220°

Mass Effect: Killing? Sometimes. Talking? Constantly

Dialogue is king in any good story, and there's plenty of it in Mass Effect.

"We have 20,000 lines of dialogue," says senior designer Drew Karpyshyn of Mass Effect. That's the equivalent of 15 to 20 movie screenplays, created by Karpyshyn and five other writers, working with the rest of the creative team. Karpyshyn discusses the challenges of implementing cinematic rules with dialogue and choices in Mass Effect.

Clint Hocking, creative director of the action-oriented Far Cry 2, offers counterpoints. Hocking claims that story is not something that game makers write, and that players are playing the story the same way they would play Tetris. He says that any comparison between games and film breaks down, and that the most powerful filmmaking tools need to be abandoned in order to make a game that equals or surpasses a film.

(Reported by Darren Zenko for Toronto Star on November 4, 2007)

skynidas6672d ago

if we want 20000 lines of dialogue we read book, this game is going to be boring!!

ktchong6672d ago (Edited 6672d ago )

They are acted and voiced by virtual actors in the game.

The BioWare writer says the dialogue in Mass Effect is the equivalent of of 15 to 20 movie screenplays. An average movie is 2 hour long. Mass Effect is 30 to 40 hour long - which is the equivalent of 15 to 20 movies.

AngryHippo6672d ago

..... Sorry have you played it? Seen it being played in person or had any hands on experience with this game?! That comment is like me going 'killzone is going to be another generic first person shooter offering absolutely nothing new and innovative that looks really good, but plays just as good as the last one......sh!t.' That comment was trying to prove a point, im not dissing Killzone in any way, wait and see before making assumptions.

Salvadore6672d ago

Words coming straight out of a Sony fanboy.

DethWish6672d ago

Actually FF7 is by many seen as the best game ever..
You have to read pretty much loads in that game

sagapo6672d ago

a lot of people (including me) like this kinda games.

jiggyjay6672d ago

"That comment is like me going 'killzone is going to be another generic first person shooter offering absolutely nothing new and innovative that looks really good, but plays just as good as the last one"

That's what Killzone 2 is going to be! I mean what else can be offered with FPS after what Halo3 offered? Killzone is going to be another overhyped underdelivered game on Playstation just like Lair and Heavenly Sword!

Gorgon6672d ago

"I mean what else can be offered with FPS after what Halo3 offered?"

You're joking, right? I don't care a rat's ass for either HAlo3 or Killzone2, but boym you must be joking! Halo 3 is a perfectly banal game that doesn't bring anything new watsoever to the FPS genre.

Opinions like yours are the reason why hype works so well with juvenile crowds like the console boys. Ever played Stalker? Deux Ex? System Shock? ever heard of the upcoming Far Cry 2? Thats what FPS should be. Its games like Halo and Killzone that maintain PC gaming alive and prevent many people from going over to consoles. They are just overhyped, childdish games. Time to grow up people.

jiggyjay6672d ago

LOL talking about growing up! That's pretty funny coming from a gamer! Games are for kids time to grow up people! Clown!

BLACKJACK VII6672d ago

Please, please go read a book. It's a well known fact that RPG's focus on story, hence = dialogue. If you don't like cutscenes & dialogue or RPG's, then you are gonna hate MGS$ & FF. Good luck with that.

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 6672d ago
RadientFlux6672d ago

The more I read about Mass Effect the more I want to play it. It's going to be tough waiting for my holiday to start so I can enjoy Mass Effect to it's fullest.

Fu19856672d ago

Oblivion shooting RPG with more talking in it,but basically just about shooting that it.I see this game are about exploring,lots conversation and shooting sometime during missions.FF seris is another big step rpg compared to this sci-fi thriller.Tactics team just like Jericho game and real time strategy thinking.This is all about guns guns shooting magic game and nothing more.I think this game will do great went it comes out this holiday for every who enjoy sci-fi shooting rpg.^_^

happyjimmy6672d ago

If i want talking ill watch a movie. I just want to kill things.

wageslave6672d ago

There are games for everyone, relax, try new things.

TheMART6672d ago

Then Gears of War, Halo 3 and Bioshock are more your kind of games. All killer apps, all high score (above 90%) and console exclusive on the 360.

Gorgon6672d ago

"What a joke
If i want talking ill watch a movie. I just want to kill things."

Then stick with consoles, they are perfect for you.

supermandead6666672d ago

Gears of War, and Bioshock on pc too and in the near future halo 3.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 6672d ago
DethWish6672d ago (Edited 6672d ago )

Uhh what..?

EDIT: This is not what I meant.. Halo DOES NOT have more dialogue than Mass Effect, an RPG.

