Okay so I know Shepard story is most likely over (although I wish it wasn't) and if and when a Mass Effect 4 comes out what would the story be? I've come up with a few ideas and have heard some ideas from others: A prequel, I know some people hate prequels but what if we could see Shepard during his training or when he was a rookie. I've also heard the idea of playing as other characters like Legion,Garrus,Tali,Liara, ect. and seeing what happened before they met Shepard (or between the games plot lines) Another idea could be playing as a different alien like a Salarian,Turian,Geth, ect. During the events of the three games. Imagine playing as a Salarian STG Agent or Geth Trooper during the final battle on earth. Or playing as a different Human Marine fighting the collectors during the Mass Effect 2 Story. Aside from a prequel its hard to go forward in the story until we find out whether the indoctrination theory is true or not or whether the relays really are destroyed. However if the story ever goes forward I would like to see Shepard reunited with the Mass Effect 2 squad leading a massive fleet to attack the Reaper Base in dark space. Like I said its unlikely the story will move forward but if it does this would be an awesome story.--GethHaveFeelings2 20:31, May 16, 2012 (UTC)
I remember hearing that there would not be a ME4, but if there is, I have faith that anything done would be awesome. I would love a spin-off prequel where you played as Thane (who is my favorite character of the series), but that would most likely stray from the conventional ME formula. Anything would be nice, really. Makatak7 20:38, May 16, 2012 (UTC)
If the next ME game is to be a prequel, I don't think it will be called Mass Effect 4. That title is much better suited to a sequel. -- Commdor (Talk) 20:56, May 16, 2012 (UTC)
Same universe, later date. Perhaps linked to ME, ME2 and ME3 by interaction with a character from the original series (my money would be on Liara). The reapers are gone but old tesnsions remain (will the Krogan launch another rebellion?) and new threats are emerging (who gave guns and ships to the yahg?). What will be the consequences of the latest Salarian solution to a major problem? And all the while the mass relays need be be rebuilt and a new council formed. Plenty of room for a new Mass Effect RPG in there. Infiltrator N7 03:02, May 17, 2012 (UTC)
I thought about this the other day. Remember the "League of One"? There was supposedly an unaccounted for 13th member? I think I would be groovy to play as them. Male or female. Like a Salarian Shepard. It would be nice to shoot something that isn't the Geth. Hefe 16:27, May 17, 2012 (UTC)
@Infiltrator N7: That would be cool. Either Liara as a Matriarch (which is hard to imagine) or a relative of Shepard or another cast member, or even possibly Legion (but that's very unlikely). Makatak7 21:01, May 17, 2012 (UTC)
First contact war could be pretty rad, in my opinion. Or the Morning War, or playing as a civilian trying to survive during the Rachni Wars.
Those wars seem kind of short, and besides the Rachni War, only involve two species. Unexplored territory would be more likely. Makatak7 23:44, May 17, 2012 (UTC)
Dang it... For me I will say that Shepard's story ISN'T over. The whole indoctrination theory kicks in here. Bioware colored the blah blah endings the way they did to fool veterans who know how the game works. Control is blue yet a bad guy wanted it. Destroy is red yet a good guy wanted it. Bioware wanted the choice thing to play out here, yet it was intended for players to go for destroy being the point from ME1. So for ME4, it follows destroy ending. Shepard wakes up, activates the crucible for real, no TIM, no god brat, no red vs blue. Just a deletion of the reaper code. Shepard goes home happy and with a promotion and fame and fortune and all that, Living on the Normandy doing N7 tactical stuff. You do that for a bit, and then WHAM! TIM calls saying the reason he wanted to control the reapers was because there was a greater threat lurking in the center of the milky way's black hole or whatever, and that Shepard screwed the galaxy. He sets out to find TIM and get more info, and he has to prove their existence all the while getting reconstruction assets to prepare for the battle to come. So yeah, basically like what 343 industries is doing with the reclaimer trilogy in Halo. Some perks to come with is a MASSIVE squad, recruiting options for random people, a better free roam aspect to keep things fresh. I'm talking flying the Normandy to known planets to run around a city or two, hunting for reconstruction assets and proof of the greater threat. That and some N7 missions that respawn with different details so your always having fun! For players that chose blue or green in ME3, they can always redo it for red. Squad ideas: Everyone in all three other games. Plus that random recruiter thing I mentioned earlier. If anyone likes this idea I may as well stick it on deviantart or somewhere... If anyone deletes this they will get Pwned!!! -Anonymous Mass effect fan
I will not buy ME4 for 10 reasons if it has:
1) alien protagonist (no personality & background customization) 2) no RPG/Third Person Shooter 3) only one hub (Like ME3's Citadel) 4) less than 7 squad mates to choose & no three alli
es in combat 5) no romance partner choice on citadel or earth you can date (I would like to see Miranda Lawson in ME4. Her role can be a Earth LI, so you can go dates with her.) 6) set beyond 100 years after the Reaper defeat 7) Only co-op MP mode (it should at least have PvP) 8) no vehicles to drive (like the Mako, A-61 Mantis gunship and T-65 Trident fighter 9) no new omni shield variants, biotic attacks, tech attacks and you can't select a melee attack to control instead of holding down f (for pc) for heavy melee, I want to have the freedom like a spartan soldier to hold a omni shield on my left hand and a omni blade on my right and block and shoosh the crap out of enemies 10) NO HARBINGER to return as a side-antagonist Again! It could work because Harbinger might of retreated to the mass relay as the cataylst made two choices with Harbinger, as Harbinger obeyed the Catalyst. Accept Shepards solution of either D/C/S or escape and survive the crucibles blast. Harbinger wanted to survive but at a cost. It's reaper armada after the crucible would never aid him again for being selfish and cowardliness. I don't have a legitimate answer of how did Harbinger survive, imagination is the key (Maybe Harbinger knew at some of time that organics would succeed in only using the crucible and catalyst, so it created a surrounding line of defense, like Anti Virus Protection to prevent the blast overriding him. So Harbinger in ME4 lands on a terrestrial planet with very bad damage and uses indoctrinated organics to rebuild its army. If no harbinger in ME4, fingers cross you'll see Harbinger die or turn good in the rumored Rebirth DLC. There's my idea rant. ^ guy above me your great with ideas... & if anyone deletes this I will go on a Pwwn Crusade!!!
