The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Mass Effect Galaxy

The Internet is a vast place, but not as vast as the Mass Effect galaxy. There is plenty of information out there regarding the next installment in the critically acclaimed trilogy, and it can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. That’s why we’ve decided to create a handy guide, everything you wanted to know and were afraid to ask about the next ME, so you can have all the information you need in one single place. Here, you’ll find a compilation of facts, rumors, tweets and theories regarding Mass Effect 4 –although no one’s really sure that’s how we should call it. BioWare gives mixing signals-. This is a long article; however, there's a surprise for the ones who make it to the end of it.

Let’s start:

FACT: Mass Effect 4 will not continue the storyline of good old Commander Shepard. Mac Walters, Mass Effect 3 writer, clearly stated that ME 3 will be the end of Shepard’s saga. According to him, “the idea is that we have agreed to tell a story that doesn’t relate necessarily to any of the Shepard events at all whatsoever. That’s what we’ve been deciding for a while. But throughout is all, one of the key things is that is has to be a Mass Effect. It just can’t feel like a spin-off. It has to feel like a Mass Effect game at its heart, at its core; just without the Shepard character or the Shepard specific companions.”

FACT: Mass Effect 4 should not be called Mass Effect 4. According to Chris Priestly, BioWare Community Manager, the studio does not want the people to call the next game Mass Effect 4. Here’s why. “To call the next game 'Mass Effect 4' or 'ME4' is doing it a disservice and seems to cause a lot of confusion here. We have already said that the Commander Shepard trilogy is over and that the next game will not feature him/her. That is the only detail you have on the game. I see people saying 'well, they’ll have to pick a canon ending.' No, because the game does not have to come after. Or before. Or off to the side. Or with characters you know. Or yaddayaddayadda. Wherever, whenever, whoever, etc will all be revealed years down the road when we actually start talking about it. I do not call the game ME4 when I talk about it ever, [because] that makes people think of it more as 'what happens after 'Mass Effect 3' rather than 'what game happens next set in the 'Mass Effect' Universe. Obviously fans are going to speculate content, character and story until we actually reveal details in the years or months to come as you have almost no actual details, just don’t get bogged down in 'well how are they going to continue ME3.”

Along with that, earlier this year, Casey Hudson, BioWare Montreal Executive Producer stated during PAX East that the game they are working on is a fresh take on the franchise. “We are starting to get ready to develop another Mass Effect game, and it's going to be a new thing. We want to be able to give fans an opportunity to get back into the world with these things you've come to know and love about the Mass Effect experience, but start something fresh and new; a new way for you to explore the whole universe in Mass Effect.”

FACT: The next Mass Effect –which we will continue calling ME 4- will run on Frostbite. This according to Yanick Roy, who is best-known for being BioWare Montreal’s Studio Director. In a blog entry, Roy explained the game would run in the same game engine some of Electronic Arts other franchise do (i.e. Battlefield, Medal of Honor and Need for Speed) and that the studio will take advantage of many of the systems developed for Dragon Age III: Inquisition.

FACT: Epic Games ex-Senior Producer, Chris Wynn, became part of the team in charge of the new ME as Senior Development Director. In his resume, Wynn, as part of Epic, worked on Gears of War 3 and Gears of War Judgement.

FACT: BioWare asked the fans what they wanted to see in the Mass Effect 4 trailer. Yanick Roy, above mentioned, asked the gamers via Twitter the following: “When we release a teaser trailer for the next ME, like DA 3 just did, what would you like to see? What question would you like answered?" This could mean a variety of things; for example that the studio will listen carefully to what the people want to play and incorporate that to the story they want to tell. After many responses on that tweet, Roy stated the following “When the game takes place and who you get to play are very strong trends in your answers."

FACT: We will have more information on the new ME in 2014. Aaryn Flynn succumbed to Twitter pressure and revealed something important for all the fans out there. After a question issued by Twitter user @20reach10 regarding the lack of ME content at VXG, Flynn responded as evasively as he could, until he couldn’t resist any more and gave away the following statement “More info sometime in 2014 I hope. That's the most specific I can be :(“. So, for all of ME fans, there is a huge window for when new information regarding Mass Effect will be available.

