Tom Phillips wrote:Two years have passed since the launch of Mass Effect 3 and, while there have been no official announcements of late, we know that BioWare is busy on its new Mass Effect game.
The team at BioWare Montreal regularly converses with fans via the company's official forum and via Twitter, where studio director Yanick Roy has
today said that the next Mass Effect game is "somewhere in the middle" of development.
Design work began around 18 months ago in
late 2012. Another 18 months would take the team up until October 2015 - exactly a year after Dragon Age: Inquisition is due to be released.
What's been revealed so far?
The story will star a fresh protagonist who won't be another version of Commander Shepard, BioWare
has said, and there will be no direct continuation of the Commander's story. Shepard's companions are also
unlikely to return, Mass Effect 3's lead writer Mac Walters has hinted.
For that reason, when the game's title is announced,
it won't be called Mass Effect 4. But there will be no upheavals in the game's genre or design - it will be
"the same type of game as the first three", Roy has said. Romance options are again due for inclusion and
"there is no reason to believe" that same-sex options will be ommitted.
Development on the game reached a milestone in September 2013 when executive producer Casey Hudson and BioWare's Edmonton and Montreal boss Aaryn Flynn both stated on Twitter that they had gone hands-on with a playable build of the game.
"What's even more fun than working on the design of a new fictional world? Taking our first steps into it and looking around," Hudson
wrote."Great time playing the next Mass Effect game in Montreal," Flynn
added. "Ambitious. Beautiful. Fresh but recognisable. And fun!"
Then, on 7th November 2013 (BioWare's annual "N7 Day"), the first slices of artwork and blurry in-game images were posted via an orchestrated round of
Twitter posts from various BioWare staff. Humanoid figures and various alien-looking landscapes were shown off.
One image included in the selection was artwork of the original Mass Effect's Mako. "Inspiration for the future," the caption read, hinting at a possible return of planet-based exploration. "What ever could you mean by that?" Mass Effect producer Mike Gamble replied.
Perhaps the biggest question for Mass Effect fans is exactly when the next game will be set. Mass Effect 3's various endings leave an apparently wide range of variables for any future game to work from - although most of the outcomes could be retconned fairly easily when allowed for the passage of time.
One hint that the next game could be set after Mass Effect 3 came during the recent BioWare PAX East 2014 panel. Mass Effect 3's final coda, set many years later, suggests that Shepard's story has now become legend - whatever your final choice. But a panel attendee asked about the response to Shepard's final actions directly after. They were told that BioWare "can't really talk about that at this time".
The PAX Prime 2013 leak
In August last year Mass Effect producer Michael Gamble
put out a call for fans attending PAX Prime 2013, requesting that they get in touch. A select 21 people were chosen to meet with BioWare, Gamble
later stated, for a
two hour presentation held behind closed doors.
The contents of that meeting were not designed to be made public, but a post from an apparent attendee appeared online a week after the event took place.
Written on an
obscure Mass Effect forum the post lay largely unnoticed until November last year, when it was picked up and reproduced by
Reddit and
NeoGAF. Included were details hinting at when the game would be set and, perhaps most excitingly, information on two new alien races.
Eurogamer spotted the post at the time but was unable to verify the contents as legitimate. A few days later, after months online, the post and its corresponding discussion thread were pulled without explanation.
The attendee had claimed that the two new alien types they were shown included an "arrogant", skeletal race with glowing eyes and an "ancient, advanced guardian" race with a sci-fi golem-like look. Mako-esque land vehicles were also apparently shown, with different models for various environments.
BioWare apparently quizzed the group of fans on what the series' "N7" moniker meant to them and whether they'd like a prequel or sequel (most picked sequel). The attendee wrote that he inferred a sequel was most likely due to the introduction of the new alien species among the existing races.
When will we hear more?
Former BioWare community manager Chris Priestly recently addressed the game's marketing schedule and eventual release via a post on BioWare's
official forum. Qualifying his thoughts with a disclaimer that he didn't know anything about the game's current schedule, he did say that he had been privy to "a few details" before he departed the company in July 2013.
"I would guess that BioWare wants the focus of 2014 to be on Dragon Age: Inquisition," he wrote. "DA2 was not loved by all fans *cough*, but it was an important step going from DA:O to what DA:I looks to be.
"As such, and to ensure that DA:I will allow for much more DA content to come in the future (DLC for DAI, DA4/5/6 or whatever they get called, ancillary products, etc), I think this year's E3 will heavily push Inquisition to the press and gamers. To announce whatever the next ME game is called at E3 would dilute BioWare focus.
"I do hope Aaryn or Casey drop a few hints, but I really doubt there will be any teasers, trailers or even substantial news interviews about MENext. Given that for some fans the last memory of the trilogy was a negative one, I think BioWare will want to really wow prospective ME fans to pay attention to a new title right out of the gate, rather than announcing a few details or teaser trailer, then going dark while DA:I takes center stage."
Mass Effect will be BioWare's 2015 focus, he concluded, and it was unlikely we would hear anything at least until Dragon Age: Inquisition launches this October.
But, after that, there are still two events in late 2014 that might provide some concrete news. Considering the teases issued for N7 Day 2013 it is likely we will hear more this year on the same date. Then there's the VGX Awards in December, where Mass Effect 3's first trailer was shown, all the way back in 2011.