Mass Effect Andromeda Characters

[Reeve]

http://www.polygon.com/e3/2016/6/14/...review-e3-2016

The Dev Team seems to be indicating that the new set of characters in Andromeda will be younger, untested. That they will undergo a hero's journey, from nothing to hero.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it could be fun to see how a character develops over time. On the other hand, I'm really concerned that they'll make the characters emo self conscious second guessing obnoxious twits. Nothing I hate more than whiny characters who are spending all their time sort of figuring it out as they go along, like insecure teenagers.

Some of my favorite gaming characters lately have been Commander Shepard and Geralt of Rivia, both of whom are adults with their own accomplishments under their belts, secure in who they are. Sure, they aren't perfect, they absolutely make mistakes. They have personal tragedies and triumphs. But they don't spend a bunch of time worrying about what other people are going to think about them, or figuring out if what they're doing is the right thing or not. They act (based on the player's decisions), and then they deal with the consequences. That's a much more engaging character to me.

The contrast to that is in FFXIII, where Snow spends the whole first part of the game boasting about how much of a hero he is (very immature and self centered), while Hope spends the whole first part of the game seething with misplaced but impotent rage. Both of these things are the least likeable traits of teenagers, and I can't imagine why people would want to roleplay those attributes.

Anyway, the game's not out, we don't know much, but I'm a little concerned by what I see. It's quite possible I'm reading way too much into it. What does everyone else think makes for good and bad characters?

[Gib Lover]

As long as that horrid looking Asari isn't one of the main characters, I don't care who the cast is.
tbh I think the new femshep is kinda a QT, but I will probably go male again.

Also, Snow is great, Hope is trash like you said. I agree overall though, I like playing an experienced character more in a game like this than a green freshie.

[Slaughty8]

This is great to hear, as we can simply shape their journey by ourselves and feel them much better, shaping their hero story and personality. Better immersion, I am happy.

[May90]

I think the best is the mix of both. Like in Mass Effect, there were pro-veterans Wrex, Krios, Mordin, Javik, but also young inexperienced Tali, Liara, Grunt, Kaidan. Both can evolve and change their views still, just differently: some by figuring themselves out "from scratch", and others by rethinking their old beliefs due to new experiences.

That's what makes a really good character for me: someone who changes their mind as time goes. Stale characters never questioning their believes are tad boring - that's why I dislike most villains, like, say, Mengsk from Starcraft series, who is the same damn one-dimensional dictator once he takes over. But someone like Morrigan from Dragon Age series... I actually applauded when I was listening to the conversation between her and Flemeth in DAI - such a great character development! Or Liara, over the course of 3 games turning from an insecure self-conscious science nerd into a boss lady managing one of the most powerful rogue organizations in the galaxy, while still retaining her compassion and innocent charm.

So far I haven't seen a game from Bioware in which they wouldn't deliver with the characters; maybe except for SWTOR, but that is an MMO. So, I am 100% confident that the characters in MEA will be as awesome as ever.

[TheMediator]

The bigger problem I see is that if your squad is a bunch of rookies, that doesn't leave a lot of room to build up their backstories over time. Think about your buddies Garrus and Tali for instance. They each had a somewhat long history before running into you, which you learn about over multiple games (not to mention comics/books). You can't do that if a character hasn't time to develop a backstory, unless you're delving into each character's childhood angst which doesn't sound appealing in the slightest.

Loyalty missions / companion quests are some of my favorite content in these types of games (Shadowrun: Dragonfall had some excellent loyalty missions for instance) and I'm scared they might not as fleshed out as they could be because you've got a bunch of rookies who have been in cryosleep for hundreds of years so they don't exactly have relevant histories to delve into.

[May90]

The bigger problem I see is that if your squad is a bunch of rookies, that doesn't leave a lot of room to build up their backstories over time. Think about your buddies Garrus and Tali for instance. They each had a somewhat long history before running into you, which you learn about over multiple games (not to mention comics/books). You can't do that if a character hasn't time to develop a backstory, unless you're delving into each character's childhood angst which doesn't sound appealing in the slightest.

