18.07.2012 19:03 #2
Evil Chris Priestl
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Hello or Guten Tag to everyone.
I'm BioWare's Community Specialist "Evil" Chris Priestly. I want to thank you all for coming to chat with us and for the fine folks at Masseffect-Universe.de like Butzilla for having us here. I know we have a lot of fans in Germany, so Jessica and I are happy to have this opportunity to talk with you.
Please keep in mind we may not be able to answer all of your questions, but we'll do the best we can.
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18.07.2012 19:06 #3
Evil Chris Priestl
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Hello,
I would like to know what we can expect from Mass Effect 4 . Will it play before , while or after Mass Effect 3
Sorry CaptainLoco, we do not have any information about a Mass Effect 4 or other future games. We can talk about Mass Effect 1, 2 or 3 and DLCs, books, comics, life at BioWare, etc though.
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18.07.2012 19:08 #4
Jessica Merizan
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Hi there,
thank you for answering our questions! Here are mine:
After EC, is IT still a valid interpretation among other forms of interpretations?
I heard that certain parts of the game are not meant to be taken literal - beside the dreamsequences. Is this true?
IT concentrates on Shepard beeing indoctrinated. But are there friends, allies etc. that shouldn't be trusted anymore by the end of the game (no names, I just wanted to know if there are any)?
Hi Majed! Thanks for joining us.
Yes, the Extended Cut should not affect the overall IT as I understand it (however, there are multiple iterations of this popular theory and it's possible that some speculations have been proven untrue). I actually have a dedicated saved game in which I play keeping IT in mind and I have another game that I view as a strictly literal interpretation.
The team went to great lengths to put meaning and layers of metaphor into the game. There's a lot of cool symbolism if you take the time to look for it. Definitely intentional and we want players to decide what those meanings are for themselves. These games are all about player agency so we feel that it would be wrong to provide a "canon" path or one "true" narrative. Ultimately, the work has to stand on its own and players decide what they think is happening.
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18.07.2012 19:11 #5
Evil Chris Priestl
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Also, can you give us any info of when approximately can we expect the SP DLC?
Nothing we can confirm yet. It is being worked on now and until the ME3 team are sure it is complete, tested and ready, we don't want to give hints in case we are too soon or too late. It is on the way though. As soon as possible, as long as it is 100% ready.
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18.07.2012 19:13 #6
Jessica Merizan
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Thanks for the chat!
The Gay Romance was a very big thing: I haven't seen any big gay/lesbian romance in a game before. And this means much to gay people. There are a lot of things were acceptance and tolerance is not the way it should be. Sport is one and yet video games have been one.
About future games: Will romances and in special gay romances stay as an important part of future bioware games?
Inclusiveness has always been an important part of BioWare and we don't include things because it's "politically correct" but rather because our games represent a world with many choices and different kinds of people. It's the right thing to do and we will continue making games that try to capture the wonderful diversity that exists within our world and the fantasy/sci-fi universes we create
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18.07.2012 19:18 #7
Evil Chris Priestl
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Hi everybody
Are there any further information to the coming Mass Effect film (not the anime)?
And when can we expect it?
Not much I'm afraid. I can say Legendary Studios is still working on it and are writing it as we speak, but not much more detail yet. Sorry.
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18.07.2012 19:19 #8
Jessica Merizan
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Greetings,
First of all I want to thank you for the Extended Cut (and all other Mass Effect Games and DLCs of course).
It is such a great DLC, which enclousures the endings of Mass Effect 3.
Still there a quite a few questions:
1. After the Destruction Ending (with more than 3100 EMS): Why is it not possible to see how Shepard is found by his crew or Citadel workers and maybe a wedding scene, if you have a Love Interest? For me, as a Tali Fan, it would have been great to see a wedding scene at Rannoch.
2. How many DLCs for Mass Effect 3 are planned? First I read 3, but then I found out, that this was a translation mistake.
Thank you
1. It was important to us that our endings were open enough to allow for a range of interpretations. For me personally, I wouldn't have wanted to see a wedding scene. However, the game allows for us to walk away with our own conclusions about what happens. So in my game, there's no wedding scene and Shepard has to grapple with her decision that wiped out EDI and the Geth. In your ending, it sounds like Shepard and Tali were able to build a new life together on Rannoch. And from a technical stand-point, everything has to come to an end. The team felt that this allowed for closure while still giving various possibilities without a "canon" post-end plot.
2. I can't say exactly how many we have planned but I'm excited for great singleplayer and multiplayer content ahead. We'll of course share more details as soon as we are able to
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18.07.2012 19:26 #9
Jessica Merizan
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BW has announced Mass Effect 3 for WII U. Is it planned to bring Mass Effect 1 and 2 to this platform? Or will decisions from ME1 and 2 be non changeable at the beginning of ME3?
We're not in the position to reveal details about ME3 for Wii U yet - sorry!
