My Belated & Conceited 'Mass Effect: Andromeda' Rewrites

So I played (watched through people playing) Andromeda (because I'm lackin' money for full games and sometimes watch them now on YouTube instead) and I’m gonna hop on the bandwagon a few years too late. Y’know. Clutching the axles of it, really...

But it got me thinking about the problems. The main problems with Andromeda seem to be one major thing, the lack of 'new'. Too conventional. Facial animations can be patched, boring writing can't.

It's like all affectations to put in the characters were bound by time, that the team weren't able to make new races. That they were scared they'd mess them up or annoy fans if they didn't see the old favourites, or they genuinely thought the pull for Mass Effect fans would be seeing the races we 'know and love'.

They didn't understand that the core of making a new Mass Effect game, where the hook is going into a new galaxy, comes with the want to see new alien races and planets.

And even with that, it means nothing if the plot is still going to be conventional. The plot should have been surrounding a new alien threat (which they did, good!) where they can't do Lovecraft and old technology, but still have to do new aliens. But it's just that the Kett's visual design, villainous goals and ultimate end goal were...

Boring.

Andromeda Narrative Rewrites

So I've got like three or four major redos for the plot that'd help.

1. New.

This'll be gone into more, but basically a game promising an entirely new galaxy is actually a pretty incredible feat and quite the draw if done right.

After Mass Effect 3's ending, it came out of nowhere that Bioware were working on a new Mass Effect game and quickly just revealing that you're going to Andromeda is thematically, from a marketing and story standpoint very clearly about 'leaving behind the bad ending and starting fresh'.

And then... without fail, your companions are a Human, another Human, an Asari, a Krogan, a Salarian, another human pilot, oh look a human engineer zzzzz...

'But that's the crew you had to go with!'

It was their decision to have you spend 600 years in cryo. Their decision to have you wake up months after many other people had already set up a lot of the intro colonising you'd be doing. Their decision for those alien races to be all ones you recognised.

Just because they're from the original Mass Effect Milky Way- doesn't mean the aliens have to be ones that the player has seen before. It isn't blasphemy to make up new alien races we just hadn't seen in the Milky Way. They were expanding with the Drell in Mass Effect 2, and people accepted Thane, no reason fans couldn't accept more.

2. New Aliens.

Mass Effect 1 has for your companions: Asari, Krogan, Turian, and Quarians. Four races to chew on and ask about.

There's also the Hanar, Rachni, Geth, Volus, Salarians, Batarians, Protheans, Thorians (Thorian, really) and Reapers.

That's 13 as a start. And people were fine with that. It wasn't overwhelming for the average player because you could ask about them at your own will.

They were all of them tied into the story too, the main plot to Mass Effect 1 cannot be done without Humans, Reapers, Protheans, an enemy to fight (Geth), there being at least one alien race on the council that deny humans, and an alien Spectre that hates you (Turian), giving you the rising arc of having to prove yourself by being a Spectre and chasing down the other one.

So at very least, Mass Effect 1 requires 5 alien races to be able to go through the plot with it functionally making sense.

Not to mention the importance of meeting the Thorian and the Asari helping your vision (7), the AI to dole out exposition on Ilos, the Husks to horrify you and prove how evil the Geth are without a doubt. Along with the Quarians to hate them, which is a side quest, but adds a lot to the ultimate point about AI being good or evil that comes back in 3.

Point being, with every Alien Race comes a new argument, or a new point in your big overarching argument.

For Mass Effect 2 and 3, the reason they didn't need to add more races was they'd already done the legwork and now you were in that universe.

In Andromeda you are literally in a different universe.

Mass Effect 2 only adds the Drell for companions, a test tube Krogan which shows them forced into being a super soldier. And also Collectors, who play an important part in furthering the argument of 2 and 3 about AI control over a race.

But Andromeda was meant to be the first game in a trilogy, not Mass Effect 4. That's why it felt boring.

3. Hi, Dad Ryder. Bye, Dad Ryder.

In Andromeda, you play the kid Ryder of a father who is annoying and childish.

Your Dad is an estranged hardass for no discernable reason other than the ol' cliche of 'People who work in an industry that requires being away from home having to justify it by making a parent who had to sacrifice their relationship with their kid for their job', ah, finally a healthy message from a videogame.