N7EagleEye "Plus that random recruiter thing I mentioned earlier." Can you explain what you mean by this a little better. How would it work? Would the player just convince random NPCs to follow him/her around, or would they somehow become actual permanent squad members? If you meant the latter, Anonymous, that doesn't make much sense. But if you mean that the player could hire random NPCs to serve as temporary squad members for certain missions, that is a good idea. If the interactions with the squad members worked like the party dynamics in DA:O (in which alienating party members could result in them leaving, and many could be dismissed from the party by the player), then it would make sense not to take certain squad mates on certain missions/assignments, if the player doesn't want to alienate them by completing the tasks in a certain way.
But keep in mind that having too big a squad results in role overlaps, and sometimes even boring and unmemorable characters. --TarquiniusModestus (talk) 15:10, October 6, 2012 (UTC)
I so agree with you especially if the character you play as isn't human that would be an instant no buy for me. There's no way you can relate with your character if it's some other species and you know it's an rpg; you're pretending that's you so I wouldn't want to be an alien. Now if there's options and human is one of them that's fine. Well I thought about it a little id like to play as an asari. Just human or asari cause they're the closet thing to a human in my opinion and I think they're awesome. Bring back the older universe would be the way to go I think. Meaning the same universe and galaxy with the same aliens and ideas. I'm sure they won't even consider but I really just want Shepard back and get to continue his story with him as the main hero. If not that I'd even settle for more closure on what happened to him and his friends especially whatever his love interests during the games were cause I care about those characters like Miranda ash and liara for me. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.209.136.103 (talk · contr).
I think it should be prequels such as the rachni wars, the krogan rebelions, and the first contact war --Halisme (talk) 18:06, October 20, 2012 (UTC)
I think I would be awesome if it was set in a Alternate Mass Effect Universe, you know make the ME3 ending irrelevant so we can move on. Other things I would like to see are:
- Selectable Player Species like in Dragon Age: Origins, I wanna be a Turian. If they have to cut the main character voice out for that I would welcome that.
- Playable Background, it be like fighting on Torfan in ME1
Now that I think about it; if they use alot of things from the Dragon Age games like Origins and the upcoming DA III: Inquisition, that would be good steps in the right direction. --Stabber ApSig 05:03, November 13, 2012 (UTC)
I would love to see a future batarian or krogan rebellion considering the races and their history with the citadel. The batarians nearly wiped out and still care about regaining their pride shows how unstable they could be, maybe a military take over of their government as all the other races are weakened after the reaper invasion just as they have been further weakened and seek their "rightful" place in the council. --(super mass effect nerd)
At this point i think prequels are preferable so they don't have to make an attempt to address the vastly different universes the ending choices leave. After all that backlash(most of which i think was unwarranted), why would they want to try to play off of that?
As for my ideas, there are plenty of wars in the past they could make games of. The first contact war, geth war, rachni wars or the krogan rebellions. They could have a game playing garrus as archangel on omega. They could do an origin stories game that has several origin stories for some of the already existing characters. I think it would be fun to play thane as an assassin or legion running around trying to find shepard during the events of ME1 and ME2 until he actually finds him. I also have this idea about playing as a quarian on his/her pilgrimage during the events of the series and leading up to the recalling of pilgrimages in ME3 and ending with the resolution of the quarain/geth conflict in ME3.
I would prefer playing as an alien, though I know I'm in the minority on that. I could have guessed that the majority of people would want to play as a human in a sequel because of the ending reaction and what most peoples thoughts/attitude of the ending choices are.
Thought about this daydreaming in class...Marauder Shields is back after years of rehabilitation & experimentation he returns, haunted by the deeds his former Reaper Masters forced him to do, as a Cold Blooded Killing Machine out for Revenge!!!!!! -User Cameronhubley UTC 09:57 11/14/12
If we do have another mass effect, I would like an explanation of how the crucible actually came to be. The omni-god-child blows you off when you ask about it and says, "there's not enough time to explain." Well ME4 has enough time so start explaining how such advanced technology that the reaper-child didn't anticipate it, and it changed his entire set of "possibilities" just kinda crept up on him over many many cycles. Also I would like to know how each cycle added onto a device that they could barely (if at all) understand, somehow making it better. If I sound skeptical, I am but Bioware is awesome and we're all fans here so I'm sure they will eventually explain these things. -User: Hoodai, 11/27/12
I think that ME4 should be a sequel. I have two reasons for saying this is, 1. Bioware has pretty much confirmed that they are wrapping up the story line of the trilogy and starting with a new protagonist and story line. 2. it makes no sense to create a prequel in this franchise. We already know what happens in the lore and there are too many things that can be contradicted and it would be incredibly difficult to make prequel respectful of the first three without taking away a lot of choice, which is what makes the ME series so successful and special. This game needs to be a fresh start with fresh faces that heavily relies on player choice in the first trilogy to determine the lore and setting. I have no real idea where they are going as of yet but I am guessing there will be more customization options and RPG elements. It would make sense that the story becomes more political and focuses on internal power struggles in the galaxy with warfare and asset management on the part of the player. Personally I would like to see the game move in a more progressive and forward thinking direction, not just some boring, warmed-over version of the first three games but an evolved version of the mass effect series. Instead of doing what already has been done, build upon the foundation that the first trilogy built. This game should be more about the finer and more tedious aspects of the series. It should deal with a certain degree of strategy as we have seen so far but also allowing players to now make decisions in the political arena in order to change the outcomes of future games. The character should still be attached to a government but not as a soldier more of an ambassador or intelligence official who has the ability to still engage in combat and all of the exciting parts of the game but also in a position to influence events. Or corporate. (Noveria) A corporate espionage theme that later grows into something much bigger and more detrimental to the entire galaxy. Idk, most likely it will feel like previous mass effects, which is a good thing, but it will feel too much like them. I love the game and anything they do will most likely be awesome.
