Sanunes
N6
Just a flip of the coin.
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Just a flip of the coin.
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Post by Sanunes on Sept 8, 2018 22:06:44 GMT
I disagree. Ryder grew as a character and became a strong leader in the end. Part of the problem with Andromeda is it feels like a prequel Ryder becomes a good leader at the end. We are introduced to the main villain in the end (Archon was a screw up by Kett standards, he wasn’t the one we should fear) We discover Jardaan at the end We discover our home It feels like a prequel to a game that has Kett doing (something scary), and Ryder finding Jardaan to save meridian And prequels don’t do well for that very reason (books tend to) but prequel games are almost never exciting and well received So it felt like Mass Effect 1?
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Post by amehzing on Sept 9, 2018 1:14:12 GMT
Part of the problem with Andromeda is it feels like a prequel Ryder becomes a good leader at the end. We are introduced to the main villain in the end (Archon was a screw up by Kett standards, he wasn’t the one we should fear) We discover Jardaan at the end We discover our home It feels like a prequel to a game that has Kett doing (something scary), and Ryder finding Jardaan to save meridian And prequels don’t do well for that very reason (books tend to) but prequel games are almost never exciting and well received So it felt like Mass Effect 1? No, Shepard was an established character, and he had his enemy in ME1 (Saren) and his journey had a natural conclusion. If everything ended there things would have been fine. We knew more reapers existed but we didn’t realize the threat they’d be and we knew they could stop them, and we could have assumed the galaxy would rally together. The other stories were great but ME1 was self contained. Andromeda wasn’t. I love it and I really want a sequel, but in no way did it feel like a complete story like ME1 mostly did
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Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Shattered Steel, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Anthem
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Post by ahglock on Sept 9, 2018 1:25:52 GMT
I think its a relatively fixed protagonist not necessarily human you are looking for. Doesn't have to be Witcher level of fixed, but enough that you don;t overlook obvious story points constantly. And yes it has some story advantages, some weaknesses as well. It sort of depends on what you are looking for in a RPG.
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Post by griffith82 on Sept 9, 2018 2:46:14 GMT
So it felt like Mass Effect 1? No, Shepard was an established character, and he had his enemy in ME1 (Saren) and his journey had a natural conclusion. If everything ended there things would have been fine. We knew more reapers existed but we didn’t realize the threat they’d be and we knew they could stop them, and we could have assumed the galaxy would rally together. The other stories were great but ME1 was self contained. Andromeda wasn’t. I love it and I really want a sequel, but in no way did it feel like a complete story like ME1 mostly did That's not true though. Shepard was not any more established than Ryder. It took 3 games to do that.
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Sanunes
N6
Just a flip of the coin.
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Just a flip of the coin.
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Post by Sanunes on Sept 9, 2018 4:02:56 GMT
So it felt like Mass Effect 1? No, Shepard was an established character, and he had his enemy in ME1 (Saren) and his journey had a natural conclusion. If everything ended there things would have been fine. We knew more reapers existed but we didn’t realize the threat they’d be and we knew they could stop them, and we could have assumed the galaxy would rally together. The other stories were great but ME1 was self contained. Andromeda wasn’t. I love it and I really want a sequel, but in no way did it feel like a complete story like ME1 mostly did That isn't how I see it. The "real" threat is revealed at the end of the game with the Reaper with Shepard walking off screen. Shepard killed of Saren after chasing him across the galaxy preventing his plan from happening by opening the relay on the Citadel. Ryder killed off the Archon after chasing him around the cluster and prevented his corruption of Meridian. Then Shepard walks off screen to start their search for The Reapers which we knew was going to happen just not when. Compared to Ryder knowing that there were more Kett leaders and preparing for their return for we knew they were going to return for that one conversation with the NPC. So both games have one villain and an arc where they are prevented from completing their task of destroying everything in the galaxy/cluster we are travelling through and both we knew there was going to be more conflict on the horizon and needed to prepare for it. To me Mass Effect 1 wasn't a complete story for they dangled the entire Reaper threat across the entire game from the Visions from the Protean beacons to dealing with Soverign and "unable to understand" their plan combined with Shepard walking off from the Council to continue to search for information about The Reapers and a way to stop their plan from harvesting the Milky Way again. Ryder to me had the goal of establishing humanity in Andromeda for that was their job as Pathfinder. To get the people that were stuck on The Nexus to a planetary home. So Ryder was able to complete their primary task in the game yes there are more Kett that are going to come, but that wasn't the goal that Ryder was given to accomplish just like Shepard's goal was to stop Saren's plan.
