I sense some kind of manipulation or twisting going on there. That's what...5 million copies at $40 (estimate since they don't actually earn $60 per game sold)?
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Mass Effect 4: "...we dont want Shepard 2"
- Thread starter EatChildren
- Start date
I sense some kind of manipulation or twisting going on there. That's what...5 million copies at $40 (estimate since they don't actually earn $60 per game sold)?
Stump has lost bets before (the last one being the 3DS with dual analogs) if you want to take him up on this one.
Tony Redgrave
Member
I don't think you're in tune with the fact that there's a huge portion of the fanbase that loves Female Shepard and has been fighting hard to make BioWare notice it, they have gradually given in and started to take FemShep more seriously over the course of the trilogy (See default FemShep and FemShep exclusive trailer in ME3) so it's actually the opposite. If anything I can see them treating the female part as good as the male one from the beginning (scanned actor face etc...) even if male is still the poster boy.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
I'm not arguing I don't want aliens, I'm arguing why it wont happen. BioWare is not going to regress on their cinematic, narrative and dialogue driven series to a mute protagonist. You should expect it about as much as anybody should expect it from Nathan Drake. It's asking them to change a massive bullet point attached the entire franchise. It works for Dragon Age because that's what Dragon Age was supposed to be, appealing immediately to a specific market that is used to that kind of thing. Mainline Mass Effect will always have voiced dialogue at the forefront. I'd be very, very surprised to see BioWare do otherwise.
As for the alien, again it ties into marketing. I'd love to play as an alien, but I don't see BioWare abandoning that 'rock' to their universe that a lot of people appeal to. Sci-fi generally explores the adventures of a strange galaxy full of strange places and strange creatures from the perspective of the only species we know: humans. It would be rad to have a singular alien protagonist, but I can't imagine EA would want it.
They shouldn't bother IMO. That's another voice actress they have to hire and change all of the main character's lines to make sure they're addressed as She instead of He and all that stuff. Take the money that would go into that and make the core game stronger and with more lines of dialogue. After ME3 the main character desperately needs more lines.
They shipped 3.5 million at launch. If they get the same amount Microsoft does from at least one retailer per game (~$52), that would require a bit over 3.8 million. I suspect they get more like $48-ish though given it's a big title, but we have to average across retailers. That would put them at ~4.2 million by the time this was released.
For revenue, the retailer part is the only part that matters, since licensing fee COG would only be removed for profit calculation as opposed to revenue.
These suggestions are like you want the franchise to tank.
EA is not a charity, they're funding products that have to make money. It can either huge, pretty, and watered down, or it can be small, detailed, and impenetrable to the average customer, but you can't have something as grand as Mass Effect, that alienates millions of people. Yes, you could probably pick out a couple of examples where it's worked, but that doesn't make it a smart investment.
The Mass Effect branding is big enough on its own right now. They don't have to try to 'appeal' to people.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
I only make cash bets on GAF on total no-brainers, and I only lost that bet because Nintendo made a brainless, bizarre decision. Thankfully, I won my Paul Gale-related bet the same week so it worked out covering things no problem.
I'm not blind to that--you also forgot the ME3 reversible cover art!--but I also feel like they've got an impulse towards constraint and streamlining that won't be stopped, and the emphasis on a clean break here makes it easier for them to rationalize the decision. Just like when DA1->DA2 removed non-human PCs, they'll simply say that they're doing it to allow for more focus and the best possible character construction and yadda yadda yadda.
Tony Redgrave
Member
Only if they want to sell their product. I know, crazy.
Nah, BioWare plays the progressive, equal rights and Same Sex Romance card a lot, there's a huge part of the core fanbase that expects progressive elements and attitudes in their games, also it gives them good publicity in the media, EA will want to keep that.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
The irony in all of this is how little streamlining they've done with the ME3 multiplayer. You can play as a fucking Volus.
Nope, they were right, I remember betting my dick on it.