-....... 12/6/12
I was thinking the other day that the child in the Stargazer sequence would be an ideal protagonist. It would establish ME4 as being significantly far ahead, allowing the sequel to develop and include all ending choices. Also the character would be different to Shepard but connected to Shepard via Stargazer's stories, and would connect that sequence to the next step in the franchise. As for story if the races are fighting amongst themselves again it might allow PvP multiplayer, although I'm not sure I would like that. Setting the sequel this far in the future would allow new technology, new environments, new characters and allow all of Shepard's choices to be represented easily due to the fact they are legendary rather than recent.Garhdo (talk) 15:02, December 6, 2012 (UTC)
So this is my take on the entire idea of ME4.And get back to an RPG feel 1. Do the game roughly around 100 to 150 years after the end of ME3. And get back to a 2. Make all previous choices either readable from previous saved game ( that is if it stays on current gen Consoles.) or have the new protagonist be in some type of training and have to study the Shepard legend ( this would allow for a new gen console to be out, and if you remember the bulk of your choices, nothing changes.) 3. Due to the "Red, Blue, or Green" ending small changes would have to flow in the story line, and this would have to be done in a way that it wouldn't affect the main plot i.e. Red=dead geth/AI malfunction, slower technology Blue=a slightly chaotic world with races still on edge with each other Green=added power bonus due to the new DNA (this is also the easiest way to make more than one playable race with no warring species that are already discovered). the time lapse also allows for the plot to seem together easier after the three major choices that can be made at the end of ME3 4. While the Shepard Legend is still alive and well, don't completely cut it out of the story, character such as EDi (if alive) and Liara could still be around 5. The Plot of the story could involve a brand new race trying to rise to power. ( yes this would even work with the Green ending, organics and synthetics understand each other, but the thought it is an outer galaxy source is plausible.) This allows to remove the immediate war feeling and can sit you back on a journey kind of like ME1 6. Multiplayer, one of my biggest let downs of ME3, could be down with a style of split screen drop in-drop out with your squad. As far as online play? Well it all seems to be the same, however the idea that certain missions equipment, etc. are only available in multiplayer could have it's advantages 7. In ME4 I believe that the recruitment style of allies should be closer to that of ME2. A wide array of characters (approx. 10 or so) with varying skills, not the same type of Biotic/Tech or Soldier/Biotic that made each character so bland in ME2 &3 8.While we all loved the Normandy, add ship customization into the game play, and maybe a few space battles. Assassin's Creed did it with a sailing ship, so it would be much simpler with a space craft. 9.More than a human as a playable race. Cutting out the voice of the main character isn't necessary. Leave choices to Human, Turian, Krogan, Salarian, Asari, Quarian, and (for those who are synt. lovers) Geth ( if ending permits it). This makes the design for voices etc, very simple, the same two actors record their lines, with no outstanding speech variations in ME this shouldn't be a problem. ..and finally... 10. This is for those who disagree with the top 9 suggestions.....Pull a Halo. Shepherd is losing his mind with the battle with the Illusive Man, the reapers are trying to control him through the memory of the little kid....he fights it off, and then there is only two choices. Shepard gets pulled up to the connection point where he is meet with an extremely old AI unit that is housed in a stasis chamber. A conversation takes place with a Keeper, you find out that all the knowledge of the previous races from the cycles are preserved in the reapers, so then you either a. do nothing and die ( let the cycle continue) or b. you connect the old AI unit download all the collective reaper knowledge into it and then use the Crucible to clear the reaper strand. The Ai unit that you upload all the knowledge too, received the knowledge and no reaper corruption of strain, then BAM.... Shepard rolls off the Citadel with a New Ally, a promotion to Admiral, and a postion on a new counsel consisting of ever race that helped in the war.... with this ME4 then becomes a very simple RPG design with plenty of options and no real constraints due to the previous endings of ME3, and you can still continue the story onward as someone under the command of Shepard......This is probably the easiest way out for Bioware, though I'm not sure how die hard fans of the series would take it.
SlaughterSR2-------- 12/07/12-----------------------------------------------------
The only thing I would like to add to this is about Shepard's possible appearance in ME4. After Priority: Sur'Kesh, don't the Salarian's have a record of Shepard's DNA? at what is a STG facility that specializes in Cloning and splicing etc. It has always seemed a little strange that a lot of time is taken up with the camera going from Wik's to Shepard back to Wik's and Shepard again, whilst Shepard is scanned, For what amounts to just going through a door.
JohnnyDank-------------12/25/12---------------
I would like it if they didn't bring back shepherd from the dead, you had the option of having the choice of choosing special classes based on the romance partners you had in the previous games. So you would be playing as shepards child. What do you guys think?
01/10/13--------------- I definitely thought they should have expanded on a better end to the romances and further depending on the romance like the fem Shep and Garrus having a human turian kid (with the help O'the salarians) noting the discussion between the two at the end of the game. As for the next game in the series, I saw some one mention the salarian league of one why not make the revived league of one (created by the last member of the league) who feels like their leaders betrayed them and wants revenge on the council launches an attack on an still rebuilding galaxy a few decades later using tech from an advanced dead civilization and after biding his/her time collecting ships and armies during the reaper war. Thats where Sheps kid would come in, you would get to choose both the characters and Sheps gender and who Shep romanced in ME3 to pick the back story of both parents (what happend to them, and to add a pre-story like dragon age) and have a hybrid kid (which you can customize to take on more physical traits from one parent then the other) take the reins. How would that be for a game?
Vish Near------------
01/30/13----------------------------------------------------
Why not go to a new galaxy? A coalition of species, homeless and lost after the reaper wars build a massive colony ship, using the hibernation technology of the protheans (I'm sure someone was building them in case the reapers won). Or maybe its thousands of year after ME3 and overpopulation is becoming an issue. Either way, a very large collection of the milky way galaxy species travel to a new galaxy to colonize and begin anew. Some species, like the Krogen or Asari, venture off on their own as soon as they arrive, others decide to share homeworlds with each others. Maybe the Quarrians and Geth. Or the Quarrians and the Turians. Let the player pick their race and have the story follow the beginnings of the new civilizations. Start either right as the main colonies are being established, or a few decades or centuries into the colonization process. The politics of a new council, and the exploration of an unknown galaxy with new aliens would be the main driving points. Maybe one mission, a mystery illness is traveling across the new colonies, and it would wipe out a specific species before the others. The player would have to decide if they would cure it right away or let it do some damage to advance their own specie's place of power in the new galaxy. Ultimately the players choices will result in either a more unified galaxy or outright civil war and conquest.