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#more Asari
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Post by ShadowAngel on Sept 13, 2018 18:57:43 GMT
Playable races work if the work is put into them, if all you're going to do is put a skin to them then of course it won't work. If you put in the work to have differential dialogue and such it can work.
You're rolling with the assumption that it'd to to much to handle or that they'd do the bare minimum to include them, why? What if they can do it?
I myself want playable races in mass effect, I however don't want them to be implemented and having nothing different to them, it's not why I wanted them to be playable in the first place. I want my pick of the asari to have some deviation from other races and I want it to be shown and noticeable. I don't need an entirely different ending or various parts of the story being drastically different from others based on race (would be nice however), all I need is for npcs to acknowledge the difference with some dialogue and a few scenes being a little different, it really isn't that hard as they've done it before, others have done it and there's no reason why it can't work as things get more advanced to make it happen.
I'll refuse to believe it won't work when other games have made it possible, all it takes is work. Furthermore this is something RPGs "should" be able to do and it's a pretty boring rpg when you can't make race distinction matter if you include them.
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ewigDunkelheit
N3
Exalt the Dwarf Age!
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda
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ewigDunkelheit
Exalt the Dwarf Age!
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ewigdunkelheit
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Post by ewigDunkelheit on Sept 14, 2018 0:16:14 GMT
I heartily disagree with hoping for another human protagonist. I also disagree that allowing for race selection diminishes the character. My strongest character in a Bioware game thus far has been my Warden (admittedly, I've only played the Dragon Age and Mass Effect series). I had frequent mentions of my race and different dialogue options presented specifically to that difference. My origin had dramatic and significant repercussions, as well as near constant acknowledgement, when returning to one of the plot areas (playing as a dwarf). Inquisition has been out for nearly four years, and I am surprised to see people still using it in their arguments against race selection. By this time, doesn't everyone already know that race selection was tacked on at the end of the development process and not integrated properly?
Mass Effect Andromeda was a big missed opportunity for race selection. The developers claimed that locked human selection was important for serving the story better. Then a player fires up the game and discovers that EVERY major race had a character performing the EXACT same function as Ryder. A second race for selection could have been provided with very minimal difference to story and dialogue.
Humanity as a stepping stone and introduction to the Mass Effect Story and universe has been accomplished already, and thoroughly, with the trilogy. It is time to move beyond just the story of humanity. It can be replayed ad nauseam with Shepard, and even Ryder now.
Mass Effect is not like Dragon Age. Race selection is not a prerequisite feature, and so, it doesn't require the same breadth. Bioware can include one alien race that has both genders, and that has a similar skeletal structure (like the Drell), and not need anything more than that.
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dmc1001
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Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by dmc1001 on Sept 14, 2018 4:46:32 GMT
Mass Effect Andromeda was a big missed opportunity for race selection. The developers claimed that locked human selection was important for serving the story better. Then a player fires up the game and discovers that EVERY major race had a character performing the EXACT same function as Ryder. A second race for selection could have been provided with very minimal difference to story and dialogue. I disagree. Sure, we could have had the different races as Pathfinders, but remember that did game wasn't even polished when it launched. Some people think the writing wasn't up to par. There's no way they were going to have time to make this happen. That aside, to make a truly different experience, it would have to be more than cosmetic changes. For example, the Inquisitor only had a few minor changes in dialogue based on race, and none of them were negative. The world just accepted non-human Inquisitors as though they were human. A lot more work has to be done before race changes can truly be implemented. It's not a bad idea but we're not there yet.
