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Ghost Riders in the Sky - lyrics foreshadowing the game's plot?


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#1
wass12

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First post here. I've been visiting these forums for a while, but didn't have anything meaningful to add. But just now, I've been listening to the song from the ME:A trailer, and had an idea I wanted to share.

 

So as you know, Andromeda has a theme of "exploring and colonizing an uncharted, lawless region" - a sort of space western, and using a "cowboy-styled country/western song" as trailer music fits that. But if one checks out the full lyrics, then based on what we know about the game's story (mostly from the leaked survey), this ballad could be a metaphor for the game's story.

 

For reference, here's the lyrics.

 

In the song, an old cowboy (=our protagonist, the Pathfinder) rides out into a dark and windy day (=space), and witnesses something that a believer of ancient astronauts would instantly identify as a depiction of spaceships: a herd of cattle in the sky with fiery brands (=engines), steel hooves (=landing gear or nacelles), black, shiny horns (=metallic hull, or even specific protrusions - like the Reapers' arms!) and hot breath (=engine exhaust). As cattle is a symbol of wealth, this herd would be the stand-in for the Remnant, the alien race whose artifacts the player supposed to collect. Right after this, the cowboy meets the eponymous Ghost Riders, who are depicted as inhuman-looking beings on a different kind of fiery beast, chasing after the herd of cattle. These could be the Khet, the new alien enemy faction with a closer relation to the Remnant.

 

So far, the song lines up with the information revealed in the survey. What new information it could provide is the possible big twist of the game: in the song, one of the Ghost Riders talks to the cowboy and tells him that the cattle they are chasing are "The Devil's Herd" and their endless pursuit is a form of Hell. For the game, this would mean the Remnant would be revealed as evil, the Khet to be just another race that tried to claim its treasures and get screwed by their success, and the Pathfinder's final task will be to stop humanity falling into the same trap.

 

Of course, it all could be my pattern-recognition firing false positives. So what do you think? Would Bioware send messages like this? For my knowledge, they never were big on ARGs and hidden messages...



#2
Ahriman

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Short answer: overanalysis.

Long answer: You put too much fate into Bioware's PR department, thinking that they spent so much time to find song fitting to main storyline. It just probably symbolizes Space Western theme.


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#3
Ajensis

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Welcome to the forums! :)

 

It's definitely an interesting analysis and I'd be surprised if nothing of it came true, but I also think some of your conclusions are a little far-fetched - namely "cattle -> symbol of wealth -> the Remnants", and the plot twist part. Although it would be pretty funny to look back on, I don't think they put that much thought into the choice of song (or rather, they chose it for other reasons than the lyrics fitting so closely to the game's plotline).

 

But only time will tell. It's interesting to ponder, if nothing else :)


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#4
caradoc2000

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Didn't they already confirm it is relevant.



#5
ArabianIGoggles

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I could have swore I've seen this thread before..



#6
Heimerdinger

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Yanick Roy on Twitter: "There are very good reasons for that choice of song for the trailer that should become clear later on."

 

https://twitter.com/...108419151634432


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#7
Elhanan

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Song makes me want to insure I can keep my all blackened armor, but that's about it. :)

#8
wass12

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Welcome to the forums! :)

 

It's definitely an interesting analysis and I'd be surprised if nothing of it came true, but I also think some of your conclusions are a little far-fetched - namely "cattle -> symbol of wealth -> the Remnants", and the plot twist part. Although it would be pretty funny to look back on, I don't think they put that much thought into the choice of song (or rather, they chose it for other reasons than the lyrics fitting so closely to the game's plotline).

 

But only time will tell. It's interesting to ponder, if nothing else :)

The cattle=wealth thing probably comes from my linguistic background. In my native Hungarian, the word for "cattle" originally meant 'wealth, valuable thing". But as that Twitter that Heimerdinger linked states, the choice of song was very specific.