01/31/13 As much as it would be fun to have a blast through the blast, most devoted ME fans already know a good amount about what transpired before ME1 so it might be perceived as anti climatic when your character is pushing through his/her endeavors in ME4, should it be poised as a "retro" journey. As it is in life, not all aspects of one's path are ever revealed and the ME Universe is too vast to quench every fan's thirst. A fresh start seems inviting...but way fresh...iow, quite far into the future...enough so all "known" species have had countless centuries to evolve. Taking into account that there are 4 possible endings to ME, it will be difficult to create a future that all fans feel akin to. So, perhaps we visit a future far enough away but not so far as to re-invite the Reaper's wrath if you chose a path that didn't fully eliminate them. Or what if the Reapers and other races must vanquish a new enemy? A Universal traveler per se...something that passes between galaxies with ease...more ease than the Reapers. And, what if you/we are that enemy playing against the known, unified, species of the ME Galaxy map? Or, in tune with a typical ME journey, you/we are part of that Universal populace seeking the aid of other galactic travelers to overcome a universal vs. galactic enemy. What if it's the space-age version of a theological twist on revelation, fighting for a God or a Devil, or the likes there of? No matter what, we need to keep the romance alive in any ME story cos it's hugely an affection we all share.
The New galaxy setting Idea (01/30/13) Is excellent. And if done well, can eliminate the 4 ending problem. It'd still have the "where are our choices rage" issue, but DA2 didn't care more about our DA:O choices, then adding a few cameos. It should be done stargate atlantis style: For example, a special mass relay gets reactivated, And scientist figure out that it can make jumps to other galaxies. In this version, the Reapers were culling only this galaxy, so other ones have no mass relays. Therefore, a black hole would be used to get ships out from the Spacetime corridor thingy the mass relays use, and in an accident, the relay they took with themselves to get home, would get destroyed, along with the carrier craft. So the exploration team is stuck there. It'd not have to deal with the ME3 choices, because the expedition would be launched a month before Shepard's revival. And here you go: Bioware can ignore our decisions and story choices as they usually do recently, And we can get a new ME story. Win-No loss situation. 87.97.4.182 12:03, February 3, 2013 (UTC)
02/04/13 I bought the trilogy so I could play through all 3 games at once. Several questions from EDI's conversations in mass effect 3 made me question the direction of the game. I kept asking what she was thinking about. She was talking about alternative dimensions and Joker mentioned time travel. EDI even asked about morals and what would I do if an action is morally questionable. I don't know if some of the conversations changed depending on the versions of the game or not, but that was in the trilogy I bought because I loved mass effect 2 that much.
EDI used her processing power to help with the crucible and it wouldn't surprise me if EDI didn't care about the galaxy in general. I'm betting my favorite AI found a way to save Sheppard, even if it was sending the commander to the past. EDI doesn't want to tell anyone what she did until she knows if Sheppard survived or not. Personally, I would use the omni-tool and place the quantum particle inside of it in order to keep tabs on Sheppard. It would explain why EDI demanded to be placed onto the team for the elusive man's mission. Once she knows Sheppard survived, the AI hijacks the Normandy. Jeff and several members of the crew are fighting with EDI because the AI refuses to tell them what is going on.
Sheppard being Sheppard ends up in a hospital, barely coherent, and burned badly from the last battle. I'd place Sheppard in alien hands and have the commander be the first contact between aliens and humans, probably the Asari. Sheppard doesn't remember the future, his/her name, or anything the Asari can use to find his/her home world or species. The hospital is attacked by a group of Ardat-Yakshi the Justicar's are after because that is Sheppard's luck. Even through the haze of drugs, the commander watches a child running away and shot down in cold blood. At this point, I'd have the commander lose it. Sheppard fights through the hospital and takes out the group of Ardat-Yakshi even with the injuries that would cripple other men. After each battle, pieces of the Sheppard's past begin to come back. Most of the scenes make little or no sense without context, but as the last enemy falls, Sheppard finally remembers his/her name.
At this point, I'd have EDI contact Sheppard and tell the commander not to do anything stupid like kill someone, blow something up, or join up for another suicide mission since the commander is in the past. Sheppard glances down at the Ardat-Yakshi and says, "Too late."
I'd probably have Liara, Jeff, Edi, and the doctor be the only people to carry over to mass effect 4. Sheppard's future actions would have little or no effect if the commander is sent into the past before they happen.
02/07/2013 Instead of playing a human, have the player choose another species at the start of the game. Why? The humans had no viable food source, no resources left, and didn't want to become a burden on the rest of the known galaxy. In the aftermath of the war, the humans couldn't obtain enough colonies to rebuild what was lost and their home world lay in ruins poisoned by the Reapers. Thus, they decided on a drastic action no one saw coming. Instead of staying in council space, what is left of the human government and population made a mass exodus into the unknown nearly 1000 years ago. Even the Terminus systems can barely remember the legendary species.
Considering what the humans did in the past, the Council left their seat open believing the species would be back. It is supposed to be a token gesture much like the old statue of the Krogan (With the guilt). The Krogan remember what happened to the heroes of the galaxy and how every hand turned against them because no one had enough food or supplies after the war. The Krogan weren't part of the council back then and could only offer limited help. The humans left Council Space to stop themselves from starving.
When the Asari Councilor asks the Krogans and Salarians who or what could counter the coming war between their factions-- both parties point at the empty Council Seat. "The Humans." The Asari Councilor stares at the empty seat. Even she has never seen a living human. Yet, the Krogan still remember the species that saved them, risked everything to save the known galaxy, and the name Sheppard (hero). The humans may be the only species with the ability to stop the coming war. It is a long shot. No one has heard from them in over 800 years. They left Council Space over 1000 years ago. If the humans are the only way to broker peace, then hope is very slim. That's when the Asari Councilor decides to send a small task force after the humans.
