Mass Effect - Andromeda's Main Characters Are Brother And Sister

Somebloke

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Does this mean they will each be written with a distinct personality of their own, creating different dynamics depending on which you play, or will they mostly interact 1:1?
 

MHR

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LITERALLY had to abandon galaxy because of how bad Mass Effect 3 fucked the story. No thanks.
 

Recusant

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Judging from the reaction I saw to Fallout 4's announcement that your character would actually have some elements of being a character, rather than a blank cipher to imprint yourself upon, I don't think this will end well. But maybe people will be more accepting of that sort of thing in a Mass Effect game than a Fallout one. It certainly gives a bit of potential for background and plot hooks; not that EA's ever been great with those. Unfortunately, that's not the only problem here...

Ukomba said:
I actually really like the idea of a brother and sister team. It's too bad the game designer is such a raging racist that I can't bring myself to buy or support the game.
Because anyone who voices an unpopular opinion taints everything they touch with it, right? The world will only be acceptable when we all march in ideological lockstep! The guy said some words. Stupid words, expressing idiotic ideas, yes, and quite a few of said words. But words are just words. They may hurt feelings, but they don't hurt people. The guy may be an asshole, but, as with everyone else, it's his actions that matter, not his words. Racism is a belief. Judaism is a belief. If it's wrong to punish one, it's wrong to punish the other.

Come on, people. The world we build is the world we're going to have to live in. Is this really the way you want it? A world where expressing an unpopular opinion means no one is willing to buy the product you're associated with? A world where speaking out against the dominant thoughtline can cost you your job?
 

Bob_McMillan

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I think relevant news would be that the guy with the N7 armor in the early trailers is supposedly their father.

EDIT: Oops, it was right there in the bottom.
 

008Zulu_v1legacy

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Casual Shinji said:
They're not gonna force you to try and care about this guy/gal if you're one or the other, right? Because that worked out so well in Fallout 4.

Don't make the plot be 'I have to find my bother/sister', please.
Speaking of Fallout 4, do you remember Bioware saying (some time ago) that Andromeda will have you setting up bases in various solar systems? I wonder if the guy who says a planet's in trouble in Andromeda, will also be named Preston?
 

Chimpzy_v1legacy

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Casual Shinji said:
They're not gonna force you to try and care about this guy/gal if you're one or the other, right? Because that worked out so well in Fallout 4.

Don't make the plot be 'I have to find my bother/sister', please.
On a similar note, don't make the plot be "I have to find daddy" either.

And don't make daddy or the sibling turn out to be the villain either.

Just have them be a brother and sister. Maybe throw in some friendly sibling rivalry on whichever sibling can out-badass the other if they really want to make us care about the other sibling in a way that isn't "Tragedy has befallen your sibling. Care, dammit!". Oh, but don't have the rivalry be over daddy's approval.
 

JohnZ117

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Ukomba said:
I actually really like the idea of a brother and sister team. It's too bad the game designer is such a raging racist that I can't bring myself to buy or support the game.

Not sure about the father being in game, how does will work with the race and appearance of your character being mutable? In fact, will your siblings appearance change to match yours?
Go here [https://www.google.com/search?q=renoir+anti+semite&biw=1525&bih=734&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwi_8t75hYLPAhVGNz4KHTXdDgMQ_AUIBygC&dpr=0.9#tbm=isch&q=renoir/].

Beautiful, aren't they?
He was a bigot, too. [http://www.artinsociety.com/julie-manet-renoir-and-the-dreyfus-affair.html/]
It's tricky and up to you, but sometimes, you have to realize that artists, like other people, are imperfect, or very imperfect,
 

someguy1231

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I bet whichever one the player doesn't pick will either die in the first ten minutes or turn evil and fight the player at some point for some contrived reason.

Bioware is getting so damn predictable...
 

Casual Shinji

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008Zulu said:
Casual Shinji said:
They're not gonna force you to try and care about this guy/gal if you're one or the other, right? Because that worked out so well in Fallout 4.

Don't make the plot be 'I have to find my bother/sister', please.
Speaking of Fallout 4, do you remember Bioware saying (some time ago) that Andromeda will have you setting up bases in various solar systems? I wonder if the guy who says a planet's in trouble in Andromeda, will also be named Preston?
Chimpzy said:
On a similar note, don't make the plot be "I have to find daddy" either.

