GDC09: Designing a Mass Effect 2 level, in video

by Andrew Yoon on Mar 28th 2009 11:30PM

Here's your first look at a level from Mass Effect 2! And if it's anything like the first Mass Effect, you'll see it on every planet you visit. We kid, sort of.

This footage comes courtesy of the "Iterative Level Design Process of Bioware's Mass Effect 2" panel at GDC 2009, showcasing the process involved in designing levels for the upcoming RPG. Of course, don't expect any major spoilers or megatons in the videos (embedded after the break). With a planned 2010 release, this footage is far from indicative of anything that'll be in the final game.

[Thanks, Crusty Magic!]

Source

Tags: bioware, gdc-2009, mass-effect, mass-effect-2, Microsoft, Xbox-360

Reader Comments (57)

Fuck you for making me think there was going to be another Blade Runner game with that screenshot.

:(

Another Blade Runner game? How about another Blade Runner movie! It's inevitable. I just hope they make it before Harrison Ford dies of old age. :p

inevitable? Either that word doesnt mean what you think it means or you're just deluded

So long as ME2 has more attack ships on fire off the petals of the Citadel and more mass relays glittering in the darkness, I'll consider it a fair trade.

God it's been so long since I'd seen that movie I guess I'd just been assuming that was a shot from ME2 or something. Are they remaking Blade Runner? I heard they're remaking Total Recall, so anything is possible.

I would not want a remake a Blade Runner. It's incredibly as is now.

Bladerunner was funded by a large number of parties, therefore is a IP nightmare. The game was only made when Pan-Am folded, so another film is unlikely... thank God.

markez, that is a shot from ME2, not only did they say it was, but there's the same little shuttles from the first one in the bottom right

Yeah I picked up on that shortly after posting that and felt like a dum dum. I really dug in the clip the big metropolis they were going through.

Also, noticed Blade Runner was available on 'watch instantly' so added it :)

Only the guys who made those Movie movies would think a sequel to Blade Runner is a good idea.

"I would not want a remake a Blade Runner. It's incredibly as is now."

This is what a remake would consist.

1. EVERYTHING IS CGI!!!
2. You know that annoying narration from the theatrical version, the one that explained every single thing that happened to Deckard, it'll be in this too.
3. Deckard will be played by Shilah Lebouf
4. MOAR ACTION SCENES!!!

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that a remake would in fact be shitty.

God I have the westwood one and it's still fun!

All your whining will be lost in time...like tears in rain.

this just makes me sad cause i have to wait so long for them to finish. anyway, i guess its better than no news at all.

Hey look my name is at the bottom! =D

I can't wait to play this game.

NOICE! SCRATCH ONE TIP!

I like how it says 'Early Development Footage'. Exactly how early is this? I hope Mass Effect 3 comes faster than it is taking to jump from 1 to 2. I mean, I'm all for improvements, but isn't most of the tech already in place?

Something tells me that the build they're showing here is much earlier than where they stand now.

IM still playing the first game and man there are so many planets and systems but i find it really fun im level 17 in the game ,also seth green is funny.

The grafix in the first game still amazed, despite their spotty framerate and lengthy load times. I really hope those have been fixed in the sequel.

Agreed. One of the best looking games ever. Especially in terms of the cinematic moments. But there are a few flaws here and there to be dealt with. My hope is that with them being a branch of EA that they'll get some extra tech help. Bioware is an amazing storytelling company, but they are almost always plagued with loadscreens and frame drops.

I loved the graphics in the old game as well, but I think we all know that the load screens are here to stay. I think the game could use more elevator conversations, actually, cause it was nice having two party members from conflicting races arguing with each other. I liked the character development.

On a side note (sorry to hijack the thread), how does one get his gamer picture to be his joystiq profile picture (I can't even get a .png file of my gamer pic :'( ).

I didn't mind the elevator rides / load screens at all, and actually liked the news reports you'd hear during them. Graphics and art direction were absolutely fantastic in the first, ME2 can't come soon enough!

I agree that the graphics were pretty amazing in the first ME. The *only* thing that I could possibly complain about would be the environments. For the most part the facial animations and character models were top notch and some of the best on the 360 but the environments (and to a lesser extent the texture pop) was not as good as it should have been.

