# MASS EFFECT: LEGACIES – Preserving Canon, Passing the Torch

## 🎬 OVERVIEW & THE INTENT
The goal of this new trilogy is to honor the *Destroy* ending of *Mass Effect 3* without overwriting player choices. This isn't just a sequel; it is a literal **passing of the torch**.

Veterans will experience profound nostalgia, and a new generation of players will step into the boots of Shepard’s child. They will fight to prove themselves and build their own legend in a fractured galaxy, but always with the knowledge that the ultimate legend is watching from above.

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## 🎥 THE OPENING SCENE: "THE REVEAL"

**FADE IN:**

**EXT. CITADEL RUBBLE (LONDON) - FLASHBACK (BLACK & WHITE)**
The Crucible fires. The dust settles. The iconic final shot from *Mass Effect 3* plays out: a sharp, desperate, gasping **BREATH** cuts through the silence from a shattered N7 chest piece.

**HARD CUT TO BLACK.**

**FADE IN:**

**INT. ALLIANCE WARSHIP CORRIDOR - PRESENT DAY (25 YEARS LATER)**
The screen remains pitch black for a few seconds. We hear that exact same heavy, rhythmic breathing inside a helmet.

The camera opens in a **tight third-person view, locked strictly behind the shoulders** of a soldier walking down a high-tech Alliance corridor. The soldier is wearing the legendary N7 armor. The stride, the weight, the movement—it is an exact replica of the Commander Shepard we spent three games playing.

As the soldier walks past the crew, Alliance marines snap to attention and salute:
* *"Good day, Commander Shepard."*
* *"The bridge is ready for you, Commander."*

The soldier enters the CIC (Combat Information Center) and stands before the holographic galaxy map.

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## ⚙️ CHARACTER CREATION & THE CANON EDITOR

A sleek Alliance personnel interface slides onto the screen. This is where the player designs their protagonist.

**[ALLIANCE PERSONNEL FILE: IDENTIFY COMMANDER SHEPARD]**

**1. Current Protagonist (The Child)**
* Choose gender (Jack Shepard or Jessy Shepard)
* Customize face, hair, and starting class.

**2. The Legacy Archive (Establishing Your Trilogy Canon)**
Instead of importing a save, the player confirms the identity of their legendary parents to set up the galaxy state.

> **CRITICAL SERVICE RECORD ENTRY: THE HERO OF LONDON**
> * *Confirm the identity and record of the Commander Shepard who led the Battle of London:*
> * **[SHEPARD GENDER]:** **JOHN SHEPARD** (Male) / **JANE SHEPARD** (Female)
>
> **CRITICAL SERVICE RECORD ENTRY: THE VIVRE SURVIVOR & SPOUSE**
> * *Confirm the high-ranking Alliance officer who survived Virmire and stood by Shepard's side:*
> * **[SPOUSE]:** **ASHLEY WILLIAMS** (Now Fleet General) / **KAIDAN ALENKO** (Now Fleet Admiral)

The player makes their choice. They hit **"CONFIRM."**

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## 💥 THE PLOT TWIST: NO FACE, JUST FAMILY

The game unfreezes. The camera finally swings around to the front, putting the face of the *new* Shepard into sharp focus—a young, fierce, dynamic N7 officer.

In that exact moment, the hydraulic doors of the bridge slide open. The crew snaps to attention.

We hear footsteps approach. The young soldier looks over and smiles, a genuine, completely relaxed smile.

> **JACK / JESSY:** *"Sorry... the ship was acting up. Honestly, this ship is as old as you two, dammit!"*

We **DO NOT** see the visitors. The camera stays fixed on the young soldier's face, capturing their reaction.

We only hear two distinct voices from off-screen, full of parental affection, warmth, and light military authority:

> **OFF-SCREEN VOICE 1:** *"At ease, Commander. And show some respect to this old girl. She’s built to last."*
>
> **OFF-SCREEN VOICE 2:** *"They have a point, sweetheart. But it's good to see you back. We have a lot to discuss."*
>
> **JACK / JESSY (Smirking):** *"Hey Mom, hey Dad."*

The screen instantly **FADES TO BLACK** right as the footsteps stop next to the protagonist.

The player doesn't see the faces of the legendary parents until the prologue ends, keeping the massive reveal completely hidden and tailored to their specific choices.

**TITLE CARD: MASS EFFECT – LEGACIES**

I don’t think it’s all on EA

Post "Bioware" depression for me is really effective even after i played like 10 to 15 famous games after that. For every one or two new games I play, I go back to mass effect or dragon age to play them again, atleast for some quests and come back to new game.

I would have never started playing rpg games with bioware.

Hey all, if you are interested, I had a conversation with Brent Knowles who worked with me at BioWare during the Neverwinter Nights days. He worked on Hordes of the Underdark expansion.

I caught up with him on creating game worlds as after BioWare he’s also created the table top D&D campaign Raiders of the Serpent Sea

I’ve posted the podcast on Apple and Spotify and there’s show notes on my substack : https://tales.dups.ca/p/ep56-game-designer-brent-knowles

(Please note despite having a bunch of ex BioWare people on my podcast — including Trent Oster talking about forging knives etc. it’s about once every couple of months for BioWare based episodes ;) please don’t subscribe expecting BioWare all the time lol and no I am not seeking subscribers but I do think Brent is great to listen to about game and table top roleplaying design!)

Is gog my best option? I have it on steam but the exe is broken and I struggle getting it running at a reasonable resolution if it's even possible to achieve somehow.

Long story short, I love old bioware games and bethesda games, I just miss good RPGS, however I can't find games that scratch that itch (Greedfall did, but only a bit). I could replay the bioware games but there either need to be modded to fix the bugs or like ME:LE need 100 gb to just ME 1 and ME 2. So are theyre any recomondations from yall?

EDIT:

I've played BG3, and some of the dragon age games (They crashed too much: Fuck EA for not properly porting it over to the new app), I am fine with isometric RPGS (Loved fallout 2). However I was looking for a game similar to ME series as they can be played with a contoller and makes it easier to play instead of being hunched over a keyboard (I am a goblin).

EDIT: 2

Older games or AA games probably works best for this case like Greedfall just finished it and it felt like playing ME 1 all over again.