I hear that World of Warcraft game with the orcs is pretty popular.
Which is funny to hear you worry about them wanting to sell their product and then you talk about how they're going to go in the direction of still using an optional female protagonist.
To your earlier point though, I feel by no Shepard they mean they don't want you playing another military figure, given that they follow it up with: “So first, we don’t want to make ‘Shepard 2′, or Mass Effect 4 with like, ‘oh there’s no more Shepard but you’re a soldier in the universe’.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Again, a series built on the fundamental idea of non-cinematic drive multi-species play.
Asking them to scale back the cinematic approach to Mass Effect is asking them to make a Mass Effect unlike the entire Mass Effect series. Even the recent iOS game is pretty voiced dialogue/narrative heavy.
I'm all for branching out and doing something entirely different with an IP, but I don't always expect in. This case I don't expect it at all.
Even if they do that, it'll be like Dead Space. 'You're an engineer!' but you might as well be a soldier. You pretty much are by the second one.
Oh for sure, I don't doubt that, but that's just how I read the quote.
Tony Redgrave
Member
Comparing Mass Effect with World of Warcraft is a no-go, but you already knew that. They will use an optional female protagonist with an male main poster boy, as they always do, if you want to know why look at my earlier post.
I still haven't played 3, but out of the first two, I still say 1 is the best, and it still holds up as one of my favorite games. I mean, 2 definitely has better combat and a lot smoother gameplay, but at the expense of losing a lot of the RPG elements, not to mention it just lost a lot of the style and what made it special.
ME 1 felt 1 part adventure in space discovering new worlds and species; 1 part Sci-Fi action movie, with some good gameplay to back it up; but most importantly, it felt like a Sci-Fi noire, private dick kind of movie. That last part was one of the more special parts of the overall package for me. I think when the action and stakes got so eye, you kind of lose that.
I would be really happy to see them go back to a true RPG system, and go back to that noire style of atmosphere. I think it was really cool and unique in the original, and if that game had ME 2's smoother gameplay, then it would easily be considered the best in the series by all its fans.
ME 1 felt 1 part adventure in space discovering new worlds and species; 1 part Sci-Fi action movie, with some good gameplay to back it up; but most importantly, it felt like a Sci-Fi noire, private dick kind of movie. That last part was one of the more special parts of the overall package for me. I think when the action and stakes got so eye, you kind of lose that.
I would be really happy to see them go back to a true RPG system, and go back to that noire style of atmosphere. I think it was really cool and unique in the original, and if that game had ME 2's smoother gameplay, then it would easily be considered the best in the series by all its fans.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
"In the original Mass Effect we had players take on the role of Commander Shepard, an admirable and dedicated Human Alliance solider-turned-spectre, representing humanity's best in the fight against the Reapers. For this new Mass Effect trilogy, we made the early decisions to steer away from the character of Shepard, and provide a new, enriching narrative surrounding a fresh new identity. And so, today we are proud to announce that in Mass Effect 4 players will embody Adrian Killstar, a gruff mercenary with a dark past, on the run from the law with nothing to lose.
Female option not available."
Female option not available."
Yeah. Development realities mean that priorities must be made, and sadly voice acting and cinematics are most likely going to be prioritized over player choice and customization. As you've pointed out, Bioware has already been heading in that direction, and I'd be surprised to see them turn around at this point.
Deadly Cyclone
Pride of Iowa State
I would love to see a game showcasing human's first discovery of the relay and first interactions with the other races. That would be pretty awesome.
Weltall Zero
Member
That is your problem right there. Jennifer Hale for the win.
It would be a really short game. A couple quick "battles" with the turians and then meeting with the council and then nothing much happens until ME1.
DanielJr82
Member
Make it like the Firefly TV show, please.
indigo-cyclops
Member
This is my biggest concern. Such a tired device. I don't mind having a grand scale. I always liked the idea of a Turian specter on confidential missions and bounty hunting. Something where we see the really gritty/dark side of the ME universe.
