Mass Effect 4 protagonist...

[Robot Number V]

Personally, I wouldn't mind a Bethesda-style setup, where you choose your character's race and appearance, and their backstory is left up to the imagination. Hell, I kind of want to see a Mass Effect game made in the style of The Elder Scrolls or the new Fallout. First person, no voice actor for your character. I know it's not Bioware's style so it's not likely but...I can dream, right?

 

[HalfTangible]

I was kind of hoping we'd have something like multiple characters and backstories on a single ship - each of them with their own 'canon' personalities. When we pick one of those characters/backstories, the original is removed and we get to design our own character on the ship. To use ME2's crew as an example, picking a human vanguard would remove Jason from the ship and place you in his position. Picking the Turian Sniper (I don't remember what Tech/Combat was called) would place you in Garrus' position.

Obviously they'd need to start out with the crew together for this to work, but I think it could be done.

 

[Dansen]

Well, duh, there is only one answer here - a volus adept. The only thing that can measure up to commander Shepard is a biotic god.

I liked your joke, made me smile.

 

[Misterian]

Nah I say they should go Dragon Age Origins style and let you choose a race and class with their own tailor made backstories.

You're a man after my own heart, I was thinking the exact same thing.

 

[Blackdoom]

Have the main character be some new species that exists in the next cycle of the universe and have them attempt to build the crucible without the knowledge that it didn't work and that Shepard's mission was completely pointless as there was no victory only delaying the inevitable.

 

[Frankster]

snip

Considering that i find a number of the more popular posters and self appointed funnymen on this site unfunny yet they get asspated tons for their sense of comedy (self referential humor being the absolute worst), i feel the need to support you here in that whilst i didnt exactly ROFL, your comment did made me smile upon remembering that scene and how yeh, id have loved for that volus to join the party.

Otherwise OT im just genuinely interested in how they will explore the mass effect universe considering how me3 ended, not even setting the game in the far future after me3s events would be satisfactory given endings like synthesis , so seems game would have to be set in the past.

Yet if the game is set too far in the past, no humans since they were a very recent addition to the council at the time of me1. Would bioware be bold enough to do a game without any human characters? I doubt it so leaves a very short timeframe that will be quickly invalidated by the events of the first mass effect game, so yeh seems a conundrum for bioware on how to continue the series.

 

[BrotherRool]

As much as the suggestion of multiple races is really cool, I don't think Bioware should do this. The Mass Effect games were absolutely creaking from resource limitation, and the degree of difficulty it would take to actually reflect how different people would react to different races is huge. They'd basically have to voice act and script the game three times over, or else the game would feel dull and unreactive. And that's before we consider the animation difficulties. They found it hard to get Shepard to shake hands with people in ME3, can you imagine if Shepard could be Krogan or Solarian how hard that would be?

However I'm really glad Bioware aren't making Shepard 2, which suggests that they even have some creative independance still, because there is no way EA would ever greenlight anything but Shepard 2.

The coolest idea they could go for is the main character as an alien. Solarian or Turian preferrably (Asari are as boring as it gets) because of the lack of sexuality of the Solarians they probably would have to pick Turians (although wouldn't it be nice if romances weren't a required feature of this game series)

The pipe dream that I'll never have is a party based game with more emphasis on the squad rather than a main character.

But considering even an alien race is unlikely, what with the way they expected us to sympathise with Earth just cos, something really out there and none military related in a quieter more personal story focused on character would be pretty perfect. This is their opportunity to show the Mass Effect universe transcends the games and all corners can be explored

 

[ZehMadScientist]

I think whatever they do they should set the story at least 100-150 years after Shephard dies. That way you can still have some characters from the first trilogy around, like Liara and Wrex (I'm pretty sure I remember krogans living that long, maybe not).

That way you can really see how the galaxy's changed and how different places revere the Legend of Shepard, but it's not so far into the future you don't recognize the galaxy.