The main character tries to follow the path left by the humans. Have the humans live up to the legend -- they helped a planet overcome a world-wide plague, redirected a satellite to save a species, learned how to craft mass relays, brokered peace between 2 space faring people, etc. The Alliance Symbol used to represent the human council seat is the only indication the main character is on the right track. Have the main character learn about a city larger than a solar system -- one where all species are welcome. Much like Eldorado, the human legend becomes mythical.
2/8/2013 I have some ideas...
It should be hundreds of years after the events of Mass Effect 3. The idea of the human race being almost extinct is pretty cool. And I feel that the stargazing child would be a great protagonist, and it would be nice to go into a Dragon Age-y opening where you can choose your origin. The game should span over a few years, so that the player can grow up with the protagonist. The alien races are all isolated from each other, thanks to Shepard blowing everything up, and the human protagonist's planet encounters a new race from another reach of space (well, new to them, anyway. salarians, the newly advanced krogan, turians, asari...take your pick) The human leaves their home to explore the galaxy, maybe as a mercenary or a soldier, and discovers that the galaxy is at war with its self, much like the first contact war. While the races of the galaxy are fighting among themselves, the antagonist is learning how to warp dark energy and is planning on destroying the universe. The antagonist discovers this... And so begins the fight across space and time to save the universe! :D
Also, I think it would be fun to have a big DLC where you can play as Shepard at the events in Torfan, Akuze, or Elysium, eh? -FemShep17844
Ever since the Stargazer scene I've been thinking that that kid is going to be our new protagonist. It will also be the easiest way for Bioware to tie the endings together - import trilogy data, but Shepard as a legend means its far enough ahead that the timelines will start to match up regardless of Shepard's choices both in game and in the endings. It does mean however than beyond EDI, asari, krogan and geth characters we probably won't see any former cast making a reappearance, but we will probably see plenty of descendants of former squadmates - which I think would be much better than seeing the same cast again, and will help ME4 carve its own identity.Garhdo (talk) 00:33, February 9, 2013 (UTC)
I really like the 02/07/2013 Idea. It'd be nice to have a nonhuman charchter. Altough seeing where bioware is head... problematic...
Add co-op campaign please!! that would be awesome in my opinion, and also make it like dragon age origins in the sense that we have all the races to chose from and each race and character has it's own beginning origin story of that character, i think that would be awesome.
I would seriously like to see cameos from older characters from the Mass Effect games! Especially if it's a sequal, get to see what they are doing with their lives now and all. Would definitely like to see Garrus and Tali together as cameos in ME4. I hope Bioware has them and maybe even other characters make CAMEOS!!
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The game did such an amazing job creating a living, breathing universe that I would hate to see it abandon all that and head to a new galaxy with entirely new species. A prequel seems silly, with knowing the future that lies ahead for the galaxy. Unless I interpreted my ending wrong, all species were destroyed and it took billions of years to recreate life and defeat the reapers, so I cant imagine how they would even handle a sequel, although I would totally would not care if that whole sequence was a dream or something (even though I usually hate that plot device). So my wish list has no prequel, and in the same universe some time down the road from when the last game ended. -Charlie
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I have mixed feelings about the prequel. Unless BW is willing to put in a lot of work in order to accommodate the fact that four different species could potentially be extinct- Geth, Quarians, Rachni and Krogan (assuming all the Krogan eventually die out), the game is going to have to get shoehorned into one ending and assume that certain events happen. There's also the issue of EDI, since she, more than anyone else, would be an appropriate narrator character- would they just handwave her 'death' so she never appears, or work around the fact that she might be alive or dead? What if you chose refuse? Either you end up somewhere far, far away and thus leave old time players very little reason to care about the new universe, or you stay in current universe and have to deal with the repercussion of ALL the events that happened beforehand.
Before the third game came out I had the amusing thought that ME4 would take place decades after the end of ME3, where a joint human-turian force were out chasing some big bad to the edge of the galaxy and end up getting slingshotted out and meeting some new race that was under attack from some oppressive force. That would allow for the game to expand without having to go nuts with tons of new tech, be a good way to introduce new races without sacrificing the old, and allow us to see the repercussions of whatever had happened in ME3 far enough into the future that rebuilding had happened, no matter what, but still allow us to touch base with the original games- Shepard would be older and retired (or dead) and most of the crew would be alive, or their kids would be.
Now? I honestly cannot see my way around trying to show gamers what happened without it being cost-prohibitive or them choosing a certain ending as 'canon', which will piss people off. Landers Edge (talk) 04:27, April 2, 2013 (UTC)
I like the idea of maybe being a whole new race of alien, and you found your way to the ME galaxy by accident. I was thinking you were looking for a new world for your race to live because the star was going supernova. You soon become captured, and are on the run from people who would want to cut you open. But you can customize this person with like... how many siblings it had, if it was married, if it had children. So there is an element of your person trying to get back home to see family, and finding a new home. But yeah, this is just my ramblings
4/7/13
I personally would not want just a straight up prequel to the trilogy. Some people have suggested time travel above, and I have been toying with a time travel idea of mine for quite some time since it really has not been done that much in games except for Prince of Persia and Spider-Man Edge of Time. A time travel idea is unique, provides a great story, and can be the new definition of Mass Effect. If I remember correctly, Mass Effect was the term for when humans discovered the mass relays and the technology had a significant effect on human society and advancement. Well, in the next trilogy, time travel can be the new Mass Effect, the new technology that will revolutionalize humanity and the galaxy. Furthermore, the sequel or prequel debate can end. You can do both. We all want to know what happened to the Mass Effect universe after the ME3 ending, but a prequel is easier to make because it is untouched by all the decisions, etc we made. But, a prequel is just not that appealing. Quite frankly, the reason why I am not that interested in a straightforward prequel is the same reason why a lot of people didn't want to play the ME3 DLCs. We all know what happens in the end, so what is the point? Sure, you can play for the story, for the characters. I did. I played all the ME3 DLCs. But in the end, there was still that sad, bitter taste in my mouth that I had a great time...but I know where this is all going...and it just makes it even more painful to play these DLCs when I know that it is all going to have the same sad ending. No matter what I did in the DLCs.
