Mass Effect 4 won't use the Dragon Age: Inquisition "template", says BioWare

Dragon Age: Inquisition may have enjoyed developer BioWare's most successful launch to date, but the studio isn't going to use the game as a "template" for all its future projects, such as the highly anticipated Mass Effect 4.

Posting on NeoGAF, Bioware's general manager Aaryn Flynn said that although some elements will be similar, the studio's flagship sci-fi and fantasy franchises will both maintain their individuality.

"All of our games are using Frostbite now," writes Flynn. "We've said the next Mass Effect (and our new IP, but I won't expand on that yet) uses some of the technology from DAI. We've been enjoying building larger areas that you can explore with less friction, so that'll be there as well."

Flynn says the next Mass Effect game (which might not actually be called Mass Effect 4, but you know, convenient shorthand and all that) will draw on the franchise's own history, rather than trying to ape Inquisition's success. Hence the return of the mighty Mako transport.

"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."

So whatever happens with Mass Effect 4, you probably won't be running around harvesting ram meat, or attending masqued balls in fantasy France. The open world structure might remain, but things will definitely be different.

“We’re very proud of what DAI has achieved," admits Flynn, "but that does not set a ‘template’ for what every other game we make needs to be. 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’.”