The Legacy of Mass Effect 3

this video was made possible by our supporters on patreon we are now in a in a world in which no place on Earth is more than a few hours from any other place where no one on Earth really need be ignorant of what is happening anywhere else on Earth so that we have the physical we have the physical capacity to be a truly single world what is needed now is getting rid of our habits of thought that take back to the time when Every Little Valley on Earth was far removed from every neighboring Valley now this is difficult to do it may represent in fact the greatest problem facing Humanity a century from now we have the physical capacity to do so we need the heart to do so how one can tame the human heart is beyond me except that I think that we have two Alternatives by a century from now the human heart will be tamed to the extent of facing the problems of the world or else we will have destroyed ourselves sufficiently so that this entire discussion here means nothing time and time again Commander Shepard has delayed the inevitable [Music] the battle of the Citadel the suicide mission and the destruction of the alpha relay foreign [Music] at the cost of 300 000 batarian lives at the cost of Alliance Pilots a galactic Council and some of the bravest Fighters the Galaxy had ever seen [Applause] [Music] a toll hasn't been easy not for Shepard and certainly not for BioWare Even after spending six years building all the tools and Technology they would ever need for another Mass Effect game it wouldn't quite prepare Casey Hudson and his team at BioWare Edmonton for what they do next take one of the most beautifully realized sci-fi universes ever envisioned for the gaming medium and burn it all to the ground a true Armageddon despite every sacrifice we've made as Shepherd to secure Humanity's Place Among the Stars why because the reapers are coming the all-powerful all-knowing Eldritch beings tease to us in Mass Effect 1 and 2 are about to arrive we don't know the day or the hour only that when they do they will take everything Shepherd welcome to Mass Effect 3. to your long-awaited all-out war with the Reapers picks off with a bang might be an understatement right out the gate buyer makes it clear you are an ant running from a boot running through the sandbox of ghastly Titans too helpless to do anything other than watch the wasting away of humanity in real time Rob like sound design rattles your bones while Michael trottier's environment team whip Shepherd from steel beams to makeshift trenches combined their work fills the sky with obliteration one of the most unforgettable openings a video game has ever had and a Surefire promise of the exact kind of end that lies ahead despite the council repeatedly and willfully ignoring Shepherds every warning about the Reapers the precious time the Galaxy no longer has to prepare and the incalcable slaughter of life that will surely ensue there's still hope fleeting hope in the form of a choice one that will need to be made by each and every being in the Milky Way and one we will be making for ourselves over and over again stand together or stand alone that's it that's our plan to defeat an unimaginably powerful foe that's inherently defies defeating it will take an equally unimaginable Force the unity of all organic life in the Milky Way Our Shepherd may know what it takes to Rally a group of disparate Warriors after Mass Effect 2. but can we take what we've learned and unite the hearts of different cultures and races across the galaxy in the same way can we make the right choices achieve the right outcomes place our faith in the right people and still retain our values and can we do it before time Runs Out this won't just be a fight to save the Galaxy but a fight to save the future personified as a child of the next generation without hope and without a chance to survive foreign had already achieved wonders with Mass Effect 1 and 2. but the climactic story they were now poised to tell presented the greatest challenge their Studio might ever face to fulfill their Vision if a fill their dreams and deliver the rightful end to a groundbreaking Trilogy then and only then might their work become legendary with the largest budget for any project in BIO or history an exemplary team of over 600 experienced game developers and a worthy marketing campaign to boot EA had but one request make Mass Effect 3 and make it fast for the future of Shepherd's Galaxy and the future of buyer themselves would depend on it this is the legacy of Mass Effect 3. [Music] while the bulk of bi were Edmonton's Mass Effect team and Byron Montreal worked on the overlord Lair of the Shadow broker and arrival DLCs for Mass Effect 2 over the year following its January 2010 release Project Director Casey Hudson lead designer Preston watamanic lead writer Mack Walters and other core members of the team rolled right into pre-production on Mass Effect 3. pitching The Story characters art and gameplay that would come to Define The Intergalactic Ambitions of their next title to not only deliver a galaxy-wide war that could live up to its name or to allow players to pursue conclusions to arcs relationships and threads they had been weaving since the first game but to build it all in just two years by holiday 2011 prompted by the success of Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age Origins that led EA to fast-track the development of both series sequels a game of Three's Ambitions should have seemed too daunting to take on if it weren't that BioWare also had no time to consider that for the ethos of Mass Effect 3's development and the ethos of the players fight against the Reapers would be summed up by three burning words do or die buyer had been finding Creative Solutions to expensive problems since before Mass Effect one three would be no exception the game's 40 million dollar budget and 600 person team was still only half the team in budgets of other AAA titles like Uncharted 3 Assassin's Creed 3 and Halo 4. and after the Dual reinvention of bioware's workflow and the Mass Effect series itself with two there was little sense in doing that again so instead Iowa took every dial they had and twisted them to 11. Mass Effect 3 everything is about urgency Tech and biotic power is practically fire off at light speed going in and out of cover is tighter aiming is snappier enemies are faster though never quite as fast as Mass Effect 1 krogan's mind you and enemy encounters are more frequent and aggressive against the likes of husks Harvesters and Geth but also newly reaperized Marauders fruits and banshees the the fast-paced episodic style missions of two are built upon in three but now they move even faster puzzles are essentially non-existent as if there's no time to solve them if and when the player finds something useful it'll never take longer than a second to grab and even in cutscenes the dialogue wheel is split between just two options for the majority of Mass Effect 3 reflecting the decisive urgency of saving the Galaxy while of course allowing BioWare to sensibly write record and consider the outcomes of far less dialogue so are you guys just making this up or what up of course not a writer wrote it it's the same vein veins have truly ever managed to feel big in the way that Mass Effect 3 does have ever made the Skybox so vital to the storytelling as it is on the moon of palaven have ever made cut scenes with as much an emphasis on scale and depth as accordion gets space Skirmish or have ever managed to mix a Sci-Fi soundscape as Dynamic and evocative as what you hear in Mass Effect free few developers have ever managed scale of this magnitude as creatively as Walters writing team while Biore can't tangibly depict every battle line in the Milky Way they can paint a picture through the citadel's omnipresent news reports a citadel that will grow exponentially more populated with anxious citizens soldiers refugees and politicians as the reaper War progresses all while BioWare somehow finds the time to hone in on new ideas new themes and new characters brought to life by the formidable editions of Freddie Prince Jr Matthew Del Negro Alex Reagan Laura Bailey Troy Baker and even a cameo by the Buzz Aldrin it all happened so very long ago two of the most sudden conveniently timed plot points in the whole series The gethquarian War and the hidden purpose of the Citadel are cleverly sold to the player by their companions by our biggest touchstones too the Mass Effect Universe crazy that they pick now to start a fight but I guess the end of life is we know it can make everybody a little local just a little not everybody's as crazy as you man while an ancient device capable of destroying the Reapers something Shepard should have been told about years ago yet didn't truly exist until the writing of Mass Effect 3 is pivotally used to set Shepard's entire campaign into motion a battle not just against the Reapers but against the all too familiar doubt distrust and hubris that possess the foe leaders of the Milky Way from revealing The Greatest Secret of the Mars archive The Crucible a weapon massive in size and scope that's capable of unquantifiable levels of Destruction handed down from one cycle to the next The Untold lethality packed into The Crucible might be the only gun in the Milky Way big enough to be pointed at the Reapers no one knows exactly what it does but as Admiral Hackett says the Reapers have forced your hand it's do or die find me people who can help build it and if you can't I'll take ships soldiers supplies whatever you can get buy us time to figure out the device Shepard's Breakneck mission to save the Galaxy will not only task you to produce fleets and armies to take on the Reapers but the people and resources to construct The Crucible Engineers scientists your former Companions and damn near every Chloe Michelle barlavon gray cure he or Septimus at Arm's Reach the greatest Minds the galaxy has to offer also mated by the war assets table on the Normandy tracking the