BioWare Making Mass Effect 3 More Accessible for New Players

[Robert632]

Y'know, I thought this was one of the selling points of ME3 in the first place. They created an entire character just so they could have someone to exposit to for God's sake.

Also, I'm entirely indifferent to this if it does what it says it does(I.E: only show up when a non-carried over file is played).

 

[OutcastBOS]

NO. This is the kind of shit that spoiled Saints Row the Third for me, making as little references and continuations as possible just to avoid "alienating new players." You know what? this is the third god damned entry for this not-so-obscure game, and they can't be arsed to pick up the other two? NO! That's a no-no, and something that ruins good sequels.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Remember that time when someone complained that The Return of the King was too confusing because it wasn't accessible to new viewers of The Lord of the Rings?

Gaming is a very different medium to cinema though. And while ME is certainly one of the more cinematic and story based games out there, many gamers in this generation don't see numbers on a sequel as a barrier to jumping into a story - whether this is a good or bad thing, who can say.

 

[boag]

Its flawed because:

on the one hand both reference events the viewer is unfamiliar with, Lukes Father, the Clone Wars and the Rebel Insurgency, the dismantling of the Galactic Senate.

on the other hand, they are both self contained stories, the only thing I could possibly give you a passing grievance over is Han Solos Rescue, otherwise its pretty straight forward and anyone new to the Franchise could sit down and watch Return and not be confused.

That is why your example is flawed.

Spoiler

Who is Yoda, and why is it so important Luke leaves the others to speak with him? Why does Yoda live in a swamp in the middle of nowhere?

Who the fuck is Obi Wan, and why is he glowing blue?

What happened to the first Death Star if the one in ROTJ is the second one being built?

Why are the main characters given such prominent positions in the Rebel Army despite all of them being quite obviously in their twenties?

What the fuck is a Jedi?

Why is Luke always wearing a glove on one of his hands? When did one of his hands become a robot?

Who is Lando, and why is Han giving him the Falcon for their bombing run against the Empire?

Why is it so critical for a Jedi to never act out of anger or hatred, a la the Emperor's goading?

When did Han and Leia get together?

Since when did Leia always know that Luke was her brother?

Who the fuck is Boba Fett, and why is he hanging around Jabba's place waiting for trouble?

How come Luke is able to persuade people to do stuff they wouldn't normally want to do?

Why was Han Solo frozen in carbonite?

Those are the sort of questions people are going to have if they skip A New Hope/Empire Strikes Back and head straight for ROTJ. It's really not that difficult a point to understand. Yes, the events of ROTJ are separate from the prior films, but they are built on what was laid down previously.

ugh, you know what, I dont care enough about the SW continue a meaningless discussion about it, the fact of the matter remains, you can jump into a new hope and have self contained story just as you can on Return.

And from the looks of it will be the same deal for ME3, if you have trust issues then just wait and see how it gets review or just skip it altogether.

 

[Screamarie]

If they did it right, I think this would actually be really cool because if what they're saying is true, I won't have to listen to a lot of crap I've already heard before. I'm SO amped for this game. I really miss playing with my Shepard and I want to know what happens to Thane! But March is coming! Got to get back to playing ME1 and ME2 so I can perfect my game for ME3!

 

[kingpocky]

NO. This is the kind of shit that spoiled Saints Row the Third for me, making as little references and continuations as possible just to avoid "alienating new players." You know what? this is the third god damned entry for this not-so-obscure game, and they can't be arsed to pick up the other two? NO! That's a no-no, and something that ruins good sequels.

Another person not getting that this is exactly what Bioware is avoiding? I understand people get angry about their beloved franchises being made "accessible," but does the very sight of the word itself make them skip straight to the comment section to rant in their rage?

 

[BreakfastMan]

I love how people are whining the house down without actually reading the article text.

Stay classy folks.

Ain't the first time. Certainly won't be the last, unfortunately...

Also, it makes me lol when I see stuff like this, then see people post about how mature, reasonable, and smart we are. XD

 

[OutcastBOS]

NO. This is the kind of shit that spoiled Saints Row the Third for me, making as little references and continuations as possible just to avoid "alienating new players." You know what? this is the third god damned entry for this not-so-obscure game, and they can't be arsed to pick up the other two? NO! That's a no-no, and something that ruins good sequels.

Another person not getting that this is exactly what Bioware is avoiding? I understand people get angry about their beloved franchises being made "accessible," but does the very sight of the word itself make them skip straight to the comment section to rant in their rage?

To be honest, yes. Mainly when it has to do with things that are sequels to already established franchises. Being more "accessible" is ruining a lot of good games. Fable, Saints Row, ect. I know that they're trying to make it easier to get into, but still, there are two earlier games that can do just that.

