ArkaEvren
Mass Effect

GAME · 2007 · USA

Mass Effect

Developer
Edge of Reality
Publisher
Xbox Game Studios, Electronic Arts, CD Projekt
Platforms
Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3

22 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026

22 Interesting Facts About Mass Effect

Interesting Facts (6)

  1. #001

    If you talk to General Septimus in Chora's Den while Urdnot Wrex is in your squad, Wrex asks, 'How did your kind beat us?' Septimus replies, 'I may be drunk, Krogan, but you're ugly. And tomorrow I'll be sober.' The exchange is a nod to the famous line Winston Churchill is said to have delivered to Bessie Braddock after she accused him of being drunk.

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  2. #002

    When you land on the Moon, you can come across the wreckage of a probe called 'CCCP Luna 23.' Luna 23 was a Soviet spacecraft sent in 1974 to collect rock samples from the Moon. It was damaged during landing and became stranded on the surface.

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  3. #003

    When the player destroys the final component of the rogue VI (Virtual Intelligence) on the Moon, a string of binary code appears as the dying VI's last breath. The code shown is 01001000 01000101 01001100 01010000, which translates in ASCII to the word 'help.'

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  4. #004

    The game's Legendary Edition brings many improvements: better Mako controls, refined combat mechanics reminiscent of Mass Effect 2 and 3, expanded character customization, a redesigned default female Shepard modeled on the character's canonical face in the third game, and graphics upgraded with AI assistance in Unreal 3 and then hand-retouched. This game will undergo the most extensive overhaul compared with Mass Effect 2 and 3.

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  5. #005

    The code that initiates the neutron purge in the hot labs on Noveria is the same as the transporter coordinates given to the Enterprise in 'The Mark of Gideon,' an episode of the original Star Trek series. The odds of this nine-digit number being a coincidence are extremely low.

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  6. #006

    This is the only game in the trilogy in which the M35 Mako appears as a drivable vehicle. Although the Mako appears in Mass Effect 2 at the site where the Normandy crashed, it cannot be used; a new vehicle called the Hammerhead is offered instead. In Mass Effect 3, vehicle driving was removed entirely. One reason is that the first game's open-world design gave way to a more linear structure, but most players believe the real reason was the Mako's maddening control mechanics.

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Production Story (15)

  1. #007

    Mass Effect was originally developed for the Xbox 360, chosen because of its improved processing power and development tools and because the team already had experience with the Xbox console.

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  2. #008

    Mass Effect used Unreal Engine 3 as a groundwork, with BioWare adding components for advanced digital actors, space exploration and squad combat, making it the company's largest programming project at the time.

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  3. #009

    A considerable technological basis was intended to help shorten the development cycle of Mass Effect's future sequels.

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  4. #010

    Choices and consequences were a high priority for Mass Effect, as the developers did not want players to follow a pre-determined path. The game's numerous dialogue options led to the creation of the dialogue wheel, which helped players identify which responses belonged to certain emotions.

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  5. #011

    Mass Effect's combat was intended to keep the tactics and customization of a role-playing game while using a simpler, more intuitive user interface.

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  6. #012

    The design of Mass Effect's combat sought to let players execute the squad's different attack combinations without pressing many buttons.

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  7. #013

    The Mass Effect team collaborated closely with Microsoft on several interface elements to ensure the combat was tactical enough, and used extensive trial and error to balance it between role-playing game and shooter.

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  8. #014

    A very large team manually built several parts of Mass Effect's galaxy, and internally developed tools allowed the playable space to be expanded significantly.

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  9. #015

    Classic space exploration games such as Starflight and Star Control were cited as a major inspiration for Mass Effect, encouraging the team to create the M35 Mako for exploring uncharted worlds and to develop mechanics for surveying planets from space.

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  10. #016

    Star Control II served as an inspiration for Mass Effect's writing and character design.

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  11. #017

    Drew Karpyshyn, previously a senior writer on Knights of the Old Republic, served as lead writer for Mass Effect.

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  12. #018

    The Mass Effect writers' biggest challenge was the volume required to support the game's multiple dialogue paths and story outcomes.

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  13. #019

    Mass Effect drew major influence on its atmosphere and artistic qualities from films including Star Wars, Alien, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Blade Runner, Starship Troopers and especially Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.

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  14. #020

    Jack Wall, who had also written music for BioWare's 2005 title Jade Empire, was chosen as Mass Effect's main composer because he could produce a wide range of musical styles.

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  15. #021

    Composers Richard Jacques and David Kates joined Jack Wall and Sam Hulick to finish the Mass Effect score on time, and 110 minutes of music was written for the game, with all in-game and cinematic music crafted as multiple stems to maximize their use and variety. Mass Effect went gold on October 22, 2007.

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Behind the Scenes (1)

  1. #022

    Although each planet in Mass Effect had one primary writer, every writer on the production reviewed the others' work and offered criticism. Karpyshyn had to keep the style consistent across all areas, a collaborative feedback process common at BioWare.

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Sources & editorial notes

Sources for the entries on this page

  1. Wikipedia Mass Effect (video game) — WikipediaEncyclopedia · accessed 17 Sep 2026

Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work