CraveOnline: Can you tell us about this comic, where it fits into the Mass Effect continuity and how it's been shaping up?
Mac Walters: You know, a lot of our comics are character based. Obviously. As are all the stories we try to tell. They build around strong characters and one of the big characters in Mass Effect 2 was the Illusive Man. Given the way he’s set up in the games, there wasn’t too much we could do in the time-frame of the games. So we wanted to go back and show a little snippet of time and show what the Illusive Man was doing, say, 30 years in the past. During this time Cerberus was still very “pro-human,” and so was the Illusive Man. He’s very much about humanity’s interests. So we took it to a time when humanity was first stepping onto the stage.
CraveOnline: So when humans were still the “rebel underdogs?”
Mac Walters: Yea, exactly. So we set it during the time of the “First Contact War” where humans were fighting the Turians. The image we got behind us [Mass Effect: Evolution promo banner] shows a much younger Illusive Man dealing with a Turian threat in a very hostile manner.
CraveOnline: You mean badass.
Mac Walters: [laughs] Yea.
CraveOnline: Now it’s interesting you used the word “snippet” before because a big draw of the Illusive Man character is that he’s so mysterious and, well, illusive. So you can’t reveal too much.
Mac Walters: Exactly. The time-frame this comic takes place in is very small. It definitely answers some questions people have. I think the character is very dynamic and fun. And since this takes place 30 years in the past, there’s another 30 years after this moment which is left up to the reader’s imagination. You’ll see how the ball gets rolling on Cerberus, but we don’t give it all away.
CraveOnline: Like you said, the Mass Effect universe is about fleshing out characters. I mean, the storyline is huge, I don’t want to take away from that, it’s about building characters and relationships. Is the series made to have more understanding or sympathy for the Illusive Man?
Mac Walters: I don’t think so. The character is suppose to be very gray, very morally ambiguous. And this series isn’t meant to skew you either way. I think we’ve done a good job keeping him morally ambiguous throughout.
CraveOnline: Mass Effect, the games, have always been about freedom of choice. So if you push something in one direction or the other, it might change how people make choices in the game.
Mac Walters: Exactly. Earlier you used the term “badass,” and you definitely see the start of that. The Illusive Man is all about how he gains and uses information. But we also have action, kind of like how Donald Trump used to throw down before he became who he is. We just want to go back to those days with the Illusive Man character.
CraveOnline: Now is the Illusive Man kind of an anti-hero in this series? Cerberus has been presented in the past as quasi-xenophobic terrorists. And the Illusive Man is behind them. So is it a struggle to find the right balance to not make him come off as a villain in his own comic series?
Mac Walters: I think “anti-hero” is a good term. There are strong heroic qualities about him. He’s just very principled. And Evolution is dealing with how those principles are set in motion and built upon. He’s a character that went out into the greater universe and had to figure out what it’s going to take for humanity to survive and be powerful.
CraveOnline: What about those not familiar with Mass Effect, is this series being written with those people in mind?
Mac Walters: Yea, but we’re very careful about it. We really rely on Dark Horse’s expertise to say, “let’s make a great story that will work great as a comic first, and will appeal to everyone.” There’s a lot of action right off the bat to draw people in, and if we reference something from Mass Effect it’s explained well enough that you can pick it up and be fine. But also that it’s not over-explained for people who are already familiar. What I did was try to tie-in a lot of background, or things you just heard about in the past. For the average reader they’re like, “Yea, that’s cool.” But for the guy that knows Mass Effect 1 & 2, he’ll be like, “Oh, awesome!.”
CraveOnline: What’s the plan for this? Is it on-going, 6 issues, unannounced?
Mac Walters: Well, right now it’s 4 issues. But as long as it’s successful we’re going to keep doing them. I love doing them. Dark Horse has been great. Redemption seemed to be successful [Mac’s previous ME comic mini-series]. So as long as this one’s successful, I don’t see any reason to stop. I love telling stories in the Mass Effect universe in a different way.