So here is how Bioware can maintain their artistic integrity and not touch the ME3 ending per se while keeping old and new players invested in the new trilogy. Make a sequel and a prequel. And accept that yes, the ending, no matter what you picked...it sucked. Or could use some improvement. Whatever euphemism you wanna use. The question a lot of fans have if a sequel is made was how to deal with the multiple endings and which canon ending should Bioware choose. Don't have to choose. All of the endings sucked. So Bioware should just give the fans some acknowledgment and insinuate that yes, they know the endings did kinda suck...and guess what, show the fans how much the endings sucked. Because hundreds or thousands of years later, the new ME trilogy universe is post-apocalyptic. It's in ruins. There's a new bad guy of some kind that rose up because of the way Shepard handled the Reapers. Didn't matter how he handled it, Control, Synthesis, Destroy--all of them led to the universe falling into hard times hundreds or thousands of years later and a new galactic threat is about to come and squash it some more. But now somebody invented a time travel device that calculates all the decision trees made in the past and brings out a scenario. And what it calculates is that no matter what Shepard chose...it all ended in a series of events that led to an apocalpytic universe centuries later that is vulnerable to this new threat. The machine calculated that to prevent this future from happening, Shepard needed to reject all the choices given to him in order for the galaxy to survive and be prepared to face this new galactic threat (totally unrelated to the Reapers). So for Shepard to be able to reject the choices and be victorious against the Reapers, he needs something else farther back in the past to win against the Reapers. Heck, you can even acknowledge the indoctrination theorists and have a plot where Shepard was indoctrinated, he needed something to be immune to it, and now we are going back in time to find a device/equipment/what-have-you so organics become more resistant to indoctrination and Shepard, in possession of this, is able to overcome indoctrination, wake up from his indoctrinated state, and refuse all three options or kills the Star Child or does whatever to kick the Reapers' asses without choosing a color.
Whatever the case may be, from this plot premise, we can do whatever we want with the new ME trilogy. We can send the protagonist back in time, back to the Rachni Wars, Krogan rebellion, First Contact War, back to the Protheans, back to Leviathan's time when the Reapers first emerged, to some forgotten, unknown, undocumented civilization that rose up against the Reapers, and even back to Shepard's early military career. We can have our new protagonist meet our uploaded Shepard (this can be the only data from the old trilogy that hopefully can somehow be carried over from our current consoles to the next gen consoles--the data and background history and face of our Shepard in ME1-3). The missions in this next trilogy are to acquire something or learn something that would help strengthen the post-apocalyptic galaxy and make it better prepared to face the new foe. Some missions are aimed to help Shepard reject all the color choices, fight the Reapers, and still win (doesn't have to be directly. Could be a missing crucible piece, could be saving a scientist in the Prothean time period that was about to make a revolutionary design that kills the Reapers more efficiently or better yet, deactivates that stupid Star Child) and in this way, prevent a post-apocalyptic world. We can have the protagonist go back and forth in time, where he has to fight something back in his timeline before going back in the past again, etc, and each time he succeeds with something in the past, his post-ME3 world keeps improving. As players when we see that, it feels really rewarding. So in this way, we are playing a prequel AND a sequel, because we are doing what we're doing back in time in order to affect the universe that came to be AFTER the ME trilogy. And so we are invested because what we are doing will somehow still affect the overall ending of the entire ME game series. Remember how we felt in the Citadel DLC, when we all got sad and teary-eyed despite all the good bonding times we had because we thought, boy, if you only knew the disaster that's coming next and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it? Well, our protagonist can express that to whoever he or she is interacting with in the past. He or she can say, we are celebrating our victories now and enjoying time with friends but I know how it ends, and it's a horrible future. But this time we have hope. That what we are doing in the past will change things. Because we saw how bad things were...but now we can change it. We don't have to accept it. And that gets the fans, both pro and con current ME3 ending invested. It gives Bioware a chance to redeem themselves without retracting the ME3 ending and looking like a pushover to their fans. At the same time they can subtly acknowledge that they jacked the ending up in most fans' eyes so this is their way of getting a second chance without losing their backbone or touching the ME3 game itself ever again.
It would, in my eyes, regain the confidence and trust of some fans who just didn't like the ending and can never get over it. For those fans who were fine with it, they get to have a new story, new characters, new settings and environments both pre and post ME 1-3, and the future of the ME universe is what hangs in the balance and the ending of the past trilogy is somehow still linked to the new trilogy but not in a very direct way that can get annoying for those fans who really were OK with the ending. Because the main plot here is that there's a new galactic threat that we are trying to create a stronger universe in the future for that can fight against this new antagonist (and this new galactic threat, whatever it could be, could also go back in time and pose all kinds of challenges for our protagonist to prevent him or her from succeeding). Some of the missions just happen to involve giving Shepard something in the future that can make him better equipped to reject the color choices. But these missions could be optional, like most of the character missions in ME3 and acquiring war assets. You don't have to do all of them to progress the story. There will be new settings and new characters with only a possible brief cameo of Shepard and a few familiar characters and a few mentions of how Shepard's final color choice, whatever it may be, messed up the universe ultimately or left it ill-prepared to face this new galactic baddie. And it could go both ways here: people could still think Shepard is a hero, because they don't know what the time travel, scenario calculator machine concluded, or a new twist could be that people in the future, after the events that led to the post-apocalyptic world, think Shepard betrayed them all and failed and is a disgrace. And the protagonist, like all the people around him, hate Shepard for that. But, little by little through traveling in the past, he or she can grow to understand the hard choices that had to be made and how Shepard was misunderstood. So if a Shepard cameo is made within a mission and when they finally meet, it's an enlightening experience for the main protagonist and in some ways also for Shepard because maybe we see him or her as a new soldier, still anxious, without that confidence and nobility that he or she has always displayed since the beginning of Mass Effect. The main protagonist can help him or her build that confidence. Perhaps their meeting can take place in that first battle that is mentioned in Shepard's military history that's different whether he's ruthless, war hero or survivor. That seemed to be the turning point in building Shepard's character. Now we get to live it and help shape it. And not directly through playing Shepard, but by interacting with him or her. That would be neat. But again, this should be short and sweet, like a small nod or tribute to loyal old fans instead of a large segment of the new trilogy.
