Mass Effect 4, 'sequel' eller 'prequel'?

BioWare lader kanonerne op til endnu en omgang Mass Effect, og hvorfor skulle de ikke gøre det? Det er en ganske succesfuld spilserie, og jeg vil glæde mig til at spille endnu flere spil baseret på det univers. Men fidusen er, at hovedpersonen, John/Jane Shepard, jo er skrevet ud af universet. Så spørgsmålet for BioWare er nu, hvordan man laver en ny spilserie i en allerede etableret spilserie.

Derfor har Mass Effect-skaberen, Casey Hudson, stillet et rimeligt åbent spørgsmål inde på sin Twitterprofil: "Parsing through your thoughts on the next #ME game. Would you be more interested in a game that takes place before the trilogy, or after?" Skal det være en forgænger eller en efterfølger? Det vil tiden vise, og informationerne er sparsommelige, men BioWare har dog offentliggjort nogle oplysninger om det nye spil, bl.a. at det vil køre på DICE' nye Frostbite engine, og at det ikke vil blive udviklet af det sædvanlige Mass Effect-hold. Denne gang vil spillet blive udviklet af BioWare Montreal og ikke BioWare Edmonton, og det vides endnu ikke, hvad det egentlig betyder. Har BioWare gang i noget andet? Er det pga. Dragon Age 3? Dit gæt er lige så fint som mit, men det bliver i al fald interessant at følge med i!


English version:

BioWare is loading the canons and preparing for another wave of Mass Effect, and why shouldn't they? The series is rather successful and I would definitely look forward to be playing more games based on the Universe. But the thing is that the main character, John/Jane Shepard, is no longer part of the Universe. So the question is: how does BioWare create a new series within an already established series?

To answer that question the creater of Mass Effect, Casey Hudson, asked his many followers on Twitter the following question: "Parsing through your thoughts on the next #ME game. Would you be more interested in a game that takes place before the trilogy, or after?" Should it be a prequel or a sequel? Time will tell and though the information regarding the game is limited due to its early development state, BioWare did tell us that they have moved away from the Unreal Engine and are now using DICE' Frostbite engine, and that the development of the game has moved to another studio. It is now BioWare Montreal and not BioWare Edmonton who'll be doing the Mass Effect franchise from this point on. It is unclear what this means, however, and some wonder if it's because of Dragon Age 3. But all I know is that it's going to be very interesting to see what BioWare has in store for us!

Dragon Age 3: Inquisition

Dragon Age. Spilserien begyndte på en episk note med Dragon Age: Origins og satte en høj standard for kommende RPG-spil fra den populære udvikler. BioWare er kendt for at lave mindeværdige rollespil, herunder blandt andet Baldur's Gate, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic og selvfølgelig Mass Effect, men i nyere tid er studiet imidlertid faldet i popularitet. Dragon Age 2 var ikke just den oplevelse, som mange af os havde ventet på, og Mass Effect 3? Den suppedas behøver næppe nogen kommentarer fra mig eller nogen anden.

Nu er de imidlertid klar til at løslade informationer vedrørende Dragon Age 3, og efter alt at dømme lyder det til, at spillet kommer til at hæve niveauet betragteligt. Creative Director på spillet, Mike Laidlaw, talte om spillet til en konference, hvor det kom frem, at spillets områder blandt andet bliver store. Meget store endda! Et af områderne skulle være lige så stort som hele Dragon Age 2! Det lyder fornuftigt. Ydermere er der ligeledes tale om fuld tilpasningsmuligheder af ens karakter og følgere, men det kom ligeledes frem, at man (igen) kun kan spille som menneske. Det er lidt af en skam taget i betragtning af, at man i Origins kunne spille som alle racerne. Dette skabte en fin dynamik, som nu desværre går tabt, men jeg holder endnu håbet højt. BioWare har brug for en succes nu, og Dragon Age 3 kan meget vel blive den succes! Spillet forventes at udkomme i efteråret 2013.

English version:

Dragon Age. The series started on a very high note with the popular Dragon Age: Origins and it set a high standard for future RPGs from the popular developer. BioWare is known for making memorable roleplaying games, like Baldur's Gate, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and of course Mass Effect, but in recent times the studio has experienced a decline in popularity. Dragon Age 2 was not what anyone had expected and Mass Effect 3? Well that doesn't really need any more comments from me or anyone.

