Next Mass Effect Includes Halo 4 Writer on Team, New Races, Exploration

[roseofbattle]

Next Mass Effect Includes Halo 4 Writer on Team, New Races, Exploration

BioWare has started to reveal information on the next Mass Effect game, including the lead writer from Halo 4 and some teasers for the content, including new races, worlds, and choices.

Today Mass Effect [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/bioware] and some new information on what to expect in the game. Notably, players will encounter new alien races, and former Halo writer Chris Schlerf has joined the team as the lead writer for the next Mass Effect.

This news comes on N7 Day, a fan holiday for Mass Effect. In a Twitch stream today, BioWare held an N7 Day roundtable to give fans some more information about the new Mass Effect and where it will go since the trilogy's end. BioWare hinted the journey will be massive, focusing on exploration, but also quite personal as the hero will reach greatness. This is different from the beginning of the Mass Effect trilogy where Shepard was already fairly established from the start.

Players will encounter new alien races, exploring new worlds with unique architecture. Showing new concept art for the game, producer Fabrice Condominas said the emphasis on exploration "is not only about the geography. It's really about discovering other species, human species and yourself."

Schlerf, the lead writer on Halo 4 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/halo%204], joined the franchise in November 2013. BioWare stated keeping Schlerf's involvement in Mass Effect a secret has been incredibly difficult.

"Every day is a revelation and every day I get to play in a new corner of the universe," Schlerf said. "To be able to look three steps ahead to, 'Where does this take us and how does it add to the way we look at the Mass Effect trilogy?' You couldn't ask for a better playground."

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Schlerf described getting a role in the Mass Effect franchise as Christmas every day. He sees the Mass Effect universe as rich and robust, allowing him endless inspiration.

"As a writer, I write for characters," Schlerf said. "To me, it's always about what makes my characters tick and what stories I can tell through those characters that will actually engage people about their own lives. It provides a mirror to that player's experience [so that they are] not just sitting back in an armchair."

Other team leads include senior development director Chris Wynn, lead designer Ian Frazier, art director Joel MacMillan, creative director Mac Walters, producer Mike Gamble, and BioWare montreal studio director Yanick Roy.

BioWare added that the all-terrain vehicle, the Mako, will be in the game.

Developers plan to focus on current-generation consoles and PC for the release of this Mass Effect title.

Source: BioWare (blog) [http://www.twitch.tv/bioware]


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[seris]

lets hope that his work on the new mass effect game will be better than his writing with halo 4. i found that game the least interesting to play story wise

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

lets hope that his work on the new mass effect game will be better than his writing with halo 4. i found that game the least interesting to play story wise

It depends on what he created, and just what he's creating for Mass Effect. I'd say Halo 4's plot was quite dull, but the actual writing - and character narrative - was perhaps the best in the series. 343 did wonders for Cortana and the Chief.

So to for me this is [probably] good news.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Oh god. I get the feeling Mass Effect is going the way of Sonic. Somehow fanboys got hired and want to turn their personal fanfics into canon with absolutely zero idea of what made the games good in the first place. But then again, I should have realized that when they announced no more Commander Shepard or Normandy crew. Yeah, great idea there lads!

Just look at those pictures! Oh, a giant 2001 monolithic doom fortress in space?! Boy, they sure kept that a secret during the first 3 games huh? Wonder how many lives could have been saved using whatever bullshit deus ex machina space gun it has.

Writers/developers, I'll let you in on a little secret. That the Mass Effect universe has space(no pun intended) for just about anything wasn't why they sold well. They sold well, progressively higher with each game, because of the characters. Because we loved the Normandy and its crew, not the random bullshit planets or god awful Mako driving. You want me excited? Show me Tali. Show me Liara, Wrex, Kaidan, Ashley! Show me Shepard fist pumping Garrus, or lounging on a beach with Jack. Remind me why I view the Mass Effect trilogy as the best in gaming. Don't just show space wallpapers and post the Mass Effect logo in a corner.

