Are you looking forward to the possible? Amazon Mass Effect TV Series? Not everyone is so enthusiastic. David Gaider, a former storytelling icon at developer BioWare, isn’t very lyrical yet. He gets itchy at the idea of the TV series Mass Effect.
Gaider was before Main writer From all three games of Dragon Age series. After more than 17 years, he left BioWare in 2016. In any case, he doesn’t understand why fans have reacted so enthusiastically to the message about Amazon’s plans. Gaider is particularly interested in impact. For example, about choosing a man or a woman to be the main character, what you can choose and shape yourself in games. Or how you work with other characters and make certain choices.
Here is the extended story of Gaider, who is glad Amazon is considering a TV series rather than a movie:
I’m relieved to see that the Mass Effect/Amazon deal is for a potential TV series and not a movie. However, the possibility (similarly for Dragon Age) makes me cringe a little, unlike many fans who appear… Excited?
For starters, both Mass Effect and Dragon Age have a dedicated hero, which means that said TV show will need to choose whether said hero will be male or female. Boom, off the bat, you’ve just alienated a whole bunch of a compact fan base whose hopes are high.
Second, these heroes are designed to be part of an empty slate, which the player fills in with their decisions. This will not work for a passive broker. Therefore, all of a sudden, the protagonist will have his own personality, his own story. That would be strange.
Do you think I’m wrong? Keep in mind how much the story has been uploaded to comrades. They are the codes from which the player gets most of his emotional involvement. The heroes of Dragon Age and Mass Effect alone… are very boring. This will not fly.
And think of these companions. Think about how her fan base relates to it. Now consider the fact that there is no way in hell any one story can include them all equally. Think of the howl of rage when Comrade X comes down to a veil, or none at all. Having a TV show instead of a movie allows for more accompanying options, sure, but consider your own gameplay: Only a handful of them have had any meaningful presence in one game. This should be the case for this story, to maintain consistency. Few comrades, one love story.
And that’s if TV show makers consider companions very important. Most of them may throw in favor of the conspiracy. In my opinion, this would be a mistake. The Mass Effect and Dragon Age plots were, at best, serviceable. And I don’t mean it pejoratively. Those plots had to take into account the player’s agency. They were a kind of serendipity on which the player’s emotional involvement was presented – usually through companions and choices themselves. Choose to increase engagement. The interaction was the star, not the plot.
Take it all in, lose most of your buddies, and you’ll likely end up on a beautiful fantasy or sci-fi show where a lot of the inner audience will likely be angry, indignant howl before it’s even released.
All this, of course, if the Dragon Age or Mass Effect series is poorly treated. I can think of any number of ways this could be done better, but this involves doing more than just strict conditioning, and that comes with its own complications. Anyway, good luck to the exhibitors. They will need it.
A decent argument from the best guy, but maybe he has a point? Are there more hits in the Mass Effect TV series than many fans think? Or would it be really cool? Let me know in the comments!