CraveOnline: I want to switch gears to the Mass Effect games real quick. Now Mac, you wrote the games’ scripts as well. Do you and BioWare have a universe bible to adhere to?
Mac Walters: Oh yea, we actually have what we call an “IP Bible.” We have several versions of it. We have an internal one and a third party version which we give out to people like Dark Horse to tell them, “Hey, read about our universe!” But yea, we maintain it and update it over time.
But I have to be honest with you, I need to thank the fans. One of the best sources of information on Mass Effect is the Mass Effect Wiki. I often use it myself.
CraveOnline: Wow, the man who created the Mass Effect universe uses the fans to keep his facts straight.
Mac Walters: The thing is, I, along with the other writers, have come up with so much information that’s come and then been cut that it’s hard to remember what’s in the final game.
CraveOnline: And nerds like us would know.
Mac Walters: Well, yea, you guys are the ones playing the game so know what you actually saw, more so than I do sometimes.
Actually, I was just in a discussion, and I’m not sure if it’s announced yet, but we have an 8-pager coming out sometime and it features a specific character. But during this talk someone was like, “Wait, didn’t that guy get assassinated? Wasn’t it in a news commentary?”
I was like, “Oh, sh*t, wow.” But I wound up going to Wikipedia and finding out he’s still alive. So we’re all good [laughs].
CraveOnline: Now how about the DLC episodes. You writing those as well?
Mac Walters: As lead writer I’m responsible for all of them, regardless of whether I actually write them or not. I mean, our staff for Mass Effect has three to six writers working side-by-side. For the latest DLC, “Lair of the Shadow Broker,” I just reviewed the work of my co-workers. But it’s up to me to make sure the final quality is up to par and fits into continuity.
CraveOnline: How do you feel about working on stuff like DLC, something that releases after the big push retail release?
Mac Walters: I really enjoy the idea of DLC because, as many people know, in game development there is so much you want to do but there’s very limited time. But then the opportunity comes back up to do it in DLC. For example, the car chase in the “Lair of the Shadow Broker” DLC. We just didn’t have the time to test it and fit it in when the original game launched.
Even in comics, Mass Effect: Redemption was kind of an experiment. We built this comic story around eventual video game DLC we wanted to release. It was a lot of fun to do that, plan it out from the get-go.
CraveOnline: What about future comic storylines. Clearly you can’t divulge information right now, but I wanted to touch on how you find a balance in what characters to focus on. Mass Effect is such a “choose your own adventure” type of game, where doing a comic set after Mass Effect 2 could go against the canon some gamer established in their unique saved game.
Mac Walters: For the games, obviously, it’s really challenging to keep track of all that. As we start working on the next iteration of the series we have to say, “Well, this guy could be alive, or dead, how does that play out?”
For the comics, we know who the exciting characters are because of the fans, whether they’re alive or dead. And much like we did with the Illusive Man, we set his thing 30 years in the past.
CraveOnline: So the comics are best left as prequels?
Mac Walters: Exactly. I’m also not opposed to starting a comic series, or book series, which sometimes focus on characters not even found in the games. People who are completely original and new.
CraveOnline: As a way to wrap this up, as I know you’re busy, is there anything else you want to say about Mass Effect: Evolution that you think people should know about, or get pumped for?
Mac Walters: I was talking with someone the other day and they were like, “What can you tell me about it?” My initial response was, “Not much” [laughs]. But the one thing that made their eyebrow raise is that the Illusive Man is this interesting guy with all this knowledge, but in Evolution he’s this guy who is going places no other human has gone before and seeing it all for the first time. So it’s this chance to see everything through his eyes. He’s a little bit younger, a little bit rougher around the edges, but this is a big first step for humanity to be out there.
CraveOnline: Awesome. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Enjoy the rest of the Con!
Mac Walters: No problem. You guys do the same.