It's interesting to see some of their development process and the different runs before a scene is nailed down.

Bioware explained that teams were too isolated in ME1. They all built their different parts and expected them to fit together. When they didn't work, they'd have to start over. This is why frame drops couldn't be reconciled. For the sequel, the teams are more integrated, using the iterative process. One problem doesn't mean massive rework.

In the graphics, you can also notice real-time shadows being cast, as they weren't before. As for loading, they've addressed this both by the aforementioned process, and by making the time in itself useful to the player.

Chris L'Etoile, one of the designers, has acknowledged the blandness of the exploration worlds and said they will put more focus on the worlds being more hub-like, as in KOTOR. This does mean less of them, though. A big effort is being put into making the combat better as well.

Awesome report. Yes, I'll take quality over quantity.

I have to agree, the character/facial motions had me in awe.

DESTRUCTIBLE ENVIRONMENTS!? HELL YA!

Well, those first couple clips in the first video looked an awful lot like Shepard's character model, but then the blonde dude was in the rest. I wonder if maybe you play the mission that Shepard dies in early on?

Also, good to see that the music still kicks ass.

Errr, nevermind, I wasn't paying attention to what I was looking at.

So since I doubt they have the save game import stuff done yet, it looks like the main playable character will in fact not be shepard.

It probably wont be Shepard, but not for that reason. As many have pointed out, it would be a bad idea to allow players to import their Level 60- Colossus X armour-wearing, HMSWG toting Shepards.

But the thing that trows me off is the fact that he's wearing Shepard's N7 armor. So maybe it is Shepard or his kid? Or maybe the new captain?

Am I stupid when I ask why everyone thinks that his N7 armor is unique? You would think that there would be more than one in the Milky Way Galaxy.

There is a chance you know, that they just used a different skin. After all if they never showed what was underneath the text bar.

"As many have pointed out, it would be a bad idea to allow players to import their Level 60- Colossus X armour-wearing, HMSWG toting Shepards."

Yeah, but I'm sure there could be a bullshit way to "Megaman" him/her somehow.

I'm all for exploration and the such, but one of the problems I had with Mass Effect was that you never went anywhere civilized (with the exception of Noveria and the Citadel, obviously). I understand the game was about investigating backwater planets in order prove that the Geth threat existed, but I always wanted to visit a settled world that had its own plot and sidequests. If there were more "Bring Down the Sky" or "UNC: Cerberus" missions that either spanned planets or provided more backstory, I would have liked the game even more.

My expectations for the game seem unrealistic, though.

Shepard? SHEPARD? SHEPARDDDD!?!?

Wrex

Is the 1st video borked, or is it just me?

There we go, fine now :P Man I might have to get my brother to throw my copy of ME into the mail for me so I can get it back and finish off some of those cheevos.

She sounds like a GLaDOS/Microsoft Sam fusion in that cut-scene!

That was just a test version - the real voice acting was in the next scene.

Yea i knew that I was just pointing out how creepy it sounded :P Trust me I know Mass Effect would never have voice acting like that. I'd hope so...

Yeah, total Blade Runner vibe from that scene. Awesome. Can't wait for this!

And yeah they do need to do another Blade Runner somehow...Also a proper sequel to Flashback (google it). It'd be a sexy mix between Mass Effect and Uncharted gameplay!

The music is totally Blade Runner as well. I loved it so much I bought the soundtrack. Great stuff.

Yup, yup! : )

It's amazing that the ads for these videos load instantly, while the actual video takes forever to load. =/

gamevideos.com is the bane of all the internet in terms of streaming video. I can't believe anyone links to them ever. I've been really happy lately in the lack of gamevideos.com embeds but seeing them in this post made me die a little inside.

I just want to be able to explore CIVILIZATION god damnit. Leave searching empty rocks to NASA. This is one thing I missed from KOTOR, they at least had some locals that were filled with life. In Mass Effect there is so little life you don't really feel like you are saving much of anything. I want to explore the alien home worlds, see what has become of Earth, etc etc etc. That and the developers need to adopt the Far Cry control scheme for driving and shooting at the same time in a vehicle.

Don't knock all those empty barren landscapes. I'm sure someone spent at least 30 minutes making them all.

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GDC09: Designing a Mass Effect 2 level, in video

Reader Comments (57)

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