To create an establishing visual look for the game's world that could compete with the likes of Star Wars' visual style, long smooth circular arcs were incorporated into all of the characters, aliens, ships, armor and weapons, and even the logo. The style was inspired by some of the artists working on the game, especially from the artwork by one of the game's artists, Syd Mead.

Because the previous generation of games couldn't achieve smooth polygons, this style was instrumental in convincing the public that Mass Effect was a real next-gen game.