Mass Effect Andromeda Will Have Witcher-Like Meaningful Side Quests

Steven Bogos

The Taco Man
Jan 17, 2013
9,354
0
0
Mass Effect Andromeda Will Have Witcher-Like Meaningful Side Quests

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1372/1372638.jpg
Bioware says it has learned a lot from Dragon Age: Inquisition's lackluster side quests.

Lackluster side quests in RPGs have always been a problem. Often included simply as "padding," to the main story, most of the time they are boring, tedious fetch quests. Bioware has acknowledged that Dragon Age: Inquisition suffered from this problem, and is determined to not make the same mistake with Mass Effect: Andromeda.

"We are approaching the completionist aspect very differently, because we've done and learned a lot from Inquisition," Andromeda's producer Fabrice Condominas told PC Gamer [http://www.pcgamer.com/mass-effect-andromeda-will-have-meaningful-sidequests-akin-to-the-witcher-says-game-producer/?utm_content=buffere88cd&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=buffer_pcgamerfb]. "But we've also observed what other games have been doing, like The Witcher."

The Witcher 3 was particularly praised for having awesome sidequests - some of which were actually more entertaining than the main story quest - and the fact that almost none of them felt like they existed purely as padding.

[gallery=6923]

Condominas added that bigger isn't always better - sidequests must simply be "meaningful" in order to be impactful.

Either way it looks like Andromeda is going to be bigger and better than any prior Mass Effect game.

Source: PC Gamer [http://www.pcgamer.com/mass-effect-andromeda-will-have-meaningful-sidequests-akin-to-the-witcher-says-game-producer/?utm_content=buffere88cd&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=buffer_pcgamerfb]

Permalink
 

Valok

New member
Nov 17, 2010
141
0
0
Yeah.. and Mass Effect 3 has 16 meaningful, different endings right?

It is LOOKING good but that's the thing isn't it? It always looks good. I'll keep an eye on trustworthy reviews because my faith on Bioware is pretty much zero after that disaster.
 

Elijin

Elite Muppet
Legacy
Feb 15, 2009
2,045
1,007
118
I just want to grab an EA and rep and shake them until they put out the MP beta, or at least some gameplay footage. My interest is hinged on it, and still nothing!
 

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
Legacy
Escapist +
Feb 9, 2008
11,228
7,007
118
A Barrel In the Marketplace
Country
Eagleland
Gender
Male
Hey, I'm willing to play Witcher 3 IN SPACE!

Now all EA has to do is actually make that game. It would be nice if ME:A turns out to be that game, but I'm not going to hold my breath waiting.
 

MCerberus

New member
Jun 26, 2013
1,168
0
0
Well side quests had nowhere to go but "more meaningful". We all remember side quests is ME3
http://www.awkwardzombie.com/index.php?comic=042312

I'm buying some kind of game in March, but the series killed the hype with the ending. Waiting for reviews so it's going to be competing with stuff like the latest Ubisoft Game... and my last bought game was a horde shooter so there goes the MP consideration
 

MonsterCrit

New member
Feb 17, 2015
594
0
0
Well at least they're honest about which game they want to imitate. But tell us bioware. Will you be gating these oh so meaningful and impactful side quests behind paywalls again?
 

Sniper Team 4

New member
Apr 28, 2010
5,433
0
0
I've never played any of the Witcher games, but from what I've heard at read, that is a high bar to hit, BioWare. And I can't help but feel that the only games that came close to it (from the ones I've played that you made) are Dragon Age: Origins and Knights of the Old Republic. And those games are from years ago, under different people.

I'm not saying you can't pull it off. I'd be thrilled if you did. But even for all the love I had for the first three Mass Effect games, their side quests were never good (not counting Loyalty missions, because those weren't side quests in my opinion), so to say I'm skeptical would be an understatement.
 

Darth Rosenberg

New member
Oct 25, 2011
1,288
0
0
Steven Bogos said:
Either way it looks like Andromeda is going to be bigger and better than any prior Mass Effect game.
C'mon, man, you're a better writer than that... That reads like a paid-for preview or PR. Unjustified, empty hype is the last thing this industry or medium needs more of.

As for BioWare's musings: skepticism and patience FTW. I want to wait and see, post release, whether ME:A's filled with 'content' or content. 'Trust no one' - or at least trust no one blithering on about their own game, especially before the thing's even out. At the moment ME:A's main lead male character and the bland Big Bad seem incalculably boring, so I need to know whether the writing, character narrative, and world building's going to hold up.
 

