68 réponses à ce sujet

[patrickgilln7]

Also it would also allow the possibility of playing as any race with their own unique origins story like in Dragon Age: Origins. Like playing as a krogan clan chief competing for territory and power or as a krogan mercenary headbutting guys and stuff. Or even a quarian on their pilgrimage or an asari matriarch, its pretty much limitless the number of stories that they could tell.

[Geoff Pinkerton]

Im glad some people actually read the full post rather than just making assumptions about the title and responding in kind.

 

To clarify.

 

The whole point is that Shepard's story and the Reaper war are jettisoned but the ME universe is otherwise untouched. It's a brand new story with new characters so it wouldn't be a rehash of the original trilogy.

 

Iakus put it well by describing the trilogy as a closed circle. I think the Elder Scrolls series has a similar approach although I've only played Skyrim so not 100% sure on this.

 

I think for all the flaws in the story ME is the most well thought out and interesting sci-fi franchise out there and it would be a shame to lose such a brilliant setting. I'm done with Shepard but the ME verse feels like unfinished business.

 

Retaining the 2183 setting keeps all the good stuff in. As much as I enjoyed the resolution of these subplots in ME3 I think its far more interesting to keep the Genophage and the Quarian/Geth conflict as ongoing issues. They could be important to the plot as they were in ME3 or function as part of the backdrop.

 

Regarding existing characters, Shepard and crew are obviously out. Other characters may or may not feature but it doesn't really matter which crime boss (if any) rules Omega or which Admiral commands the Alliance Fifth Fleet. I wouldn't object to Aria or Hackett making an appearance but an entirely new cast is preferable IMO. The Reapers are definitely out, bringing them back in any capacity would make any re-boot simply a rehash which contrary to what some posters have assumed Iam not advocating.  

 

As I also said before, changing the setting doesn't necessarily make ME4 a bad game but it wouldn't be Mass Effect ( I accept that this is highly subjective though).    

 

Hope this clears up what I mean by a re-boot.    

[Geoff Pinkerton]

Regarding story possibilities in a re-booted setting they are as patrickgillin7 said limitless. His own alien player character suggestions sound pretty cool.

 

As for human protagonists another Alliance soldier or Council Spectre ( obviously the latter not necessarily human ) are just the most obvious ones.

 

A C-Sec investigator on the Citadel or a Cerberus agent based story would provide plenty of intrigue for instance.

 

Then there is that Codex entry about 99% of the galaxy being uncharted. Being a deep space explorer would be fun. ( This could be the direction Bioware are actually going in given their recent if rather vague preview is anything to go by ).

 

My own suggestion would be to play as a privateer in the Terminus. Choice of ship and crew both fully customisable. Lots of story possibilities here.

Basically a Mass Effect version of Joss Whedon's Firefly. 

 

' A ship would bring you work, a gun would help you keep it. A captain's goal was simple : find a crew, find a job, keep flying.' 

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

That's essentially what a "purple ending" to ME3 would be. A reboot. The war is over. We won. Oooo Rah! Who cares about the ending? It is going to be written around anyway. The galaxy is repaired. New characters. New story. No reapers.

 

Just open up more relays for more exploration and a bigger story.

 

You're not going to call it Mass Effect: Rebooted. It will never sell. People want to see what happens next.

[SporkFu]

That's essentially what a "purple ending" to ME3 would be. A reboot. The war is over. We won. Oooo Rah! Who cares about the ending? It is going to be written around anyway. The galaxy is repaired. New characters. New story. No reapers.

Just open up more relays for more exploration and a bigger story.

You're not going to call it Mass Effect: Rebooted. It will never sell. People want to see what happens next.

I know I want to see what comes next, whether it continues Shep's story or not -- and by that I mean whether we see any of the trilogy's characters or not.

