How angry are you at Bioware for seemingly writing the Mass Effect universe into a corner?

The Bombcast discussion on ME3 and the upcoming new Mass Effect game stirred some righteous anger in me. I can't believe all that we can reasonably expect out of the Mass Effect universe seems to be prequels.

God - I fucking hate Bioware for writing the Mass Effect universe into a corner like that. So very angry.

Angry is an inadequate word.

We need a new word.

Super-pissed.

Hyper-rage.

Omni-irked.

Not really angry at all. The universe and characters are really neat, but if Bioware feels like the current game would have a more interesting story with a massive retcon, it would not bug me in the least (but prequels are also fine).

I stopped caring for the ME universe around the time I finished the second game. So, no... I'm not angry at all.

Oh hey there, loaded question.

I am not? they already established the post ME3 universe in ME3... remember that scene with the stargazer? life finds a way man , I'm sure the next game will be a secuel set thousands of years into the future... also screw angry fanboys they're the worst.

@Seppli said:

The Bombcast discussion on ME3 and the upcoming new Mass Effect game stirred some righteous anger in me. I can't believe all that we can reasonably expect out of the Mass Effect universe seems to be prequels.

God - I fucking hate Bioware for writing the Mass Effect universe into a corner like that. So very angry.

This posts really makes me sad.

We'll just have to wait and see.

I kind of always figured this is how Mass Effect would go. You can't just keep going forward because you'd have to keep track of all those major choices and writing for that would eventually become impossible.

What is wrong with wrapping a series up? Whats wrong with getting a little closure? I hate when sequels go on forever and beloved characters end unresolved. It ruined X-Files, it ruined the Legacy of Kain series and it would have ruined Mass Effect if they didnt wrap it up. They could always do an Elder Scrolls style sequel, where the same universe is preserved, but a different story, with different characters, maybe different species in a different time and a different place takes place.

I think the Krogan wars would be an awesome setting for a game. We could see the whole genophage saga take place. No reason stories like that couldnt happen either.

@JeanLuc said:

I kind of always figured this is how Mass Effect would go. You can't just keep going forward because you'd have to keep track of all those major choices and writing for that would eventually become impossible.

Why the fuck did they have to go forward? The series was sold as a trilogy. It could end as crazy as it wanted, 12 different ways, because they didn't have to continue.

But oh wait, I forgot, gotta turn everything into a franchise and RUN THAT SHIT INTO THE GROUND.

Yeah, I'm not bothered by the endings, and am interested to wait and see what happens. I'm more interested in seeing them pick up where any of those endings left off, especially with the context given by the EC stuff (which I think really should've been in the game in the first place, and I wasn't even really angry about the original endings in the first place), and without Shepard in the lead. I wouldn't want a prequel, really. Also:

@Neurotic said:

Oh hey there, loaded question.

The universe is too big for the reapers to be the only story worth telling, really want to go back to when the first humans harnessed the Mass Effect technology and landed on the citadel.

Mass Effect to me is what Star Trek and Star Wars is to so many others, love the universe and species and really want to see it more fleshed out, there has to be other parts of the universe that have a big citadel like government.

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

The universe is too big for the reapers to be the only story worth telling, really want to go back to when the first humans harnessed the Mass Effect technology and landed on the citadel.

Mass Effect to me is what Star Trek and Star Wars is to so many others, love the universe and species and really want to see it more fleshed out, there has to be other parts of the universe that have a big citadel like government.

That's the thing though.

The series started as Star Trek.

It came with a film grain FOR A REASON.

At the end of the game, literally EVERYTHING is dead. It's not "oh there's no central antagonist in the Reapers". The galaxy has been plunged into an eternal dark age. There IS no coming back from that.

@Terramagi said:

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

The universe is too big for the reapers to be the only story worth telling, really want to go back to when the first humans harnessed the Mass Effect technology and landed on the citadel.

Mass Effect to me is what Star Trek and Star Wars is to so many others, love the universe and species and really want to see it more fleshed out, there has to be other parts of the universe that have a big citadel like government.

That's the thing though.

The series started as Star Trek.

It came with a film grain FOR A REASON.

At the end of the game, literally EVERYTHING is dead. It's not "oh there's no central antagonist in the Reapers". The galaxy has been plunged into an eternal dark age. There IS no coming back from that.

I would agree with this if it wasn't for the part at the end when its the guy telling the story to his son.

I'm okay with it since I like the universe and the end of ME3 has to I many variables for there to be a cannon ending. I also would love for it to be humanity's first contact with turians and humanity's plight with being accepted across the universe.

@Terramagi said:

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

The universe is too big for the reapers to be the only story worth telling, really want to go back to when the first humans harnessed the Mass Effect technology and landed on the citadel.

