Mass Effect is set in a rich and diverse universe hundreds of years in our future. The challenge of creating a plausible vision for humanity and a galaxy of ancient and exotic alien races was given to BioWare's talented art and design teams. They began in a formless void and shaped their worlds, their races, and their civilizations to finish with a living breathing setting exclusive to the Xbox 360. From a massive space citadel whose origins are lost in time to the utilitarian clothing of frontier colonists, each component, whether small or colossal, anomalous or common, within Mass Effect's universe need to be brought to detailed life. In this stunning volume, take an exclusive step back to when this universe was still forming in this compilation of art, images, and commentary taken directly from the artists' sketchbooks as they created the universe of Mass Effect.