BioWare Montreal hasn’t acquitted itself well in the eyes of Mass Effect fans so far. The studio is responsible Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer as well as the recent downloadable story expansion Mass Effect 3: Omega, which disappointed particularly because it was billed as story centric but was ultimately more focused on combat. BioWare Edmonton, the company’s flagship studio and masterminds of the core Mass Effect games, are aiming to make the next major single player expansion to Mass Effect 3 the story-centric content Omega was advertised as.
Designer Jos Hendriks confirmed that BioWare’s full writing staff is working on the next downloadbale expansion. “It’s all hands on deck for this one,” said Handriks on BioWare’s foums, “Pretty much ever Mass Effect DLC writer here in Edmonton is involved. If my math skills are corrent [that’s] eight.”
The writers of previous Mass Effect entries aren’t the only alumni making new content for the game. New voice work is being recorded as well, with Kaidan Alenko actor Raphael Sbarge back and Seth Green returning as Normandy pilot Joker. “@SethGreen Thank you for yet another fantastic session,” said BioWare producer Caroline Livingstone on Twitter.
Composer Sascha Dikiciyan also confirmed to Eurogamer that she and composer Chris Velasko are making “more” new music than usual for new DLC. Lead composer Sam Hulick also discussed his work on the new expansion on Twitter this week. “What I’m up to lately: working on an unannounced Mass Effect 3 DLC!” said the composer on Tuesday, “More details on this coming later on. Tossing in piano and muted strings for this one particular piece. High potential for tears.”
It’s hard to judge what shape the new content will take. While BioWare has released content like Mass Effect 3: The Extended Cut to try and mollify fans dissatisfied with the game’s controversial ending, they did not record new voice work to flesh out that content at the time, meaning what was released had already been prepared. New voice work is a promising sign, but it doesn’t appear now that there will be new voice work from Commander Shepherd, meaning that even if the new content is substantial, it won’t expand players’ existing characters.
BioWare Montreal may not be working on the next single player expansion to Mass Effect 3 but it is working on the next sequel, Mass Effect 4. It’s unknown if that game will be a prequel or a proper sequel to the series.
Source: Eurogamer