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...lives for biotic explosions. And cheesecake!
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Post by Kappa Neko on Sept 14, 2018 8:05:42 GMT
OP is racist! Seriously though, just make the protagonist one alien race and you're set! No multiple races. Then it can be a strong character with a tailored story. No wasted resources. Easy. That Batarian romance will be sooo good. Them pretty eyes!
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Finished Dissertation long ago lol. Now happily employed :D
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Post by biggydx on Sept 14, 2018 13:43:15 GMT
Multiple races are possible, but if you want the game to come out within the decade, you'd probably be looking at a far more linear experience. Plus, that's a huge budget to consider if you want to represent the core Council races AND make the choice in race you pick have a substantial impact on the story/gameplay.
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#more Asari
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Post by ShadowAngel on Sept 14, 2018 15:17:38 GMT
Mass Effect Andromeda was a big missed opportunity for race selection. The developers claimed that locked human selection was important for serving the story better. Then a player fires up the game and discovers that EVERY major race had a character performing the EXACT same function as Ryder. A second race for selection could have been provided with very minimal difference to story and dialogue. I disagree. Sure, we could have had the different races as Pathfinders, but remember that did game wasn't even polished when it launched. Some people think the writing wasn't up to par. There's no way they were going to have time to make this happen. That aside, to make a truly different experience, it would have to be more than cosmetic changes. For example, the Inquisitor only had a few minor changes in dialogue based on race, and none of them were negative. The world just accepted non-human Inquisitors as though they were human. A lot more work has to be done before race changes can truly be implemented. It's not a bad idea but we're not there yet. So what if they would've ditched the proceedurally generated worlds from the get go and made concepts for playable races? If they really wasted a year on that idea and then ditched it, their lacking time is their own fault. What if they also ditched the open world approach and put more focus into a more linear game? Don't you think sacrificing those two aspects would help achieve playable races having a little more meaning? It's all on prioritization and not wasting time. I think Andromeda having playable races with the Pathfinders definitely could've worked had they put their mind to it. If Inquisition can have some slight differences in it's 3-4 yearsof development, I don't see why Andromeda can't do the same if not more with 5, even then I myself wouldn't mind waiting 7 years for a game to make it work, however I ALSO don't think it should take that long to do it. The only issue I can see with playable races and giving them true meaning is if you chose to also turn it into a series as then you're going to pull a ME3 at some point where there's to many differing player choices to take into consideration, but that's where stand alone games come into play if need be and just restarting all over with each new game.
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Guardian
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Post by Guardian on Sept 14, 2018 15:24:13 GMT
Is Shepard more established at the start of ME 1? Sure; compared to Ryder, s/he is. But that's just it - Griffith82 is also right - Ryder does grow into that strong leader. So it felt like Mass Effect 1? I actually had this similar thought a few days ago in a conversation with an RL friend that also was a bit let down by Andromeda. After replaying it, the parallels are there. It really did feel like the intro to Mass Effect 1 all over again. And then when ME 2 came out, it blew ME 1 out of the water and helped draw me in more. I became more invested. So, I think I'm still willing to give a sequel a chance with Ryder. This game had potential; it didn't live up to it, but it's still there. Granted, if they screw this one up, then I think it's over for Mass Effect (and no, I don't trust Casey). Mass Effect Andromeda was a big missed opportunity for race selection. The developers claimed that locked human selection was important for serving the story better. Then a player fires up the game and discovers that EVERY major race had a character performing the EXACT same function as Ryder. A second race for selection could have been provided with very minimal difference to story and dialogue. I disagree. Sure, we could have had the different races as Pathfinders, but remember that did game wasn't even polished when it launched. Some people think the writing wasn't up to par. There's no way they were going to have time to make this happen. That aside, to make a truly different experience, it would have to be more than cosmetic changes. For example, the Inquisitor only had a few minor changes in dialogue based on race, and none of them were negative. The world just accepted non-human Inquisitors as though they were human. A lot more work has to be done before race changes can truly be implemented. It's not a bad idea but we're not there yet. He's right - it'd be difficult to write for non-human races given how lackluster the writing was for Andromeda with Ryder (this has nothing to do with the character or how the VAs did their job. The writers could have done much better). We're not there yet; Origins worked with non-human protagonists because you were a Grey Warden, not the leader of a human religion with human followers. Maybe some day down the line, sure, I'd be for it. But we're not there yet.