total strength of Shepard's Intergalactic Alliance anyone who doesn't quite make the cut makes its way into Shepard's inbox where you'll read Tales of Bravery tragedy and sacrifice as you whip hither and fro across the Galaxy into war-torn cities besieged outposts and the deadly crosshairs of Reaper destroyers and three's heart-pounding planet-wide set pieces when the time comes assuming it comes Shepard's Alliance will unleash The Crucible and retake Earth [Applause] but for every call to action comes an equally intractable refusal despite the greatness of humanity our determination ability to inspire or willingness to sacrifice there is also arrogance selfishness and the aspiration to control Shepherd whatever shred of Doubt there was to cerberus's True AIMS in Mass Effect 2 is next to non-existent in three as The elusive man descends into full-blown villainy vexed by Shepherd's Defiance and two The elusive man doubles down on his campaign of control and three brainwashing his soldiers into submission sabotaging vital Alliance operations and subverting technology for his devious schemes undaunted by the Reapers even in the slightest he doggedly believes that Humanity alone is bigger than the Reapers that they too can be controlled use their power harness their very essence to bring Humanity to the Apex of evolution you've gone too far the Reapers will kill us all if we don't stop fighting each other even in its Darkest Hour Humanity's infighting only vindicates sovereign's claims all the way back on vermeier it should embolden Shepherd and it will but not before giving pause while Cerberus is prepared to disavow every moral every ethical boundary and dishonor every sacrifice imaginable to conquer a vastly superior foe can we say we're willing to do the same we'll adherence to our values and honor for the dead not give us an edge over our opponent but put us Instead at a significant disadvantage could that cost us everything it's easy to say no when it's to the face of mass effect's equivalent of Ember Palpatine but when it's to the living Legacy of the protheans goddess the answer is not so simple [Music] born in bred to wage war on the Reapers of his cycle jovik suffered every crushing blow every costly mistake the proteins ever made in their 11th hour if honor or morality had any meaning to him then there is worthless as the dirt to him now in his eyes victory at any cost is all that still matters stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if honor matters silence is your answer javec is one of Mass Effect 3's greatest highlights an unrelenting critic for a majority Paragon player base like the antithesis to the open-minded Liara he'll rally against almost any show of Mercy any careless Act of trust and not doing more to force the hand of those more capable the shepherd's dismay his disapproval is not unfounded by sparing her in Mass Effect 1 the rachni queen becomes a powerful Pawn of the Reapers in three by not being more assertive with the vermeier Survivor on Mars over our cut ties with Cerberus we may have no choice but to gun them down later on and for standing by while a self-interested council ignored you're pleased to join forces that may have jeopardized the fate of an entire galaxy for good an attitude that proliferates an oblivious populace on the Citadel Enchanted by the same Escape as the reality it presented in Mass Effect 1. except now that escape only serves as a massive distraction even people from Worlds that have gone down act like they're safe I guess it's not just human nature we all lie to ourselves to deal with horror Shepard may have not had a say in every outcome but the ones they will have never weighed more on the player the protheens were a supreme Empire militarily technologically and biologically Superior to every race of our cycle they had a hundred years and squandered all of it even if we do take javik's advice and bend our morals for victory what makes us different what makes us believe this war will unfold any differently than theirs did if there is a hope to the contrary it's the same hope that guided us through the suicide mission the strength of a diverse Collective exactly what the prothean Empire sorely lacked I'm happy to say our cycle is different most races cooperate but they still remain unique your only hope though Mass Effect 3 has thus far been dismally preoccupied with time failure and the end it's also been preoccupied with what lies on the other side of that end the future our Legacy and the courageous figures needed to lead us there to Shepherd us there in the face of overwhelming Devastation overwhelming fear about our insignificance in the universe Allah the cosmicism of the insect-like Reapers we may have no idea how to get there but by navigating this last leg of the Mass Effect Trilogy BioWare will Empower us to seek out the people who do and that all begins when the turian hierarchy reaches out to Shepherd for Aid halavin Burns and the turians don't have the fire extinguisher to put it out what they do have is Primark victus The Reluctant heir to palavan's throne gazing directly into the desolation of turian civilization a civilization he must now oversee victus makes a Fearless proposition we need the Krogan I can't see us winning this thing without them get them to help us and then no rational Turing would ever call him their sworn enemy for help not after hundreds of years of Bad Blood and political tension but victus is no politician and where other leaders would see red tape victus sees the path forward the chance for their people to make a different Choice a crazy choice but it might just work I think you can win this thing Shepard yeah I don't know Garris but I'm sure as hell gonna give it my best shot [Music] the Krogan is in no position to make demands so why should I care if you turians go extinct I've already got Reaper Scouts sniffing around my own Planet Reef spare us the Bluster I'm not a diplomat and neither are you man down Hold Your Fire Amanda Shepherd restrain your colleagues never before Mass Effect 3 has an RPG let alone a video game sequel attempted to account for so many player choices from two previous Games The Companions you've lost the outcome of loyalty missions or if you did them at all your history with the vermeier Survivor the fate of minor characters like chakwas or kirhi the potential multiple characters you romanced or even your history of punching Kalisa algelani not this time new military ah three goes as far to acknowledge even the most minute of your choices from previous games such as your shepherd's origin story or the role your companions played in The Suicide Mission God's always the fence hey you did fine at the collector base I got set on fire yet no stretch of Mass Effect 3 could exemplify the impact of previous choices better than the acclaimed genophage and ranok arcs helmiled by senior writers John Don Brown and Patrick weeks respectively the Mead of Mass Effect 3 where Commander Shepard attempts to broker an alliance between the turians salarians and krogans and end a war between the gef and the quarians all in exchange for their help and stopping the Reapers this whole planet smells wrong your past choices will determine whether the krogans are led by or not rex or Reeve a benevolent ruler or an aspiring dictator whether malin's data is used to make a cure or if it will need to be made from scratch by the skin of Borden's teeth whether the former gef Heretics will bolster the guest fleets or if their destruction weakens them instead and whether Italian Legion will mend Korean Geth relations or if the less ambitious Geth VI and Admiral chalaran will in their stead all will Factor her into Mass Effect 3 where your choices will shape the fates of entire societies complicated to say the least Shepard could rally a dozen wildly Unique Individuals behind a common goal in two by intervening in their lives guiding them beyond the past and nurturing healthy compromises over embittered rivalries but to the histories of long-standing Intergalactic governments ideologically shaped from top to bottom by the Tangled past before them uncompromising bitterness is all there is while the solarian dalatras is outright appalled by the prospect of curing the genophage centuries of bad blood with the Krogan convince a sorry counselor tivos to withdraw from the war Summit altogether to the cultures they represent the past defines the present and the trajectory of the future a notion rooted in the belief that people much less entire cultures can't change for the better that the krogans will never ever move beyond their thirst for conquest and never be any less unyielding than in their demands for the genophage Cure the dalatras might have a point and you are permitted to cite in her favor as much as you might have sided against your companions in Mass Effect 2. but our mission to the solarian Homeworld of sirkesh might prove might remind us otherwise after discovering that malin's experiments on tachanka gave its surviving Krogan females immunity the solarians quietly imprisoned them in the brutal depths of their Planet much like Cerberus the Reapers and the darker side of the Galaxy Mass Effect 2 acquainted shepherd with the solarians show the player but one more instance of control a refusal to relinquish their power over the Krogan people and to believe that the distant past doesn't have to define the future another point of view we are welcome to embrace the Krogan have paid for their mistakes the genifique has gone on long enough among the Korean admiralty board and flexible attitudes run equally rampant beleaguered by an unwelcoming Galaxy a nomadic lifestyle of diminishing returns and centuries of hostility with the Geth animals darozen Han guerrell and chalaran drag the migrant Fleet into a war to reclaim the Corian Homeworld ranok an unpopular War resulting in the casualties of countless innocent quarians [Music] however warranted the Admirals warmongering might have once been it's also come at the