 It was a cold September lunch when Casey Hudson sat down with his bosses, Greg Zescek and Ray Muzika, to discuss his new video game project. But Casey was more ambitious than Greg and Ray had presumed. He wanted to make his very own, brand new gaming trilogy. Greg was so surprised that he burnt his tongue on his soup. Bioware was gaining momentum. The studio had started life when doctors Greg Zescek and Ray Muzika had started making role-playing games in their spare time and their little team had gone on to create licensed RPGs using the Dungeons & Dragons branding. They'd cemented their fame within the games industry and now everybody knew if you wanted a well-built, story-driven RPG, Bioware was the place to go. The studio's crowning gem was Knights of the Old Republic, a role-playing game set in the Star Wars universe. The team had worked closely with Lucasfilm to produce an original game story that didn't tie into any existing property and the gamers had fallen in love with their immersive, choose-your-own-adventure storytelling. At the head of the project had been Casey Hudson and Greg and Ray were now willing to let him dream up his own idea for a game. Casey was tired of making games based on existing brand properties. He wanted to make something new and fresh that took elements from his team's work on Star Wars but that told a completely original story. His plan was to create a trilogy of games in a brand new science fiction setting merging elements of the Star Wars universe with the combat and feel of the Halo franchise. It would be one of the biggest, most epic game stories in the history of gaming and it would shape the future of Bioware forever. Greg and Ray weren't sure how to react after they'd mopped up the spilled soup. After all, the company was still only small and committing to a trilogy of science fiction games meant risking all of their capital and a brand that could take a decade to see fruition. Casey had never steered them wrong before though so the pair tentatively accepted. Casey's project, titled SFX, was given the green light. But where to start? In truth, at this point Casey didn't exactly have a solid plan in mind. His game didn't yet have a story, a main character or much of anything beyond a single-page document with vague ideas on it. Casey got together his writing team. The group had worked together on Knights of the Old Republic and were already very familiar with science fiction storytelling. Casey explained to everyone the exciting plan that he had for his games and how they'd all link together to tell a huge, branching story in this fantastic original sci-fi world. One member of the team, excited by the prospect, began doodling a dinosaur holding a laser gun. This was it, the first tiny idea that the game would grow from. Together, the team began brainstorming their game world, coming up with character ideas and creating a universe that could support a trilogy of games. At this point, the actual game itself was of secondary importance. The team wanted to get their setting sorted long before actually deciding on what the game would focus on. This world-building stretched on and on, as for over a year, the team did almost nothing but refine their game world. Slowly, this new fictional universe took shape. Aliens, heroes, villains and the game's central plot were all fleshed out. There was just one problem. The game didn't have a name. The team tried everything they could think of in an effort to find something that perfectly described what their epic story was about. They just couldn't decide on a name that worked. One day, Casey had a bolt of inspiration. He rushed into work telling everybody that he decided on what to call the game. They all listened eagerly as he told them his genius plan. They would call the game Rainbow. Rainbow? That didn't seem right. Whoever heard of an action game called Rainbow? Ah, said Casey. But what about Rainbow Six? The team did admit that yes, there was a popular shooter series with that name. Casey explained himself. It didn't matter what the game was called. Eventually, gamers would come to associate their name with the game, no matter what title they gave it. With the pressure to find the perfect name relieved, the team settled on Mass Effect, a reference to the science fiction concept at the heart of their characters' biotic powers. The game was formally announced with this new title, but Casey was getting worried. The first game's deadline was drawing nearer, but his team had spent so long world-building that they'd neglected the actual game itself. The team entered an intense period of work to get Mass Effect ready for its release date. Casey found himself filling in the cracks wherever he was needed, writing code in some places, patching up lines of dialogue, and even taking photographs in his basement to create the game's dream sequences. It broke his heart a little bit, but a lot of Casey's favourite ideas, such as online resource trading, had to be scrapped in favour of focusing on the core gameplay. Casey had to make hard choices as to what went into the game and what was left on the cutting room floor. Finally, Mass Effect was released, and the entire team breathed a sigh of relief. Casey was conflicted though. The game's history and his science fiction trilogy felt unfinished, and he wished he'd had more time to complete the game. Bioware fans didn't see it that way though. Gamers played Mass Effect in their thousands, embracing the game's exciting story, wonderful science fiction world, and its memorable characters. These key story elements went on to serve as the basis for two more games, which did just what Casey had imagined. They built a long-running interactive story where the player decisions impacted later games. The characters and setting that Casey's team had created went on to become some of the most beloved icons in video gaming, and Mass Effect propelled Bioware further into mainstream popular gaming. The moral of the story is this. Be ambitious. It's easy to think when you have a fantastic idea that you won't be able to achieve your goal. You could feel anxious or inadequate, and find yourself doubting about whether you really can succeed at the things you care about. Be brave. You can only succeed in life if you take that first step. So don't worry about if a challenge feels unbeatable. With the right planning, you can accomplish anything.