite unplanned lol
All of the upcoming "what if"-type of videos on yt are gonna be 200% more interesting than the entirety of DAV.
Which is fucking sad.
Good video! I've also felt connected to the GW the most in this game, but goddamn they did them dirty.
I've slapped my face a thousand times when Rook went "WHAT??? THERE IS BLIGHT HERE???" or "OH NO!!! IT'S THE BLIGHTED DRAGON AGAIN!!!" like dude. YOU. CAN. SENSE. THEM. Why are you acting surprised???
And Rook's casual mention of GW's nightmares in one of Neve's conversations... She asks why aren't you sleeping (btw How do you know if it's day/night at the lighthouse? The "sun" doesn't go down there my dude...) and you can EXTREMELY CASUALLY mention that OH YEAH! I'M A GREY WARDEN AND WE HAVE THESE TERRIFIC NIGHTMARES ABOUT ARCHDEMONS STARING US AT THE FACE AND CALLING FOR THEM! TEE-HEEE, THERE IS THAT!
ugh...
Yeah, the Backgrounds are so CLEARLY an afterthought in Veilguard, they're meaningless and could be removed entirely without anything changing lol you'd never even notice the difference if they weren't there
i would give my life for even a text-based version of your veilguard
I was hoping Merril would return (if she's still alive after 2), and depending on whether she completed or destroyed her eluvian and your choices in Dreadwolf she could potentially join Solas or the Evanuris... but we got Bellara instead
god this makes me SO excited. genuinely what Ive always wanted and more. I am so devastated by what could have been. this is stellar
14:10 this is really similar to the start of Mass Effect 3 lol
Definitely think that setup is better as a consequence of your choices rather than being forced upon you
Choices and Consequences :) you'd think that's not such a difficult concept for an RPG to grasp lol
Ok, the mention of the Hero of Ferelden leading the charge gave me CHILLS.
OMG! Now that i heard that famous line of his, i 100% agree: you do sound like TotalBiscuit. Totally awesome that there's someone who might carry on his legacy. I love it!
I wouldn't consider myself carrying his legacy 🤣 just an old fan that happens to do videos and has a similar accent n sense of humor lol
This was a much more riveting story than what has been put out，thank you ❤
Glad you enjoyed it :) could be much better if I put a lot more time into it; but I had fun brainstorming
30:02 Hot take: DA:O's story wasn't that good. It was ok.
The plot is straightforward: you join the Grey Wardens, your party loses the first major battle, you gather allies in a non-linear fashion, and then your party wins in the second round. That's it.
All the real substance came from the stellar worldbuilding, fascinating companions, impactful choices, and the overall quality of the writing. Combined with the fantastic music and consistent art direction, these elements created the immersion that I would argue was the main selling point of DAO.
From what I've seen, Veilguard falls short in every aspect by comparison.
eh, if you pick it apart the "story" is fairly straight-forward yes I'll agree to a degree, but as you say; excellent world building, characters, companions, choices and dialogue - these things are equally if not More important than the overall Story - you can be thrown into a pretty generic "heroes journey" but then let the Player dictate their own path through it; that creates memories, attachments, if everything In that world is engaging and memorable? Well, you've got a success on your hands :) I replayed it recently, still a 10/10 experience.
Veilguard, as you say, fails in every aspect of what made Origins the fan favourite it is.
@@SoulGamesInc My point is that DA:O is a simple story told well.
And from what I've seen, the Veilguard is a badly-told simple story.
So the hypothetical re-write needs to touch basically everything.
>I replayed it recently, still a 10/10 experience.
Currently going through it right now.
It holds up still.
I actually agree. The story in general is a very stereotypical and simple thing: unlikely hero has to defeat the great evil.
What makes it absolutely great is how things and people are presented to you, the multiple ways you can go and complete certain missions (and how this choices actually have some impact) and the constant dichotomy the game keeps you in (like, do mages deserve to be free even when they're more dangerous than your average citizen? Is Loghain a villain or a victim trapped in the past?)
