I'm not entirely sure how many people thought of themselves as Ecco The Dolphin when walking around Ferelden, but for you brothers and sisters out there, this comic's for you!

We've been making some slow progress through Dragon Age: Inquisition, our first foray into the series, and we've been enjoying it thus far. It is nice to get into a game with narrative, though wrapping our heads around all the backstory, character and world building that has already been established in Inquisition's predecessors has slowed our progress considerably. As I go around stitching together the events that have preceded me, I get the feeling that the introduction of lore is masterfully crafted in both their placing and placement. It's rather brilliant that I've not felt overwhelmed, having enough to get the gist of conversations while also delightfully connecting dots through texts that chronicle major elements that define the world.

Admittedly, there has been a lot of time spent exploring, completing quests and generally getting swept up in the ancillary content that many have been fond of lambasting. Pie and I can't help but scratch our heads at the complaints because it's not like you HAVE to do them; the choice is completely voluntary! So many people are completionists and feel compelled to be exhaustive in their efforts to consume the game until nothing remains. It makes me curious what could be changed to improve the experience.

I understand the desire not to miss anything critical, and the way that DA:I marks EVERYTHING on the map makes it virtually impossible to differentiate the quests that hold merit from the optional ones. Which brings me to another point. Where is the line drawn between filler and genuine world building? I've always enjoyed ancillary quests because it helps breathe life into a game, but I've also never felt compelled to complete them all either. I suppose that in the back of our minds, there is always going to be a voice saying "what IF this thing, seemingly of no consequence, DOES actually hold significance?". I swear, games have trained us to scour every insignificant rock in search of treasure and we can't help but get upset when all we find is a rock.

Anyways, I have a feeling that if BioWare had left the game exactly as it was, but only put icons on the map for all the important quests (closing rifts, following the story, establishing camps) and tasks the player had willfully engaged in through exploration, the game wouldn't receive nearly as much criticism in it's questing as it currently does.