expense of others sacrifice a breach of honor and nobility akin to what javik touted to Shepherd and yet the Koreans are not easily condemned not after the Geth committed a breach of Their Own by reaching out to the Reapers for help once again Annie and all choices ahead have been reduced to an ultimatum Do or Die in both arcs BioWare facilitates a system of Bleak possibilities wherein diplomacy feels impossible and destruction or control in whatever form they take present themselves as our only Alternatives in truth diplomacy or the closest thing to it is possible but it will be mechanically demanding and difficult to achieve reflecting the innate unlikelihood of uniting markedly divided cultures one-on-one Counseling in the captain's cabin will no longer cut it the player will need to work much harder think far more carefully if they are to avoid the not inevitable the genocide of the chorians or the Geth the prolonged depression of the krogans or the apathy of the solarians they'll need to rescue Admiral chorus and destroy the Geth Fighter Squadron on ranok they'll need to save tarquin victus's platoon and deactivate the bomb onto chunka most of all they'll need to counter the unrelenting interference of Cerberus every step of the way alternatively it might already be too late to break course especially if our previous choices have unwittingly set us up for failure as victis James and Garris will argue we might be better off boots on Palvin fighting each and every Reaper to the very last bullet then spending a second more on fragile diplomacy if I'm going to die I want to be with my men so there's no doubt we fought to the last Soul we might be better off backing the corians or the Geth than giving in to the dismally unrealistic expectation of subverting a deep-rooted Prejudice especially amidst an AI conducted organic Extinction event they serve a purpose while research aimlessly for Alice in their eyes volcanics have no reason to exist do not trust them Commander while there's no promise of success and no greater purpose toward plight than the inevitable Devastation of the Reapers there is still hope if we believe in it for if Shepherd can see these civilizations as more alike than different as flawed but Extraordinary People defined by greatness of their own then maybe they can Inspire others to see the same to look ahead rather than behind and to believe in widespread change over Everlasting descent they can't do it alone and the self-interested likes of tivos or the dalatras thus far Untouched by the reaper Invasion on thessia and Cirque won't pick the risk but maybe just maybe a new kind of leader Redeemed by the trust vested in them may have exactly what it takes to step up to the plate [Music] reporting for Duty four eyesight's still sharp surprise understandable hadn't expected to return to work Commander help us [Music] see did first row to the daring heroics of Commander Shepard in Mass Effect one and two Morden tally and Legion have been inspired to seize the Reigns of change in three where Italian Legion learned to trust each other and bear the fruits of working together Morden confronted the ugly consequences of his actions and began upon the path to atonement Morden May argue it's out of necessity his work his responsibility but what he's hesitant to admit in his fleeting Twilight solarian years is that if someone does get it wrong he may never be able to live with himself knowing his legacy will have been the prolonged depression of an entire race to tally determined to end her people's bid for self-destruction reclaiming ranok and living peacefully with the Geth is not out of the question as it is for so many quarians and nor is it for Legion the first gath to interact with an organic in centuries hope sustains Organics during periods of difficulty we admire the concept where our faith May waver our allies May shoulder the burden they may disprove The Impossible and aboard the Normandy they might literally embody the future we're fighting for is there a particular topic you wish to discuss Shepard 80 yes not a sexy robot-led future though it's not unwelcome I am right here Jeff yes you are eating yes you are but a future in which someone like Edie and AI can make the Galaxy think twice in a genre defined by the advancement of Technology where the prevalence of artificial intelligence is synonymous with the far-flung future Edie's transformation is an escalation of bioware's commentary on that future while the Reapers fan the Flames of a Galaxy's fears there is Edie and Legion not just helping us achieve our goals but dispelling those fears as Edie has evolved so curiously has her sense of identity illustrated by the gender affirming body she takes on despite the nearly unlimited data at her fingertips Edie will barrage shepherd with unlimited questions about human behavior seeking to understand and experience that defies logic and as time goes on she'll process that behavior not in a calculated manner but with the impassioned thoughts or reactions inherent to Organics but more than curiosity personality or agency we've gleaned from AIS three suggests that AI might just be capable of feeling emotions or at the very least the closest possible thing to them even fear and evolution entirely contrary to the Reaper's conviction in AI Supremacy imagine that for every one of your people lost on Earth your own intelligence debt the creators attack narrowed the death's perspective like so many of our companions Edie evolves because of the humanity that's rubbed off on her the goodness we've exemplified for her she now sees the worth in herself The elusive man never quite did and shows us the worth we might bestow to the Geth if the Koreans abandoned their prejudices with Reaper Tech lead region in the Geth could evolve beyond their borg-like hive mind and gain individuality we do not agree with the goals of the old machines but we find this growth beautiful indicative of life on the other hand we've seen the cruelty technology has enabled Organics To Carry Out in mass is giving synthetics even more of that technology bound to provoke even more chaos or Worse empower the next Reapers our fears know not but our hopes do as Edie has evolved so might we all a real Prospect of change ringing powerful and true for the gaffe as it does for the krogans you learn to appreciate the light by living in the dark [Music] we're taking fire [Music] for Primark victis to be the leader his people need and even greater Reckoning with the past is in order the undetonated bomb on tachanka the turian's countermeasure for the Krogan has been discovered by Cerberus deactivating it is not only necessary to reconcile with the krogance but to confront shortcomings the turians have long ignored for centuries the turians have prided themselves on their manipulation of the battlefield but against the overwhelming forces of the Reapers their tactics are rendered meaningless and led by tarquin and even rasher leader on the battlefield then his father is alleged to be the ninth turian platoon suffers its most disheartening defeat for the first time we've seen the turians have failed have spilled blood over feudal sacrifice but as Shepherd well knows that sacrifice can pave the way for reinvention a new Legacy for the turians defined by their determination to let all their sacrifice cases have honored we are Turing and we will not let Cerberus succeed our sacrifice is the difference between life and death for this entire galaxy let the heroes of the Knights of the Tomb be remembered for performing their duties with Graver immortalizing his son's sacrifice in the history of the ninth platoon victus as with the primarks that will surely follow him is inspired to be better needless to say I'm committed to stopping the Reapers [Music] welcome aboard for tally and the corians co-opting a peaceful future with the Geth on ranok manifests as a physical confrontation with the past inside the Tron inspired video game of Phi geospace of the Geth consensus as we blast the literal snares of Reaper infection clouding the guests Optics of the past will reveal a buried history of Cruelty the Korean people's failure to accept the Geth and the underlying fear of synthetic surpassing Organics that pervades a Galaxy under Reaper Siege but more crucially or reveal Mercy the first hope of reunification the Geth have had in centuries while we can't bring the admiralty board to see what we've seen and acknowledge their failings in the same way victus and his son did we can't allow those who have to endure joined by Admiral zal chorus a peacemaker and protector of the Korean civilian Fleet Italian Legion might change their people's trajectories with a powerful example it's time we turned our attentions to those we can still save farewell trepid fly second of course we can resist change or ground ourselves in the pragmatic present we can help the solarian dollar trans sabotage The genophage Cure and we can help animals Corral and Zen destroy the Geth prolonging the genophage isn't out of left field if the krogans are led by Reeves and allowing the Geth to further integrate with the reaper software that infected their fighter squadrons may be a foolhardy risk faced with the uncertain implications of change and the cosmic unknown so many won't discern from the Reapers Galaxy may not be ready for change [Music] but maybe they are and maybe if our exhaustive Pursuit Of Peace has shown us anything it's that nothing unites people more nothing brings people more hope in utter Darkness than the promise of a better tomorrow a future without disease a future without rivalry and a future without Reapers Hudson's team's eight years of evolving gameplay sound animation cinematics and story beyond their bounds come to a head for two climaxes of worldwide proportions where the two widest Horizons in the Mass Effect series will reflect the scope of change we might affect three games and one teeth gnashing Encounter of building up the Reapers as impossible foes all for us to