That'd be awesome, but I think it's a little too hard to realize. Hell, Mass Effect 3 already had to cover more than 1000 flags of choices you made in the first two games, imagine the stuff they have to keep in mind now.

Besides, the outcome the third game will have an immense effect on the core of the fourth. And picking the Destroy ending as canon would be like saying to people with Sync/Control "Your ending doesn't count!" Hell, it's even possible to wipe out all organic life in the galaxy if you fuck up hard enough in ME3.

OT: I want to know Saren's story, from beginning to end. He was Shepard's nemesis in the first game, but he genuinly thoughtt he was doing the right thing by the means of a reletively small, necessary evil. He though he was going to save trillions! He cared! It would be cool if a game would explore his background and motivations more. Like what made him so racist against humans, for example. Or how he met Sovereign in the first place.

 

[Frankster]

snip

Afraid that such material got covered in officially endorsed bioware novels, so this would necessitate retconnings which will likely inflame hardcore me fans (even though as i understand it, the books had tons of problems with continuity). Sarens motivations and background is more or less established at this point ><

 

[Bazaalmon]

I think whatever they do they should set the story at least 100-150 years after Shephard dies. That way you can still have some characters from the first trilogy around, like Liara and Wrex (I'm pretty sure I remember krogans living that long, maybe not).

That way you can really see how the galaxy's changed and how different places revere the Legend of Shepard, but it's not so far into the future you don't recognize the galaxy.

That'd be awesome, but I think it's a little too hard to realize. Hell, Mass Effect 3 already had to cover more than 1000 flags of choices you made in the first two games, imagine the stuff they have to keep in mind now.

Besides, the outcome the third game will have an immense effect on the core of the fourth. And picking the Destroy ending as canon would be like saying to people with Sync/Control "Your ending doesn't count!" Hell, it's even possible to wipe out all organic life in the galaxy if you fuck up hard enough in ME3.

OT: I want to know Saren's story, from beginning to end. He was Shepard's nemesis in the first game, but he genuinly thoughtt he was doing the right thing by the means of a reletively small, necessary evil. He though he was going to save trillions! He cared! It would be cool if a game would explore his background and motivations more. Like what made him so racist against humans, for example. Or how he met Sovereign in the first place.

If you had chosen the Synthesis ending, there really wouldn't be much of a story anymore, because

Spoiler

all conflict would cease as the entire galaxy became one interconnected web of togetherness and rainbows and stuff.

OT: I think getting the opportunity to choose your own race would be pretty cool. Each race could have its own backstory, like in the first Dragon Age. It should be set in the previous cycle, when all the current races were just starting to develop. Although that would probably be too much effort on the developers part.

 

[guitarsniper]

I would be fine with having no voice acting if it meant a far broader set of branching choice and dialog trees, such as would result from having multiple playable protagonist races and having the world react to those.

 

[Olas]

I want to play as Joker. You get to fly the Normandy around and stuff.

 

[Ninjat_126]

I was kind of hoping we'd have something like multiple characters and backstories on a single ship - each of them with their own 'canon' personalities. When we pick one of those characters/backstories, the original is removed and we get to design our own character on the ship. To use ME2's crew as an example, picking a human vanguard would remove Jason from the ship and place you in his position. Picking the Turian Sniper (I don't remember what Tech/Combat was called) would place you in Garrus' position.

Obviously they'd need to start out with the crew together for this to work, but I think it could be done.

This would be brilliant. Again, I'm hoping to see a personal narrative, with a lot of exploration.

Perhaps you could have a few playable characters of different species? I'm thinking a Turian, a Drell, and a Hanar.

 

[Reaper195]

I hope there is not a Mass Effect 4? That's my thoughts.

I agree with this guy. Personally, I liked the ending for ME3, but I like it when a series decides to end, instead of continuing until people get tired of it, or it becomes stale as all christ.