Look at Star Trek: TNG. It was great. Now look at DS9 and Voyager. Each good in their own way, but fatally not TNG. See it was Picard, Data, Worf, etc... that kept the show going, not just the Enterprise or the setting.
This new Mass Effect, which I'm choosing to name Mass Effect 4: No, Shepard is not in this, will not sell nearly as well. You're missing the critical Mass Effect experience.

 

[Fox12]

It's true that halo 4 had the best (most tolerable) story, but head writer? I don't know bioware.

I have faith in the group, if nothing else. I'll remain cautiously optimistic.

 

[Gennadios]

...

Dear BioWare, your last few games sucked because you went full cinematic. You lost the branching options you were known for and reverted to the dark days of making everything up to the endgame irrelevant with your 3 option magic switch.

A writer for a game that's well known to be linear won't help your cause much.

 

[Artemicion]

Given that the writing and story in Halo 4 was absolute garbage, I can only say that this doesn't bode well for Mass Effect. I'm more than happy to see him through, but my expectations couldn't be lower.

 

[Czann]

Seems Mass Effect will be as linear as a Final Fantasy corridor runner game then.

 

[Evonisia]

Welp, looks like Mass Effect: The Next One is going to have a shit story. I feel sorry for the fans, hell I might even feel sorry for myself if I actually bother and get invested with the games themselves (maybe I should turn the difficulty down).

 

[Machine Man 1992]

Welp, looks like Mass Effect: The Next One is going to have a shit story. I feel sorry for the fans, hell I might even feel sorry for myself if I actually bother and get invested with the games themselves (maybe I should turn the difficulty down).

You're not missing much; ME2 was completely pointless and was written by assholes. ME3 is a middle finger to everything you hold dear, and written by incompetents.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

You're not missing much; ME2 was completely pointless and was written by assholes. ME3 is a middle finger to everything you hold dear, and written by incompetents.

...or, ME2's regarded as one of the finest contemporary action RPG's, and ME3 was arguably the best game [to play] in the series by a long shot, with some of the best presentation and most consistent writing, to boot.

Why would anyone insult a game's writers, though? Did you know them personally, and thus conclude they're all "assholes"?

Apropos more Mass Effect: actually, regardless of how well or poorly it may end up being written, it's not something I ever really wanted, because I'm really not sure how they can make the story valid and engaging without either messing up a player's continuity, or wussing out and just making a prequel or a concurrent narrative (neither of which appeals to me, as I'd prefer to see how my'verse played out after ME3).

 

[Saulkar]

If it feels as massive as the first Mass Effect then I am on board, so long as it is not hamfisted into a linear game by their "new" writer.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

Its great that theyre expanding on the universe and everything, but if that was the plan, then why did you kneecap your universe so badly at the end of 3 by giving no possibility of anything we liked returning.

If Bioware still wanted to do space stuff, just make a new IP, set it in space and just maybe allude to the fact that its the same universe that Mass Effect took place in, only like 50000 years into the future

 

[fix-the-spade]

This new Mass Effect, which I'm choosing to name Mass Effect 4: No, Shepard is not in this, will not sell nearly as well. You're missing the critical Mass Effect experience.

There is space (lol) in Mass Effect for new characters, it's kind of the fanboy curse that people insist on the same characters over and over again, when the arcs for them are more or less concluded.

Any plot involving the Normandy crew would have to be either a prequel or involve some very arbitrary dumb writing. By the end of 3 any of the Normandy crew should be able to waltz to any of the surviving council races, demand a fleet and be given it without question, on account of being the instrumental players in the Reaper war (and all being Admirals, Generals and legendary Spy masters by this point).

What drew me into Mass Effect was the feeling of being a very small person in a very, very big galaxy, everything felt wild (and I even liked the Mako). Mass Effect 2 made me care about the character's by setting them up as the objective and building the entire game around their development. If Mass Effect 4 can do both with a new set of characters I'll be delighted.

It won't sell as well as 3 since 3 burned so much good will (no turret sections damnit!), but it can surely do very well if it goes back towards Mass Effect and 2's scale versus 3's Gears of War like play.

 

[Fdzzaigl]

I still don't know where they're gonna take this new game to be honest. I'm interested but I'd like to know where I can situate the entire affair in terms of chronology.

