Hi, Ecael here for Mass Effect's dialogue and morality system.This is Part 1 of Building Consensus.
Part 1
Part 2
Of all the things that make Mass Effect great, dialogue is the one aspect that makes it stand out from other games. Both ME1 and ME2 had a ton of squadmate and NPC dialogue, but finding and triggering unique squadmate conversations was time-consuming in ME2. Instead of the elevator, dialogue triggers were scattered around hub worlds, making it inconvenient to hear any kind of banter (or to hear the other squadmate respond to it). The amount of time it took for a futuristic elevator to go from floor to floor was also unnecessary in ME1, extended well past the actual conversation.
Please note - I'm not advocating a return to elevators. However, there are two places on the Normandy (and two places elsewhere)that would be sufficient for squad banter, where the player can trigger dialogue when they choose.
When the Normandy lands at a hub world, you are either still at the galaxy map (ME1) or already at the entrance (ME2). Instead, the airlock can be used both as a midpoint to activate dialogue as well as a loading screen. How can this be done without sacrificing immersion or forcing excessive loading on the player?Option 1: The Airlock
1. Use an airlock loading screen to load the hub world in the background, with the door opening upon completion, whether banter was activated or not
2. Have two decontamination consoles on each side of the door (one for each squadmate, selecting which squadmate you'd want to initiate the conversation). Selecting one will re-run the decontamination, and the squadmates will engage in a short conversation.
Airlock (click for full image):
This allows the player to choose whether or not they get dialogue from their squadmates during the transition from the Normandy to the hub world. If they want to save the dialogue to listen to later, then they can simply ignore the Decontamination boxes and exit when the hub world is finished loading.
Squad Banter (click for full image):
The airlock is used for hub worlds, while the shuttle or a ground vehicle is used for most other missions. If squad banter could be implemented for those missions, Shepard could take the elevator (an extra step, but still convenient nonetheless) in order to start the next mission. There would be two extra choices in the Normandy elevator:Option 2: The Cargo Hold
1. Deck 5 - Cargo Hold - initiates squad banter as they walk to the vehicle (Dragon Age style activated banter), then activates landing cutscene
2. Vehicle Transport - heads straight to the landing cutscene, no dialogue
Normandy Select Screen (click for full image):
Again, this makes squad banter optional, but allows anyone to access it whenever they please (so they don't accidentally miss it the first time).
Walking and talking (click for full image):
The mission could load during the talking and landing cutscenes or just the landing cutscene (or even just a short loading screen between them).
TelexFerra suggested that the shuttle itself can be used as a conversational area. After adding a slight improvement, I came up with this quick picture using Kasumi's loyalty mission:Option 3: The Shuttle
Optional Shuttle Dialogue (click for full image):
You can either talk to your squadmates or just listen in as they talk to each other on the shuttle (like the elevator). A small CGI cutscene of the shuttle traveling in the corner also plays while it loads. Additionally, it will inform you once it has finished loading that you can skip to the mission.
Why is it that only two squadmates are allowed to come with you on hub worlds? It certainly isn't a gameplay issue, since you're not actually fighting in the main hub areas. Why not have your other squadmates (that aren't following you) show up on their favorite spots on hub worlds with dialogue?Option 4: Hub Worlds - *NEW*
For example, Grunt (click for full image):
Not only can it add more dialogue between you, Grunt and other squadmates (making it even more interactive than regular banter!), you can immediately switch them before you head off to another mission instead of running back to the shuttle for the squad select screen.
There have been a few discussions on how the morality system works in Mass Effect 1 and 2, and although I play pure Paragon and Renegade characters, neither of these systems benefit people who want to play based on each individual choice, or people who play Paragades.The Morality System
That is why I am suggesting that Paragon/Renegade bars should stay (and continue to scale with each mission completed), but should be also combined with a total Persuade bar based on all Persuasion checks passed:
(Light purple = Current persuasion)
(Dark purple = Persuasion opportunities missed)
(Transparent = Persuasion opportunities yet to occur)
The bar will add both Paragon and Renegade and will be used in conjunction with Paragon or Renegade in order to decide persuasion ability. However, there are a few caveats for playing Paragade/Renegon with this bar:
1. If Paragon is higher than Renegade at the time and you perform a Renegade action, you suffer a slight penalty from the Persuasion gained (but not too much). This also applies to performing a Paragon action when Renegade is higher.
2. If Paragon is higher than Renegade, Renegade interrupts will NOT add any points to persuasion (and vice-versa).
3. Some Paragon/Renegade checks will require a Paragade/Renegon to "Investigate" further in order to unlock them, where as pure Paragon/Renegade will not have this requirement (similar to the persuasion checks in Tali's loyalty mission).
The first two listed (1, 2) add a sense of cognitive dissonance for Shepard, who is conflicted between her or his behavior and current attitude.At the same time, this prevents the morality system from outright denying people from possible persuasion checks just because they wanted to play both Paragon and Renegade.
The penalties incurred from cognitive dissonance can be made up for with +negotiation bonus armor, import bonuses, and/or the "Investigate" further system as stated Rule 3.
Modifié par Ecael, 19 juin 2010 - 04:47 .
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