 

EDIT: My conjecture on the Pathfinder's final task is based on the the lines "'if you wanna save your soul from hell [...] Then cowboy change your ways today" and the fact that all previous Mass Effect games ended with the protagonist saving the galaxy and/or humanity from extinction.



#9
Chealec

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The Witcher has literally done Ghost Riders in the Sky for 3 games now (and they're even aliens) ... perhaps BioWare thought it was time to catch up? :)



#10
wass12

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The Witcher has literally done Ghost Riders in the Sky for 3 games now (and they're even aliens) ... perhaps BioWare thought it was time to catch up? :)

I'm not familiar with The Witcher lore. Does their version of the Wild Hunt comes with this sympathetic, "look what our greed has done to us" quality as well?



#11
Chealec

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I'm not familiar with The Witcher lore. Does their version of the Wild Hunt comes with this sympathetic, "look what our greed has done to us" quality as well?

 

Hmmm... not exactly. They're a race of Elves (the Aen Elle) from other worlds who use a form of magic to traverse space. Their own worlds are slowly dying due to the encroachment of the White Frost - which is slowly engulfing, and freezing, the universe. It's more of an external influence destroying them rather than something of their own doing.


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#12
Wulfram

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"When all at once a mighty herd of red-eyed cows he saw
Plowin through the ragid skies and up a cloudy draw

Their brands were still on fire and their hooves were made of steel
Their horns were black and shiny and their hot breath he could feel"

I conclude our main enemies are evil reaperised cows.
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#13
Ahglock

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When the finished product is out they could have picked almost any song and we could reverse find symbolism in it fitting the game.

That being said the # of space feeling western or exploration songs from a artist that won't offend people because he/she dares have a belief system that opposes a % of the fan base is pretty small.

#14
wass12

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I conclude our main enemies are evil reaperised cows. 

Well, If cows were to be huskified, they would look just as the song describes them. And a robotic murdercow sounds funny, but cows kill more people per year than sharks.



#15
wass12

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When the finished product is out they could have picked almost any song and we could reverse find symbolism in it fitting the game.

That being said the # of space feeling western or exploration songs from a artist that won't offend people because he/she dares have a belief system that opposes a % of the fan base is pretty small.

 

https://twitter.com/...108419151634432

 

While I fully aware that our pattern recognition is often overreactive, the choice of this song being significant was acknowledged by a developer. So the people who chose this song for the trailer definitely saw a special reason to use it. And even more, that reason "should only become clear later on" - the song being spoilers in plain sight is a good candidate for such reason.



#16
LinksOcarina

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https://twitter.com/...108419151634432

 

While I fully aware that our pattern recognition is often overreactive, the choice of this song being significant was acknowledged by a developer. So the people who chose this song for the trailer definitely saw a special reason to use it. And even more, that reason "should only become clear later on" - the song being spoilers in plain sight is a good candidate for such reason.

 

It could also just be misdirection. We won't know until we see more. 



#17
N7Jamaican

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I love that song by Jonny Cash.  Thanks BioWare! But, many people believe the song to be the plot of ME:A.  This theory came out like within the hour of the ME:A Official Announcement trailer.  And I believe that is what the plot will be.



#18
Ahglock

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https://twitter.com/...108419151634432

While I fully aware that our pattern recognition is often overreactive, the choice of this song being significant was acknowledged by a developer. So the people who chose this song for the trailer definitely saw a special reason to use it. And even more, that reason "should only become clear later on" - the song being spoilers in plain sight is a good candidate for such reason.


It being a space frontier exploration game and this being a song that feels space western which people correlate to frontier might be the special reason. I mean seriously, how many songs fit this genre that people would recognize. Sure I'd love some warp 11 music but it's Star Trek themed, few would recognize it and it's fairly explicit lyric heavy.

Maybe they were listening to the song and got inspired. Maybe the new writing direction is trending away from Michael Bay style stories. But so far it's not much to go on.

#19
Mcfly616

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This thread again? Must be a monthly ritual.

 

 

People read way too much into things.



