If you played through any of the Mass Effect trilogy, there's a high probability you played Shepherd as a Paragon opposed to a Renegade--at least on the first playthrough. And the stats back it up.

　　According to former Bioware cinematic designer John Ebenger, around 92% of players opted to be the good guy in their Mass Effect playthrough. "Something like 92% of Mass Effect players were Paragon. And we put a lot of work in to the Renegade content too :(," Ebenger wrote in a tweet.

　　You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.

　　Click To Unmute

　　Thompson: The Pop Culture Icon’s Strange Legacy - Loadout

　　Firearms Expert’s FAVORITE Weapons Of 2023State Of Gaming Handhelds In 2023How Lies of P Cracked the Souls GenreLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Ichiban Kasuga Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Chitose Fujinomiya Character Spotlight TrailerThe History Of E3History of Gears of WarThe History of Resident EvilThe History of Quake

　　Share

　　LinkEmbed

　　Size:640 × 360480 × 270

　　Start at: End at: Autoplay Loop

　　Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?

　　Sign up or Sign in now!

　　Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.

　　This video has an invalid file format.

　　00:00:00

　　HTML5

　　Auto HD High Low

　　Report a problem

　　Sorry, but you can't access this content!

Please enter your date of birth to view this video

　　By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's

　　Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

　　enter

　　Now Playing: The History of Mass Effect

　　Yup. Something like 92% of Mass Effect players were Paragon.

　　And we put a lot of work in to the Renegade content too :( https://t.co/lywwx7n4Hy

　　— John Ebenger (@EbengerJohn) February 19, 2020

　　Paragon and Renegade occupied opposite sides of Mass Effect's binary morality system. Players could choose different lines of dialogue and actions that fit one of the two sides, with each decision adding points to their character's score as a either a Paragon or Renegade. Filling up one side would open up more choices down that path, so you were incentivised to pick one and stick with it instead of mixing and matching according to the situation.

　　Paragon was the typical goody two shoes path, encompassing compassion and acts of heroism. Renegade, meanwhile, focused on selfishness and just generally being a piece of work--like when punching a reporter in the face--but an argument can also be made for the ends justifying the means in some instances.

　　One Twitter user replied to Ebenger, criticising the morality system's tendency to incentivise sticking to one path over the other. "Yup, that's why it was changed for [Mass Effect 3]," wrote Ebenger in response.

　　Bioware experimented with the system throughout the trilogy, beginning with a total points score that then morphed into a percentage-based system in Mass Effect 2. Significant changes were introduced in Mass Effect 3, boiling it down to a single reputation meter which Paragon and Renegade points both contributed to. On the flip side, Mass Effect: Andromeda abandoned the morality system altogether.