 

[MrHide-Patten]

Halo writer? Halo has a story?! Not filling me with a lot of confidence, just make sure that everybody else is there.

Edit: *after reading* oh he's a lead... Great. *writes off all hopes for ME4*

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

SNIP

There is space (lol) in Mass Effect for new characters, it's kind of the fanboy curse that people insist on the same characters over and over again, when the arcs for them are more or less concluded.

Any plot involving the Normandy crew would have to be either a prequel or involve some very arbitrary dumb writing. By the end of 3 any of the Normandy crew should be able to waltz to any of the surviving council races, demand a fleet and be given it without question, on account of being the instrumental players in the Reaper war (and all being Admirals, Generals and legendary Spy masters by this point).

What drew me into Mass Effect was the feeling of being a very small person in a very, very big galaxy, everything felt wild (and I even liked the Mako). Mass Effect 2 made me care about the character's by setting them up as the objective and building the entire game around their development. If Mass Effect 4 can do both with a new set of characters I'll be delighted.

It won't sell as well as 3 since 3 burned so much good will (no turret sections damnit!), but it can surely do very well if it goes back towards Mass Effect and 2's scale versus 3's Gears of War like play.

I'm actually going to disagree with you. Yes, the Mass Effect universe is vast, but its very isolated to Shepard. S/he is the main focus of everything and we've only experienced Mass effect through his/her eyes. Its fair to say the Mass Effect story is Shepard's story. And we fought an intergalactic war! What else is there?!

What contrived plot could they possible write to top that? And if they're not going to try to top it, why bother? The most interesting thing to happen in the history of the ME galaxy already played out in another game, so why would you knowingly start a project that won't be as intense, interesting, exciting, or heart breaking as the last one?
What, are we going to play a Turian janitor? Or an Asari accountant on an asteroid mine and the plot kicks off when we *gasp* misplace our HR-142-b Jumpsuit Requisition Form? The final boss can be the locked door of the conference room where we left it!

And lets not pretend the Shepard story ended in a satisfactory way. There wouldn't have been months of protests and petitions about the ending if it had ended well. Now I'm not saying they should continue the Shepard story. In fact, I'd prefer they leave Mass Effect alone. It did its Swan song. The curtain fell. You don't call the swan back on stage to preform card tricks for 12 hours. Start a new IP instead of gluing googly eyes to Mass Effect and claiming its still alive.

Imagine if they made another Batman: Arkham game, but they don't include Batman. Or any of his villains. Or Gotham. You're just Bill the car washer in the DC universe, living in Norman, Arkansas and every now and then you hear about Batman on the radio. And that's it. Yes, its a new take on the whole Batman thing, but that doesn't make it good.

New and good are not synonyms.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

This new Mass Effect, which I'm choosing to name Mass Effect 4: No, Shepard is not in this, will not sell nearly as well. You're missing the critical Mass Effect experience.

There is space (lol) in Mass Effect for new characters, it's kind of the fanboy curse that people insist on the same characters over and over again, when the arcs for them are more or less concluded.

I'll have to agree. In fact, since Halo 4 was mentioned in the article, even I, as a Halo fan, had to wonder why we were going into the Master Chief's shoes again when his story was largely finished. It's the same thing regarding Commander Shepard. Whether they somehow survive at the end of Mass Effect 3 or not, chances are they're retired if not dead.

No, I'm leaning the other way. Let us choose a race and background. Hell, so long as I'm not forced to play another boring human in a sci-fi epic with a variety of races that are much more interesting, I'll be happy. They can even limit it to the main four Council races, the Humans, Asari, Turians, and Salarians, though I will still hope for the option of the Quarians, Geth, and Krogan.

Human characters should definitely be an option, just not the only option. There's so much room for exploration regarding non-Human characters in the Mass Effect universe, it'd be a shame to not allow it.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Kersnip!

You can't disagree with me, this is the internet!

I see your point, but I still think there's plenty of scope to start from scratch as some guy/girl trying to survive after the Reaper War, although it requires EA/Bioware to bite the bullet and make a canon ending.

If they were really brave it would be one of the endings where the Reapers live, but I think that's maybe a step too far.