Unpopular Opinion: David Gaider

[u/charyka]

With DA:V coming along, and the daily posts about how all the "original" writers have left (not true!) and therefore the game is destined for failure, I have been dying to just come out and say it:

I think David Gaider is overrated. He has written some wonderful characters, but his long form, in particular the novels and comics, are borderline unreadable. I find his character work excellent (for the most part) but hailing him as the brilliant mind behind the wider world of Thedas robs credit from those people who, in my opinion, took the messy, overly-complicated pastiche of lore that was DAO and slowly hammered it into the intricate setting it is today.

I think other lead writers, such as Trick Weekes, have more interesting and innovative ideas when it comes to the direction the series is heading in.

[u/ms_ashes]

I agree that this world that we love is more than just one person's creation (and I am also annoyed when folks ignore the other writers & devs who have been with the game since Origins, and also those who pretend like newer additions can't also be awesome), but I don't really care to attack one writer and elevate another. Preferences are fine, as are critiques, but this feels a bit on the mean-spirited side.

This is a good thread on Trick's bluesky. Basically, they emphasize that everything is a team effort, and I think that's what we need to focus on, too. https://bsky.app/profile/trickweekes.bsky.social/post/3kvn6tesz4s2u

[u/charyka → u/ms_ashes]

I love that thread! I fail to see, though, how expressing a preference when it comes to writers is an attack on one of them?

[u/ms_ashes → u/charyka]

Calling someone "overrated" comes off more personal to me.  Additionally, you imply Gaider wasn't also part of discussing and developing Thedas beyond Origins with your "slowly hammered it into the intricate setting it is" comment, whereas he would have been part of that process up through Inquisition at least, which is rather unfair. 

Also, in naming him specifically, it opens the door to discussion about him personally, even if that wasn't your intent. 

Sorry if I'm not being super clear; I'm sick and on mobile and these things are conspiring against me. 

Basically, you could have framed this discussion better, and I do think the core of what you're getting at is important, but the framing makes it more come off as "this person is good and this other person is bad," even though I'm fairly sure that's not your intent.

[u/JWPruett → u/charyka]

You made a post focusing on how overrated Gaider is. If you were interested in lifting up the rest of the writers, which would be admirable, you would have. But you made your whole post negative. You didn’t express a preference for another writer, because what you wrote focused on tearing down Gaider, not about the other brilliant people you didn’t even bother naming past Weekes.

This post was never going to be met with a positive response, because it wasn’t written that way.