And don't make daddy or the sibling turn out to be the villain either.

Just have them be a brother and sister. Maybe throw in some friendly sibling rivalry on whichever sibling can out-badass the other if they really want to make us care about the other sibling in a way that isn't "Tragedy has befallen your sibling. Care, dammit!". Oh, but don't have the rivalry be over daddy's approval.
Maybe if they wrote it as such that you get seperated from eachother and each have to handle things on your own end. You'll be in contact with one another at certain points in the story, and eventually meet up to see how each of you handled your responsibilities. Maybe even give you the oppertunity to advise your bother/sister either positively or negatively and take or ignore advice from them in return, which then could have ramifications toward the end.

They could create a fun sibling dynamic, as long as they don't force a bond for the sake of plot.
 

Imre Csete

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Now the fans can all flock the Bioware Forums once again and make mad speculations about the game!

Oh wait...

MHR said:
LITERALLY had to abandon galaxy because of how bad Mass Effect 3 fucked the story. No thanks.
Not to mention the BioWare Edmonton studio had to wash their hands of the franchise and pass on to their support studio.
 

Cartographer

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JohnZ117 said:
Ukomba said:
I actually really like the idea of a brother and sister team. It's too bad the game designer is such a raging racist that I can't bring myself to buy or support the game.

Not sure about the father being in game, how does will work with the race and appearance of your character being mutable? In fact, will your siblings appearance change to match yours?
Go here [https://www.google.com/search?q=renoir+anti+semite&biw=1525&bih=734&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwi_8t75hYLPAhVGNz4KHTXdDgMQ_AUIBygC&dpr=0.9#tbm=isch&q=renoir/].

Beautiful, aren't they?
He was a bigot, too. [http://www.artinsociety.com/julie-manet-renoir-and-the-dreyfus-affair.html/]
It's tricky and up to you, but sometimes, you have to realize that artists, like other people, are imperfect, or very imperfect,
I'm not too sure what your point is?

The game is coming from a publisher who's past corporate practices are despicable.
The developer has, in my opinion at least, long since run out of steam creatively.
The creator has demonstrated himself to hold openly bigoted, racist opinions.
The previous entry in the series was a mess of broken promises, poorly implemented gameplay and missed opportunities which finished on a note that left such a sour taste in peoples' mouths that the entire ending was changed in a patch as a result of the outcry, upgrading it from openly insulting to merely bad.

Are you saying people should ignore the past in making a judgement about the likely quality, direction, themes etc. of an upcoming piece of work? Or are you indicating that it's impossible to do so, like Bob says in the video you linked, and people shouldn't try and view it in vacuum?

Please clarify.
 

Neurotic Void Melody

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Looks kinda neat. Am loving the visual style and metroid prime-like scanning. Recently attempted Star Trek Online and realised how dire the space exploration genre is currently for present consoles. Gimme scientific space adventures! Throw in a black hole scene somewhere too, add to the immense power that occurs within the wonders of the cosmos.
 

SirSullymore

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Steven Bogos said:
I think he is referring to this: http://heatst.com/culture-wars/mass-effect-designer-manveer-heir-hates-white-people-and-wants-the-world-to-know/

Take it as you will.
Whelp, looks like my Ryder will always be a white male.
 

Dalisclock

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Casual Shinji said:
008Zulu said:
Casual Shinji said:
They're not gonna force you to try and care about this guy/gal if you're one or the other, right? Because that worked out so well in Fallout 4.

Don't make the plot be 'I have to find my bother/sister', please.
Speaking of Fallout 4, do you remember Bioware saying (some time ago) that Andromeda will have you setting up bases in various solar systems? I wonder if the guy who says a planet's in trouble in Andromeda, will also be named Preston?
Chimpzy said:
On a similar note, don't make the plot be "I have to find daddy" either.

And don't make daddy or the sibling turn out to be the villain either.

Just have them be a brother and sister. Maybe throw in some friendly sibling rivalry on whichever sibling can out-badass the other if they really want to make us care about the other sibling in a way that isn't "Tragedy has befallen your sibling. Care, dammit!". Oh, but don't have the rivalry be over daddy's approval.
Maybe if they wrote it as such that you get seperated from eachother and each have to handle things on your own end. You'll be in contact with one another at certain points in the story, and eventually meet up to see how each of you handled your responsibilities. Maybe even give you the oppertunity to advise your bother/sister either positively or negatively and take or ignore advice from them in return, which then could have ramifications toward the end.

