Mass Effect's dialog scenes were inspired by British sitcom 'Extras', says former dev

BioWare' original Mass Effect turned 10 this week, and to celebrate the occasion animator Jonathan Cooper took to Twitter to share some trivia about the game's production -- including that its iconic over-the-shoulder dialog sequences were directly inspired by the British sitcom 'Extras'.

It's probably the most fun of the "10 fun facts" the animator shared, but all are worth a read given that Cooper (who now works at Naughty Dog) worked on Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, both of which were celebrated for the quality of their dialogue-driven narratives and the strength of their characters.

In fact, sometimes it sounds like the characterizations may have been a bit too strong, as Cooper recounts a story about how one actor actually punched another in the jaw while performing (for motion capture) a scene in which the Mass Effect character David Anderson punches the Ambassador Udina character.

"During this climactic scene of Anderson punching diplomat Udina, cinematic lead Shane Welbourn, (suited up as Anderson), accidentally clocked the Udina actor on the jaw," wrote Cooper. "I had to work with the poor chap shortly afterwards and he was less than impressed."