Explaining the reasoning behind the change, Kindegran pointed to criticism from the US media: “Mass Effect was widely and really unfairly criticized in the US by Fox News,” Kindegran told The Gamer, referring to a 2007 panel. about using sex scenes in the first game. ““The Mass Effect 2 development team was a very progressive and open-minded team, but I think there was a concern at very high levels that if Mass Effect, who had only a gay relationship, Liara – who on paper was not technically a gay relationship because she was a kind of a single gender – I think there was a concern that if it had attracted fire, Mass Effect 2 would have to be a little careful. ”
Kindegran did not agree with the change, but told The Gamer that it was done in an attempt to “minimize the amount of criticism that would be directed at the community by vehicles like Fox News again.”
“It wasn’t like a senior anti-gay person on the Mass Effect 2 team said, ‘We’re not going to have this.'” Instead, it had to do with the storm of controversy that Mass Effect had received in 2007, “Kindegran added. Changes in Jack’s romance options apparently came late in the game’s development due to the controversy, when the development team was briefed. to “focus relationships on a more traditional type of vector”.
In other Mass Effect news, check out this concept art for the next Mass Effect game, which was featured in the book ‘Bioware: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development. You will be able to return to the original Mass Effect Trilogy in the next Legendary Edition, which can be ordered now, before the March 12 release date.
Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.