The general manager at Bioware, Aaryn Flynn, has clarified how the next Mass Effect or Mass Effect 4 is going to be it’s own game and not rely on other titles like Dragon Age Inquisition to find success. He said that they are “very proud” of what they have achieved with Dragon Age Inquisition, but that the games success doesn’t “set a template for what every other game we make needs to be.” This is certainly a good thing.
“The next Mass Effect will be (and should be) drawing on its own rich and successful past more than what DAI would say it should do. Take the Mako, something we’ve already shown in prototype form. We had that in ME1, and bringing it back is more related to a feeling that we can do it much better than we did before and fulfill the original promise of that gameplay,” he said on NeoGAF.
“That has nothing to do with DAI. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that dropping the older consoles has had more impact on the overall gameplay goals of the next Mass Effect game than what DAI successfully accomplished. We’re very proud of what DAI has achieved, but that does not set a “template” for what every other game we make needs to be. Each game franchise needs to innovate and improve their experience based on what’s best for it, not just what another game had success with because “well that was successful,” he further added.
On a related subject, one NeoGAF user was worried about the “template” design influencing Mass Effect 4, but industry insider Shinobi602 was on hand to say, “People were get the feeling the “fetch quests” and overall design of DAI would carry over exactly into the new ME which just won’t be the case.”
He also stated that the Mako is nothing like the previous version and it handles very well. When asked whether or not the new Mako would have a cannon on it, like it’s original Mass Effect 1 counterpart, he said “No, it’s meant to be a quick-deploy exploratory vehicle.” He then took the chance to reveal that “customization is also being toyed around with.”
Shinobi602 has a solid track record but you must take it with a grain of salt. The next Mass Effect has to release window yet but is expected to launch on the PS4, Xbox One and PC.
