BioWare Making Mass Effect 3 More Accessible for New Players

[hazabaza1]

You know, for the ones that wouldnt get the, "Oooooh, Shepard, you remember that one time?", well thats THEIR fault. Not the fault of us that have been with the game from the beginning. Thats a treat, and a reward to US, and more and more it keeps sounding like OUR experience is getting dumbed down so newcomers can jump on... at the END of the STORY. Yep, that makes alot of sense, Bioware. You guys have gotten me deeply afraid of what product you are putting out in March. Your focus seems to be in the wrong places, and alot of people are going to be FURIOUS if you drop the ball on whats important in place of whats not.

Yeah! Fuck those people who only had a PS3 and so could only play the second game! What cunts!
But seriously, if you actually read the article before complaining you'll notice that they said that there'll only be more detail for new players, imported saves will be different. Trying to get more people to enjoy something that'll probably be a great experience due to money or time issues is not a bad thing.

 

[Beliyal]

i think most people who have commented this thread so far didnt read that part :

The first step in accomplishing that feat is programming the AI to interact with players differently depending on whether or not they imported a save from Mass Effect 2. If they did, the characters surrounding them will be much less likely to dump narrative exposition on them during the game, while if they're new, NPCs will drop in more details so the newbies don't feel left out

so if you have played the two first game, and that you did import your save game, well you will still have people comming at you telling you "you remember me from that thing". If they do it correctly, i dont have a trouble qith that actually. For the people who will have played the second game, you will have a continuity and for those who have not, it will be easier for them

by the way i'm very intrigued to know how the story line will be constructed, since according to bioware a dead sheppard stay dead...

...and now I feel like a tool. ...

We had to spend the whole day computing pi because of you!

... Sorry, couldn't resist.

Anyway, at first I was "Eh?", but then I noticed that bit that cathou copied and then I was "Oh, alright, carry on then". All in all, it seems like it won't affect the old players so that's okay. I wouldn't really enjoy if I had to listen to someone explain things that I've been through three times. But if it'll be separated like that, I have nothing against making conversation options for people who didn't play the first two games.

 

[D0WNT0WN]

BioWare Making Mass Effect 3 More Accessible for New Players

Does anyone else hate the phrase "More Accessible for New Players" as much as I do, it pretty much translates to "We making the game easier for people who are under twelve, fuck the people who played the previous games.". You know like the did with Dragon Age 2.

Yeah im not buying Mass Effect 3.

 

[Riff Moonraker]

You know, for the ones that wouldnt get the, "Oooooh, Shepard, you remember that one time?", well thats THEIR fault. Not the fault of us that have been with the game from the beginning. Thats a treat, and a reward to US, and more and more it keeps sounding like OUR experience is getting dumbed down so newcomers can jump on... at the END of the STORY. Yep, that makes alot of sense, Bioware. You guys have gotten me deeply afraid of what product you are putting out in March. Your focus seems to be in the wrong places, and alot of people are going to be FURIOUS if you drop the ball on whats important in place of whats not.

Yeah! Fuck those people who only had a PS3 and so could only play the second game! What cunts!
But seriously, if you actually read the article before complaining you'll notice that they said that there'll only be more detail for new players, imported saves will be different. Trying to get more people to enjoy something that'll probably be a great experience due to money or time issues is not a bad thing.

EXACTLY! No, I did miss that part. In my defense, I am reading bits between running around busy, but yeah, I missed that part. However, I am still concerned. I have seen alot of things that they have been doing for this last game, that I personally feel could detract from their focus of the game, ie the story. I could be completely wrong (and I hope I am) but I have just been antsy ever since EA got their grubby paws on it.

 

[Dogstile]

-'Mass Effect 3 is positioned to become one of the biggest titles of 2012'-

No it isn't. A lot of people said they hate EA now, and won't be buying Mass Effect 3 or any other product released under them, remember?

Unless they were all full of it.... I'm guessing they were....

Wasn't most of that origin hate?

And isn't it coming to consoles, where anyone who doesn't like origin will play it? And hell, i'm not saying its good, but it'll just be pirated instead. Again, not saying it's good, but their is no denying it'll happen. The people who want to avoid giving EA money will find a way to do so. Even if they will be dicks about it.

 

[antipunt]

Was anyone really all that surprised that something like this was going to happen?

case in point: DA2 and friends

 

[Irridium]

Hey, I have a great idea on how to get new players up to speed.

Bundle ME1 and/or 2 with ME3. Like how Ubisoft bundled Assassin's Creed 1 with Revelations on the PS3.

That'd be pretty sweet.