Another twist could be in the end. The main protagonist in a tasteful, well-written and well-set-up story, could have the option to save Shepard. Because throughout this time, our goal was to give Shepard the ability to reject the choices and defeat the Reapers, not actually make sure he survives. The time travel, scenario calculator device could imply throughout all this time that if Shepard survives, the galaxy is better off and even more well-prepared for the threat, but if he dies, the galaxy is still able to survive and be prepared for the galactic threat, but not as much. Chances of victory are slimmer and with more lives lost. Allies could die (kinda like the random ME2 squadmate could die or not die type of mechanism). And so the protagonist has to make a choice of saving Shepard and sacrificing himself or herself, or sacrificing Shepard and concluding that through his or her experiences and all that he or she has learned from Shepard, he or she has become the new Shepard and this is what the time travel device thingy hasn't calculated: with him or her doing all th missions, the next trilogy's main protagonist is the asset that's needed to help win against this new galactic foe. And Shepard and his or her contributions after the Reaper war if he or she did survive is not needed. In other words, if the main protagonist did all the missions well and got all the objectives, etc, he or she is equal in asset value to Shepard, and so with the protagonist alive after doing all the missions well or completing certain sidequests, the chances of allies surviving and winning is the same as when Shepard is saved. So that leaves the players with a tough and bittersweet choice. Do you love Shepard from the old trilogy that much to save him or her and have him or her reunite with his crew and LI (This should seriously be an ending cutscene if the main protagonist chooses Shepard) but at the expense of the new protagonist you have been playing, or did the new ME protagonist win you over and you want him or her to survive and reunite with his or her squadmates and LI, in the process sacrificing Shepard, the person who starred in the trilogy whose ending you were so mad about? It's a great, dramatic twist, and it should not be a ploy or a gimmick but a well written, well thought-out, respectful to fans plot device that everyone can appreciate as they feel torn with the decision they have to make. Either way, they should feel bittersweet satisfaction with whatever they choose in the end. Not anger. And the choices should not be color coded this time.
I would love to see the galaxy aftermath from another spectres point of view. There are around 100 spectres by alliance estimates in ME1. They are shadow figures that leaves a plethora of story to be explored by players. Since spectres can be any race you could make your spectre any alien or human you want. You answer to no one, get things done how ever you see fit. For me the overall story arc dosent have to be epic, I like to feel like every battle or decision is epic in itself because I am the one that made that tough choice. Twisting galactic politics at gun point, diverting resources from reconstruction efforts to aid krogan resurgance the possibilites are endless. I would love to play my own style of spectre in this universe.
My idea is that either shepard, if he survives, or ash or kaiden, accidently go back in time with liara and javik. they end up in Ilos during the prothean harvest. They meet Ksad Ishan the prothean who created Vigil and whos personality Vigis is soposedly based. They also meet the other 15 or so other prothiens on the project and end up going with them to the citadel to reprogram the keepers, but the keepers attack them. In the end shepard, or whoever, succesfully reprogams them and finds a way back the proper time. But brings the otherwise doomed scientists with them to the future, so the prothean race can live on. Javik get married. Shepard and Liara have brainsex. The End.
A prequel which doesn't have multiple endings- it has multiple stories. Depending on your choices, your end character either becomes David Anderson or The Illusive Man (there would need to be a fairly smooth change to the new identity from your original character. Maybe evil character is disfigured being all evil and Cerberus helps him, or something like that). I thought maybe more options but there aren't that many characters that would work that you would be emotionally attached to. Maybe a better game for after the next series, if there were a few more older characters.
An alternative reality where the reapers do not exist/are defeated by the Protheans in a pyrrhic war which wipes them both out. The game takes place at the same time, possibly features shepard in some form, but shows more of the Galaxy's governments, civilizations, races and conflicts without being overshadowed/limited by massive destruction (past or imminent), loose ends or constricted timescale. 89.241.228.4 11:50, November 20, 2013 (UTC)
Personally I feel like ME3 ended all too suddenly (and strangely). I found myself emotionally impacted by what is largely a beautiful trilogy, it has it's flaws, the ending being one of the commonly cited ones, but what creative item doesn't have something that someone doesn't like? Personally, the first time I played through the ending (with the EC) I was really impressed by the creativity of the narrative and the gravity of what was happening in front of me. It was only later when I went back to look at the logic that things started to bother me: the sudden new light that the Reapers are cast in with the introduction of the Star Child, the strange choice of attire during the last 20 minutes of the game, the fact that Anderson is on the Citadel when Hackett clearly states that "She made it onto the Citadel", not both of them. The general weirdness that ensues after being hit by the Reaper, to me, begs for something, especially after doing a little research and learning about the Indoctrination Theory. Now, I know that Bioware would like nothing better than to just be done with all the suspicion and scrutiny and be able to move on without any further explanation of themselves.. But, I think it would behoove Bioware to use "Mass Effect 4" as an opportunity to connect Shepard's universe to whatever they choose to do afterwards, and as a further chance to give any additional clarity to their intention regarding the closing of the trilogy, without having to feel rushed and harassed by the community. To depart completely, without attempting to help their fans understand what has happened, and how it will affect the future, with the name Shepard never mentioned again, would feel cruel really.
There are some really good concepts out there for the direction a ME4 could take, the majority of which involve exploring some of the earlier wars in the history of the ME galaxy, i.e. the Rachni Wars, the Krogan Rebellions and so forth. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see those area's explored. Eventually. But right now, I personally find that I desperately want some context as to what happened to these beloved characters that I've just spent 60+ hours with. Some of the key fixtures, like Garrus, Liara, Tali, Thane, Jack, I've really grown attached to, and to see them disappear without a trace would disappoint me, regardless of whether or not Shepard necessarily accompanies them.
