Elite (video game)

Lore & Background

Elite was inspired by sources including 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Battlestar Galactica, as well as works by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert L. Forward, Isaac Asimov, and Orson Scott Card. The default commander name Jameson was inspired by the Traveller tabletop role-playing game. Braben and Bell met at Jesus College, Cambridge, where Bell was working on a game called Freefall and Braben on a game called Fighter; they decided to collaborate after comparing notes and seeing Star Raiders on the Atari 800. They first approached Thorn EMI, which rejected the game as too complicated, then met with Acornsoft, whose managing director David Johnson-Davies was impressed by the demo. Acornsoft agreed to publish, giving the programmers a £1,000 advance and a 7.5% royalty rate.

Reader's Guide

Elite proved hugely influential, serving as a model for games including Wing Commander: Privateer, Grand Theft Auto, EVE Online, Freelancer, the X series, and No Man's Sky. It was one of the first home computer games to use wire-frame 3D graphics with hidden-line removal, adding graphics and twitch gameplay to the genre established by the 1974 game Star Trader. The game's title derives from the player's goal of raising their combat rating to 'Elite'. The Elite series holds the Guinness World Record as the longest running space simulation series in history. Sequels include Frontier: Elite II (1993), Frontier: First Encounters (1995), and Elite Dangerous (2014), which introduced massively multiplayer gameplay, first-person on-foot gameplay, and space colonization. Non-Acorn versions were first published by Firebird and Imagineer; rights have since been owned by David Braben.

Did You Know?

• The game's universe contains eight galaxies, each with 256 procedurally generated planets.
• The developers removed an entire galaxy after finding a planet named 'Arse'.
• The game includes a novella, The Dark Wheel, by Robert Holdstock, giving insight into moral and legal codes.
• The original BBC version used a split-screen approach to show four colors simultaneously.

Narrative Ambition and Player Agency

Mass Effect, released in 2007 by BioWare for the Xbox 360 under Microsoft Game Studios, set its sights on something ambitious: a single-player experience where the player's choices genuinely shaped a sweeping galactic saga. Set in the Milky Way in the year 2183, the story centers on Commander Shepard, an elite human soldier tasked with preventing a rogue agent from unleashing the Reapers, a highly advanced machine race poised to invade civilization. The game was conceived from the outset as the opening chapter of a trilogy, and BioWare spent three and a half years building it on the Unreal Engine 3. Rather than following a fixed script, the design philosophy placed the player at the center of decision-making, allowing choices to ripple through the narrative in numerous ways. Quests span space exploration, squad-based and vehicular combat, and rich interactions with non-player characters. Two downloadable content packs released in 2008 and 2009 further expanded the base experience with additional missions, reinforcing the sense that the galaxy and its story were meant to feel lived-in and consequential.

Character Customization and Progression Systems

Before the first mission even begins, the player is handed a remarkable degree of authorship over Commander Shepard. Gender, facial appearance, military background, combat training, and even the character's first name are all chosen at the start. Beyond identity, six distinct character classes shape how the player approaches combat, each carrying unique talents. The Soldier class, for instance, emphasizes raw weapon damage and carries a larger health pool, while the Sentinel focuses on shielding and healing allies. Once the player reaches a certain point in the story, the base class talent can be evolved into one of two specializations tied to that class. Although every class can technically wield any weapon type, each one performs best with the weapons it was trained on. Progression is driven by experience points earned through quest completion, enemy kills, and environmental item collection. Leveling up grants Talent Points that can be distributed across Shepard and the six available squad members, each of whom has their own talent tree. Every talent spans twelve ranks, with each rank consuming a single Talent Point, creating a deep layer of long-term build planning.

Tactical Combat and the Cover System

Mass Effect's combat blends the tactical depth of a traditional role-playing game with the immediacy of a real-time third-person shooter. The player controls Shepard from an over-the-shoulder camera while two AI-driven squad members fight alongside. A key design choice is the ability to pause the action at any moment, allowing the player to methodically assign targets and select talent abilities for each squadmate. A cover system lets the player and squad take strategic positions behind objects, and orders can be issued to have members scout ahead, regroup, focus fire on a specific target, or take cover. Weapons span the full spectrum from pistols and shotguns to assault and sniper rifles, all with unlimited ammunition but subject to overheating during sustained fire. Grenades can be thrown to latch onto targets or flat surfaces and detonated remotely. Defense relies on a dual-layer system: damage-absorbing shields that must be depleted before the health bar is affected, with environmental hazards like heat or toxins bypassing shields unless appropriate armor is worn. Shields regenerate automatically after a brief respite from fire, while Medi-gel items restore health. The Unity talent allows the player to revive a fallen squad member, adding urgency to firefights.

Critical Reception and Lasting Legacy

Mass Effect was met with widespread critical praise upon its 2007 release, with reviewers highlighting its interactive storytelling and cinematic presentation as standout achievements. Sales reflected the enthusiasm, with the title moving over one and a half million copies by January 2008. It took home several year-end honors, including Best RPG at the 2007 Spike Video Game Awards and Roleplaying Game of the Year at the 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, and has since been regarded as one of the greatest video games ever made. That said, critics did note shortcomings, particularly the unbalanced combat mechanics and the artificial intelligence of enemy and squad units. The game's reach expanded well beyond its original Xbox 360 launch: a Windows port followed in 2008, handled by Demiurge Studios and Microsoft Game Studios, and a PlayStation 3 version arrived in 2012 through Edge of Reality and Electronic Arts. The trilogy continued with Mass Effect 2 in 2010 and Mass Effect 3 in 2012, cementing the franchise's place in gaming history. In 2021, the original title received a remaster as part of the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, introducing the story to a new generation of players.

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