On Twitter, BioWare better details Anthem's blend of storytelling and multiplayer
Always online, no AI companions, no PVP.
Anthem was EA's biggest reveal at E3 this year - its most unknown quantity, and fittingly the longest focus of today's press conference. But, despite an on-stage chat with BioWare staff and a decent montage of gameplay, I couldn't help feeling like I left the conference with more questions than answers.
Perhaps in recognition of this, executive producer Mark Darrah has been fielding some of the many questions from BioWare fans over on his Twitter account following the press conference - we've rounded up some of the most important points below.
We're chatting with BioWare about Anthem ourselves tomorrow - so if you have questions you'd like answered, leave them in the comments section and I'll be sure to read them.
First off, the way the game is structured. BioWare has already made it clear your character's personal story will be told through interactions with NPCs at the game's Tarsis base (which, as shown previously, will be explored in first-person). It's here you will catch up with and build relationships with the game's characters, which Darrah likens to your advisers in Dragon Age. You will not, however, be taking any of these characters with you in missions - a big change from BioWare games of the past.
Darrah recently confirmed to GameInformer there would be no romance options in the game - another big BioWare staple. On Twitter today, Darrah said there would still be relationships of a kind, though. And if romances were added later in response to fan demand, they would be made available to everyone for free.
You will need to be online to play, although you can choose to play the game solo. There are options to matchmake with other people randomly, or of course you can also pick and invite friends to join. There will be no couch co-op. There will be no player-versus-player multiplayer.
Your character - the Freelancer - will have personal power progression, alongside the upgrades you can unlock for your four exosuits - the Javelins. Other Javelin suit types may follow in updates post-launch. Aerial exploration in your Javelin is limited by the amount of (upgradable) time you can spend flying before needing to cool your jets. Loot will drop, and it will be instanced to you - so your friends can't steal it themselves.
It'd be great to have heard some of this on stage today - but press conferences are not the best setting for the deep, detailed reveal I think Anthem deserves, despite what many fans of BioWare were perhaps expecting.
Again, I'll be talking with BioWare tomorrow specifically about Anthem. If there's something you'd like to hear more about, post in the comments below.