Mass Effect Universe Director Reveals the Game’s ‘Multiverse’ System

BioWare’s canceled Mass Effect game would have been more than just one “universe.”

Polygon.com

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Romain Toutain, Mass Effect technical director at BioWare since 2022, went live on Twitch on Saturday, where he watched the leaked trailer for the next installment in the Mass Effect series, Mass Effect Universe. Toutain discussed lore, gameplay, and technical details, revealing new details about the scrapped sequel. It was a bittersweet moment, as the game that could have been sounds like it would have exceeded the community’s high expectations.

In terms of lore, Toutain confirms that the bartender in the trailer is a new alien race. He describes the organic, Reaper-like being as hairy and reveals that it might have been able to grow more tentacles. While analyzing the strange creature, the new Quarian companion shows the N7 protagonist its bioscanner data page. Unfortunately, Toutain was unable to tell us more because, just like the writers formerly working on the project, there is information that remains confidential.

Mass Effect Universe save files would create an array of parallel universes

As for the technical aspects of the game and its concept, Toutain was able to dive deeper and share more. All previous choices made in the Mass Effect trilogy (and presumably Andromeda) remained relevant in Universe. The name comes from the fact that each save file is its own universe, based on player choices. Each new decision would generate a separate timeline, producing several parallel universes.

Toutain says the system would be similar to Zero Time Dilemma, a game where each time the player makes a decision, an alternative universe is created where they made a different decision. Therefore, it would be possible to make decisions that contradict others made in the past.

The developers created a technology that identified which decisions in the timeline connected to key plot points. If there was no connection, they would have to create it, so gamers could play the same story but have a completely different experience. Players would even be able to share their save file with others if they felt like their decisions unlocked a particularly interesting path. This mechanic was the main focus of the developers, and Universe was being built around it. The goal was to give players “absolute autonomy.”

Fans, employees, and voice actors are working hard to save Mass Effect and prevent it from being yet another franchise abandoned by EA, but Toutain doesn’t seem optimistic. “EA never sells anything. They just shut things down and sit on their licenses,” he said before the clip cuts off.