172 réponses à ce sujet

[Altair_ShepardN7]

A good friend of mine has N7/SR2 decals on his car. Maybe once a month it'll get recognized and someone will say, "hey man, you driving the normandy?"

 

The Mass Effect series has sold around ten million copies, total, and that's a generous estimate. It has critical acclaim, to be sure, but comparing it to the cultural impact of Star Wars is laughable. 

I bought the N7 jacket on November last year and I use it a lot of times (for college, shopping, theaters, etc.) and only 4 people have recognized/pointed it out. Three of them were nerds/geeks from college (one of them was super creepy) and the other one of them was a man in his mid 30s. However, my country is the land of the Dudebros so I'm not really surprised. 

[Il Divo]

The idea that the world is flat and that all evidence to the contrary is a vast conspiracy perpetrated by the airline companies is also out there.

 

The idea that Mass Effect is the gaming equivalent of Star Wars in the impact it has on pop culture and the gaming industry isn't quite that absurd, but it's equally as factually incorrect. 

 

I'd agree with this. I feel like I can go virtually anywhere and find some kind of Star Wars reference. From the music to the characters to the plot points, it's instantly recognizable. Somebody sees a kid playing with a lightsaber and they instantly recognize the reference, even without having seen the films. I can't say the same for Mass Effect, regardless of my enjoyment of the setting. 

[The Heretic of Time]

This puzzles me every time I hear this.  Not because Mass Effect is necessarily found wanting in quality but because....Mass Effect actually has more in common with Star Trek than Star Wars. 

 

People should be saying "Mass Effect is the next Star Trek!" 

 

What do you all think?  Is Mass Effect more like the latter or the former? 

 

I agree that Mass Effect is found wanting in quality, but I disagree with Mass Effect having more in common with Star Trek.

Yes, ME obviously took some elements from ST, but the very core of the series is taken from Star Wars, not Star Trek.

 

Mass Effect is basically BioWare's own version of Star Wars. You could say it's the spiritual successor to Knights of The Old Republic (a Star Wars game by BioWare). Everything from biotics to the paragon/renegade system is directly taken from KoTOR.

 

Biotics = The Force
Paragon/Renegade = Light Side/Dark Side (Jedi/Sith).

[LinksOcarina]

The idea that the world is flat and that all evidence to the contrary is a vast conspiracy perpetrated by the airline companies is also out there.

 

The idea that Mass Effect is the gaming equivalent of Star Wars in the impact it has on pop culture and the gaming industry isn't quite that absurd, but it's equally as factually incorrect. 

 

comparing something scientifically proven to something that is artistically subjective is a false equivalency, and not a good argument.

 

I bet there were tons of people who said the same thing when Star Wars came out, it would be a flash in the pan fad before it dies off eventually. I don't know, I wasn't around when the original trilogy was in theaters though, but I do know it changed how sci-fi and special effects were used and seen, that's for sure.

 

We see stuff all the time now in that vein too, maybe the problem is there is too much going on at once, so many different things and fandoms and cultures out there that encompass geek culture on the whole, its harder to penetrate to the level of Star Wars in terms of street recognition. Plus age is a factor, forty plus years of growth and the mass-commercialism of Lucasarts allowed Star Wars to be continuously relevant for mass appeal, but the bigger point is how it continues to influence I feel. 

 

I don't think it's an issue of numbers really, but relevancy like you said is the key outside of the gaming industry. Even you admit a lot of what BioWare did with Mass Effect has been seen elsewhere in video games, and it will continue to be seen. Hell, Fallout 4 is doing the convo wheel now, thats kind of significant, and just one example.

 

But the outside factor is still present in this. People recognize Mass Effect a lot more than other games out there now, there is merchandise, in-jokes, fandom, all that pop culture stuff sharing space with comic books and Dr. Who and Star Wars, and then you have the academic side of things; using Mass Effect as part of a thesis on game evolution, morality, religion, philosophy, scientific theory, literary theory, all good and bad of course too. That is how good works of art really shine; by how they are treated over time with serious and critical eyes.

 

Combine the two, the relevancy and the impact, you do have something id say.

 

I don't know. I guess it might be pretentious to say it, but it just feels right I guess to compare it to the biggest Sci-Fi universe in the world. I guess i'll take the zen master approach and say "well see" a decade from now at this point.

