Mass Effect 5 art director says it's “truly heartbreaking” we'll never play his team's game
by https://www.creativebloq.com/author/tom-may · Creative Bloq- Copy link
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When EA announced last week that it was closing BioWare, the studio behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age, gamers worldwide howled in protest, mourning the games they'll never get to play. When footage, info, and visuals behind the cancelled Mass Effect 5, now also known as Mass Effect Universe, came to light, fans were even more distraught.
At Creative Bloq, we also felt for the artists who'll never get to build these games or see their Mass Effect 5 work seen widely. Now one of those artists has just added his voice to the chorus in quite an unexpected way.
On X, Sparth revealed that from April until last week, he'd quietly been working as art director of the Mass Effect franchise. In other words, he was responsible for what the next Mass Effect would look like. Yet now, nobody will ever see it.
It's a story every creative will recognise: a talented team doing some of the best work of their careers, only for it to vanish into nothing because of decisions made by people way above their pay grade.
So what just happened?
In case you haven't been paying attention, here's a quick recap. Founded in Canada in 1995, BioWare made role-playing games where you play a character whose choices shape the story. Its Mass Effect trilogy (2007-12) became one of gaming’s most celebrated series, but recent releases disappointed, and its umbrella company EA, now carrying around $20bn of debt after a Saudi-led buyout, has cut 400 jobs and closed the studio.
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Now, here's the skinny on Sparth. Real name Nicolas Bouvier, he's worked as a concept artist in video games since 1996, with credits including Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, the original Assassin's Creed, Halo 4, Halo 5: Guardians, and Halo Infinite.
Outside gaming, he's painted more than 100 sci-fi and fantasy book covers and authored the Structura series of art books. He's been a regular presence on Creative Bloq and our sister title ImagineFX over the years, sharing everything from his custom Photoshop brushes to VR sculpting experiments.
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In his X thread, he says it was "a privilege to work alongside such a talented team, with the shared ambition of exploring new creative territories while staying true to the legacy and spirit of the Mass Effect trilogy."
Next comes the sucker punch. "Knowing that this work will never see the light of day is truly heartbreaking. We were good at this. We really were. I'm thinking about the team, the talent, what we could have achieved."
And then, perhaps the most telling line of all: "In nearly 30 years in this industry, I've rarely seen a group so tightly knit, so experienced, and so good at working together. And I feel extremely honored to have been part of it."
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As for his own future, Sparth is candid in saying: "I simply don't know. For now, I'll take some time before figuring out next steps. In the meantime, I wish everyone affected all the very best for what lies ahead."
Big shoes to fill
So why is this such a big deal? Well, it's largely because of who Sparth was replacing. Derek Watts was Mass Effect's long-time art director, and the man most responsible for the trilogy's distinctive look. He retired before work on the new game was complete, and replacing him would never be easy.
Mike Gamble, BioWare's project director on Mass Effect, makes that clear in a reply to Sparth's thread. "Nic, you were incredible," he writes. "There are few people on the planet I would have chosen to replace Mr Watts after he retired, and I'm glad we got to work together." Sparth's response is characteristically modest. "Derek's legacy was everything. I was humbly an extremely dedicated participant to an amazing human adventure, thanks to you, him, and the team."
On paper, this appointment was inspired and looked set for great things. In practice, we may never see Sparth's work on the project, which EA owns.
What might have been
Agonisingly, though, we've learned a fair bit about what the team was building. An internal trailer has leaked online, reportedly revealing the title "Mass Effect: Universe", and YouTuber Dantics, who sat on a panel of fans BioWare consulted during development, has shared details that IGN says it has verified.
I Worked With BioWare on the Next Mass Effect - Here's What They Were Making - YouTube
According to Dantics, the game is set more than 600 years after the original trilogy, in a galaxy split into three rival power blocs, more like an interstellar cold war than another apocalyptic invasion. One of those, the Geth (a race of sentient machines from the original games), had become a superpower that built huge megastructures.
Players would have taken the role of a customisable secret agent, a James Bond type with experimental implants that let you see through walls and hack your surroundings. Missions would have been handcrafted, but with lots of freedom in how you tackled them, and fan-favourite character Liara was set to return.
Dantics says it "looked incredible", and the responses to Sparth's thread suggest that many fans agree. "I have to say the artistic vision was/is phenomenal," writes one. "I can only imagine what else there could have been."
It'd be great if EA released some of the Mass Effect concept art one day. It would be a small but meaningful way to honour the BioWare staff who've lost their jobs. In the meantime, whatever Sparth does next, I'm sure we'll be featuring his work on Creative Bloq again soon.