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Mass Effect actors and writers partied up for a super sweet reunion chatThe memories are emotional on the other side of the screen too
The memories are emotional on the other side of the screen too
There’s talk of the developers' kids now playing the games for the first time, actors hugging lots of fans, and getting a little emotional in the recording booth. It was honestly just swell to hear the team talk about the joy of working together, whether or not you’re planning to jump back in for the remaster.
Mass Effect Legendary Cast & Crew Celebration!Watch on YouTube
Mass Effect Legendary Cast & Crew Celebration!
A big through line for the talk actually winds up being the choice-based stories that BioWare have become somewhat synonymous with. Original trilogy lead writer Mac Walters advises any new players approching the series to take their time making decisions and know they can always come back for a second playthrough. Granted, we all know how hard it is to not just make all the same choices in every save file, don’t we?
BioWare’s senior writer and senior editor spouses Patrick and Karin Weekes mention that their children are now playing the Legendary Edition and a bit of the joy in seeing them tackle those choices for the first time. “We’ve made a group agreement to not go to the romances becasue that’s really awkward with your teenage son,” Karin Weekes adds with a laugh. That sure does bring back memories of playing my own first BioWare games in my parents' living room as a teenager.
There’s also a heck of a lot of appreciation from all of the voice actors for performance director Caroline Livingstone. They talk about adjusting to the amount of content and the depth of each character in the series. The topic of branching narratives comes back around again too as the actors chime in on what it felt like to record lines across various paths through conversations.
“There’s an extra added challenge as an actor when you do this, and it’s the first time I ever came across the branching dialogue,” says Thane’s voice actor Keythe Farley. “The fun and joy of it was to be able to go back and play a scene in a different way—with different writing, different outcomes. That was not only a challenge, but also a real treat.”
Mass Effect Legendary Edition – Official Remastered Comparison Trailer (4K)Watch on YouTube
Mass Effect Legendary Edition – Official Remastered Comparison Trailer (4K)
There are plenty of other sweet little anecdotes as well. Hale talks about not being a particularly good video game player herself but enjoying watching livestreamers play—and then promptly fleeing the chat when she’s discovered. Joker’s voice actor Seth Green talks about how being involved inMass Effectwas so much different from other projects because of how fondly fans feel about the characters. “I’ve hugged a lot of strangers, you know what I’m saying?” He says. Patrick Weekes also talks about their early days as a junior writer on the first Mass Effect and all the lessons that involved.
It’s a swell conversation with lots of nice stories that are best heard from those voices you know rather than my paraphrasing. So go on and throw that on in the background if it’s your jam. Ta to Hale for putting it together, Sevilla for moderating, and to all the cast and crew who shared their stories.