[DaemionMoadrin]

I like how some people can flat out ignore factual posts and the facts mentioned by others in favor of their own opinion based on nothing but subjective feelings. That's grade A delusion right there.

[Deebo305]

If that Mass Effect movie ever comes to fruition then I would agree but until then it'll always remains its own thing.

 

To enter the realm of pop culture, Mass Effect needs to escape the bubble that is the video game industry. Hell, Firefly had one season and one movie and people still love to bring it up whenever Nathan Fillion shows up anywhere

[The Heretic of Time]

I like how some people can flat out ignore factual posts and the facts mentioned by others in favor of their own opinion based on nothing but subjective feelings. That's grade A delusion right there.

 

This post would be less pointless if you pointed out what/who you mean with this.

[LinksOcarina]

I like how some people can flat out ignore factual posts and the facts mentioned by others in favor of their own opinion based on nothing but subjective feelings. That's grade A delusion right there.

 

There is nothing really factual in the thread outside of what was used to influence Mass Effect. Everything in this entire thread is subjective feelings. Welcome to art and literary critique in that way.

[DaemionMoadrin]

There is nothing really factual in the thread outside of what was used to influence Mass Effect. Everything in this entire thread is subjective feelings. Welcome to art and literary critique in that way.

 

Seriously? So those numbers aren't a fact?

 

Your count is misleading.

 

Mass Effect: no movies, 3 games, 4 novels

 

Star Wars: 6 movies, about 50 games, several TV shows and cartoons as well as hundreds of novels, manuals and other books, not to mention 40+ years of pop culture references in all media.

 

Mass Effect isn't even a blip on SW's radar.

 

I don't feel like there have been way more games for SW than for ME. It's not my opinion that there are hundreds of SW books. It isn't subjective that SW is mentioned significantly more often than ME in popular culture and is present in pretty much every medium.

 

Those are facts.

[goishen]

The thing that I'm really thinking is that in thirty years time, we'll have a fully functioning "choose your adventure" series with complete VR on our supercomputers because this game was developed.  Complete with you choices do have actual meaning, not the illusion of choice. 

 

You've gotta learn how to walk before you can run.

[DaemionMoadrin]

The thing that I'm really thinking is that in thirty years time, we'll have a fully functioning "choose your adventure" series with complete VR on our supercomputers because this game was developed.  

 

You've gotta learn how to walk before you can run.

 

Why because of Mass Effect? What exactly did BioWare that was so revolutionary for game design? They made good games but what exactly was new? What wasn't used in other games before?

[goishen]

Why because of Mass Effect? What exactly did BioWare that was so revolutionary for game design? They made good games but what exactly was new? What wasn't used in other games before?

 

 

I'm guessing nothing, because you'll define it as an if/then statement.

[LinksOcarina]

Seriously? So those numbers aren't a fact?

 

 

I don't feel like there have been way more games for SW than for ME. It's not my opinion that there are hundreds of SW books. It isn't subjective that SW is mentioned significantly more often than ME in popular culture and is present in pretty much every medium.

 

Those are facts.

 

True there is more books and games and stuff, but they are kind of not relevant to the discussion  in the first place though. Those books and games are the aftermath of the said impact. And hell, Mass Effect has a few books, side games, art books figures and the like to its own credit too.

 

Not to mention then Mass Effect can't be compared to any sci-fi world like Star Wars or Star Trek because it doesn't have the same amount of material out there for them. 

 

I'm not exactly sure what your point then is. Yes they are facts, but that's not part of the discussion at hand. And if it is, then why are we having this discussion when all answers are based on how commercialized the product is?

[Kabooooom]

maybe. But I wasn't speaking of what is "ideal". He said the game itself wasn't compatible with 360, but it is.

Since when? Because last I checked, which was admittedly awhile ago - it wasn't. Of course, I'm not a star wars nerd by any stretch of the imagination (well, I was as a kid until I discovered better Sci Fi and that Star Wars really isn't all that great) so I dont keep up with current news on what has been made backwards compatible.

But if it is, I will play it. I enjoyed kotor 1 greatly, even though it was BARELY playable. And that's if you count it freezing on Tatooine 99% of the time to count as being playable.

[LinksOcarina]

Since when? Because last I checked, which was admittedly awhile ago - it wasn't. Of course, I'm not a star wars nerd by any stretch of the imagination (well, I was as a kid until I discovered better Sci Fi and that Star Wars really isn't all that great) so I dont keep up with current news on what has been made backwards compatible.

