Mass Effect - Creating the Asari - Game Informer

[@EdK-Music]

"All of these alien's had to have something threatening about them.." Me looking at the Volus

[@vkak1]

The volus are nightmare under the suit

[@normielegion1949]

Have you never heard of the Biotic God?

[@jxckedgell3821]

Poor poor volus

[@steelbear2063]

Well they have built a warship that is second only to Destiny's Ascension

[@thefalsekingslayer3717]

They have lightsabers what you talking about?

[@SkiDaBird]

I feel like they were perfect on the asari and turians. They look exactly as you would think they would, given the personality they were written for.

[@joeywild2011]

Salarians have an awesome design too. I’m pretty sure I remember hearing somewhere that the Salarians’ design is inspired by the typical alien look that you hear about in abductions.

[@KaiisKlips]

Don't forget freckles! It's one of the things that makes Liara so damn cute

[@theshribe]

The eyebrows help too. shes the only asari with them

[@thewatermelon3831]

does aria's count?

[@allknowingfreddybear9291]

Purple freckles...

[@angrybrick8525]

"If you change the face too much they just become unattractive" FALSE Why is everyone so into Thane and Garrus? (Mainly Garrus)

[@alexandresilva3427]

Mostly the voice and a fact that they both badasses.

[@warchiefvenomn7612]

AngryBrick Because of their character. Both Garrus and Than are Ugly af.

[@nazmulfahad3044]

Garrus is the most ultimatest bro ever existed

[@fiddlove]

Some women find scars attractive

[@mrcopycat2355]

Mind you, most of those women are krogan...

[@bzqp2]

I really like how the writers justified the design in the bachelor party scene in ME2. One of the most memorable Mass Effect moments for me.

[@Petersorg]

I never really wanted to have sex with an alien, until I played Mass Effect and saw Liara.

[@aronvasqwiben7064]

true story bro

[@zylo999]

That's the story of every gamer who played Mass Effect (including me)

[@aronvasqwiben7064]

high five

[@WickedJ133]

"I'd be the first motherfucker to see a new galaxy, or find a new alien life form... and fuck it."

[@aronvasqwiben7064]

Guybrush Threepwood I'm joing you :D

[@blueshit199]

It took me 2 replays of both ME1 and 2 to realize the asari have no eyebrows ._.

[@Mutzamakkara]

And you're here too... :D

[@HeraldandGerald]

Liara did in ME1.

[@CelestialDraconis]

@@HeraldandGerald Technically they're just facial markings.

[@drainmudvayne27]

or ears hehe

[@thebaconpig8680]

"Everybody loves the Asari"

[@undyne1]

I don't.

[@Dreamdecipher-pj1nt]

No.

[@assassinaria]

I hate any intelligent species that are not human.

[@Chen-mk4nn]

​@@assassinariasuffer not the xeno to live

[@SuperHoldenC]

love hearing 'vigil' in the background

[@TheNascimento]

Is that a "KOTOR" sign back there in the office? Oh i miss KOTOR... and Asari are pure love.

[@minicle426]

How can you miss something you can play any time?

[@kamillayessenova4482]

The asari in ME:A all look the same though, even with different face marks, except for Peebee.

[@the_dropbear4392]

Forsaken Algonquinia She looks like a half baked potato, that has melted

[@iki9230]

@Casanova Frankenstein Have you played Andromeda? Every asari other than Peebee literally has the same face.

[@adl1578]

the focus on "sex appeal" aside, I love the asari. Liara was such an intelligent voice of reason in the game, and a great teammate. Samara was a badass.

[@lizardfan2002]

and Peebee's so stupid

[@NoMaloneUnturned2]

"Focus on sex appeal aside" get out of our faces feminist trash

[@the_dropbear4392]

You would have thought that femmanists would have liked the fact that there is an all female race, that is the most advanced race and the leader of the galactic community. They have some of the strongest soilders around. But no, because they looks hot and most femmanists don't they are bad

[@the_dropbear4392]

miom Actually to be fair, that's probably easier which invited her. According to sources developers at Bioware have said they were disturbed by whatshe said, and that she wasn't a very nice person. Other Devs have said that she should mind her own business

[@the_dropbear4392]

miom Andromeda was made by a team who had never made a game before and had lots of troubles with EA forcing them to use frostbite despite the fact that frostbite isn't designed to make a game like that. And the fact that they had 5 years of development and spent at least 3 on trying to get presidual planets to work

[@panjimaulanabuckriawan5266]

reminds me of twilek

[@epochpilot9404]

I like how in ME2 they mentioned how other races see them as their own. Salarian's see them as Salarians. Turians, humans, etc. Mentions how there might be some kind of mind control going on with their species.