Just an example, Grey Wardens are presented to you as this big heroes who vanquish this absolute evil, but then you learn that they can force someone against their will to join and no one can do anything about it (hell, even Duncan was forced to join), that it requires to shorten your lifespan to 30 years from the moment you drink the blood and that dealing the killing blow goes both ways. Turns out, the GW are not heroes, but somewhat of a necessary evil
@@vanessab.s2596it's the thing that made the Wardens compelling and different to every other fantasy trope, they protect everyone from great evil for a great cost. The last entry to the franchise reduced them to nothing.
@@andersfrieden567 Inquisition made them look like unexperienced children who can't tell the difference between dreams and reality.
Also, no one stop to wonder why the calling was, well, calling young Wardens (because I assume there were people who have been wardens for less than 10 years) and the convenient timing that guy (can't remember his name) shows up with this great plan to save them.
Veilguard made them look like minions who's only braincell is the First Warden, and so they won't lift a finger unless given orders or permission even when there's a gigantic threat right in front of them (basically like a soccer team and their coach/trainer/whatever you call it). Hell, templars had a law where the 2nd in command can challenge the Kgnight Commander's authority if necessary, but GW had nothing, a complete stranger (or exiled Warden) had to stand up for them so they wouldn't get killed
Yes please! Your re-write is sooo much better than anything they came up with
I would gladly play this remaster over DA:V. Choices? Intrigue? What is this, an RPG? Sign me up!
Would be interesting to hear an Act 2. As a palette cleanser at least.
That battle you described is so Helm's Deep coded. 👍
Some details that come to mind:
1. Varrick has no business searching for Solas. They are not "friends". They never got along - more like "coexisted". Varrick is the Viscount of Kirkwall. Let him be for a change😅.
Should have been either Cassandra or Leliana depending on who is Devine - also ties it to the Chantry.
2. Venatori have no business here. Their cause died with Corypheus. But some Tevinter mages manipulated by the Blighted Gods? Or elves? Yes, that could do.
3. The way in which the ritual gets interrupted is BS.
A 6000+ year old "god" wrestling Varric for a knife? Badly secured scaffolding? What?
What if the events of DA:I have left the Veil "thinner" and the Blighted Gods have found a way to "sing" to some Tevinter Magister? And that's how you come to unknowingly disrupt the ritual and free them? By manipulation which you diacover much later?
4. The Qunari invasion.
The Devine would have declared an Exalted March. We should have been given a choice to either recruit the technologically advanced but foreign Qunari or secure the Devine's aid by helping one of the sides there. Instead it's just brushed off. Queue conflict with Cassandra/Lelliana if you choose the Qunari. Or visa versa with another companion. Not some therapy session *sigh*
5. The Veil and the ending.
I was expecting it to be destroyed in DA:4. Sandal (the enchantment boy) all but predicted it in DA:2. Veilguard's ending is cowardly in every single aspect.
I like what you did with the Forgotten Ones coming in.
In Origins we had the common denominator of the Archedemon dying, here we could have had the Veil being destroyed. But how? Maybe you side with Solas as he promises to "be gentle about it" - and maybe the thruthfulness of that depends on your decisions in DA4/DAI. Maybe you side with the Forgotten One. Maybe the Blighted Gods (with the Architect joining them if he lives). Maybe you trick them into killing each other but the Veil is still too damaged and crumbles uncontrollably. Maybe the Inquisitor approves/is horrified by your decisions based on the personality/decisions you gave them in Inquisition - maybe they'll attack you.
6. The "Messenger" who comes to the Grey wardens after the battle you described isn't necessarily Morrigan but whatever *mage* that drank from the Well of Sorrows. That's how they know what they know - Mythal gave that person her memories (that thing she sends through the Eluvian at the end of DA:I before Solas kills her). And if the Inquisitor drank and isn't a mage - it's him/her + Morrigan who gets Mythal's memory in this case.
Alas, this is not meant to be. Forgive my ranting. Still heartbroken over my beloved series getting gutted like that.
