Casey Hudson comments on the character's role in ME3:
https://twitter.com/#!/CaseyDHudson/status/173092061912903681
https://twitter.com/#!/CaseyDHudson/status/173092061912903681
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Mass Effect 3 DLC "From Ashes" briefly outed on Xbox Marketplace (spoilerish)
- Thread starter GSR
- Start date
The concern isn't necessarily whether or not he is critical, but whether or not he should have been. The Protheans were such an important part of the backstory that bringing one into the game only to say "don't worry guys, he's really not important" is pretty jarring and concerning.
Well my guess is that they never thought about including a prothean until the last minute, when the main story of the game was done and changing it all to include the last remaining Prothean in the galaxy would have delayed the game a little more. So i guess DLC was the best option when that idea came into their mind. It's just that instead of getting it 3 months after the release, we'll get it on day 1.
Its the only reasonable explanation i can get.
EatChildren has said that plans for the prothean squadmate were in place since ME2 so I don't think he was a last minute thing at all. He wasn't critical to the third game, but he sure is critical to the lore and that is where the bitching comes from. You may not agree, but I do see a point for people being bothered by this.
Wiggum2007
Junior Member
But the prothean was a part of the main story in the script leak in the beta.
D
Deleted member 13876
Unconfirmed Member
A random writer going "Oh, I know let's add a Prothean" at the last minute is also a bit of an insulting alternative though. Given their importance in the lore, I argue he should indeed be important, be well thought out and be given the proper weight based on how big a deal his existence should be in the grander scheme.
Seeing as the Protean is mentioned in the game scrip months ago, and having assets already in place, i doubt it was a spur of the moment kinda thing.
Oh god, don't be that guy.
D
Deleted member 13876
Unconfirmed Member
I doubt it is either. What I posted was in response to what Bisnic said. But at the same time that tweet kinda downplaying the Prothean rubs me the wrong way too.
Photolysis
Banned
Wasn't there stuff about this in the various leaks that occurred over the past few months, well before content completion?
Certainly calls into doubt claims that they only started working on it after the game was finished...
Certainly calls into doubt claims that they only started working on it after the game was finished...
You don't think having a squad mate that consists of the last living member of a dead race that has been pivotal to the series since the beginning and is pretty much the foundation of the lore that Mass Effect has been built should be considered a little bit more than "not that critical"???
shinobi602
Member
When the Collector's Edition was announced back in June of last year, it had "Prothean squadmate & mission" as one of the items included in it. I'm guessing it was a mistake to spoil it like that so they quickly changed it back to just extra squadmate and mission.
He was definitely part of the game long before the game went gold.
shingonation
Member
First leak (old rough draft) -> Prothean was important and critical.
Second leak (actual game files) -> Prothean is no longer critical, but lore important and also the coolest character in the game, and there was no data about the Eden Prime mission probably because it wasn't done at that time, just dialogue and banter.
So the Prothean (mission) was planned, but not done or completed until after the main game was completed.
So they're not lying, but I still think they should have released him for free, he makes the game better.
Second leak (actual game files) -> Prothean is no longer critical, but lore important and also the coolest character in the game, and there was no data about the Eden Prime mission probably because it wasn't done at that time, just dialogue and banter.
So the Prothean (mission) was planned, but not done or completed until after the main game was completed.
So they're not lying, but I still think they should have released him for free, he makes the game better.
Just because the Prothean was planned well in advance doesn't make him critical to the story. My bet is the Prothean's inclusion resulted from a line of thinking such as, "Hey, Protheans are a big part of the backstory. Wouldn't it be cool to let the player have one as a squad mate?" (As opposed to having the Prothean a central part of the story planning.) During game development, it's quite possible that Bioware decided the Prothean's part in the game wasn't working out as well as they'd hoped, so he was cut. Let's face it - a living Prothean just doesn't make much sense.
That said, I'm not happy about Bioware's decision on this. As a general rule, I don't preorder and I don't buy collector's editions. In-game additions from these are usually fluff, and I've never felt like I was missing out. Regardless of whether or not the Prothean is important to the main story, his DLC is not fluff. It's something I'd very much like to have, and being forced into buying the collector's edition would make me feel exploited as a customer.
