User blog comment:Yanxa/Lack of Character Development/@comment-1074875-20120502183703

There is some character development, but Shepard has nothing to do with it. They grow and change on their own.

I don't really agree with you in regards to the previous game(s) having more character development. In Mass Effect, the characters aboard the Normandy (squad and others) just tell you the backstory of the "universe" and cultures and behaviors of various civilizations. In Mass Effect 2, the characters miraculously change when you complete their loyalty mission. There is no development over time, you only have a minimal backstory about them and the sudden change in behavior or additinal tidbits of information - they practically stay the same.

I always felt that the Mass Effect series jumped over the development and shaped the characters based on what they needed of them to be. A good example is Liara, which changed her behavior completely in the timespan between Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 without any explanation of why or how that happens (I would of thought that in Mass Effect 3 they'll explain this, but that didn't happened).

The big change in character development in ME3 was more centered around Shepard then anyone else.