They could create a fun sibling dynamic, as long as they don't force a bond for the sake of plot.
I would also be interested if playing the Brother or Sister opened/closed various plot threads/quests, perhaps to the point a large part of the game was different depending on this.

Sorry, I just came off Witcher 2 a few weeks back and the whole branched plot that game was quite interesting.
 

Frankster

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Casual Shinji said:
They're not gonna force you to try and care about this guy/gal if you're one or the other, right? Because that worked out so well in Fallout 4.

Don't make the plot be 'I have to find my bother/sister', please.
Thing is it COULD have worked, if it wasn't the friggin fugly baby you had to care about.

I spent hours (metaphorically speaking) designing my ideal waifu, it was genuinely a darth vader nooooooooooooo moment for me when waifu gets killed 5 minutes later, all my hardwork vanishes in smoke and i have to care about the ugly baby i'm pretty sure wasn't even mine to begin with.

Anyways as a single child who always wanted a bro/sister but the one i got died a few days after being born, this opens up some wounds for me. #triggered
In dragon age 2 one of the few things i liked about it though was the sibling relationship, actually gave me some clear motivations in game.

But yeh having even part of the plot revolve around finding your sibling would be lame, have them be a support character and maybe add some personal motivation to some bits of the plot, don't have them be a princess you gotta rescue.
 

Imre Csete

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Frankster said:
In dragon age 2 one of the few things i liked about it though was the sibling relationship, actually gave me some clear motivations in game.
Yet you sadly couldn't use that as a decision ingame. You had to side with either the jackboot wearing zealots or the stupid freedom fighters who justified the other faction every turn.

No 'screw y'all, I'm here to take sis/bro out' option.
 

Casual Shinji

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Frankster said:
Thing is it COULD have worked, if it wasn't the friggin fugly baby you had to care about.

I spent hours (metaphorically speaking) designing my ideal waifu, it was genuinely a darth vader nooooooooooooo moment for me when waifu gets killed 5 minutes later, all my hardwork vanishes in smoke and i have to care about the ugly baby i'm pretty sure wasn't even mine to begin with.

Anyways as a single child who always wanted a bro/sister but the one i got died a few days after being born, this opens up some wounds for me. #triggered
In dragon age 2 one of the few things i liked about it though was the sibling relationship, actually gave me some clear motivations in game.

But yeh having even part of the plot revolve around finding your sibling would be lame, have them be a support character and maybe add some personal motivation to some bits of the plot, don't have them be a princess you gotta rescue.
The thing is, in a role-playing game the developer should never force your character's opinion. I'm okay with there being a baby or a sibling, but then give me the option to not give a shit. Or at the very least allow my character to be pissy about it. I can't for example play Fallout 4 as a crazed homicidal maniac, and talk to Cogsworth without forced concern over my kidnapped son.

I don't remember much about the relationship with your siblings in Dragon Age 2, but I do sorta recall you could treat them like shit and not respect them. I certainly remember being a jerk to Carver.
 

JohnZ117

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Cartographer said:
JohnZ117 said:
Ukomba said:
I actually really like the idea of a brother and sister team. It's too bad the game designer is such a raging racist that I can't bring myself to buy or support the game.

Not sure about the father being in game, how does will work with the race and appearance of your character being mutable? In fact, will your siblings appearance change to match yours?
Go here [https://www.google.com/search?q=renoir+anti+semite&biw=1525&bih=734&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwi_8t75hYLPAhVGNz4KHTXdDgMQ_AUIBygC&dpr=0.9#tbm=isch&q=renoir/].

Beautiful, aren't they?
He was a bigot, too. [http://www.artinsociety.com/julie-manet-renoir-and-the-dreyfus-affair.html/]
It's tricky and up to you, but sometimes, you have to realize that artists, like other people, are imperfect, or very imperfect,
I'm not too sure what your point is?

