If you were the Creative Director on Andromeda, what would you have done differently?

Wow, what a question. Basically, everything.

For a long time I wasn't sold on the whole going to Andromeda idea because everything we loved about Mass Effect was back in the Milky Way, but now I see what an amazing opportunity it provided that the actual game squandered. I would have made the game focus more on exploration for starters, not meaningless exploration, but the FEELING of exploration. The game would have tied more closely to a Star Trek type of vibe. You'd show up to Andromeda and there would be various civilizations at different technological states. Because this Galaxy evolved outside of the Reapers and their Mass Relays there is no Galactic Government. As a result, some species are highly advanced, other not so much. Some alien species have warred with others, while others have been largely left alone.

I would have had it so that Habitat 7 was a harsh planet but barely livable. The player's Ark would have shown up one year late as opposed to everyone else, other Arks got lost or separated like the finished game but their stories would be more compelling. The player's role would be to make alliances and deals with the various alien species out there in an attempt to improve your home-world and make it livable. This would involve injecting yourself into the socioeconomic and ethical disputes that are a part of this new galaxy. Perhaps two alien species have warred against each other for centuries so taking one species side for aid would impact your relations with the other. Perhaps there is a less technologically enhanced race and you have to choose whether to trade your advanced technology for access to their natural resources or maybe even simply take it by force due to your superior nature. Again, this would have an effect on how the other species viewed you.


With regards to the missing Arks some of them may have learned to create their own life in Andromeda. Say perhaps the Salarian Ark ends up near one of the most advanced races in the Galaxy and are taken in. Eventually, due to their more intelligent nature, they begin to thrive in this new society. But, this creates internal ire within the planet's society as civilians on this alien world feel as though the Salarians, with their superior intellect, are taking all of the best jobs and opportunities from native civilians. Message anyone? Perhaps one of the Arks has their occupants completely enslaved which causes us to have to rescue them, and then what if these enslaved individuals want to stay enslaved? You know, like the slavery conversation on Illum in Mass Effect 2.

These would be the kind of things my version of Andromeda would focus on, ethical and political debates with brand new alien species. A galaxy of limitless exploration and opportunity. You jump into a new system and are greeted with a message from some alien faction, their weapon ports open. Do you open fire or play it cool and see what happens? That's what I wanted.

They already did.

I dunno. "Just as much drama" doesn't make continuing in the MW worse than going to Andromeda, it just means that you've got idiots whining whatever you do. The people who would actually have been bothered by Bio picking a canon ending have always been pretty scarce around here. It's much more common to see someone worrying that other players wouldn't have accepted the design choice.

Never said anything about MEA. They did ignore at least one choice in the trilogy

In ME1, the player has the choice to recruit Garrus or not. In ME3, if Kirrahe survived ME1 and Garrus is taken to Sur'Kesh, both know each other by name? How is that possible?

You must not have been on old BSN. The ME3 ending was absolutely toxic the entire time until that forum was shut down. There's no way declaring a canon ending would have gone well with the community. BioWare made the wise and only sensible choice by avoiding the issue entirely.

You must not have been on old BSN. The ME3 ending was absolutely toxic the entire time until that forum was shut down. There's no way declaring a canon ending would have gone well with the community. BioWare made the wise and only sensible choice by avoiding the issue entirely.

He was there.

Pretty much nothing was going to go well with the community, they alienated a huge portion of us by giving us no ending that felt acceptable. We could only choose what felt less awful.

Therefore, making Andromeda a polished game was crucial for the future of Mass Effect, and we saw how that went.

Now, the universe is in limbo and everyone is looking for a new game.

They should have either committed to making a high polished game with their best effort, or canned the franchise for a later soft reboot far in the future from Shepard's ending. As a producer, I would have shut the whole thing down at the time when Mac was about to be brought in - they should have just canned it.

If I were Mac at that point, I would have demanded more time after assessing the ridiculous state the project was in. If that was denied, I resign.

I personally didn't understand why a lot of people liked Liara, she felt like a very forced love interest, especially in the later games. Plus her character development was imo, possibly the most egregious one.

I didn't like Liara at all in ME1. I found her character to be annoying and bothersome. However, once her character was rewritten in ME2, I found her a lot more enjoyable. Especially after the Shadow Broker DLC, I was able to take her character more seriously. That being said, she was never my favorite love interest. Miranda will always be my number one, but Liara just had the most attention from BioWare. Look at Liara's romance arc and scene in ME3. She is far more developed than any other character, which is part of the reason I think so many defaulted with her romance.

Most of us want a much better game, that's all, not the same mess that was the fourth game.