Our only hope is EA putting BioWare out of their misery and the IP getting picked up by someone who cares.
I have already seen several "Veilguard fix-it" fanfics on the web which look better that a real AAA product made by people who got PAID to write it.
Edit: That thumbnail "fix" 😂 👍
Hehehe, yeah the thumbnail fix 😂 you're welcome :D as for the rest, yeah agreed, ultimately while making this I came to the conclusion that - in order to fix Veilguard - one would basically need to add SO much RPG to it that you might as well make your own RPG lol
AMAZING! I want to play YOUR version of the game. You did a better job than a whole team of writers. And yes, absolutely make a videos for all the origins!!
They really should shelve the steaming turd that they released, fire all of their writers, and hire you.
Some of the choices I would have expected were stuff like this:
- Supporting Aelia’s Blood Magic rituals to unlock a blood magic skill or recruting her by sacrificing Neve.
- Aligning with Anaris and his quest to transform the veil jumpers into demons and make an uneasy alliance to fight for you.
- Siding with Isseya in blighting the griffons and using them as weapons making the wardens not support you.
As someone that played through each origin story in DAO 4 times (male and female, good and evil each), I love your fixes.
Edit: Come to think of it. It was even more because I also played through wether you live or die at the end.
I don't care about getting 100% completion on games. Yet DAO was the first game I ever platinumed. And I did it just from playing and wanting to see everything.
Same story with me :) only game I ever got all the achievements on, replayed it half a hundred times
@SoulGamesInc That was such a great game. I still get goosebumps when I think about the dwarf talking in the background when you are heading towards the broodmother.
Seriously, it's such a shame what has happened to the franchise.
@@ehellstrom7127 at least we can always replay Origins ha
The intro for the warden alone was better than the entire game. Man, I miss the days when passionate people like you made games to tell a story that captivated their audience.
With good writing and characters, I would have probably bought it. But I still would have been disappointed with the combat/mechanics. I like bioware of old. I miss the 3d real time with pause crpg esk gameplay of many older bioware games. I wanted them to keep making those games, but now nobody makes fantasy rpgs like old bioware.. NO ONE.. ive been looking. Every recommendation is nothing like the games Bioware used to make.
Yeah, no getting rid of the smell, I simply wanted to do this video to highlight how - given proper Choices and Story - it could've still been a half-decent Dragon Age experience; instead of whatever abomination we got that's wearing a Dragon Age skinsuit lol
Waiting for part two. Thank you very much for inhaling life in that product 'failguard'.
OMG! This dude has made the game 100x times better and more interesting in jsut 8 minutes. I like the idea hunting down the previous game's companion. imagine hunting down Fenris from DA2, because he went rogue and started to kill everyone with no reason whatsoever. Your job is to track him down and either kill him, agree with him, let him go. The game would've been so mcuh better!!!
fenris could've tied into neve's shadow dragon quest, of fenris going rogue and killing any and all mage in minathrous and neve is trying to hunt him down cause he became a problem omg bioware whyyy
You read my mind. From one author (still writing my book) to another, I salute you. That is some writing I respect. I wish this was the writing of the game.
29:26 I enjoyed it. Would certainly watch more.
Might do more, we'll see, plan to replay DA2 and DAI first; need to have some actual Fun after playing/suffering Veilguard lol
I really enjoyed this, thanks! So much more interesting than the lazy one size fits all approach they went with.
Glad ya liked it :) now imagine if I put more than an hour or twos thought into this 🤣 just shows how bad a job BioWare did 😅
@SoulGamesInc Sad that Bioware fumbled this so badly after all of us waiting for so long. I'd love to hear your take on the other origin stories, so I hope your will consider giving it a go :)
@@mspointyears might do 🤔 first tho I plan to replay the old DAs, wash Veilguards stench off abit lol
@SoulGamesInc lol
This is definitely 100x better than what veilguard provided. I would have definitely implemented The Keep again, so your choices from the other games help shape the world you will play in. Part of me wishes that they would let play with your Grey Warden from Origins again
Yeah 100% the choices from your previous games should've had impacts on the whole Fate of Thedas :) as for the Warden, yeah I'd love that, but BioWare would never do it justice; best left alone or at best given a massive epic sendoff if your choices allow it
@@SoulGamesIncIn my opinion The Warden still needs to interact with Morrigan again and his son if you did that choice before we could end his story
Its "doable" if you let the player customize their "Warden" at the start of the game; otherwise the game would struggle to make your warden Look the same... also the issue that the Warden was a Silent Protag; would need those voice actors who did what few sounds/voicelines the Warden(s) had etc
Would be cool, would love to see it, but it would likely be rather challenging.
