11 réponses à ce sujet

[von uber]

Just finished Episode 4 of Life is Strange - in my opinion this has been excellent at choice and consequence informing the narrative over a story arc.

 

Do we want to see this sort of thing return in ME:A? Or will Bioware be unable to deliver a situation where choices can be made without the choices ultimately ending up trivialised due to the narrative collapsing under its own badly planned weight? Or should the degree of choice be purely localised and not, for example, affect the fate of entire civilisations?

 

In other words, how much choice and consequence should there be? And should it extend over multiple games?

 

 

Incidentally, Life is Strange is bloody brilliant.

[Cyonan]

If there is something to be learned from Mass Effect 1-3, I think it's that creating too many huge galaxy altering choices creates too many branching paths and leads to BioWare needing to trivialize or override the choice.

 

I still think we should have some big choices, they just need to be careful about future developments needing to acknowledge that.

[SpaceOutlaw3000]

Damn right I want 50 endings(Ok not really 50 lol but lots of choices that lead to more paths and stuff)

Would really improve the replay value and make each playthrough different and unique.

[Feybrad]

As a Principle: Yes.

 

However, the Level of Choice a Game like Life is Strange presents is really only possible in a Game like Life is Strange. That same level in a Game like Mass Effect, especially if the Storyline plays out over more than one Game without "soft Reboot" like going to Andromeda, would weigh down the game immensely and override other Aspects of the game - which Mass Effect actually has, unlike Life is Strange where there's really only the Story built from your Choices and their Consequences.

 

Your later Idea, having most Choices be localized and bound to Characters instead of Civilizations seems to be the smarter Way to go about this. In Retrospective, this is mostly how Mass Effect 2 did it, where there are very few Galaxy altering Choices, instead focusing on the Characters, especially your Squadmates. Mass Effect 1 was a great Game, but the big Choices in that Game presented a Problem later on in Mass Effect 3 (where I think Galaxy altering Choices where absolutely okay to be placed, as it presented a Conclusion, however it turned out). In the End, most of the bigger Choices from the previous Games and even the same Game lacked Impact upon the actual Outcome.

 

I think, comparing Life is Strange to Mass Effect in Terms of Choice and Consequence is only possible when taking it with a Grain of Salt, as basically ALL Choices in Life is Strange are Character-based. It operates on a infinitely smaller Scale than Mass Effect and I don't think it would hold up much better under the Pressure of several radically World-altering Choices than Mass Effect, which effectively collapsed under them, reducing them to a Number that didn't satisfy anyone. So in the End, I do think, there should be more Choice and Consequence in ME:A than in the other Mass Effect Games BUT this should go hand in hand with a dramatic Reduction of world-altering Choices, maybe even to only one per Game, preferably the "big" Ending Choice (Dealing with the Council / Collector-Base / RGB).

 

Instead, the Choices should mostly operate on a smaller Level like "When Character X says What Why". On this Level, I think, the Writers should be invited to build in much more Complexity. This could also serve to allow the Player Character for more personal Agency.

 

And, on Life is Strange... 

[rapscallioness]

It seems to me that BW thought "Huge Choices Like Never Before!!" was what we wanted. I remember them interviewing and highlighting that aspect abt ME3.

 

What I like about LiS is that-(although I have no idea yet how much Max is affecting the larger pic)-the choice and consequences are very personal, yet intense. They're not changing the world, so far. There are personal consequences that are significant to you/the PC. They are not necessarily important to anyone else even in that fictional world.

 

I could see someone reading the news about some events that occurred, and thinking, "tsk. what a shame." Then turning the page. Whereas you and your character may be shaken and crying.

 

Those are the kind of choice/consequences I actually wanted. And I think they would be more manageable for the team to incorporate and resolve.

[von uber]

So a move to more personal and intimate choice / consequence as opposed to wider, more impersonal things?

 

To be honest, a lot of the bigger choices in Mass Effect left me cold, and the only ones that I really cared for are the ones that affected characters I liked. Therefore if I had to make the choice, the Toasters are always scrapped because of Tali (if peace is not on the table).