#20
kalikilic

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I'm not familiar with The Witcher lore. Does their version of the Wild Hunt comes with this sympathetic, "look what our greed has done to us" quality as well?

yes. Ghost Riders in the Sky is based on The Wild Hunt Lore.

 

 

Investigative Speculation.


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#21
Xaijin

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There's simply a high probability that the remnant simply left their tech as a sentience trap, and the only takers that haven't got the message are the Khet, and that the Colonials should be relying on their own progression to shore up their defenses and the like, instead of taking the "easy" way with remnant tech.

 

One of the underlying mantras of ME is "too much awesome makes you suck" and this probably liberally applies to ME:A and taking the easy road to colonization is the renegade option this time around.

 

ME's already had four races turn butt-evil after getting super-tech, they'll probably be hitting the theme again, this time with the twist that you're the asari this time and can stay at the citadel and become all reaperfied and evil, or take the krogan method and take only the stuff you can use and doing things with it that were never intended to begin with, that conveniently keeps you from getting turned into evil space zombies etc etc etc.

 

The big moral dilemma is probably level of adoption this time, the game starts you getting distinct advantages with rem-tech and then halfway it all goes horribly wrong, make choices, vhat a tweest, etc etc etc.

 

There's a reason your tech is comparable to the enemies' , and it's probably a thematic one.


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#22
wass12

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ME's already had four races turn butt-evil after getting super-tech, they'll probably be hitting the theme again, this time with the twist that you're the asari this time and can stay at the citadel and become all reaperfied and evil, or take the krogan method and take only the stuff you can use and doing things with it that were never intended to begin with, that conveniently keeps you from getting turned into evil space zombies etc etc etc.

 

Interesting! But what four races do you think about?



#23
Rannik

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In the song, an old cowboy (=our protagonist, the Pathfinder) rides out into a dark and windy day (=space), and witnesses something that a believer of ancient astronauts would instantly identify as a depiction of spaceships: a herd of cattle in the sky with fiery brands (=engines), steel hooves (=landing gear or nacelles), black, shiny horns (=metallic hull, or even specific protrusions - like the Reapers' arms!) and hot breath (=engine exhaust). As cattle is a symbol of wealth, this herd would be the stand-in for the Remnant, the alien race whose artifacts the player supposed to collect. Right after this, the cowboy meets the eponymous Ghost Riders, who are depicted as inhuman-looking beings on a different kind of fiery beast, chasing after the herd of cattle. These could be the Khet, the new alien enemy faction with a closer relation to the Remnant.


IT confirmed.



#24
Remix-General Aetius

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for those who wonder what survey the OP is talking about:

 

"The next Mass Effect game takes place in the Helius Cluster (a cluster of 100s of solar systems in the Andromeda Galaxy), far removed by time and space from Commander Shepard’s heroic acts and the final events of the Mass Effect trilogy. You are a pathfinder, a combat trained but un-tested explorer leading an expedition into the Helius cluster to establish a new home for humanity.

As you explore this sprawling series of solar systems (over 4x the size of Mass Effect 3), collecting resources and building colonies, you will encounter the savagery of untamed lands in the form of cut-throat outlaws and warring alien races. To survive and colonize the wild reaches of space, you will need to grow your arsenal, your ship, your crew and make strategic (and often uneasy) alliances to fight against increasingly menacing foes.

Along the way, you will encounter the remains of a once powerful and mysterious alien race, the Remnant, whose forgotten technology holds the key to gaining power in this region of the galaxy. As you uncover who the Remnant were, and the mysteries their ruins contain, you are drawn into a violent race to find the source of their forgotten technology that will determine the fate of humanity.

 

Collect Resources to Fuel your Growth:

Scour solar systems and planets within the Helius Cluster to find valuable resources and blueprints of long forgotten alien technology that will allow you to craft better equipment and weapons, such as improving your leg armor to allow you to jetpack jump, or upgrading your cryo-beam (laser cannon) to target enemies or do area damage around you to clear out close threats. As you build your arsenal and resource infrastructure, you will be able to explore deeper into the increasingly dangerous and resource-rich solar systems of the Helius Cluster.