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Post by amehzing on Sept 14, 2018 16:32:06 GMT
Playable races work if the work is put into them, if all you're going to do is put a skin to them then of course it won't work. If you put in the work to have differential dialogue and such it can work. You're rolling with the assumption that it'd to to much to handle or that they'd do the bare minimum to include them, why? What if they can do it? I myself want playable races in mass effect, I however don't want them to be implemented and having nothing different to them, it's not why I wanted them to be playable in the first place. I want my pick of the asari to have some deviation from other races and I want it to be shown and noticeable. I don't need an entirely different ending or various parts of the story being drastically different from others based on race (would be nice however), all I need is for npcs to acknowledge the difference with some dialogue and a few scenes being a little different, it really isn't that hard as they've done it before, others have done it and there's no reason why it can't work as things get more advanced to make it happen. I'll refuse to believe it won't work when other games have made it possible, all it takes is work. Furthermore this is something RPGs "should" be able to do and it's a pretty boring rpg when you can't make race distinction matter if you include them. Different dialogue would fix the issue of making most of them irrelevant But it wouldn’t fix the issue of incredibly weak and undefined stories. A good story is written around it’s lead character If that lead is a blank slate To the point where their culture isn’t even set It’s not going to be as much a great or focused story Dragon age origins is more of an exception than a rule; but it also has the benefit of telling the story of an entire country not of a character. Which is fine, but doesn’t usually work like it did and was never really what Mass Effect was about. Other than setting it’s a big way that they feel different. And the character in those types of story is never a talking point. There’s really not much to say about the warden other than her deeds. But the character itself is fairly weak. No talking points. Her friends are also different. There’s a lot to say about Alistair. But the warden is more nostalgia than anything else
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Sanunes
N6
Just a flip of the coin.
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Sanunes
Just a flip of the coin.
5,899
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September 2016
sanunes
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by Sanunes on Sept 14, 2018 18:06:19 GMT
Playable races work if the work is put into them, if all you're going to do is put a skin to them then of course it won't work. If you put in the work to have differential dialogue and such it can work. You're rolling with the assumption that it'd to to much to handle or that they'd do the bare minimum to include them, why? What if they can do it? I myself want playable races in mass effect, I however don't want them to be implemented and having nothing different to them, it's not why I wanted them to be playable in the first place. I want my pick of the asari to have some deviation from other races and I want it to be shown and noticeable. I don't need an entirely different ending or various parts of the story being drastically different from others based on race (would be nice however), all I need is for npcs to acknowledge the difference with some dialogue and a few scenes being a little different, it really isn't that hard as they've done it before, others have done it and there's no reason why it can't work as things get more advanced to make it happen. I'll refuse to believe it won't work when other games have made it possible, all it takes is work. Furthermore this is something RPGs "should" be able to do and it's a pretty boring rpg when you can't make race distinction matter if you include them. Different dialogue would fix the issue of making most of them irrelevant But it wouldn’t fix the issue of incredibly weak and undefined stories. A good story is written around it’s lead character If that lead is a blank slate To the point where their culture isn’t even set It’s not going to be as much a great or focused story Dragon age origins is more of an exception than a rule; but it also has the benefit of telling the story of an entire country not of a character. Which is fine, but doesn’t usually work like it did and was never really what Mass Effect was about. Other than setting it’s a big way that they feel different. And the character in those types of story is never a talking point. There’s really not much to say about the warden other than her deeds. But the character itself is fairly weak. No talking points. Her friends are also different. There’s a lot to say about Alistair. But the warden is more nostalgia than anything else I think what worked in Dragon Age: Origins was the majority of the game was a focused direction that BioWare put the Warden in. The areas that were left to be more open world over guided were the ones I think were disliked with The Deep Roads and The Fade for it seemed to be directionless wandering. So during the other areas the central conflict and NPCs were able to give the story direction which is what I think Andromeda was lacking as an outsider was that there was nothing to give the story direction the protagonist was blank and directionless and the world's story was stumbled upon whenever you felt like getting there. If Ryder was less of a blank slate I could see the way the world of Andromeda working for Ryder having established arcs would help draw those areas together like glue. Which is why I think games like The Witcher or Horizon Zero Dawn (I played very little) worked for people because there were elements that were glued together.
