BioWare, the developer of the "Mass Effect and Dragon Age" franchises, is recognized for creating story-driven games with rich characters and choices that carry over games. Well-known among these choices are romance options and with the upcoming "Mass Effect: Andromeda" release, BioWare wants relationships and side quests handled differently.

More natural relationships

Lead writer and creative director Mac Walters revealed that relationships in "Mass Effect: Andromeda" will not be as straightforward as in the original games. "As far as the relationships go, we try to make them less formulaic," he explained in an interview with IGN.

While romance in the previous installments takes the cue with some "couple conversations" and a little bit of flirting until the characters are ready to romance, Walters explained that "Andromeda" will be open-ended.

"What I wanted to see in this was more of a, well, somebody might want to hop in the sack right away, [or] somebody might never want to hop in the sack because this is too important -- trying to find that more natural way into what a relationship would be like within the constraints of game development," divulged Walters.

Walters also revealed that his favorite relationship is one that is not even a member of the crew. He teased: "I'll tell you that much. They're not even a member of your squad. They're someone you meet on one of the planets."

Improvement on open world and quests

Apart from romance, BioWare also seems to be seeing it's side quests implementation improved. In a separate interview with GameInformer, Walters also expressed that the side quests of "Andromeda" will be more tied to the world. This is in response to what BioWare have learned from "Dragon Age: Inquisition" and "Witcher 3". The former filled with mundane, inconsequential side quests.

"... [I]t's not just a matter of 'well, I've got to go grind for something,' 'I've got to go follow these fetch quests," he adds. "There is a story that's going to uncover and unfold on that planet, usually with a fairly epic choice involved with it. And a lot of the side quests are all intertwined in that, or they're intertwined with the critical path of the story."

"Mass Effect: Andromeda" is set to release Q1 next year for PC, PS4, and Xbox One after being delayed from its intended Holiday 2016.


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