finally face them in their Dreadful might you are an ant running from a boot but the ants now at your side are more than the sum of any Reaper calculation every damned gun in the Korean Fleet and the legendary Fury of the ancient kalross to back up the Krogan the Reapers just don't stand a chance LED hereby trust compromise and sacrifice the clock comes to a rare standstill a metamorphic start to a new chapter for all time foreign [Music] Commander I must go to them [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign no matter the centuries of failure before us there is a beautiful shining Triumph in Morden and Legion sacrifice leaving behind an example of greatness for a weary Galaxy to follow and what we inspired them to do will in turn Inspire and spur us onward but lest we forget this could have gone very differently Happy Endings especially for entire cultures set too far back by selfish leadership rarely manifest in reality and no matter how carefully we've considered our choices along the way we can't control the outcome not without time and not without cost [Music] I know what you you did [Music] after so many punishing choices one inevitably grows weary with uncertainty in Shepherd's unrelenting nightmares where the ghosts of a trillion dead Souls haunt The Living devoid of all the Color Imagination and form we've ascribed to the Mass Effect Universe Shepherd and the player are left with nothing but Shades of Gray despite the Valiant measures or blunt determination by which Shepard has saved countless lives on ranok and tachanka could we have saved far more elsewhere in the galaxy far more on Earth did we betray them by leaving them behind did we make do we even know the right choices have we not been fumbling in ignorance from the start dragging out our inevitable Extinction and despite the hope that the sacrifices of others have given Shepard what good is that hope If eventually there will be no future left to fight for we're going to give that are all until the very end Shepherd will give it their all but what if that's not enough what if we've already run out of time [Music] [Applause] by Mass Effect 3 biower has proven that the power to be both the player and the Storyteller the signature quality of their RPGs is never as meaningful when we literally are both roles than when we feel like both roles not just authoring the progression of the story but engaging with the invisible forces of time and Morality In our decision making the illusion of choice is not a mark against these games but a wholly necessary aspect of bioware's puppeteering that illusion may not always take on the most convincing form with characters like Paddock Wix and gefvi or orianna or not dag and Jason prangly elsewhere in the game coming off very frankly as replacements for more interesting characters who died in your suicide mission one may even argue that thematically the presence of these characters contradicts the player's impact in Mass Effect 2. that you inspired your companions to make the difference they do in three when in in actuality the difference happens regardless but in the times their illusion worked the time when music's sound and camera movement made it feel as if every last bullet would be needed to take down the reaper on ranok or when the dialogue level design and brutal combat suggested that not killing the Harvester on tachanka fast enough would result in even more casualties are a testament to the success of BioWare storytelling but what about when your choices are all but dismissed when the rack 9 return When eudina assumes Anderson's Council seats or when the council is run by Mass Effect 1 doppelgangers regardless of past decisions we will have a human council with a human chairman it wouldn't be the first time in the trilogy nor would any of the changes be worth the fuss but the reason those changes happened and the experience they reinforce is of the most on Rails game in the trilogy the player still has agency over what missions to do which guns and Squad mates to take and what they'll Inspire in others making hard decisions and dealing with the consequences that's what being a leader is about but in cranking up the dials BioWare drowned out some of the details too A lot of the details in fact a mission where Shepard helps evacuate survivors from Palvin another mission where Admiral Zen continues experimenting on the Geth after ranok one where Shepard rescues coalion from a Cerberus indoctrination device a more involved Reaper battle on ranok much more dialogue with Kelly much more dialogue with Ashley and that's only scratching the surface there's also javik who was originally integral to the game's plots before being cut through the middle of development then restored as an optional DLC companion as a way to recoup on spent assets DLC that was 10 USD and available right at launch stoking heavy criticism from the Mass Effect Community the very idea of cutting something so important out of the standard edition than trying to sell it for 10 bucks on launch is ridiculous it is absolutely and totally absurd cut content is commonplace to every video game every multi-million IP really but rarely to the extent of Mass Effect 3 where even in what did make it into the game it could be hard not to shake the feeling that something is missing relegated to the same Cutting Room floor as Mass Effect 1's lofty Ambitions some might say the vast array of consequences from one and especially to facilitated the funneling of three storytelling others will claim the absence of Drew carpeshin and his respective vision for the trilogy left Walters and his writing team to aimlessly pick up the pieces having to integrate a fully fledged BioWare Montreal developed multiplayer mode to launch alongside the single player orb Xbox 360 Kinect support are no less plausible factors either but truthfully all it might have been was time a development schedule that grew increasingly strained as months rolled by forcing biwear to cut a troubling number of corners and yet they would need to cut more until an urgent phone call between buyer general manager Aaron Flynn and the head of EA's games label in mid-2011. Mass Effect 3 would now be pushed back from holiday 2011 to March 2012. even with three more months to spare time was not on their side while the studio zeroed in on core pillars of the game's development a blind and trusting eye was turned to critical areas of the story they would fade well into the background until it was too late thank you focused on the bigger picture of winning the reaper War Shepard and the alliance turn a Blind Eye of their own to the Citadel just when Bower has permitted you and your allies to achieve something unprecedented and hopeful for the Galaxy eudina's betrayal sends you crashing back down to reality to Humanity's egocentric uncooperative status quo served Once More by Cerberus as omnipresent as the fears they personify they're meddling alone won't burst the bubble of the citadel's false sense of security but seeing bayley left her dead or the citadel's familiar Terraces once again scorched by destruction irreparably will Shepard can't solve everything and Shepherd can't save everyone foreign the crippling sentiment buzzing in the back of Shepherd's mind since for Meyer and now with Thane crios even after it's faded uncertainty looms practically half of our choices in Mass Effect 3 have been predicated on trust could we convince others to trust us to make the right decision moreover could we trust others to make the right decision over vying for control we may have been successful in facilitating that trust so far but at gunpoint with the vermeier Survivor our trust has never wavered more another ultimatum based on the Shaky Ground between us and Kaden or Ashley if Thane nor keerhi were alive to stop the daltres's murder if we cheated on Ashley or Caden if we demonstrated our willingness to sacrifice the council's lives or if we simply failed to be the friend we once were then Humanity's second Specter will die on your dishonor I hope the Reapers send you to hell despite your formidable strides The Citadel coup serves to prove your doubts whereby the actions of those less considerate less measured and far too selfish all your progress might seemingly be undone our former companions have helped shoulder that burden as much as we return the favor for them at Grissom Academy the ex-serber sanctuary on gelix the art at yakshi Monastery on lesus or in the tunnels of yutuku the odds against them however simply demand more than the likes of our Lock Company a school of biotics or a fully powered just a car asari Redemption nor the promise the future holds however much purpose they've instilled in these characters won't magically Shield them from reality there may be no deeper meaning to their suffering and no romanticized tale to be Spun after the fight all they may truly be is alone foreign [Music] [Music] you were all so much stronger than I believed [Music] while previous choices or the choices you refuse to make altogether Mark the fate of these characters even before starting their missions not every Fate has been sealed by the past because on the other side of the Citadel coup right after exiting Bailey's office will be a citadel you haven't seen before civilians mobilizing for the front lines c-sec officials clamoring to upgrade the citadel's defense network and the odd solarian documentarian highlighting the plight of refugees blood pack blue sun and Eclipse criminals willing to set aside their differences to Rally behind Arya telok's War banner and presidium Merchants eager to donate weapons and resources to the Battlegrounds of the reaper war never before have so many different walks of life given a damn about something that much bigger than themselves and never before has the player been able to directly interact with so many of those lives at once to shape their decisions or plunge headfirst into Reaper space just to retrieve otherwise futile artifacts to restore these people's