That said, I'm not happy about Bioware's decision on this. As a general rule, I don't preorder and I don't buy collector's editions. In-game additions from these are usually fluff, and I've never felt like I was missing out. Regardless of whether or not the Prothean is important to the main story, his DLC is not fluff. It's something I'd very much like to have, and being forced into buying the collector's edition would make me feel exploited as a customer.
Slackbladder
Member
If this DLC had been someone like Zaeed from ME2 no one would give a shit (except those that feel it should still be free as it was in ME2, which is a perfectly valid point). But because the character is very much part of the game lore and, potentially, very relevant to the story, people do give a shit. This is where Bioware fucked up. People would'nt be so willing to pay $10 for a "no name" character, but a singularly lore specific one, well, Bioware must have thought "that'll get peoples wallets open". It's sheer greed, plain and simple. And I do blame Bioware because it's their intellectual property, they can do what the fuck they want with it, which in this case means squeezing more money from their fans.
The DLC is not exclusive to people buying the CE edition. You can stil buy it seperately.
The problem is not that he now isn't critical to the story, it is that he should be critical to the story, a member of a species that till the events of ME1 was the basis of most of the lore that the species in the game use and that you were also told about from the beginning that has seemingly been sidelined.
What annoys me the most is that instead of getting a Prothean as a permanent squad mate, or even what looks like another sidelining of Legion who to me was another character Bioware shoved to the side who is easily one of the coolest, we end up with Vega.
I mean, who doesn't want another human mohawk dude bro in a game, much better than one of the other numerous interesting species or characters that we have seen in the universe.
LumpOfCole
Member
Vega might be as terribad as we all fear, in fact it seems rather likely, but let's at least play the game and give the dudebrah a chance. He has to be more interesting than Jacob.
I wouldn't be surprised if Vega is just another Jacob at all, I barely used Jacob, only at the beginning of the game and for his loyalty mission, he always seemed like a pointless character to me.
Deja vu, lol.
What annoys me more with Jacob is how his mouth animates when he talk. Only the lips move, his mouth itself is barely open, his teeth always in the same position. It never seems that bad with other humans. Maybe its because of the bigger lips.
thatsracist.gif
I'll give him the benefit of the doubt because of FPJ. He really seems to like ME, so at least his VO won't completely suck. Too bad whatever dialogue he has is probably at the mercy of the writers.
I said 'critical', not 'interesting'. You could go through the entire main questline with no Daedric artifacts, and not notice it at all.
Pollux
Member
quoted b/c its a good point
I disagree entirely. Unless Bioware has managed to pull some brilliant explanation out of their ass, he shouldn't be critical to the story. I'll reserve judgement until I see it for myself, but if his presence is explained by a bunch of contrived hand-waving then I'd rather view him as a non-canon easter egg than as a real, full squad member. An easter egg I'd be very interested in seeing - preferably without paying an extra $10 - but an easter egg nonetheless.
On the other hand, if his presence ends up making perfect sense, I will strongly question Bioware's priorities in determining which content gets cut during their development process.
There started working on him last month. They planned to have him in back in June when the CE was announced.
Planing and working on are different things.
ColonelColon
Member
A few pictures of Mass Effect 3 were posted on the Gamestop facebook, including a screenshot of the Prothean. It looks like (more pre-release spoilers)
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.378889215464344.92701.110455108974424&type=1
Collectors are back as well.
shinobi602
Member
Liara lookin gud.
They got better.
shinobi602
Member
shinobi602
Member
Some folks on the Bioware forums are speculating it could be a flashback 50,000 years ago with the Protheans being assaulted by the Reapers and Collectors....perhaps the Prothean squadmate will give you that vision and you might play through it or something...
Lifejumper
Member
Why is it strange? The Collectors aren't extinct?
Blue Ninja
Member
The area does look rather pristine, so that might just be accurate.
It was implied they were once Shep wtfbombed their base.
A flashback would be cool actually. Something they did with Leliana in the DA: Origins DLC but never in any ME games.
completely agree with this. To go further into my post above, not only is Prothean technology actually Reaper technology, once Sovereign drops that truthbomb in ME1, Protheans are pretty much irrelevant in the events of the games, with the exception of modding the Keepers.
"But what about the Collectors, dumbass!" They are pawns of the Reapers, i.e. Reaper technology.
ME1-ME3 is about the galaxy vs. the Reapers, not an archaeological dig at a Prothean site.
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