MinnMax Interview - Why Mass Effect’s Lead Writer Mac Walters Left BioWare (Patreon)

In this MinnMax Interview, Ben Hanson talked to the lead writer for the Mass Effect trilogy Mac Walters about why he left BioWare to create a new studio funded by NetEase called Untold Worlds. They talk about lessons from BioWare's growth over the last 20 years, how to assemble a team for a new studio, and the sci-fi action game that Untold Worlds is developing.

Watch and share the video version of this interview here - https://youtu.be/MYaEtNnC9pk

To jump to a particular discussion, check out the timestamps below...

00:00:00 - Intro 

00:01:50 - Welcoming Mac Walters 

00:02:49 - Mac’s love of scuba diving 

00:04:38 - Leaving BioWare after 19 years 

00:08:33 - The offices of BioWare and Worlds Untold 

00:10:57 - Naming Samara in Mass Effect 2 

00:12:50 - How stressful was BioWare? 

00:15:08 - Why the Mass Effect remaster made Mac want to leave BioWare 

00:22:18 - How to keep a small development studio healthy 

00:25:56 - Lessons from BioWare’s doctors 

00:28:12 - Becoming a NetEase 1st party studio 

00:30:38 - How to assemble a new team 

00:34:35 - Recruiting Metal Gear alumn Sotaro Tojima

00:37:50 - Worlds Untold’s New IP 

00:40:50 - The sci-fi naming trend for new studios 

00:42:14 - Talking to Casey Hudson 

00:43:33 - Why he’s eager to leave Mass Effect behind 

00:45:17 - Mass Effect 3’s ending 

00:47:47 - How often does Mac think about Mass Effect 

00:49:11 - The morale boost of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition 

00:50:14 - Thoughts on procedural generation 

00:52:48 - Worlds Untold is not an RPG 

00:54:28 - Thoughts on Starfield 

00:56:02 - Lessons from Mass Effect: Andromeda 

01:00:40 - The mission for Worlds Untold

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