FACT: Mass Effect 4 has reached a major milestone and important BioWare people are celebrating it in Twitter. We are not certain, however, on the actual meaning of this milestone. It could be everything, from the world having an official game to the final design of the game’s main character. Michael Gamble, Mass Effect Producer and Casey Hudson, Mass Effect Executive Producer tweeted the following:

Hudson: “What's even more fun than working on the design of a new fictional work? Taking our first steps into it and looking around”

Hudson: “In a milestone review for next Mass Effect game. Team is doing outstanding work. Looks beautiful, fun, ambitious and Mass Effect-y!”

Gamble: “I like it when a plan comes together. Especially a Mass Effect plan”

FACT: N7 2013 (November 7th) gave us a glimpse of the first ME 4 in-game images. As part of the annual celebration on the Mass Effect franchise, BioWare released a group of images of the team working on the new game and, purposely, all of them had a ME in-game image in front of them. We certainly cannot speculate much on this brief piece of information, but it’s something (I guess).

   

FACT: ME 4 will not let go nor the cinematic storytelling neither key aspects of the series. This according to the above mentioned Yanick Roy, who wrote the following: “You can still expect the pillars the franchise is known for to be fully intact though, including diverse alien races, a huge galaxy to explore, and of course rich, cinematic storytelling,”

Now, for the rumors part of the guide…one of the heaviest rumors out there is the one claiming that Garrus Valkarian could be Shepard’s replacement, but other familiar names buzz as well. In an interview with OXM, Casey Hudson, Mac Walters, Dusty Everman, Mike Gamble and Preston Watarmaniuk talked about the possible outcomes of the audition for the main role on ME 4.

According to Hudson “It'd be cool to do something completely unrelated to the larger storyline, like a story about a private investigator on the Citadel. Or maybe something detailing Garrus' time in C-Sec.” (Don’t worry, calibration jokes are coming).

Along with Hudson, Everman, Lead Designer and writer for the ME franchise- also mentioned Garrus and his possible return as the next game’s protagonist. He said that “While being one of Shepard's most loyal friends, Garrus has also had some of the most driven personal goals. He's a hero in his own right, as Archangel and beyond. Who wouldn't want to see the further adventures of the bold, charming Garrus Valkarian (there's a lot of guns out there to calibrate).”

In the interview, Watamaniuk, Lead Designer of the Mass Effect series, told OXM his personal –more brutal- vision for the new game. According to Watamaniul, “a game centred on brutal Krogan combat with more of a melee focus could be pretty exciting.” Could this mean our favorite Krogans Wrex and Grunt could make reappear? Or maybe, it’s the lead to something bigger: The Krogan Rebellions (I had actual chills when I wrote that).

Walters headed towards a less mainstream –good guy- road. He thought a little bit outside the box. "Aria. The Illusive Man. Kai Leng. Any henchman. The list goes on. I think most of them could have successful spin-offs of their own in some fashion." A game focusing on the bad guys? That’s actually not a bad idea. I mean, the evildoers never think they’re being evil. That could enrich vastly the franchise, especially if we take into account the Illusive Man’s backstory and that he witnessed the First Contact War, another huge milestone in the ME storyline.

Finally, Mike Gamble, Producer of the Mass Effect franchise, talked about Javik, the last Prothean alive who debuted in the ME 3 DLC From Ashes. Gamble asserts “Following the story of Javik a little bit more would be pretty cool. As the last remaining member of a lost race, I think that we could tell a lot of stories about his adventures in the Milky Way, and coming to terms with his place in the new Galaxy.”

Unfortunately, we still don’t have a release date to share with you, but, judging by the current stage of game development, the approximate time between games in the series and the speed at which the industry moves, I would be confident to say the game could see the light sometime between Christmas 2014 and October 2015. This again, is just my very own wild guess and should not be regarded as something remotely quotable.

Well, there you have it, do with the information provided what you must and pray the goddesses for fresh information anytime soon. If you’d like read some more about Mass Effect, don’t forget to check out the editorial Mass Effect: The Fate of the Galaxy, there, we analyze the series and try to give our very own predictions regarding Mass Effect 4 and what could it be about.

And, for the bold and brave who stayed with us this far, NoobFeed will be giving away exclusive Mass Effect collectibles, so stayed tuned for the mechanics and prizes.

Jonathan Coutiño, NoobFeed
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