Post by Nwalmenil on Nov 14, 2016 8:37:18 GMT
This thread is for all of you who work or ever has worked for BioWare, you know who you are. I know that some of you have registered here and some others might still lurk and still see it.
Please understand that I’m in no way trying to lure you out of hiding! That’s not my point at all, rather the opposite. I just want to show my appreciation without you guys & gals feel the need to respond or take a stand in any way. Basically, just soak it in and be proud!
To all of you guys here on the forum, please try to keep this thread free of any negative posts. You don’t have to agree with everything I write, or anything for that matter, but please don’t use this thread to argue about anything. There’s plenty of room for us to make other threads about that.
Please be aware that this post will probably contain quite a few spoilers for the trilogy so if you haven’t played them yet (and why haven’t you?), please tread carefully!
Maybe you kind mods could keep an extra eye on this thread so that it stays clean and positive?
I basically just want a little corner with nothing but positive vibes here.
I also wasn’t quite sure where this kind of post would fit the best so feel free to move it if you think it’ll be better suited in another category.
With that out of the way we’re ready to start (this might get a bit.. long)!
So. You work (or have worked) at BioWare? Do you realize how special that makes you? How much greatness you guys have produced and spread around the world with these wonderful worlds and galaxies you let us go on grand adventures in?
I know that I’ve hardly even scratched the surface myself, there’s a lot of your games I haven’t even tried out myself, but the ones I have are such treats. For me the main treasure is the Mass Effect franchise. I do own Dragon Age Origins and Jade Empire but never really got around to giving them a serious go. I think that the biggest reason is that I tend to gravitate more towards sci-fi rather than fantasy these days. That and going through the entire DA franchise right now would be quite an undertaking. In a positive way of course, but still, I don’t quite have the same time for gaming these days as I used to.
I did love Baldur’s Gate however and played it quite a bit way back when, but these days? Mass Effect it is!
These game.. I hardly know where to start. They’re something else. Truly. I’ve never played anything that stuck with me in quite the same way.
I know I haven’t played them anywhere near as much as some people around here but that doesn’t lessen the way I see them in any way.
To me Commander Shepard will always be my first customized Shep (as seen in my avatar) and I thought I’d give you a little rundown of his journey. Not down to every decision made, but just the general paths taken and my view on his universe.
First of all, as I said, I went with the customized version rather than the default look and I haven’t regretted that decision one bit. It made me connect to him much more, made him feel more.. mine I guess? It made me feel like I was on the adventure myself, like i was in Shep's.. shoes? Boots? Armor?
I started my career as a Soldier on the 360, first doing two full playthroughs to get to max level. He’s gone basically full paragon along the way. I wanted to be as ready as possible for ME2 when it arrived.
My first romance was with Liara though I did have a soft spot for Tali. Since she wasn’t available however, Liara it was and I really did like her character as well!
Other decisions he took was saving the Rachni queen, saving the council and backing Anderson.
As I said, I don’t want to go overly deep into the details on his adventure, but I had a blast. Walking around the Citadel, exploring the galaxy, going after Saren and generally having a blast.
Oh and the music! My god, the music! You could already tell by the music on the intro screen that this was going to be an epic and unique journey! This too was a trend that would be continuing throughout the trilogy and I still find myself listening to the soundtracks a lot. Especially at work, basically making my days better!
Then we get Mass Effect 2. By then I was hooked beyond saving and wanted to get my hands on every little bit of content I could find. I started out with the collector's edition and grabbed every little DLC I could find. I even scouted eBay for those Pepsi (it was Pepsi right?) promo codes that otherwise wasn't available in my country.
And this from someone who generally don't much care for the DLC model, at least not for small, cosmetic stuff. But what can I say? You had me by then I suppose?
The game itself.. I remember being impressed by how good the game looked, being on the same generation console and everything! Then comes the crew, the loyalty missions, the romances.. Oh yeah, the romances? Now I find out that Liara is to busy to stay with me? And Tali was interested?
I have to admit, I did feel a bit guilty after putting my photo of Liara face down on the table after finally hooking up with Tali but what can a guy do?
The only reasonable thing of course! After finishing the game (got my crew through the suicide mission! That was an epic moment!) I promptly fired up ME1 again and did another playthrough with the same Shep without romancing anyone.. just so I could replay the second one and dedicated myself to Tali full time.
What can I say, a guy’s gotta be loyal, right?
What was that right there? That was the first time I cared that much about my choices that I would go back to put another fifty hours in a previous game just to get everything just right. That felt completely unique to me and is a great example what makes your games special! You make me care about the characters and my choices, they actually matter and the characters feel real, you attach to them. They stick with you long after you've stopped playing.