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Hope for the best, plan for the worst
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Post by griffith82 on Sept 14, 2018 23:38:16 GMT
Is Shepard more established at the start of ME 1? Sure; compared to Ryder, s/he is. But that's just it - Griffith82 is also right - Ryder does grow into that strong leader. So it felt like Mass Effect 1? I actually had this similar thought a few days ago in a conversation with an RL friend that also was a bit let down by Andromeda. After replaying it, the parallels are there. It really did feel like the intro to Mass Effect 1 all over again. And then when ME 2 came out, it blew ME 1 out of the water and helped draw me in more. I became more invested. So, I think I'm still willing to give a sequel a chance with Ryder. This game had potential; it didn't live up to it, but it's still there. Granted, if they screw this one up, then I think it's over for Mass Effect (and no, I don't trust Casey). I disagree. Sure, we could have had the different races as Pathfinders, but remember that did game wasn't even polished when it launched. Some people think the writing wasn't up to par. There's no way they were going to have time to make this happen. That aside, to make a truly different experience, it would have to be more than cosmetic changes. For example, the Inquisitor only had a few minor changes in dialogue based on race, and none of them were negative. The world just accepted non-human Inquisitors as though they were human. A lot more work has to be done before race changes can truly be implemented. It's not a bad idea but we're not there yet. He's right - it'd be difficult to write for non-human races given how lackluster the writing was for Andromeda with Ryder (this has nothing to do with the character or how the VAs did their job. The writers could have done much better). We're not there yet; Origins worked with non-human protagonists because you were a Grey Warden, not the leader of a human religion with human followers. Maybe some day down the line, sure, I'd be for it. But we're not there yet. I thought the writing was fine but I do agree some things could have been done better.
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ewigDunkelheit
N3
Exalt the Dwarf Age!
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda
Posts: 308 Likes: 563
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ewigDunkelheit
Exalt the Dwarf Age!
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ewigdunkelheit
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Post by ewigDunkelheit on Sept 15, 2018 2:37:15 GMT
Mass Effect Andromeda was a big missed opportunity for race selection. The developers claimed that locked human selection was important for serving the story better. Then a player fires up the game and discovers that EVERY major race had a character performing the EXACT same function as Ryder. A second race for selection could have been provided with very minimal difference to story and dialogue. I disagree. Sure, we could have had the different races as Pathfinders, but remember that did game wasn't even polished when it launched. Some people think the writing wasn't up to par. There's no way they were going to have time to make this happen. That aside, to make a truly different experience, it would have to be more than cosmetic changes. For example, the Inquisitor only had a few minor changes in dialogue based on race, and none of them were negative. The world just accepted non-human Inquisitors as though they were human. A lot more work has to be done before race changes can truly be implemented. It's not a bad idea but we're not there yet. Having or not having race selection at this point does become irrelevant. I mean that, if the entire production time had incorporated the writing and polishing process, then this is a feature that could have been included without affecting the intention of the story. And that is exactly the point with Inquisition. There were only a few minor changes, because that is all that could be done with where they were in the developmental process. It's always possible that it won't quite turn out like I hope, but Dragon Age 4 should show us what a game looks like when race selection is a feature included from the beginning.
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ewigDunkelheit
N3
Exalt the Dwarf Age!
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda
Posts: 308 Likes: 563
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ewigDunkelheit
Exalt the Dwarf Age!
