The funniest part was that it would create a fictional name, by randomizing and concatenating several lists of word segments. It would then list the resulting stats on the planet so that designers could use them in the game. You would fill in a cell to tell it what class of star the planet would be orbiting, then the system would start working through a sequence of planet building: randomized distance from the star, appropriate composition, atmosphere, etc – referring to various available charts and graphs about composition probabilities and temperatures etc. It was crude, and not meant to withstand any serious scientific scrutiny, but it was based on some basic astronomical and mathematical principles that provided reasonably believable results. To get us started, I made an excel file that would spit out random planets, along with a made-up name and statistics about its size, orbital period, surface temperature etc. ![]() How much of this was based on information about real exoplanets that have been discovered? If the information is fictional, how was it created?ĬH: The sheer number of planets we would need to create for the Mass Effect universe and its various exploration systems required us to develop a more automated means of generating them. There are many such planets in the Mass Effect games, and there’s a lot of detail about their properties. SM: One of the biggest emerging fields in astronomy is the study of exoplanets (planets orbiting stars besides our own Sun). Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/Harvard-Smithsonian CfA Spiral galaxy M81, captured in ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light ![]() So even though it appears you are flying past the Horsehead Nebula, you’re actually navigating in between several gauzy layers of paintings created by BioWare artists. These individual 2-D images are typically painted in photoshop, then are combined in the graphics engine to create a sense of depth and parallax. In the game however, players typically move through the galaxy in a 3-D perspective, so we paint unique art assets that can be assembled to create the illusion of a galaxy with stars, nebulae, etc. SM: Is the imagery used in the games, especially in the Galaxy Map, based on real astronomical imagery? If so, what was the source? (The first time I saw the Galaxy Map, I was convinced that I spied data from the Hubble Space Telescope!)ĬH: The imagery in the Mass Effect universe is inspired by real-life photos, ranging from orbital photographs from the shuttle, to wide field Hubble images. If real-life astronomy can reveal such stunning ideas and imagery, that gives us a certain creative license to suggest that reality will continue to be stranger than fiction. The underlying idea was that real-life scientific discoveries consistently create imagery and concepts that blow away previous notions of what is possible, from the surprising effects of dark matter on the universe, to the thick veils of purple atmosphere around Titan. Part of the goal with the Mass Effect universe was to set it in the real world, so that even as we created storylines of epic scale and exotic science-fiction themes, it would all appear to be an extension of the astronomy that you can read about today. How did you choose the objects to include in the game – real and fake?Ĭasey Hudson: We tried to include real-life locations wherever possible, such as famous nebulae, stars, the moon etc. Many others appear to be made up entirely. Some of the places that you can zoom through or visit are real astronomical objects (like the Horsehead Nebula, Eagle Nebula, and Hourglass Nebula). Sara Mitchell: The “geography” of Mass Effect is an interesting mix of realism and fiction. Increasingly curious about the astronomy within the Mass Effect universe, I contacted BioWare and had my questions answered by the series’ Executive Producer, Casey Hudson. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI) The Carina Nebula, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope Some of the astronomical objects featured in the game are even real ones! I began to suspect that the game’s developers may have had some serious NASA-based inspiration. Compare the fictional “Kite’s Nest” from the game (above) to Hubble’s shot of the Carina Nebula (below). You can explore nebulae and star systems, collect data about exoplanets… and so much of the imagery looks like something straight from a NASA press release. While the plot of the games is solidly science fiction, the setting has an impressive level of realism. The first time I caught a glimpse of the astronomical imagery in the Mass Effect video games, I was blown away by how realistic everything looked. ![]() The fictional Kite’s Nest from Mass Effect 3
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