Meme - Renson Seow: "The claim: "There is no ongoing attempt to uglify women in Western games".
The 1st pic: Dragon's Age Veilguard character creator side profile, glutes setting maxed.
The 2nd pic: Mexican Weather Girl Yanet Garcia, side profile."
Meme - DRAGON AGE ORIGINS: "Dragon Age"
DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD: "Identifies as Dragon Age"
Meme - "SO WHAT'S NEW PETER?"
"DRAGON AGE VEILGUARD IS AN AMAZING LAUNCH ARE LOVING IT, OVER 80,000 PLAYING IT LAUNCH WEEK, A HUGE HIT"
"OH? YOU WERE BEING SERIOUS? *laughs*"
Baldur's Gate III: "875,343 all-time peak 15 months ago"
Meme - "Taash: I don't want to be that.
1. Our team is with you.
2. You're in control here.
3. You're allowed to feel things.
4. I feel like that, too."
"RPGs are all about choice"
Meme - Bioware in year 2000: "Aerie-I... I will show you my body, Dayin... and I hope it pleases you. Would you... would you stay with me this night, Davin? Will you show me what true love consists of?"
"How could I refuse such a sweet offer?"
"This isn't all love is, Acrie. Wouldn't you rather wait until the time is right?"
"Er... can't get past those huge lumps of scar tissue on your shoulders. I'm really not in the mood."
"Get lost, Aerie... I'm really not interested in being your tutor."
Bioware in year 2024: Rook: "Take a long hard look in it, kid. It'll always show the face of a hero who can get it done"
"Establishes trangender identity and unlocks new dialogue options in future conversations"
"I'm getting there"
"I love who I am"
"Feels good to see the real me"
"Scars are lessons learned."
"My scars are badges of honor."
"These scars are sexy!"
Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Lack Of Evil Player Choice Options May Be Bad News For The Next Mass Effect Game - "Unfortunately for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, its dialogue options are some of the weakest in the franchise, lacking the divisive or downright evil options from previous entries... Aside from the lack of player choice, much of the dialogue throughout Veilguard is much more lighthearted and quippy than before, feeling out of place in the gritty fantasy setting of the series... Putting Mass Effect's iconic dialogue aside, many fans like Reddit user Alternative_Fan2458 still felt past Dragon Age games have vastly superior conversation options compared to Veilguard's reportedly bland writing direction. Where these issues become most prevalent are related to Veilguard's companions, lacking in conflict or serious choices that could cause party strife or infighting, unlike in previous Dragon Age games where members would have more dynamic reactions to player choices. Overall, much of the world in Veilguard has the potential to make for interesting and impactful character stories, but it's often held back by the game's unnatural and inoffensive writing style. Another common complaint from critical fans was Veilguard's new art style direction, which aimed for more cartoonish design choices for the characters... BioWare has different expectations on the kind of tone and overall style they want for both franchises moving forward, giving players some hope at avoiding another Mass Effect Andromeda catastrophe."
Moon Studios CEO Describes 'Dragon Age: The Veilguard' Writing As "Infantile And Terrible" - "Moon Studios CEO Thomas Mahler described the writing in BioWare’s recently released Dragon Age: The Veilguard as “infantile and terrible.” In a recent post to X, Mahler, who is currently developing No Rest for the Wicked, wrote, “I grew up in the 80s – even as a young boy back then, I always thought TV shows were low-effort trash. Because every show back then was trying to be as politically correct as possible. Every show was about happy families, always trying to paint a perfect picture, always being careful not to talk about anything that could be in the slightest controversial.” “Then the Simpsons and Fresh Prince of Bel Air dropped and that stuff suddenly felt radical because every now and then the writers on these shows dared to approach subjects that were real. And whenever they tried that, it resulted in episodes that were memorable – I’d like to think it’s because the writers managed to put some of their own experiences in there,” he continued. “Then, in the late 90s, The Sopranos dropped and suddenly it was clear that TV shows didn’t have to be trash,” he stated. “That the episodic format could actually be used to give even more insight into characters, their trials and tribulations, etc. And it kept going from that point on – We saw more and more TV shows that delivered excellent drama, like The Wire, Breaking Bad, etc., etc.” He then turned his attention to Dragon Age: The Veilguard and video games, “Looking at games now, it’s clear to see that we’re apparently moving back to the stone age of political correctness. I just watched a Dragon Age playthrough and it’s quite unfathomable how infantile and terrible the writing is. Everything feels sanitized and dehumanized.” “I don’t know why we’re suddenly thinking that this is okay. Your job as a writer is to write about things that are heartfelt, interesting and true, to draw people into that world that you created and if this is the best that you can come up with, you shouldn’t be a writer in the first place,” he asserted. “I hate to sound so harsh because I’m sure these people had the best intentions in mind, but this is what happens when art is created by amateurs, when we have to walk on eggshells and don’t dare to approach difficult subjects – you end up with a bland and bad product instead of art,” he continued. “Always approach writing from a human angle first, draw from your own experiences and dare to approach subjects that might seem risky – because often magic happens when we’re okay with making ourselves vulnerable,” Mahler concluded."
