Mass Effect 4 will be made by Canada and will be in French

I think this picture is of some rabid Mass Effect fans doing cosplay of the Montreal staff.

Mass Effect 4 will be made by Canada and will be in French

Yanick Roy the Studio Director of BioWare Montreal has formally announced on the Bioware blog that his studio is where the magic will happen for the next Mass Effect game. You'll be able to judge if they'll be any good as they are the team that did the Omega DLC.

Here's some clipped paragraphs from what he had to say:

Because BioWare has always believed that the company culture is one of the key ingredients of the games we make, we took two important steps with the team. First, we deliberately seeded the new studio with many transfers from Edmonton. Second, we chose to grow the team relatively slowly, allowing new people to join the team and integrate into its culture in due time. Even with that approach, though, the Montreal studio has made significant contributions to the Mass Effect franchise. We started by building about half the cinematics for ME2, then most of its N7 missions, and finally we played an important role in the development of much of its post-release content. 

Then on ME3, we took charge of the multiplayer portion as well as making significant contributions to the single-player campaign. Most recently, we built a large piece of DLC that will be released on November 27 and that you know under the name of Omega. With each new portion of work, we took on deeper and broader responsibilities, but we always worked in conjunction with Casey, the Mass Effect leads, and the developers in Edmonton.

That evolution now takes its next step, with the news that the next Mass Effect game is already in development, driven by the team here in Montreal. This is the goal we have been working toward for years now, and every member of our team is proud, excited, and humbled to take on the responsibility for the next game.

To ensure a proper and effective transition, we’ll continue to be supported by the Edmonton studio through the game’s development, working with and learning from them on some critical initiatives. On top of that, Casey remains the Executive Producer, but he will have a Project Director under him, working in Montreal, leading our development team and making day-to-day decisions for the game. We all care very much about Mass Effect and make our decisions based on what’s best for the game.

Mass Effect 3: Leviathan DLC Review & Deep Lore Analysis

Mass Effect 3: Leviathan — The Cosmic Mystery That Fixed the Reapers' Origin

When BioWare first pulled the curtain back on the Leviathan DLC, the gaming world was still reeling from the highly controversial launch of Mass Effect 3. The original announcement was brief and straight to the point:

"We are very pleased to officially announce that the Mass Effect 3 Leviathan single-player DLC will be released on August 28th, 2012 for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. Please note that on Playstation 3 in Europe, it will be available on August 29th."

Looking back, that humble press release understated exactly what this content pack was. Leviathan wasn't just a handful of new weapons or a disconnected side quest. It was a foundational pillar of Mass Effect lore that fundamentally recontextualized the entire trilogy.

A Shift in Tone: Cosmic Noir

From a gameplay perspective, Leviathan stands out because it temporarily abandons the desperate, run-and-gun war movie pacing of the core game. Instead, it leans heavily into a detective noir aesthetic laced with Lovecraftian cosmic horror.

Commander Shepard is tasked with tracking down rumors of a creature powerful enough to kill a Reaper. This leads players to the laboratory of Dr. Garret Bryson, transforming Shepard into an interstellar sleuth. You spend time scanning star charts, piecing together redacted logs, and filtering search parameters to locate a hidden apex predator.

This pacing was a breath of fresh air. It reminded players of the original Mass Effect's heavy emphasis on exploration and uncovering ancient, unknowable mysteries in the dark corners of the galaxy.

Unveiling the Apex Race

The true value of Leviathan lies in its narrative payload. For three games, the Reapers were presented as an invincible, unknowable force—synthetic gods who harvested organic life on a 50,000-year cycle. But where did they come from?

The DLC introduces us to the Leviathans: an ancient, aquatic, mind-controlling race that considered themselves the apex of all organic life in the universe. In their infinite hubris, they noticed a recurring problem among their lesser thrall species: organics inevitably created synthetics, and those synthetics inevitably rebelled.

• The Catalyst: To solve this problem, the Leviathans created an AI (The Intelligence) to find a way to preserve organic life.
• The Betrayal: The AI determined that the only way to preserve life was to harvest it and store it in synthetic shells.
• The First Harvest: The Leviathans themselves were the first victims, harvested to create Harbinger, the very first Reaper.

