This is not about new media. There are great games who tell awesome story (I would suggest Planescape: Torment for the old ones, KOTOR2 for new ones, and Aquaria for the indie ones). This is about Mass Effect specifically, which is not really spectacular. It's power fantasy with good pacing and structure and it borrows from movies in ways of soundtracks and atmosphere, yes. But the universe it happens in is pretty boring compared to, say Eclipse Phase or The Culture, the "diversity" is laughable, and I would suggest that characters who are gay only in some playthroughs are pretty dangerous idea.
I would on the other hand argue that Mass Effect series is bad for the video game industry -- for many people, it made voiced main character mainstream. That is bad, because it's very expensive, so not only it makes video gaming industry harder to enter for new businesses, it also makes even the rich studios trim dialogue and actual choice in game to the lowest common denominator.
However once again, this is not about new media. Check works of Paul DeMarinis if you want new media, it's full of win.
I don't understand why Planescape: Torment gets so much love. I tried it out because of the hype, and found it has an interesting world, but the story itself was pretty vanilla, and the engine was just another form of isometric D&D game. I was bored and gave up halfway though.
Sure, the story might have improved towards the end, but a good story should have you throughout, and not make you drudge through the early stages.
Isn't it obvious? Torment wasn't a game, it was an interactive novel in disguise. The most interesting stuff in the game doesn't happen in the top half of the screen, it happens in the long lines of narrative and dialog at the bottom.
I think you are missing the point here. Mass Effect is closer to "Games as a storytelling medium" than Planscape or KOTOR. Its an evolution. Its a step and the OP is slapping the author for celebrating the fact that science fiction THIS RICH is dedicated to A GAME. Not in the form of written text (Planescape / Kotor / Monkey Island) not static responses, not static characters. This fiction is highly integrated to a competent game system with high production values. Its not perfect but its an accomplishment nonetheless. I havent seen any games that have a custom universe this fleshed out and well planned.
The author isn't talking about games though, nor is he really talking about "storytelling." He's saying that the philosophical bent and diversity of the game makes it the most important sci-fi universe. Your argument has a great angle, but as for godless diversity and the insignificance of man, Vernor Vinge has definitely been there before.
Magicians have this unspoken rule that whoever popularizes a trick owns it. Maybe the author, like me, didn't have the fortune of being exposed to Vernor Vinge. But be that as it may, there must be something commendable in how Bioware has chosen to integrate these concepts that Vernor pioneered and package/tweaked and EXTENDED it into something that is palatable to the masses (the new younger demographic at that) I am quite certain they needed to tone down hardcore parts of it for the game to be somewhat entertaining as you can see in their more in-depth exploration of the universe thru novels and comics. The future movie is a result of the success of the game. Hence the concepts of godless diversity and insignificance of men will have reached and incepted more minds. That is why its very important. But 'important' is a very subjective word so disagreement and put-downs are to be expected.
I would on the other hand argue that Mass Effect series is bad for the video game industry -- for many people, it made voiced main character mainstream. That is bad, because it's very expensive, so not only it makes video gaming industry harder to enter for new businesses, it also makes even the rich studios trim dialogue and actual choice in game to the lowest common denominator.
However once again, this is not about new media. Check works of Paul DeMarinis if you want new media, it's full of win.