Kinda silly at this point considering the game's reveal is only a couple of days away, but here's all we know.
The teaser video + image
1.
View here. Does not show anything other than quick cuts of a soldier in armor lifting up a sniper rifle. Brief view of outside his window, nothing specific shown.
2. The rilfe is the
Incisor Rifle from Mass Effect 2. Outside of a slight alteration to the front and subdued texture, it is 100% identical right down to the little details. If this does not indicate the project is Mass Effect, it is a reused art asset from Mass Effect. It is, unquestionably, the Incisor Rifle.
3. Soldier's armor does not directly resemble any of the armor from Mass Effect. However, it also appears quite futuristic compared to modern armor, and is a similar 'style' to what might appear in a Mass Effect game.
4. There are quick bright yellow cuts with black silhouettes scattered throughout the video. Most of these are impossible to identify, and so resemblences to Mass Effect material is impossible to verify. There is only one still that can be identified;
this shot happens to be
this character from Fallout: New Vegas. It is possible then that parts of this teaser were cut with material from other games that intend to be revealled at VGA 2010, in this case the New Vegas DLC pack. For this reason it is important to be skeptical that
any of the bright yellow cuts are even related to BioWare specific teaser, or any of the cuts at all for that matter.
5. At the end of the trailer we briefly see the message 'Look Closer'. This would imply that there are details in the video to pay attention to.
6.
CVG has posted a new still from the trailer we will see at VGAs. It can be found
here. The screen depicts the view of a sniper scope looking at a woman helping a child up, surrounded by rubble. The style of the scope's crosshair is exactly the same as Mass Effect 2's, and the woman's outfit resembles science fiction clothing.
The QR code clues
1. BioWare are releasing QR codes with apparent clues to their next game. These can be found on their Twitter account, Facebook page, advertisements, and elsewhere. This will be updated as new codes and clues arrive.
2. First code is
here. It reads as the binary code '001101010011010100101110001110000011010000110101'. This, when converted to ASCII is '55.845'. The meaning for this number is unknwon, however it is likely that it is referencing the atomic weight of an iron atom, which shares the same value.
3. Second code is
here. It reads as the binary code '0010110100110001001100100011100000101110001101011011000001000110'. This, when converted to ASCII is '-128.5°F'. This is approximately the coldest temperature recorded naturally on Earth, at Vostok, Antarctica.
4. Third code is
here. It reads as the binary code '0110100001110100011101000111000000111010001011110010111101110111011101110111011100101110011100110110100101110011001011100110011101101111011101100010111001110101011010110010111101101111011101010111010001110000011101010111010000101111011100110110100101110011001011010110100001101111011011010110010100101101011101110110010101101100011000110110111101101101011001010010111001101000011101000110110101101100'. This, when converted to ASCII is
this URL. The website is for the Secret Intelligence Service of the UK. This is not BioWare's website, so there are unlikely to be many if any clues on the website itself.
5. Fourth QR code was found on BioWare's Facebook page. It can be found
here. When decoded, it gives
this url. The URL links to an image of a The Clash album, specifically The Singles. There is no additional information.
6. Fifth QR code was found oN BioWare's Facebook page. It can be found
here. When decoded, it gives
this url. The website displays
this image, specifically a red herring.
7. Like any good puzzle, we dont know for sure what all these bits and pieces mean. However, if we are to run with Mass Effect, it is interesting to note that in Mass Effect 2 there appears a planet called
Aequitas. The official description of this planet has it's surface temperature as -89.1°C, which is approximately -128.5°F, Additionally, the planet is described as having 'famous Iron Canyons'. This planet, in Mass Effect, is the only obvious referencing of both of the number clues. The third code linking to the SIS website may indcate that the SIS headquarters, or the rough location, appear in the teaser trailer, as the SIS headquaters are
here, and the positioning of the bridge and fence look very similar to
this shot from the teaser. What The Clash - The Singles means is a little confusing, however The Clash is a British band, which ties in nicely with the previous SIS Headquarters/Vauxhall Bridge clue. Of note, and this may not mean anything, Mass Effect's prominent figure David Anderson was born in London. The most recent QR clue, the 'red herring', would imply that somewhere along the lines we have been given false information. Perhaps this game is not leaning towards Mass Effect at all, or perhaps false information ties into the plot.
BioWare Montreal's history
1. March 2009,
BioWare Montreal opens. Employs approximately 30 staff, with the studio set to provide development support for Mass Effect 2 (art assets, side quests, etc).
2. January 2010,
BioWare confirm that Mass Effect will not be confined to a single trilogy.
3. June 2010,
BioWare Montreal advertises for a multiplayer programmer, with the role to "take existing single player user experiences and make them multiplayer safe".
4. July 2010, ex-Raven (Wolfenstein, Singularity) developer Manveer Heir
joins BioWare Montreal as a senior level designer for an unspecified 'Mass Effect' project.
5. September 2010,
BioWare Montreal plans to doubles staff from approximately 27 to 55 employees. Yanick Roy reconfirms Mass Effect work by stating We're also doubling our contribution to whatever happens next in the Mass Effect franchise".
6. September 2010,
BioWare Montreal advertise for various positions associated with genres described as 'military-grade FPS' and 'popular FPS'. Listings were switched from a BioWare specific advertising to EA, and so it may not be BioWare specific.