I would really like to see the continuation of this video. You are really cooking some cool shit👍👍.
Planning some videos :) just putting abit more effort in, this one was fairly spur of the moment; can do better
That was pretty entertaining.
That's the goal, first and foremost :)
I would watch a full video of these new backgrounds. Better than the non-story we got now.
Might do, if only for fun; people also seem quite interested ha :)
Your first concept of the warden is really cool, Soul. And i would like to know about act 2 of your version. 👍
I would implement the Inquisition as a possible factions, depending if it still exits either as faction or the honor guard of the divine. In their origin you could either be a human, dwarf or qunari, who prepares an ambush for a band of Solas' elvish follower. But if you should play as an elvish member, you got the unique opportunity to start as a spy among Solas' followers.
As for the mages. If you choose to me a tevinter Mage, I would implement the inner conflict between Dorian's group against the conservative and more ruthless magistrates of the imperium. Here you could desite, to which political party you belongs, which would influence certain relationship. For Example. If you are part of Dorian's party you will have very good relationships with the inquisiton, while on the magistrate sites, you would be despise by not only the inquiositon but the elves too.
There are indeed a million ways to make Veilguard a lot more better than... this.
Yeah, a million better ways; sadly got none of them :(
Please continue your writing through act 2 and 3, it genuinely brought a smile to my face for the first time in a while
@@peachypow working on flushing out the "Origin" stories first atm then I'll expand on an Act 2 and 3 etc
@@SoulGamesInc Awesome! Can't wait to give them a listen :)
All I think about when playing Veilguard is what this game COULD have been like and you put it to words perfectly. It's actually sad that one guy with limited time did a better job than a whole team in 10 years. I miss origins :(
I think Total Biscuit would be pleased that you have his voice. As someone who watched him for many years ♥
I also love your ideas and hate what they did to our dragon age and now i see another video of yours that I need to watch!
TB was a large part of why I started doing videos :) watched him for many years too; since the BluePlz days 😇
Definitely could of been a good or at least decent addition to dragon age. Unfortunately in my opinion the amount of story changes and undoing of terrible retcons while adding actual meaningful choices and companions that aren't traash is a feat I doubt most would undertake. We might as well make it from scratch. Lol
Yeah haha that's the vibe I got while making this, that ultimately if I was going to put all the effort into creating everything Veilguard lacks, I might as well create my own fucking RPG lol it's missing so much of what Makes an RPG that fixing it pretty much means creating an RPG xD
I've seen some say Just make this game a Spin off based on Cassandra Trying to write a Good story and after she closes the book
Varric and The Inquisitor say "Damn you wasn't kidding when you said your bad at writing stories" 😂
Hahaha, I love that :D lets do that 😂
@@SoulGamesInc If Bioware decides to do that just to get Another Retry At Making a Another good Game. All of a sudden Everyone definitely will feel better. This time they will know what the fanbase really want and they'd have a chance to GET it Right.
@@therealone844 It's a nice dream, but the people in charge of BioWare right now will NEVER accept or admit fault in this :)
If the Hero of Ferenden is the one who kills the Archdemon in act one and dies, there needs to be a scene with Morrigan at their funeral. If they were just friends and Kieran doesn't exist, then she will reminisce to "Rook" about their time during the fifth blight and express sorrow that they are gone.
