New Mass Effect Images May Confirm Leaked Survey's Legitimacy

Thanks to a BioWare Senior Character Artist Furio Tedeschi, we now have high-definition images of the protagonist.  While these are not the first images that we have been shown, they definitely exhibit the most detail, featuring a more close-up perspective than the original images shown at E3 last year.  Much like the original Mass Effect Trilogy’s Commander Shepard, the new human protagonist will be customizable, with options for male or female, ethnicity, and a custom face editor.

The naming of the protagonist here of “Pathfinder” could be seen as confirmation of the legitimacy of a post by a Reddit user from last April who alleged that he took a survey online about Mass Effect: Andromeda, which many fans believe contains legitimate details about the plot and mechanics of the game.  In the face of BioWare’s stoic seldom-broken silence on the status and details of the game, this feature by the artist is welcome both for the images contained within, and for the extra evidence that this survey could be legitimate.
Here is the exact text that refers to the Pathfinder in the survey:
“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.”
The name also is reminiscient of BioWare’s other bestselling IP, Dragon Age Inquisition, in which the main character is known as “The Inquisitor.”
Although the recent announcement of a delay in the game’s release from the originally announced “Holiday 2016” to “Q1 2017” has many people worried and disappointed, these impressive images, along with the implications that they may carry, are a breath of fresh air for the N7 community.