Mass Effect Andromeda: Shitstorm Edition - RIP Biowear

[Anonymus Fluhre]

is there any truth to the claim that they weren't the original dev team for the project, and Mac Walters poached those guys to work on Anthem instead?

I don't think anyone from Bioware Montreal is working on Anthem. Bioware Edmonton is focusing on bringing in new people for Dragon Age and Anthem (they also claim Mass Effect Andromeda, but that game is dead and no one is putting resources into it). They're focusing on artists and animators for the most part.

 

[LazarusOwenhart]

I don't think anyone from Bioware Montreal is working on Anthem. Bioware Edmonton is focusing on bringing in new people for Dragon Age and Anthem (they also claim Mass Effect Andromeda, but that game is dead and no one is putting resources into it). They're focusing on artists and animators for the most part.

If they fuck up Dragon Age the way they fucked up Mass Effect I may end up in a fetal position for a while.

 

[Vault Boy]

If they fuck up Dragon Age the way they fucked up Mass Effect I may end up in a fetal position for a while.

Well, they have a solid enough foundation to work off of, they're likely not going to spend the bulk of their resources on some stupidly ambitious feature that went no where, and the gaming community has made their grievances with Andromeda more than abundantly clear.

Maybe it's just me, but I highly doubt that DA4's development will be as turbulent as Andromeda's was. Whether or nor it will be a good game will be up to one's interpretation.

 

[Your Weird Fetish]

If they fuck up Dragon Age the way they fucked up Mass Effect I may end up in a fetal position for a while.

What could they do to it that hasn't already been done?

 

[Anonymus Fluhre]

If they fuck up Dragon Age the way they fucked up Mass Effect I may end up in a fetal position for a while.

That could be a possibility, I don't think Frank is working on it after Inquisition, but that's only because I haven't seen who's all working on it.

 

[DangerousGas]

What could they do to it that hasn't already been done?

DragonAge 4: Anders and Zevran's magical Man-wich edition.

 

[Ginger Piglet]

If they fuck up Dragon Age the way they fucked up Mass Effect I may end up in a fetal position for a while.

They already fucked up Dragon Age with Inquisition when they arseholed the proven tactical real time with pause combat that's served them admirably since Baldur's Gate, inserted hordes of fetch quests and collection quests, made the party members into a ticky-box list of ishoos rather than real people (with the exception of Blackwall and Vivienne), tried too hard to be Quirky and Unique with the other ones, and phoned in the plot. There is no more fucking it can take.

 

[Anonymus Fluhre]

They already fucked up Dragon Age with Inquisition when they arseholed the proven tactical real time with pause combat that's served them admirably since Baldur's Gate, inserted hordes of fetch quests and collection quests, made the party members into a ticky-box list of ishoos rather than real people (with the exception of Blackwall and Vivienne), tried too hard to be Quirky and Unique with the other ones, and phoned in the plot. There is no more fucking it can take.

Oh they could have fucked up the plot more. There was over three hundred pages of plot for the game. What you saw in the game was the best parts.

 

[Frosted Snowflakes]

'Mass Effect' failings forced BioWare to reevaluate how it makes games
https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/17/mass-effect-anthem-casey-hudson/

 

[Ginger Piglet]

'Mass Effect' failings forced BioWare to reevaluate how it makes games
https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/17/mass-effect-anthem-casey-hudson/

Here's an idea - they should suck less and maybe hire people who can write.

I have zero interest in Anthem because it's going to be nu-Bioware bollox shackled to Electronic Arse and thus full of microtransactions, loot boxes, system raping DRM, and other stupidity that is about as welcome in my life as an aortic dissection.

 

[Sinner's Sandwich]

'Mass Effect' failings forced BioWare to reevaluate how it makes games
https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/17/mass-effect-anthem-casey-hudson/

How about making games like professionals without making characters look like shit?

Apparently that's too hard.

 

[I-chi]

How about making games like professionals without making characters look like shit?

Apparently that's too hard.

Probably because half of their design team would be triggered by working on characters who look better and more interesting than they could ever hope to be.

 

[Coster]

'Mass Effect' failings forced BioWare to reevaluate how it makes games
https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/17/mass-effect-anthem-casey-hudson/

Idea: don't hand off the development of a AAA title in an established series to a support studio.

 

[Frosted Snowflakes]

How about making games like professionals without making characters look like shit?

Apparently that's too hard.

Or be professionals without injecting social justice to make the game sound like shit.

 

[Ginger Piglet]

Or be professionals without injecting social justice to make the game sound like shit.

Even hardened SJWs thought their shoehorning was exceptional what with Hainly "Have I mentioned I am trans today?" Abrams.

 

[Sinner's Sandwich]

There should be a first rule of game development : NEVER ENDORSE SJW, FFS

 

[_blank_]

Let's see...