Loyalty missions / companion quests are some of my favorite content in these types of games (Shadowrun: Dragonfall had some excellent loyalty missions for instance) and I'm scared they might not as fleshed out as they could be because you've got a bunch of rookies who have been in cryosleep for hundreds of years so they don't exactly have relevant histories to delve into.

Tali, when you meet her, hasn't had much in her life going on yet, she just was a girl growing in an Admiral's family who went on pilgrimage. A lot of similar backstories could be in the new game, especially given that all starting characters were born in Milky Way, so there is a lot of ways to build their backstories without limiting the ways they can be developed.

[TheMediator]

Tali, when you meet her, hasn't had much in her life going on yet, she just was a girl growing in an Admiral's family who went on pilgrimage. A lot of similar backstories could be in the new game, especially given that all starting characters were born in Milky Way, so there is a lot of ways to build their backstories without limiting the ways they can be developed.

Tali has some personal involvement with the whole Geth business even before she joins you. Which, mentioning that - we're leaving behind a lot of history behind, so it isn't like the character loyalty missions can tie into or flesh out the history of the world, like how Grunt's mission fleshed out Krogan society/history.

I'm just having a hard time figuring out how the loyalty missions will work when everything is fresh. The Shepard trilogy approach where the "scene" had already been established and you're learning about this history as you experience the game isn't really there, unless they've really undersold how involved the new races will be with our journey and our squad.

[May90]

Tali has some personal involvement with the whole Geth business even before she joins you. Which, mentioning that - we're leaving behind a lot of history behind, so it isn't like the character loyalty missions can tie into or flesh out the history of the world, like how Grunt's mission fleshed out Krogan society/history.

I'm just having a hard time figuring out how the loyalty missions will work when everything is fresh. The Shepard trilogy approach where the "scene" had already been established and you're learning about this history as you experience the game isn't really there, unless they've really undersold how involved the new races will be with our journey and our squad.

Ah, I see your point... Indeed, it will be tricky. And it is not just that they are young fresh characters, it is also that they are in a completely new galaxy, having left all their skeletons in the closet back in Milky Way. We will see how Bioware guys sort it out!

[Reeve]

Tali has some personal involvement with the whole Geth business even before she joins you. Which, mentioning that - we're leaving behind a lot of history behind, so it isn't like the character loyalty missions can tie into or flesh out the history of the world, like how Grunt's mission fleshed out Krogan society/history.

I'm just having a hard time figuring out how the loyalty missions will work when everything is fresh. The Shepard trilogy approach where the "scene" had already been established and you're learning about this history as you experience the game isn't really there, unless they've really undersold how involved the new races will be with our journey and our squad.

Yeah I can agree with all of that. I hope they figure out how to do it well.

[May90]

One thing they could do is to make all the core characters tightly involved in the matters in Andromeda not concerning the protagonist directly. An example of how it can be done is Aveline quests in Dragon Age 2, where she is awkwardly trying to woo a guard she likes, and in the end succeeds. So, suppose, an Asari companion might get involved with another crew member, or with someone from the new species; a Krogan companion might be trying to cure his genophage by using the alien technology; a Salarian companion could be interested in some scientific project in collaboration with the new species, for which he needs the protagonist to perform some negotiations and to obtain rare materials on one of the planets...

There are many ways to make the new companions memorable and original. And as long as Bioware keeps the level of character interaction they have always excelled at, I think they will succeed at that.

[Selah]

I suspect the reason they are doing this is two fold. The first one being that your are there to help mold your characters into more unique individuals. Regardless of how you played Shep, male or female, paragon or renegade, Kaiden or Ashley, there was always a kind of established attitude and train of thought for Shep.

The second reason is because being as young as they are, we can be there for the whole journey of these people which should, if done right, cause us to be much more bonded and attached to these characters.

Regardless though, I do trust Bioware to allow me a certain amount of control over my character, enough so that I can enjoy the experience with them at least.

[Halicia]

There are many ways to make the new companions memorable and original. And as long as Bioware keeps the level of character interaction they have always excelled at, I think they will succeed at that.

So long as they include new aliens singing showtunes, they can !@#$ the rest of the game up for all I care.