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Post by ewigDunkelheit on Sept 15, 2018 2:49:41 GMT
Playable races work if the work is put into them, if all you're going to do is put a skin to them then of course it won't work. If you put in the work to have differential dialogue and such it can work. Different dialogue would fix the issue of making most of them irrelevant But it wouldn’t fix the issue of incredibly weak and undefined stories. A good story is written around it’s lead character If that lead is a blank slate To the point where their culture isn’t even set It’s not going to be as much a great or focused story Dragon age origins is more of an exception than a rule; but it also has the benefit of telling the story of an entire country not of a character. Which is fine, but doesn’t usually work like it did and was never really what Mass Effect was about. Other than setting it’s a big way that they feel different. And the character in those types of story is never a talking point. There’s really not much to say about the warden other than her deeds. But the character itself is fairly weak. No talking points. Her friends are also different. There’s a lot to say about Alistair. But the warden is more nostalgia than anything else The thing about Mass Effect is, unless you are talking about a newly created race, the trilogy has already fleshed out most of the cultures at this point. I think I am somewhat confused about your character versus setting point. Please feel free to elaborate as I may be simply misreading the intent. For example, Shepard had less backstory than any of the Wardens. Both games offered the same types of binary choices in questing. Mass Effect was following an unfolding story affecting the Milky Way Galaxy, which happened to have a human protagonist and viewpoint. And are you saying that the subjective quality of companions affects the impact of the main character?
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Post by KaiserShep on Sept 17, 2018 10:30:02 GMT
For me, the most meaningful part of race selection in Origins was in the actual prologue sequence, which gave anything that came later much needed context. Sadly, that sort of thing is likely never coming back. With Mass Effect, it really comes down to the big 3: Humans, Asari and Turians. That makes 4 separate VA’s to cover both genders. I don’t see them going any higher than that. I’d be curious to see how they’d even pull it off without just swapping voices for mostly the same lines.
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Post by mmoblitz on Sept 17, 2018 11:25:19 GMT
Multiple races are possible, but if you want the game to come out within the decade, you'd probably be looking at a far more linear experience. Plus, that's a huge budget to consider if you want to represent the core Council races AND make the choice in race you pick have a substantial impact on the story/gameplay. I agree with you there. You also have to take into account Bioware priorities are not what they used to be. Story, character, and dialog are no longer the main concern in Bioware games and the last two releases from them prove it. World building, open/semi-opens worlds, combat, and the MP experience are the main focus now and that won't work with having multiple races to choose from. IMO, they couldn't even do one race right with MEA.
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Post by quole on Sept 17, 2018 14:09:14 GMT
Humans are by far the least interesting aspect of ME. That's one of the reasons it was so stupid to make cerberus the main villains in the game of the franchise for most of it. I would love to play as a different race, assuming of course I would even care about a new ME game to begin with.
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Post by dmc1001 on Sept 17, 2018 14:43:59 GMT
Humans are by far the least interesting aspect of ME. That's one of the reasons it was so stupid to make cerberus the main villains in the game of the franchise for most of it. I would love to play as a different race, assuming of course I would even care about a new ME game to begin with. I'm not going to argue this point. Though I'd probably play human anyway, there's no reason why there couldn't have been some different races available. It's tricky in ME3 but could work well enough in ME2 while Cerberus was resurrecting Shepard. In fact, that could be a good reason why there are different squadmates and Shepard has the originals squadmates back in ME3.
Cerberus is stupid, but that started in ME2. They were specifically a rogue black ops division of the Alliance. And that was recent. Then some comic or something changed everything and said that Cerberus had been founded much earlier and had never been part of the Alliance. Remember, in ME1, the doctor who had been behind the Akuza attack and experiments on, was said by Hackett to be an Alliance scientist. Yet, he was Cerberus. And don't get me started on Liara's amazing leap from archaeologist to the best information broker in the galaxy in the span of two years.
