No... much as i like Mass Effect, i don't think it would make a good MMO.. Mass Effect 1, was a great game - 2 was pretty good also but nowhere near as good as the first one.. sequalitis i guess.. an MMO based on it would ultimately be a Reapers vs Players game.. ie.. PVE cooperative... theres no way that players would be able to play as a 'reaper' with any degree of credibility.. theres just not enough to the Mass Effect 'world' to be able to expand it out into a worthwhile MMO.. its probably a stretch for Bioware to even make a 3rd game from it - the second game wasnt exactly all that long, and im guessing that incorporating the 2nd and 3rd into one game would have at least made the game a bit more 'durable' though its a shame they didnt stick with the game model from Mass Effect 1...
After Mass Effect 3 the reapers wouldn't be there so many of your assumptions dont' really work. Any future MMO would be based on the IP setting, not the events of the current series.
Several people seem to be making the same mistake, that being they are thinking of the story of Commander Shepard and the setting of the game to be one and the same thing. It's a kind of fuzzy thinking that I don't really understand.
Take Commander Shepard and the Reapers out of the equation and you have a setting with incredible potential. In fact it has more potential than Star Wars. In Star Wars most of the galaxy is already known, but in Mass Effect the great majority of the galaxy is still unknown.
Saying that a Mass Effect game must be a linear themepark game because it's first series was mostly themepark is like saying because the first dungeon master you ever had in a Forgotten Realms dnd setting gave you a very linear experience that all of Forgotten Realms must be the same way, but with a different dm you might have a totally different sort of experience. This is not the kind of fuzzy thinking I expect from sandbox players who supposedly think outside the box.
Lore is how the writers write it, it doesn't matter if it doesn't exist now, it can just be easily written a new page, in a new slice of history.
I think if this ever goes forward, I think Bioware to touch on the protean story, and there was actually a hidden portion of the race in a galaxy far far away (pun intended :P) instances can reflect on how they were destroyed, how some of them were able to stay hidden. Next is the collectors obv, what they actually are, how they get in touch with the reapers (maybe this was actually explained in ME2, havn't play the game for a while now)
EDIT: but I don't think this will go forward, since both projects will be under Bioware/EA, not reason to release a game that is going to be in direct competition with SWTOR, both stoey being sci-fi really eliminated the chances.
How much WoW could a WoWhater hate, if a WoWhater could hate WoW? As much WoW as a WoWhater would, if a WoWhater could hate WoW.
I'd play a sci-fi sandbox. Being Mass Effect or not really makes no difference to me. It's kind of detrimental, even, since there's not really that much lore and mythos to warrant constricting a game to that particular IP.
imo i dont think the platform game was that great and if they made a mmo im pretty sure they would cash into the handholding genra wich is now called "theampark mmo's" for the "casual" player ..so i voted no
Well as sandbox games are as rare as hen's teeth these days i'd take any ip,and as Mass Effect is an awsome one i may be in theory be even forced to cut off a rather delicate piece of my anatomy if this ever happened !!
I don't think mass effect would be a good sandbox IP. Maybe some kind of hybrid but not a full sandbox.
If you want to turn a single player space MMO into a sandbox there are better choices, like the old C-64 game "Elite", it would make a great sandbox MMO.
ME is made for the type of gameplay it have, and there are better worlds that would work better for a sandbox. "Dune" would work, "Red Dwarf" if you want to add some humor or Shadowrun if you want a bit more Cyberpunk heme than space opera.
And sandboxes are not really Biowares strong points, get someone like Rockstar or Bethesda to make it instead. Bioware are excellent on making what they make but they always tell a story and sandbox games are different.
If done right a Dune IP could be the MMO to end all MMO's but the way things have been going with converting existing IP's id be wary that any of the Dev teams around would slaughter it.
If done right a Dune IP could be the MMO to end all MMO's but the way things have been going with converting existing IP's id be wary that any of the Dev teams around would slaughter it.
no MMO will ever be 'the MMO to end all MMO' no matter how great one game can get.
How much WoW could a WoWhater hate, if a WoWhater could hate WoW? As much WoW as a WoWhater would, if a WoWhater could hate WoW.