hopes I recovered the rings of elune they're waiting in Bay d24 that's wonderful thank you though the illusion of the Citadel has faded the reality of losing their home a place emblematic of civilization's future hopes and dreams has not come crashing down on them as it has for Shepherd rather it's motivated these people to stand together over the preconceptions that once divided them and by the Mantra that nothing unites people more than tragedy there's never been more reason to believe in a United Galaxy these fetch quests are practically chores easily skipped in favor of the bigger picture yet something about them whether it's the oddly thrilling Reaper Escape minigame or just seeing the quest log not so overwhelmingly flogged makes completing these favors satisfying and when we failed the bigger picture or failed to achieve the ideal outcome they're here to assure you that the smallest victories still make a difference Shepard has already spread thin but going the extra mile will give others the hope that Shepard can't always see for themselves the hope our allies can't always see for themselves for many there may be no hope but you are still alive now that alone is a miracle and you still have the power to fight is [Music] so even if these small victories aren't enough to stop the Reapers the sacrifice of Heroes might finally Inspire the joining of forces who can we understand your Crucible is still missing an important component the Catalyst I believe you call it do you know where it is the last and most vital component of The Crucible the Catalyst lies in weight in the temple of a Fame on thessia the warrior poet home of the Galaxy Finish Line might finally be in sight but if nothing quite brings a greater dose of reality than losing your home the essay will reaffirm a most Inconvenient Truth No culture is immune to hubris and no amount of it can Shield you from downfall as especially the most gifted minds of the Milky Way this can't be happening is beyond doomed our Trek to the temple is more winding and littered with destruction than any other planet in the series The Red Sky all the way back on Eden prime a glimmer of the sunset that will end all life in the universe falls on thessier's Horizon it hasn't been easy seeing any Planet set Ablaze by the Reapers but seeing the richest sorry civilization BioWare has dared to realize over the last three games this figured beyond our imagination has incontestable weight reaped far beyond the destruction of Earth or Paladin thessier's call for help proves motivated not by unity but desperation while the Vera refusal to seek help that cultivated end their 11th Hour was done so in vain fascia's government is hiding a damning secret their socio-political Eminence over all other species stems from the prothean beacon concealed in their Temple their civilization is literally built on a lie one that would topple the hierarchy of power in the Milky Way if discovered victus grew to recognize the deadly cost of the secret Bama tachanka but only through his son's sacrifice and the time and reflection to honor it here on fesia amidst The Untold loss of a sorry life we don't have that kind of time we haven't been annihilated yet we're fighting the Reapers right now but resistance is not enough and yet we have to believe while The Crucible has been handed down from one failed cycle to the next each cycle has only gotten closer to finishing it if there is anyone who can complete it it's us we just have to inductive presence detected activating security protocol you overcome the inevitable we have to Define control defy time defy death itself we have to defy what no human nor organic could possibly survive we have to stare down the end of all existence itself and not tear apart at the seams but instead fail Shepherd hang on this could have been prevented this all could have been stopped if the asari reached out sooner but all we're left with now is wasted time and the cataclysmic mistakes of an entire cycle [Music] would it have been easier to disavow everything we stood for to submit from the start rather than place all our hopes in the future only to see it wiped away it's too late to know for sure yet we still need to try for the sake of the Galaxy and for the ghost that will haunt us forever what last verse say she the prayer was not for him Commander his wish was for you there's failure and then there's whatever this feeling is unbearable regret a level of grief capable of destroying anyone and yet no time to grieve the Fallen only the day in day out plight of Do or Die consider the sacrifices of those around you those you may have never met in every next action or be destroyed a feeling like bugs eating your soul divorcing you more and more from your grip on Humanity until you no longer care you may hold on but it may also kill you because Edie says that according to your Armor's metabolic scans you're under more stress now than during the skillion Blitz like more than Elysium where it was pretty much you versus ten thousand battarians trying to kill you and if you do let go you become Cerberus willing to manipulate survivors to the most vile extent necessary for a survival of your own definition after Crossing so many moral and ethical boundaries bending science and Innovation by deeply unnatural means one invariably begs how is that any different from our sworn enemy [Music] this is the torment of the Reapers and what baimer wants you to feel at the 11th Hour of the Milky Way the tunnel around you is closing the missions and opportunities at your beck and call have largely come and gone and your choices are few while the consequences of the journey are all that remain to be reaped we've lost friends attempting to steer The Narrative steer their narrative in a different direction more can be taken Miranda there is still hope but only if we believe in it until then there are only the illusions that the final stretch of Mass Effect 3 dedicates you to dispelling the Reapers the true aims of Cerberus and the fate of the Milky Way have all been shrouded in mystery as far back as Mass Effect 1. now as you chart a course for the elusive man's long hidden Chrono station biwar finally answers your burning questions [Music] also reminding you more than ever that time is fleeting once we attack The Crucible will stay safe for long Shepard we're almost out of time every band of Chrono station entrenches you further and further in fiery destruction leading you up and down after virtual Secrets surrounding Shepherd's Resurrection Edie's creation and The elusive man's downward spiral as he succumbs more and more to his Unthinkable role in the lovecraftian myth that sarin once embraced the harder head of the human Reaper is the last and most troubling thing that greets you just before the elusive man's Chambers and the irony of that couldn't be more apparent destruction won't be enough Cerberus is an idea and maybe for the first time we've registered and inalienable Dark Side immune to our persuasion I believe destroying the Reapers would be the worst mistake we could ever make and nothing you can say will ever convince me otherwise we've rallied more obstinate forces before but to stand face to face with the personification of human ego and fail all measures of diplomacy or Force Stokes only are fears how do you defeat this thing how do you stop it from seizing the reins of the future the only way we know how [Music] by fighting the battle that was for Miranda you son of a [ __ ] even if we know we'll lose The Citadel the very symbol of Multicultural Prosperity is fittingly revealed to be the Catalyst the most crucial piece of The Crucible but it's also been moved to Earth not just so BioWare can conveniently bring us full circle to the pale blue dots where our journey to the Stars first began but where the Reapers might humiliate us the most while we'll fight and die to secure the Citadel our very home will burn before our eyes Shepard's best at death before but they can't outmatch everything it is too late I'll stop foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] are you ready to bring the might of the Galaxy to bear on the Reapers yes sir as Hackett finally comes to greet you from Beyond the Hologram BioWare unleashes all manner of fist-pumping speeches slick spaceships and heroic music none more Gallant than Sam who looks most colossal Arrangement ever of the Mass Effect theme foreign it's the most maximalist final battle in Western RPG history as Ken Thane and Parish Lay's dazzling cinematics the tense performances of your companions and Rob Blake's explosive soundscape heighten your momentum all the way down to earth while the forces you assembled will have thrived or crumbled depending on your War assets the Finish Line fueled adrenaline coursing through every player's veins makes the first phase of the battle for Earth an unforgettable fight now go go [Music] the first leg of this mission is chaotic explosive and fast before you know it it's over in the ear shattering blast of the reaper Cannon it's easy to miss how much Earth resembles Shepherd's nightmares gray lifeless and devoid of all color and form we describe to the Mass Effect Universe except at the forward operating base ahead of the final assault the feeling becomes a little more than troubling as if something is missing from the featureless alleys to the Mindless set dressing or the absence of any of the ground forces we painstakingly gathered London starts to feel like one of bioware's less impressive magic tricks it's not the focus nor should it distract you from the friends who bid you farewell yet the feeling won't diminish the craft and creativity inherent in bioware's ambitious approach to RPG level design where the environment tells as much of a story as the characters in cutscenes seemingly unravels with every passing out of touch telephone booth in 2186 London your momentum grinds to an uncharacteristic halt but BioWare compensates with an unforgiving onslaught of banshees brutes and Reaper beams