The chilling descent in the Triton mech remains one of the most atmospheric sequences in the trilogy.

Fixing the Starchild Problem

To understand Leviathan's legacy, you have to look at how it interacts with the infamously divisive ending of Mass Effect 3. The original ending introduced the "Starchild" AI at the very last minute, dumping massive, paradigm-shifting lore on the player with zero build-up. It felt completely out of left field.

Leviathan retroactively fixes this structural pacing flaw. By playing this DLC mid-campaign, the concepts of the "Intelligence," the purpose of the Reapers, and the conflict between organics and synthetics are heavily foreshadowed. When Shepard finally meets the Catalyst at the end of the game, it no longer feels like a sudden plot twist, but rather the tragic, logical conclusion to the history learned in the abyss.

The Final Verdict

Today, with the release of the Mass Effect Legendary Edition seamlessly integrating all DLC into the core experience, it is almost unthinkable to play the third game without Leviathan. It transforms the Reapers from unknowable space-gods into a tragic tale of arrogance.

It remains a masterclass in adding lore without breaking the existing universe. Between the haunting underwater set pieces, the incredible sound design of the ocean depths, and the massive lore drops, Leviathan is essential reading for anyone stepping into Commander Shepard's boots.

Stats on players finishing Mass Effect

Concept artwork of Jack

Stats on players finishing Mass Effect

BioWare's online development director Fernando Melo revealed to his audience during a talk at GDC Europe that more than five months after Mass Effect 3 was released, only 42 per cent of players have completed the game.

Unsurprisingly, Mass Effect 2's completion rate even got a boost this year as players readied save files to import into Mass Effect 3. That stat is currently at 56 percent.

I say even if you heard that ME3 ending sucked, you should still finish it to prove you're a real gamer...

The Great Mass Effect 3 Bait and Switch?

The miracle result of Project Lazarus

Every man and his blog has had a few things to say about the ending of Mass Effect 3. I think that Sagequeen from Game Tourist has some pretty good thoughts on the game and it's story.

"What I wanted was to hear the ending of the story I started way back in Mass Effect 1 when I was asked to log in to the Alliance database and begin the tale of Commander Shepard. Project Lazarus notwithstanding, that story continued on into Mass Effect 2. And then, Mass Effect 3 re-instated Shepard and for most of the tale (Crucible aside) I was eagerly awaiting an end to the tale.

But Mass Effect 3 never delivered that ending. What I wanted was to see how we're going to solve this problem of dark energy accumulation. Compared to that, this so-called inevitable singularity is small potatoes. We can deal with it. I wanted to see the races of the galaxy fight for their freedom, not stand and cheer as a miracle-in-a-box fixed everything for us.

But some other story happened instead."

Read Sagequeen's full thoughts on the bait and switch that Bioware pulled here. 

Bioware gets one thing right!

So you might recall this story where the producers of Fall Out sent an angry ceases and desist to the artist who, in a celebration of the game, created some posters in homage for others to download.

Well here's an example of a company doing it right. In this Bioware Blog post on Nick Clifford, they have embraced this wicked piece of fan art and used it as the header image for the post.

I reckon that's some awesome community spirit on show by Bioware, well done!

Original poster can be found on Flickr

Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut DLC formally announced

So I went to a place that had no internet for four days and came back to this encouraging press release from Bioware regarding the Mass Effect ending. As they promised, they've had a think and have decided to release a DLC.
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An official press release went out today announcing how we are re-prioritizing the Mass Effect 3 post release content schedule to provide a more fleshed out experience for our fans. For many of you the “Extended Cut” will help answer some questions and give closure to this chapter of the Mass Effect story. Oh and it’s at no cost to you – the fan.

Here is a mini FAQ to help you understand what the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut is and isn’t:

What can fans expect from the Extended Cut DLC?
For fans who want more closure in Mass Effect 3, the DLC will offer extended scenes that provide additional context and deeper insight to the conclusion of Commander Shepard’s journey.

Are there going to be more/different endings or ending DLCs in the future?

No. BioWare strongly believes in the team’s artistic vision for the end of this arc of the Mass Effect franchise. The extended cut DLC will expand on the existing endings, but no further ending DLC is planned.