"If I'm a new player and some guy walks up to me and is like 'Ohhhh, Shepard! Remember that one time?' I would be like 'No. I don't remember that one time,'" Clifford said. "So we wanted to make sure that there aren't those moments that the player is like, 'Who is this? What's going on? What are they talking about?'"

^^ This is what I was talking about earlier. Maybe they'd remember that one time, or not go "who is this" if they actually played the first damn games.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

No. Failure. I don't care if you'll tell me about the experiences. I want to live them. Know what would help boost more sales Bioware?

Release Mass Effect 1 for PS3. Pests. I want to play this series, but I have neither a 360 or a PC capable of doing it.

The first Mass Effect is owned by Microsoft, Bioware has no say in it

 

[OutcastBOS]

Remember that time when someone complained that The Return of the King was too confusing because it wasn't accessible to new viewers of The Lord of the Rings?

Gaming is a very different medium to cinema though. And while ME is certainly one of the more cinematic and story based games out there, many gamers in this generation don't see numbers on a sequel as a barrier to jumping into a story - whether this is a good or bad thing, who can say.

On certain games, like the yearlies (COD, sports titles, ect) it's alright, because they're stand alone thing. Others where I find it alright are sequels with little relation to past ones, like the Elder Scrolls.

But on stuff like this, where the story is strongly connected, I find it bad.

 

[Caffiene]

Bioware clearly told us both times to keep our saves to import into the sequels.

Citation needed?

I remember them clearly saying you could keep your save if you wanted your choices to carry over to the next game, but thats not the same as "your game will contain significant exposition and dumbing down if you dont keep your save".

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Remember that time when someone complained that The Return of the King was too confusing because it wasn't accessible to new viewers of The Lord of the Rings?

Gaming is a very different medium to cinema though. And while ME is certainly one of the more cinematic and story based games out there, many gamers in this generation don't see numbers on a sequel as a barrier to jumping into a story - whether this is a good or bad thing, who can say.

While I agree with that, I don't think developers should spend time and money having to retread old ground to make sure everyone's up to speed.

Apparently Bioware are making it so that 'remember when...' moments are accessible to old players, so that's fine, but not every developer would do that, and instead conveniently forget everything that's transpired in the past so that new players don't feel 'alienated', or have massive exposition dumps every ten minutes.

 

[Joccaren]

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.

Think of it like TV shows. You'll have a lot of episodes that it really doesn't matter if you've seen the previous ones, or any other, as the story is 90% unrelated. That is most games. Then you will get the occasional double or triple episode where the story is 100% based off the last one. Usually this will have a short intro at the beginning to bring everyone up to speed. This is Mass Effect.
Now, imagine you watched the first episode and got really pumped for the second. You get to the second episode, and every conversation explains what happened in the previous episode before moving on to what's happening in this one, just for new viewers. That is what people are afraid of happening. Hell, imagine if comic books did that, stated exactly what happened in the previous book in the next one, just to help people know what happened last book. It would get annoying. I don't want everything that happened in the last two books or episodes to be spelt out to me, I read/watched them.
Also, if it doesn't try to gather new players that doesn't mean its player base will drop. It will gather new players on its own, without changing itself. Focusing on making the story easier to understand for people who CBF playing the second game (Which is available on all major platforms) is not needed. I mean hell, I'll even throw in a comment near the top of the thread: Do you remember when everyone said Return of the King was too confusing and inaccessible to newcomers to the LoTR trilogy? Neither do I.

Now, dependent on how they handle this, I may or may not mind. I'm not going to like doing my 'Default Decisions' playthrough where I see what the world is like if Shepard made all the default decisions, as I'll keep getting info I already know dumped on me, but so long as they keep that out of all imported Shepard's stories, and don't sacrifice too much time making it sew, I won't mind. It'll be like multiplayer: A somewhat useless feature for the game that may end up interesting. Personally, rather than for any non-imported Shepard, I'd have an option in the options menu for 'extra exposition' that is by default on for non-imported Shepards, and off for imported ones, but can be turned on and off for either in the options menu. Hell, they may even be doing that.
I agree people don't need to sound so hateful of this, but I do understand where they are coming from, and I somewhat share their concerns too.

 

[GiantRaven]

You get to the second episode, and every conversation explains what happened in the previous episode before moving on to what's happening in this one, just for new viewers.

Ah, I see your point. I definitely don't want every conversation in Mass Effect 3 to be an explanation of what came before. It's a good thing that this article is stating something completely different to that! It doesn't even make a difference to people who have played the game before. This is nothing but a benefit to the act of making money. New fans are happy. Old fans are hypothetically happy, since they don't have to put up with it if they import a save.

