Mass Effect 3's art director Derek Watts fears the series will become a victim of its own success, with BioWare obliged to churn out diminishing returns in order to satisfy fan demand.
Speaking to OXM at a preview event, covered in issue 82, Watts compared the studio's situation to that of George Lucas with Star Wars. The infamous Phantom Menace, he joked, felt a little like a jab at pushy fans.
"I think he did that on purpose, he got sick of all the forums and thought 'You know what, I'm going to give you guys Jar-Jar Binks and screw you up for like, years!'
"So you have to get back to the style, but yeah you have to be careful. The universe has a lot of room to grow."
Enthusiasm for Mass Effect flamed up last month, when irate fans compiled a list of canonical errors in spin-off novel Mass Effect: Deception. BioWare has since issued a formal apology, and will publish a revised edition.
How would you evolve Mass Effect, and when would you call it a day? While it won't commit to a fourth game, BioWare has discussed the possibility of sequels that take place before Shepard's trilogy, perhaps focussing on the origins of the game's races.
The studio has yet to decide whether multiplayer will play a permanent part, though producer Mike Gamble is confident Mass Effect 3's Galaxy at War component will go down well.
In recent interviews, Watts and lead cinematic director Ley Parish also explore the challenges of building on the first game's "skin-tight" aesthetic.
Check out our Mass Effect 3 hub for more.
8 comments so far...
AK47-Mentalman on 6 Feb '12 said:
I reckon the First Contact War would be a great Mass Effect Spin off, and an XBL game similar to Animal Crossing based purely in the Citadel! Go around trading food and ICBM's for friends around the station and mini-games of brushing the Keepers. Mint
Bezza89 on 6 Feb '12 said:
Everyone always says first contact war would be good, it would be shit frankly. Correct me if I'm wrong but it's just an attack by turians on a human vessel/station then the humans take it back. The End. Yeah an entire fleet appear with turians, but the council say 'whoa there Billy, enough of that, chill out and come home'.
Ahem. I digress.
CunningSmile on 6 Feb '12 said:
That's what started it but it flared up into some pretty intense fighting. However it's currently being covered by the comics and Bioware have a track record of not stepping on the toes of other media if they can avoid it.
Plamsa wing on 6 Feb '12 said:
The First Contact war or the Relay 314 Incident as the Turians call it, was a small, three-month conflict. So unfortunately I can't see it lasting that long.
I honestly think that it might feel to much like a shooter rather than a RPG. I'd like to see a Mass Effect that maybe takes places say maybe 100 years later after the reapers take us up the wrong'un.
I will say after the crap that has happened with Mass Effect: Deception (good choice of name) i'm slighty worried about the direction that might take it in future. Still now that this first edition has been cancelled sort of, I guess I can take joy in the fact that this copy may one day be worth alot of money but still be a pile of crap.
Bezza89 on 6 Feb '12 said:
It's not something you can make a game out of anyway.
I have a copy of Mass Effect Deception, haven't read it but heard it is awful. Not happy that they've announced another version of it - still was only a fiver I suppose. Two beers. Five hamburgers. One boob feel. Two thirds of a cinema ticket. Money to taunt hobos with.
ipsofacto on 6 Feb '12 said:
the trilogy has so much longevity anyway... although a MMORPG would be welcome! but maybe on the '720' if there's any truth in that. or a new story that somehow ties in with shepard's. where the first contact war could be a teeny fragment of the game
golliwoza on 6 Feb '12 said:
Uggh cant get into MMORPG's they are just so boring imo. You couldnt capture the same atmosphere and have an emersive story, I probably wouldnt play it if it went down that route unless there are some serious changes from the current MMORPG trend. I wouldnt mind a prothean prequal however.
CunningSmile on 6 Feb '12 said:
I think the cancelled one was as a result of fan complaints about in universe factual errors, so they've sent it back to the drawing board.
Pity really as the first trilogy of books are pretty good and slot nicely into the game trilogy, giving back ground to things like the Quarians hating Cerberus without contridicting each other. Suppose that comes from being written by someone who worked with Bioware on ME1 and 2 and knew where it was heading. Never heard of the writer of Deception.