 

[Adept Mechanicus]

Can we stop pretending that "Bioware" is deciding anything. You've got EA's Schutzstaffel stationed at Edmonton making sure things go according to plan, so you're pretty much guaranteed that nothing is going to be made with the care and zeal of yesteryear. And forget about anything being particularly creative or original; this is going to be a by-the-numbers development.

Remember that forgettable, no-necked, fauxhawked dump-truck that was forced into your squad in ME3? What was his name again? Tank, or Brick, or Toughguy or some shit? Welcome to Bioware's future.

1. Never compare a video game company to the fucking Nazis. I understand your point and I hate EA as much as you do, but for God's sake, calm yourself down.

2. Vega wasn't EA's fault. Bioware has had bad characters before. Remember Jacob "the Priiiiiize" Taylor? If they had just given less screentime to Liara and more to Vega and bothered to give him more of a backstory and a way to resolve it like with every single other character in the series, it would have been fine.

I do agree that EA is almost certainly going to work their usual magic and make it as genericized and rushed as they possibly can. Making ME4 is a bad idea. The story Bioware set out to make at the very beginning is done. Nobody wants to continue this franchise anymore except for EA. Even if all the writers leave in protest, they'll just find new ones. Nobody plays Mass Effect for the gameplay alone, so risking the story aspect by tacking on unnecessary crap would be shooting themselves in the foot.

 

[AD-Stu]

snip

Afraid that such material got covered in officially endorsed bioware novels, so this would necessitate retconnings which will likely inflame hardcore me fans (even though as i understand it, the books had tons of problems with continuity). Sarens motivations and background is more or less established at this point ><

^ this. Saren's back story (and Anderson's, for that matter) was covered in the Mass Effect: Revelation novel: http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Mass_Effect:_Revelation

FWIW it was only the most recent book (the one that wasn't written by Drew Karpyshyn) that had continuity issues. The first three were hardly award-worthy works or anything, but they were interesting enough expansions on the universe and consistent with its lore.

 

[Phlakes]

Can we stop pretending that "Bioware" is deciding anything. You've got EA's Schutzstaffel stationed at Edmonton making sure things go according to plan, so you're pretty much guaranteed that nothing is going to be made with the care and zeal of yesteryear. And forget about anything being particularly creative or original; this is going to be a by-the-numbers development.

Remember that forgettable, no-necked, fauxhawked dump-truck that was forced into your squad in ME3? What was his name again? Tank, or Brick, or Toughguy or some shit? Welcome to Bioware's future.

And any hopes I had of this thread being rational discussion are gone.

I give up. I hope they make it a CoD clone with a 4 hour campaign just to screw with their shallow, ungrateful "fans".

 

[IamLEAM1983]

Oh, come on, Phlakes. Sunsetspawn's got a chip on his shoulder that might come from a somewhat defensible position, but I'm not as pessimistic as he is. Yes, BioWare is and forever will be stuck catering to the Dudebro camp for as long as EA wants to siphon the CoD crowd's precious, precious money. Despite James Vega and Diana Allers, ME3 was an enjoyable game. If you didn't want to deal with either of them, you didn't have to. Anyone who complains is whining with a golden spoon firmly inset between molar and cheek.

That aside, I'm still confident they'll be able to whip up something enjoyable. I'm just a little leery of there being another Mass Effect after the third, however, seeing as Shepard's presence was so strong than just flat-out repeating the cycle would be a waste of good storytelling material.

Fleshing out one of the individual locales more could be fun, for instance, but I won't entertain any illusions. They've got an easily reusable framework going in terms of character generation, so I don't see them letting us play as anything other than a human.

 

[disgruntledgamer]

I hope there is not a Mass Effect 4? That's my thoughts.

There is a good chance EA will have run Bioware into the ground and shut it down by than.

 

[Lonewolfm16]

Please either be a Salarian special forces (mabey League of One?) or a Batarian mercenary. Well either that or basically like Dragon age Origins.