The game is coming from a publisher who's past corporate practices are despicable.
The developer has, in my opinion at least, long since run out of steam creatively.
The creator has demonstrated himself to hold openly bigoted, racist opinions.
The previous entry in the series was a mess of broken promises, poorly implemented gameplay and missed opportunities which finished on a note that left such a sour taste in peoples' mouths that the entire ending was changed in a patch as a result of the outcry, upgrading it from openly insulting to merely bad.

Are you saying people should ignore the past in making a judgement about the likely quality, direction, themes etc. of an upcoming piece of work? Or are you indicating that it's impossible to do so, like Bob says in the video you linked, and people shouldn't try and view it in vacuum?

Please clarify.
First, if you stopped using things from corporations that did despicable things, you'd starve to death in the buff, most likely. Corporations do despicable things. And, it would take a HUGE change in the fundamental landscape of the global economy to fix that.

Second, I strongly doubt Bioware has run out, considering where they might be going with Dragon Age, based on what they did with Elven lore in the last one. They messed up with the overall world, but it was their foray into relatively new terrain, and they did interesting things with it, to me.

Third, I like chicken sandwiches from Chick-Fil-A and tacos from Chipotle, but I'm a pro-choicer who loves g.m.o. technology. I also like the Impressionist movement, as a whole, and love Face/Off and Minority Report, but hate Scientology. Hate guns, yet, you get the point. And, that makes things complicated. Figuring this out..., hasn't happened yet. Dismissing the whole because of (an important) part could make me miss out on a lot. It's not easy, it's life, so tread carefully.
 

hudsonzero

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Steven Bogos said:
Additionally, the father of the Ryder siblings is someone we have already seen. "The character we saw two E3s ago, the N7, is actually your father. So we have got the full Ryder family revealed. We'll do names and things in the future."
calling it now james vega is going to be the dad
 

Darth Rosenberg

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Ukomba said:
I actually really like the idea of a brother and sister team. It's too bad the game designer is such a raging racist that I can't bring myself to buy or support the game.
Quite, heaven forbid human beings are diverse and, as someone else remarked, imperfect. Hive mode activated!

The real world is nuanced and often between two idiotically binary states; that guy's a bit of an idiot, but he's also - going from a 2014 video interview, at least - incredibly savvy and remarkably reasonable (even heading off alt-right paranoia about progressives taking away their toys, i.e. specifically stipulating no creator should be pressured into not doing another straight, white, male PC if that's what they want and feel works for their IP). But hey, where's the fun in letting complexity into self-created culture wars, amirite?

Recusant said:
Because anyone who voices an unpopular opinion taints everything they touch with it, right? The world will only be acceptable when we all march in ideological lockstep! The guy said some words. Stupid words, expressing idiotic ideas, yes, and quite a few of said words. But words are just words. They may hurt feelings, but they don't hurt people. The guy may be an asshole, but, as with everyone else, it's his actions that matter, not his words. Racism is a belief. Judaism is a belief. If it's wrong to punish one, it's wrong to punish the other.

Come on, people. The world we build is the world we're going to have to live in. Is this really the way you want it? A world where expressing an unpopular opinion means no one is willing to buy the product you're associated with? A world where speaking out against the dominant thoughtline can cost you your job?
Well said. Plus, as I mentioned above; if we can judge and label a human being for a few tweets and trollsome pics (I think I want a 'white tears' mug to show support. I'm a whitey, btw), then we can also do so from 15min interviews. Doing so would reveal that - le shock! - people can be much more than one thing, more than one lazy label.

Oh, as for the brother/sister thing; I'll echo what a few have said - I hope BioWare don't make one of 'em a villain. Sure, that could be done well just like any hokey plot can, but it feels a bit lazy, conceptually. And I feel games have more than enough daddy issues to agonise over, so I really hope that's not a defining element, either.

And I know it's early... but I'm not keen on that asari character's design. The 'face tech' doesn't actually look that good, either, for her or the incredibly boring looking Ryder. Still, ME:A will live and die for me on its characters and dialogue, so clearly nothing can be discerned about either at this stage. Not really keen on the addition of platforming-lite added to an A/RPG - trying to tie good combat systems to RPG-lite systems is a challenge enough already (one that compromises both), so I don't really see silly, seemingly inconsequential jumping sections adding anything at all.

...oh, and the alien-y art style for the buildings just reminds me of Halo, which isn't exactly encouraging (I loved Halo, btw, I'd just like BioWare to do something different/new).