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[Linkenski]

Mike Laidlaw used to be a senior writer but then became Creative Director as well and he himself even admitted to being a much inferior writer to David Gaider for instance. I don't know what the common consensus is on Laidlaw as creative director for Dragon Age, but it seems like most people like Inquisition, myself included so  that turned out well.

 

Mac Walters probably has more experience as a writer than Laidlaw too, and it's not that he doesn't know what themes are or what a plot is, it's just that he has a track record of not being able to sew these elements together in a coherent whole. Being creative director involves seeing the bigger picture but at the same time not go AS much into detail with every story-bit as the writers do. I think Mac might be better suited for this job than Lead Writer at least.

[Arcian]

Mike Laidlaw used to be a senior writer but then became Creative Director as well and he himself even admitted to being a much inferior writer to David Gaider for instance. I don't know what the common consensus is on Laidlaw as creative director for Dragon Age, but it seems like most people like Inquisition, myself included so  that turned out well.

 

Mac Walters probably has more experience as a writer than Laidlaw too, and it's not that he doesn't know what themes are or what a plot is, it's just that he has a track record of not being able to sew these elements together in a coherent whole. Being creative director involves seeing the bigger picture but at the same time not go AS much into detail with every story-bit as the writers do. I think Mac might be better suited for this job than Lead Writer at least.

You're going to regret those words when ME4 comes out and ends up being an even worse game than ME3.

[Linkenski]

You're going to regret those words when ME4 comes out and ends up being an even worse game than ME3.

Yes, I definitely will for sure, but the more I think about Casey's vision for Mass Effect and how it strayed a lot from what the game actually became, I can't help but think Mac still has an overall better grasp and respect for the franchise... the big problem is that he seems kind of disorganized.

 

But just think about it for a second: Casey described Mass Effect's approach to narrative back when ME1 was annonced as "Jack Bauer in space, and every mission is gonna be like an episode of 24" or something along those lines. Now we got the part where Shepard is a brick and especially when played renegade I can see some of the "Jack Bauer" but at large the vision still feels so distant from what Drew Karpyshyn turned it into.

 

Now I'm not putting a blind eye to the fact that Mac brought a lot of Cerberus garbage into especially ME3, like space-ninjas and a lot of "cool" stuff but honestly none of us know whether he was the one who decided that or Casey. I just feel like Mac has a better understanding of what makes good story-telling than Casey, especially considering that Casey was the guy who wanted the Stargazer scene and I think there's some evidence that hints that he wanted the Starchild ending, if the fake Patrick Weekes post is the truth.

[ImaginaryMatter]

I am somewhat more optimistic, although that's due to Casey Hudson leaving. I saw the full Last Hour stuff recently and I think a lot of the mistakes can be placed directly on Hudson. He has some views on story writing that I think at best can be described as well intended but misguided, which he then imposes those views on the writers; he doesn't have a good grasp on choice in video games or even large parts of Mass Effect.

 

With Casey gone; Cerberus hopefully, hopefully, gone; a new batch of writers, and a fresh start at a new writer I think the new team can make something satisfying.

[shodiswe]

And still we know next to nothing about the next game.

 

It's been really quiet imo.

[Linkenski]

I just know that whoever 'higher-paid' imposed the idea of Legion being Shepard's "stalker" in ME2 needs to be fired. To add some context here, former Bioware writer Chris L'Etoile wrote mostly all AI characters in ME1 and ME2 as well as Thane but left before they started working on ME3, but during the launch of ME3 he posted a lot on some forum under the name of Stormwaltz where he answered some questions regarding his past writings.

 

He told the forum dudes that when writing Legion some higher paid dev (probably a writer, probably Mac but maybe Casey) decided that Legion was wearing Shepard's old N7 armor because it was stalking him, except it never made any sense and Chris openly said in that forum thread that he ended up downplaying it because he had no clue why that had to be the case.

 

Sounds to me like there might've been some arguing and some VETOing because, as Chris said, apparently "higher-paid" people at Bioware, likely all the Leads get the final say, so there's no room for debate if one of the leads has a big ego. That's a terrible work environment to have for the writers when it has to be collaborative methinks.

 

 

I also saw a panel recently where Gaider was backing himself into a corner in some rambling about his vision for Dragon Age becoming the team's vision because "the team is working with me and listening to my idea so in return it's not just MY vision" or something, but it really sounded like that "I'm the Lead, I decide!"

[RatThing]

If people have different opinions about something in a company then ultimately someone has to have the final say, and it's usually someone with a higher paycheck. That's common sence. Openly bitching about it in forums is kinda low however.

[angol fear]

likely all the Leads get the final say, so there's no room for debate if one of the leads has a big ego. That's a terrible work environment to have for the writers when it has to be collaborative methinks.
 

 

Well, first, that's how it works in teamwork. The lead writer has to decide, that's his job. I don't see the problem. Collaboration doesn't mean that everyone is equal. And when everyone is equal, there's mostly chaos, and the result is incoherent writing.