Mass Effect to me is what Star Trek and Star Wars is to so many others, love the universe and species and really want to see it more fleshed out, there has to be other parts of the universe that have a big citadel like government.

That's the thing though.

The series started as Star Trek.

It came with a film grain FOR A REASON.

At the end of the game, literally EVERYTHING is dead. It's not "oh there's no central antagonist in the Reapers". The galaxy has been plunged into an eternal dark age. There IS no coming back from that.

Whos saying go forth, I said go back to when the humans got the ME tech and started exploring space. Or set the story in any of the millions of galaxies out there.

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

@Terramagi said:

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

The universe is too big for the reapers to be the only story worth telling, really want to go back to when the first humans harnessed the Mass Effect technology and landed on the citadel.

Mass Effect to me is what Star Trek and Star Wars is to so many others, love the universe and species and really want to see it more fleshed out, there has to be other parts of the universe that have a big citadel like government.

That's the thing though.

The series started as Star Trek.

It came with a film grain FOR A REASON.

At the end of the game, literally EVERYTHING is dead. It's not "oh there's no central antagonist in the Reapers". The galaxy has been plunged into an eternal dark age. There IS no coming back from that.

Whos saying go forth, I said go back to when the humans got the ME tech and started exploring space. Or set the story in any of the millions of galaxies out there.

Barely 20 years pass between the First Contact War and ME1.

And if you're setting the story in another galaxy, guess what? Now it's a new series.

I'd rather have sequels than prequels, just saying.

Why would anyone be angry?

The Shepard story is played out. All the super epic "OMG! The Universe! Save The Universe!" crap was getting too much.

Do something completely different and the series will be better for it probably. I liked the suggestions from the bombcast - do a small scale story about humanities struggle or even a small group of people. No "the galaxy needs you, Mr./Mrs. super-soldier!" nonsense again.

its all made up and none of it real so they can do what ever they want.

also getting angry at video games is mental

@DeF said:

Why would anyone be angry?

The Shepard story is played out. All the super epic "OMG! The Universe! Save The Universe!" crap was getting too much.

Do something completely different and the series will be better for it probably. I liked the suggestions from the bombcast - do a small scale story about humanities struggle or even a small group of people. No "the galaxy needs you, Mr./Mrs. super-soldier!" nonsense again.

The only thing that happens between First Contact is the Batarians attacking human colonies, nobody fighting them, the Batarians enslaving entire populations, and the humans later bombing them from orbit.

None angry. Its video games.

I used to angry, so very angry. Now I'm just sad.

Imagine a sequel set like 5,000 years after the events of 3. At that point Earth is basically a neo Citadel but with the difference being that instead of it being a political meeting place it's now home to large populations of different species. At that point there past homes, even for the Asari, would just be like how people now talk about the countries there family may have originated from but with an even more rose colored glasses sound to it. Now lets say that Earth has figured a new way to achieve FTL travel and have begun rebuilding those jump gates. Revisiting those old worlds that actually have been cut off from other races, whats that like now? What about new races that have achieved space travel what are they like? I didn't like the ending but were it left the universe was almost worth that sour taste. Mass Effect should continue from there.

Bioware kinda killed my investment in the universe so meh. Don't really care one way or another.

I do think it'll be mildly amusing if they try to make a proper sequel and how they'll either make one ending canon or just try to gloss over the whole "biggest war in the history of reality ever" thing though.

A pox on Casey Hudson's house! A pox I say!

Prequels (and smaller-scale stories similarly to what Star Wars: 1313 is doing) have enough story potential. Although I doubt EA would greenlight a game without humans, I'd love to see the creation of the Reapers.

D) couldn't give a shit

@Terramagi said:

@DeF said:

Why would anyone be angry?

The Shepard story is played out. All the super epic "OMG! The Universe! Save The Universe!" crap was getting too much.

Do something completely different and the series will be better for it probably. I liked the suggestions from the bombcast - do a small scale story about humanities struggle or even a small group of people. No "the galaxy needs you, Mr./Mrs. super-soldier!" nonsense again.

The only thing that happens between First Contact is the Batarians attacking human colonies, nobody fighting them, the Batarians enslaving entire populations, and the humans later bombing them from orbit.

So? Because the whole galaxy is not at war that precludes it from providing the setting for interesting stories?

Nonsense I say!

Well, the new endings undid everything that prevented the series to have sequels. Rebuilding the relays and repairing the Normandy with a fucking bamboo stick.

So I don't see how making sequels is a problem for them.

