Mass Effect 2 Interview

Crispy Gamer has conjured up the results of a conversation they had with Mass Effect 2 lead writer Mac Walters during this year's Penny Arcade Expo.
Crispy Gamer: By the time I play Mass Effect 2, I'll probably have three saves. Will I see a profound difference across the different games as I dive into Mass Effect 2?

Walters: You'll probably see things very early on. And they'll be referenced continually throughout. It's something we're very careful of -- to make sure it wasn't all front-loaded. A great example I use is Rex. What happened to Rex? Is he alive? Is he dead? What happened to Ashley and Kaidan? Are they alive? Are they going to come back? Will you see them? They're not going to be there at the beginning of the game, standing there and waving at you.

Crispy Gamer: How much of these plot threads and narrative hooks between games did you have worked out in advance?

Walters: When we were working on Mass Effect we had an arc for the entire trilogy. Casey was very specific where he wanted it to go. We always knew that the decisions you made in Mass Effect would affect Mass Effect 2. We knew that from the get-go. But we also had fans and critics, even, who decide, to some degree, what we come back to. Every once in while there's a character where you say, "Wow, I never would have guessed that that character is going to be so popular. Now what do we do?" In some cases it doesn't matter. We can just bring him back. But in other cases it's "Oh crap, we let you kill him. What do we do now?" And then it's a decision -- do we account for whether they're alive or dead?