The longtime voice of Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect franchise, Jennifer Hale, says she has both excitement and concern about the series, but more importantly, hope. Even though BioWare first announced it was working on the new game more than five years ago, very little information has been shared.
Talking with GamesRadar, Hale said that her biggest worry is whether the creative culture that made the original trilogy special is still there. "I have so many hopes. But I also have concerns as BioWare was sold to someone who's now also being sold, and we don't know...I mean the culture and the ethos that created that incredible game, I don't know how intact it is or isn't. I have no idea and no way to know," she said. "I know the spirit of it is very much alive and well, and the appetite and the community for more is absolutely there, and I will be there with bells on if I were asked to."
One of Hale's biggest hopes is simple: She would love to see Commander Shepard return and even joked about how fun it would be if both versions of Shepard could appear together. Talking about her dream scenario, Hale laughed and said, “Oh, bring Shepard back. Find a way for Mark [Meer] and I to be together in the same universe. Wouldn't that be fun? And bring the whole crew back."
At the same time, Hale believes the universe itself is big enough to support many new stories. The last new entry, Mass Effect: Andromeda, released eight years ago and explored a different part of the galaxy, and suggested there are still many possibilities left.
"I think the stories that were told have been told, but there are more stories to tell. It is a vast, vast universe," she said.
Hale also compared the fan passion for Mass Effect to another famous sci-fi franchise, Star Wars. The actress voiced Bastila Shan in the contemporary classic, Knights of the Old Republic, and says she gets a lot of fans from both series and feels like Mass Effect could be just as big.
"People come up to me to talk to me about the Star Wars universe, and people come up to me and talk to me about the Mass Effect universe, and the passion is equal. And I think the potential for the Mass Effect universe is still very much untapped. I think there's a lot more to live into and to create from.”
For now, fans are still waiting for concrete details about the next game, especially after BioWare focused on releasing Dragon Age: The Veilguard and skipped major updates at events like The Game Awards last year, and it still might be a ways off. According to former executive producer Mark Darrah, it'll take some time for BioWare to really get the game development wheels turning.
"Mass Effect isn't ready to suddenly have a team of 250, 300 people working on it," Darrah said while documenting the production of Veilguard. "In the past, when BioWare was toying with being on just one project, like on Anthem or The Veilguard, that project was up and running at full speed, so it was able to suck in every available resource. It had enough existing infrastructure that it was able to absorb everything."
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Talking with GamesRadar, Hale said that her biggest worry is whether the creative culture that made the original trilogy special is still there. "I have so many hopes. But I also have concerns as BioWare was sold to someone who's now also being sold, and we don't know...I mean the culture and the ethos that created that incredible game, I don't know how intact it is or isn't. I have no idea and no way to know," she said. "I know the spirit of it is very much alive and well, and the appetite and the community for more is absolutely there, and I will be there with bells on if I were asked to."
One of Hale's biggest hopes is simple: She would love to see Commander Shepard return and even joked about how fun it would be if both versions of Shepard could appear together. Talking about her dream scenario, Hale laughed and said, “Oh, bring Shepard back. Find a way for Mark [Meer] and I to be together in the same universe. Wouldn't that be fun? And bring the whole crew back."
At the same time, Hale believes the universe itself is big enough to support many new stories. The last new entry, Mass Effect: Andromeda, released eight years ago and explored a different part of the galaxy, and suggested there are still many possibilities left.
"I think the stories that were told have been told, but there are more stories to tell. It is a vast, vast universe," she said.
Hale also compared the fan passion for Mass Effect to another famous sci-fi franchise, Star Wars. The actress voiced Bastila Shan in the contemporary classic, Knights of the Old Republic, and says she gets a lot of fans from both series and feels like Mass Effect could be just as big.
"People come up to me to talk to me about the Star Wars universe, and people come up to me and talk to me about the Mass Effect universe, and the passion is equal. And I think the potential for the Mass Effect universe is still very much untapped. I think there's a lot more to live into and to create from.”
For now, fans are still waiting for concrete details about the next game, especially after BioWare focused on releasing Dragon Age: The Veilguard and skipped major updates at events like The Game Awards last year, and it still might be a ways off. According to former executive producer Mark Darrah, it'll take some time for BioWare to really get the game development wheels turning.
"Mass Effect isn't ready to suddenly have a team of 250, 300 people working on it," Darrah said while documenting the production of Veilguard. "In the past, when BioWare was toying with being on just one project, like on Anthem or The Veilguard, that project was up and running at full speed, so it was able to suck in every available resource. It had enough existing infrastructure that it was able to absorb everything."
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