icemann on 12/12/2010 at 11:37
I'd have much rathered they not have it centered around Earth as well. Been done sooooooooo many times.
The same thing pissed me off about the newer Doctor Who's versus the 50s-80s counterparts who had alot of episodes that had nothing to do with Earth at all, and were all the better because of it.
Thirith on 12/12/2010 at 12:09
Quote Posted by icemann
I'd have much rathered they not have it centered around Earth as well. Been done sooooooooo many times.
Actually, I'm curious about
Mass Effect's version of Earth, after it hasn't featured in the series so far.
Sulphur on 12/12/2010 at 12:25
Quote Posted by Dresden
I agree but this is only a teaser. Surely they're not going to lay all of their cards out in it.
Yeah, we'll see. BioWare's track record for original overarching plots is abysmal, though.
reizak on 12/12/2010 at 15:47
If we take the conservative estimate of 200 billion stars in the galaxy, the rate the Reapers seem to be going at the cleaning process in the trailer seems a bit unrealistic. Sure, they can take their time, but the universe does have a limited age and unless there are billions of Reapers out there (not the impression they've given), the fiction that they've done the same countless times before starts to break down. Just doesn't seem like they could spare much effort on one shitty planet when you've got hundreds of billions to worry about and the heat death of the universe looming.
Aerothorn on 12/12/2010 at 22:59
I haven't even watched the trailer, honestly. So done with Bioware. It's too bad- their games are fun, and in many ways well designed (I think the combat system in Dragon Age is one of the better RPG systems I've seen). But they are unwilling to do originaility - I say unwilling and not unable because it doesn't take a brilliant mind to come up with more original story arcs and characters than Bioware does.
But hey - they do what they do, they sell a bunch of copies, they get massive critical praise and get called the Master Storytellers of Gaming - so why the hell would they change their ways?
Eldron on 12/12/2010 at 23:40
Quote Posted by Aerothorn
I haven't even watched the trailer, honestly. So done with Bioware. It's too bad- their games are fun, and in many ways well designed (I think the combat system in Dragon Age is one of the better RPG systems I've seen). But they are unwilling to do originaility - I say unwilling and not unable because it doesn't take a brilliant mind to come up with more original story arcs and characters than Bioware does.
But hey - they do what they do, they sell a bunch of copies, they get massive critical praise and get called the Master Storytellers of Gaming - so why the hell would they change their ways?
So you wont give them at least a little bit of credit for creating three new universes in a row even if they're a bit derivative?
I say the praise is for how they tell their stories, not the stories themselves.
Sulphur on 13/12/2010 at 00:43
A bit derivative? Dragon Age is Middle Earth with a couple of the archetypes given a shake. Mass Effect is space opera complete with a looming galactic threat and an intrepid crew and its charismatic captain ready to take it on single handedly.
I'm not too sure what the third universe is, though it surely can't be Star Wars. If it's Jade Empire, I haven't played it, and the world of Chinese mythology might look like a step up, but I'm sure it's brimming with the usual BioWare archetypes including black/white moral choices.
Aerothorn on 13/12/2010 at 16:11
Jade Empire is the exception to the rule, in that it's actually a shit game (narrative aside), such that I couldn't get far enough into it to see if the universe was more interesting.
As for "how they tell they're story," the problem is that they always tell their story the same way. I've actually considered making a sort of "narrative map" for Bioware games, because they all follow the exact same structure down to the smallest details (what the subquests are, how you build relationships with NPC companions, etc). I dunno, maybe it's just because I'm tuned in to pattern recognition and thus can't immerse myself in a game whose structure is so blatant.
I was actually going to write a chapter on this in my book, but KOTOR hates my Windows 7 machine and it didn't really make sense to use a later game as an example.
Aja on 13/12/2010 at 18:30
Y'all are pretty hard on Bioware. Mass Effect 2 had compelling, well-written characters that more than compensated for a predictable plot. And since all we care about is that our "moral choices" involve being evil no matter what, we should appreciate the fact that ME2 did have several no-win situations.
Boxsmith on 13/12/2010 at 19:15
I wonder what they stole those characters from.