@s10129107 said:

What is wrong with wrapping a series up? Whats wrong with getting a little closure? I hate when sequels go on forever and beloved characters end unresolved. It ruined X-Files, it ruined the Legacy of Kain series and it would have ruined Mass Effect if they didnt wrap it up. They could always do an Elder Scrolls style sequel, where the same universe is preserved, but a different story, with different characters, maybe different species in a different time and a different place takes place.

I think the Krogan wars would be an awesome setting for a game. We could see the whole genophage saga take place. No reason stories like that couldnt happen either.

There's a huge difference between closure - a satisfying ending to a larger story arch - and throwing out everything you built in a wanna-be 'oh my god I'm so intelligent'-twist-ending, leaving the beloved-by-many universe and its lore in shambles. The future of that universe is pretty much fucked, and I cannot imagine them writing themselves out of that hole in a dignified manner.

And prequels suck. They always do. There's just way too much a narrative losses, the sense of discovery first and foremost, when engaging in such a thing. I'm unhappy about these circumstances. Rightfully so.

Bioware managed to write themselves into that corner within the last hours of Mass Effect 3, and it's puzzling to me, no matter how I look at it. It's like they took a 100 million property, gave it a dirty sanchez, and were left with a 20 million IP. Why? Could just as well had a predictable ending, at zero damage to the franchise. Oh well.

I'm not angry but, i really have no interest in playing a Mass Effect Prequel. I feel the Codex in the ME games were so good at flushing out backstory there is no need for prequels.

I got over the anger at the ending and just lost all interest in seeing the series continue at all.

I've come to accept that Bioware just aren't making games for me any more.

I won't give a fuck. So D.

that there is a question front loaded with all sorts of bias. but i dont really care its just a game trilogy whatever whatever fuck it

If they can make a game in the style of ME1 then I'm down, but that's not going to happen, so I'm fine with the franchise dying.

Based on the original ending (I haven't played the extended cut yet), I don't think it is backed into a corner.I think it leaves the universe in a really interesting place. Mass Effect Relays can and will be rebuilt. The Protheans built a working one, the other Aliens will too. The connections between the systems will be rebuilt. But right now thousands of aliens are stranded in Sol. It's going to be chaos. Madness. For a few years it's going to be one hell of a crazy universe. I don't know if they could make a game very well in that universe, but there is certainly space for some awesome fiction to take place around that plot point. And for the games, just fast forward five or so years when the relays are rebuilt. The universe is still going to be a weird place with lots of readjusting to do and lots of interesting plot points based around that, but the large scale universe exploration is all still there.

@MattyFTM said:

Based on the original ending (I haven't played the extended cut yet), I don't think it is backed into a corner.I think it leaves the universe in a really interesting place. Mass Effect Relays can and will be rebuilt. The Protheans built a working one, the other Aliens will too. The connections between the systems will be rebuilt. But right now thousands of aliens are stranded in Sol. It's going to be chaos. Madness. For a few years it's going to be one hell of a crazy universe. I don't know if they could make a game very well in that universe, but there is certainly space for some awesome fiction to take place around that plot point. And for the games, just fast forward five or so years when the relays are rebuilt. The universe is still going to be a weird place with lots of readjusting to do and lots of interesting plot points based around that, but the large scale universe exploration is all still there.

What's the point in rebuilding a single gate in the Sol system? It connects to nowhere. Just sayin'...

Of course you're right, that there's room for good storytelling with how things ended in ME3 - but I don't see it happening - and I'd rather have had the-ME-universe-as-I've-come-to-know-it continue. I was invested in that lore and was looking forward to seeing the universe unfold in a more predictable and relatable manner, rather than having it blown to smithereens for unfathomable reasons.

@Terramagi said:

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

@Terramagi said:

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

The universe is too big for the reapers to be the only story worth telling, really want to go back to when the first humans harnessed the Mass Effect technology and landed on the citadel.

Mass Effect to me is what Star Trek and Star Wars is to so many others, love the universe and species and really want to see it more fleshed out, there has to be other parts of the universe that have a big citadel like government.

That's the thing though.

The series started as Star Trek.

It came with a film grain FOR A REASON.

At the end of the game, literally EVERYTHING is dead. It's not "oh there's no central antagonist in the Reapers". The galaxy has been plunged into an eternal dark age. There IS no coming back from that.

Whos saying go forth, I said go back to when the humans got the ME tech and started exploring space. Or set the story in any of the millions of galaxies out there.

Barely 20 years pass between the First Contact War and ME1.

And if you're setting the story in another galaxy, guess what? Now it's a new series.

How does that make any sense in the ME? You are going between many galaxys in every game.

Where is the "I don't fucking care about Mass Effect" option?