CaptainMarvelous

New member
May 9, 2012
869
0
0
I mean... on the one hand, they should be good to START with but on the other if you're gonna copy one of the other kids in class you might as well copy from the smartest. Now I'm looking forward to Werewolves and Card Games in space.
 

CaptainMarvelous

New member
May 9, 2012
869
0
0
Darth Rosenberg said:
As for BioWare's musings: skepticism and patience FTW. I want to wait and see, post release, whether ME:A's filled with 'content' or content. 'Trust no one' - or at least trust no one blithering on about their own game, especially before the thing's even out. At the moment ME:A's main lead male character and the bland Big Bad seem incalculably boring, so I need to know whether the writing, character narrative, and world building's going to hold up.
o_O is the male lead worse than the female lead? I thought they were carbon copies. Also, who's the big bad? I've seen like... NOTHING on who the antagonist is short of being a native species to Andromeda.
 

thetoddo

New member
May 18, 2010
214
0
0
Really hope the Big Bad is the leader of one of the other Arcs who got here before us and poisoned the Andromeda races against the Humans. I'd love it if the final stage is you storming the Turian Arc after rallying the new races behind you and taking out some veterans of the Human/Turian war who still have a chip on their shoulder, even in a galaxy far far away.
 

Adam Jensen_v1legacy

I never asked for this
Sep 8, 2011
6,651
0
0
And that's coming from a company that blatantly lied about their last Mass Effect game. Can anyone explain to me why I'm skeptical? I can't quite tell.
 

Darth Rosenberg

New member
Oct 25, 2011
1,288
0
0
CaptainMarvelous said:
o_O is the male lead worse than the female lead? I thought they were carbon copies.
It doesn't seem they're doing 'same character, different gender' exactly as in ME or DA, but I'm not sure how much will differ. Bar a scene or two I've only seen the impressively bland male lead, hence my criticism. A different voice actor can make a world of difference.

Also, who's the big bad? I've seen like... NOTHING on who the antagonist is short of being a native species to Andromeda.
Well, that's the thing; we've seen nothing except 'big shouty blowhard' cosplaying as a 'menacing' antagonist. That doesn't exactly bode well for a compelling threat. Or character. Or anything. Ditto for what seem to be the geth/Collectors cannon fodder replacement race.
 

Blitsie

New member
Jul 2, 2012
532
0
0
With EA leading the show here? hah! Even if it ends up falling in some sort of gray area between good and evil its most probably still going to be toothless because you don't want to scare them consumers away.

But then again Garden Warfare 2 and Titanfall 2 surprised me with how little EA bullshittery they have in them, so maybe this will too.
 
Sep 24, 2008
2,461
0
0
I've made a comment about this before, but honestly the scale of this game leaves me throughly unhyped.

I'm a proud human all the way. My default race for any game a play. Yay homo sapiens and all... But we're going from literal galactic level destruction and extinguishing of life to "I hope we can settle into this neighborhood".
 

Sheo_Dagana

New member
Aug 12, 2009
966
0
0
*reads all of the comments*

So, Bioware... you're really gonna have to knock it out of the park with this one.

Me? I loved the multiplayer for ME3 so much that I'm basically down for this game if it means I get more of that. Gameplay-wise, Mass Effect 3 was solid - it's just a shame that the campaign and story that were structured around it sucked.
 

fix-the-spade

New member
Feb 25, 2008
8,639
0
0
Dalisclock said:
Hey, I'm willing to play Witcher 3 IN SPACE!
Remember what EA and Bioware said about the end of Mass Effect 3? Remember how it wouldn't boil down to a simple choice of good, bad and neutral?

The Witcher 3 is a mighty lofty goal to aim for. I'll believe that Bioware can do it when I see them do it, not when a Bioware talking head name checks a particularly excellent game.

Looking at the screenshots, it's nice to see that Bioware Face is still present and correct in all it's goofy cross eyed glory. At least one thing will be consistent between old and new Mass Effect.
 

meiam

Elite Member
Dec 9, 2010
3,330
1,644
118
I dunno if W3 is really such a high bar, people seems to forget but 50%+ of W3 side quest were just finding a letter that said there was some sunken treasure or something and then just going to the yellow area and that was it. It did have a bunch of quest with little story, but those were also in ME2, they were called loyalty mission and ME3 also had plenty of side quest on the side, like griffon academy and such. The hunt quest in W3 were insanely repetitive and followed the same pattern over and over.
 

Wrex Brogan

New member
Jan 28, 2016
803
0
0
...as opposed to the meaningful sidequests from their own series, like Dragon Age: Origins or Mass Effect 2? Fuckin', come on guys, you actually had some good ones in your older games, you don't have to look at a completely different series to realize where you've gone wrong, jesus christ.