Art Style Guide

Table of contents Game Introduction

Heading Page Number Mass Effect Basics

Game Introduction..........................................3 Developer: Bioware Corp Game Type: Projectile,

Game Mood......................................................4 Publisher: Bioware Corp Driving, Melee
Game Description............................................5 and Microsoft Studios Ratings: ESRB M for
Game Features.................................................6 Platform: Xbox 360, PC Mature
Game Story.......................................................7 Genre: Role-playing
Characters - Main Characters........................9 Game
Characters - NPC..............................................13
Characters - Enemies......................................15
Environments...................................................18
Menus................................................................23
Game Objects and Weapons.........................27
Storyboard........................................................28
Credits................................................................33

2 3
Game mood
From the first cinematic the game places
the fate of the entire galaxy in the player’s
hands. The Geth, an inorganic race bent on
the destruction of organic life, threaten one
of Earth’s colonies. The first level instills a
sense of urgency that only increases as time
goes on in the game. Accompanying this ur-
gent, burdensome mood is one that causes
the player to feel insignificant, like they can’t
be in enough places at one time to finish every
quest and still save the galaxy. The player
constantly has to make serious decisions
with galactic consequences, contributing to
the overall game mood.
4 5
Game Description
Players create a character with a cus-
tomizable face, first name, gender, and
biography, a choice which is reflected
by special quests and responses in the
game. The last name is not customizable,
so players hear the name, “Commander
Shepard,” from non-player charac-
ters. Players will gain Experience
Points (XP) which will allow them to
upgrade the abilities of their char-
acter. They can also buy and sell
items, weapons, armor, grenades,
ammo, and upgrades for almost
everything. The Mass Effect uni-
verse has many varied locations
to travel to, each holding its own
secrets and quests. With so
much to do, players will likely be
overwhelmed, which adds a lot of
replayability to the game. There are
two different stances for the game,
exploration, and combat. In the ex-
ploration stance, characters can
interact through dialog, whereas
in combat stance, players interact
through shooting each other.
Game Features Game Story
— An expansive universe with detailed history
— A cinematic inspired dialog system, with
realistic reactions and facial expressions
— 30 planets to travel to and explore, each
with its own buildings and side quests
— Captivating storytelling
— Customizable weapons, armor, and items
— Action combat in over-the-shoulder view
with squad commands
— Unparalleled graphics and beautiful artwork
from the people who made Jade Empire and
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Upon character creation, the player is thrust

Key Features
— Action RPG gameplay
— Futuristic sci-fi setting
— Extra content downloadable on Xbox Live
— Dozens of different races and creatures
— Four different weapon types, and even more
special abilities to customize your character
— A level loading system that smoothly transi-
tions from one level to the next without inter-
rupting gameplay
6 7
into the world of Mass Effect, where a discov-
ery of alien technology has allowed civiliza-
tions to advance far more quickly than they
normally would have. The galaxy is unified
under a banner of peace, with only a few spo-
radic attacks occurring from the robotic Geth.
One particular attack, on Eden Prime, calls for
the Human Alliance military to intervene. The
player’s first assignment is to clear the threat
from this human colony, but there is a catch:
your character is undergoing assessment for
a highly sought after position. This position
has never been held by a human before, and
there are enemies to your cause.
Game Story Characters - main character

Game Goal Main Character - Commander Shepard

Players must rise to the challenge, and ulti-

mately use their power and authority as an
Alliance Commander, and later in the game as
a Council Spectre, to save the galaxy from the
scheming of its sworn enemy, Saren. Helpful in
the quest for galactic redemption is the gain-
ing of XP, the accumulation of which facilitates
adding more and better skills to your charac-
ter.

Game Play

Players control Shepard using an over-the-

shoulder view, which zooms closer when in
combat stance. During exploration, the player
can press a button to initiate dialog with oth-
er non-player characters. In combat stance,
which is activated by enemies appearing, dif-
ferent buttons activate firing weapons, using The character’s background can be one of
special abilities, throwing grenades, and even three different stories, selectable by the player:
directing squad-mates to specific areas. a spacer, a colonist, or Earth born. E­ach af-
fects the way non-player characters inter­

8 9
Characters - main character Characters - main character

act with Shepard. There is also a choice for Front Pose

Shepard’s psychological profile: sole survivor,
war hero, and ruthless. As is expected choos-
ing certain
backgrounds
affects the
paths the
player might
take, and
some of the
conversations
they might
have. Once a
character pro-
file is created, Side Pose
the player de-
cides the rest
of Commander
Shepard’s
Back Pose
biography.

10 11
 Characters - main character Characters - NPC

Colors and Textures Captain Anderson

This captain
Hair texture in the Alliance
military allows
Shepard to take
R=220
command of his
R=117
G=121 G=158 ship, the Nor-
B=161
B=98 mandy. Captain
R=52
G=50 Anderson was
B=63 himself being
evaluated for
Spectre status over 20 years earlier,
but another Spectre, Saren, sabotaged
his efforts. Captain Anderson has a high
regard for Commander Shepard, and will
fight alongside and for Shepard with-
out regard to the consequences. He is
not selectable as part of the player’s
R=11 party, but he can engage in many dia-
G=11 log sequences with the character.
B=11