[Excella Gionne]

A Mass Effect Reboot is basically saying "Oh, we're sorry about our crappy Mass Effect Trilogy and made you pay for all of those expensive DLCs. Here, here's a new Mass Effect Trilogy that is way better and with less B.S." You're ripping your fanbase off!

[Khemikael]

Im glad some people actually read the full post rather than just making assumptions about the title and responding in kind.

 

To clarify.

 

The whole point is that Shepard's story and the Reaper war are jettisoned but the ME universe is otherwise untouched. It's a brand new story with new characters so it wouldn't be a rehash of the original trilogy.

 

Iakus put it well by describing the trilogy as a closed circle. I think the Elder Scrolls series has a similar approach although I've only played Skyrim so not 100% sure on this.

[...]

 

Hope this clears up what I mean by a re-boot.    

 

tbh, at first i did read you wanted a remake (the original trilogy with more sidequest but the same plot) my bad.

Actually, you want to play a new story in an old universe instead of a new story in a new universe you participate to create. I don't see any advantage here. Don't you want to know how Bioware will handle the ME3 endings? ME2 had multiple endings too (collector base and death of squadmates) but Bioware manage to include them in ME3.

 

And about TES: every game is a sequel of the previous one, it isn't a reboot or a closed circle. In TES IV Oblivion, you can hear people talking about the nerevarine (playable character in TES III Morowind) and you can read books about the other previous playable characters.
Do you know how Bethesda handle their endings? They dont usually make multiple endings (that's easier to canonize) but when they did: here comes the funny part:

At the end of TES II Daggerfall, you find a very powerfull artifact, the totem/mandella,  and you have to give it to one important people. There are different ways to do it, you can bring it to the Emperor, the king of Orcs, the king of worms, and other kings and princes. This is a part of the main quest and the artifact can change the face of the world. In TES III Morowind you learn about the warp of the west. A magic trick that allowed EVERYONE to get the totem so basically the choice you made in TES II doesn't mean anything.

[xAmilli0n]

IMO a re-boot is the best way of continuing the franchise for the following reasons.

 

A prequel is dramatically unsatisfying and would greatly constrain the nature and scope of the story. It would also take place in a significantly smaller universe than the one we're familiar with.

 

Any narrative that runs in tandem with Shepard's story would be similarly constrained, not to mention overshadowed by the events of the original trilogy.

 

A sequel would require Bioware to canonise the ending of ME3. Control and Synthesis aside from their unpopularity with

fans would make extremely dull settings for future games.

High EMS Destroy is a workable option but still highly problematic given how much of the galaxy is changed. There would also be the need to canonise the fate of the Quarians,Geth, Krogan etc.

 

Setting the story far into the future, in a parallel universe or in another galaxy would avoid many of the above problems but any of these options would change the setting so drastically that ME4 might as well just be another IP entirely. This could be a great game but it wouldn't be Mass Effect anymore. 

 

This leaves a re-boot as the most viable future for ME.

 

*Detail Snip*

 

That's a curious idea, everything the same except the characters and Reapers.  It would definitely allow them to tell a new story, but I don't see how a sequel would be much different.  Sure they have to create a canon, but it also gives the opportunity to grow their universe in a completely new way.  Plus any canon they establish is likely to be broad and non-specific like "Shep stopped the Reapers, and the Krogan are still alive and still pissed off at everything, etc."  I prefer Bioware do something new rather than cling to the old.  And if the game isn't good, I'll play something else.

 

I do agree though that a prequel or concurrent story would be less than satisfying for me.

[Iakus]

tbh, at first i did read you wanted a remake (the original trilogy with more sidequest but the same plot) my bad.

Actually, you want to play a new story in an old universe instead of a new story in a new universe you participate to create. I don't see any advantage here. Don't you want to know how Bioware will handle the ME3 endings? ME2 had multiple endings too (collector base and death of squadmates) but Bioware manage to include them in ME3.

 

I have no interest in seeing where any of those galactic states go.  Heck if a sequel gets made, they'll all likely end up in the same place, so it wouldn't matter anyway.