There's so many good ones but to name a few; the true brother Garrus, the intriguing Legion, the spiritual Thane, Liara who starts off so shy and awkward but grows a lot, Joker, ever a.smart ass but loyal and a true friend and last but not least my favorite mechanic Tali. To name but a few. They all feel like good friends, people I know and have experienced a lot with.
Attachments like this is usually exclusive to (very good) books, shows or movies but you guys nailed it completely. It's a perfect example of what a great medium video games actually are for quality storytelling. We've come a long way since those simple text based games of the past. And yes, I remember those. Rather fondly too, having been a gamer for around thirty years or so, but that's a story for another time. As I said, we’ve come a long way.
Anyway, onwards to the third installment!
The trend continues with a game that feels even more polished, looks gorgeous and has an incredible soundtrack! And the emotions. They hit hard, real hard all across the spectrum. Getting to see more of Tuchanka and the Krogan ruins, Mordin saving the day, landing on Rannoch with Tali, linking up with the Geth and finding out more about their history with the Quarians, fighting a reaper and Kalros! Hell, almost all missions are memorable and great. Really enjoyed getting some more backstory to the reapers from the Leviathan DLC, finding a real life Prothean in Javik.. The list goes on!
Then we get closer to the end. There’s an emotional rollercoaster if I ever saw one. Preparing for the final battle and talking to the troops and my squad and friends, that hit hard. You had me in tears there! Something no other game ever managed to do, and not just for my first playthrough either. Not that this was the only sad part, Thane comes to mind as well for example, but this affected me more than I was expecting it to. You really could feel the end creeping closer, you knew that this was going to get serious. Such an ominous feeling. Something the entire game managed to capture too, you really felt like you were competing with the clock to try to save the galaxy. All that responsibility, the pressure, you could feel it getting to Shep and his squad and friends.
And then we get to the end.
That hurt.
A lot.
I was completely stunned and heartbroken. I couldn’t believe it. Shepard.. dies? My Shepard? Who feels like part of me? My Shepard who was going to settle down on Rannoch with Tali? Suddenly leaving her alone and mourning?
Seeing the crew standing together, trying to console each other, remembering Shepard. Getting stranded somewhere, but at least getting to stay together in a galaxy rendered unrecognizable by the destruction of the relays. Not knowing what the future has in store for them.
And then we get the Extended Cut, fleshing out the consequences, letting us know how the galaxy was trying to cope, to rebuild. The Geth helping the Quarians, the Krogan finding their way back from the genophage and so much more.
This really was an epic journey about a true hero, masterfully created.
Shepard, you will be remembered!
There we have it. Three games.
Doesn’t sound like a lot, but those three games are so much more. They carved their place, left us wanting more, not wanting to let go. To that end I started to stock up on some of the merchandise. The books, comics, the movie, the first hoodie, a few t-shirts. Both wanting to be able to get every bit of the universe I could get my hands on, every morsel of the story and showing the world it’s greatness.
The multiplayer had me hooked as well! I was a bit sceptical when I first heard about it, not quite sure how that would actually work out. Multiplayer in Mass Effect? That seemed odd. But oh how much fun it was! Well, still is but I haven’t played it in a while now (though I am getting that urge again..). I vastly prefer co-op when it comes to multiplayer games and here we actually got the feeling that we were fighting for a reason as well. Trying to repel the reapers with their combined forces.
Oh! I almost forgot about the companion app for Mass Effect 2! That was a very nice touch as well. (It was for ME2 right?) Getting messages from the crew after different missions, making them feel alive and active even while not playing.
Well. What can I say? I suppose I ought to finish this up soon, I’ve rambled for quite some time already haven’t I? Just couldn’t help it, it deserves being said. I know I’m not the first, nor the last, to praise either the Mass Effect series or BioWare but I wanted to do it properly. Giving a voice to my own thoughts.
So, wherever you are, if you currently work or used to work for BioWare, my hats of to you good sir or madam! No matter what position you occupied, be it part of the writers crafting the story, an artist making it all come alive and look great, a designer, getting it all together, a developer making it all just work and for us to take part of it. No, thank you to all of you, QA, human resources, accountants, executives, PR and every single position within this company. You make it what it is, make it able to produce such greatness. I hope you know how lucky you are, how special it makes you!
Just look at your fans. The amount passion and love for your works. All the talented cosplayers, fanfiction writers, artists, musicians.. There are some beautiful things out there that all came to life thanks to you. Things like Malukah's Reignite for instance. It makes me remember, makes me hurt and makes me mourn for Shepard.
Thank you EA as well! For letting BioWare stay true to themselves. Realizing that they know what they’re doing. I can see why you would want to pick this gem of a company up. Your own private golden goose.