 

[GiantRaven]

It doesn't matter what part of the series this is. Every single game should try to gather new players, since if they didn't then the amount of people buying from ME2 to 3 will go down (not everybody will have liked the second game and be willing to buy the next). It's a lot like reading comic books. Each storyline should allow for new readers to pick up and understand what is going on, instead of relying on the crutch of heavy continuity that pleases long-reading fans. It turns off potential new buyers and dwindles sales.

Come to think of it, a lot of people in these comments sound like the typical disgruntled comic book fan. Utterly pathetic and unwilling to allow other people to come in and enjoy the same things as them.

I really like this move. I'll have to play the game through both with and without imported saves to see the differences. It's great when there are lots of different ways a game can be shown to the player. Hopefully it will be a success and an inspiration to other developers in the future.

 

[Undead Dragon King]

It doesn't matter what part of the series this is. Every single game should try to gather new players, since if they didn't then the amount of people buying from ME2 to 3 will go down (not everybody will have liked the second game and be willing to buy the next). It's a lot like reading comic books. Each storyline should allow for new readers to pick up and understand what is going on, instead of relying on the crutch of heavy continuity that pleases long-reading fans. It turns off potential new buyers and dwindles sales.

Come to think of it, a lot of people in these comments sound like the typical disgruntled comic book fan. Utterly pathetic and unwilling to allow other people to come in and enjoy the same things as them.

I really like this move. I'll have to play the game through both with and without imported saves to see the differences. It's great when there are lots of different ways a game can be shown to the player. Hopefully it will be a success and an inspiration to other developers in the future.

Well said. Those second-hand exposition references to new players might even make them want to go back and live those referenced experiences for themselves in the first two games. This is another great way to turn new players into true Mass Effect fans, at the minimal cost of only a few extra lines of dialogue at a recording studio. I doubt the 'allocation of resources' whiners will have much to yell at here.

 

[Susan Arendt]

Ah yes "new players" the supposed group of people to lazy to read a synopsis or the wiki before playing a game, ah Bioware cares more for them than PEOPLE WHO ALREADY BOUGHT THE LAST TWO GAMES.

How do you figure? These changes only impact the game if you don't port over a save. So people who already bought the last two games won't be affected.

 

[StriderShinryu]

Wow.. as if I needed more proof that people here will respond to news stories when it's blatantly obvious they didn't actually read the, you know, article they are supposed to be responding to.

*sigh*

Sounds like a great idea to me. Not invasive for old players and very welcoming to new players. Thumbs up, Bioware.

 

[boag]

The first Time I played ME, i had trouble knowing what the different terminology was, I had to jump in the codex to get a bearing on things, and it wasnt until I was halfway in the game that I got a sense of familiarity with it.


I do understand the need and want for new players to join the franchise, but doing it at such a late stage seems detrimental. I am sure I am not qualified for judging the newcomer experience, since ive already played previous games, I just hope that this doesnt affect the gameplay experience of people who will buy the game to complete the story of their sheppard.


Lastly, this will be one of the few games I will be buying on release date, usually I hold out for reviews or even a sequel to see how well the game plays, it lets me know what to expect, but I am so deeply involved in this series as a whole, that I just want confirmation on the fates of characters ive grown to like.

 

[boag]

George Lucas didn't try to attract new viewers with Return of the Jedi.

This Statement is flawed, Remember that the original Starwars movie, was the 4th chapter, and Return of the Jedi incorporated a lot elements to appeal to more general audiences.

 

[boag]

Was anyone really all that surprised that something like this was going to happen?

case in point: DA2 and friends

That is a great point and a decent precedence that can be taken into account, I am sure most people will be more careful with their purchase this time around, and will not immediately jump on the release date purchase, without taking responsibility for the possible risk of the game not being what is expected.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Challenge: Explain things to new players without use of the phrase "dumbing down".

I mean, there was all that fuss trying to explain the Federation and the Klingons in DS9.

Oh wait...

 

[justnotcricket]

BioWare Making Mass Effect 3 More Accessible for New Players

Does anyone else hate the phrase "More Accessible for New Players" as much as I do, it pretty much translates to "We making the game easier for people who are under twelve, fuck the people who played the previous games.". You know like the did with Dragon Age 2.

Yeah im not buying Mass Effect 3.

I dislike the phrase, yes, but only because it makes people who clearly didn't read the article through gripe about the developers 'making the game easier'. If you take a minute and read the full text, you'll see that this pertains to 'the story thus far' exposition, which Bioware wants to include for new players to catch them up but doesn't want to dump on people who are continuing with a previous save file and know what's going on. I fail to see how that's a bad thing.

If that one line is making you give up on Mass Effect 3, then you clearly weren't that interested in it in the first place.