 

Bioware did import ME2 stuff into ME3, but quite badly in most cases.  Collector base didn't matter at all unless you tanked your EMS score.  Many of the squadmate appearances were little more than cameos (just as the ME1 characters were little more than cameos in ME2) .  Do we really want more of this going forward?

[Iakus]

A Mass Effect Reboot is basically saying "Oh, we're sorry about our crappy Mass Effect Trilogy and made you pay for all of those expensive DLCs. Here, here's a new Mass Effect Trilogy that is way better and with less B.S." You're ripping your fanbase off!

Possibly.  But it would never be outright admitted.  

 

More likely it would be them saying "There's too much divergence going forward.  There is no way we can make a proper sequel and respect the choices made.  So here's a new Mass Effect series where we actually put some thought into where it's going"

 

It would have the benefit of being true as well.

[Excella Gionne]

Possibly.  But it would never be outright admitted.  

 

More likely it would be them saying "There's too much divergence going forward.  There is no way we can make a proper sequel and respect the choices made.  So here's a new Mass Effect series where we actually put some thought into where it's going"

 

It would have the benefit of being true as well.

But wouldn't that be a waste of the VAs time? I doubt some of the VAs would come back for a second round, especially Robin Sachs since he's dead.

[Iakus]

But wouldn't that be a waste of the VAs time? I doubt some of the VAs would come back for a second round, especially Robin Sachs since he's dead.

 

From the OP:

 

A re-boot allows the universe we all fell in love with to continue with possibilities for new stories and a new cast of characters.

 

basically what is being proposed is resetting the clock to 2183 and telling a different story.  One that doesn't involve the Reapers, Commander Shepard, or any of the original cast of characters.  

[Excella Gionne]

From the OP:

 

A re-boot allows the universe we all fell in love with to continue with possibilities for new stories and a new cast of characters.

 

basically what is being proposed is resetting the clock to 2183 and telling a different story.  One that doesn't involve the Reapers, Commander Shepard, or any of the original cast of characters.  

Hmm... it's possible, but there would have to be a background on relays and whatever was created by the reapers if reapers are non-existent.

[Iakus]

Hmm... it's possible, but there would have to be a background on relays and whatever was created by the reapers if reapers are non-existent.

Not necessarily.  It could simply be a mystery.  Or be assumed to be Prothean, as everyone believed for the last two thousand years.

[Excella Gionne]

Not necessarily.  It could simply be a mystery.  Or be assumed to be Prothean, as everyone believed for the last two thousand years.

It could be, but there would need to be an explanation of why the Protheans suddenly disappeared(reference to old ME Trilogy here?). Anyone with that technology would be able to survive for a long time. They could say that the Protheans had a war that led to their extinction along with their enemies. 

[Iakus]

It could be, but there would need to be an explanation of why the Protheans suddenly disappeared(reference to old ME Trilogy here?). Anyone with that technology would be able to survive for a long time. They could say that the Protheans had a war that led to their extinction along with their enemies. 

Only if the Prothean disappearance was pertinent to the story being told.  It was in the original trilogy, because the Reapers wiped them out.  If MENExt is more about, say, exploring an unknown region of space, or stopping a war, or a murder mystery, it may not come up at all, outside a codex entry.

[KaiserShep]

It could be, but there would need to be an explanation of why the Protheans suddenly disappeared(reference to old ME Trilogy here?). Anyone with that technology would be able to survive for a long time. They could say that the Protheans had a war that led to their extinction along with their enemies. 

You could always come across a planet or group of them that suggest this too. Take Aphras, from the wiki:

 

 

A unique discovery, Aphras is a "heavenly twin" - a planet in a star system that has not one but two worlds of sufficient size to retain a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere within the habitable life zone of its parent star. Fossil evidence shows abundant vertebrates and evidence of a sapient terrestrial avian species in its Bronze Age. However, the only trace of contemporary life on the planet is that of single-celled organisms in its seas. All else has suffered from an extinction event - a series of massive impacts that vaporized vast quantities of water and lofted dust into its atmosphere. Early theories that this event was a collision with a fragmenting asteroid have now been discounted - the impact craters were aimed directly at habitation centers.