Well I do get the impression from the interviews I've both seen and read that they intend to do something with the IP, and by something I mean something different from what they've done already. The IP certainly gives them room to take it in almost any direction they wanted to, incuding a sandbox style game. In any case it appears they do see the potential of the IP, whether they're able to take advantage of it may be another story but I hope they do.
Oh, btw, I'm not necessarily a fan of sandbox style MMOs but there are certainly some elements of sandbox games that I do like. I like the indepth crafting and exploration of sandboxes, but like the ease of soloing and questing in themeparks, which I feel at least gives you a reason for the grind that occurs in MMOs. I like both having story and creating my own story. I think if someone came up with the right mix between sandbox and themepark I would enjoy that a great deal.
One of my biggest complaints about sandbox enthusiasts is that they claim that you can make your own stories in sandbox games, but so few of them ever actually do so. They talk as if they're rp'ers, but so few of them ever actually rp and I'm not even really sure most of them know what rp is which can be said of most MMO players.
While I've rarely roleplayed in MMOs, I've done so in pen and paper dnd and for three years on an Neverwinter Nights persistant world rp server, so I know what rp is and what I see from 99% of MMO players isn't it. One of my biggest pet peeves is people who join rp servers with no intention of ever roleplaying. Then they are shocked when they find people actually acting out the role of thier characters.
Well, I kind of went off on a tangent, but oh well. I still stand by my statement that the Mass Effect setting has huge sandbox potential.
To be honest I would be hesitant, Sandbox MMOs always try to give player utter and complete freedom over everything, which is good and bad. But I think with Mass Effect the way the game is designed it's meant to be played almost like a themepark kind of game. You would have to do it just perfectly, and perfect is never achieved in MMOs.
To be honest I would be hesitant, Sandbox MMOs always try to give player utter and complete freedom over everything, which is good and bad. But I think with Mass Effect the way the game is designed it's meant to be played almost like a themepark kind of game. You would have to do it just perfectly, and perfect is never achieved in MMOs.
I'm sorry, but this idea that because the first series is linear that the setting is therefore only meant for linear games is a fallacy. Seperate the setting from the first series of games and you'll see that the setting itself isn't designed specifically for a themepark experience, or for any one type of experience for that matter. I mean seriously, that's like saying planet earth is designed only for specific types of games and you can't possibly have more open ended games that take place on planet earth. Well here we have a setting that includes planet earth but also includes the rest the galaxy with a multitude of alien cultures and worlds as well. Again, this kind of thinking just isn't logical.
Settings are not confined by the stories and/or games that take place in them.
Comments
After Mass Effect 3 the reapers wouldn't be there so many of your assumptions dont' really work. Any future MMO would be based on the IP setting, not the events of the current series.
Several people seem to be making the same mistake, that being they are thinking of the story of Commander Shepard and the setting of the game to be one and the same thing. It's a kind of fuzzy thinking that I don't really understand.
Take Commander Shepard and the Reapers out of the equation and you have a setting with incredible potential. In fact it has more potential than Star Wars. In Star Wars most of the galaxy is already known, but in Mass Effect the great majority of the galaxy is still unknown.
Saying that a Mass Effect game must be a linear themepark game because it's first series was mostly themepark is like saying because the first dungeon master you ever had in a Forgotten Realms dnd setting gave you a very linear experience that all of Forgotten Realms must be the same way, but with a different dm you might have a totally different sort of experience. This is not the kind of fuzzy thinking I expect from sandbox players who supposedly think outside the box.
Lore is how the writers write it, it doesn't matter if it doesn't exist now, it can just be easily written a new page, in a new slice of history.
I think if this ever goes forward, I think Bioware to touch on the protean story, and there was actually a hidden portion of the race in a galaxy far far away (pun intended :P) instances can reflect on how they were destroyed, how some of them were able to stay hidden. Next is the collectors obv, what they actually are, how they get in touch with the reapers (maybe this was actually explained in ME2, havn't play the game for a while now)
EDIT: but I don't think this will go forward, since both projects will be under Bioware/EA, not reason to release a game that is going to be in direct competition with SWTOR, both stoey being sci-fi really eliminated the chances.
How much WoW could a WoWhater hate, if a WoWhater could hate WoW?
As much WoW as a WoWhater would, if a WoWhater could hate WoW.
I don't care if it's Mass Effect, Dragon Age or whatever ip, I'd play any polished sandbox mmo not called EvE or a copy of it.
