Though Mass Effect 3 is believed to be the end of the Commander Shepard trilogy no one believes that BioWare will up and abandon the franchise that has brought them the most success. In fact, BioWare isn’t even ready to move on from Mass Effect, even though they want to wrap up Mass Effect 3 in a way that is extremely satisfying.

To Casey Hudson, Creative Director on Mass Effect 3, the most important thing is ending the trilogy “strongly.” Yes, giving some sense of closure will make it difficult for BioWare to simply pick things right up, but that’s a hardship that the developer is willing to bear, since that means all of those nagging Mass Effect storylines came together.

It’s almost like BioWare is serving two different purposes in delivering a Mass Effect 3 that ends with an exclamation point not a question mark. First and foremost, they are rewarding those fans who stuck through the thick and the thin, but they are also giving Mass Effect 3 its proper due. Yes they have some ideas for future titles, but that’s thinking that takes away from Mass Effect 3, which is the main focus.

"We want to do more stuff with Mass Effect, of course, and I'm sure we will. But we're not really thinking about that right now. We want to make sure we give people the best ending to Mass Effect 3 that we can."

It’s certainly going to be hard to say goodbye to many of the characters that we have grown accustomed to playing alongside over these past three titles, but it is better to wrap things up now and look towards the future lest the experience becomes stale. Some would argue that Mass Effect 2 dropped the ball, and Mass Effect 3 is a chance for redemption, while others would proclaim Mass Effect 2 an improved follow-up.

That, in and of itself -- balancing different fans' expectations -- is probably keeping BioWare developers up at night. Just make this one good, and then fans will be happy and not question whatever direction you take the franchise next.

Would you like to see more Mass Effect games after Mass Effect 3? In what direction would you like to see the franchise go?

Mass Effect 3 releases March 6, 2012 for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Source: OXM