Thank you again!
And thank you to any and all of you who read all of this!
I should go.
Please understand that I’m in no way trying to lure you out of hiding! That’s not my point at all, rather the opposite. I just want to show my appreciation without you guys & gals feel the need to respond or take a stand in any way. Basically, just soak it in and be proud!
To all of you guys here on the forum, please try to keep this thread free of any negative posts. You don’t have to agree with everything I write, or anything for that matter, but please don’t use this thread to argue about anything. There’s plenty of room for us to make other threads about that.
Please be aware that this post will probably contain quite a few spoilers for the trilogy so if you haven’t played them yet (and why haven’t you?), please tread carefully!
Maybe you kind mods could keep an extra eye on this thread so that it stays clean and positive?
I basically just want a little corner with nothing but positive vibes here.
I also wasn’t quite sure where this kind of post would fit the best so feel free to move it if you think it’ll be better suited in another category.
With that out of the way we’re ready to start (this might get a bit.. long)!
So. You work (or have worked) at BioWare? Do you realize how special that makes you? How much greatness you guys have produced and spread around the world with these wonderful worlds and galaxies you let us go on grand adventures in?
I know that I’ve hardly even scratched the surface myself, there’s a lot of your games I haven’t even tried out myself, but the ones I have are such treats. For me the main treasure is the Mass Effect franchise. I do own Dragon Age Origins and Jade Empire but never really got around to giving them a serious go. I think that the biggest reason is that I tend to gravitate more towards sci-fi rather than fantasy these days. That and going through the entire DA franchise right now would be quite an undertaking. In a positive way of course, but still, I don’t quite have the same time for gaming these days as I used to.
I did love Baldur’s Gate however and played it quite a bit way back when, but these days? Mass Effect it is!
These game.. I hardly know where to start. They’re something else. Truly. I’ve never played anything that stuck with me in quite the same way.
I know I haven’t played them anywhere near as much as some people around here but that doesn’t lessen the way I see them in any way.
To me Commander Shepard will always be my first customized Shep (as seen in my avatar) and I thought I’d give you a little rundown of his journey. Not down to every decision made, but just the general paths taken and my view on his universe.
First of all, as I said, I went with the customized version rather than the default look and I haven’t regretted that decision one bit. It made me connect to him much more, made him feel more.. mine I guess? It made me feel like I was on the adventure myself, like i was in Shep's.. shoes? Boots? Armor?
I started my career as a Soldier on the 360, first doing two full playthroughs to get to max level. He’s gone basically full paragon along the way. I wanted to be as ready as possible for ME2 when it arrived.
My first romance was with Liara though I did have a soft spot for Tali. Since she wasn’t available however, Liara it was and I really did like her character as well!
Other decisions he took was saving the Rachni queen, saving the council and backing Anderson.
As I said, I don’t want to go overly deep into the details on his adventure, but I had a blast. Walking around the Citadel, exploring the galaxy, going after Saren and generally having a blast.
Oh and the music! My god, the music! You could already tell by the music on the intro screen that this was going to be an epic and unique journey! This too was a trend that would be continuing throughout the trilogy and I still find myself listening to the soundtracks a lot. Especially at work, basically making my days better!
Then we get Mass Effect 2. By then I was hooked beyond saving and wanted to get my hands on every little bit of content I could find. I started out with the collector's edition and grabbed every little DLC I could find. I even scouted eBay for those Pepsi (it was Pepsi right?) promo codes that otherwise wasn't available in my country.
And this from someone who generally don't much care for the DLC model, at least not for small, cosmetic stuff. But what can I say? You had me by then I suppose?
The game itself.. I remember being impressed by how good the game looked, being on the same generation console and everything! Then comes the crew, the loyalty missions, the romances.. Oh yeah, the romances? Now I find out that Liara is to busy to stay with me? And Tali was interested?
I have to admit, I did feel a bit guilty after putting my photo of Liara face down on the table after finally hooking up with Tali but what can a guy do?
The only reasonable thing of course! After finishing the game (got my crew through the suicide mission! That was an epic moment!) I promptly fired up ME1 again and did another playthrough with the same Shep without romancing anyone.. just so I could replay the second one and dedicated myself to Tali full time.
What can I say, a guy’s gotta be loyal, right?
What was that right there? That was the first time I cared that much about my choices that I would go back to put another fifty hours in a previous game just to get everything just right. That felt completely unique to me and is a great example what makes your games special! You make me care about the characters and my choices, they actually matter and the characters feel real, you attach to them. They stick with you long after you've stopped playing.
