Alright Bioware, listen the **** right up. Or... read.. the **** right up. Whatever.
I don't want a sequel. In terms of conflict, it's pretty hard to top "Galactic extinction at the hands of all-powerful machine overlords". It would also require you to canonize one of
your fabulous endings, which wouldn't exactly get
yourselves out of the fanbase-cafuffle you find
yourselves in.
Give me a
game that takes place during a hazy time period in the Mass Effect timeline, like the two years where Shep is in a coma, or a story that runs parallel to Mass Effect 1, 2 or 3. I want something that focuses on the Spectres, set in a very gritty tone compared to Shepard's story, with a healthy and massive dose of political intrigue and deception.. Take away the Paragon/Renegade bars and make a story where there really AREN'T any good or bad choices, with each decision coming back later to bite you in the ass in some way. Gimme a better look at the shady business dealings of corporations in Mass Effect (which is to say, all of them), a closer look at the shifty world of in
formation trading, political scandal, assassination, you name it. Give me more skycar chases like Lair of the Shadow Broker, and more detective work like in Leviathan and LotSB (Liara's Apartment, while not a lot of skill required, was still a nice break).
Noveria, Omega, Illium, Purgatory, Feros, the Citadel, they all had one great thing in common: Corruption. Make a
game centered around that, show the darker, grittier stories of the galaxy through the eyes of a Spectre (of which you can choose race, gender and origin). Make it similar to how Dragon Age: Origins was in terms of that Six Degrees of Separation effect it had. I remember going through the Human Noble origin, then the Dalish Elf, then the Mage, and I noticed everything came together in this very organic weave no matter which origin you picked, learning new things on each playthrough.
Make it a very mature tale, with multiple branching paths based on choices seemingly benign at the time (see The Witcher 2). Give the player choices so absolutely heart-wrenching and mind-blowingly amoral that they make the Red ending's Geth genocide factor look like a cakewalk. I want to be able to stare at the screen
for hours, jaw dropped to the floor, completely terrified of the options on my dialogue wheel. I want more Virmire decisions, but on a grander, more personal scale. I want A LOT OF 'EM!
I want deep, DEEP character interaction and development akin to Mass Effect 2 conversations with Samara, Mordin, Thane and Legion. None of this crappy Zaeed/Kasumi dialogue we were given in Mass Effect 3. I want oodles of squad banter, decisions that can make squadmates leave or betray you, and cameos from non-squadmate fan favorites. With an ensemble of quirky, mysterious, interesting characters who can expand on organizations and cultures of the galaxy (perhaps a Justicar with a skewed vision of the Justicar Code, or a disconnected Drell assassin with motives and beliefs contrast to Thane's). I want Shepard's decisions (and this is tricky) from the original trilogy to impact certain story arcs in major ways, such as how Chief Administrator Anoleis was handled on Noveria. Hell, give me a mission that takes place inside Donovan Hock's party during the Graybox Heist! Give me occasional nods of what Shep is currently up to in the galazy through Citadel News Net, throw in a reference to how Anderson handled the grounded Normandy in Mass Effect 1. Do it ALL!
Now... How do you accomplish such a grand undertaking you may ask?
TAKE
YOUR GODDAMN TIME! And don't you DARE make it an MMO! I don't care if it doesn't come out
for a decade, if you aren't excited or willing to throw every ounce of love into a new Mass Effect
game, it isn't worth it. Not
for you and certainly not
for us. Mass Effect should NOT be a cashcow to be milked by people who don't give a flying ****. Get EA the **** off
your back and make the
game we know you want to create. Make a single Mass Effect
game or even a new trilogy so vast and ripe with new ideas (preferably the ones above

), with a tone and set of themes so varied from the original trilogy that it stands out in this world of half finished products and Dudebro shoot 'em ups. That is what made the first Mass Effect so great, it was different.
Give us something different again, go back to the roots, and Mass Effect will become a true work of art.
Throw in an Archangel spin-off while you're at it.
Modifié par Provo_101, 26 octobre 2012 - 09:24 .