Despite the critical success of Dragon Age: Inquisition, Bioware general manager Aaryn Flynn says the upcoming Mass Effect 4 won't be drawing from the "Dragon Age template."
In a post on the video game forum NEOGaf (via IGN), Flynn explained the design philosophy behind the next entry in Bioware's popular sci-fi franchise.
"Each game franchise needs to innovate and improve their experience based on what's best for it, not just what another game had success with because 'well that was successful,'" writes Flynn.
Mass Effect 4 will look to past Mass Effect titles for inspiration, rather than attempting to emulate the systems of Dragon Age: Inquisition.
"Take the Mako, something we've already shown in prototype form," Flynn explains. "We had that in ME1, and bringing it back is more related to a feeling that we can do it much better than we did before and fulfill the original promise of that gameplay. That has nothing to do with DAI. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that dropping the older consoles has had more impact on the overall gameplay goals of the next Mass Effect game than what DAI successfully accomplished.
"We're very proud of what DAI has achieved, but that does not set a 'template' for what every other game we make needs to be."
But that doesn't mean the two games won't share some similarities. The new Mass Effect, like Dragon Age: Inquisition, will run on DICE's Frostbite Engine and will also feature larger areas to explore.
Additional details about the game, such as when it will take place in the Mass Effect storyline and whether or not it will include series star Commander Shepard, are still unknown. Bioware says the game is "in the middle of development" for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