Rather than Cerberus be the main villain of ME3 - especially with unlimited resources - they could have used them as uneasy allies. They might still make use of Reaper tech and this might play into war assets, or even endgame (do you use "evil" tech for good ends or not use it but sacrifice some of your forces?). Just ideas kicking around.
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Post by CrutchCricket on Sept 17, 2018 16:15:21 GMT
OP has a point about fixed characteristics offering a stronger integration of the PC as a legitimate part of the world, instead of "the PC". I will never get over the mental gymnastics done to avoid Shepard's first name, for example. There is little else that screams more "yes, varPlayerCharacter, I agree with your sentiment, beep boop" than that.
But race doesn't necessarily have to be as crucial, it depends on the story. If the story emphasizes the clash of cultures between the races (which were definitely strongly present in the trilogy) then yes, making the PC race variable will weaken the PC's identity as a character because they're not going to code extensive variations for all the possible options (and the more options, the more noticeable this will be). But if the story is something else, like say, exploring a new galaxy, where every race is in the same boat, then race will not be a crucial distinction anyway.
Though speaking of Mass Effect and names, you'd need to come up with an "omni-name" if you allowed race selection. Something that could potentially apply to any race, given the established naming conventions. Either that or make their background race independent- so you could be asari, turian or human but for reasons, you were raised by the same mixed-bag faction that named you something generic.
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Post by Hanako Ikezawa on Sept 17, 2018 16:19:35 GMT
Though speaking of Mass Effect and names, you'd need to come up with an "omni-name" if you allowed race selection. Something that could potentially apply to any race, given the established naming conventions. Either that or make their background race independent- so you could be asari, turian or human but for reasons, you were raised by the same mixed-bag faction that named you something generic. I imagine they would just use a title. Most of the time you are referred to as that, and in a few cases you are referred to by your last name. Sort of like how Inquisition did it.
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Post by CrutchCricket on Sept 17, 2018 16:31:41 GMT
Though speaking of Mass Effect and names, you'd need to come up with an "omni-name" if you allowed race selection. Something that could potentially apply to any race, given the established naming conventions. Either that or make their background race independent- so you could be asari, turian or human but for reasons, you were raised by the same mixed-bag faction that named you something generic. I imagine they would just use a title. Most of the time you are referred to as that, and in a few cases you are referred to by your last name. Sort of like how Inquisition did it. Yeah, that's Sheparditis all over again. Title/last name works for formal occasions, or when dealing with strangers, but what about intimate acquaintances? LIs? At that point it is customary to use first names. Nicknames can provide an out for one character, but you can't use that universally. They should just do set full names. Or at best provide a limited selection of names to choose from. Or let you type a middle name. It's a useless variable mechanically anway, the RP value shouldn't change. Respect it by having a character see a letter or report containing your full name (since I'm sure they've mastered printing variables) and remark " That's your middle name?" There, acknowledged. It's more than the trilogy did since they couldn't even print the damn name on the memorial wall.
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Post by Hanako Ikezawa on Sept 17, 2018 16:38:32 GMT
I imagine they would just use a title. Most of the time you are referred to as that, and in a few cases you are referred to by your last name. Sort of like how Inquisition did it. Yeah, that's Sheparditis all over again. Title/last name works for formal occasions, or when dealing with strangers, but what about intimate acquaintances? LIs? At that point it is customary to use first names. Nicknames can provide an out for one character, but you can't use that universally. They should just do set full names. Or at best provide a limited selection of names to choose from. Or let you type a middle name. It's a useless variable mechanically anway, the RP value shouldn't change. Respect it by having a character see a letter or report containing your full name (since I'm sure they've mastered printing variables) and remark " That's your middle name?" There, acknowledged. It's more than the trilogy did since they couldn't even print the damn name on the memorial wall. Between a set name or a few names that are recognized, I’d choose the latter. Fallout 4 did that, and MEA kind of did, and overall that was fine. Then again them calling me by my title or last name never really bothered me. Definitely don’t want to have a predefined name though. For LIs at least nicknames would work since they could call you universal terms like love, sweetheart, etc.
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