Mass Effect Interview
July 11,2006 - Bioware's Mass Effect currently acts as one of Microsoft's premier portfolio titles for the Xbox 360. We were able to have a sit-down with Project Director Casey Hudson and ask him a few questions about the ambitious looking action-RPG. Read on to learn about newly disclosed information that you won't find anywhere else.
Amped IGO: Please introduce yourself and your involvement with Mass Effect.
Casey Hudson: I’m Casey Hudson, Project Director on Mass Effect. Project Director is essentially a Producer / Director role, which means I’m responsible for guiding the creative vision on the project as well as working with our publisher and other groups to make sure the game gets done.
IGO: Can you give a bit of background to the story? What is the concept behind the title “Mass Effect?”
CH: Mass Effect takes place in the year 2183 – a time when humans have recently become a part of the space-faring galactic community. You are Commander Shepard, a tough and experienced soldier who is in line to be the first human Spectre. As a Spectre, you will be charged with the most important and difficult missions in the galaxy: uncovering and terminating the greatest threats to galactic security.
What you discover at the beginning of the game reveals something more terrifying than ever expected, the essence of which we like to describe like this:
Among those who study ancient alien ruins, a horrific legend is told: that every 50,000 years a gate opens in space, and a race of machines pours through—harvesting organic civilizations and all that they have created. It is the year 2183. The gate is about to open …
IGO: How long has the game been in development?
CH: We started working on it a little over 2 years ago. It takes a long time to build a galaxy!
IGO: Why was the decision made to spread the story across three games? Will we be seeing all three installments on the Xbox 360? What about PC?
CH: It’s not quite that we’re spreading the story across three games. Instead we’ve designed a story for the first Mass Effect game with its own self-contained, spectacular adventure – complete with a satisfying and definitive ending (several of them actually). But, you can continue playing Mass Effect after the ending, to explore Uncharted Worlds across the galaxy, as well having further adventures in downloadable content. And we certainly expect to have some huge sequels to Mass Effect as well.
So to ensure that the story has somewhere to go after the first game – and to allow it to unfold in amazing and unexpected ways that tie in to the original story – we are making detailed plans for the ongoing story arc as part of writing this first story. Our story plans extend to cover three massive titles.
The reason we’re doing this is that we want to create the biggest and most memorable interactive science-fiction experience possible and that meant being able to not only tell one great story, but to be able to constantly elevate the experience across future adventures in a way that feels like one enormous story.
Players will be able to create a character for Mass Effect, and play as that character through three huge titles and tons of downloadable adventures over the lifetime of the Xbox 360.
There are currently no plans for a PC version.
IGO: Can you give a little bit more information about Commander Shepard? What’s his/her story?
CH: Commander Shepard is a veteran soldier, who’s seen a lot of action in many engagements across the galaxy. And Shepard doesn’t have it very easy either. Charged with the most important missions in the galaxy, Shepard is therefore authorized to get the job done at all costs – and it’s up to you to determine what that cost will be. Often, something must be sacrificed to get further in your mission, and all of Shepard’s decisions are important ones, where people’s lives hang on the details of each choice.
But that’s about all I can say for sure about Shepard, because the rest is up to you. You can create your own Commander Shepard - male or female – and then customize his / her appearance to look the way you want. And even Shepard’s back-story is yours to decide, as part of character creation. Ultimately, the way you play Commander Shepard is the final piece of the puzzle, as your choices will define how your character affects the galaxy, and the future of entire civilizations.
Written By: Amadeo Plaza | Tags: Mass Effect, Xbox 360, Microsoft Game Studios, BioWare
Amped IGO: Please introduce yourself and your involvement with Mass Effect.
Casey Hudson: I’m Casey Hudson, Project Director on Mass Effect. Project Director is essentially a Producer / Director role, which means I’m responsible for guiding the creative vision on the project as well as working with our publisher and other groups to make sure the game gets done.
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CH: Mass Effect takes place in the year 2183 – a time when humans have recently become a part of the space-faring galactic community. You are Commander Shepard, a tough and experienced soldier who is in line to be the first human Spectre. As a Spectre, you will be charged with the most important and difficult missions in the galaxy: uncovering and terminating the greatest threats to galactic security.
What you discover at the beginning of the game reveals something more terrifying than ever expected, the essence of which we like to describe like this:
Among those who study ancient alien ruins, a horrific legend is told: that every 50,000 years a gate opens in space, and a race of machines pours through—harvesting organic civilizations and all that they have created. It is the year 2183. The gate is about to open …
IGO: How long has the game been in development?
CH: We started working on it a little over 2 years ago. It takes a long time to build a galaxy!
IGO: Why was the decision made to spread the story across three games? Will we be seeing all three installments on the Xbox 360? What about PC?
CH: It’s not quite that we’re spreading the story across three games. Instead we’ve designed a story for the first Mass Effect game with its own self-contained, spectacular adventure – complete with a satisfying and definitive ending (several of them actually). But, you can continue playing Mass Effect after the ending, to explore Uncharted Worlds across the galaxy, as well having further adventures in downloadable content. And we certainly expect to have some huge sequels to Mass Effect as well.
 |
The reason we’re doing this is that we want to create the biggest and most memorable interactive science-fiction experience possible and that meant being able to not only tell one great story, but to be able to constantly elevate the experience across future adventures in a way that feels like one enormous story.
Players will be able to create a character for Mass Effect, and play as that character through three huge titles and tons of downloadable adventures over the lifetime of the Xbox 360.
There are currently no plans for a PC version.
IGO: Can you give a little bit more information about Commander Shepard? What’s his/her story?
CH: Commander Shepard is a veteran soldier, who’s seen a lot of action in many engagements across the galaxy. And Shepard doesn’t have it very easy either. Charged with the most important missions in the galaxy, Shepard is therefore authorized to get the job done at all costs – and it’s up to you to determine what that cost will be. Often, something must be sacrificed to get further in your mission, and all of Shepard’s decisions are important ones, where people’s lives hang on the details of each choice.
But that’s about all I can say for sure about Shepard, because the rest is up to you. You can create your own Commander Shepard - male or female – and then customize his / her appearance to look the way you want. And even Shepard’s back-story is yours to decide, as part of character creation. Ultimately, the way you play Commander Shepard is the final piece of the puzzle, as your choices will define how your character affects the galaxy, and the future of entire civilizations.
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| Published by: | Microsoft Game Studios |
| Developed by: | BioWare |
| Genre: | Role-Playing |
| # of Players: | 1 |
| ESRB Rating: | Mature |
| Release Date: | US: November 20th, 2007 |
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Gamer 2.0 Rating: N/A | Hype Rating: N/A
Gamer 2.0 Rating: 8.2 | User Rating: N/A
Gamer 2.0 Rating: 7.8 | User Rating: N/A
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