I dug it up just to see if this was true or not, and noticed a few interesting things. For the record, there is no way the endings were changed because of the leak. There was already a fully written out script at the time that is identical to what we got. These are just some of the things from the other file from the leak that contained a summary of a lot of ideas that were dropped, or altered. The older draft is the one that actually contains ideas we didn't see in the game. The fully written out draft was just the game in text format, and was no different than what we got. They were both released in the same leak.
- The Council abandoning Kahje was meant to be part of the main plot. This would have been the part where Thane was introduced in the Cerberus coup plot.
- There was going to be an actual trial. The hearing was supposed to be a witch hunt. The Reapers were still considered a myth by everyone in the galaxy.
- There was supposed to be this thing called the Alliance Multi-Purpose Bot. I doubt this was the name of EDI's original body since the Fembot, they actually used the word Fembot) is also mentioned in the same paragraph as the AMP
- Javik was originally a key player in the story. He appeared to serve the same role as the Prothean VI. At that stage in development it seemed that Bioware didn't actually know what they were planning on the Catalyst being, because they often referred to the prothean, Javik had no name back then, as the Catalyst. It's possible Catalsyt was a placeholder name that was meant to be Javik.the prothean's title, but it was instead used as the name of the key component of the Crucible. It was also during this stage when the Crucible was called "the Bomb", so it's even more likely that Catalyst was just a placeholder name. Shepard thought he was a Cerberus soldier who had gone rogue from being experimented on with the Catalyst.
- The Virmire Survivor had a partner who was a Spectre. Shepard teams up with the Partner on Eden Prime to find the Catalyst. They see Javik, and the Partner chases after him while Shepard goes to look for the Catalyst. Shepard finds out Javik is the Catalyst. Shepard is forced to kill Partner, because the Partner doesn't believe that the Prothean, Javik, is the Catalyst. Remember that Catalyst was a placeholder name. It's name meaning was clearly changed as they made more drafts.
- The prothean VI on Thessia was supposed to be an artifact Javik, or at least the prothean character, specifically needed to access for an unexplained reason. While Javik was access the artifact, Ashley/Kaidan would come out of the shadows and raise their gun at Shepard. Ashley/Kaidan found out that Shepard murdered their partner and wants to know whose side he's really on. Kai Leng would have been there, and would have encouraged the Virmire Survivor to kill Shepard. The Virmire Survivor believes Kai Leng is an Alliance Agent, because Udina is the one who introduced them.
- Kai Leng was supposed to kidnap Javik on Thessia. Javik was in a trance while he tapped into the artifact and did not know Kai Leng was there.
- It was meant to be made clear that Udina was indoctrinated, and had no real control over his actions.
- Kasumi was supposed to be an important character in the Cerberus coup, and was meant to help Shepard learn of the coup before it happens. Kolyat would have been the reason Shepard was on the Citadel, because he needed help to convince the Council to protect Kahje. Shepard, Kausmi, and Thane were supposed to be a team that overcame various puzzle obstacles as they raced to stop an indoctrinated Udina. Thane would have fought past Cerberus soldier to kill Udina. Thane would have died right after that, and had his last rites performed. It is implied Kolyat would have been there to say goodbye to his father.
- Jacob wasn't supposed to have gotten Cole pregnant. Her name wasn't even Cole. Kenesia, Cole's original name, was just his ex-girlfriend. It's implied that Jacob's romance could still be continued. If Jacob wasn't in a romance then he and Kenesia would discuss their past, and even the future.
- Emily Wong was meant to be in the game, and she was working with Khalisah Al-Jilani. The two of them would have accompanied Shepard throughout the Citadel to find evidence of Cerberus corruption. They would have recorded Shepard's actions, and shown it to the public.
- Obviously retaking Omega. But something interesting is that Zaeed would have been introduced during the Omega mission. Zaeed would have been the bodyguard of a Cerberus agent that Shepard needed to take in. It is possible for Shepard to kill Zaeed is Shepard can't convince him to change sides.
- The hanar would have been put into internment camps, because of a group of hanar extremist that supported the Reapers.
- The Grissom Academy mission would have been obtained from Aria, Anderson, or Liara.
- The fight with Kai Leng on Thessia wouldn't have ended with the gunship blowing Shepard away. The prothean artifact was making the roof collapse, and there was a time limit. Either Shepard looses the fight, or holds off Kai Leng until the roof collapse and cause their fight to end abruptly. In other words Kai Leng was willing to fight to the end, and wasn't a chicken.
- James' is often referred to as Jimmy, the nickname for James, throughout the older draft. Bioware might have toyed with the idea of Jimmy being him main name, or that's just something they called him sometimes. Though James is only referred to as Jimmy in clearly older sections of the draft.