Laura Fryer (former executive producer for Microsoft) calls out games industry bubble, developer echo chamber, attacking fans. DA Veilguard as prime example (at 7:30) : r/gamingnews
Of course, the mods removed this
Moon Studios CEO Describes 'Dragon Age: The Veilguard' Writing As "Infantile And Terrible" : r/KotakuInAction - "“Mom said to eat the fruits”
“I like the cookies better!”
“Everyone likes the cookies”
“I’ll eat the fruits”
I saw that in a clip and couldn’t help but cringe, both characters looked like adults and they were speaking like a toddler and a 7 year old?"
Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Clumsy, Preachy Political Messaging Does More Harm Than Good - "The best way to convince someone of your own point-of-view is generally not to bash them over the head with a cudgel, though that seems to be the preferred approach in modern political discourse and, alas, in entertainment. The culture, being what it is, has lost all sense of subtlety. In far too many films, TV shows and video games, we see a heavy-handed, top-down approach to the issues of the day. It’s a real shame that the developers at BioWare decided to go this route in Dragon Age: The Veilguard... I had not yet arrived at a certain section of the game that has now been making the rounds on social media, being roundly—and rightfully—mocked. Unfortunately, the scene in question will play directly into the narrative that this game is “woke”, feeding a cycle of online discourse that goes nowhere but earns lots of clicks. It will undoubtedly turn many gamers off entirely, not necessarily because they’re unsympathetic to trans rights, but because they’re tired of being preached at. In the scene in question (below), one character misgenders another. To atone for this sin, she does a set of push-ups and then lectures the other characters on how to properly apologize. The term “nonbinary” is thrown around, despite this being a word that very few people had even heard of when Dragon Age: Inquisition came out a decade ago—let alone in a fantasy setting divorced entirely from the real world. This is immersion-breaking. Frankly, it’s written so poorly that it comes across as self-parody. The character’s performative apology is shallow and empty, as all performative apologies are. In my experience, a simple and genuine “sorry” is better than making a big show of it and then bragging about how much better your apology is. The whole scene feels freshly cut from some conversation in an undergrad gender studies class in the year 2024—the kind of conversation said undergrads will someday look back on and cringe over. Here’s the scene: Again, my problem with this scene is not the inclusion of trans or nonbinary characters in Dragon Age, but with the hamfisted way this issue is framed. I recently wrote a review of Lev Grossman’s excellent Arthurian fantasy, The Bright Sword, and noted in that review that he includes a trans character as one of the Knights of the Round Table. The difference in approach is worth noting here. In the book, the term “trans” is never used, since it would not have been around in the Arthurian era (similar to how “nonbinary” would not be a word in Dragon Age). Instead, the character is born as one of two twins. At birth, she is a girl and her twin is a boy, but she chaffes at all things girly and the confines and restrictions placed upon her and wants nothing more than to train with a sword and become a knight... This works because it’s never preachy. It doesn’t awkwardly adopt the terms of modern-day gender politics. Instead, Grossman tells the kind of story anyone can relate to (with beautifully written prose that never comes off as politically driven, but rather part of a grander, timeless tale)... Alas, this will undoubtedly dominate the conversation around Veilguard—and to what end? Will anyone who plays this game learn something useful because of this scene? Will people who are hostile toward social justice politics become convinced otherwise? That’s the problem with preaching to the choir. Someone not normally inclined to sympathy toward trans people might read The Bright Sword and actually walk away with more complicated feelings; nobody playing The Veilguard will. Instead, they’ll be rightfully annoyed at having this type of 21st century dialogue (hamfisted even for the modern era) foisted upon them midway through a fantasy RPG... You can see how misguided the game’s writers truly are in the scene above. The character says that a normal apology “makes it all about you” when she’s just blatantly hogged the spotlight and made it all about her. Nobody seems to spot the irony. I have to ask, has anyone ever successfully apologized while lecturing everyone at the same time? “Ah, I made a mistake, here’s my apology and here’s why my apology is so great and your apology is so bad, even though you’re not the one who made the mistake. Look at me! Look how wonderful I am!” That’s sort of how I see BioWare in all of this. They’re making it all about them, all so they can be praised for their progressive bonafides rather than doing the hard work required to tell stories that might actually evoke in players true empathy and understanding. Tapping into that, creating something that people can relate to, requires more than a cudgel. Nobody enjoys being beaten over the head. In the parlance of our times, “Do better, Bioware.”"
Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Clumsy, Preachy Political Messaging Does More Harm Than Good : r/gamingnews - "Mass Effect handled this issue the best that I have ever seen in a game, during one scene in ME2 or ME3 (it was so "normal" that I can barely remember it). Shepard comes down into the cargo bay to speak with a male crew member, just to see how he was holding up. The crew member replied that he was concerned about his husband, who was on a planet being threatened by Reapers. Shepard gave his condolences, the two had a moment of camaraderie, and... that's it... that was the end of the scene. No preaching. It was just normal, like... we're all adults here, now let's get back to saving the galaxy."
Meme - "Dragon Age: The Veilguard encourages players to perform ten push ups after misgendering someone."
"My character at the start of the game *scrawny Steve Rogers*
My character five minutes later *muscular Steve Rogers*"
Meme - "I hope Bioware closes down k"
Rook: "Take a long hard look in it, kid. It'll always show the face of a hero who can get it done."
"Establishes transgender identity and unlocks new dialogue options in future conversations."
Taash: "Non-binary. I just said. And I'm going to use "they" instead of "she" from now on"
Meme - Perma Banned: "Games Journalist Jason Schreier Deleted his post gloating about Dragon Age Veilguard's supposed "success". Then he found out Veilguard in fact, was far from successful. Oof"
Jason Schreier: "Go woke, go bro- err, top the charts"
"58,958 24-hour peak"
"This Post was deleted by the Post author."
BioWare Claims 'Dragon Age: The Veilguard' Sales Have Reached 1 Million Copies as Company Hunts Down Whistleblowers - "Dragon Age: The Veilguard sales have reportedly reached 1 million copies, according to an internal memo from BioWare. However, this might not be good news for the once popular RPG studio. Since the Halloween release of Veilguard, there have been a striking number of leaks coming out of BioWare and EA. Independent commentators like SmashJT, Endymion, and former World of Warcraft team lead Mark Kern, AKA Grummz, have been spilling the tea regarding abysmal sales numbers, horrible reviews, a shocking return rate, and plummeting resale value... “I spoke with that original whistleblower after publishing that initial video and he put me at ease that no one there knows it was him at this time,” SmashJT said in a post on his official website. “But the reaction from the fallout of that video speaks volumes for the atmosphere at BioWare right now. They’re more concerned with silencing any ‘whistleblowers’ than addressing any actual issues within the company: Much like Firewalk Studios before their ultimate demise, the toxic positivity has taken over the workplace.” It was originally reported by both SmashJT and YouTube commentator Endymion that the game had sold only 500,000 copies with more than 30,000 refunds issued. However, BioWare is internally disputing those numbers, claiming in a memo sent out to its team that they’ve crossed the 1 million copy threshold... Even if this figure is true, after a nine year development and costs swelling to reportedly exceed $200 million, its estimated that the game will have to sell up to 5 million copies to break even. It’s also unknown whether BioWare is referring to the number of copies sold by retailers or the number of copies they’ve shipped to retailers. A That Park Place source that works in retail management has told this outlet that his sales region (comprised of seven stores) has seen an exchange and resale rate of 75% for the troubled title. The trade in value for Veilguard would also support the theory that there’s plenty of copies clogging up retailer shelves. As of this writing, the trade-in value of Dragon Age: The Veilguard on PlayStation 5 is “up to $22.” That figure is actually the value for store credit. Players looking to return this brand new $70 game for cash will only net $14 or $15 for a pristine copy. Concurrent players have also dropped off big time. As of this writing, the game has 27,277 players with a 24-hour peak of 31,654. At launch, the game experienced a high of 89,418. That’s A 64.6% drop before the game is even a month old. BioWare seems to be touting the 1 million units figure internally as a success. But according to SmashJT’s source, the atmosphere within the company is grim and tense. “Despite the reported sales, according my insider, the atmosphere at BioWare is anything but celebratory,” SmashJT said. “Morale is at an all time low, and there’s extreme tension surrounding the game’s reception and the state of internal relations. The response to The Veilguard has been weak, with YouTubers and players alike voicing concerns about its quality and perceived indoctrination, alongside a severe lack of any innovation. Amid this, internal pressures are taking a toll on BioWare’s team, adding multiple layers of stress to an already difficult launch.”"