However, if Morrigan was Romanced during Origins and Kieran exists then the scene that plays is far more impactful. We would see a grieving Morrigan and a now adult Kieran standing together as the Hero's Pyre burns. Kieran has tears in his eyes and although Morri isn't crying you can tell from her expressions that she is barely holding it in. This time when she speaks to Rook, her tone will be far less controlled as she speaks of how much he meant to her.
She will also go on to mention how the HOF traveled west in search of a cure to the blight but was forced to return empty handed when rumors of increased darkspawn activity reached them. Eventually everyone, Kieran included, will depart as the pyre burns down leaving only Morrigan standing there alone among the ashes. The scene will end with Morrigan saying something like "Forgive me, My Love. I wasn't able to save you this time" before it cuts to black.
I feel like this game had so much potential even Taash could jave been a compelling character based off of Quanri culture and how stringent but seemingly open it is. IE feeling like a lady while being good at fighting which is a man's role in the culture. God this game sucks.
The early concept art for Taash is actually pretty good, if she was written well it could've been a decent character
Narcissistic writers: They don’t like Taash because Taash is nonbinary!!!
Reality: Nobody would care if Taash was written as a person and not political propaganda. If it was lore and story accurate and not thrown in your face Taash could’ve been decent for sure. The Qunari term her mother had being owned would be realistic. Or when expressing herself, “just Taash,” and having backstory from qunari culture. A lot of people like Qunari but this abysmal writing ruined everything and Taash is insufferable and obnoxious
@@nulla.9045 I am genuinely considering a "Can I Fix Taash" video where I show how they COULD'VE been a perfectly liked character or even a fan favourite, given even half decent writing, the early concept art looks actually really promising - whoever wrote the character however seems to have utterly scrapped the artists early concepts and gone off the rails with a self-insert.
I've compared it thus: you write 1 page of a 10,000 page book, publish the page, then belittle the reader when they ask where the other 9,999 pages are :D I've 0 issue with diverse characters or complicated emotional plots - if anything I LIKE my characters having emotional baggage; makes them more human - but such topics need to be handled by TALENTED writers able to properly portray such depth, instead of- well you get the point ha :) Tldr is yes, if it was done WELL nobody (mostly nobody) would care in the slightest. Fact is however, its done extremely poorly.
I hate how Morrigan has a whole ass kid with my warden and I never get to see them being a family together. Your idea with the warden showing up and saving the day would be such a nod to our dedication as a fandom. Let us choose if he gets his or her blaze of glory or maybe he spends his late years leading the grey wardens till age finally catches up with him. Last I heard of the warden he went to the deep roads for the calling and I’ve just been itching to know what happened.
@@daDARRENN we'll never know, BioWare hates everything to do with Origins 🤣
I really didn't like how the wardens were written in this game. Your version is pretty cool. The First warden sucks. That much so I made a video how I wish the First warden was.
You are describing something I would have actually played, shame bioware no longer has competent writers they left when they weren't listened to. I'd love to hear an act two
Might do more, seems a lot of people would like it - so I'll take some time n put more effort into the next one(s) haha
I wish the game would be exactly like you wrote it, I would buy two copys for ps5 disk version and for pc.
My EA play pro description will end this month.
Damn now I am sad, the new BioWare peeps are incapable of writing a good story 😢
I could write far better ha that's the amusing thing, it boggles my mind how anyone at BioWare willingly created what they did; with no choices at all :( just isn't an RPG at all as things stand
Had your video on in the background and the last ten minutes, so brilliantly funny lol thanks for the laugh. 😂
If Veilguard was a proper RPG, I would play it. Your story sounds very interesting and so much better. Would play it 10/10. Having HOF/Alistair/Loghain show up, depending on who is alive (so both DA:O and DA:I consequence), could be bit of a branch, but would be awesome. And I agree that 'bad endings' are part of roleplay. FAFO and such. Current Rook is not 'your character'.
