Conversations, between party members and the assorted aliens of the universe, are still a key factor in ME2. Conversations in general are far more cinematic, with the 'actors' moving about and reacting to events. One new feature is the ability for your character to actually react to events in the middle of a conversation - for example, while interrogating a diseased, hostile alien who blames you as a human for spreading a plague, the alien collapses, coughing, and a "do something now?" icon appears (Renegade or Paragon, depending on which 'alignment' gates the action). You can patch him up, and then explain that you didn't have anything to do with the plague and just want to help. Or you can coldly tell him that since you just kept him alive, he owes you. Or, you can just let him collapse. While the base mechanic is similar to a dialogue tree, the impact is more cinematic when you actually take action instead of clicking on a line of text.
The goal is for ME2 to match ME1's targeted playtime of 30 to 40 hours; albeit with less duplication of content and richer planetary missions that reward players to leave the beaten path. The 'critical path' to just complete the game is longer as well (although Bioware couldn't be pinned down on just how long that would be).
Downloadable content (DLC) is planned from the start, similar to what we've seen with Dragon Age. Unlike the first game, ME2 has been planned from the ground up with the ability to integrate DLC, from special weapons that appear as pre-order bonuses to complete expansion-quality mission packs. One thing we hopefully won't see is the launch day crashing we saw with Dragon Age's launch - Casey Hudson admitted that Bioware was taken by surprise with just how many people were interested in buying DLC so soon, and the capability will be ramped up significantly. The long term plan is to have a smaller team working on DLC, parallel to Mass Effect 3's development, over an extended period of time.
;)
Much of what we were shown was from an early build of the game, so things such as difficulty levels or ability balance were incomplete. Still, it's obviously a Bioware game with all the story-driven RPG goodness that that implies - and if you enjoyed Mass Effect 1, it's a given that you'll want to see the places this story takes you.
Near the end of the day, I was given the opportunity to sit down for more general questions with Dr. Greg Zeschuk, Bioware's co-founder and Group Creative Officer of the newly merged Bioware Mythic studio. Being a former Mythic employee myself (and somewhat bemused to be handed a Mythic business card by Dr. Zeschuk!) I asked how that merger was going. Zeschuk had glowing praise for the Mythic studio. "We've got a lot of respect for the people there. They're doing a lot of different products, that are different from what Edmonton Bioware, Bioware Montreal and Bioware Austin are doing - a great team, and a tremendous addition to our group." I of course keyed on the "different products" line - but was told only that "there are projects that have been announced, such as Warhammer, and projects that haven't been." So there's that. When asked about how well the DLC for Dragon Age has been going (bearing in mind Dragon Age had only been out for two weeks at the time of the interview), Zeschuk said that the response had been spectacular, and "it gives us great confidence for the plans that we have going forward." That success will carry over to the commitment for Mass Effect 2's DLC going forward as well, with ambitious plans for both games going forward.
;)
Of course, I had to end by asking the inevitable question about release dates or beta plans for The Old Republic Online. Zeschuk wouldn't be pinned down simply smiled and said that more would be announced after the new year. When asked how Bioware was adjusting to the challenges of making an MMO as opposed to single player RPGs, Zeschuk pointed out that in many ways Neverwinter Nights was "a step towards an MMO. There was a point where we were debating doing one right then. We knew you could do smaller scale persistent worlds with Neverwinter, which was pretty neat actually. It's been in our DNA, the concept of managing community, and running a service. But one of the benefits of having the team down in Austin is that with Gordon Walton and Rich Vogel - they come with a wealth of direct experience, and we've 'spliced in' a lot of the Bioware design philosophy into that. And finally, you have Mythic, and hey, they've done that [launching an MMO] multiple times - reliably, time and time out. We've got all the know-how - we've just got to get the game done." A sentiment on which I think every fan would agree.