If Halo has 35,000 lines, those must be counted in a different way >.<

The Chief of Mjolnir6672d ago (Edited 6672d ago )

Sorry to disappoint you, but it's "just" 35 000.

EDIT: DethWish, Bungie said it in one of their updates/podcasts. I don't remember which one.

And the most of them are just made for fun.

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180°

Mass Effect - N7 DAY 2025

Bioware writes: "Like you, we’ve heard the rumors lately. You’ve made it clear you care deeply about what’s next. So let’s start by setting the record straight: the next Mass Effect game is in development, and EA and BioWare remain committed to telling more stories in this universe."

Read Full Story >>
blog.bioware.com
-Foxtrot94d ago

I expected nothing and I'm still disappointed

Like with Fallout, it's starting to feel studios are using TV / Film adaptations when they have no game info to talk about.

toxic-inferno94d ago

I feel the same way.

I mean, how difficult would it be for them to release SOMETHING of substance? Another short trailer? A couple of proper hints? A short story set during the original trilogy, but focused on fringe characters?

Hopefully they're working so hard on the game that they don't have time. But still, with every passing year and so little to show, the franchise will be slipping further and further from people's minds.

Profchaos93d ago

Yeah agree it's almost a cop out since Dev times are 5 to 10 years just throw out a few seasons instead you get them done in a year

jznrpg93d ago

I still haven’t beat Andromeda. I am waiting for a lull of good games in my backlog

P_Bomb93d ago

So the TV show will take place after the OG trilogy. I wonder which ending they’ll use?

Rebel_Scum93d ago

Should’ve just posted a picture of an Elcor saying “regretfully, we have nothing to share.”

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130°

10 RPGs That Defined The Genre

Thanks to their innovative approach to gaming, RPGs like Dark Souls, Final Fantasy VII, and Dragon Quest left a significant impact on the genre.

ApocalypseShadow989d ago

Good games but no Phantasy Star?

merlox989d ago

Why do people forget Phantasy Star? That is one of my favorite RPG series. Another ther good but overlooked series is ,Y's.

anast988d ago

ES3 set things off, it's a shame they got greedy and decided to cut corners so the executives could get huge pay days.

90°

Which Far Cry Should I Start With? - A Beginner's Guide 2023

If you’re new to this long-running franchise, we’ve got you covered.

Read Full Story >>
gameluster.com
masterfox1063d ago

Farcry 3 and literally thats it! lol

GamingSinceForever1062d ago (Edited 1062d ago )

I recently tried 3 for the first time but the frame rate was a turnoff.

I liked 5 and 6 though.

banger881061d ago

If you have a Series X or S, the Xbox 360 version runs at 60 fps with fps boost. It's a shame the remaster doesn't.

isarai1063d ago

2 and 3, pretty much the only ones i really enjoyed. 1 was amazing for the time but aged quite poorly. 4 has the elephant gun, all i can praise from any entry after 3 lol

cooperdnizzle1062d ago

Ummmm 3 than stop.

Okay maybe two as well. But yeah probably 3 and then move on.

JEECE1062d ago (Edited 1062d ago )

Far Cry 2. People constantly rant about games now being too easy, holding your hand, having too many unnecessary RPG-lite leveling features, etc. People specifically complain about open world games being too focused on tons of collectibles and "checkmarks" that just waste time.

Far Cry 2 is an answer to all of those complaints. It was made by Ubisoft before they fell into all the traps discussed above (and before they started inserting towers into their games to defog the map). It has respawning enemies, weapons that degrade, and the collectible diamonds are very useful in the game (which you find in a similar way to the way you find shrines in BOTW with a radar system). The map you have is an in game item you pull out while playing, not a pause menu that is unnecessarily detailed. Also the enemy AI and physics are much better than later entries in the series.

It has a mixed reputation because people at the time said it was too hard, the weapon degradation was annoying, and then respawning enemies were annoying. FC2 came out in 2008, so this was before games like Dark Souls and BOTW had come out and made it cool to like these types of features.

XbladeTeddy1061d ago

Far Cry 2, the one with the AI that find you through walls and trees, can one shot you from a mile away and have 100% accuracy? That was frustrating not fun because cheap AI.

JEECE1061d ago (Edited 1061d ago )

Uhh, I mean, it isn't one of these games where once the enemies have detected you they will magically forget you exist because you walked behind a wall or went into a bush. And yeah the AI isn't stormtrooper level accuracy. Again, these are positives, not negatives to me.

To be fair, I'm really directing this at the people most critical of "Modern Ubisoft" or "Modern Open World" design elements. Like the type of people who fawned all over Elden Ring because it had a clean UI because they are so burnt out by the "checkbox" type of open world design.

If you like those types of games, then a later FC game like 3 and especially 4-5 would be more your style.

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