But if it is, I will play it. I enjoyed kotor 1 greatly, even though it was BARELY playable. And that's if you count it freezing on Tatooine 99% of the time to count as being playable.

 

It should be, last I checked it was compatible as well.

 

I admit though its been a while.

[DaemionMoadrin]

I'm guessing nothing, because you'll define it as an if/then statement.

 

It's entirely possible that I am not aware of some game element that was first used by BioWare.

 

I mean, WoW is the one of the most popular MMOs on the market (still dwarfed by the asian MMOs) and they didn't invent the wheel either. What they did is combine the most popular elements into one game, run an aggressive marketing campaign and release their game at the best point in time (when a large amount of households suddendly was able to afford internet flat rates).

 

So, did BioWare invent anything? Did they make the perfect combination? Why would they be the ones and not another game company?

 

True there is more books and games and stuff, but they are kind of not relevant to the discussion  in the first place though. Those books and games are the aftermath of the said impact. And hell, Mass Effect has a few books, side games, art books figures and the like to its own credit too.

 

Not to mention then Mass Effect can't be compared to any sci-fi world like Star Wars or Star Trek because it doesn't have the same amount of material out there for them. 

 

I'm not exactly sure what your point then is. Yes they are facts, but that's not part of the discussion at hand. And if it is, then why are we having this discussion when all answers are based on how commercialized the product is?

 

I mentioned the ME novels, no need to repeat it.

 

I just don't see ME ever becoming as big as Star Wars... which started with a successful movie that reached a huge audience. ME on the other hand only reached a fraction of it, in a time where the attention span is very short and each sensation is overshadowed by the next.

 

There are no facts supporting that theory.

[Kabooooom]

It should be, last I checked it was compatible as well.

I admit though its been a while.

I played kotor years ago (but not terribly long ago). I enjoyed it so much, when my game froze on Tatooine, I researched online how to avoid this and found out I basically had to restart my game since I had no recent saves. Restarted from scratch, followed the directions to avoid the freeze, and then finished the game. And Tatooine was the last planet I had yet to complete on that first play through, so I basically restarted the entire game from scratch just to finish it.

Then, I looked into kotor 2 and was disappointed to find that it wasn't compatible.

And that was the last star wars game I ever played. Been interested to try force unleashed though. Heard bad things about biowares old republic mmo so dont have an interest there.

[KaiserShep]

I would say Mass Effect is closest to Star Wars, then Abrams Star Trek, then real Star Trek. A lot of the stuff in Mass Effect happens because space magic.

 

Although I imagine a lot of that statement is really supposed to be "this generation's big space opera" rather than any proper resemblance to Star Wars or Trek.

 

Star Trek holds its own in the space magic grudge match. 

 

[Il Divo]

Since when? Because last I checked, which was admittedly awhile ago - it wasn't. Of course, I'm not a star wars nerd by any stretch of the imagination (well, I was as a kid until I discovered better Sci Fi and that Star Wars really isn't all that great) so I dont keep up with current news on what has been made backwards compatible.

But if it is, I will play it. I enjoyed kotor 1 greatly, even though it was BARELY playable. And that's if you count it freezing on Tatooine 99% of the time to count as being playable.

It should be. I actually remember playing KotOR 2 on my 360 about a year or so after launch, unless they changed something since then. I will admit though, if you were having trouble getting KotOR 1 to work, 2 just might be hell on Earth to get through. 

[LinksOcarina]

 

 

 

I just don't see ME ever becoming as big as Star Wars... which started with a successful movie that reached a huge audience. ME on the other hand only reached a fraction of it, in a time where the attention span is very short and each sensation is overshadowed by the next.

 

There are no facts supporting that theory.

 

But what you present is also a theory as well, not a fact.

 

I never said it was a fact either though. You could be totally right, I just don't think so. 

[Kabooooom]

It's entirely possible that I am not aware of some game element that was first used by BioWare.

I mean, WoW is the one of the most popular MMOs on the market (still dwarfed by the asian MMOs) and they didn't invent the wheel either. What they did is combine the most popular elements into one game, run an aggressive marketing campaign and release their game at the best point in time (when a large amount of households suddendly was able to afford internet flat rates).

So, did BioWare invent anything? Did they make the perfect combination? Why would they be the ones and not another game company?


I mentioned the ME novels, no need to repeat it.