Oh, you feel bad that your parents aren't around, kid? Tough shit, their work's more important than you. They're doing it for you. Oh, you wanna connect and this is the perfect time? You wanna tell them you understand and re-connect? You're wrong. Do what I say. I'm Daddy. I'm never wrong.

The only reason to introduce Dad Ryder is to introduce an estranged relationship (basically an oxymoron), justify abusing a kid, then playing Ryder as like 'Oh no, my parent's great sacrificing so much for me'. Ouch.

Emotional manipulation for the sake of the Dad being abusive to their kid in the form of flashbacks that then justify the abuse as heroic. (You don't understand guys! It's about family).

First off, it's much more potent if the Ryder kids are orphans.

The game wants a push and pull of leaving people behind to get the fun new stuff?

Then leave them behind. No Dad.

If you want that connection, have your main character have left behind their family. Introduce a surrogate Dad, someone who's a military N7 who left behind a kid. You now have exactly one important thing in common more than the zero in common with the estranged Dad. You've left behind your real Dad, they've left behind their real kid.

This should be the start of Ryder's relationship with them, maybe even preferably there should be an N7 who was going to be in charge, but they got killed immediately and this N7's trying their best to take over. You want them to die in the beginning? Great! Give a surrogate paternal connection where they mention you're like their kid, and they can mention they aren't actually an N7, they just stole the armour off the last guy that died before anybody could panic, pretending to be promoted.

Boom. Now you're passed the torch of not actually being ready and imposter syndrome that comes with it. You're playing at Pathfinder, the way they did. Pretend and they'll accept you, or asking to find them and tell them how proud of them they were. You now have to go wake up their kid or find them on some other ship that's still to come into the galaxy.

You can even have the small mentions of backstory you can pick like Sole Survivor or War Hero where you can say why your main character left the galaxy. Although that would really be covered by Ryder's characterisation as to why they belong in this new galaxy in the first place.

...which leads me to...

4. Nepotism.

Why does our protagonist, Kid Ryder get to go to Andromeda?

The only reason you're there is because you're related to Dad Ryder. So you're not an N7 or training to be one, you're just... his kid.

The only reason you are playing as the main character in this game, Kid Ryder is because your Dad dies.

These are two things that aren't 'earning'. Shepard might not earn the Prothean Beacon- except Shepard kind of does.

No matter what you choose, Shepard earned being an N7 through the backstory, all three involve him eventually being a military N7 and ending up on the Normandy.

So that's one. Shepard then fights through the Geth on Eden Prime (something the player does) before saving Ashley or Kaidan from the Prothean Beacon, for all Shepard knows dooming him/herself to death. So that's two.

You don't even get to be a Spectre initially, you're specifically told no and have to get proof on the Citadel before you earn being a Spectre, before you can start the game proper and go off into the galaxy to stop Saren.

In Andromeda, Ryder wakes up, Ryder's Dad dies, Ryder is the new Pathfinder.

Other characters are specialists and fighters who've proven themselves by the time you meet them. You are not a specialist in anything but being called Ryder.

I know some people might find Nepotism like this kind of charming or touching or maybe even beautiful, but in a sci-fi game in the future with such an important mission where the Pathfinder has such a heightened responsibility of looking after... the future of all of these colonists and specialists in their field? Every person who is there because of their ability to do a job has earned their position. Ryder is the least qualified person to lead them.

You can mix together your classes with your character's specialisation. You don't even need this to be mentioned in dialogue ever, there's already a system in place for that.

Soldier (Bodyguard for the colonists, Military)

Scientist (Tech/Biotic Specialist, to study the new life)

Engineer (Tech Specialist, needed to fix the massive ship)

Biotic Bodyguard (Just Vanguard, but self explanatory)

You don't need this to be mentioned in dialogue eeever. Although it'd be really cool and would reward players for a specific choice, help immersion and encourage replaying, it isn't needed. The only thing that's needed is an explanation as to why Ryder should be leading everyone else.

Ryder could even be a rising Scientist or Soldier and you can keep your Nepotism, but with Ryder acknowledging it and that being why Ryder's so good. That way, it's compensating due to feeling inferior due to the job maybe being gotten because they're a kid.

