41 réponses à ce sujet

[CmdrSpaceCowboy]

The encompassing universe and characters make me feel like I'm actually there and these are my friends. I'm a scifi fan and the story is what hooked me in. ME was my first gaming experience and sadly it has ruined me for any other games. None other give me that character customization, scifi universe or characters or cinematography like ME does.

[ImaginaryMatter]

The encompassing universe and characters make me feel like I'm actually there and these are my friends. I'm a scifi fan and the story is what hooked me in. ME was my first gaming experience and sadly it has ruined me for any other games. None other give me that character customization, scifi universe or characters or cinematography like ME does.

 

The series never had great cinematography.

[Jorji Costava]

The series never had great cinematography.

 

I suppose there is some truth to this: The cinematography during dialogue scenes in particular is almost always of the over-the-shoulder shot reverse shot variety, which is about the most vanilla way to film dialogue that there is. At the same time, I can't give the developer too hard of a time over the unimaginative shot selection, because there's a cost to not doing it this way.

 

ME3 was the first to feature more dynamic camera work during dialogue sequences (for instance, the initial conversation with Anderson features walking and talking at the same time, with the camera tracking their movements), but I strongly suspect that auto-dialogue was the price that had to be paid to create these more dynamic scenes. If you have a dialogue prompt while walking, and you take a really time to choose what to say, what is the game going to do? The options are to either have the characters loop their walking animation over and over so they appear to be going down a hallway of infinite length, or just pause all character animations right there, which would be a bit jarring since that's not how things work during normal conversation.

[Dubozz]

suicide mission and my alpha shep

[Transrebal]

Just the idea for the game. I would love to live as commander Shepard. Exploring the never ending void of space, meeting new people and new species. Living life on the Citadel. Being the captain of your very own ship. Having unforgettable companions and Liara as your girl. It would be the perfect life.

 

Secondly would be the soundtrack for the series (mostly me3). Hearing the music is heart wrenching. Masterful job for whoever created it.

[fhs33721]

Just the idea for the game. I would love to live as commander Shepard. Exploring the never ending void of space, meeting new people and new species. Living life on the Citadel. Being the captain of your very own ship. Having unforgettable companions and Liara as your girl. It would be the perfect life.

 

Secondly would be the soundtrack for the series (mostly me3). Hearing the music is heart wrenching. Masterful job for whoever created it.

Don't foget getting shot at all the time, seeing companions die and suffocating in the endless void of space. Yep, the perfect live.

I'd rather be some not-Shepard captain of a non-military ship that doesn't  cruise around in the deadliest parts of the ME-universe.

You are completely right about the soundtrtack being awesome though.

[Transrebal]

Don't foget getting shot at all the time, seeing companions die and suffocating in the endless void of space. Yep, the perfect live.

I'd rather be some not-Shepard captain of a non-military ship that doesn't  cruise around in the deadliest parts of the ME-universe.

You are completely right about the soundtrtack being awesome though.

Ya but the fate of the universe all depends on Shepard and his actions. All the pressure would fall on me. (Gotta love a challenge). Losing companions is also part of what makes ME great. Cant all be rosy. For example: Mordin sacrificing himself killed me but after thinking about it, it just makes the story better. A Salarian sacrificing himself for the future of the Krogan race and for what he knew was the right thing to do. Someone else might have gotten it wrong. 

[themikefest]

replaying the games and finding/doing/hearing something different

[Allison_Lightning]

I was playing originally on a laptop with weak graphics but an okay framerate. What drew me in was a sense of wonder and as that faded, the characters were still there. The first game set everything up, I was desperate to play the second and pre-ordered the third while I was waiting for the second game to arrive in the mail. The characters got better in Mass Effect 2, and I loved the way I started off hating Miranda and then got to know her- the way Jacob seemed half-decent and the fact other people all have their own interpretations of the characters. 

 

The sense of helplessness, of the tiny victories I had against Cerberus in the second game, like passing on intel to the Alliance. I got the second game's DLC while waiting for the Extended Cut, replayed the first game to get everything I missed and every time I come back to the universe, I get more immersed and the sheer gravity of choice is amazing. The way your Shepard is unique and the reactions dependent on your prior choices. There's a tremendous amount of heart that I think would be lost if they started in the next game with a new main character and then changed the protagonist every game. I think part of what makes the trilogy a singular experience is this sense that it matters, in an immediate way that Dragon Age just doesn't have.

 

I don't mind if there's a new main character and supporting characters (ten points for no sign of Liara), what I mind is if they try to rotate the player character and their support every game. I don't care if it's asking for things to go wrong, but even with everything, I still feel like my three game long playthrough mattered in a way even standalone exceptional games that I love like mad, don't.

[BioWareM0d13]

I suppose there is some truth to this: The cinematography during dialogue scenes in particular is almost always of the over-the-shoulder shot reverse shot variety, which is about the most vanilla way to film dialogue that there is. At the same time, I can't give the developer too hard of a time over the unimaginative shot selection, because there's a cost to not doing it this way.

 

ME3 was the first to feature more dynamic camera work during dialogue sequences (for instance, the initial conversation with Anderson features walking and talking at the same time, with the camera tracking their movements), but I strongly suspect that auto-dialogue was the price that had to be paid to create these more dynamic scenes. If you have a dialogue prompt while walking, and you take a really time to choose what to say, what is the game going to do? The options are to either have the characters loop their walking animation over and over so they appear to be going down a hallway of infinite length, or just pause all character animations right there, which would be a bit jarring since that's not how things work during normal conversation.

 

A timer might work for those sort of conversations. Delay too long in choosing a response and the autodialogue kicks in.