[Iakus]

The choices and consequences should be important, but only in the game which it takes place.  Minimize the baggage for whatever comes next.  Don't try to link things up in a grand trilogy again.  

 

And for godsake, don't splatter the entire galaxy with the choices.  

 

ME3 failed because it rendered the entire Milky Way unusable for future games even as it left Shepard with two fates (one being "faceless torso")  Everything's different for the galaxy, but everything's the same for Shepard.  This should have been largely reversed.

 

What makes Life is Strange work is that while the choices are important on a personal level for Max, and it is implied may be important for the city as a whole. But beyond that?  Does anyone even know what is going on outside Arcadia Bay?

 

in addition, it's been stated that if there is a second season for LiS, it would be with a whole new cast.  So baggage from this game is unlikely to carry over at all, leaving a greater amount of freedom for the writers to work with.

[themikefest]

I don't mind having choices, but big ones I would leave out

 

In ME1 I would leave the decision about the Queen up to the council

I would've had Hackett decide the fate of the destiny ascension

Anderson would never be a choice for councilor

In ME3 I would leave the decision for the genophage up to the Krogan, Turains and Salarians

Have the geth and Quarians come to some kind of truce without Shepard choosing

[katerinafm]

Of course, it'd be great. However it's important to note that choice and consequence are such a big thing in Life is Strange because the game is all story and choices and is based on that. With a much bigger game and with how more weight is being put on the new engine, graphics, etc, the cost of them adding as much choice and consequence is much bigger. I think Bioware could get away with not having as much choice and consequence, however when it claims it does only to fail to deliver it makes things worse.

 

I'm personally all for choice and consequence since I like having enough reason to replay a game and actually have variety in what happens.

[Han Shot First]

I'm all for choice and consequence. It is essential to any RPG, in my opinion.

 

That being said I do think Bioware needs to be a smarter about how that is implemented. If Andromeda is the first game of a series, they should try to avoid presenting choices that can't be adequately accounted for in a sequel. The Suicide Mission in Mass Effect 2 is a great example of not thinking ahead when it comes to choice and consequence. Introducing an entirely new set of characters in the second chapter, all of whom can potentially die on the mission, all but guaranteed that many of them would only get small cameos in Mass Effect 3. It introduced too many variables. The Suicide Mission should have been saved for the finale of Mass Effect 3.

[wright1978]

The choices and consequences should be important, but only in the game which it takes place.  Minimize the baggage for whatever comes next.  Don't try to link things up in a grand trilogy again.  

 

And for godsake, don't splatter the entire galaxy with the choices.  

 

ME3 failed because it rendered the entire Milky Way unusable for future games even as it left Shepard with two fates (one being "faceless torso")  Everything's different for the galaxy, but everything's the same for Shepard.  This should have been largely reversed.

 

What makes Life is Strange work is that while the choices are important on a personal level for Max, and it is implied may be important for the city as a whole. But beyond that?  Does anyone even know what is going on outside Arcadia Bay?

 

in addition, it's been stated that if there is a second season for LiS, it would be with a whole new cast.  So baggage from this game is unlikely to carry over at all, leaving a greater amount of freedom for the writers to work with.

Agree lots of personal choices with consequences for characters and localised things but less of the world changing choices that affect the ability to build later games ability to play in the galactic sandbox.

[ironfist1191]

Yeah honestly I believe the choice and conq. should be more serious and numerous than ever, but just because of this doesnt mean that they have to be about the fate of galactic extinction or not. 

They can be about pissing crew members off, which can lock you out of a romance or loyalty, or they can affect the condition of a crewmate, maybe they can change radically different how YOUR crewmates and companions see YOU. of course there can be some cool descisions like choosing who to die where him or her style, but it would really be nice to be able to have different opinions from other people in the game about you, so it doesnt seem all: 

"Captain Goodman never pissed anyone off except criminals and bad bad guys." We all know its not like that, maybe someone just doesnt like that you choose them less for missions? maybe they hate you because you left on member to die on X area so that you could escape instead of fight etc etc

Once again it doesnt need to be galaxy scale changer, just some way to show that the world is evolving around you, rather than having a stale enviroment.

 

*edit*

I can clarify more if needed, kindda wrote this in a hurry