New Mass Effect interview: Cap'n Shepard = Jack Bauer

[bylam]

...because they encouraged the player to think about how he/she would like to play the game- before the game had even begun.

How's that different from choosing stats?

Because high stats = useful in any situation, but terrain/time/random effects cannot be predicted. A simple example is bullding a powerful fighter. You choose a background that ups your strength stat and lowers your intelligence stat. Because you know that you are a fighter you know that you have little need for intelligence.
Now apply that example to a strength bonus/penalty given/taken based on a forest environment. Until you play the game, you have no idea whether it is mostly forest or urban or mountains or somewhere in between. So the choice to make your character have a bonus/penalty when you have no idea when/where/how often that penalty will be applied is a role-playing choice/consequence rather than a uber gaming stat boost.

Something is always better than nothing.

Surely not if the "something" puts others off trying out the idea because it was attached to such a spectacular failure.

 

[elander_]

Most quests in JE have multiple solutions. Same with KOTOR.

Bah

 

[Claw]

"Someone really important and special". I guess the target audience is insecure losers with self-esteem issues.

Isn't that what roleplaying is all about?

And no matter how big-shot-mighty-important-huge-penis your Captain Kirk is, I bet you still start off at level 1 killing spacerats under the spaceinn.

Nah, that'd be true only if it were an RPG.

Big whoopp. You start off as a Commnader. Not really a 'chosen one' per se outside of being the main protaganist so, of course, the game's story is focused on you. Duh.

Congrats for missing the point entirely.

 

[LCJr.]

No. Why? Were you trying to?

Why do you always answer a question with a question?

 

[Texas Red]

Way to go with the generic action hero. I wonder if the main villain will be an evil wizard(negadiv posadiv powahs) who wants to conquer the world(read galaxy) and occosionally has bouts of uncontrollable anger. And we must not forget to add the mandatory antisocial personality disorder to the villain.

 

[bylam]

Way to go with the generic action hero. I wonder if the main villain will be an evil wizard(negadiv posadiv powahs) who wants to conquer the world(read galaxy) and occosionally has bouts of uncontrollable anger. And we must not forget to add the mandatory antisocial personality disorder to the villain.

It's a race of robots (apparently). Like in the codex acclaimed SR2.

 

[Vault Dweller]

No. Why? Were you trying to?

Why do you always answer a question with a question?

I answered your question with "no". You've failed your reading comprehension roll.

toee's vignettes were a step in the right direction? one room dungeon... small dark alley... no choice whatsoever... yes, utterly ensconcing.

Which is why I called them a "step" instead of "pinnacle of role-playing". They added a certain unique element to your characters, giving them a fitting motivation, different start point, and a quest, if I'm not mistaken.

"CHICK IZ DEAD IN ALLY!!!"

"GET MCGUFFIN, YO!"

"WE'S A TAKE DIS TO PRIEST FOR LOOTZ AND XP!!! LOL!!1!!"

*miss*

*miss*

*spell failure*

*miss*

*miss*

*you hit thief for 3 points of damage*

*thief dies*

"THAT WUZ HUUUURD"
...
sorry, i like a cinimatic flavour and story in my opening.

I'm sure you do.

HAY SHEPARD, EVIL ROBATS FROM OUTAR SPACE R COMING TO KILL US, SAVE US U SUPAR EXTREME DUDE U!

*hit, miss, hit, hit, argh, hit, miss, boom, argh, argh, argh, hit, blood, hit, dead*

Was that cinematic enough for you, cupcake?

 

[Vault Dweller]

Because high stats = useful in any situation, but terrain/time/random effects cannot be predicted. A simple example is bullding a powerful fighter. You choose a background that ups your strength stat and lowers your intelligence stat. Because you know that you are a fighter you know that you have little need for intelligence.

Useless stats = poor design. In Fallout or PST all stats were pretty useful.

Now apply that example to a strength bonus/penalty given/taken based on a forest environment. Until you play the game, you have no idea whether it is mostly forest or urban or mountains or somewhere in between. So the choice to make your character have a bonus/penalty when you have no idea when/where/how often that penalty will be applied is a role-playing choice/consequence rather than a uber gaming stat boost.

Poor design again. You are not choosing a gameplay style, you simply hope that your "desert fox" background comes with enough matching desert areas. It's like deciding to specialize in a specific weapon type in the IE games and hoping that you will be able to find such weapons in the game.

Surely not if the "something" puts others off trying out the idea because it was attached to such a spectacular failure.

Spectacular failure? Do explain.

 

[Chinese Jetpilot]

HAY SHEPARD, EVIL ROBATS FROM OUTAR SPACE R COMING TO KILL US, SAVE US U SUPAR EXTREME DUDE U!

*hit, miss, hit, yell in face, hit, argh, TAKE COVUH!!, hit, miss, boom, argh, ENOUGH TALKING, LET'S TAKE 'EM OUT!, argh, grab collars, YOU'LL DO WHAT I TELL YOU TO DO GOD DAMNIT!, argh, SHIP!, hit, blood, hit, dead*

Not taken to extremes enough. Fixed.

IGN: Aside from exploring and traveling about and doing the scans on planets that you just spoke about, is the Normandy going to take on a larger role than the Ebon Hawk did in KOTOR?

Casey Hudson: In this game it is basically a place for you to navigate and get around the galaxy. One of the differences is that you have a big military crew that is there. They become part of the storyline of course. It's quite a different feeling from what the Ebon Hawk was which was kind of just like a large vehicle, like a truck that your group loads on to and then you go somewhere. Here, it's a military vessel so it's got its own crew, but because you're commanding them, you're able to do with it what you want. So it has quite a different function in that sense. But generally you'll be using it as story locations and to be able to figure out where you want to go in the galaxy.