- Obviously the scenario where Shepard is forced to choose between the Virmire Survivor and Liara. Kai Leng would have set off an explosion, he's a coward again in this scenario, and cause the floor to collapse. As Shepard crawls forward the ground begins to collapse more. The closer Shepard gets to one of his squadmates, the more the floor next to the other squadmate would collapse.
- The situation wasn't very logical. Apparently the floor is so fragile that if Shepard moves toward on squadmate it'll collapse, but it isn't so fragile that the surviving squadmate is able to lift up Shepard once he reaches them and pull them both the safety. I'm not sure how the surviving squadmate would have been able to pull Shepard to safety unless they themselves could have just gotten to safety on their own. I guess this was cut because it didn't make much sense. It was also forced drama. Though that didn't stop Thane, or Legion's deaths.
- There was going to be a Reaper enemy called a Pariah. This enemy was introduced in the comic Mass Effect invasion. They were cut from the game, because their ability to teleport overwhelmed the game's engine. This must mean they used a different version of teleportation than the Banshees, or they simply had more time to adjust the Banshees to make them work.
- The rachni mission, which appears to be the same, would have ended with Grunt sacrificing himself if Shepard chose to save the rachni queen. Grunt's loyalty did not seem to matter, and he would have died regardless.
- The rachni would have been produced by a Reaper husk called the Breeder. Shepard would be forced to kill the Breeder. There wouldn't have been a choice in earlier drafts. It's unclear whether or not the Breeder is simply a placeholder name, or was meant to be a different concept than the rachni queen clone. It's likely just a placeholder name.
- The Illusive Man's plan was for humanity to be ascended to Reaper form rather than for him to control the Reapers.
- Harbinger wasn't always supposed to blast Shepard. Instead a Harvester was going to knock Shepard to the ground as s/he raced to the beam. Shepard's squadmates provide Shepard with coverfire, and tell Shepard to go to the beam without them.
- In other words, there was originally a logical explanation why Shepard was not accompanied up to the beam. Apparently Bioware instead decided to have Harbinger have a cameo instead. This caused for an inconsistency in drafts where in one draft the squad had a logical reason for not being with Shepard, and in the other... they didn't. This was fixed as best as Bioware could in the Extended Cut.
- Anderson was meant to be beside Shepard on the run towards the beam to the Citadel. The scene had two versions.[*]Anderson would have been grabbed by a husk just as Shepard entered the beam. Shepard is knocked around, and has metal jammed into his/her leg.[*]Shepard has metal jammed into his/her leg, unknown reasons, and is lifted up by Anderson as they make their run towards the beacon. Anderson and Shepard enter the beacon together.
[*]The scene where Shepard is blasted by a Reaper, Harbinger, is still present in the earlier drafts. It seems they wanted a Harbinger cameo early on.
- At some point Shepard was supposed supposed to help Liara root out Cerberus influence in the Shadow Broker's information network. Shepard would have to recover a compromised station, and get rid of Cerbeurs presence.
- The game would have ended with Shepard meeting the GUARDIAN, it's unclear when it was decided the Guardian would appear as the boy from Earth, and the secrets of the universe would be revealed to Shepard. GUARDIAN appears to be another placeholder name. It's role is identical to the Catalyst, and it appears this section of the draft summary was written after Mac Walters suggested the endings that would cause speculations.
[*]Shepard could have become one with the Reapers (This appears to be the early version of synthesis)[*]Shepard could have gained control of the Reapers. Earth is destroyed. Reapers leave. (Low EMS)[*]Shepard could destroy the Reapers. Earth is also destroyed. (Low EMS)[*]Shepard could have gained control of the Reapers. Earth is fine. Reapers leave. (High EMS)[*]Shepard could destroy the Reapers. Earth is devastated (Average EMS)[*]Shepard could destroy the Reapers. Earth is okay. (High EMS)[*]Shepard could destroy the Reapers. Earth is okay. Shepard lives. (Highest EMS)
What does BSN think?
Now in reference to the endings in the early draft, they appear to be the same as what we got though the consequences were slightly different.
Earth being destroyed is one thing. This was cut, and replaced with the Mass Relays being affected by the Crucible. This means that even though Bioware was low on time and was rushing to make an ending, Mac Walters' suggested ending went through revision.
Synthesis seemed to be an early idea at one point rather than a fleshed out concept. It's unclear whether or not Mac Walters' original draft mentioned synthetics and organics all becoming cyborgs somehow.
It is clear that at one point the Mass Relays was never part of the ending.
It is not clear whether or not the synthetic/organic plot twist was something present in Mac's first draft or if it was simply something added during revision.
Modifié par Arken, 28 juillet 2012 - 05:26 .
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