[@vkak1]

Don't think that was serious though

[@SynchronizorVideos]

I think it's just more along the lines of relatable morphology as discussed in that side conversation in ME2. Maybe the Protheans had a hand in that. I don't think there's any active mechanism like mental influence going on. Plus they're such a huge power in the galaxy that it's hard to really see them as "alien" since they're all over the place.

[@n0zo.143]

Probably because they can get pregnant by all species.

[@joeywild2011]

I love that part too. It’s meant to emphasise how the Asari’s whole thing is being the ideal attractive beings to everyone. You can kind of see how Turians and Salarians also relate to the Asari appearance (however of course, us as humans see Asari as looking exactly like us. I believe there is some psychology / pheromones behind it, in lore). I sometimes wonder, if I met an Asari irl would it confuse me because I’m gay but would their strong psychological effects still make me attracted? Not sure

[@epochpilot9404]

@@joeywild2011 Huh, THAT would certainly be interesting yeah, lol.

[@IbumBMTH]

asari are by far my favorite alien race out of any sci fi film, game or book, most of the time aliens are shown to be quite odd looking or generally unattractive but it changed a lot with the asari, elegant and an interesting race!

[@Pho5phoru5]

Really interesting, I had no idea that the designing process was that complicated

[@Me345100]

This, is how "art" is made. References. Remakes. Trading of information. Making background. Finally making the final piece.

[@halfbreed1426]

I really liked the different head fins from 1:24. I would have been interesting to see Asari wit diverse 'hair' types in game.

[@LeazesFoster]

I like how they actually use the theory of evolution to design the characters. That's a pretty nifty use of the theory I've got to admit.

[@TheN.C.R.Ranger]

GOD I CAN'T WAIT FOR MORE MASS EFFECT!

[@deadlight384]

I Love the Asaris they are my Favorite Mass Effect Race

[@cloudgirl150]

The asari remind me of the twi'lek from Star Wars...

[@cdiegorodriguez]

I appreciate that you have released an Extended Cut of your comment.

[@FalsifiedHero]

"star-trek green space babe" haha XD Oh what an amazing quote!

[@Scandaify]

I hope in Mass Effect 4 still have them

[@alexandresilva3427]

They are confirmed. The only race that's not confirmed yet is the quarian.

[@steelbear2063]

Heeey guess what

[@hexmaniacciaran]

I'm desperate for the next chapter in mass effect but I'll gladly wait to see it done as brilliantly as mass effect 2, bioware produced such a beautiful and detailed lore to not capitalise on it

[@Wanooknox]

UGH! I have studying to be doing! Damn it why is this all so fascinating...

[@WhiteInk47]

Theory, Asari evolved from the child of Sonic the Hedgehog and a human super model.

[@Kevineitor199]

i have the enormeus urge to touch an asari hair

[@Mutzamakkara]

Just like Joker lol, if you've played ME3 you can hear him asking Liara that. :D

[@Kevineitor199]

yeah but i wonder if the asari's skin is rough and rubber like or tense and soft like human skin

[@jebbush8491]

lol I was hoping that Liara replied about how humans have those dead stringy things all over their bodies and how dirty and unmanagable it must get. And if they can move them.

[@steelbear2063]

@@Kevineitor199 Don't remember where it has been said, but Asari skin feels like that of a dolphin

[@agfagaevart]

Finally, a SENSIBLE answer to my question. Thank you Shadow383.

[@CalobAdamsInfamous913]

The asari are the hottest alien out there, no weirdness intended. Also, Liara is amazing.

[@MrGeorgethealien]

From the wiki: The volus are not physically cut out for combat, be it a full-scale war or even a bar room scuffle. As such, they are highly dependent on the turians for defense, although the volus themselves do provide some auxiliary troops to the Hierarchy.

[@Eierfeile]

Looks like the Developers took lots of inspiration from the Delvians from Farscape. They re essentially identical except tentacles and unigender

[@GolfingOctopus]

lol, i think he was referring mostly to the council species and a few others... but remember the hanar have the planetary defense system, and drell forces behind them acting as their own personal badass assassins.

[@ocelot_the_dragon]

Lets talk more about the blue alien from the Fifth Element

[@Unkn0wnIdiot]

Damn, I can't wait to see all the aliens of Mass Effect with the Frostbite engine...

[@TheN.C.R.Ranger]

Yeah well at least they're working on it. In the meantime this year we'll have lot's of games to hold us over for a while.