sometimes to the detriment of the systems holding it all together whatever doesn't work in the background is drowned out by every dial wildly cranked into the foreground all the way to a breathless pause as Harbinger fills out what would otherwise seem like a final Boss Arena buyer urges you toward the beat instead toward the Dreadful unknown however you got here however you survived this and whatever you decide it won't be enough for as the illusions of Mass Effect 3 fade in its final hours so does bioware's most pivotal guys while you spent every spare minute ensuring a future for the Galaxy biwear did not [Music] Mass Effect 3's final levels were but the smoke to a fireborn of bioware's final hour of development everything in Mass Effect 3 had somehow come together except for the ending at one point in Drew karbachen's draft of the ending three culminated in the Revelation that the Reapers were the horrific fused together genetic constructs of entire nations harvesting Organics to deter a dark energy singularity in the far-off future the genetic diversity of humans gave the Reapers the best shot at combating it and choosing to destroy the Reapers would leave the Galaxy to fend for its future in another draft three ended in meeting the reaper Queen imprisoned by the Reapers themselves in Virtual space Shepard could have taken over her role or destroyed her but in the game's final release on March 6 2012 Mass Effect 3 ended with what Hudson and Walters had hatched in a last minute decision a lucid confrontation with the real Catalyst the Starchild the AI behind countless Reaper harvests the three choices they gave you control over the Reapers the destruction of synthetics or the synthesis of organic and synthetic life would be presented to every player regardless of the choices they made over the trilogy save for the minimum War assets needed for synthesis the cutscenes that followed were differentiable only by color and the aftermaths of each ending were all but identical all of these things come to a resolution in Mass Effect 3 and they are resolved in a way that's very different based on what you would do in those situations for most players seeing the credits idly roll to das mouth at spy fonts after stepping foot on a seemingly random Garden World felt like a misnomer disrupting the peace brokered between gorians and Geth just to destroy the Reapers forcing co-evolution on an entire galaxy without their choosing to contradict the ludo-narrative Integrity of Mass Effect so harshly It could only mean they got the bad ending until they went on YouTube the illusion wasn't just broken The Experience utterly collapsed never before had an ending to such a massive piece of media felt so thoughtlessly thrown together and never before had by or so blatantly violated their most sacred mantle that of both the player and the Storyteller it goes against everything that massive Mass about this was the long-awaited conclusion to biwar's Mass Effect Trilogy and it was not received in kind [Music] foreign [Music] over the 26-month development period of Mass Effect 3 the developers of BioWare Edmonton experienced some of the worst crunch in the history of the company while most noses were kept firmly to the grindstone in the final stretch of development Hudson instructed his cinematic and Technical departments to build the ending scenarios that would come to define the most controversial video game ending in Industry history the colors acutely associated with each ending red blue and green were used purely for reference in the concept stage never meant to make it all the way to the final version but they did and with no time to spare they would stay that way though many devs assumed their audience would accept the endings they'd quickly learn the contrary through online harassment hate messages and death threats and while fan campaigns like retake Mass Effect 3 would boycott the endings in a more positive manner even raising money for charity buy where would remains silent until a batch of red blue and green frosted cupcakes arrived at their doorstep anonymously paid for by an angry player I think there's also an aspect of the cupcake thing where it's like it's now real world up until that point you just like you just try to stay Just One of the nameless few that has a credit on the game and you don't stick your head up right but now you've got people sending something to the place where you go to work every day um that then becomes a little bit interesting [Music] BioWare finally responded the Extended Cut DLC would patch the endings to Mass Effect 3. addressing fan complaints and injecting much needed closure for players Trilogy spanning Journey but in the time it would take to ship it the beleaguered devs of biwar Edmonton were not permitted the break they had hoped for the crunch continued for four long months all while under the daily barrage of online harassment and vitriol especially the female members of the team by the time buyer had moved on to Dragon Age Inquisition less than a year later the team that built the Mass Effect Trilogy was beyond burnt Out Among the high turnover and low morale at the studio several developers reportedly started therapy by the release of Inquisition and bioware's following Endeavor Anthem over two-thirds of Hudson's original Mass Effect team were no longer with BioWare while Hudson himself left the studio in 2014. he would return to guide the team behind ant a game he originally pitched to a 2019 release but not without significantly cutting down the vision of the game according to Jason schreier in a report for Kotaku most of Anthem was built in its final year of development Byron's culture of crunch had not changed nor had it yielded the success EA was banking on and so Hudson left yet again in December 2020 BioWare vowed to fix Anthem with an extensive post-launch overhaul but these plans were abandoned in 2021 shortly after Mass Effect 3 plans for a mass effect continuation sprung up at BioWare Montreal a game that would come to be known as Mass Effect Andromeda after recruiting and losing game director Gerard lahini during a pre-production period plagued by unchecked ambition and inter-studio politics Mack Walters was brought on to rein in the team's Vision Andromeda would be built on the publisher mandated frostbite engine designed for the shooters at sibling company dice interactive but not for the Cinematic RPGs of biowar's caliber much of andromeda's development was spent unsuccessfully battling the frostbite engine complicating an 18-month long period of intense crunch leading up to its release even then Andromeda would launch to a deeply mixed reception from critics and Gamers alike after patching the array of technical problems that all but defined the game all plans for post-launch DLC were dropped as biower Montreal was shut down and merged with EA motive in 2017. from that day on Mass Effect was put on ice [Music] looking back on bioware's 10 tumultuous years since 2012 it is impossible not to see the large and looming shadow of Mass Effect 3. the destructive attitudes and practices that have pervaded nearly every BioWare project were no doubt present before three's development but where the vice finally caught up to them where the now reviled BioWare Magic first ran out was right at the disastrous close of their most beloved story while a great deal of blame surely lies on EA for The Rush development of the game the Publisher's willingness to sacrifice the easy cashion of a holiday release suggests they were amiable to bioware's needs many Mass Effect players pin the blame on Walters decreeing him the man who ruined Mass Effect who ruined karbachen's original vision for the series after taking his position most blame however was directed at Hudson the longtime front man and chaperone of the mass effect team it was erroneous claims and faulty promises were spat back in his team's face like ammunition while there's no doubt Hudson and Walters were responsible for the deeply misguided handling of Three's endings there's also no denying the difficult circumstances they were under conceive a satisfying conclusion to a video game Trilogy the likes of which has never been done before in roughly two years time beat the clock and do so with integrity and passion as he had since the beginning Hudson aimed for the Stars and he missed [Music] for the many that never played Mass Effect before 2012 the controversy surrounding the endings and reputations of all parties involved would come to define the series more prominently than anything else and for someone just a hair too young to get into Mass Effect at its prime this was my exposure to the series through channels like Angry Joe total biscuits and boogie2988 I knew what biower had done wrong had so colossally screwed up for so many players well before I knew in Iota of what they had done right the Extended Cut was well received and restored the closure many players were looking for but in the public conscience too much damage had already been done and when I finally played the Mass Effect Trilogy and reached the synthesis ending for myself in 2019 I perfectly understood why the ending didn't erase my journey but it did sour it Hudson and Walter's lack of thought came right through the screen seven years later and led me right back to the same kinds of Ransom essays critiquing the endings that I watched in 2012. one could only imagine that any player who's taken that Journey since felt the same disappointment this would be the legacy of the Mass Effect Trilogy a legacy of failure however Mass Effect also left behind another kind of Legacy while my first Trilogy playthrough was considerably done and dusted a close friend urged me to keep playing to play the DLCs released after the Extended Cut thank you the Omega DLC released in November 2012 refitted Concepts and assets initially cut from three with a full-blown story expansion as players teamed up with Carrie Anne Moss's fan favorite Arya telok to retake the Cerberus occupied