If you've been following the little known title called Mass Effect from the guys over at Bioware, then you no doubt have heard various things about the game -- namely that fitting it on a single DVD would be pretty much out of the question.
In a recent interview, the co-founders of Bioware, Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuck, seem to think that the impossible might not be so out of reach after all.
For the longest time we were pretty sure we were going to have to fit the game content onto two DVDs, because there's just so much content in the game. Right now it looks like we're going to get it on one and it's been difficult because there's a lot of content. It's a very ambitious title.
But the news doesn't stop there. Catch more after the jump.
Bioware has 100 voice actors on hand alone, to lend their talent to the over 300 characters that will weave the story of
Mass Effect.
It's all about conveying the personalities of the characters. You have to have credible characters, the dialogue has to flow. We've got some famous actors for the voice acting as well. We haven't announced who they are yet but you may be able to pick them out.
Speaking of dialogue, Mass Effect is poised to take the whole concept to the next level. We've all heard of role playing games, but can you say RPC?
The dialogue system is a proprietary system we've created, and the reason why the conversations are all part of that is because it's so easy to make choices that constantly map. For example, there's an angry option on the bottom right and there's a nice option on the top right. The system allows players to have the dialogue conversation flow.
You can purposely interrupt the conversations as well, so it's almost as if you're kind of role-playing the conversation. I remember when I first played with the dialogue system I was like, 'wow'. It really does feel like you're in the scene dictating what your lines are. It really brings you in to the experience.
If you are somehow worried that an ambitious game such as Mass Effect will feel unbalanced in any way, the team wants you to know that they are doing everything in their power to stay one step ahead of you.
Like in all BioWare games we're focusing on the story, the character and amazing digital actors. We're focusing on making really accessible, fun action combat. We've got exploration, the galaxy map, uncharted worlds and your own rover to drive around in.
There's also customization options; the way you change yourself, the way you customize your characters at the start of the game and who you bring with you on your travels.
All of those aspects of the game are being developed in parallel. Right from the start they were part of the original vision of the game, so they're not separate elements, they're a unified whole. So we're not building separate parts of the building together, we're sort of chaining them together. You really feel compelled to go from a story area to an exploration area, to combat.
It might just go down in history as one of the greatest understatements of all time to say that we have high hopes for Mass Effect. Bioware cemented their place in the hearts and minds of gamers with the original Knights of the Old Republic, not to mention the underappreciated Jade Empire.
They certainly know how to make great games. Now it looks like Mass Effect is the next great must have title just waiting to happen. Here's to hoping that it meets our expectations and more.
[Via CVG]
Contest:
12:16 PM on 05.27.2007
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Who gives a rats ass if this game fits on three disks or one.
As long as the game is an amazing experience will anyone even care?
oh yeah, the morbidly obese crybaby's thats who,you poor things
Games pushing the limits of DVD space capabilities this early in the generation give credibility to the idea that Blu-ray was the appropriate choice for the PS3. So games going to multiple dvd's is a big deal in that way, since there is lots of "bickering" on whether or not Blu-ray was a good idea or not.
Personally, I just want Mass Effect already :)
I don't think anyone will disagree that we need/want more space. Blu-ray is good for that even if you have 3x the amont of space than any game will never need
but this is a matter that wont be decided until at least another 5-6 years when the "Next-Gen" rolls around. and MS/Nintendo have to decide where they want to go
for all we know Xbox720 will be a download driven service to avoid having to adopt Blu-Ray. and nintendo will revert back to thier baby dvds lol
it just seems like a lost cause to start articles like this cause the whole storage debate might begin. luckily this is destructiod and not joystiq/kotaku
I'm with Rainbowblack on the download thing. I don't see physical disks being around forever. The format war is not far from being extinct. Just my opinion, and we all know the going rate for those on the street.
The problem is that when you shove two DVD disks into the box, even though it's not that big of an amount, you do double your costs on the media itself (if there are two instead of one) when you package them. One disc is half the price of two discs, and god knows how much the double-time of putting the content on the discs costs.
A couple of facts I've learned so far:
Spectres (what Commander shephard is in the game) pretty much get to do whatever they want. There job is to maintain the galaxy's stability and to do whatever is necessary to do it.
Those hot blue aliens in the screenshots are called the asari. The bad part is they are asexual, meaning they aren't dudes or chicks, but they all look like women so I still want to impregnate one in the first game and have it give birth to my baby by the third game.
I want to look at this game. I want to play this game. I want to put my penis on this game. I want this game.
HAHAHAHAHA!!!
thanks !!
i needed a good laugh
http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-M59-00033-Mass-Effect/dp/B000OLXX86/ref=sr_1_4/002-5521082-4929608?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1180415417&sr=8-4
says Sept 3, 2007, $59.99, no collector's edition listed.