[@SubjectSulotion]

Asari 4 life

[@FINOlmi]

Falere, Morinth, Tevos, Mallene, Liselle, Nyxeris, Aeian. All asari whose name doesn't end in a letter "A"

[@rowdync]

MEA ruined the Asari.

[@jxckedgell3821]

No one seems to realise but they all look stupid and the same

[@sems7827]

Asari always seemed like the laziest designed race in the beautiful tapestry that is the ME universe. "Sexy blue space babes who live 1000 years and have super powers and can fuck anything!" sounds like a really bad idea I would have had when I was 14 years old.

[@RIOT690]

After 30 million years of reapers guiding civilization into a carefully planned out harvest, it can explain how many aliens find themselves genetically compatible in surprising ways.

[@DJBV]

i clicked the video just to say a comment in the same way but u sir did a fine job

[@kotrena]

I like the concept on 2:11 so much! Asari look much better with such cute flat noses. To me they look too human in the game

[@El_Presidente_5337]

I was like: "Oh cool, a 10 year old video that they made when ME 1 came out." Then I noticed that 10 years ago was 2011 and that ME 1 was released in 2007.

[@DanIel-fl1vc]

What they could have done is created 5 different faces on layers in zbrush and then changed the face output by moving the sliders. If the 5 base faces are different enough they could quickly generate a lot of different looks. Then stitch the unique faces on top of a base body.

[@mathisntmybestsubject8440]

I think it would be interesting to see Asari males in the future. A cause for them to be brought about would be breeding with males from other species, something that had not been planned for or known could be a possibility.

[@PirateNamedJoyce]

I can seriously see Tali as the 7th one at 1:49 I can just see it.

[@BurningRequiem]

I get you but I really didn't mind since you could have some great conversations. The side quests were a necessary evil.

[@RobertRottenThe2nd]

i like the KOTOR sign in the background

[@heelsurfer2668]

Samara is probably one of the best characters in terms of face character design the series.

[@LightStreak567]

Not all of them. Remember Morinth and Tevos, the asari councilor? and Aria's daughter Liselle from the novel ME Retribution?

[@SnakeCraftIsMagic]

Wish I had seen more of these concepts before I sculpted the asari headpieces...

[@ALegitimateYoutuber]

One artist tried to start that, but he disappeared. or so says the legend.

[@hjsimmer1742]

The original creators of the Asari must have been appalled by the potato-faced Asari from MEA. So tragic.

[@xToAsTa]

its out there.

[@rejectdude]

3:42 is the best pic of the councilor ever.

[@Drumlinespartan]

THIS is Artistic Integrity...

[@valhar2000]

Nobody had thought of THAT before.

[@BekurahToshin]

I know what you're referring to, and I understand the point being made, I think I'm just in a minority. There's fictional races which fall into this category that many people find off-putting or ugly, while I think they're beautiful. Kinda going off on a tangent, but that's something else I find fascinating, that people can look at the exact same thing and see something completely different. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and sci-fi really tests the reach of that statement. Love it. ^^

[@Unkn0wnIdiot]

Certainly among the reasons I can't wait :P

[@Artintrex]

There are a few exceptions: Morinth and Councilor Tevos(If you save Destiny Ascension). Though it does seem like a design choice.

[@Waaaghtatic]

"none of them were suppose to look weak" THEN WHAT DO YOU CALL THE VOLUS

[@strong1423]

if you wonder who the photoshop is , she is 2005 Miss England Hammasa Kohistani

[@thetguy100]

In Latin the letter A is feminine and the ancient Greeks and Romans named their daughters after their last name but added an a at the end and if you noticed that the goddess her name was Athame possibly named after Athena or Athens now if you look at the goddess Athene in the temple area you notice shields and swords similar to the Romans this leads me to believe that the Asari are based off of ancient Romans which is why some systems in asari space are named after greek mythology like gorgon

[@Grom76300]

Yep, we were thinking the same thing.

[@Poodleinacan]

Those Syreen.

[@odampriscatt7520]

Yes but according to the multiplayer, Volus have the most advanced suits in the galaxy and some can be specially adapted for combat situations, however I'm sure they just said that for the sake of including a playable volus.

[@Glassandcandy]

It's probably referring to latin. In latin, all female names end in -a (Claudia, Julia, Barbara) and most male names in in -us (Julius, Claudius, Marcus).

[@Hadgerz]

well put. i just got to thinking that maybe you find that Turians and Salarians are teh smexyness because the bioware art team designed them with enough human likeness in their appearance and the way they emote for people to find them relatable. Now, i'm not saying i wanna let Vakarian calibrate my thanix cannon, or give Mordin a peek at my private terminal, but they're characters one can just connect with throughout the series XD

[@Gl3nnman]

Being a game developer is harder than most people think.