Bioware couldn't do anything that fun.
Anyways...if they don't make it Post-ME3, then I really won't have no interest in the game. ME3's endings kinda opened a new Pandora Box, and if they don't address it, they really are out of any creativity.
No need for big overreaching threat, but I assume that the aftermath of what happened are ripe with stories to tell...hopefully Bioware tell it well.
Hire Chris Avellone! (This is assuming Project Eternity is done by the time ME4 begins work)
I don't seem them going with a non-human lead. Unnecessary risk(halo 2) and we barely even got our feet wet in regards to female leads.
I hope it doesn't take place before the ME trilogy. Even so, I see it likely as a possibility(Halo 3--> Reach). A vocal amount of people were dissatisfied with the ending, would be a bit odd to make a game that would eventually lead to that(prequel).
Regarding what you are in the actual game, theres not a lot of influentially roles besides a solider. What other individual would have been able to do what Shepard did? I guess someone leading an uprising would work, an average joe.
Either way I hope they learned from their mistakes from the last 3 games and go out with a bang.
I hope it doesn't take place before the ME trilogy. Even so, I see it likely as a possibility(Halo 3--> Reach). A vocal amount of people were dissatisfied with the ending, would be a bit odd to make a game that would eventually lead to that(prequel).
Regarding what you are in the actual game, theres not a lot of influentially roles besides a solider. What other individual would have been able to do what Shepard did? I guess someone leading an uprising would work, an average joe.
Either way I hope they learned from their mistakes from the last 3 games and go out with a bang.
I want to play as
Mordin the krogan
How do we know? Has anyone lately besides Nintendo even tried making a high profile game where you play as a nonhuman character?
I was thinking, if they were talking about not wanting to repeat the same kind of story as the trilogy, maybe they could do one with a bunch of shorter stories starring different characters that could intersect with each other, like in Saga Frontier. It would be an interesting way to explore the setting in different ways.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Worth noting, at BioWare's Edmonton Comic & Entertainment Expo this weekend they're having a panel on Sunday titled "The Mass Effect Universe with Mike Gamble, Thomas Perlinski, Leo Lucien-Bay, Scott Mitchell, Patrick Weekes, Nathan Matichuk and Ryan Warden". Might learn a bit more about the bigger picture then.
That's something I could see, if instead of doing "this is a new trilogy" they went with just one game. Per game basis storytelling.
That's something I could see, if instead of doing "this is a new trilogy" they went with just one game. Per game basis storytelling.
Bingo
Also worth tangentially noting, they're humoring showing Dragon Age 3 in the panel that happens in about ~1.5 hours.
Since BioWare is almost assuredly using Frostbite 2 for the next Mass Effect as well, and most of the staff that works on BioWare games moves between the projects, people here might be interested in seeing how competent they are at using the engine so far, assuming it leaks out.
I'm taking the late 2013 date and making some assumptions about cross-generationness, but yeah, if it's not it's probably not helpful.
Not that cross generation is the world's best picture, but it's a lot more helpful than last gen only.
Although if they do show the game, they'll probably show it on PC actually right? So DX11, all the bells and whistles we'll see for the next-gen machines should be represented. It might actually be a very cool indication of what's to come in that sense.
I always assumed that showing us a gritty side of the universe was what Mass Effect 2 was going for.
SeriousApes
Member
That's my main annoyance with the series. I felt more like I was exploring a universe in Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time than I did in ME2 or 3.
BioWare could do a lot more with the universe they've created.
And once they release all Volus characters, there is going to be more choices for them than Salarians, Geths, both Quarian genders, Batarians, Drells and Vorchas. I'm not sure if that's funny or sad.
universalmind
Member
I'm gonna guess and say you'll play a smuggler or some shit.
This, how do you beat huge alien race coming to kill everyone etc. I bet they do though.
Edit, set it on one planet and base it around C sec.
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