Totally fine with people liking the game as it is, but I mourn the potential it had. I recall discovering DA:O and being unable to continue in Skyrim after that, with how utterly bland the npc's and world is. I need a good story and being able to roleplay in order to get the most out of it. Not some slop that goes above and beyond to crap on the older games and seems made for the children of those who played DA:O/DA:2, instead of well... those original fans. Veilguard would have been fine as a spinoff, but it is an insult as 'follow up' of the story of the worldstate people have been buiding for a long time.
Yeah that's the major fault, Rook simply isn't Your character at all; its BioWare's character and you're just along for the ride - while the game pretends like you have any choice how the game ends lol
Thank you!!! This is the game we wanted, and it breaks my heart that it's not the game that we got.
I personally want to see you go into autistic detail on origins
Might do 🤣 right now tho, replaying the old DAs to get away from Veilguard for a lil bit lol
@SoulGamesInc don't blame you. Veilguard made me realise 2 is way better than I remember
@@zackcook5123 yes :) I've always been a defender of 2 it's not perfect certainly, it's rushed and I wish so much wasn't cut from it that BioWare wanted to do; but ultimately its really not a terrible game - gets a lot of heat - will do a video about it at some stage
Yes! Please! More of this!!!! I will listen to every story! (And beg Bioware to hire you)
BioWare would fire me in less than 24hrs for my ideas being "too dark" and "problematic" lol but glad you enjoyed the vide :) if I do more similar videos to this, they'll have more effort put it :D
@SoulGamesInc Dark and problematic would be a grateful change! 🤣
@whitneyholland3703 for You and I perhaps but the average BioWare employee would faint if I so much as wrote a character that was even a little morally grey 🤣
I have a better solution: delete and forget.
That works too lmao
Great video and content. I would for sure watch your take on act 2 and the rest in Dragon Age Dreadwolf
For the love of the Maker, don't make the Dragons be "Evanuris' pets". PLEASE, ENOUGH WITH THE "ELVES DID IT" BS, IT'S TIRING AND BORING.
Na, if I had to make Any connection to them; I'd have them be the enslaved and corrupted spirits of the Old Gods and that's why Morrigan/her Mother wanted one uncorrupted and freed - but I'm no fan of the connection - you could also make them the Forgotten Ones spirits, bound to the dragons and driven insane... really any story is better than the whole "lol normal dragons just elf god pets" I agree it's dumb lol
@@SoulGamesInc My hypothesis back from origins was that they are indeed the "Forgotten ones", imprisoned deep beneath the earth when the Veil was put up, with the elven gods lost in the fade. That, or they were the elven gods' bodies, separated from their bodies and basically made into Tranquils, and thus the Taint was a corruption of the body caused by being "soulless" and the desperation of those spirits, hence why all Darkspawn could be then shapeshifted into the Archdemon if not killed by a Grey Warden.
Another was that all the stories were true at the same time, that the Maker is real and did indeed give life to many spirits, but some became corrupted like Melkor/Morgoth. Over time the "Valar" or in this case the Evanuris also became evil and demanded slaves and worship to fight, and to make sure they all lived, the Maker separated realities to weaken them with the help of (or even being himself) Fen'harel, whom could have been the first human, hence why the elves blamed humans for their short lifespans.
It's sad however that in making Solas the "word of God" by having him being one of the gods, so many possible stories were cut.
Yeah, lot of missed potential; never really liked Solas myself honestly lol
@@Artemisarrowzz I like Solas (in Inq mostly) as a character 'cause I personally like this "God with unholy amount of power hiding in plain sight" type of stuff lol
But the difference between Inq's Solas and this one is kind of jarring.
Inq's Solas was lead by ideas and beliefs, not by a person (Mythal). If anything, Inquisitor's reappearance in Veilguard (10 years have passed, might I remind you) and her (yeah, I like the Inquisitor-Solas romance lol I know some hate it, but I like it. I think it makes the story so much more personal) is what should drive Solas into listening to reason. No his fucking "muh mythalussy!!!!11" shit.
Oh, and yeah, Inq's Solas would never scream -no, he wouldn't even entertain the idea of pretending for the fear factor - to scream YOU'RE A MERE MORTAL AND I'M A GOD! Lame.
