In Mass Effect (ME) and Bioware games in general, much emphasis is placed on giving the player the opportunity to make a decision leading to ostensibly a significant consequence. In some cases this was true when one had to decide whether to save Kaidan or Ashley in ME1 depending on which character one preferred. In other cases these decisions had minimal impact e.g. the Rachni Queen and her lack of importance in ME3.
In both cases however, the game Mass Effect clearly implies to the player when they are making a 'big' decision that will impact the game. I'm not against this but, I'd strongly prefer that Bioware mix this up with choices in dialogue or in game that appear to be minor but ultimately have just as serious consequences that the majority of gamers would not expect.
For example, if you're leading a human expedition across multiple galaxies for a new home and you come across a shopkeeper on a new planet who sells you weapons and armour. As possible in Bioware RPGs you have the option make conservation and ask this shopkeeper who is and what life is like and so forth. You may happen to mention the purpose and importance of your mission or who you are as a means persuade him or her to lower their prices . In the vast majority of Bioware games conservations with minor NPCs provide us with some insight into the characters but seldom provide any major consequences to the story, but what if they did? In this case, what if this shopkeeper happens to be an agent for the main antagonist and you innocently mentioning your goal or name to this NPC alerts him or her to your arrival and location? Subsequently, your ship and crew are attacked by enemies resulting in the possible harm, murder or capture of your companions or a significant loss of resources? All from one brief conversation with one seemly trivial NPC.
You now take more care when you talk to NPCs, you no longer speak openly about your goals and motives to strangers because you recognize the terrible consequences this could have on your progress. This is true of reality of course, one wouldn't tell strangers their goals to someone they have never been before simply because they could, who knows who they could be. However, by doing so you're not as open and social to the other NPCs around you. NPCs that were otherwise willing to trust you and give you the benefit of the doubt. However, due to your vague and cagey approach that you have developed from previous experience instead do not provide you with the resources that they were initially willing to. They themselves start to feel suspicious about you due to your suspicion about them. As a result this could create enemies between otherwise potential friends or allies.
This is just one basic example of the myriad of possibilities Bioware could use subtle choices and consequences for in game. The fear of failure keeps the gamer on their toes, constantly engaged with even the most irrelevant debates, discussions or actions in order to try and achieve the best outcome in game. While at the same time it makes the world of Mass Effect feel more realistic, dark and believable. Furthermore, we have the incentive to replay the game again to see how or if one's different decisions in some of the most apparently insignificant circumstances have any consequences and if so, to what degree?
It also has the capacity to make one's romance all the more compelling and satisfying. In a world of power hunger and shifty individuals, you were able to find someone you could trust and rely on. (Or, if your love interest betrays you, this makes their treachery of the more heartbreaking as you thought they were different or special, leaving your ability to trust others in Mass Effect at an all time low).
This is generally lacking in Mass Effect (thus far). In the vast majority cases when you speak to almost all companions or NPCs on the Normandy or a similar 'safe' environment one could simply exhaust each and every dialogue option without the fear of 'bad' consequences in game irrespective of who they are. This because we know the game will tell us when we are making a 'big' decision similar to a parent telling a child that it's dinner time or that it is time to go to bed. Mass Effect can be more mature than this.
In addition make the failure a consequence that is more difficult to avoid. This will make us as gamers uncertain and nervous throughout the entire game because we know something will go wrong or right but we don't know when or how unless we concentrate on the smaller details. Leading to a far more captivating experience.
These choices and consequences should be kept on a personal level rather than a world changing level as found in Dragon Age which invariably leads to superficial consequences in game and in future titles For example, whether Hawke supported the Templars or Mages in DA2 had little to no impact on Dragon Age Inquisition at all, it only changed a few sentences in game. This also helps circumvent the creation of too many branching storylines, while keeping the implications equally if not more significant since they potentially affect the companions or NPCs you have a close relationship with. What is fundamental, is that if Bioware decides to use choice and consequence again then, choices and consequences should only used as a means to produce a better story rather than an end in itself. It is still possible to produce a fantastic Bioware game without massive choice and consequence. The story, characters and setting should be always the first priority. If Bioware implements this, I believe that more subtle choices and consequences and the capacity to fail could be a worthy addition to the upcoming Mass Effect.
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