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[Cyberstrike nTo]

Yeah with ME2 lack of story and ME3 absurd ending....I'd take ME1 "inconsistencies" anyday.

 

My problem with ME1's story is that it's basically a massive info dump Tali, Liara, Garrus, and Wrex are basically talking about their cultures but not about themselves. Only a few times to you to actually know them and it's basically Wrex and Garrus' loyalty quests that get any sense of who Wrex and Garrus are as individuals and not walking and talking info dumps. Tali gets zero characterization in ME1 and Liara only gets any characterization if she goes with Shepard to Noveria and becomes Shepard's lover.

 

Only Joker, Ash, and Kaidan get any real characterization and what characterization they do get basically boils down to: that Joker is a jerk (in ME1 at least),, Ash is a racist, and Kaidan is boring.

   

The characterization in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 is a million times better. 

 

Mass Effect 1 and Dragon Age: Origins are basically so filled with info dumps on their respective universe it's nothing short of a miracle that their main quests are any good. 

[SolNebula]

 

My problem with ME1's story is that it's basically a massive info dump Tali, Liara, Garrus, and Wrex are basically talking about their cultures but not about themselves. Only a few times to you to actually know them and it's basically Wrex and Garrus' loyalty quests that get any sense of who Wrex and Garrus are as individuals and not walking and talking info dumps. Tali gets zero characterization in ME1 and Liara only gets any characterization if she goes with Shepard to Noveria and becomes Shepard's lover.

 

Only Joker, Ash, and Kaidan get any real characterization and what characterization they do get basically boils down to: that Joker is a jerk (in ME1 at least),, Ash is a racist, and Kaidan is boring.

   

The characterization in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 is a million times better. 

 

Mass Effect 1 and Dragon Age: Origins are basically so filled with info dumps on their respective universe it's nothing short of a miracle that their main quests are any good. 

 

That's because both ME1 and DA:O were the first of their respective franchises. They had to explain you the story, the lore, the cultures for you to care in the second and third games about them. Considering you played and enjoyed the personal stories of ME aliens I would say ME1 did a terrific job in making you care about the single characters in the sequels.

 

You have to understand every game that create a world is going to be like that. How would you care for Wrex, Tali or Garrus if you don't understand what being a krogan, quarian and turian means? The genophage, the social stygma of being space gypsies or living to the insane expectations that turian society put in the minds of their citizens.....ME1 job was to tell you what being an turian,asari, salarian or krogan means so that you will care about Liara, Garrus, Tali in ME2.

[Mathias]

The characterization in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 is a million times better.

Mass Effect 1 and Dragon Age: Origins are basically so filled with info dumps on their respective universe it's nothing short of a miracle that their main quests are any good.

That's what makes Mass Effect 1 great. It managed to introduce you to the world, this galaxy, full of interesting lore, races and settings, while still maintaining a good story. That's not easy to do.

I disagree on ME3 having great characterization. The writing for the characters felt like the writers were just looking at bullet points on what makes these characters who they are. Ashley is a great example of this. In ME3 she's a battle hardened soldier, doesn't trust Cerberus, and likes poetry. That's it. Bulletpoints. But in ME1? It'd actually have to take me at least a couple paragraphs to describe who Ashley is and what makes her tick.

I just don't like the criticism towards ME1's characters. People complain that they were glorified codex entries, while ignoring the actual character and personality behind it. I mean yes characters like Garrus and Tali were info dumps, but they kinda had to be. They were our gateway into learning about their race, and C-Sec, and all that fun stuff. But they also expressed their opinions and told their own little stories to while they were on the subject, and you learned about the kind of person they were. Wrex was probably my favorite in this regard.

[Il Divo]

Being an info dump and being a character with a story are two very different things. Garrus had a story to tell. Likewise with Wrex. He provides perspective on the Krogan people and we learn his cynicism through that lens. It's not an uncommon Bioware approach (Canderous Ordo was pretty similar on that front). Tali on the other hand has no real stories.

 

Her backstory amounts to "Tell me about Quarian Politics". "Tell me about Quarian Economics". And that's the problem: Garrus/Wrex relates these events through stories. As I recall, Tali almost never does this. I'd argue she's probably one of Bioware's worst characters. Although in general, I thought the ME1 cast was lackluster.

[N7Jamaican]

I'd rather have Drew K over Mac W.

[adkins222]

I think Bioware community give Drew too much credit. Don't get me wrong he is a great writer and by Andraste ass i am so glad he is back. However Bioware has many talented writers who does a great things. The real question is... On what title will be working? Maybe Kotor 3? Maybe ME: Andromeda or new IP?

[Mathias]

So....wait...

 

Is it just a coincedence that Drew K's back, around the same time the lead writer for ME:A is MIA?

[Sanunes]

I think Bioware community give Drew too much credit. Don't get me wrong he is a great writer and by Andraste ass i am so glad he is back. However Bioware has many talented writers who does a great things. The real question is... On what title will be working? Maybe Kotor 3? Maybe ME: Andromeda or new IP?

 

He said that he will be working on The Old Republic and since he live in Texas (from what I recall) I don't think he will work on any of the IPs in Canada since I think that would require him to move.

[Mcfly616]

The Dark Energy plot is back in play just as Andromeda approaches. Makes perfect sense.

[SolNebula]

So....wait...

 

Is it just a coincedence that Drew K's back, around the same time the lead writer for ME:A is MIA?