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18.07.2012 19:27 #10
Evil Chris Priestl
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In the new EC Synthesis end there is a reunion between Kei Jo and Kasumi. AFAIK Keiji is not alive, only the last message is recorded to the grey box in hologram form. What does the scene mean. Did Synthesis end bring Kei Ji back?
Great question. I honestly didn't know the answer to this one, so I asked Patrick Weekes, the man who wrote Kasumi in Mass Effect 3 and this is what he said:
"In Synthesis, the improved communication/relationship between synthetics and organics is enough for Keiji's greybox memories to be reconstructed. This would let Kasumi reunite with her lover (at least mentally and emotionally). Whether it really is Keiji, based on his memories, or just a very good AI reconstruction of him, is up to the player to determine -- that type of question is one of the core questions of Synthesis."
Now we know.
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18.07.2012 19:36 #11
Jessica Merizan
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I try to translate it. Sorry for my bad english ;-)
From the point of view of BioWare: What did you try to say with the endings? Are they more symbollicaly than "realistic"?
Did you consider to destroy the Sol System to beat up the Reapers asses? I missed that radical option, where I can fight the reapers more in a guerilla-fighting-way
This has been a very personal project that the team has worked on for years. We wanted a truly fitting goodbye to the trilogy with the endings and we were able to do that with the Extended Cut. There is a lot of symbolism in the games with heavy themes like destruction/salvation and organic/synthetic conflicts. You see a mix of literal and symbolic meanings within ME3 and it's up to you to determine which is which.
It was very heavily insinuated all the way back in ME1 that the Reapers could not be defeated by conventional means. Destroying the Sol System wouldn't have worked because other Reapers were still in other systems harvesting. Only a device such as the Crucible could change the course of history.
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18.07.2012 19:37 #12
Evil Chris Priestl
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During the chat with the catalyst, certain dialog seems to contradict the known lore from the former games. Has the lore been "bend" to fit the storyline of ME 3 or is the lore from the first two games still valid, including conversations, events?
Working as community managers, you are in the front line when it comes to fan reactions. Are you sometimes personaly dissapointed when fans are angry or hostile because of missing game features, not so detailed romance options for there love interests etc.? Or you see this things relaxed? Would your be job possible without dedication to the games, fans etc in the first place?
"Lore" is never 100% set when you are talking about a product that is still not finished. What is "lore" in game one may have new details revealed about it by the end of game 3 for example. It is not so much that the Lore is changed, it is that the lore is not yet fully complete.
As for the "are you ever disappointed" question, I am never disappointed that fans are angry or hostile, etc over one of our games. I know that when our games create strong emotion in fans (love, anger, joy, hate, etc) it is because they care about the game. This is a very good thing. I do occasionally get upset when some fans choose to express their negative thoughts in stupid or extremely negative ways. We love to hear feedback, both the positive and negative, from fans, but having people swear, threaten violence, etc is just dumb and is an immediate way to get your feedback ignored.
I do think that since the Extended Cut was released, fans are now much happier overall with Mass Effect 3. And without our fans, I do not think my job would be possible.
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18.07.2012 19:42 #13
Evil Chris Priestl
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Some questions from Lady of Darkness:
Why did you choose to give the Illusive Man such a great role in the second game, while in episode 3 he doesn't even felt as threatening as he did before? I wished he had such a great appearance like saren did.
I also missed the atmospheric music in the final scene in ME3 like the track "suicide mission" in ME2. Why didn't you choose to add a more "animating" song..?
(Entschuldige die schlechte Übersetzung ;D )
In ME2 The Illusive Man was a major part of the story as the leader of Cerberus. He was both an ally and an enemy at the same time. In ME3, the galaxy was under attack by the Reapers, a much larger and wider spread enemy than Cerberus, so T.I.M. sat back a bit in terms of confrontation until the end. I also kind of liked his indoctrinated look. It may not have been quite as "techno" as Saren, but I think it looked more chilling.
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18.07.2012 19:43 #14
Evil Chris Priestl
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If Shepard was on the Citadel and it exploded in Destroy, how could he survive in the breath scene?
You assume Shepard survived. That could have just been a final breath before he/she died.
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18.07.2012 19:44 #15
Jessica Merizan
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Why did you say during PAX that everybody on the Citadel is fine after the Reapers' attack on it? Is it possible? How?
As with previous attacks on the Citadel, there are presumed to be casualties. However, as we know with those same previous attacks, the Citadel has safety features that can be activated to prevent mass destruction. I wouldn't say that everyone is "fine", but this is why it's possible for Shepard to survive if you have high EMS when choosing the destroy option.
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18.07.2012 19:46 #16
Evil Chris Priestl
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Here's a question from Virdo:
As to upcoming DLC, would it be possible or do you plan to release a romance DLC which makes it possible to start a romance with Jack or other characters?
The team does have plans for future story based single player DLCs. We can't really go into detail as to what they would contain yet. Sorry.
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18.07.2012 19:48 #17
Evil Chris Priestl
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Why the Catalyst's voice has Shepard's in the background?
