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Details of Casey Hudson's pitch for the original Mass Effect game have popped up online.
Reportedly from September 2003, the pitch for the game then-known as SFX leaned on the Xbox 360's cutting-edge online capabilities, and talked of "an epic BioWare story" that would be "powerful and character-driven" from the team that developed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic "making a bigger and better franchise".
"Following the success of KOTOR, Casey Hudson first pitched his idea for a new sci-fi IP in September 2003," tweeted the Twitter account, Mass Effect News, which shared the pitch.
"Here are some early concept and plot outlines for the project, which was to be centered around story progression, planetary exploration, and online trading."
Following the success of KOTOR, Casey Hudson first pitched his idea for a new sci-fi IP in September 2003. Here are some early concept and plot outlines for the project, which was to be centered around story progression, planetary exploration and online trading. #MassEffect pic.twitter.com/ONpykvNiyKNovember 20, 2022
The sci-fi RPG was described as a "spectacular new sci-fi role-playing game", with "online capabilities and gameplay features that [would] redefine the genre".
Interestingly, the pitch document quite accurately foresaw that it would become a "mainstream phenomenon" and a "must-have game for the Xbox 2" - the Xbox 360, in other words.
"SFX takes place in a thrilling futuristic setting, with a combination of familiar locations and exotic worlds," it teases. "It is the dawn of the interstellar age, with only a few explored worlds and many more accessible via exploration.
"Sleek vehicles and spectacular vistas create a unique identifiable look to the universe, whilst special rendering techniques depict the player's experience with a stylish ultra-realism."
The pitch also goes on to detail how party and cooperative play would work, including the ability to switch party members "at any time" whilst AI companions would "perform player-designated actions". It also talked about Mass Effect's trading and planetary explorations, as well as a combat system that was described as featuring "dazzling combat choreography and intense ranged combat".
Did you catch the new piece of concept art that seems to be teasing one of the locations we'll be visiting when Mass Effect 5?
As Dustin described so wonderfully at the time, both images depict "towering cityscapes bathed in sunset shades of yellow, orange, and red. In one image, a turian, salarian, and krogan are all depicted wearing breathing masks".
Fans are split on what these images depict, however. Some think they have connections with the asari as the architecture and lighting look quite similar to the asari homeworld, Thessia, which you may recall from our time with Mass Effect 3. It also looks a lot like Illium, the asari corporate colony where we're reintroduced to Liara in Mass Effect 2. Where do you think it may be?
Did you know George Clooney helped inspire Shepard's face in Mass Effect?
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