Mac Walters, lead writer on the Mass Effect series, has revealed how BioWare has attempted to deepen the character of Commander Shepard for the hotly-anticipated third instalment in the franchise.
Chatting in the latest issue of BioWare Pulse, Walters expressed how the team wanted to step up the storytelling aspect by injecting more emotional content into the proceedings.
“One of the things we wanted to do in Mass Effect 3 was deepen Shepard as a character, so you really get to express what your Shepard is feeling and going through, throughout the war,” said Walters
“We wanted to take that next step with the story telling. Yeah, it’s a war, yeah it’s got giant robots we get to shoot in the face, but there is a human side to the story. You are role-playing, and you are role-playing as a human. Why shouldn’t that human have an emotional component throughout the game?”
“The emotion, and depth of writing that we have in there, has also gone up another level,” he added. “When a video game can make you feel something but also be fun and entertaining, then I think we’ve done our jobs.”
Mass Effect 3 will conclude Shepard’s story in the franchise and will hit PlayStation 3, PC and Xbox 360 on March 6, 2012.