Grummz on X - "We're winning. DAV has fallen. Dragon Age Veilguard has failed to recover it's costs. It has failed and no, holiday sales won't save it. Bioware is so angry that Dragon Age Veilguard sales numbers have leaked, that they are launching an internal investigation to find the leakers. Here's what we know from @EndymionYT, @SmashJT, @RealHypnotic1 and others:
- Concurrent players have dropped off the charts just 2 weeks in, sitting at a peak of 34,068 vs their launch weekend high of 89,418. A 62% drop before the month even closes.
- Returns are rumored to be 30,000 copies, and the game is being traded in at Gamestop so fast that used copies of the game are flooded and being discounted with a trade-in value of only $14 cash. By comparison, Stellar Blade, a much smaller IP and many months older than DAV is $16.10 cash, which shows you just how bad DAV's value has dropped. Fun fact: Star Wars Outlaws is even worse, at just $11.90 cash. Stellar Blade wins again.
- Total sales for DAV have only JUST crested 1 million copies in 2 weeks. Budget is rumored to be at 250-300M for the game, making it fall well short of breaking even. If you take most games sales profit at around 70-80% of list price (after store markups and digital platform fees), a 300M budget would need around 6-7 million copies sold. (this is where I differ from most other's estimates who say 4-5M).
Dragon Age Veilguard has failed. They will see a tiny surge in sales in Holidays but not much. Total copies will barely reach 2M by next year (unless they start just giving it away - expect heavy discounts and bundles to make this number seem bigger than it is). Gamers have rejected the heavy handed woke, preachy politics for one, and DA fans have rejected the new graphics and action oriented gameplay, which feel very alien to the franchise. You can do diversity right, without preachy HR lectures disguised as a story, and you can do it very very wrong, like DAV. We're winning. Everybody fights, everybody builds, nobody quits!
Sources: Gamestop website, Steam DB, insider leak videos from Smash and Endymion and Hypnotic retail data and my own industry experience publishing, operating and developing AAA games."
Brianna Wu on X - "I thought a lot this year about how progressivism got so far off course. This clip is a perfect example. The culture has devolved into a mirror of the Christian fundamentalists I grew up with in Mississippi. Wield moral superiority, threaten non-believers, hijack the culture. It’s not that you have a point of view - it’s that you cannot even conceive that other people don’t share it. It’s that you feel so moral - you feel unlimited by social etiquette. And I feel particularly qualified to say as a trans woman, THIS DOESN’T WORK. If strangers are constantly misgendering you, you are the only one that can change this. You can’t hector the world into believing gender doesn’t exist anymore than a Christian can hector the world into accepting Jesus as their savior. I will do my best to gender nonbinary people correctly. I always want to talk to people with respect. But, y’all have to ask yourself, “Is our strategy working?” This is not and it will never work."
Meme - "Return to form seems to be the message EA told them to get across"
"100 Checkpoint Gaming. Dragon Age: The Veliguard is a triumphant return to form..."
"95 Playstation Universe... a return to form for Bioware"
"70 Digital Trends. Dragon Age: The Veliguard is a return to form..."
"80 IGN Portugal. Dragon Age: The Veliguard is a return to form for Bioware..."
"90 Pure Xbox"
Cyael on X - "This extremely organic Dragon Age "Coming out to your parents" edit was part of the cringe compilations Bioware worked hard to remove from the internet yetsterday. They know their unpopular trans messaging strangles like..yknow what, I'll wait to give thoughts"
Meme - @Grxit: "Let's check in on who was hired to write for #DragonAgeVeilguard Oh.... *Non-binary (?) men with half-blue hair, with one having a half-shaved head*
Mr. Smiles & Hugs because you're...: "These people are so fucking gross and incompetent."
Dragon Age: The Veilguard User Reviews on Metacritic Are an Abysmal 2.6/10
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Faces 'Uphill Battle' to Match Inquisition's Launch Sales, Says Analyst
Meme - LearningTheLaw: "Dragon Age: The Veilguard collapsed with only 10k players on Steam worldwide and is still declining. It's over."
Dragon Age: The Veilguard just took its first major price cut on PS5 - "This brings it down to $54 (was $69.99) just under a month after its official release."
The Veilguard is the first Dragon Age game where my companions don't care enough about anything to argue with me - "By the end, Rook's companions are all pretty much goodie two-shoes characters with uncomplicated beliefs."