The next legendary edition of BioWare’s Mass Effect took a fresh look at the trilogy’s free camera angles focusing on ME2’s Miranda character – or more specifically, her rear – and made some changes.
Speaking to Metro, Legendary Edition project director Mac Walters said that times have changed since the release of the original games, and some adjustments have been made to some things that stand out.
“I think that many things have evolved since [the original games]”Said Walters.” I don’t know if I would say that we are very concerned about this or something, but there were considerations. Kevin [Meek, environment and character director] actually called some camera cuts that were just … why was that focused on Miranda’s ass? So in some cases, we said, ‘Okay, we can make a change here.’ “
Other camera changes include some strange angles for Shepard, which were clearly designed exclusively with the male Shepard model in mind. From experience, interpreting them as a female Shepard means that she sits there, spreading a skirt, and is just ridiculous and a little broken to watch.
“An animation of a male shepherd would have seated you with your legs wide open with a low camera where, if you were wearing a skirt, it would be a little unfavorable,” continued Walters. “So, we can’t necessarily change this animation, but you can raise the camera slightly to reduce the problem.”
Mass Effect’s character Miranda is defined by appearance, and she accepting the fact that her DNA was genetically modified by her father is an important part of her overall character arc. But the writing of the trilogy does a good enough job of dealing with it – without the players being constantly reminded of their body with pictures of their overalls.
For more information on the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, including our questions to Walters about returning to a franchise that many feared he couldn’t continue, Eurogamer published its own interview and impressions earlier this week.