Camo texture

12 13
Characters - NPC
Liara T’soni
This Asari, a one gender race similar in physi-
ology to human females, studies ancient tech-
nology created by Protheans. Her specialty
lies in excavating and evalu-
ating this ancient technol-
ogy, but she is young—
only 50 years old—so
her expertise does not
garner much recogni-
tion. When Commander
Shepard meets Liara, she
is trapped inside a hold-
ing cell, and Shepard must
free her before the Geth reach
and eliminate her. Liara is
a critical addition to the
player’s party because
she can evaluate the
Prothean Beacon
that Shepard dis-
covers.
14
Characters - Enemies
Matriarch Benezia
Mother of Liara,
Benezia vanished
from the political scene where she held
influence, only to be found later in ca-
hoots with Saren. Absolutely nobody,
even her daughter, understands the
reasons why she allied with the enemy,
because she did not characteristically
align with enemies of the Council.
Nevertheless, she still poses a
dangerous threat to the galaxy
as a Matriarch, because
she has many followers
and her powers
are unparalleled.
15
Characters - enemies Characters - enemies

Saren

Formerly a Council
Spectre, Saren defied
the Council and allied
with Geth forces, de-
claring war on the
galaxy. His motives
are uncertain, but his
will is undeterred.
Because the Council
fleet is needed to
defend their home
base, only Shepard
can find and defeat
Saren using his ship,
the Normandy. Only
rumors exist of Sar-
en’s whereabouts.
Saren himself has
been associated with an
influential Asari Matri-
arch, Benezia.

16 17
 environments Environments
R=167 R=255
G=165 G=249 R=40
Color Palette B=152 B=239 G=27
B=21
R=107 R=196
G=133 G=165
B=146 B=121

The game is played in a variety of environ-

ments such as inside space going vessels, on
planet surfaces, in planet structures, and ma-
jor cities. The Galaxy Map displays the galaxy
and all of the charted planets you can travel
to. Some outside environments have inclem-
ent weather or atmospheric factors that may
inhibit the character’s exploration capacity.
Planets have terrains befitting their atmo-
sphere, ranging anywhere from rocky terrain
to soft, green grass.

Textures

Structure
Walkway

Rock Ground

18 19
environments environments

The Citadel
This enor-
mous space
station was
found by the
Asari, but they
were not the builders. Most assume the
Protheans built it, but nobody knows
how, or even how it functions. Traveling
in the Citadel is facilitated by numerous
elevators and flying vehicles.

20 21
environments
Textures and Planet Landscapes
These real world landscapes and textures in-
spired the art of Mass Effect.
22
Menus
Beginning Menu
After pressing start, Mass Effect allows you
to create a new career, load an old one, or view
extras from Bioware. New users will press the
green “A” button on “Start New Career.” Once
activated, the character creation menu begins.
Once your character is complete, the game
begins, showing first a string of cinematic
sequences. After these finish, the player can
press “Start” to view the in-game menu. This
menu has everything needed to play and learn
about Mass Effect.
23
menus menus

In-Game Menu Heads-up Display

Equipment

Codex Options
Journal Map
Load Save

Squad

Moving the analog stick corresponds to the

menu selection screen, so to choose “Equip-
ment,” simply point the analog stick up. That
will bring up the menu where weapons can be
equipped and customized.
This screenshot shows three HUD items that
are the same on both Xbox 360 and PC: ra-
dar, squad health bar, and enemy health bar.
The radar in the lower right depicts the where-
abouts of enemies as red dots. The squad
health indicator, in the lower left, is the play-
er’s best asset when keeping track of team-
mate’s health and shields. Health is the red
colored bar on the left, and shields are shown
as blue bars to the right of the health. The
enemy health and shield bars are shown at the
top, but only when your character is targeting
the enemy.

24 25
 menus Game Objects and weapons

Galaxy Map Weapons

The galaxy There are four categories of weapons: Pistols,
map allows Shotguns, Assault Rifles, and Sniper Rifles.
the player The weapons, armor, and items are all upgrad-
to choose able, with upgrades either found during explo-
which star ration, or bought from a store.
system
and planet R=111
G=111
within B=109
that star system they would like to travel to. This
Nebula is one of several, and it contains several
star systems within. Pressing “A” to travel to the
selected star system will launch the Normandy at
light speed to that system of planets. Players can
then choose to land directly on any planets with
atmospheres supportive of organic life.

Tires
R=194
G=0
B=0

26 27
Storyboard Storyboard
This is a scene that takes place after the alien,
Wrex, discovers that your character is going
to eliminate the only cure to his race’s disease.
To leave the cure unharmed would allow Saren
a victory, an unacceptable outcome.
Wrex turns
Shepard approaches and address-
the contemplating Wrex. es Shepard
threateningly,
setting the
tone for the
conversation.

Shepard
and Wrex
walk closer.
Shepard
defends his
position.

28 29
Storyboard Storyboard
Shepard
steps closer,
asserting his Wrex and Shepard nearly touch
authority in the noses, both defiant and threatening. The
face of the boun- tension is so high, the other party mem-
ty hunter Wrex. bers nearby start to notice and come
closer to observe.

30 31
Storyboard Credits

Image Rights
Some images are courtesy of:
gamespot.com gamasutra.com
ign.com deviantart.com
bioware.com imageshack.com

All stock photography is rightfully owned by

Coalesce Games, who holds full rights to dis-
tribute them as desired.

Concept Art Drawings

Weapons drawn, Wrex and
Shepard stare down each other’s
barrels, daring each other to shoot
first. What happens next? Play the
game to find out.
All concept art drawn by Micah Mangin is
copyrighted by Micah Mangin in the year
©2008. Copying, printing, distributing, or in
any way selling this art is prohibited.

32 33
Programs used in designing this document:
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Acrobat
Microsoft Word
Average Time spent in creation:
20 hours
Thanks to Bioware for Mass Effect, a great
game that this style guide barely describes.