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Ancient beyond comprehension and serving as a major deep-space power, The Citadel is one
of the most iconic locations in all of Mass Effect. Its origins are a matter of some debate,
but most agree that the station dates back to before even the Protheans. Lending it an
air of mystery that probably no other place in the Mass Effect universe has. As any fan
of the games knows, The Citadel is much more than just a space station. And, like most
things in the series, Bioware drew from a number of very different inspirations when
creating it. If you’ve played the games, you know the
unique design of The Citadel includes four long “arms”, called wards, which serve
as the residential centers of the station. What might surprise you is the fact this,
ward design was actually based on a very real-world idea. Renowned American physicist Gerard K.
O’Neill published a book in 1976 called The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space,
which Bioware’s art team has cited as an influence. The book included a proposal for
the creation of a “O'Neill Cylinder” which would consist of two cylinders, or wards,
that would have used artificial gravity and included organic plant life. Much like the
Citadel. Sadly, no one has ever attempted to actually create an O’Neill Cylinder in
the real world, but it has gone on to inspire a lot of great science fiction like Star Trek:
Deep Space Nine, Interstellar and of course, Mass Effect. But that isn’t the only thing
that helped inspire the look of the Citadel. According to The Art of Mass Effect, the cities
of Dubai and Tokyo served as major influences when designing the interiors of the station.
Everything from their bright, almost futuristic looking downtowns to the way both cities manage
to house so many people with so little space had a big impact on the creation of the Citadel.
Many fans of science-fiction can’t help but point out some of the obvious similarities
between the universe of Mass Effect and the one seen in the ‘90s cult classic Babylon
5 TV show. And in an episode focused on a space station, those similarities become even
more obvious. Like the Citadel, Babylon 5 was a space station which served as the central
hub for commerce and diplomacy for multiple species. The villain of Babylon 5, The Shadow
also have a ton in common with The Reapers. Both were long-forgotten ancient threats who
emerged to wreak havoc on civilization. And like the Reapers, the Shadow was one of the
oldest known species in the Babylon 5 universe. That’s not the only connection between the
two franchises, the voice of Zaeed Massani in Mass Effect 2, Robin Sachs, was a Babylon
5 casting favorite, playing not one but three characters on the show, probably the most
well-known of which is the alien Coplann. Going to show that Bioware even kept Babylon
5 actors in mind when creating the series. Another fun piece of trivia can be found in
the Silversun Strip’s Castle Arcade, where you’ll come across a game called Shattered
Eezo. This is said to be a reference to Bioware’s past work, specifically the DOS game Shattered
Steel. A classic mech fighter, the game was actually Bioware’s first and was published
through Interplay in 1996. The inclusion of Shattered Eezo is a small nod to the powerhouse
developer’s humble roots. Now it’s time for our comment showcase!
First up we have a comment from Markus Jurgens, who let us know a fact that most of you are
probably familiar with. That the Normandy shares its name with the Normandy region of
France, which is famous because of the U.S.’ Invasion of it, which was a major factor in
the allies defeating the axis powers in World War 2. But there’s another World War 2 connection
that you might not know as much about. There actually was a famous French vessel called
the S.S. Normandie. And much like the Normandy of Mass Effect it was a pretty impressive
ship. In fact, when the ship was built in 1935 it was the largest and fastest passenger
ship in the world; and crazy as it may seem, she is still the most powerful steam turbo-electric-propelled
passenger ship in naval history. Eventually, the ship was renamed the Lafayette, but much
like Shepherd's first Normandy, the ship was eventually blown up. Sadly capsizing after
being set aflame in 1942 Next up is our Shoddy Showcase, which comes
this week from the awesomely named Evil Jesus who says “Fist me Shoddy”. Like, all of
us? The whole team? How is that even going to work? Let us know as you get back to us.
Or don’t. Finally, it is time for our trivia. Last week
we asked you what year Fallout 4’s The Institute was founded and I gotta say, I was surprised
to stump a lot of you! The answer was C) 2110. This week we of course have a Mass Effect
related question: Located near the Emporium in the Presidium is the Krogan Monument, a
huge statue commissioned to commemorate the efforts of the Krogans during what wars?