Mass Effect TV series could alienate fans, says former BioWare lead

By Hirun Cryer
published

A FemShep or MaleShep could alienate fans right off the bat, says David Gaider

Garrus
(Image credit: EA)

A former BioWare developer has voiced concerns over the reported Mass Effect TV adaptation.

Earlier today, former BioWare lead writer David Gaider penned the tweet thread below, spelling out some of his thoughts surrounding the reported Mass Effect TV series. Gaider's lengthy thread addresses concerns over the protagonist of the adaptation becoming a character with a pre-established personality, rather than the blank slate they were intended to be.

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Gaider also goes on to write about how the proposed adaptation would have to pick a gender for Commander Sheperd, potentially alienating a huge chunk of Mass Effect's player base straight away. Additionally, the plots of beloved side characters like Garrus had to take into account the player's agency, Gaider writes, and this risks being entirely uprooted by there being no overriding agency of a player in a TV series.

The comments from Gaider definitely give rise to some very real obstacles standing in the way of the Mass Effect TV series. At its heart, Gaider's thread is really speaking to the challenge of adapting countless characters and their stories into a single TV series, something that's going to be an absolutely monumental task for anyone to overcome.

Right now, the Mass Effect TV series isn't in active development. Gaider's comments stem from a report that Amazon was nearing a deal to develop a show based on the beloved BioWare franchise, but nothing is confirmed to be taking place as of right now. There sure are a lot of Mass Effect fans out there though, each with their own opinions on characters and plot lines, and it'll be especially interesting to see how this adaptation develops over the coming years, if it even goes ahead at all.

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Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.