Although even then it still reads like someone who got their job from Nepotism writing a game in which they're justifying why they should be there, rather than just writing a character who earns their place.

So, basically there shouldn't be a Dad for the player and if there is, you shouldn't be related to them. The new connection with the person you're not related to is metaphor for your relationship to the Andromeda galaxy.

While we're on the subject of family...

5. The Sibling's in a Coma to save on dialogue and animation

Let's say the sibling's in a coma to make you feel yearning for them later on in the game.

What's this sibling like? Would've been great to find out and chat beforehand to know what they're like. Would've been fantastic for them not to be in a coma and be able to chat to them throughout the game. Would've been amazing for us to have a new companion of a different alien race instead of a human sibling.

They do come back in the end, credit where credit's due. Are there enough conversations about both being orphans?

6. The New Planets

Why can't I name new planets? I can in Stellaris, it's just typing in a box and seeing the text. The characters never have to say it out loud.

How are the planets characterised? It's all the same green light through slick black technical looking metal and orange rock as far as the eye can see.

It's like they've taken Mass Effect 1's derelict side mission worlds and zoomed in a little and made them the whole main quest, rather than a few smaller places with introductions for how the planet looks and each one specifically characterised by the introduction and characters you see there. Less is more.

Now to be perfectly honest, this was a problem for me in the original Mass Effect trilogy too. There's a difference between a recurring technology like brickwork for our world or metal, where many places even on one planet will look different, and just the same look of the square metal structures like every building being the same make as the N7 armour and the Incisor Rifle.

The basics are cityscape, orange rock planet (Inquisition, is that you?), tundra planet, Space Station.

Except where are the Space Stations? Where are the cityscapes, even as still frame backgrounds? It being a new galaxy doesn't make sense that no-one's in there when from a story standpoint it would be much more interesting for there to be aliens and places already there to go into, as well as it just making sense if the characters have seen some perfect Goldilocks worlds and them making the decision that the Kett and Angara would be fine to exist, why not more?

Mass Effect: Andromeda Companions

I really don't like seeing people rewrite things, because it's both redundant to see something that can't happen, and also the anger at seeing someone in competition of the career you want to go into, and also if you do see it you might accidentally see them do better than you at it. Which is always fun, watching someone be better at the career you want to go into and potentially feel worse about your already unproven skills while maybe then feeling all the reasons as to why you might not be ready to even apply for said job.

So anyway, that said, here's my rewrite-thoughts for Mass Effect Andromeda's Companions:

Cora

I like Cora, I've seen from comments a lot of people don't. She seems very similar to Cassandra from Dragon Age: Inquisition? The short-haired military hardass who's somewhat abrasive to the more chipper Player, and morally reprimanding on basis of you needing to be tougher militaristically and tactically more forward.

The twist of being an Asari commando was interesting though, again, you could have her raised by Asari and having identity issues about who she really is. Maybe she has interesting dialogue options with Asari, or Asari hating her because she's encroaching on their culture.

You can get jokes from her thinking like an Asari, where she speaks more sagely like Liara or has the paint of one. Her mentioning that something doesn't matter because she lives for decades would be a strange one when you're having to remind her she'll not actually age like an Asari.

Liam

...has no character introduction. He just sits and waves. He should either be making faces behind the Asari, or sitting next to you so you can have a three way conversation with her. Maybe you could start with him sitting beside and he begins the conversation.

There's arguably a second introduction with him in the ship and then a third on the planet, but all of them weak to me, personally. You need to establish who this person is.

Who is Liam? I think this is why a lot of people got confused.

Say what you will about Peebee's intro (say... what- people 'did'? about Peebee's intro?) but it's memorable not just because of the poor animations, but because of the risk they took with her jumping onto Ryder. I swear if the animations were worked out, that'd be taken a lot more kindly.

People don't remember Liam's intro, it came with no immediate visual (Chase scene? In jail? Waking up from cryo? Killing someone?) action or dominant impression, nor really any memorable dialogue.

Liam's character so far as I know is a soldier who likes fighting and wants adventure the way you do. He needs to be a best friend and conscience to rely on for what they want to go through.

There's a connection you can build there, the similarities between him and you. You're both soldiers of some kind and lusting for adventure. You're both experiencing a lot of first moments on these new planets together, but they aren't really referenced compared to the other characters or alone later on.

