Do you think games that carry decisions through sequels like Mass Effect

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will ever happen again?

What other (non Bioware) games have attempted this?
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Ivynn posted...
What other (non Bioware) games have attempted this?
The Witcher games, although they don't matter a ton.
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Witcher 3 did something similar, but it just asks you some of the major choices you made in Witcher 2 (on console, at least).

edit: too late
Don't you agree, Zach?
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With development cycles taking so long and sometimes stretching between console generations, it's hard to imagine a AAA game ever doing that again, especially with how badly ME fumbled at the end. If AI ever becomes good enough to use in games, that could be one potential strength, allowing for dynamic events that can be automatically structured based on past data.
Nemu posted...
With development cycles taking so long and sometimes stretching between console generations, it's hard to imagine a AAA game ever doing that again, especially with how badly ME fumbled at the end. If AI ever becomes good enough to use in games, that could be one potential strength, allowing for dynamic events that can be automatically structured based on past data.
youll never catch me playing an ai game
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PoE did it (if you carry over a character). Banner Saga, IIRC. I think Suikoden II did as well, but I don't remember how extensive it was.

Will it happen again? I don't know, hope so.
It could happen for indie/AA games or franchises that have super efficient dev cycles, but the Mass Effect trilogy all came out within 5 years and nowadays most AAA games take longer than that for one sequel. I don't think it'd work without a quick enough turnaround to carry the momentum.
I think it'd be easier than you think.

Look at Dragon's Keep for Dragon Age Inquisition a decade ago

it's a website where you just tell the site the choices you made and the game picks up

This includes bugged choices that didn't register on the actual games.
You don't even need to play the previous games to doit

Any AAA game could do this, no excuses

EpicMickeyDrew posted...
youll never catch me playing an ai game
You likely already have and didn't know
^ Hey now that's completely unfair!
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It was a Suikoden series staple before Mass Effect came about. If Konami is serious about reviving that franchise then they definitely need to have it included.
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It's gotta be a nightmare from a development cost standpoint, especially if it's more than 2.
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chris1001_the_sequel posted...
It's gotta be a nightmare from a development cost standpoint, especially if it's more than 2.

This. I feel like it's just too much of a pain in the ass in terms of cost and effort and that's why you don't see many attempts at it.
Forget across a series, I'd like if we could make impactful choices across a single game. Seems like only smaller scale games ever do that these days.
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Major story decisions are a massive burden to try to carry over through sequels. Maybe a smaller game could make it work but I don't see any big budget games doing any kind of big branching paths that extend beyond a single game.

Pillars of Eternity 2 had an extensive "history creator" at the start where you could make a ton of choices about everything that happened in the first game, but the results didn't really amount to much in terms of in-game reaction. A line of dialogue here and there, certain specific gear that you only get based on certain choices, little things like that.
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boxoto posted...
Witcher 3 did something similar, but it just asks you some of the major choices you made in Witcher 2 (on console, at least).
PC lets you import save from previous game. Also 1 > 2 save import gives you some goodies in the game.
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McmadnessV3 posted...
Forget across a series, I'd like if we could make impactful choices across a single game. Seems like only smaller scale games ever do that these days.
I would be happy just with single game major story choices. Most story choices have little to no consequence. I'd love an rpg where every choice leads down many different forking paths of the storyline. With like 100 different endings, many dramatically different from each other. And to see all the paths and endings you'd have to play for thousands of hours
Murphiroth posted...
This. I feel like it's just too much of a pain in the ass in terms of cost and effort and that's why you don't see many attempts at it.

Probably why Dragon Age pretty much gave up with The Veilguard.
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chris1001_the_sequel posted...
It's gotta be a nightmare from a development cost standpoint, especially if it's more than 2.
This is likely the reason. Even if you conceptually have a great way to let the player meaningfully impact the story, from a development perspective that means creating a lot more content and that costs money. Plus you're necessarily locking yourself into a design that means no player can experience all the content the dev team has created on a single playthrough.
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UnsteadyOwl posted...
This is likely the reason. Even if you conceptually have a great way to let the player meaningfully impact the story, from a development perspective that means creating a lot more content and that costs money. Plus you're necessarily locking yourself into a design that means no player can experience all the content the dev team has created on a single playthrough.
I honestly don't see why bold is a bad thing. We need more replayability in games. Making a second run meaningfully different would be great.
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K-driver posted...
PC lets you import save from previous game. Also 1 > 2 save import gives you some goodies in the game.
thanks.

I wasn't sure so I didn't want to make any claims about the PC versions of the series.
Don't you agree, Zach?
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reincarnator07 posted...
I honestly don't see why bold is a bad thing. We need more replayability in games. Making a second run meaningfully different would be great.
I don't think it's a bad thing but I can see why it would be from a developer perspective. Not everybody is going to play through a game multiple times. Most people who start games never even finish them once.
"It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life."
Probably not. Its just to big a pain from a narrative perspective. That and there very many storys that cant just be told in one game anyways.
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UnsteadyOwl posted...
I don't think it's a bad thing but I can see why it would be from a developer perspective. Not everybody is going to play through a game multiple times. Most people who start games never even finish them once.
I guess it depends how comfortable the devs/publishers are with players "missing" content. FromSoft and Larian are perfectly content with players missing vast swathes of the game, while I imagine the EAs and Ubis of the world would be most displeased with developing stuff that not everyone sees.
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UnfairRepresent posted...
I think it'd be easier than you think.

Look at Dragon's Keep for Dragon Age Inquisition a decade ago

it's a website where you just tell the site the choices you made and the game picks up

This includes bugged choices that didn't register on the actual games.
You don't even need to play the previous games to doit

Any AAA game could do this, no excuses

You likely already have and didn't know
the thing about the Dragon Age Keep was that, yeah, you got to input all these choices.

and then none of them really came up beyond like 1 choice from Dragon Age: Origins
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McmadnessV3 posted...
Forget across a series, I'd like if we could make impactful choices across a single game.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/8/8e978d8c.jpg
Bioware themselves did it a decade before Mass Effect with the original Baldur's Gate games, and Suikoden did it even before that.

And I definitely think that developers could do it again, but it would be more likely from a smaller company, not some bloated AAA garbage that takes 10 years to make and wastes 200+ million.
garan posted...
Bioware themselves did it a decade before Mass Effect with the original Baldur's Gate games
Did your choices cross over, or just your character and a couple items?

I'm not sure I ever actually beat BG to transfer, I honestly don't know.
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I wish there were games where the decision I made in that game carried through to the end and mattered.
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DrizztLink posted...
Did your choices cross over, or just your character and a couple items?

I'm not sure I ever actually beat BG to transfer, I honestly don't know.

Only levels and items transferred so I wouldn't really count it imo.
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Playing evil in ME 2 was one of the greatest gaming moments for me. Seeing your face change into this awesome red cracked visage was so cool.
Current Events » Do you think games that carry decisions through sequels like Mass Effect