Mass Effect Universe promised unprecedented freedom of choice - details from the developer

BioWare was developing a technology for Mass Effect Universe that would take into account decisions from previous games and allow the story to continue even after actions that could disrupt the usual course of events.

The canceled game Mass Effect Universe from BioWare could have received a choice system capable of creating alternative timelines based on decisions from the original trilogy and changing the subsequent plot.

Romain Vincent Toutain, the franchise's technical director, spoke about the technology. The system was supposed to analyze saves from previous parts, take into account the state of the world, and calculate the consequences of the player's actions.

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

The project was conceived as a way to provide players with almost complete freedom of action. However, it is unknown how the system would work for newcomers without saves from previous parts.