Mass Effect 3 to feature a ‘futuristic’ Vancouver

The third and final chapter of the massively popular Mass Effect series hit the shelves today, but gamers expecting another mission to far-away planets across the galaxy are in for a surprise.

In closing out the sci-fi trilogy, developers at the Edmonton-based studio BioWare chose to switch things up by keeping the setting grounded on Planet Earth. And better yet, in a great exhibit of national pride, they chose to set their focus on a futuristic Vancouver. But according to Derek Watts, art director at BioWare and native Edmontonian, the Canadian locale was almost overlooked.

"We thought about Hong Kong and Rio, which are surrounded by natural beauty," said Watts in the Globe and Mail. "But then we thought: We're a Canadian company, so we should make it a Canadian city. Vancouver had just finished the Olympics, so we set it in Vancouver."

In Mass Effect 3, the city of Vancouver — circa 200 years from now — is suffering invasion from the monstrous aliens known as "Reapers." The scene captured in the image above is a futuristic re-imagination of Canada Place, a national icon widely viewed as B.C.'s most popular tourist attraction. Watts created the visual concept by examining the "series' overarching narrative and visual themes."

"When we set out with Mass Effect it was with a vision of hope," said Watts. "We knew Earth wasn't going to be a bleak world overrun by pollution and graffiti. We had a clear design format, including large, sweeping curves, and a very clean style. Vancouver would be a livable city, just a lot bigger."

Watts' concept of Vancouver centered around his Canada Place design. His team then built out from there with monolithic towers at the North Shore, bridges over Burrard Inlet and infrastructure to "run up Mount Seymour." The final product creates a metropolis that rivals a modern-day Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs.

But as Watts explains, a gamer's exploration of this Vancouver will be rather limited. The team built the Canadian setting's visuals from street level — focusing on layered avenues, inlet tunnels, outdoor malls and sky trains — but didn't feel the need to model such objects.

"That was actually a bit of a break for us," he explains. "We didn't have to imagine details like how shops might have changed and moved around in the future."

"The great thing about video games is that we can build whatever we want."

(Photo courtesy of BioWare)