Throwback Thursday, DA Style!

[violacea]

Let's celebrate Throwback Thursday our own way today, shall we?

Tell us - how did you originally get into Dragon Age? Have you been there since DA:O came out, or did you discover the games within the past few years? What made you start playing? What caused you to seek out the fandom? Have your main tastes/likes/interests changed since you first got into the fandom?

Comments

[fereldanwench]

A combination of a Steam sale (got the Ultimate Edition for $14 in 2011) and a friend mentioning that you could play as a lady. The first time I played it, I spent about 10 hours non-stop playing it. My Cousland was my bb, and I was hooked on Alistair. I was pretty much immediately hooked, and then when I checked out DA2? Yeah, Dragon Age consumed my life.

Getting into the fandom has been a little... rockier. Tumblr was my main source of fandom interaction, and although I've found some amazing, talented, insightful people there, my early experiences were not that great (lots of aggression and lack of empathy). But the awesome people I've found definitely make up for that.

And soo many opinions have changed since I first started playing the game. I used to be very anti-Cullen, and now he's in my top five 5 favorite characters. Thedas is a very complex world, and the people (devs, pubs, and consumers) of DA are just as complex. I really appreciate the opportunity to read/listen to different perspectives regarding Thedas and how they correlate to our world.

[shadoedseptmbr]

We bought DAO when it first came out and I watched my sigoth play a Cousland through to the end before thinking I might try. I loaded up a Dalish warrior but then life interfered and I never got her to Ostagar. A few months later, pinned to the couch for hours at a time with a nearly sleepless newborn, I desperately needed a distraction and reloaded another Dalish, a rogue, this time. And was rapt by the *differences* between Cousland and Mahariel. I quickly rolled an Aeducan, then aTabris. I didn't seek out fandom or fic until I finally played DA2, after initially being put off by negative reviews.

[silentstephi]

I had played Mass Effect a couple of years before, and I was flagging in World of Warcraft. I saw a trailer for Origins right before it released and figured, meh, why not?

I played a City Elf (when I usually never play elves 'cause they're usually so... I dunno, arrogant or Tolkein, I guess) because I thought the concept behind them was neat.
And then Alistair flirted with me and I never looked back!

At the point DA2 came out I was still in high BioWare craze, since I was riding the high of ME2. DA2 was a bit disappointing in execution but I still loved the characters and enjoyed the plot. I've been stoked for the latest installment.

As for the fandom, I was very active in the Mass Effect fandom over at Livejournal for a while, and in the Garrus and Thane groups at the BSN for a bit. I drifted away from both because of various reasons (LJ died out, BSN got toxic) and I've been getting a steady fix over at tumblr now, though it's pretty chaotic over there.

My tastes haven't changed hugely, though I've discovered more about myself in the time I've been an active BioWare fan. I've grown to like most of the characters within the games, and also noticed more of the flaws. But despite their flaws, I have yet to really get into another gaming series or game that's done it better.

[fleurdeliser]

I blame me playing Dragon Age entirely on violacea. I started in January of 2013 with Dragon Age 2 and got DAO when I was done with it. I've played both multiple times at this point and got into the fandom because it was right there waiting for me!

I started as a mage when I played both games for the first time. I still definitely enjoy playing as a mage, but I think dual-wield rogue is probably my favorite (though, I'm eyeing some of the new archery abilities in DAI with eagerness).

[nausikaa]

I've only been playing since December past. I'd been craving a new game and remembered a few years back, when I'd been crashing in a friend's living room and she'd been playing Origins a bit while I was there. Apparently Alistair made enough of an impression that years later, I remembered him well enough to want the game. :D (Literally all I remembered of the game: Alistair existed.)

Having only been in this fandom a little while I don't know that my tastes have changed much since I first got into it. I do find that my tastes in general are different in this fandom than outside of it -- normally I don't like to read original characters, or even different versions of player characters. Here, though, I'm all about that.

[missema]

My husband was playing Dragon Age: Origins on PC but I had no interest in it for a long time. He kept telling me funny bits, like dialog between the party members etc, but I still didn't want to play. Then in late 2010 I spent a lot of time in the hospital and when I came home I spent more time sitting and getting my energy back than I did before. My husband got Origins on sale for xbox, and I started playing it there, quickly got into the game.

I already had a tumblr, and I just started searching for fandom after I played dragon age, mostly to see fanart and enjoy other fanworks.

I've grown to notice and appreciate the world-building and immersion much more than I did before. I didn't give it much thought when I first started playing but it is one of the things I most enjoy.

[cherith]

I was early, early to the world of Thedas. I was reviewing games at the time for a gaming website and was given an early release copy of The Stolen Throne to read and review. I know many of us long-time DA fans have come to loathe some of Gaider's writing, but I pretty instantly fell in love with the world and the characters. I had no idea what the game was going to be about, except that it was set in the same world and that's all I needed to know. I was sold.

My first character (as many of my first characters are) was a female mage (a Surana in this case) and I fell in love. Even if Loghain broke my heart in the Ostagar scene.

Prior to the DA world though, I was a HUGE NWN fan back in the day. I spent a long time playing that game (huge D&D nerd here) and my friends and I would meet up for playing through mods as well. I was dedicated to that game for the longest time (basically college).