@Seppli said:

@MattyFTM said:

Based on the original ending (I haven't played the extended cut yet), I don't think it is backed into a corner.I think it leaves the universe in a really interesting place. Mass Effect Relays can and will be rebuilt. The Protheans built a working one, the other Aliens will too. The connections between the systems will be rebuilt. But right now thousands of aliens are stranded in Sol. It's going to be chaos. Madness. For a few years it's going to be one hell of a crazy universe. I don't know if they could make a game very well in that universe, but there is certainly space for some awesome fiction to take place around that plot point. And for the games, just fast forward five or so years when the relays are rebuilt. The universe is still going to be a weird place with lots of readjusting to do and lots of interesting plot points based around that, but the large scale universe exploration is all still there.

What's the point in rebuilding a single gate in the Sol system? It connects to nowhere. Just sayin'...

If I remember my ME fiction correctly, the Mass Effect relays themselves don't directly connect to another one. They just slingshot you across the universe at insane speeds. One of the plot points of ME2 was that you can end up thousands of miles away from the other relay - that's why they needed a special targeting thing (I've forgot what it was called) to go through the Omega 4 relay). You need another one to go back, but to actually get to a place you only need one.

Either way, there are ways to get around the destruction of the ME relays. They can be written back in. And then you're no longer in that corner.

The Mass Effect universe is more broken than the Matrix universe now. Talk about flushing your entire franchise down the drain. Bioware gets no quarter from me. NONE!

None of the angries. Mass Effect is done for me, and I'm satisfied with 95% of it. Anything that comes out now will be merely a bonus.

Amazing games/universe, terrible ending to the trilogy.
 
Whatever comes out of this, I can only hope it's going back to its rpg roots and less gung ho in space with dialogues that don't affect anything major.
 
Little while ago I remembered how I felt when I finished Mass Effect 1 and realized there were two more titles coming out that were going to use my choices to influence the outcome.
I want that feeling back, I want that promise of choices meaning something back.

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

@Terramagi said:

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

@Terramagi said:

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

The universe is too big for the reapers to be the only story worth telling, really want to go back to when the first humans harnessed the Mass Effect technology and landed on the citadel.

Mass Effect to me is what Star Trek and Star Wars is to so many others, love the universe and species and really want to see it more fleshed out, there has to be other parts of the universe that have a big citadel like government.

That's the thing though.

The series started as Star Trek.

It came with a film grain FOR A REASON.

At the end of the game, literally EVERYTHING is dead. It's not "oh there's no central antagonist in the Reapers". The galaxy has been plunged into an eternal dark age. There IS no coming back from that.

Whos saying go forth, I said go back to when the humans got the ME tech and started exploring space. Or set the story in any of the millions of galaxies out there.

Barely 20 years pass between the First Contact War and ME1.

And if you're setting the story in another galaxy, guess what? Now it's a new series.

How does that make any sense in the ME? You are going between many galaxys in every game.

Do... do you understand space?

Not at all. They've written out any of my interest in the series. I've moved on, TNG was my healing process.

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

@Terramagi said:

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

@Terramagi said:

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

The universe is too big for the reapers to be the only story worth telling, really want to go back to when the first humans harnessed the Mass Effect technology and landed on the citadel.

Mass Effect to me is what Star Trek and Star Wars is to so many others, love the universe and species and really want to see it more fleshed out, there has to be other parts of the universe that have a big citadel like government.

That's the thing though.

The series started as Star Trek.

It came with a film grain FOR A REASON.

At the end of the game, literally EVERYTHING is dead. It's not "oh there's no central antagonist in the Reapers". The galaxy has been plunged into an eternal dark age. There IS no coming back from that.

Whos saying go forth, I said go back to when the humans got the ME tech and started exploring space. Or set the story in any of the millions of galaxies out there.

Barely 20 years pass between the First Contact War and ME1.

And if you're setting the story in another galaxy, guess what? Now it's a new series.

How does that make any sense in the ME? You are going between many galaxys in every game.

No the whole game takes place in one galaxy, the milky way. Doesn't even seem like the Reapers are cross-galaxy since they just kinda hide out in the "dark" space between our galaxy and the next.

I'm not so much pissed that they wrote themselves into a corner as I am that they stubbornly refuse to write themselves back out again.

They should just call the next game "Mass Effect: Artistic Integrity"

This is the same development umbrella that assumes your character from Dragon Age: Origins survived the final battle. They could totally continue the series from one of the ending outcomes (all of which have the similar implication that life after the Reapers means all of galactic civilization is in a more enlightened state, except for the additional post-criticism ending which I really can't consider official and make it canon. I don't really are either way. I just like the universe. Give me something interesting to play and I'll be on board.