What is BioWare adding to the ending with the Extended Cut DLC?
BioWare will expanding on the ending to Mass Effect 3 by creating additional cinematics and epilogue scenes to the existing ending sequences. The goal of these new scenes is to provide additional clarity and closure to Mass Effect 3.

When will the Extended Cut DLC be available?
Currently the Extended Cut DLC is planned for this summer, no specific date has been announced at this point.

Why are you releasing the Extended Cut DLC?
Though we remain committed and are proud of the artistic choices we made in the main game, we are aware that there are some fans who would like more closure to Mass Effect 3. The goal of the DLC is not to provide a new ending to the game, rather to offer fans additional context and answers to the end of Commander Shepard’s story.

Will there be more Mass Effect 3 DLC?
More content is being planned and we will release information at a later date.

So there you have it. Are we proud of the game we made and the team that made it? Hell yes. Are we going to change the ending of the game? No. Do we appreciate the passion and listen to the feedback delivered to us by our fans? Very much so and we are responding.

Summer is coming…

ME3 Q&A with Bioware's Jesse Houston

I stole this Q&A from the Bioware blog - I don't think they'll mind. It's a sweet interview with Bioware's Jesse Houston to discuss a few things about the new Mass Effect Game and it confirms a few things as well. 

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Hi there! I’m Erika, the social media coordinator at BioWare. I sat down with Jesse Houston yesterday to ask him some of the burning questions fans had about Mass Effect 3, the co-op addition, and the new features we are all excited to hear more about. Check out the full interview below:

Will decisions made in ME1 & ME2 affect Galactic Readiness level?
In the Galaxy at War system, the Galactic Readiness Level is affected by multiple things. The choices from ME1 and ME2 will have an effect of the overall Galaxy at War system, but not directly on the Galactic Readiness level.

Does Multiplayer affect the success of my Shepard in the main story?
Absolutely. Multiplayer will definitely have an effect on your SP experience through the Galaxy at War system, so as you play the MP and the Co-Op and the more successful you are, the more that will affect your Galactic Readiness level which will then affect your end game result.

How do SP and MP work together/complement each other?
They complement each other really well in that the Galaxy at War System takes the actions played in MP and pushes them to your SP achievements. The SP elements will dovetail really nicely into those and both those actions will allow your Shepard to have a different ending depending on those actions. That said, SP can still be played all by itself without any kind of multiplayer or third party and you can still get the absolute best ending. This just gives you new options to be able to get that ending.

Which classes/races can you play as? Can you be a geth?
We haven’t given the full list yet. But as an example, you can totally play as a Krogan, as a Drell, as an Asari. Beyond those, I can’t give away all of the details, but I can say there will be a lot of interesting races that you may not expect to be able to play as because they wouldn’t normally be looked upon as characters who are for the fight normally. That said we’ll be releasing more and more characters through DLC later.

How does leveling up work in MP?
As you complete objectives inside of the co-op experience you are going to be leveling up similar to how you would in an RPG. You gain experience points and those experience points go toward your level and you spend points exactly how you would as a SP and each character is its own so you could theoretically have 10 or 20 characters going, each leveling up independently.

Will player-kicking be supported to deal with any idiots you may team up with?
We will have systems in place to deal with “griefers.” The nice thing is that the overall design isn’t conducive to griefing so there isn’t much value in doing kicks. How and when you’ll be able to do the kicks is still being worked on so I don’t want to talk too much about it. But just know that we are putting systems in place that will let you deal with people that you don’t want to be playing with.

Will Kinect still work in MP, and will using a headset to talk with teammates cause any interference?
The overall and general design of Kinect is such that it is about squad command and interacting with the world. Contextually speaking that doesn’t work as well with MP because those squad commands are your friends so we’d want you to yell at them and not your TV. So with that in mind, Kinect will not work in MP and therefore will not cause any interference.

If it’s a separate story campaign, are our multiplayer characters playing their part in dialogue scenes or is it more of an environmental storytelling?
While it is separate to the main story they will never be involved in the actual campaign of the main story. It’s more like a side mission to the SP. We don’t want to create situations where MP players have something that SP players couldn’t otherwise see.

Will there be dialogues, and how will they be handled?
All dialogue is done ambiantly, for instance the commander will be giving you orders through your headsets.