What I would love to see happen is the ability to import a ME3 save to set the state of the galaxy based on your choices (Yes, Bioware, I am requesting that you shoulder the burden and continue the madness of writing a next generation to the Mass Effect story tree. I know it's not what you wanted, you wanted to cut all ties and start fresh and not have to worry that everything lined up historically, but bear with me for one more game. ONE MORE!). Then, a short prologue, or cutscene even, that would center around the final moments of ME3, and finally acknowledge the indoctrination theory one way or the other, followed by a proclamation that it is now 50 or however many years later. The main premise of the story would be that you, the player, can be any number of the known species, and, optionally, are the child of any one of the pairings that occurred in the main trilogy, i.e. Garrus/Tali, or whoever Shep was with in an imported ME3 career. The actual story would revolve around their endeavor to repair and bring peace to a shattered, desperate galaxy. Assuming Shepard, or whoever your parent figures are, survive, you might have the added side story of some parent/child bonding moments, as well as a major rallying figure to help you keep the core of what is left of the galaxy together and unified. The gameplay could consist of just about anything, what I would be curious to see is: a, possibly several, new, invasive species that creep in during the brief dark age following the innoperability of the relays. In your endeavors to recolonize worlds, you discover that a previously unknown, reclusive species has very rapidly invaded, and taken up residence in the ruins of many of the major sites of conflict in the galaxy that you know. This could all culminate in, ironically, either destroying them, or attempting to make peace with the new race and induct them into your ranks, effectively solidifying the return of familiar organic life to the milky way, potentially inviting further exploration beyond the border of the unknown with the aid of your new allies.
After thinking about it fairly extensively, a prequel, particularly now, immediately after ME3 would feel really cheesy, because we already know the outcome, it would leave very little room for interpretation if it were to stay respectful of the lore in the trilogy. I could see many of these prequel idea's as smaller games, almost like large, expositional DLC's, but I feel strongly that a "Mass Effect 4" level installment would need to bring some closure to the events of the trilogy, and gain a foothold and ease the transition for future titles. There are also a multitude of standalone idea's that would work great as a completely different genre of game, such as a mystery/horror title about the keeper's on the citadel going berserk and trying to kill everyone and you have to find out why and try to stop it (almost amnesia-like), or an fps type experience as a C-sec cop. You could even do like a tower defense type game where the galaxy is the map and the planets are your towers, I don't know. Or hell, maybe all these could be mini-games within the main title.
Obviously, it would be more technically challenging to create a diverse story that would respond to the outcome of the trilogy (not to mention the time necessary to voice a main character of multiple different races), but I think it would be a great gesture to the fans, and to Bioware's development team themselves, to take a quick look back to explore what the endings meant and how they impact future events and familiar characters, while still allowing plenty of room for new content, and for moving forward in the tapestry of the ME universe, both in terms of lore, and gameplay.
Anyway, that's my take. Honestly, whatever they do, I trust Bioware to make something cool. I just hope they find a way to bridge the gap somehow and don't cut Shepard and all his/her companions out of the loop permanently. I miss those buggers, and as much as I'm excited for new content and a fresh direction, I hope they pay proper homage to the old and take pride in the beautiful universe that they've already created. (someone)
Three sentences.
- Shepard.
- A city upon a hill.
- DEUS. ****ING. EX.
March 4th 2014, 18:14 GMT
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march 18 of 2014:
maybe its too late for ideas, but, i got a cool idea, a spin-off, it wont be the same, but its something it ocurred to me while thinking:
you are a human, the customizable protagonist, which lives in the streets of Omega, and you have as a second character, your best friend, which every good or bad person, he is cruel and hits them, bad like Zaeed or Trevor Phillips from GTA V, anyway, both end up being workers from Aria, and help smuggling cargos to Omega, (all of this happens during Mass Effet 2), she will give you a ship (although smaller than the Normandy) and a crew, which consists of characters that you couldnt been able to play before, like a batarian, or a vorcha, or maybe another asari, and/or another drell, and i was thinking, like a character that have seen Shepard, and only interacted very little, like john Wittson (if he died in Mass Effect 2, it could be like his brother or something) and got hired to work as a team to smuggle. you can travel to places like Citadel or planets with gangs, which some of them will fight to not pay the cargo, maybe fight with collectors too. this could help too: during that time, you will make friends with most of your team and some guards of Aria, and during the dropout of some cargo in a planet, you encounter some prothean thing, and instead of giving it to Aria, you decide to keep it, she knows, and doom all your team to death, since one does not simply "f°ck with Aria", and you need to hide and fight her assassins and mercenaries, probably ending up with a tough choice of leaving a friend to die or one sacrificing so the others could escape. later they will change identities so they wont be recognized by ex C-sec guy, (forgot the name), and try to make a normal life in the lower dens of the citadel.
this could open to sequels since Aria later goes to the citadel, and compromise you and your team, so you go and join an association like the Alliance to escape, and during one of the missions, you could inadvertedly help Sheparde during and/or before the Reaper invasion, and can even met him in a small way when he was relieved from duty......
thats it, kind of weird spin-off, and with many holes to fill, but, if you get the idea, that spin off of burglars, thieves and smugglers could be awesome
"dg"
A prequel would give the writers more freedom while a sequel would be hard as the endings in ME3 make it hard to make a sequel out of as they are unique and affect the galaxy differently. If they do make ME4 i highly doubt that it will be about Shepard as all but one ending in ME3 results in shepards 'death' while pre-ME1 shepards only well known achievement was whatever physcological profile you chose --58.109.42.214 05:48, March 19, 2014 (UTC)
- From what I understand, a prequel would be just as hard.--Mike Gilbert 11:58, March 19, 2014 (UTC).
In a sequel for Mass Effect 4, supposing Shepard chose tbe Destroy ending, and supposedly is interested in the justness of the choice, Shepard is brought back to life (like in Mass Effect 2) and thinks over whether to bring EDI and the Geth back by reactivating them. This initiates an entire acrimonius debate in galactic society over reactivating AI who had helped Shepherd. Also, an interesting parallel plot can be the return of humanoid aliens who had seeded the homeworlds of Humans, Asari, Turian, Krogan, Salarian and other humanoid civilisations some cycles ago with humanoid hybrids. Contact with such an advanced civilisation would also be interesting.