There's so many good ones but to name a few; the true brother Garrus, the intriguing Legion, the spiritual Thane, Liara who starts off so shy and awkward but grows a lot, Joker, ever a.smart ass but loyal and a true friend and last but not least my favorite mechanic Tali. To name but a few. They all feel like good friends, people I know and have experienced a lot with.
Attachments like this is usually exclusive to (very good) books, shows or movies but you guys nailed it completely. It's a perfect example of what a great medium video games actually are for quality storytelling. We've come a long way since those simple text based games of the past. And yes, I remember those. Rather fondly too, having been a gamer for around thirty years or so, but that's a story for another time. As I said, we’ve come a long way.
Anyway, onwards to the third installment!
The trend continues with a game that feels even more polished, looks gorgeous and has an incredible soundtrack! And the emotions. They hit hard, real hard all across the spectrum. Getting to see more of Tuchanka and the Krogan ruins, Mordin saving the day, landing on Rannoch with Tali, linking up with the Geth and finding out more about their history with the Quarians, fighting a reaper and Kalros! Hell, almost all missions are memorable and great. Really enjoyed getting some more backstory to the reapers from the Leviathan DLC, finding a real life Prothean in Javik.. The list goes on!
Then we get closer to the end. There’s an emotional rollercoaster if I ever saw one. Preparing for the final battle and talking to the troops and my squad and friends, that hit hard. You had me in tears there! Something no other game ever managed to do, and not just for my first playthrough either. Not that this was the only sad part, Thane comes to mind as well for example, but this affected me more than I was expecting it to. You really could feel the end creeping closer, you knew that this was going to get serious. Such an ominous feeling. Something the entire game managed to capture too, you really felt like you were competing with the clock to try to save the galaxy. All that responsibility, the pressure, you could feel it getting to Shep and his squad and friends.
And then we get to the end.
That hurt.
A lot.
I was completely stunned and heartbroken. I couldn’t believe it. Shepard.. dies? My Shepard? Who feels like part of me? My Shepard who was going to settle down on Rannoch with Tali? Suddenly leaving her alone and mourning?
Seeing the crew standing together, trying to console each other, remembering Shepard. Getting stranded somewhere, but at least getting to stay together in a galaxy rendered unrecognizable by the destruction of the relays. Not knowing what the future has in store for them.
And then we get the Extended Cut, fleshing out the consequences, letting us know how the galaxy was trying to cope, to rebuild. The Geth helping the Quarians, the Krogan finding their way back from the genophage and so much more.
This really was an epic journey about a true hero, masterfully created.
Shepard, you will be remembered!
There we have it. Three games.
Doesn’t sound like a lot, but those three games are so much more. They carved their place, left us wanting more, not wanting to let go. To that end I started to stock up on some of the merchandise. The books, comics, the movie, the first hoodie, a few t-shirts. Both wanting to be able to get every bit of the universe I could get my hands on, every morsel of the story and showing the world it’s greatness.
The multiplayer had me hooked as well! I was a bit sceptical when I first heard about it, not quite sure how that would actually work out. Multiplayer in Mass Effect? That seemed odd. But oh how much fun it was! Well, still is but I haven’t played it in a while now (though I am getting that urge again..). I vastly prefer co-op when it comes to multiplayer games and here we actually got the feeling that we were fighting for a reason as well. Trying to repel the reapers with their combined forces.
Oh! I almost forgot about the companion app for Mass Effect 2! That was a very nice touch as well. (It was for ME2 right?) Getting messages from the crew after different missions, making them feel alive and active even while not playing.
Well. What can I say? I suppose I ought to finish this up soon, I’ve rambled for quite some time already haven’t I? Just couldn’t help it, it deserves being said. I know I’m not the first, nor the last, to praise either the Mass Effect series or BioWare but I wanted to do it properly. Giving a voice to my own thoughts.
So, wherever you are, if you currently work or used to work for BioWare, my hats of to you good sir or madam! No matter what position you occupied, be it part of the writers crafting the story, an artist making it all come alive and look great, a designer, getting it all together, a developer making it all just work and for us to take part of it. No, thank you to all of you, QA, human resources, accountants, executives, PR and every single position within this company. You make it what it is, make it able to produce such greatness. I hope you know how lucky you are, how special it makes you!
Just look at your fans. The amount passion and love for your works. All the talented cosplayers, fanfiction writers, artists, musicians.. There are some beautiful things out there that all came to life thanks to you. Things like Malukah's Reignite for instance. It makes me remember, makes me hurt and makes me mourn for Shepard.
Thank you EA as well! For letting BioWare stay true to themselves. Realizing that they know what they’re doing. I can see why you would want to pick this gem of a company up. Your own private golden goose.
Thank you again!
And thank you to any and all of you who read all of this!
I should go.