criminal Haven of Omega packed with action awe-inspiring views of the Galaxy's corrupt underbelly and a story of rectifying failure Omega showed the value of home even to a community of Outlaws it brought Mass Effect 3 that much more full circle to its beginning and added to the weight of Shepard's battle for Earth we may be bruised we may be bloodied [Music] R Omega [Music] or Omega in August 2012 BioWare released Leviathan a story that followed Shepard's dark and troubling trail of discovery of an ancient Force powerful enough to kill a Reaper from the Twisted atmosphere of the mining Colony on mahavid to the black and infinite depths of 2181 dysponia the DLC perfectly captured the elements of horror and mystery that had faded over the trilogy and Bryson's Ark to succeed her father invoked the same themes of legacy and hope prevalent in the main story while Shepard's encounter with a practical Eldritch God reveled in the most fascinating notion of organic Hubris in the Milky Way to date while the Omega DLC was a fun and innocuous addition to Mass Effect 3. the revelations of Leviathan rendered itself all but Essential by discovering the mistakes of the self-proclaimed apex predators of the Galaxy and their betrayal by the very technology instilled with their hubris the Reaper's motives at the end of three became far less nebulous knowing they were born of a tragically organic oversight [Music] foreign but the highlight of Mass Effect 3's DLC released a whole year after the launch of the game was undoubtedly The Citadel a blast of wall-to-wall Mass Effect memes running jokes and fan service the entire premise of going on Shore leave amidst the deathly serious Reaper war is unfathomably silly but that's entirely the point the Citadel DLC is this unnatural fissure in time a final hurray with your big chaotic family of companions as you go head-to-head in arcade games watch movies have the most redundant pull-up competition of all time and partake in the train wreck of blast05. Shepard and their clone go to war trainer's toothbrush is mythologized Garris maybe gets a girlfriend and grunt gets arrested so how do they catch you got hungry bought some noodles as much of Mass Effect is about the tangle of history and the anxiety of the future The Citadel DLC is all about looking back celebrating everything you've accomplished everything that got you here and everything you've lost foreign after recovering from an outrageous party with your companions The Citadel DLC also becomes a celebration of bioware's 10-year Journey a love letter to themselves as much as it was a love letter to the fans in spite of the mistakes spyware made along the way it's been a good ride the best foreign [Music] S as Sam hulick's leaving Earth theme returns for the last time in the trilogy and all your friends marched back toward the inevitable the warm smile this DLC had so effortlessly worked onto my face was met with a tear [Music] all the DLC would be repackaged with the game on May 15 2021 when the Mass Effect Trilogy was remastered and re-released for next-gen consoles with the legendary edition for hardcore fans the legendary edition was but another way to celebrate a series they never fell out of love with for the average gamer who may have played the Mass Effect teams when they first came out but not DLCs like Leviathan or the Citadel the legendary edition felt like catching up with a long-lost friend but for many the legendary edition would be their first time jumping into Mass Effect their first time punching Manuel meaning Conrad Werner or taking down a Reaper there'd be no wait time between each game and practically no anticipation for the next title either unlike the many who waited years between each release instead they'd be playing it back to back as a Trilogy as Hudson and biower had intended from the start [Music] the legendary edition wasn't perfect it perhaps didn't go far enough to fix things that would have greatly benefited from an overhaul and it maybe went too far to update visuals where the original was sufficient however every other moment cinematic or piece of dialogue was left relatively untouched allowing new players to see every up and down throughout the trilogy looking on at all the playthroughs reactions and posts across YouTube and social media as well as experiencing the legendary edition for yourself you could see those ups and downs more clearly than ever The Struggle Bus that is Mass Effect 1 combat the vapidity of Uncharted worlds one's Hit or Miss voice acting or the jarring leap of design from one to two you could see the shifting vision of the series The disregard for previous choices the parts that feel missing and the lackluster ending but almost 10 years removed from the anger and resentment of the that ending you could see something else something you couldn't entirely see on your own before look at us go man see a whole new generation obsessing over every detail large and small that won the hearts of Gamers back then you could appreciate just how human all the aliens really feel just how good the dialogue and its delivery comes across and how engrossing bioware's unending attention to Framing and composition really is you could hear Jack wall and Sam hulick's amazing score all across the trilogy especially in three where who looks distinctively sci-fi cinematic and emotional songwriting is at its best in the series you could see the brilliant design Aesthetics of Derek watts in every corner of the series whether it's the armor the weapons the ships or the futuristic technology you could see so many people having a ball blasting blue sun mercs with Singularity hijacking Cerberus Mex or laying waste with garrus's concussion ability you could see players experimenting with decade-old character builds still debating whether to save Kaden or Ashley and inventing theories behind the series creepiest Mysteries you could see people proudly making their own Commander Shepard and running the whole trilogy with them you could see firsthand a visually arresting Galaxy full of lush scenery and transport of scale you could glean the Trove of fascinating well-toed lore accompanying that Galaxy enough to support any number of interesting stories and characters you could see how pumped the ending to Mass Effect 1 got players to hop into two how much the electric opening of two shook players and how engrossed players got in the war of Mass Effect 3. you could see players as choices magnificently Ripple across all three games and with that you could see right on the screen the evolution and increasing complexity of bioware's brilliant storytelling from enchanting start to perilous finish you could see how Montreal's multiplayer generated a genuine sense of community and togetherness in a way by your storytelling could only simulate you could appreciate the kindness open-mindedness and bravery of Liara to Sony the meekness charm and vulnerability of tally zoravas Normandy and the Charisma dependability and badassery of Garris vicarian exactly the qualities that make him one of the greatest Companions of all time I'm Gareth vacarian and this is now my favorite spot on the Citadel I think I gotta take you could see everyone finding their favorite two companions to roll every Mission with or that one companion they'll romance for the trilogy you could see people breaking off that romance and two for Miranda Thane or Jack and then facing the awkward repercussions of that in three you could feel the Allure of the unknown in those Uncharted Worlds the distinct Vibe of ice isolation only accessible in a place so vast yet so empty you could in turn appreciate how remarkably alive places like Omega or the Citadel feel by comparison and you could certainly find the alliance trainer's speech to his recruits into one of the outright funniest speeches an NPC has ever given that means Sir Isaac Newton is son of a [ __ ] in space you could see Humanity's reason-driven eccentrism in the solarians our proclivity for cunning and Justice in the turians our pursuit of beauty and spirit in the asari and our bashful appetite for conflict and Punishment in the krogans from that you could see the power and importance of diversity in our humanity and all the physical and cultural intricacies that make us unique but part of a much greater whole you could zoom out and see all the running gags and memes that are still going strong years later bang okay but in doing that you'd also see another kind of impact you'd see buyers approach to sci-fi Warfare in Destiny and Guardians of the Galaxy their approach to the emotion-driven dialogue reel in The Witcher Horizon Deus Ex and dozens of Telltale Games their infatuation with the unknown in no man's Sky Starfield and Star Citizen their commitment to complexly written companions in fallouts and outer worlds and their dedication to player agency and damn near every RPG and action open world title released since three you could see despite bioware's mistakes how the dreams of Casey Hudson and his team at Edmonton changed the art of video games forever how Mass Effect has and will continue to inspire the storytellers of tomorrow [Music] over and over you could see an ocean of stars more vast and traversable than we could ever imagine exploring today you could realize despite our Armageddon or our insignificance and an uncaring universe that nothing might have been more important than [ __ ] around with your best friends at the end of time that the place and purpose one could find here was extremely comforting to a Galaxy so vast you could see the Irreplaceable contributions of mass effect's iconic voice cast from Seth Green Brendan Keener Ali Hillis Liz Roca Keith Farley Keith David Lance Henriksen William Saylor Stephen Barr and of course Mark Mir and Jennifer Hale [Music] and you could see just how groundbreaking Jennifer Hale's portrayal of Commander Shepard was for 2007 a badass sophisticated and vulnerable female protagonist who was treated no differently from her male counterpart legitimately