[@EpiKerCovers]

I love Mass Effect.

[@nakenmil]

Word. Also - freckles. Surprisingly.

[@SupportExtremeMusic]

At first I thought that the Drell were male Asari, but they do look similar.

[@muranziel]

I always assumed those faical markings were something Asaris were born with, aside Samara/Morinth plates.

[@imasterfapfap7965]

I can't wait for the next ME game but honestly I want bioware to take their sweet ass time making it, I want them to create another masterpiece especially with the new frostbite engine they are using

[@alfienicholson6250]

After nearly 5 years, bio ware are releasing andromeda, 5 years is a long time, plenty of time to make a decent game as 2 was done in 2-3

[@mep15067]

My sincerest condolences iMaster FapFap

[@nakenmil]

The interesting implication here is that to the other races all humans probably look similar. Maybe not as much to Asari, but to Krogans or Turian for example.

[@Crixe]

It's like the Hanar were jellyfish and the asari where some kind of sea mammal like creature.

[@garrusvakarian9820]

She just broke my calibrations . I'm pissed ,but she is pissed off too .

[@TheMudkip12345]

Mornith.

[@8legsFreak]

this is fairly common for female names in Latin (Julia, Pompeia, Silvia), and in Slavic languages (Svietlana, Mila, Vesna), so it is not completely random.

[@jeneregretterien998]

I'd Marry an Asari

[@bullbae02]

play multiplayer as a volus, you'll be able to see how they can fight, what is their species is strong and weak at in the mass effect universe. although no fighting/soldier volus was ever featured in the story, but I believe they were mentioned to have a military force though I forgot where and when.

[@alfienicholson6250]

Mass effect 3, volus ambassador has ties to Cerberus and is captured by mercs, Shepard comes along and dispatches the mercs volus ambassador gives a choice between saving a Turian colony or acquiring the volus bombing fleet. Something like that

[@AK95-BiH]

2:06 Alien Angelina Jolie.

[@TheKidWithTheFace88]

Do you mean that high little volus from Mass Effect 2 who gets in your way when you're trying to get the name of the ship that Samara's daughter escaped on so you could get Samara to join you in taking down the Collectors?

[@DingsDega]

Humans with war paint in ther faces in mass effect 4 (or how it's gonna be called) without looking ridicolous would be awesome!

[@Kickasss119]

@qu3ter it said on the official wiki that the asari were suppost to fill the roll of "Green alien chicks". dunno what the source was

[@BENEFIELdAVON]

awesome guysss

[@RyanKaufman]

It mostly depends on the game. I love going through all the dialogue options and I literally can't leave the Citadel in ME1 until I have all the side quests and conversations done. Honestly in recollection I prefer Mass Effect to ME3. But it's hard, you know? It's the same reason why I play Skyrim. The immediate issues that affected Oblivion and Morrowind; Graphics, Combat, and Leveling, are fixed in Skyrim. But then in recollection, Skyrim is an empty shell when comparing storylines.

[@CinnabonChan]

For me they look like Princess Ruto in space.

[@shadeweave2]

I think they way the head tentacles look how they would feel makes me feel a little ill.

[@Dochirin]

From the top of my mind: Tevos, Liselle, Mallene, Morinth, Nixeris..

[@enzo2123]

What are you talking about? The Volus have the Biotic God remember? He just took a nap is all.

[@anacleos345]

what was the inspiration for the Volus, Elcor Hanar and Drell i wonder

[@PascaTuli]

they are financialy strong, turian are organised, krogans are brutaly strong, asari are deceptively strong and streamlined, salarians are intelligent, humans are diverse and many

[@weldonwin]

We never even see Tali's face and yet she has inspired more R34 than any other Mass Effect character

[@Cosmolovescheese]

Morinth, Tevos, Liselle, Mallene, Nyxeris. But you are right, though I think that is clever as it's similar to English female names, lots of them end in A.

[@superdevonator]

this one takes offense at this notion... the enkindlers have shown both us and the asari considerable favor :P

[@Hadgerz]

i think they're referring to the 'uncanny valley', where something's human-like appearance lies in between the familiar and unfamiliar, and so just looks damned creepy as a result. asari are humanoid in appearance, and look sexy, but otherworldly. altering them too much would make them damn ugly and still otherworldly. fascinating stuff, you should google it :P

[@Unkn0wnIdiot]

They're develeoping another ME game for more than half a year now. 'Dead' is something else.