I just don't see ME ever becoming as big as Star Wars... which started with a successful movie that reached a huge audience. ME on the other hand only reached a fraction of it, in a time where the attention span is very short and each sensation is overshadowed by the next.

There are no facts supporting that theory.

I agree. If anything, Halo has had a way bigger impact than ME. Hell, I'm a hardcore Halo fan too (but not nearly as much as ME) so I have been following the recent Halo news for months on waypoint. Halo fans get dev updates, new books, new game announcements, new comics, new official lore updates/clarifications all the time. There is literally at least one of that list every couple of weeks, max. It is a constant barrage of information to keep the fan base active.

Basically the exact opposite of Bioware. And it isn't just because of Guardian's imminent release either. 343 has ALWAYS been that open and involved with the fan base.

It makes me kind of disappointed and a little annoyed that we have to sit here and speculate about Andromeda while Bioware remains tight lipped about even the most minor of details.

But then again, that is probably our fault too with how we reacted to their "artistic freedom".

[LinksOcarina]

I played kotor years ago (but not terribly long ago). I enjoyed it so much, when my game froze on Tatooine, I researched online how to avoid this and found out I basically had to restart my game since I had no recent saves. Restarted from scratch, followed the directions to avoid the freeze, and then finished the game. And Tatooine was the last planet I had yet to complete on that first play through, so I basically restarted the entire game from scratch just to finish it.

Then, I looked into kotor 2 and was disappointed to find that it wasn't compatible.

And that was the last star wars game I ever played. Been interested to try force unleashed though. Heard bad things about biowares old republic mmo so dont have an interest there.

 

Truthfully, the Old Republic is a pretty good MMO, and it is as close as you will get to Kotor now a days anyway.

 

The bad stuff is mostly the doom and gloom "were free to play now" type of deal and how the free to play is a bit discouraging due to the cartel market and what not. Honestly...try it a month for like 20 bucks and see if you like it. You got 8 stories to choose, might as well give it a shot if you care to do it.

 

As for Force Unleashed, if you like action games with no real relevance to plot or consistency, go for it. It's fun to play, excruciating to watch.

[Kabooooom]

Truthfully, the Old Republic is a pretty good MMO, and it is as close as you will get to Kotor now a days anyway.

The bad stuff is mostly the doom and gloom "were free to play now" type of deal and how the free to play is a bit discouraging due to the cartel market and what not. Honestly...try it a month for like 20 bucks and see if you like it. You got 8 stories to choose, might as well give it a shot if you care to do it.

As for Force Unleashed, if you like action games with no real relevance to plot or consistency, go for it. It's fun to play, excruciating to watch.

Nah I much prefer story driven games. I'm not a huge fan of MMO's either. I mean, I love the open world and exploration feel to it, but I hate the cooperative mechanism. The last one I played was way long ago - FFXI. I felt obligated to sign online to meet groups to grind and level up since the difficulty curve was so high. I like to play games leisurely since I work such a long and unpredictable schedule, not feel like I have to sign on at x time to participate in raids or grinds or whatever bullshit of the day people are partaking in.

If there was an MMO that wasn't lame as fuckall like that, I would probably be into it. And hell, I would play a Mass Effect MMO just because it is Mass Effect.

[Il Divo]

Why because of Mass Effect? What exactly did BioWare that was so revolutionary for game design? They made good games but what exactly was new? What wasn't used in other games before?

 

If nothing else, it did popularize the concept of the save import. I can't recall any game having ever done that before, not one particularly well known anyway. BG1 let you import character stats (and nothing else) while KotOR 2 let you decide that Revan was either completely evil or good, via dialogue but that was all.

 

On the other hand, a lot/most of the import system was handled poorly not to mention the plot felt cobbled together/poorly planned, but I can't say I ever thought that the first series to incorporate this mechanic would have a chance in hell of turning out well. It's kinda how I look back at BG1: great ideas for its time, very bland execution. 

[Iakus]

A good friend of mine has N7/SR2 decals on his car. Maybe once a month it'll get recognized and someone will say, "hey man, you driving the normandy?"

 

The Mass Effect series has sold around ten million copies, total, and that's a generous estimate. It has critical acclaim, to be sure, but comparing it to the cultural impact of Star Wars is laughable. 

Indeed.

 

I grew up in the late 70s/early 80s.

 

Mass Effect is no Star Wars.