I have quiet a few ideas for ME4.
Starting out, instead of a cannon opening, let's throw back some info on the Trilogy and allow us as the users interact with the opening with something like them asking if we know of the Legacy of Shepard & Co to allow us certain universe forming questions or even a save import which would look at our major decisions/achievements within that save.
IE
Ending used & how it'd possibly shape the universe we'd see.
-- if defy ending used all known species extinct except the Yahg & have the Yahg either the primary enemy or fighting to get in as a member race in the Citadel.
Quarians Saved
Geth Saved
Both Saved & Co-operating
Status on Rachni
Status on Genophage
Status of Earth from the ending (EMS level influenced)
All crew members alive at the end of ME3 "including past ones" -- have them hailed as legends with statues at their home worlds or Citadel including Admiral Anderson
Depending on war resources picked up before the end battle -- Races that went extinct / are now thriving / or barely holding on now depending on how far past ME3 we're picking up at. -- Can also be influenced by items above
One thing I would love to see
World influence -- such as like a colonization type interface allowing you to sculpt a planet, both accessible in game & via mobile platforms such as phones/tablets/consoles/etc. So say I start my game on the PC, be able to connect to it and influence it from an Xbox One, PS4, Android, Apple product, etc, with all platforms able to access a single cloud save & interact on it.
Plot wise
I trust them but have a few ideas
An advanced civilization is going through what went through on the ME Trilogy and after hearing the heroic exploits of our Galaxy they crossed the void between Galaxies for help before it's too late.
The Yahg become more troublesome than the Krogan during the Krogan Rebellion
The reapers become a more permanent fixture in the galaxy "if destroy wasn't selected" and no longer bound by cycle have them trying to reclaim systems to resurrect the races they each represent, or open relays that bring on dangers beyond their control in their weakened state.
The Rachni "if they survived" trying to gain a place on the Citadel and causing trouble while trying to colonize new worlds.
The "Keepers" starting to shrug off the controls of the Reapers and starting to show their own culture on the Citadel.
More thoughts to come, lol I have a ton of them.
First off i want to say that i don't think your ideas are wrong as they are an opinion so there is no right or wrong. I do however want to counter your point...
I would prefer a cannon history the reason is that ME lost its way with the "I win" R/P Dialogue options and the removal of all Virmire style choices from the series. There isn't a single major plot choice after Virmire where Shepard can't save everyone and only one other choice in the Series that has NO effect on the game with the two missiles one targeting the colony's spacedock the other targeting the colony's capital. So its a choice that isn't a real choice as it has no impact except you R/P score.
I can't think of a Single hard choice Shepard has to make in ME2 or ME3, in all the situation Shepard can use a morality based "I win" Dialogue option to save Everyone. hell the only people that can die in ME3 are Mordin Solas and a terminally ill Drell which dies regardless of your actions. You can save the Rachni, the Geth, Quarians and the Krogan. Not once are you given any hard choice. Not once does the game say you only have the resources to save one group who do you save?
You would think that in the biggest crisis that hit the galaxy since it was formed you'd think there would be SOME casualties that some group couldn't be saved, nope the Messiah Shepard can save them all. I want a cannon history where there is an actual IMPACT on the universe not it was hard war and lets go back to the status quo. I want to see one or two races whipped from existence not because I hate the races but rather because I like them and want there to be a sense of loss from the reaper invasion. I want them to address the failing they made in allowing for the "Shepard saves everyone" result. Virmire was a great fork in the series because it forces a loss on the series, one Shepard can't magic away and save everyone. Its really the only one in the series and that is a shame, they tried to show the impact of the war on Shepard with the loss of the boy which according to the concept art was designed to represent all the people Shepard couldn't save on earth but it runs completely hollow. Yet seeing a Squad member visiting you from the past who doesn't make it would be a real gut wrencher and good story telling because the player would feel loss. Loss is a vital component of story telling something they understood in ME1 bust seem to have lost in ME3 and the audience isn't suppose to like it, but it makes for a great story which over all the audience will enjoy. I think part (as in a portion not the whole) of the reason the ME3 endings bother so many people is that there is no sense of loss and your choices at the end reflect this. All the "better" endings, as in harder and needing more War Assets are consequence free choices aka Control and Synthesis. Only Destroy actually has consequences for EDI and the Geth.
We can't change the past game play choices of the series but we can ask for them to make ME4 with real loss and scares based on the reaper invasion. I really don't think any "official" version of ME4 should allow for Shepard being able to save Everyone. I also think that Control as an ending is out because I really don't want a bunch of reapers enforcing "the rules" as this limits story telling and synthesis is just space magic. Poof all life in the universe is now organic and synthetic and it sucks to be you if you are on a planet that has only developed to the hunter gatherer level as you have no technology to repair your new magically induced synthetic parts, hope it didn't replace anything crucial, sucks to be you. That leaves destroy which means the geth are dead, EDI is dead, the reapers are dead.
Loss is an integral part of mature storytelling it is representative of the world we live in and i really don't think that the ME series will be done any favours if you create it without any loss and i mean species level loss. We should feel a sense of loss in ME4 because they just fought the biggest war in galactic history it should not be all rainbows and unicorns. We should be nostalgic for the first series is some ways, as it was a time in the MEU before the scares of war. The universe should be like Europe in 1919. In shock and a bit stunned by the horrors of the first world war or in this case the Reaper war.
Back to top