Will there be any form of in-game communication system (ie quickchat) with team mates?
All the main communication systems that we are putting in will allow you to speak to your team mates through the normal communication systems like your headsets.

Exactly who will we be fighting for? Citadel Defense Forces, Mercenary Groups?
At a high level, Shepard is marshaling the troops on behalf of the Earth Alliance so you are technically fighting for the Earth Alliance. From a story perspective, a lot of these groups have come together as a loose fighting force to stop the reapers therefore they don’t fly the same type of banners that would have existed in pre- reaper invasion days.

Will there be a match-making service, or a generic waiting room in which players can assemble and then form teams? Or will they have to plan out the teams in advance?
Given the general theme of us giving you the choice, we like you to plan your teams out in advance or if you prefer you can go in a quicker custom match and it will find people who are of similar skill levels to you.

Will there be leader boards?
Yes!

Will there be squad banter?
Yes!

Can friendly fire from powers/weapons be an option?
When we ship, we don’t believe it will be in there as an option but possibly at a later release. In the context of co-op we didn’t believe it added a lot to the co-op experience. You have a lot of pressure to succeed in the co-op and accidentally shooting your friends didn’t seem like a good experience. Maybe later as some sort of modifier to the game, but not at release.

Will we be able to further customize the armor and/or weapons on MP characters through in game challenges that award points or credits?
Why yes you will! We have slightly different armor and weapon customization system in MP. It still feels along the same vein, but in many ways there are more customization options for the MP armor side and it’s very similar on the weapon side. They are structured differently so stats don’t play the same way, so SP guys have something that feels better for SP and MP guys have something that feels better for MP.

Will co-op have its own disk, and/or executable? If not, how much space will it take up?
It will be included on the main disk. As for how much space, I’m not sure at this point. It’s mainly content so it is somewhat sizable but not so much that it affects the SP experience.

Will MP achievements be separated from SP achievements, or will they all combine together into the overall score?
Each game in general is assigned a certain number of achievements that they are allowed to give. We are required to have a broad selection of achievement types so there will be some MP achievements, there will be some SP achievements. What the ratio is, we are still trying to work out. And they ultimately accumulate to that 1000 point score or that platinum trophy.

Will BSN track co-op statistics? ie: classes played, enemies killed, wins, losses etc?
We are investigating this right now. There will definitely be a lot of BSN integration. What the final list of things is, we don’t really know yet.

Will co-op have its own disk, and/or executable? If not, how much space will it take up?
It will be included on the main disk. As for how much space, I’m not sure at this point. It’s mainly content so it is sizable but not so much that it affects the SP experience.

Will ME3 require an internet connection for each launching of the SP game, or will it retain ME2′s single verification method?
Mass Effect 3 PC will require the internet connection when you initially launch and authorize it but then you will no longer require the connection.

How does earned experience work with the different class choices?
Experience is gained through objective gathering not necessarily class choices. Each class earns achievements at the same pace, but separately. So if I play a soldier, the soldier earns the experience and my vanguard won’t until I play that vanguard. If I got to level 10 as a soldier, my vanguard would still be at level 1.

Will local co-op be supported? (ie local split screen, PC-LAN)
At the time of release, no. However it is definitely on the table as something we might add.

Is there a sunset plan after you decide to take the servers down in a couple of years.
Yes, absolutely. We won’t be taking the servers down until we realize that there aren’t enough players playing to warrant keeping them up and when we do take them down, we will make sure there are options so the players who are playing don’t feel abandoned. If anything is a good example, you can see today that Never Winter Nights is still supported and we’ve kept a lot of our servers live on it. So I wouldn’t be too worried about us taking down the servers anytime soon.

Can we create our own server (or do offline co-op), especially important for those in bandwidth-poor countries?
Because of a lot of the match making systems are quite server intensive, we have no plans anytime soon to allow the creation of an offline server. However, our servers themselves are quite bandwidth friendly and most of the MP elements involved in that are peer to peer based. So if you are in a bandwidth poor country, and you are playing with your friends you are still going to find it to be a relatively good experience.

Thank you so much for your time, Jesse!

What is Bioware's new franchise?

This is what Bioware's secret new franchise looks like... but what is it? An RPG set in the desert? Dune buggy rides?