Canceled Mass Effect Universe Was Built Around “Absolute Autonomy,” Franchise Technical Director Says

BioWare was developing technology for Mass Effect Universe that would account for decisions from earlier games and let the story continue even after player actions that could derail its usual course.

The canceled Mass Effect Universe from BioWare could have featured a choice system capable of creating alternate timelines based on decisions from the original trilogy and changing the story that followed.

The technology was described by Romain Teutenn, the franchise’s technical director. The system was meant to analyze saves from previous games, take the state of the world into account, and calculate the consequences of the player’s actions.

For example, if the hero killed a character required for a quest, the game could either fail the mission or offer an alternative path that allowed the story to continue. According to Teutenn, this is only a simplified description of a complex technology.

The project was conceived as a way to give players nearly complete freedom of action. It remains unclear how the system would have worked for newcomers without saves from the previous games.