Second, you can't compare science fiction writing and  fantasy writing.

[Iakus]

You're going to regret those words when ME4 comes out and ends up being an even worse game than ME3.

 

"MOAR FEELZ!!!!"

 

[Vortigernrex]

They should have just promoted whichever member of the team wrote the Tuchanka mission - the quality was way above the rest ... and that writer knows how to tie up all loose ends well (it had the most loose ends and variables to deal with, but it was the best put together).

[InterrogationBear]

They should have just promoted whichever member of the team wrote the Tuchanka mission - the quality was way above the rest ... and that writer knows how to tie up all loose ends well (it had the most loose ends and variables to deal with, but it was the best put together).

John Dombrow left Bioware in 2013, joined Irrational Games, got laid off when that studio was closed and is now writing shitty Telltale games.

[Iakus]

John Dombrow left Bioware in 2013, joined Irrational Games, got laid off when that studio was closed and is now writing shitty Telltale games.

So that's why I've been liking their games so much lately! 

[dreamgazer]

So that's why I've been liking their games so much lately! 

Dombrow's work with Telltale started with Game of Thrones, so the first episode of that series covers everything he's done with them so far.

He's responsible for Bioshock Infinite's Burial At Sea DLC, though, which is pretty spectacular.

[Larry-3]

I want Mass Effect to have elements of the shows that are shown on HBO.

[SimonTheFrog]

I really really hope BioWare can keep the good writers and doesn't alienate them with micromanaging higher-ups.

Too many awesome writers have already left

[Linkenski]

I just hope that between the 3 big Bioware teams, that they can at least keep Patrick Weekes on NextME.

He worked on DAI too for those who didn't know just like Luke Kristjanson wrote for ME1 and ME2.

I think Luke and Patrick are some of Bioware's best writers so I hope both can contribute to NextME, and I don't know what Chris L'Etoile has been doing lately, but as many ME1 and ME2 writers as possible hopefully, and maybe Dombrow.

Yeah, my dream team would be

Patrick, Luke, Dombrow, L'Etoile and Drew Karpyshyn.

I'm really crossing my fingers that Chris Schlerf adds something great too. Judging from H4 and Halo Escalation, I'm just not a fan of his writing, but arguably it's still better than Mac's rather pointless plots.

[Nogroson]

I would also like to have L'Etoile and Karpyshyn in the team 

[RatThing]

Ugh, Weekes and L'etoile are two writers I certainly do not want to write for Mass Effect, or any other game I'm interested in. In a game that's been always advertised as "your story" and about "your choices" those two with their massive egos decide to teach you lessons and impose their views on you rather than let you play by your own standards. I'd most likely refrain from bying the game if they would have major influence on the writing again. Especially Weekes.

Seriously, people lamenting the inconsistent writing yet want a writer back who's responsible for changing the nature of the genophage, turning a deranged criminal into an elite school teacher, changing the synthetics significantly and nullifying everything that could speak in favour of the Quarians in the Rannoch arc? How does that add up? If this dude believed one choice is good and the other bad not only does he let you know this, he literally rubs it in your face. Like in Mordin's loyalty mission where you pick seemingly neutral dialogue options and ends up taking a position on the Genophage and chastising Mordin over it. Then in the end you get your alibi choice in which renegade Shepard of course contradicts him/ herself. Same thing on Tali's mission if you talk to Xen.

His writing is fairy tale writing for children. Everything is black and white, here are the good guys, there are the bad guys. The good guys always end up repenting for their sins and joining the good paragon side, the bad guys who still support the other choice have the character of comic book villains, including (renegade) Shepard. Is this seriously the kind of writing people want?

I on the contrary think that it would do Mass Effect good to have a fresh start with a completely new writing team. With writers who A) are in agreement about their visions of what to write and how to write it. Alternatively with a lead writer who dictates the direction. So far I had the feeling everyone wrote what (s)he wanted. What Weekes wrote for Rannoch and with Edi and Joker pretty much contradicted what Walters wrote for the ending and what L'Etoile wrote before him at the same time.

B ) The new writers need to understand that giving the player choices is more than simply give them options on the dialogue wheel. The writing must support those choices, and let every one seem as the right one from a different perspective.

And C) they should not sacrifice everything for character writing like ME2 did. Characters are important, yes but so is the story and the exploring part.

If I had one wish free, I would give the writing to the Fallout New Vegas writing team, Chris Avellone & co. They have created a great story in the Fallout universe and I'm sure they can do the same in the MEU. Their story writing was consistent, their choices unbiased and meaningful and their character writing can very well compete with Bioware's. (In fact I liked Cass, Arcade and Veronica much more than all Mass Effect characters except maybe Javik). The Mass Effect writers gave us an exciting universe, which is the thing that attracted me to the games. Their story writing however was mostly disappointing to be honest and you can give Walters hell all you want, he is not the only one who screwed up.      

