BioWare has said that there are over one-thousand variables that the team can use to shape the story of Mass Effect 3. These variables are pulled from the stories players experienced in the first two games.

“We plan out the larger plot points of the story from one game to the next, but it would be impossible to plan it all in advance,” Mass Effect 2 project lead Casey Hudson told the latest issue of PC Zone.

“More importantly, we’d never be able to plan as many creative opportunities if we’d do it all up front. Instead, we record what a player has done in a play-through, and then we have all of those choices available that writers can refer to as they build storylines…

“Numerically, it’s over 1,000 variables that we’ll have access to for shaping the Mass Effect 3 experience for people who’ve played the previous games.”

BioWare isn’t going to reinvent the Mass Effect formula. They believe their approach with Mass Effect 2 was best fit and will continue using and refining that approach.

“If you define an RPG as a game where you equip your hero by sifting through an inventory of hundreds of miscellaneous items and spend hours fiddling with numerical statistics, then Mass Effect 2 isn’t one,” Hudson said.

“In Mass Effect 2 we focused on what we love about RPGs: An awesome sense of exploration, intense combat, a deep and non-linear story that’s affected by your actions, and rich customization of your armor, weapons and appearance…

“We had an overwhelmingly positive response to this approach, and while we’ll make further adjustments to it for Mass Effect 3, we’re really happy with how it’s been received so far.”

Thanks, CVG.