So, if you follow my posts in response to news on Mass Effect games, you might know that I essentially consider it to be a game about talking to people and people-like alien entities in space with some shooty bits to waste my time in between. You might also be a stalker and/or Sam. Hey Sam how are you?
Now while I say this in a hollow attempt to be funny, it isn't far from the truth. I didn't like the combat in either installment of the series, but loved the game anyway because of the way it handled conversations. Sure, it's not the most awesome chatting simulator in the galaxy, but that was the part that stuck the most with me. As far as I'm concerned, the final ME might have CoD style twitch gameplay or have turn-based combat, and I wouldn't care as long as I still got to chat to people.
That got me wondering... am I the only one who would enjoy a game that was entirely about talking to people in space? There aren't many games exclusively about that - even adventure games that have a lot of talking are more about finding items - so I think it could be an interest take.
Also, it wouldn't be just Mass Effect in which the action bits are replaced by your character showing up and saying 'boy sure it just was a terribly exciting gunfight that one we just were in, eh chaps?'. The game would be entirely about talking, so it would be geared towards it. Here's how I see it:
- OK, it's not an actual Mass Effect game, but it's on a similar setting - you're a leading figure for humanity in a sci-fi Star Trek style world in which mankind are the new kids on the block and are being evaluated for entry in the big space boys club. Only you're a diplomat (or a hustler?) going to places and talking to people instead of shooting them in the face and punching them also in the face. (Or it could be another ME game, if it helps you imagine how it'd go.)
- Instead of the dual Paragon/Renegade thing, it would have a bunch of measurements to your character. Like, maybe there would be a Honest/Rogue meter for how well s/he follows rules, a Likeable/Demanding meter for whether s/he is nice to people or just shouts at them, a Funny/Strict meter to see how much s/he likes jokes, etc. Like in ME, each would grow independently, but unlike ME, only to a point - let's say your value in two opposing meters can't be higher than 100, so if you're 20 Honest/10 Rogue you can get a lot of Honest points without problem, but if you're at 40 Honest / 10 Rogue every point you gain to Honest will subtract one from Rogue.
- Having very high values in a meter would allow for different, more beneficial interactions, but would also forbid other interactions. For instance, suppose there's a situation in which a high ranking Hxhsdxbhshdbxb'nkjnian diplomat is hit on the face with a pie. There would be a lot of option on how to deal with the perpretrators, but if you had a high level of Strict you wouldn't be able to completely forgive them, and if you had a high level of Funny you wouldn't be able to seriously punish them. This means increasing your levels isn't a given, and playing a second time would give you a radically different experience.
- You wouldn't have different party members, but you could maybe get people into your crew, and people in your crew might give you better options. For instance, maybe getting a xenobiologist might help you talk to an alien doctor on the same level, or getting a space lawyer would help you talk your way out of police activity.
- And of course you would still be able to pork your crew members, giving you beatiful views of space furniture.
So... would this game interest you at all?
Now while I say this in a hollow attempt to be funny, it isn't far from the truth. I didn't like the combat in either installment of the series, but loved the game anyway because of the way it handled conversations. Sure, it's not the most awesome chatting simulator in the galaxy, but that was the part that stuck the most with me. As far as I'm concerned, the final ME might have CoD style twitch gameplay or have turn-based combat, and I wouldn't care as long as I still got to chat to people.
That got me wondering... am I the only one who would enjoy a game that was entirely about talking to people in space? There aren't many games exclusively about that - even adventure games that have a lot of talking are more about finding items - so I think it could be an interest take.
Also, it wouldn't be just Mass Effect in which the action bits are replaced by your character showing up and saying 'boy sure it just was a terribly exciting gunfight that one we just were in, eh chaps?'. The game would be entirely about talking, so it would be geared towards it. Here's how I see it:
- OK, it's not an actual Mass Effect game, but it's on a similar setting - you're a leading figure for humanity in a sci-fi Star Trek style world in which mankind are the new kids on the block and are being evaluated for entry in the big space boys club. Only you're a diplomat (or a hustler?) going to places and talking to people instead of shooting them in the face and punching them also in the face. (Or it could be another ME game, if it helps you imagine how it'd go.)
- Instead of the dual Paragon/Renegade thing, it would have a bunch of measurements to your character. Like, maybe there would be a Honest/Rogue meter for how well s/he follows rules, a Likeable/Demanding meter for whether s/he is nice to people or just shouts at them, a Funny/Strict meter to see how much s/he likes jokes, etc. Like in ME, each would grow independently, but unlike ME, only to a point - let's say your value in two opposing meters can't be higher than 100, so if you're 20 Honest/10 Rogue you can get a lot of Honest points without problem, but if you're at 40 Honest / 10 Rogue every point you gain to Honest will subtract one from Rogue.
- Having very high values in a meter would allow for different, more beneficial interactions, but would also forbid other interactions. For instance, suppose there's a situation in which a high ranking Hxhsdxbhshdbxb'nkjnian diplomat is hit on the face with a pie. There would be a lot of option on how to deal with the perpretrators, but if you had a high level of Strict you wouldn't be able to completely forgive them, and if you had a high level of Funny you wouldn't be able to seriously punish them. This means increasing your levels isn't a given, and playing a second time would give you a radically different experience.
- You wouldn't have different party members, but you could maybe get people into your crew, and people in your crew might give you better options. For instance, maybe getting a xenobiologist might help you talk to an alien doctor on the same level, or getting a space lawyer would help you talk your way out of police activity.
- And of course you would still be able to pork your crew members, giving you beatiful views of space furniture.
So... would this game interest you at all?