1) If I'm going to be playing as a leader, have my character FEEL like a leader, not some dopey college undergrad who, like, uh... gets all confused, and uh, like, right?
2) Give me a reason to give a shit. 1st trilogy: Oh shit, it's us versus some cosmic horror beyond the galaxy whose sheer presence is nearly overwhelming (at least for the first 2 games and the first... 1/3 or part 3)! Andromeda: Stone-face monkey man is bad, wants to destroy things... for REASONS.
3) Bring back the Renegade/Paragon aspects.
4) IF THIS IS A FLAGSHIP TITLE OF YOUR STUDIO, FUCKING TREAT IT LIKE ONE.
5) Give me a supporting cast of characters whose backstories are actually interesting and diverse BEYOND about whether or not my character can put their dick into them. And as stated with point one, don't have them all talk like naive 18-year olds.
6) I understand big games cost money to make, blah blah blah. So make sure whatever you put on the (sadly) obligatory season pass is actually worth the money. And fuck right off if you decide to add any microtransactions.

 

[Replicant Sasquatch]

Let's see...

1) If I'm going to be playing as a leader, have my character FEEL like a leader, not some dopey college undergrad who, like, uh... gets all confused, and uh, like, right?
2) Give me a reason to give a shit. 1st trilogy: Oh shit, it's us versus some cosmic horror beyond the galaxy whose sheer presence is nearly overwhelming (at least for the first 2 games and the first... 1/3 or part 3)! Andromeda: Stone-face monkey man is bad, wants to destroy things... for REASONS.
3) Bring back the Renegade/Paragon aspects.
4) IF THIS IS A FLAGSHIP TITLE OF YOUR STUDIO, FUCKING TREAT IT LIKE ONE.
5) Give me a supporting cast of characters whose backstories are actually interesting and diverse BEYOND about whether or not my character can put their dick into them. And as stated with point one, don't have them all talk like naive 18-year olds.
6) I understand big games cost money to make, blah blah blah. So make sure whatever you put on the (sadly) obligatory season pass is actually worth the money. And fuck right off if you decide to add any microtransactions.

Your first point is probably what bugs me the most about this game. Commander Shepard got the job done. He was basically a fucking Navy SEAL in universe and dammit he acted like one. He had his moments of levity and he could even be a little awkward. But never once did you question why people respected him as a leader.

Contrast with Ryders, who act like they walked strsighs out of some CW drama. This is what happens when you let shipperfags write your story. It's obvious these people would rather stick the characters in a coffee shop or similar mundane setting. The space marine stuff is an obstacle for them, not the appeal.

If Sara Ryder served aboard the Normandy, Shepard would be fucking embarrassed.

 

[Ginger Piglet]

Your first point is probably what bugs me the most about this game. Commander Shepard got the job done. He was basically a fucking Navy SEAL in universe and dammit he acted like one. He had his moments of levity and he could even be a little awkward. But never once did you question why people respected him as a leader.

Contrast with Ryders, who act like they walked strsighs out of some CW drama. This is what happens when you let shipperfags write your story. It's obvious these people would rather stick the characters in a coffee shop or similar mundane setting. The space marine stuff is an obstacle for them, not the appeal.

If Sara Ryder served aboard the Normandy, Shepard would be fucking embarrassed.

This is what you call a missed opportunity. Shepard was an experienced leader and badassful even in the backstory. Ryder had the mantle of leadership thrust upon them. And as such they could have explored the whole "unwilling hero" sort of thing. Have Ryder forced to prove himself via the player's actions. Have him literally start out as just some normie who steps up to the plate and is forced to learn what leadership means. But... They fucked it up.

 

[Jaimas]

This is what you call a missed opportunity. Shepard was an experienced leader and badassful even in the backstory. Ryder had the mantle of leadership thrust upon them. And as such they could have explored the whole "unwilling hero" sort of thing. Have Ryder forced to prove himself via the player's actions. Have him literally start out as just some normie who steps up to the plate and is forced to learn what leadership means. But... They fucked it up.

You act like this was a bug and not a feature. Identity politicians make terrible writers and can't into drama effectively, don't like their characters overcoming adversity, and don't like their creations needing flaws or complicated motivations. There's a reason that virtually no character created by such a team is worth a damn, and that's because they are incapable of nuance, complexity, or self-agency. If you noticed their heroes are always inherently right and never need to be challenged in any way, which is why, as a whole, their heroes are unspeakably fucking boring.

Characters like Riri Williams, America Chavez, Rey from the new Star Wars movies, the Ryder siblings, and so on don't have the same capacity for characterization or motivation their predecessors did. You will never see, for example, a character that has to learn their distrust of people is misplaced, that they are not entitled to be the sole arbiter in their friends lives, that if they lose themselves on the road to power, they will become what they hate, or that they can't save everyone. Everyone will automatically love them except the bad guys (who will have no sympathetic element whatsoever). Throw in some identity politics narratives no matter how forced and you have your average SocJus work.

They write like this because they fundamentally don't believe in escapism. Nothing must be allowed to stop you from being prostelytized to, not even things like logic or profitability. All must serve the almighty narrative, or be shunned. They will not be satisfied until all entertainment is like this, as soulless and vapid as they are, or until their ideology finally runs aground for good. Thankfully, the free market gives not the beginnnings of a fuck and is more than happy to show them where to stick it.