even though Mass effect The trilogy allowed players to create their own Shepard, the game had limited options for making non-white characters. Environment and character director Kevin Meek said The Verge that improving options for people of color was one of their top priorities when it came to Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, an upcoming remastered collection. “If you have type 4 hair or a very dark skin tone or if this is the Shepard you wanted to play with, you just didn’t have that option in the original Mass Effect,” said Meek.
Legendary Edition compresses all three games with all their corresponding DLCs. Although the game does not add new story content, it revises its graphics and expands some gameplay elements to make them more modern. Upon returning to the series, BioWare had the opportunity to remedy its shortcomings in the game’s original design. “There are certain hair styles that just don’t work, especially for Shepards women,” said Meek. “There was very little there to support that. There were options for long, flowing hair, you can dye it black, but it didn’t really work. ”The team started by making a list of the missing hair styles and then elaborating the textures. “You can’t put on a messy and clean cut with shiny, shiny hair,” said Meek as an example.
In deciding which hair styles to incorporate into a modernized game set in the future, developers sought more “timeless” options. “The difference between style and fashion,” said Meek. Part of the enhancements to the game’s faded hair style, for example, include “futuristic sci-fi patterns” buzzing on the sides. “You don’t want to get people’s attention, you just want it to fit the Mass effect universe.”
In addition to new hair styles, skin tones and more, the game is also enhancing its “iconic” FemShep – a model chosen by players who did not appear until the final version of the trilogy. The late inclusion of the canonical character model was “really limiting” for many players. “It’s very unfair to people who play as women, you go through all those moments over Mass Effect 1 and two and then you start to Mass Effect 3 and you just have the choice to keep your Shepard or change your look completely, ”said Meek.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition will be released on May 14 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.