[Linkenski]

The only things I really disliked about Weekes' writing is his constant cliches like "When this is all over, drinks are on me!" or "meet me in the bar!" and he seems to want to put way too much Marvel-esque one-liners and inside-jokes into their games and while I love good humor, I don't consider those to be part of my taste. It seems too cheap to just slap a fan-made joke about your game in a cutscene in the game. It's fandom appeal and while I like Bioware for often respecting their fans' wants and needs (Garrus and Tali romance for instance) I just don't want the pandering to go overboard.

 

Okay the Marvel-esque one-liners I just hate because I think the Avengers is one of the worst movies I have ever seen, yet Patrick is obviously a huge fan of everything Marvel AKA DISNEY has been putting out since Avengers and Iron Man 3.

 

I don't think there's anything wrong with writing stories that teach you lessons though. Of course if they're below one's intelligence they may come across as patronising or insulting one's intelligence, but I'd argue all good stories are written to carry a message that contains some sort of lecture to it.

 

I do also think the writers should never ever do another Pinnochio arc though. I'll admit, Weekes did that in inquisition with Cole again, like Legion in ME3 and like Chris L'Etoile adequately put it on that board once, it takes everything that makes that character unique or likeable away if you try to completely normalize them through the pinnochio-arc.

[RatThing]

I think New Vegas is actually an example of a good story that doesn`t want to lecture you, and I wish there'd be more in Sci Fi. We deal here with things we haven't experienced yet, and there are always more than one way to look at those things. So I have to disagree with you on the 3rd paragraph, a good story simply tells a good story. And yes, al lot of ME writing seemed pretty patronising.

[Alamar2078]

What I'd want from a writing team:

 

-- I would want a leader / overall architect.  They set the "vision", tone, etc. of story they're telling.

-- I want the leader to act as editor in chief.  Specifically they need to be careful to enforce the vision & tone goals and make sure the story pieces contribute to the whole in a meaningful manner --- not just of the current game but any planned series.

-- I want a leader that will listen to other's ideas and be willing to incorporate BETTER and/or more fitting ideas in with their vision

-- I want a team of writers that understand the above but are also strong willed and willing to defend their interpretation of the vision ; be great at brainstorming ; etc.

-- I want the team to be good at reviewing ; constructively critiquing ; etc. the work of others

-- I want the group to be willing to incorporate choice into their story and build in choices into the architecture of the story they're willing to tell

 

If we can get the above we're in good shape.

[Kel Riever]

I am not touching any product from BioWare until they actually do something to fix their mass effect series.  The decision they make about it are toxic.

Seriously, they should just jump onto Destiny's writing team.  New Bungie has the same level of vapidness to their 'epic saga'

[Alamar2078]

@Kel:  Personally I'm not saying I'll never buy anything from BW again.  What I am prepared to do is to wait until they finish off an entire trilogy and THEN if the trilogy measures up then I'll vote with my wallet.

[angol fear]

What I'd want from a writing team:

 

-- I would want a leader / overall architect.  They set the "vision", tone, etc. of story they're telling.

-- I want the leader to act as editor in chief.  Specifically they need to be careful to enforce the vision & tone goals and make sure the story pieces contribute to the whole in a meaningful manner --- not just of the current game but any planned series.

-- I want a leader that will listen to other's ideas and be willing to incorporate BETTER and/or more fitting ideas in with their vision

-- I want a team of writers that understand the above but are also strong willed and willing to defend their interpretation of the vision ; be great at brainstorming ; etc.

-- I want the team to be good at reviewing ; constructively critiquing ; etc. the work of others

-- I want the group to be willing to incorporate choice into their story and build in choices into the architecture of the story they're willing to tell

 

If we can get the above we're in good shape.

 

You're talking as if you knew how they worked...

[Linkenski]

They should have just promoted whichever member of the team wrote the Tuchanka mission - the quality was way above the rest ... and that writer knows how to tie up all loose ends well (it had the most loose ends and variables to deal with, but it was the best put together).

Yeah, it's funny how Dombrow came in as a fan, first writing overlord and then had to tie up all loose ends in the genophage arc in 3 and he did so excellently (minus that whole thresher maw thing which I dislike) and he also wrote Garrus, Wrex and Javik, all great characters and not too inconsistent to their previous appearances.

 

Gives me hope Chris Schlerf is that kind of writer. He understood the Halo IP pretty well (although IMO he took it too seriously with multiplayer being "part of the story" and such... maybe not his idea necessarily.)

 

But yeah, if Dombrow had stayed at Bioware he should've been promoted because he definitely knows what he's doing. I'm happy to hear he's working with Telltale though. I love their games, except for their latest ones like the milking of Walking Dead after the season 1 creators left the company, Minecraft Story Mode and Tales of the Borderlands (I hate borderlands. What a useless IP to make a story out of) but I'm digging GoT even if it mainly rips off the TV show (unlike TWD which tried to be more like the comics)

 

Telltale also just confirmed they're making their own IP (finally!) and who knows, maybe Dombrow is heavily involved in that.