 

A Capable Crew:

Throughout the story, you will recruit seven distinct crew members to fight by your side. Each crew member has a unique personality and specific abilities that open up strategic options as you choose which two of them to bring into each mission. For example, Cora has the ability to deploy a biotic shield that protects everyone in the bubble while still allowing you and your squad to fire out of it. Your crew will grow alongside you as you explore the Helius Cluster, and you can choose how you upgrade your crew’s weapons, gear and abilities to increase their individual combat effectiveness. Create the perfect squad to react to any situation and to support your preferred gameplay style.

 

Your Crew, Your Story:

Your crew members aren’t merely hired guns – they are part of the living universe in the Helius Cluster that develops in response to your actions and choices. Increase each crew member’s loyalty by pursuing missions that are important to that specific character. For example, when a Krogan colony ship has been stolen by one of the outlaw factions leaving the colonists stranded without resources to survive, your Krogan squad mate, Drack, is determined to strike out against them. If you take the mission and help him track down the outlaws’ hideout to return the ship to its rightful owners, Drack’s loyalty toward you and your squad will increase and Drack will unlock a brand new skill tree.

 

Explore each individual’s backstory and develop your relationship with them through conversations and unique missions. True to Mass Effect, what you choose to say will directly affect your crew’s loyalty and relationship with you, and will open up different conversations and narrative opportunities at the end of the game depending upon how you approach each encounter.

 

Deployed Strike Team Missions:

The Helius Cluster is 1000s of light years across, and you can’t be everywhere at once. As you develop more colonies, resource bases and settlements, you have to be able to keep them safe. Spend resources to recruit mercenaries and develop an AI controlled Strike Team that you can deploy to take on randomly generated, time-sensitive missions. Strike Team missions take many forms, including settlement defense and Remnant artifact recovery, which will take real-time to complete.

Send your Strike Team out on a mission while you continue playing the main game and they will return, 20 – 30 minutes later, having gained rewards such as XP, currency and equipment based on the success of their mission. Spend money and resources to train your Strike Team and acquire better gear for them, which will increase their success rate and allow them to take on more difficult missions for greater rewards.

 

Active Strike Team Missions:

When you encounter a Strike Team mission in the Single-Player mode, you can leave your Strike Team at their base and decide to tackle the mission yourself with your Multiplayer roster of characters. You also have the option of tackling the mission by yourself, or recruiting up to three friends to play with you. The more friends you bring, the greater the challenge and the greater the reward. These missions will play out using the Next Mass Effect’s multiplayer Horde mode (more details on this later). These missions will include a variety of thematically appropriate objectives, like defending a Settlement against Khet attacks, or recovering a Remnant artifact off of a planet before an outlaw gang gets there first.

 

By taking an active role in strike team missions, you can earn special Single-player rewards in addition to the usual multiplayer specific characters, weapons, weapon mods, and pieces of equipment which can be customized between missions. Additionally, players who join another person’s Strike Team mission will receive bonus in-game currency and multiplayer XP for helping others with their missions.

 

Multiplayer “Horde” Mode:

The next Mass Effect’s “Horde” multiplayer pits you and up to three of your friends against waves of enemy troops on various battlefields throughout the galaxy. Players fight together to survive increasingly difficult enemy attacks and accomplish objectives, like disabling a bomb near a colony base or assassinating a target. Progress through multiplayer missions to gain XP and earn new multiplayer specific weapons, characters, weapon mods, and pieces of equipment, which can be customized between matches. Multiplayer play will also earn you APEX funds (in-game currency), which can be used to purchase items and gear in the Single Player game.

 

Establish Settlements:

Search solar systems for rare habitable planets to establish a settlement that could serve as a base for humankind’s new home in the Helius Cluster. As you build permanent settlements, you will make strategic choices on where to focus your new base’s resources. For example: Recon Settlements will clear fog of war from the space map and give the player more strike team missions to choose from, while Mining Settlements will periodically supplement the player’s supply of crafting materials.