[KaiserShep]

A timer might work for those sort of conversations. Delay too long in choosing a response and the autodialogue kicks in.

 

In the thread I made about timed dialogue in the DA feedback & suggestions forum, the idea was not well-received. I suspect that this would be true of a great deal of the fanbase.

[ImaginaryMatter]

A timer might work for those sort of conversations. Delay too long in choosing a response and the autodialogue kicks in.

 

A timer could work. I think, though, there should be some universe reaction to Shepard delaying, perhaps characters ask Shepard to say something or even take silence as an answer.

[SporkFu]

Alpha Protocol had a dialogue timer. Whenever it came time to pick a reply, you had a few seconds to choose a tone, such as sarcastic, angry, professional, friendly... whatever the situation. If you didn't pick one before the timer ran out, the game picked whichever tone you had highlighted. I thought it worked well in that game. 

[hiraeth]

for me, it was a lot of things. it was the sense of wonder that comes with being in a universe so large and unexplored; being able to roam planets and admire the beautiful red moon of Agebinium. it was the characters and their flawed-yet-somehow-perfect interactions with each other. the lightheartedness of garrus' bottle shooting and tali's emergency induction port--moments when you know it's cheesy but you can't help but smile and be hooked. it was looking forward to spending time with your LI, especially nights before the suicide mission. it was feeling the chill down your spine as sovereign compared humanity to a genetic mutation and guaranteed its destruction. it was also the terrible sadness of watching Mordin ride the elevator up the Shroud to his death, and being with thane as he passed. it was the overwhelming sense of pride and humility as hundreds of ships belonging to all the races of the galaxy burst through the relay into the Sol system to fight the reapers. it was standing before the beam on earth and feeling genuine dread at the thought of having to lose anyone else you cared about because you already lost too much. i guess it was just the perfect storm of wonder, intrigue, and attachment to diverse and wonderful characters...a compelling story told through the eyes of a compelling character.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

And then there was Starbrat.

[SporkFu]

for me, it was a lot of things. it was the sense of wonder that comes with being in a universe so large and unexplored; being able to roam planets and admire the beautiful red moon of Agebinium. it was the characters and their flawed-yet-somehow-perfect interactions with each other. the lightheartedness of garrus' bottle shooting and tali's emergency induction port--moments when you know it's cheesy but you can't help but smile and be hooked. it was looking forward to spending time with your LI, especially nights before the suicide mission. it was feeling the chill down your spine as sovereign compared humanity to a genetic mutation and guaranteed its destruction. it was also the terrible sadness of watching Mordin ride the elevator up the Shroud to his death, and being with thane as he passed. it was the overwhelming sense of pride and humility as hundreds of ships belonging to all the races of the galaxy burst through the relay into the Sol system to fight the reapers. it was standing before the beam on earth and feeling genuine dread at the thought of having to lose anyone else you cared about because you already lost too much. i guess it was just the perfect storm of wonder, intrigue, and attachment to diverse and wonderful characters...a compelling story told through the eyes of a compelling character.

Ditto.

 

j/k  

 

Well said. You had me at Agebinium. That was one of my favorite Mako drives.

 

And then there was Starbrat.

Indeed. Poor execution there, to say the least. I never got emotionally invested in that kid at the beginning or through the dreams, even though Bio tried so hard... maybe it's because they tried so hard. *shrug* All I know is, Right from the start when he's flying that toy fighter around, I had Anakin Skywalker flashbacks. Talk about your nightmare sequences. 

 

I thought a better idea would've been to have the catalyst take the form of people I was invested in, like Ash/Kaidan, Mordin, or Legion. Even Thane, who I didn't care much for in ME2, but liked a lot better in ME3... and not just cause he died, heh. His death scene at the hospital was amazing. Or how about some who didn't survive the suicide mission, if any. *sigh*... possibilities.

 

Uhh *ahem* ...anyway... this isn't a 'what I disliked about ME' thread, is it? Didn't mean to stray off-topic. I loved Shepard. She said dumb stuff like "I thought asari needed other species to reproduce," but she also said awesome stuff like, "Uh, sic semper tyrana… *cough*" She was sometimes emotional/non-emotional at the wrong times, but she also did awesome things like push non-cooperative mercenaries through skyscraper windows, saying, "How about goodbye." 

 

I think about Liara and shep's conversation on the Normandy, just after telling Hackett about the crucible plans. Liara is practically begging for shep's support for the plan, and she says, "you know we can't win this conventionally." And the camera is on shep the whole time, and she's rubbing her chin with one hand, and looking thoughtful... I like to think that she is thinking, "All I need is a chance, dammit." ... shep's awesome that way. 

 

She headbutted a krogan, and did 183 pull-ups in a row just to put the smart ass lieutenant N7-wannabe in his place. Don't get me wrong, I like James, but that's what I imagine shep thinking when she's on pull-up #62. I'm clicking the mouse every few seconds for, what is it, 6 minutes? Gotta think of something  

 

Commander Shepard is my favorite hero from Bio. 

[Obadiah]

What everyone has already mentioned, the setting, the characters - what I can only describe as the vision.

 

I guess I'll add, making the vision come alive with all the motion captures and cinematic scenes. The first time I saw the intro on the XBox360, with the player-created Shepard speaking on the Normandy, and then that dramatic cut-scene with Nihilus and Anderson in the briefing room, shot with what appeared to be a steady cam, with dramatic pauses (just watching Nihilus' mandibles pulse while the Turian looked on at the screen) - I'd never scene something like that rendered in real-time. I was floored that it could be done so well. And then for the entire trilogy, even when I hated the story (ie, ME2 proto-Reaper confrontation) I've been floored (in a good way) at the execution.