This blog is directed to covering just our projects, but this subject connects to ours in multiple ways.
What I love about BioWare’s RPGs is that even though you’re forced to tell one kind of story, they use that to enhance everything else. The player has the choice to take on a personality in every conversation option they have. This is a technique that I adore as a player and I endeavoured to implement that with our mods.
The three personalities are three personality archetypes. Friendly/nice/naive/good for #1. Sassy/teasing/funny/witty for #2. Aggressive/blunt/warrior-like/mean for #3.
For an example, and a spoiler you lucky duck, here’s an excerpt from SRM 3.0’s new script:
Bishop: It isn’t something I’d have imagined you in but no one could keep their eyes off you. Including my own.
1) DB: Thank you, you didn’t look so bad yourself!
2) DB: I could wear a sack and you’d still stare.
3) DB: That was my intention.
1) Bishop: Don’t expect to see me like that again, ladyship, but for the look on your face it was worth it.
2) Bishop: *chuckles* Well, I can’t deny that’s true. If it ever comes down to a sack, go without it. It would only get in the way of me covering you instead.
3) Bishop: Why am I not surprised? But you and I both know you don’t need their finery and half-assed compliments to command attention.
The other aspect of BioWare’s games that I feel Bethesda try and fail to do, is express life beyond what the player sees in short bursts by briefly interacting with other people in that world and momentarily seeing into their lives, views, and personalities. In Bethesda’s open worlds you can go back to them and have your immersion broken because you see that they do nothing after you’re done with them. In BioWare’s games they move on when you do and they either advance and change, or disappear as they’re off living their lives.
What I only just became aware of is that with Dragon Age: Inquisition, BioWare held a competition for any voice actor to audition for one of these NPC parts. Now they have launched a competition for two roles in the game I cannot wait for more than anything else; Mass Effect: Andromeda.
The point of this post? Bishop’s voice actor, River Kanoff, has auditioned for those parts and he asked me to tell him what to do in his earbuds for half an hour as he absolutely nailed it.
The new mods wouldn’t be being written the way they are without Mass Effect, and they wouldn’t sound the way they are without this sentient set of vocal chords!
So go and give him a share, a comment, a like, a blink, a calibration, whatever you see fit to spread the word and make sure BioWare see it!
We’ll all love you for it!