[Geoff Pinkerton]

Regarding Excella Gionne's reply concerning the lore. The Citadel and the Mass Relays are assumed to be Prothean technology as they were for thousands of years, while their extinction remains a mystery. Whats wrong with maintaining this mystery? There's no reason why we should find out about the Reapers at all. As I stated previously bringing the Reapers back into the story would just be a re-make of the original trilogy which I agree would have limited appeal.

 

Also I don't agree with the view that the reboot I'm advocating would be some kind of climbdown or apology for the original trilogy on Bioware's part. It's actually a testament to how great the ME universe is by allowing more adventures to take place there. Obviously a sequel could do this but I think it would involve a lot of handwaving and retconning aswell as discarding a lot of great stuff to be even workable. In some ways a sequel by doing this is disrespecting the originals far more. The re-boot actually leaves the ME universe pretty much intact while freeing up the writers to create new stories and characters within it.

 

In response to Khemikael  who states that I want ' a new story in an old universe instead of a new story in a new universe'.

That's exactly right, basically I want ME4 ( or whatever it ends up being called ) to be a Mass Effect game.

A sequel cant deal with all the variables from the original trilogy even if Bioware settled on a canon ending. In order to make a sequel work they would probably have to change the setting pretty drastically . It might aswell  be a new IP altogether.      

[ImaginaryMatter]

Wouldn't the term Alternate Universe be more accurate?

 

I can't keep the definitions of remakes, reboots, reimaginings, etc. straight but a reboot makes it sound like the same base story told differently, instead of advocating for a completely different story in the same universe.

[Geoff Pinkerton]

By the way thanks to Khemikael for enlightening me regarding the Elder Scrolls approach to sequels. Interesting, but I think it actually supports the re-boot idea as choices and variables are simply handwaved away or rendered unimportant in the sequels. Far better to start again with a clean slate but keep the Mass Effect setting IMO.   

[Geoff Pinkerton]

In agreement with ImaginaryMatter on getting terms straight. This is why I clarified in some detail what this re-boot would actually be. It's a re-boot of the setting and franchise rather than the original story.

 

The term Alternate Universe is problematic as it implies changing the setting which I don't want to do.

 

I certainly don't want old future Shepard or the Stargazer from the epilogue turning up to explain how ME4 is some new quantum reality created by the Crucible like Leonard Nimoy does in the new Star Trek. 

 

Perhaps the term re-set is more appropriate.

 

Ultimately it doesn't matter as Bioware wouldn't have to label any such title in this way. It would simply be a new Mass Effect game.     

[Iakus]

Wouldn't the term Alternate Universe be more accurate?

 

I can't keep the definitions of remakes, reboots, reimaginings, etc. straight but a reboot makes it sound like the same base story told differently, instead of advocating for a completely different story in the same universe.

I'm not sure there is a precise term that fits what's being proposed.

 

re-imaging might be closest, since the idea is to keep the setting, just not the events or characters  of the last three games.

[ImaginaryMatter]

I'm not sure there is a precise term that fits what's being proposed.

 

re-imaging might be closest, since the idea is to keep the setting, just not the events or characters  of the last three games.

 

Now that I think about it AU isn't really a good term either.

 

Maybe, they should canonize Synthesis that way we can effectively communicate our ideas and understanding over the internet without having to use words.

[Iakus]

Now that I think about it AU isn't really a good term either.

 

Maybe, they should canonize Synthesis that way we can effectively communicate our ideas and understanding over the internet without having to use words.

I'm going to pretend you didn't say that 

[Obadiah]

We'll get a reboot.

In ten years maybe.