 

Apparently yes he stated he will be working for BW Austin who is the team tasked with SWTOR and its new expansion. However lots of things can happen. If he is going to be involved in ME again it would be probably the game after ME:A because most of the general writing is probably done by now. However this is just you and me speculating about it

[adkins222]

So....wait...

 

Is it just a coincedence that Drew K's back, around the same time the lead writer for ME:A is MIA?

Schlerf is still lead writer on ME:A. Where did you get that thing about MIA?

[dreamgazer]

So....wait...
 
Is it just a coincedence that Drew K's back, around the same time the lead writer for ME:A is MIA?

John Dombrow's been back at BioWare since April in a senior position for Andromeda. I'd say that's a closer possibility than Drew, who's working on TOR.

[Sanunes]

Same thing i was just talking about. You guys don't get what I'm trying to say. A preliminarily concept changes and twists in order to better develop the concept. That's how things work. You don't start by having a fully detailed concept that makes perfect sense, It's a step-by-step basis, And even in that interview he pointed out how that happened, First they thought of something and then they changed it. But, The point is, The Dark Energy element has basis within the series, And that it'd have made sense if the ending revolved around them. And absoutely not, The Catalyst and Dark Energy are not the same. The Catalyst is a deus ex machina, Someone that came out of nowhere, Having too much power over the storyline, Stating his opinions as facts and you're forced to like it and accept it. It's part of the whole argument how ME3 changed ME RPG style into Deus Ex Human Revolution RPG style. In HR, Your character's personality and relationships are introduced to you, You only have to decide the main events of the storyline. And that's why, Despite the fact that the HR's ending was similar to ME3's, It worked just fine. And it made perfect sense. I'm not here to question the Catalyst's logic, I personally think that 70-80% of what he said "Kinda" made sense. I'm questioning the narrative and the changes the writing team did without Drew. That "Is" why ME3 was a mess, Not because of the ending.

Another thing that bothers is how people mistake leaving things open because the game was supposed to be a trilogy, Leaving mysteries for the over-arching plot for the so-called "Plot holes". ME1 had nothing wrong. Mass Effect is the first series so far that pulled off the narrative element of "Perspective", That sometimes some things aren't fully explained to you because you're not in a position where everything should be explained to you. Made the narrative and storyline feel more vivid and brilliant. ME2's plot fundmentally depended on ME3, That's why, Changing the vision right at the end was a very big mistake.

 

The problem I have with your argument is you unfair to judge based on what might have happened because it was never fully developed, but at the same time we really don't know what he would have come up with either for it was never fully developed either and it could have been better, but there the reasoning it could have been worse even if it wasn't the Dark Energy ending.  For to me a lot of the story problems found during Mass Effect 3 were design decisions that the writers were forced to shoehorn into the game such as writing two characters in case someone died in one of the first two games.

[dreamgazer]

Same thing i was just talking about. You guys don't get what I'm trying to say.

We really, really do, but it doesn't change the fundamentally broken nature of the concept itself, which Dean plainly laid out for you.

[adkins222]

Mac Walters is a brilliant writer as well. But he's a brilliant "Characters" writer. Not a story writer. That balance was well-struck in ME1 and ME2. Between Drew, Casey, Walters and the other writers.

Yes, I agree with you. Mac Walters is  great "characters" writer, but i terms of lore/story... he is off the track sometimes. By the way, did you notice how ex-BW writers returned back to their home like a lost sons? First Dombrow and now Kharpy.

[InterrogationBear]

Schlerf is still lead writer on ME:A. Where did you get that thing about MIA?

They removed his profile from the Bioware-blog.

 

 

By the way, did you notice how ex-BW writers returned back to their home like a lost sons? First Dombrow and now Kharpy. 

There are probably not many good writing jobs in the AAA video games industry. A steady paycheck is nice too.

[Iakus]

Gonna have to source that. Drew's comments indeed suggest otherwise.
 

 

And the only part of that idea that was adapted was Shepard becoming a cyborg.  It was done in probably the least creative manner possible, and becoming a "bridge" between organics and synthetics played zero part of ME2 or ME3 until Starchild brings up the Green "organic energy" nonsense.

 

And people say Dark Energy is worse 

[dreamgazer]

No you don't. I'm speaking about something else entirely but you keep side-tracking what I'm saying to serve your own argument.

Largely because you're avoiding the plainly described issues with the idea and going on about how it "feels".

I'm not saying that, I'm saying that the basis of Dark Energy is something the game was about from the start and it would have made sense and "Felt" Right, Just as a concept to have the ending revolve around it. Rather than having the ending revolve around a completely outsider element.

Drew has repeatedly acknowledged the conflict between organics and synthetics as a theme. It's not an "outsider element"; the plot for ME1 wouldn't exist without synthetics that inevitably rebelled (Tali's words, not mine) and wiped out nearly all of their creators.

[Vortex13]

I'd rather hoped they got Chris L'Etoile back, I still give him more credits than anyone else from the orginal writing team.

 

 

Seeing as how he is the writer behind all of the elements of the games that I liked, I agree with you.

 

 

Personally, I think BioWare has enough character writers, they need someone that can make a science fiction setting feel like a science fiction setting, not a Days of Our Lives tale with a 'space' or 'fantasy' skin slapped on it.

[Iakus]

 

 

   

The characterization in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 is a million times better. 

 

Most of the ME2 cast don't even acknowledge anyone else on the ship.

 

I mean there's exactly one easy to miss situation where Garrus and Tali even acknoledge each other

[10K]

OMG... Drew Mass Effect needs you!!