BioWare hires talented Deux Ex writer to work on the next Mass Effect

BioWare has been in need of a win for a long time, and the studio just might have it now thanks to its newest writer. The developer has hired the talented Mary DeMarle as its new senior narrative director. DeMarle is most well known for being a writer at Eidos-Montréal where she worked on the Deux Ex series and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

The director of the next Mass Effect game, Michael Gamble, confirmed that DeMarle will be working on the sci-fi RPG series. On Twitter, Gamble said: “I’m really excited to let you know that Mary DeMarle will be joining the Mass Effect team as Senior Narrative Director. You’ve seen her work in Guardians of the Galaxy & Deus Ex (to name a few!). She’s amazing.”

Bringing in an award-winning talent for the next game

Recent games in the Deux Ex series were praised for their well-crafted narratives and writing, and DeMarle had a hand in that. On top of that, her writing on Guardians of the Galaxy resulted in Eidos-Montréal winning the award for Best Narrative at The Game Awards in 2021. Fans of the Mass Effect franchise will likely feel a sense of reassurance at knowing that such a talented writer has now joined BioWare to work on the next entry.

To get an idea of DeMarle’s approach to writing for video games, we don’t have to look much further than an interview she did with GamesIndustry.biz last year.

“For many, many years working in this industry, I’ve known that story is often subservient to gameplay,” she said. “But if I understand the game and what is the feeling I’m trying to evoke for players, then I can understand that gameplay is trying to do it this way, and story is here to support that or bring it forward.”