Mass Effect 3 - Way of the Gunsword

The Way of the Gunsword

Mass Effect 3 Lead Combat Designer Corey Gaspur has a virtual armory list full of wild and impractical weapon ideas. Some describe how the weapon should work, such as the one-shot, high-powered, extremely accurate rifle that would eventually become the Mattock. And some—like the shotgun pitchfork—are delightfully blunt.

“Literally anything goes (during brainstorming),” Gaspur says. “The shotgun pitchfork sounds silly, but it could work. If you throw on an Omni-tool with a three-pronged bayonet, I could totally see it working.”

The combat team then refines the mountain of gunchucks, spike grenades, and lightning swords, picking out their favorites and discussing how they can and should function. As the Mass Effect trilogy evolved and more lore was established, they began to design weapons based around each faction’s composition was and how it fought.

The brutal krogan enjoy getting up close and personal in fights to take advantage of their hardened bodies and ferocious strength. As a result, their weapons were envisioned as power tools, Gaspur says: heavy, blunt, and efficient. “We wanted them to feel like chainsaws or jackhammers,” he says.

“For Cerberus, our central idea was high-tech, clean, and streamlined. The important thing is making sure each faction has a coherent theme.”

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