 

Dialogue:

Building upon the rich history of strategic dialogue that has defined the Mass Effect series, you can make meaningful choices in every conversation you have with characters that impact the way your game evolves. The next Mass Effect adds deeper control over your conversations through a greater ability to interrupt and change the course of the conversation as it is happening.

During certain conversations, you will be able to take action based choices, such as the option to pull out your gun and force someone to open a door instead of convincing them to do it through conversational guile. Action based choices give you more options for how you approach dialogue with characters in the game and can lead to more extreme outcomes on the story as it evolves around the decisions you make when interacting with a huge cast of NPC characters.

 

Seamlessly Travel Through the Next Mass Effect Universe:

As you pilot your space ship, Tempest, across the 100s of solar systems that are seamlessly connected in the next Mass Effect, you will encounter new planets filled with valuable resources, intelligent life, conflict, and alien technology that all give you opportunities to increase the power of your character, your ship and your team so that you can build them into a force that perfectly suits your gameplay style. Transitions between activities, like flying your Tempest (space ship) across a solar system to land on a mineral rich planet, then jumping into your Mako (land vehicle) to explore the surface of planet, all happen smoothly without loading screens.

 

Customize and Share Your Experience:

Discover new things in Andromeda Galaxy, like alien artifacts and natural wonders, that serve as trophies and decorations that you can use to modify the look of your character, Tempest (Space Ship) and Mako (land vehicle). Customize the way your squad and your character look with clothes and aesthetic modifications that you unlock throughout the game. Photos you take from the far reaches of the galaxy can be used to decorate your starship or sold to certain characters.

 

Remnant Vault Raids: Find and activate Remnant Monoliths to unlock Remnant vaults. Explore abandoned Remnant ruins to find and locate a powerful artifact, but once you remove it you will trigger the vault defenses that will arm traps, activate defense robots and even change the architecture of the vault itself to stop you from escaping. Fight your way out of the vault and you will be rewarded with valuable loot, including powerful gear, crafting resources and Star Keys that can be used to unlock massive orbital facilities in space that grant permanent stat bonuses.

 

Optional Elite Remnant Vault Raids are scattered around the Helius Cluster located in special orbital facilities that are unlocked by Star Keys. Similar to the standard Remnant Vaults, you enter them to retrieve a special artifact which will trigger the vault defenses that arm traps, activate defense robots and change the architecture of the vault itself to stop you from escaping. However, Elite vaults ratchet up the difficulty of the encounter with increasingly powerful defense robots and traps, as well as roaming outlaws and deadly Khet patrols that are also in search of the elite artifacts. Elite Remnant vaults will test the limits of your combat and puzzle solving acumen, but with greater difficulty comes greater rewards. Gain rare loot, narrative acclaim and huge rewards for completing these daunting challenges.

 

Khet Outposts:

As you explore planets throughout the Helius Cluster, you will encounter Khet Outposts. These outposts are optional combat experiences where you enter the outpost and fight off waves of enemies. Destroy Khet outposts to earn XP, rewards and thwart their growing power in the region. Your allies will reward you with praise and increased narrative options as you fight to remove the Khet presence from the region.

 

Drive and upgrade your Mako (land vehicle):

Explore the surfaces of 100s of planets in the Helius Cluster in your versatile land vehicle, the Mako. Whether you are looking for a place to set up a colony, searching for a Remnant vault or attacking a Khet Outpost, you will enjoy getting there in your Mako. Equip and upgrade your Mako in dozens of ways, like adding turbo boosters, upgrading your shield generator or adding a Hostile Detector to your radar to create the ultimate planetary exploration vehicle. Finally, get your Mako looking the way you want with a custom paintjob.

...

They asked my satisfaction with each of those descriptions."

 

https://www.reddit.c...vey_about_mass/



#25
Mcfly616

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We've all seen the leak. Blah blah 'raids' aka garbage blah blah.