BioWare plánovali first person spin-off Mass Effectu pro DS » Vortex

In February this year, we wrote that the canceled spin effect of Mass Effect could offer a hero like Han Solo. Dorian Kieken, who worked as a development director at BioWare during the development of the famous sci-fi series, revealed this in an interview with TheGamer magazine. Now we have learned more.

It was supposed to be a combination of Privateer and Star Control.

BioWare created a prototype Mass Effect spin-off for the Nintendo DS years ago. A project called Mass Effect: Corsair could be a first person adventure where a player would pilot his own ship in dangerous areas of the galaxy. This was revealed by long-time former prominent BioWare developer Mark Darrah in an interview for the MinnMax show.

The part of the universe where we would be moving would not be completely explored and relatively dangerous. Prim would probably be played by pirates and mercenaries. It was supposed to be a combination of Privateer and Star Control, Darrah revealed, saying that the player would control an independent character like Han Solo… And that gets him back to the beginning, because Kieken and Darrah seem to be talking about the same game.

According to Darrah, the idea came down because the developers calculated that it was not a good investment.

Kieken also said that the main character would be a character like Han Solo in a game inspired by Star Control. Our job would be to fly, carry cargo, research and trade, says Darrah. And, of course, we would also be fighting our ship in space. But the project did not get far, the authors had only the basics of control.

According to Darrah, the idea came down because the developers calculated that it was not a good investment. Given the planned budget, EA’s expectations, possible sales, and lower shares of DS games due to the price of the cartridges, it didn’t make sense, Darrah recalls. The most expensive one cost almost $ 11. The games themselves were not sold at full price, which meant a smaller share for the authors.

Kieken praised the idea of ​​an undefeated character in the manner of a smuggler or pirate who would allow a player to see this world from a completely different perspective.

According to Darrah, the authors knew how to make great games, but not ones that had to be kept in check. EA estimated that they would sell only about 50,000 copies. The economic side of development on the DS went against them. The development of the Mass Effect: Corsair project therefore ended and was later replaced by the mobile spin-off Mass Effect: Infiltrator.

As early as February, we wrote that, according to Kieken, this concept was being explored by developers in 2008 after the release of the first Mass Effect (2007). The title was to expand Mass Effect as such and come out alongside other games, not instead. Kieken praised the idea of ​​an undefeated figure in the form of a smuggler or pirate who would allow a player to see this world from a completely different perspective than the super soldier chosen to save the entire galaxy.

According to him, it would be like watching Star Wars without Jedi knights or Warhammer 40,000 without space marines. Such a hero would not belong to any particular faction, he would not be a villain or a hero. We have much more freedom to explore the universe, Kieken said. According to him, the success of a similar idea is proved, among others, by series such as Mandalorian or Firefly. But Dorian Kieken didn’t talk about the platform, we only found out about it now.

The British Eurogamer reminds that it was not the only canceled title from this series. Studio BioWare Montreal, which later led the development of Mass Effect: Andromeda, was working on some unreleased first person multiplayer action. Mass Effect: Team Assault was supposed to be a downloadable vehicle shooter that eventually gave way to multiplayer in Mass Effect 3.