Paving the way for a new era of female protagonists in video games in Reddit threads you could similarly see how important Jokers portrayal as an elite pilot with a disability was to underrepresented members of the disabled Community or the impact of Samantha trainer and especially Steve Cortez in 2012 to the LGBT community two characters whose sexual identity was not looked down upon the butt of a joke nor their whole personality but a vital normal part of who they were helping young players confront their own sexuality or even come out to their parents you could see a painfully accurate depiction of our civilization's leaders and politicians and the leaders of Mass Effect you could see a new generation through figures like James Edie Cortez and Samantha ready to seize the Reigns and carry on the torch yes sir could see a truly United Galaxy willing to set aside their pasts and wants for the good of all you could see the sheer impossibility of achieving that for our world but also the power that realizing this collective in a narratively driven space might have to inspire us to give us hope for a world where we might all come together as one you could see all the vanity ego and ignorance of The Human Condition with blinding appearance you could see the self-destructive ends to our Ambitions and the humanity that might be snuffed out by the weight of our objective insignificance foreign you could sit down rest and embrace the value of a flawed life a life of that vanity and ego but more so the ambition to try and work past it you could realize that the battle against the clock is part of what makes us human for our lives are precious because they end we may never win and we may never have enough time with the people we love and that's okay Anderson [Music] because of all the things that make us human our capacity to fail is maybe what makes us human most of all [Music] you could see the star child as a figurative embodiment of the misguided lonely and traumatized child inside of all of us the force behind our oppressed once whose disappointment drives our outward cynicism and whose refusal to compromise cannot be amended until an honest conversation with the human we've become or you could simply see it as Shepherd addressing the source of their guilt and finally facing it without fear you could see the control ending from the eyes of a soldier scarred by the unknown where humanity is not enough to confront it one must submit to terrifying power one must trade their Humanity to watch over the future [Music] you could see the synthesis sending for the magical solution that it is an abstraction of all our hopes a perfect Unity between Organics and the synthetics they failed so often to understand granted through a bright radiation of beauty that all will know for themselves foreign but because it's so intangible you could see the destroy ending as the most likely solution where the most perfect thing that will ever be possible is just a compromise you could see it as a back step for the Galaxy and the progress we've achieved but you could also see for the first time a Galaxy capable of rebuilding what was lost foreign [Music] Souls sacrificing their lives in the name of a future they will never see you could see how far and wide the actions of one the actions of Commander Shepard can go to inspire that sacrifice no matter our destined meeting with fate you could see all the friends we made as memories that will last forever you could see all that you could imagine and imagine all you might ever see imagine all you could ever dream of and imagine what we could accomplish together foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] hello everyone welcome once more to the end of another our tour video the longest of the three Mass Effect videos uh on the channel by far um yeah thank you so much for tuning in for watching um this video was a lot of hard work I started working on it back in February of this year and you know though it was on the back runner for a couple of months when I worked on the Mandalorian video um I was still touching up on it and and adding things to the script um during that time all the way up to of course you know the last few months of uh working on it and and trying to whip it into shape into what you just watched um and even more than that you know I started working on the first Mass Effect video back in May of last year just after the legendary edition came out and um a lot of what I tried to do with this video was trying to come full circle with a lot of the discussion in that video which isn't hard to do when you're talking about a Trilogy of games you know the discussion lenses self to to you know being as consistent as those games are but um even still it was you know um a very big project and a very big undertaking and I'm very proud with how it turned out and grateful for how you guys tuned in along the way uh there was a lot of feedback on the Mass Effect 2 video specifically that made its way into this video um specifically stuff about lore stuff about uh the representation of characters uh multiplayer was something that I don't think I would have brought up if I hadn't got comments about it on the last two videos so if you're one of those people thank you so much and thank you for sharing it if you have shared it for liking for commenting whoever you are thank you so much thank you thank you thank you thank you um yeah Mass Effect what a game what a series what a story that being said where do we go from here uh well uh while I don't want to reveal specifics of what I'm working on next although you can find out exactly what video is coming next if you uh become a member of the patreon link in the description below um what I will say is this over the last two years uh We've made some truly crazy videos on this channel um every video has been over an hour hour long has been several months in the making I think the average length of time for each video overall of working on a video has been like 250 to 300 hours uh it's been kind of crazy just just truly absolutely insane as proud as I am of all the videos and as willing as I know you all are to be patient for the time it takes me to put out each and every video and revel every minute of it when I put it out um it has been very exhausting you know doing these videos back to back to back um there was a time on this channel when every video wasn't an hour long when I'd say through 2020 I had a pretty good balance of long videos and shorter videos and you know though um you know I want to approach every movie game show story with the the video that it deserves you know whether it deserves that really long video or something that's a lot more you know uh condensed um it is a lot of hard work doing those those long videos and so uh for the sake of you know um my focus on this channel for the sake of trying to take care of myself and not burn myself or not run the risk of burning myself out with each and every video um I'm going to be stepping away from long form content for at least a couple of months which in the grand scheme of how many videos I usually end up putting in a year is not a long time um but uh it's significant enough that you know uh you won't see a long form video probably until again until I'm gonna say may or April of next year in the meantime I kind of want to get back to doing shorter videos at least 30 for 40-minute videos of some kind that doesn't you know mean the videos will be any lesser in quality if anything this is going to be a bit of a creative challenge for myself to try and say just as much or or you know deliver something just as meaningful in a less amount of time and I think I've learned a lot of lessons over the last two years of making videos that have prepared me to do just that so definitely do look forward to that the videos will be just as high quality if not even more high quality than ever given that I learned so much with every new video and that only makes me that only helps me make the next video even better than the last um so definitely stay tuned there's going to be a lot of fun discussions on the channel in the next few months as I mentioned earlier uh I do have a patreon for our tour if any of you are interested in donating uh if you do you get of course regular updates on what I'm working on for the channel whether it's the the current project the B project the C project whatever I'm working on you get information about all of it as well as video commentaries for all my videos that is an ongoing thing I actually haven't recorded all of them yet but um you know you will see video commentaries for these three Mass Effect videos over the uh the month to come and as well as a bunch of other behind the scenes tidbits such as um you know excerpts for my script a bit of a exploration on how I write videos how I edit how I edited certain sequences in this video you can find all that on the patreon and of course you'll get your name in the credits of this video or the next video forever it'll always be there so yeah um definitely consider donating I would be immensely grateful other than that um you can follow me on Twitter at parks Harmon Instagram is Parks Harmon and you can subscribe for the next video thank you all so much for one last time for watching and I'll be seeing you all on the next upload I should go [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: ArTorr

Views: 111,938

Keywords: Mass Effect, Commander Shepard, Mass Effect Cutscene, Mass Effect Analysis, Mass Effect Video Essay, Gaming Video Essay, Garrus Vakarian, Miranda Lawson, Admiral Hackett, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Mass Effect 4, Mass Effect 5, Mass Effect Trailer, Mass Effect Guide, Liara, Tali, Thane, Mass Effect Reaction, Star Wars The Old Republic, KOTOR Remake, BioWare 2022, Legion, EDI, The Illusive Man, The Suicide MIssion, Mass Effect Ending, Mass Effect Romance

Id: STNIOc5hElY

Length: 107min 27sec (6447 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 30 2022