I'd play a sci-fi sandbox. Being Mass Effect or not really makes no difference to me. It's kind of detrimental, even, since there's not really that much lore and mythos to warrant constricting a game to that particular IP.
I voted maybe.
imo i dont think the platform game was that great and if they made a mmo im pretty sure they would cash into the handholding genra wich is now called "theampark mmo's" for the "casual" player ..so i voted no
Well as sandbox games are as rare as hen's teeth these days i'd take any ip,and as Mass Effect is an awsome one i may be in theory be even forced to cut off a rather delicate piece of my anatomy if this ever happened !!
I don't think mass effect would be a good sandbox IP. Maybe some kind of hybrid but not a full sandbox.
If you want to turn a single player space MMO into a sandbox there are better choices, like the old C-64 game "Elite", it would make a great sandbox MMO.
ME is made for the type of gameplay it have, and there are better worlds that would work better for a sandbox. "Dune" would work, "Red Dwarf" if you want to add some humor or Shadowrun if you want a bit more Cyberpunk heme than space opera.
And sandboxes are not really Biowares strong points, get someone like Rockstar or Bethesda to make it instead. Bioware are excellent on making what they make but they always tell a story and sandbox games are different.
If done right a Dune IP could be the MMO to end all MMO's but the way things have been going with converting existing IP's id be wary that any of the Dev teams around would slaughter it.
Theme park style with some sandbox elements would fit ME more. Its story and roleplay that made the game so great
Bioware never made a sandbox game. Never have, they never will. If you want sandbox in any shape or form, look elsewhere.
They've never made an MMO either, have they? ..
But on-topic, if it was an MMOFPS then I'd be all over it, sandbox or not.
That's why the first MMO they're making atm will fail...
no MMO will ever be 'the MMO to end all MMO' no matter how great one game can get.
How much WoW could a WoWhater hate, if a WoWhater could hate WoW?
As much WoW as a WoWhater would, if a WoWhater could hate WoW.
Well I do get the impression from the interviews I've both seen and read that they intend to do something with the IP, and by something I mean something different from what they've done already. The IP certainly gives them room to take it in almost any direction they wanted to, incuding a sandbox style game. In any case it appears they do see the potential of the IP, whether they're able to take advantage of it may be another story but I hope they do.
Oh, btw, I'm not necessarily a fan of sandbox style MMOs but there are certainly some elements of sandbox games that I do like. I like the indepth crafting and exploration of sandboxes, but like the ease of soloing and questing in themeparks, which I feel at least gives you a reason for the grind that occurs in MMOs. I like both having story and creating my own story. I think if someone came up with the right mix between sandbox and themepark I would enjoy that a great deal.
One of my biggest complaints about sandbox enthusiasts is that they claim that you can make your own stories in sandbox games, but so few of them ever actually do so. They talk as if they're rp'ers, but so few of them ever actually rp and I'm not even really sure most of them know what rp is which can be said of most MMO players.
While I've rarely roleplayed in MMOs, I've done so in pen and paper dnd and for three years on an Neverwinter Nights persistant world rp server, so I know what rp is and what I see from 99% of MMO players isn't it. One of my biggest pet peeves is people who join rp servers with no intention of ever roleplaying. Then they are shocked when they find people actually acting out the role of thier characters.
Well, I kind of went off on a tangent, but oh well. I still stand by my statement that the Mass Effect setting has huge sandbox potential.
To be honest I would be hesitant, Sandbox MMOs always try to give player utter and complete freedom over everything, which is good and bad. But I think with Mass Effect the way the game is designed it's meant to be played almost like a themepark kind of game. You would have to do it just perfectly, and perfect is never achieved in MMOs.
I'm sorry, but this idea that because the first series is linear that the setting is therefore only meant for linear games is a fallacy. Seperate the setting from the first series of games and you'll see that the setting itself isn't designed specifically for a themepark experience, or for any one type of experience for that matter. I mean seriously, that's like saying planet earth is designed only for specific types of games and you can't possibly have more open ended games that take place on planet earth. Well here we have a setting that includes planet earth but also includes the rest the galaxy with a multitude of alien cultures and worlds as well. Again, this kind of thinking just isn't logical.
Settings are not confined by the stories and/or games that take place in them.