The Rise, Fall and Future of Mass Effect
GVMERS
172,504 views
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Despite first developing a MechWarrior-like experience with 1996’s Shattered Steel, Canadian studio BioWare made a name for itself throughout the late-1990s and early-2000s for delivering premiere role-playing games. The original Baldur’s Gate dropped PC players into a deep fantasy RPG set within Dungeon and Dragons’s Forgotten Realms campaign. Two more D&D adventures further established BioWare’s command of the genre; and then came Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
Considered among the best RPGs of all time, KOTOR did more than venture into the Star Wars galaxy’s distant past through player-driven morality decisions and turn-based combat. It additionally ignited in BioWare developers an interest in exploring sci-fi RPGs more deeply; thus, after shipping the Star Wars prequel in 2003, a small team spent several months laying the groundwork for what later became Mass Effect.
This new space-faring odyssey saw BioWare leverage every lesson learned across previous projects, then build on them via proprietary technology and other technological advancements of the era. Mass Effect’s combat weaved in real-time elements, squad mates were fully realized characters with unique agendas, dialogue options scrutinized the grey area along the moral spectrum, and user choice mattered more than ever.
Initially envisioned as a trilogy, Mass Effect hit the ground running with a complete story to tell, which it did across a five-year publication history. But, for many, those five years didn’t end on a high note, and the universe-expanding narrative that followed failed to alleviate lingering tensions within the community, tensions that persist even as BioWare prepares a fifth entry featuring a familiar face and galactic setting.
This is the history of Mass Effect.
00:00 Introduction
03:01 [ME1] Project SFX
08:22 [ME1] Commander Shepard
11:03 [ME1] Dialogue Wheel
14:37 [ME1] The Combat
16:42 [ME1] Introducing Mass Effect
21:19 [ME2] The Dirty Dozen
27:22 [ME2] Smooth Talker
31:58 [ME2] Shooter RPG
36:08 [ME2] Introducing Mass Effect 2
39:52 [ME3] Developing Mass Effect 3
46:41 [ME3] The Endings Controversy
51:54 [ME3] What Really Happened?
59:11 [ME3] Mass Effect: Team Assault
1:04:36 [MEA] Mass Effect: Contact
1:13:44 [MEA] Introducing Mass Effect: Andromeda
1:18:36 Conclusion
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20 Comments
But man the trilogy was one hell of a ride.
The Rise, Fall and Future of Mass Effect
GVMERS
172,504 views
Support us on Patreon: Patreon: GVMERS
Despite first developing a MechWarrior-like experience with 1996’s Shattered Steel, Canadian studio BioWare made a name for itself throughout the late-1990s and early-2000s for delivering premiere role-playing games. The original Baldur’s Gate dropped PC players into a deep fantasy RPG set within Dungeon and Dragons’s Forgotten Realms campaign. Two more D&D adventures further established BioWare’s command of the genre; and then came Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
Considered among the best RPGs of all time, KOTOR did more than venture into the Star Wars galaxy’s distant past through player-driven morality decisions and turn-based combat. It additionally ignited in BioWare developers an interest in exploring sci-fi RPGs more deeply; thus, after shipping the Star Wars prequel in 2003, a small team spent several months laying the groundwork for what later became Mass Effect.
This new space-faring odyssey saw BioWare leverage every lesson learned across previous projects, then build on them via proprietary technology and other technological advancements of the era. Mass Effect’s combat weaved in real-time elements, squad mates were fully realized characters with unique agendas, dialogue options scrutinized the grey area along the moral spectrum, and user choice mattered more than ever.
Initially envisioned as a trilogy, Mass Effect hit the ground running with a complete story to tell, which it did across a five-year publication history. But, for many, those five years didn’t end on a high note, and the universe-expanding narrative that followed failed to alleviate lingering tensions within the community, tensions that persist even as BioWare prepares a fifth entry featuring a familiar face and galactic setting.
This is the history of Mass Effect.
00:00 Introduction
03:01 [ME1] Project SFX
08:22 [ME1] Commander Shepard
11:03 [ME1] Dialogue Wheel
14:37 [ME1] The Combat
16:42 [ME1] Introducing Mass Effect
21:19 [ME2] The Dirty Dozen
27:22 [ME2] Smooth Talker
31:58 [ME2] Shooter RPG
36:08 [ME2] Introducing Mass Effect 2
39:52 [ME3] Developing Mass Effect 3
46:41 [ME3] The Endings Controversy
51:54 [ME3] What Really Happened?
59:11 [ME3] Mass Effect: Team Assault
1:04:36 [MEA] Mass Effect: Contact
1:13:44 [MEA] Introducing Mass Effect: Andromeda
1:18:36 Conclusion
Donate via PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted...
Donate via Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/gvmers
Donate via Buy Me A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/gvmers
Become a channel member: https://www.youtube.com/GVMERS/join
Or use the thanks button on YouTube to support our work!
Subscribe to GVMERS:
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c...
Follow GVMERS on Twitter:
Twitter: GVMERS_
Like GVMERS on Facebook:
Facebook: GVMERS
Join the GVMERS Discord channel:
Discord: discord
Subscribe to the GVMERS subreddit:
Reddit: GVMERS