So Liam should be introduced with some soldier ideal in the beginning. He should be fighting off some people and running around killing aliens in the beginning. To mention, there should be aliens to fight within the compound so that can be his intro.

PeeBee

Peebee's one of my favourite companions from Andromeda, she's well characterised and a difference from the original trilogy, which Andromeda desperately needed, that marketed and in the name to be the entire point, a different galaxy rather than the same.

Drack

Oh look, a badass Krogan. If only there were some sort of bigger more evil warrior alien race to put the Krogans into perspective, complete with the humour of a Krogan being called puny and having to get angry and prove themselves as the 'good' warrior race against the new ones?

You could either have a Krogan and one of these new races on the ship, or just one of the new ones and see their perspective of the Krogan.

Lexi

Medical Asari. Less personality than Peebee. Looking after you? That's a job, not really a personality. Unless of course she's genuinely more into it. You could model her after Florence Nightingale, or her interest in other species could not only help with any romancing, but an Asari perspective who's older and specifically some form of caretaker for other species serving as a counselor (which to their credit she kind of does) should proabbly be... more like a counselor?

Shouldn't she have the couch and not Liam? That way you can have you and her sitting on the couch.

Maybe you're asking her about the crew and how they're getting along, she mentions how interesting it is that you asked. You thank her and she motions to the couch, Ryder sitting before you can ask about other people. She responds- before mentioning that

'Is it difficult for you, taking on all this? I bet it is.'

You think about it, then saying yes, Ryder turns and lies down, staring up into the ceiling with an arm over the brow, feeling tuckered out from dealing with everyone. Ryder mentions

'It's just... tough you know? Being Pathfinder I just feel like everybody's put me into a role when it wasn't my choice... like other people's dealing with me is putting me into a place I never intended to be. You ever get that feeling?'

You turn to see Lexi sat in the therapist's chair opposite, glasses on and a (holo-)clipboard on her knee, nodding and writing. 'I've gotten used to it. Is this to do with your father?'

'Eugh! And my Father-!'

You can have Ryder realise halfway through of course, always getting suspicious, maybe as one option suspicious and one option playing along where you just go into your own worries and troubles, even split the scene with Ryder talking before Lexi stands, mentioning how busy they both have to be.

The end of it would be Lexi mentioning that it'd be healthy to come back and see her again. 'Well, only for an hour at a time, of course. I don't think you could manage any more.'

'And why's that.'

'Well you're a human. An hour's a long time for you. And... I thought that's what human therapists did?'

'Therapists? ...oh no...'

You get what I mean. Just an idea. Obviously a lot of my problems along with everybody's critiques have been the dialogue and writing being too comedy based and not taking things seriously enough, but no need for everything to be dry.

Essentially... why is she standing up? It's awkward for her character to be talking to you just standing up. Yes, this is also a problem for the Mass Effect trilogy characters. You should be sitting with most of them.

Suvi

She's okay, she actually has a bit of personality with the being smart, the mention of the 60 page summary of algae and that not being a lot is a good line. It says she's smart and unaware of it, compensating thinking she's not so smart. The worst thing about her character is she's just a human.

At this point she could very easily be any form of alien, and her personality would benefit from being characterised alien compared to the rest of the crew. 'Alienated', you could say...

Surely if you've got Cora a human playing at Asari, Peebee, an Asari who acts more human than any you've met, and Suvi, who acts more like a Salarian, there's got to be some realisation at some point that making this a theme, people wanting to be new and different regardless their race, is like an important metaphor for the new civilisation breaking into the Andromeda galaxy, right?

Actually mentioning that within the text would help a lot more for the characters understanding their place in the new galaxy. People being homesick or talking about what they've lost is important. As much so as why they left. That's a huge decision for anyone to make. Would you personally make that decision? I'm doubtful. So what would it take for someone to leave?

The ultimate Mass Effect: Andromeda companion problem? There's no reason half of these couldn't be new aliens. No reason you couldn't meet a new alien race as different and complex as the ones created. Meeting the Angara, and Jaal's character were one of the few things that many players liked about Andromeda pretty much across the board.

It's much better to try something new and fail than just do the same.

One of those things always has the chance of succeeding at doing something new and interesting.

The other never can, no matter how well done, by virtue of being done already.