BioWare is however ready to unleash details about Dragon Age 3 and all things considered it seems to be a game that will raise the bar considerably. Creative Director, Mike Laidlaw, said at a conference that the levels in the game will be massive. One of the levels is actually the size of the entire Dragon Age 2! That sounds promising indeed. Furthermore we will be able to customize both our main character and followers as well, but he also stated that we will only be able to play as humans. That is a loss, I believe, because being able to create a character of any race in Origins created a certain dynamic to the game which will now be lost. But still I maintain high hopes for Dragon Age 3. BioWare needs a success and this game might just be it! The game is expected to launch in late 2013.

Hjælp BioWare med Dragon Age 3

"The next thing for the Dragon Age team members and I to do is hear from you… what does Dragon Age mean to you, and where would you like to see it go? We’re excited to hear what you have to say!" Sådan lyder budskabet inde på BioWares officielle blog for tiden med hensyn til Dragon Age 3. Jessica Merizan, Community Manager hos BioWare, forklarer initiativet ved at sige, at "Getting out and talking to fans is one of our main priorities but we aren't stopping at conventions. We would love to open the dialogue online with more of our loyal consumers to foster the spirit of community."

Det viser sig, at BioWare nu har tænkt sig at involvere sin omfattende fanbase i udviklingen af fremtidige spil, her især Dragon Age 3, og det er et forfriskende træk fra den ellers populære udvikler. BioWare har imidlertid været hovedfokus i en række triste sager omhandlende blandt andet enden i Mass Effect 3 og ikke mindst den dybt skuffende oplevelse, Dragon Age 2, men nu forsøger studiet at rette op på sine tidligere fejltrin, og det skal de to doktorer have respekt for.

Dette initiativ kommer til at fungere sådan, at de åbner for bloggen og lader spillets fans tømme de kreative reserver, og efter 7 dage lukkes bloggen midlertidigt, hvor holdet vil overveje de mange forslag. Der er tale om en brainstorming og ikke holdbare løfter, gør Jessica Merizan os opmærksomme på. Hvis Dragon Age er en serie for dig, så bør du muligvis tjekke bloggen ud allerede i dag!

English version:

"The next thing for the Dragon Age team members and I to do is hear from you… what does Dragon Age mean to you, and where would you like to see it go? We’re excited to hear what you have to say!" That's the message on the official BioWare blog these days in regards of Dragon Age 3. Jessica Merizan, a Community Manager at BioWare, explains this rather bold move by saying that "Getting out and talking to fans is one of our main priorities but we aren't stopping at conventions. We would love to open the dialogue online with more of our loyal consumers to foster the spirit of community."

As it turns out, BioWare is now attempting to involve its extensive fanbase in the development of their future games, especially Dragon Age 3, and it's a refreshing move taken by the popular delevoper. BioWare has been the subject of controversy lately regarding the ending in Mass Effect 3 and the profoundly disappointing experience known as Dragon Age 2, but they are now trying to correct former mishaps and the two Doctors certainly deserve respect for this.

The initiativ will go as follows: the gamers will be able to join an online discussion where they can submit their ideas and wishes, and after 7 days the blog will close where the developers will consider the many submissions. BioWare isn't making any promises by this, says Jessica Merizan, but if Dragon Age is one of your favourite franchises then you should definitely check out the blog already today!

Vidunderlig Mass Effect 3-temasang

Mass Effect. Sci-fi-serien over dem alle, hvis man spørger nogle gamere til råds. Det er vanskeligt at finde en værdig modstander, når det gælder BioWares episke franchise, og skønt man enten hader eller elsker den kontroversielle afslutning på Shepards kamp, så kan man ikke andet end at elske denne smukke udgave af spillets temasang.

Sangen er udført af YouTube-brugeren, malufenix, og lyrikken af Malukah. Det er en hyldest til spillets mange karakterer samt naturligvis Shepard selv, og man kan ikke undgå at få en smule kuldegysninger over sangens melankolske stemning. Sangen hedder Reignite, og du kan se den her. Enjoy!




English version:

Mass Effect. The Science-Fiction series that dwarfs others. Or so it seems if you ask some of the many gamers on this dear planet. It's hard to think of a worthy competitor to BioWare's epic franchise, and though you might hate or love the controversial ending, its hard not to love this beautiful version of the game's melodic theme.

The song, entitled Reignite, is made by the YouTube-user, malufenix, and the lyrics by Malukah. It's a tribute to the characters of the games and it's very nice to see something good coming out the controversy regarding the ending. The song is absolutely beautiful and you can enjoy here.