@@anotherguyIoLoLo27 XD oh the Mythalussy, suddenly EVERYTHING is about that Mythaulussy. I personally didn't like how they handled Solas in either game, because they destroyed all the mystery. Ironically tho I did like the romance, because it made it all personal, as you say lol
Still, it would have been more interesting if they had at least kept things complicated instead of taking EVERYTHING Solas said as the word of God. And had kept his sick braids as shown in the concept art, those were neat.
I don't every like/comment or engage in any way on RUclips, but I saw your view/comment counts and felt the need to interact to do what little I can for the algorithm. I loved DA:O, but never gave 2 a chance with the shift in gameplay. Tried DA:I but quit immediately when it felt like a single player MMO.
This video was a wonderful listen on my commute and I hope your channel gets the traction it deserves.
I and the algorithm appreciate it :) I'd recommend giving DA2 a try one day, the story isn't bad if you can get past the hyper-speedy combat; it's kinda short and its development was definitely rushed as hell, but it has its moments. DAI yeeah, I plan to replay it when time permits but I had a similar experience heh
0:10 BOOOOO
I agree.
Moar MOAR!!!
We'll probably see more 🤣 I'm gonna enjoy replaying DA2 and DAI first tho lol
To add.
Like in many rpg( or good rpgs of old or those new rpgs like parhfinder). When u have time to prepare and go back to previous regions. U the player find new evidence, depending on ur skills or companions.
So if u have a elf or delish with u or they respect wardens . U might find evidence to give to the first commander to help solidify ur claim that elven gods are behind it
Rewarding players for exploration or with good game sense.
Allowing the wardens to be better prepared to what they are facing instead of getting caught with their pants down. Repelling the darkspawn properly and minimising or negating casualties.
If u just rushing the game and do minor quests, if not, delish to uncover that piece of evidence(that warden scholars and leaders should know about). Then ur main scenario is the most plausible.
Most players would not want to get in trouble again and lose standing with the wardens so they would rush to base at weissotp.
Same in the warden civil war. Depending on the quests u did the outcomes might give the resources and food needed to avoid it, although the first warden will always protest no matter what if we are making him an unreasonable douche.
a -We can convince him with the silver tongue, aka talk no jutsu. If we do not make him a 1 dimensional uptight noble.
The first commander could tell us is a swell guy if get to know him, and he had a reason to join the grey wardens. Such as valor and whatnot.
b - Have the commander arrest breaking the chain of command and arrest him;
c - or piss him off so the first commander and first warden Duke it out.
Never the less ur rewriting already got me more pumped for the game than the actual story
You cant fix something that was already broken in DAI, the lore got fucked by this game, they made the previous games lore irrelevant, the only good thing DAI had going for was Morrigans re design which looked perfect.
I'll be going back to replay DAI after replaying 2 as my opinion of it isn't too high... but after Veilguard... well I'd rather play anything else :D this video is largely just to highlight how fucking Bad it is that Veilguard has 0 player choices and literally 1 ending that's just the colour purple in 4 different shades lol
Some of my criticism of Veilguards story/intro in this video can be applied to DAI actually
@@SoulGamesInc I should also say that the choices that you made in DAO and DA2 were implemented good in DAI, thats also a positive I should mention but the choices you as the Inquisitor make are really just useless overall, I really dislike the world building and tone of DAI If you cant tell, I think that was the mercy kill for Dragon Age for me, Failguard is just a walking corpse of two games I loved.
DAI was, least from my memory of it atm, certainly the weakest of the series in terms of story and choices; no doubt about that imo tho I do aim to replay it and refresh myself on the game... tho DA2 is up next first... while Veilguard is just so far removed from Dragon Age that its not even a fucking Dragon Age game, yet alone an RPG :(
@@SoulGamesInc will you make a litlle video on going back to dai? i thought it was ok at the time and would like to hear your thoughts on it
that is way more interesting!! I'd listen to you talk more about your alternate story.
More planned :) just working on them, this video was fairly spur of the moment; can do better