BioWare GM: Dropping last-gen consoles has a huge impact on Mass Effect 4’s gameplay goals

Hopefully, these assertions aren’t disingenuous

Like my grammy after we put her in a home, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 are slowly fading away to make room for the new generation. Aaryn Flynn, general manager of BioWare Canada, spoke about how Dragon Age: Inquisition and dropping support for last-gen consoles has affected the design of Mass Effect 4 in a post on NeoGAF.

Flynn stated that although Mass Effect 4 and an unrevealed new IP utilize the same Frostbite engine as Dragon Age: Inquisition, it did not serve as a prototype or blueprint for any new design direction other than working with larger, more fluid areas. He believes that each game should draw on what made the series successful as opposed to simply replicating the gameplay and design of Inquisition. He used the return of the Mako in Mass Effect 4 as an example of how that series’ history can be drawn on and how he hopes that its implementation will be closer to the idea that originated with the first Mass Effect before the limitations of the technology of the time took over.

Flynn said that focusing on purely current-gen consoles and PC had the most overall affect on the design process, implying that, unlike many titles released in the last year, concessions wouldn’t have to be made to ensure the games could also be released on older hardware.

The Mass Effect thread of appreciation and hopes/dreams of next gen [NeoGAF]