Hell, imagine if comic books did that, stated exactly what happened in the previous book in the next one, just to help people know what happened last book. It would get annoying.

A lot of comics do that. A short few narration boxes in the first couple of pages explaining the current story. It's no biggie whatsoever.

 

[irequirefood]

The awkward moment when so many people complain about the new additions to the game, without actually reading the article properly.

Yeah, this wont affect me because I played both games, but good on BioWare for trying to help out people who decide to try a new game, even if they are late to the series.

 

[kingpocky]

NO. This is the kind of shit that spoiled Saints Row the Third for me, making as little references and continuations as possible just to avoid "alienating new players." You know what? this is the third god damned entry for this not-so-obscure game, and they can't be arsed to pick up the other two? NO! That's a no-no, and something that ruins good sequels.

Another person not getting that this is exactly what Bioware is avoiding? I understand people get angry about their beloved franchises being made "accessible," but does the very sight of the word itself make them skip straight to the comment section to rant in their rage?

To be honest, yes. Mainly when it has to do with things that are sequels to already established franchises. Being more "accessible" is ruining a lot of good games. Fable, Saints Row, ect. I know that they're trying to make it easier to get into, but still, there are two earlier games that can do just that.

"If I'm a new player and some guy walks up to me and is like 'Ohhhh, Shepard! Remember that one time?' I would be like 'No. I don't remember that one time,'" Clifford said. "So we wanted to make sure that there aren't those moments that the player is like, 'Who is this? What's going on? What are they talking about?'"

^^ This is what I was talking about earlier. Maybe they'd remember that one time, or not go "who is this" if they actually played the first damn games.

That's what the article is about! They've found a way around that. For people who've played through the earlier games, ME3 will be full of references to past events and short on exposition about the universe and things you are already familiar with, like what "Reapers" are. For gamers new to the series, it'll be a little less confusing and have a few helpful things to get them up to speed. You still get the same experience you would otherwise, it just allows other people to enjoy it a little more too. Do you know what a pareto improvement is?

Edit: Although I do see how it could be annoying for people who lost their saves. Hopefully Bioware will be smart and include an option for those people to have less exposition as well.

 

[2fish]

This mass effect 3 thing seems to be getting more and more info. Interesting to watch it and the development. I shall have to wait for reviews of it to make a final decision.

I admit I was unhappy with 2 as it made my sniper into a moron who used the sniper rifle to store her gum.

I wonder how often people actually start a trilogy game on game 3?

I would prefer a bundle of a coupon for cheap copies of mass effect 1 and 2 from origin. I figure this opens more options other than a short oh by the way here is what you missed.

 

[Beryl77]

Well, since the NPCs will still say 'Ohhhh, Shepard! Remember that one time?' to me when I import my save, I don't see a negative point about this.

 

[OutcastBOS]

NO. This is the kind of shit that spoiled Saints Row the Third for me, making as little references and continuations as possible just to avoid "alienating new players." You know what? this is the third god damned entry for this not-so-obscure game, and they can't be arsed to pick up the other two? NO! That's a no-no, and something that ruins good sequels.

Another person not getting that this is exactly what Bioware is avoiding? I understand people get angry about their beloved franchises being made "accessible," but does the very sight of the word itself make them skip straight to the comment section to rant in their rage?

To be honest, yes. Mainly when it has to do with things that are sequels to already established franchises. Being more "accessible" is ruining a lot of good games. Fable, Saints Row, ect. I know that they're trying to make it easier to get into, but still, there are two earlier games that can do just that.

"If I'm a new player and some guy walks up to me and is like 'Ohhhh, Shepard! Remember that one time?' I would be like 'No. I don't remember that one time,'" Clifford said. "So we wanted to make sure that there aren't those moments that the player is like, 'Who is this? What's going on? What are they talking about?'"

^^ This is what I was talking about earlier. Maybe they'd remember that one time, or not go "who is this" if they actually played the first damn games.

That's what the article is about! They've found a way around that. For people who've played through the earlier games, ME3 will be full of references to past events and short on exposition about the universe and things you are already familiar with, like what "Reapers" are. For gamers new to the series, it'll be a little less confusing and have a few helpful things to get them up to speed. You still get the same experience you would otherwise, it just allows other people to enjoy it a little more too. Do you know what a pareto improvement is?

Well, I must've misunderstood what their plan was. I thought they'd just keep characters from explaining more to the player. Welp, I feel silly now, but my complaining about the other unrelated things stands. >.>

 

[mad825]

Oh dear.

Guess I'm cancelling my pre-order. If it goes like SR3, then amazon will have it for £10 within 3 months...Maybe 1, let's see how much ME3 is a disaster.