Mass Effect 2 Interview
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SPOnG: There's been a lot of discussion about deep storylines and cinematics in games, particularly RPGs as they are arguably the most story-heavy games out there. How do you guys make the balance between providing a great gameplay experience and telling a story through Hollywood-style plotlines?
Ray Muzyka: That's a good question. It's almost the difference between linear storytelling and non-linear storytelling. It's actually tough to make the leap from linear to non-linear, because you have to allow the player to make a choice, and you have to show the consequences of the choice.
Because in games like Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic we offer players a lot of choice - more than what we've done in our past games - it makes threading those stories together, and making those choice elements feel like they have credible consequences, pretty challenging.
But you plan it all out, account for different story paths, accommodate different styles of play, think about players bringing squadmates to help in missions and how that can impact the story path... We look at non-playable characters (NPCs) as a big part of method of storytelling. They're like the lens through which you see the world and the mirror for your actions. So we really make a point of reflecting those consequences back at you through NPCs and make you aware of the emotional intensity that comes with making your decisions.
Having said that, there are many ways to tell a great story. The environment can tell a story, for example a game like BioShock has a different style of storytelling to a BioWare game. And I think it's a great example of telling a story, and we're actually looking to bring some of those elements from other games in that have other ways of telling BioWare stories in the future.