Maybe I'm not understanding it, but isn't he basically evading the fact that it's virtually identical to the function of the Ebon Hawk? Because you could advance storylines within the Ebon Hawk, and it even had one or two of its own. The only difference I can think of is that ME's ship GOTS A MILTARYS CREWZ.

By that, do they mean there are duties assigned to the crew, like having a SCEANCE OFFACIER scan a planet to tell you how many BAD DUDES are down there and which predetermined location you'll have to land on?

COMMANDUH SHEPARD, 'WEES GOTS THREE ALIENS DOWN THERE WITH 3 OPEN QUESTS; WOULD U LIKE ME TO INITIATE THE LANDING CUTSCENE?

 

[Vault Dweller]

HAY SHEPARD, EVIL ROBATS FROM OUTAR SPACE R COMING TO KILL US, SAVE US U SUPAR EXTREME DUDE U!

*hit, miss, hit, yell in face, hit, argh, TAKE COVUH!!, hit, miss, boom, argh, ENOUGH TALKING, LET'S TAKE 'EM OUT!, argh, grab collars, YOU'LL DO WHAT I TELL YOU TO DO GOD DAMNIT!, argh, SHIP!, hit, blood, hit, dead*

Not taken to extremes enough. Fixed.

Thanks. Much better and more immersive. It's like I'm there.

 

[Volourn]

"Spectacular failure? Do explain"

See TOEE vignettes. Massive failure. It's so sad too consdiering the amount fo discussion time I actually had with Troikians prior to release, and in the end the vignettes were exactly as I feared they'd be and Troika either lied through their teeth or just screwed up. I think they just screwed up thoough; 'cause while they are good RPG dveelopers; they are prone to FUBARS.

TOEE vignettes, if anything, likely would scare game companies from using the same ideas 'cause of how much they screwed it up.

R00fles!

 

[Pussycat669]

We wanted people to feel like all throughout the game they're somebody really important and special...

Great! That means one ground shaking revelation less in the endgame which was probably obvious from the start. I always find them distracting anyways.

 

[Kingston]

ME's will likely be better than either.

Howso? Have you heard anything more on the subject or seen it live?


Doesn't sound like Ass Effect is gonna go anywhere innovative with the whole 'rpg' part. I'm sure it'll be a fun game, but a fun rpg? Don't think so. Especially with those robots. Doesn't seem as if you can really interact with them... "Why do you follow you master's rules? He's killed bazillions of people, don't you find that ethically wrong?" "ER... SYNTAX ERROR."

 

[Vault Dweller]

"Spectacular failure? Do explain"

See TOEE vignettes. Massive failure. It's so sad too consdiering the amount fo discussion time I actually had with Troikians prior to release, and in the end the vignettes were exactly as I feared they'd be and Troika either lied through their teeth or just screwed up. I think they just screwed up thoough; 'cause while they are good RPG dveelopers; they are prone to FUBARS.

TOEE vignettes, if anything, likely would scare game companies from using the same ideas 'cause of how much they screwed it up.

R00fles!

Uh... I asked to explain, not to repeat the same "massive failure" stuff over and over again.

 

[Volourn]

"Howso? Have you heard anything more on the subject or seen it live?"

'Cause it certainly cna't be much worse. LOL


"Uh... I asked to explain, not to repeat the same "massive failure" stuff over and over again."

Do a search of my convos with the Troikians some of which wer eon this very site. Idiot.

 

[Chinese Jetpilot]

The essence of Commander Shepard:

This game is going to ROCK.

 

[Cthulhugoat]

God Damnit!

 

[Kingston]

Anyone else think that the bloom effect is a bit odd? I mean, when was the last time you looked at a guy and saw a brown glow around his face?

 

[Cthulhugoat]

Anyone else think that the bloom effect is a bit odd? I mean, when was the last time you looked at a guy and saw a brown glow around his face?

next gen efektz lol

 

[denizsi]

Robot race? Cylons?

 

[TheGreatGodPan]

The essence of Commander Shepard:
[pictures]

Those are fakes! It will be entirely voice-acted with no annoying text on screen!

 

[psycojester]

Bullshit. If I had to choose having sex with a 500 lb man and no sex at all; no sex at all would win. Every. single. fuckin'. time. Period.

Volourn why do you lie?

 

[Chinese Jetpilot]

I can't wait to see the typical melodramatic Bioware romance. Something like this:

Commander Shepard: [grabs her by the throat] "Damnit! You know how I feel about you. I know I'm not able to express myself like other guys. I know I'm not good with people. How would you expect me to be that way if all I've done in life is maim and kill? But Damnit, listen to me! [tightens his grip and pulls her closer] I've devoted my life to violence. It's what I do. But I think its about time I focused my life on something else. You. It's not too late to change, is it? It's not too late to be the man you want me to be? The man that I can be."

Female: [in a whiny, constipated voice] "No, it isn't. Oh I love you too, Shepard! But we can't talk about this right now, we have a mission to accomplish!"

*Your Journal has been updated. Talk to her again upon gaining another level.*

I'd rather they dropped the RPG stuff (which, from what I see, seems to be lackluster anyway), and instead make it an Adventure game with an angry, belligerant SOB Commander Shepard; verbally and physically abusing and berating his squad and crew at every opportunity, grabbing their collars and yelling at their face every single conversation.

That would be one awesome game.

 

[Volourn]

R00fles!

 

[Ladonna]

So Volly....A 250lb guy would be acceptable?