What does Harbinger say just before hitting Shepard with the laser beam? "Save us" or "Serve us"? Something else?
Why Harbinger in ME3 didn't say a word with his ME2's voice?
The Catalyst's voice is partially formed from Shepard's memories, so his/her voice is part of the speech.
Harbringer doesn't actually say anything at that point. I know, I thought it did as well, but I asked teh Audio team and they told me it is just sound effects, not actually speech.
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18.07.2012 19:53 #18
Evil Chris Priestl
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What did you two do all day? Can you describe us a normal work-day?
After I get to the office I read and respond to all the emails that came though since I left work the day before. Emails happen throughout the day along with IMs, drop by meetings, etc
I usually have meetings during the day that take up time. I always have a chat window open with Jessica (she works in our Los Angeles studio and I am in Edmonton) so we can talk about things.
I read through the BioWare Social Network threads, answering PMs, working with moderators, replying in threads, enforcing the rules, etc
Jessica and I are currently planning our convention plans, so we send emails to vendors and partners while we get our plans set.
If the game is ready, I play through upcoming content (I am playing through the next SP DLC for example)
And I drink a lot of coffee.
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18.07.2012 19:54 #19
Jessica Merizan
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What did you two do all day? Can you describe us a normal work-day?
Hmm, I don't really have a normal work day. Here's my schedule for today:
9:00am Answer emails
10:00am Livechat with German community
11:00am San Diego Comic Con debriefing
12:00pm Social Media updating
1:00pm Community meeting with Chris about plans for the rest of the year
2:00pm Department meeting
3:00pm Answer BSN PMs
4:00pm Go over my personal objectives to send to my manager
5:00pm Remember that I skipped lunch and scrounge around for candy in my desk
5:15pm Interview with a gaming magazine
6:00pm Answer emails
7:00pm Watch Game of Thrones!!!
I'm usually working on things like our strategies for online communications, planning live events, meeting with developers to discuss fan feedback and issues within the community, and continually refining the way BioWare creates a dialogue with fans.
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18.07.2012 19:56 #20
Evil Chris Priestl
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How many social networks (like facebook, biowareforum, twitter, etc) did you administrate to communicate with the community?
Note: You can always come back to this place to make an announcement or to talk to the german fans ;-)
We work on the BSN, Facebook and Twitter mostly, but we are always looking at other places to talk with fans or share discussion.
Visiting sites like this one is great and I hope we do more in the future. I'd be happy to come back and chat with you all again in the future.
18.07.2012 19:57 #21
Evil Chris Priestl
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If the question of the month continued?
Yes, we'll be doing more Dragon Age questions of the month.
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18.07.2012 19:58 #22
Evil Chris Priestl
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Are there plans for "high detailed" merchandise like statues/figures (not action figures or something)? I realy would like to have the complete crew as high detailed figures.
Yes there are. For example, there is a Shepard Statue in the works form Sideshow Collectibles that looks stunning.
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18.07.2012 20:01 #23
Evil Chris Priestl
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Thanks again for your answers. This is certainly an interesting and enjoyable event. Can we (the german community) look forward to similiar events in the future?
I hope so. I know Germany and Europe has many huge BioWare fans and we don't get to talk with you all nearly enough. We usually get to meet some of you at Gamescom in August. I hope we'll see some of you there this year.
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18.07.2012 20:02 #24
Jessica Merizan
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Last questions from me:
What do you think of the polls, which were organized by fans. Do you take ther feedback seriously?
And
How do you feel about these statements (link to cvg.com)?
We take everything seriously. It's important to provide things with context however, so we generally compare against our larger telemetry data when it comes to reporting and seeing how accurate a sample we're receiving. For instance, I find that many of the community polls had a much higher ratio of PC and FemShep players than you would expect to see in our entire playerbase. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't listen to them, but it does indicate that it's not representative of the "entire" community. We try to keep that in mind, but unless someone is exhibiting violent speech or hostility, they've always got my ear!
I read the headline for the link you just sent and then closed it. Talking about "entitled gamers" and who is at fault is SUCH a waste of time. BioWare would never consider our loyal consumers to be whiny or entitled - you buy our games and we can't thank you enough for that. The entitled issue is something that people need to move past. We're all on the same side. You want to buy games and we want to make them. Everything else is silly and hyped up in the media when they don't have real news to report. That's just my opinion
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18.07.2012 20:03 #25
Evil Chris Priestl
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EDIT What is the budget for a game like Mass Effect? How did it increase thruout the series?
Budgets and such are the sorts of things that Casey Hudson along with Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuck handles, so I can't really say. Sorry.
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18.07.2012 20:09 -
Thank you and farewell for now
#26
Evil Chris Priestl
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Well, that's all the time I have currently. Thankyou all for joining us for this. As we said, we want to work and talk more with our fans in Germany and other parts of the EU. Hopefully we'll do this again.
I hope to see many of you at Gamescom in August to talk face to face.
Thanks for having us. Auf Wiedersein.