Synopsis of Game

[The Gaming Demon]

Synopsis of Game

Project Director Casey Hudson explained the term "Mass Effect" as follows:

Inside the game universe, mass effect is a newly discovered (for humans) physics phenomenon that has properties along the lines of other physics forces such as gravity and electromagnetism. It's what physicists in real life are currently calling "dark energy", as an explanation for the accelerating expansion of the universe — which has only recently been discovered and flies in the face of the previous notion that the universe’s expansion should be slowing down because of gravity.

Hudson explains that certain creatures are evolved to sense and manipulate mass effect much like some real-life creatures such as sharks and electric eels can sense and manipulate electromagnetism in peculiar ways. Some humans are preternaturally capable of these abilities, which can be enhanced via brain implants, and the trained manipulation of Mass Effect is referred to as "biotics".

The game's technology centers around a fictional substance called "element zero", or more informally "eezo". When element zero is exposed to an electric current, it creates a "mass effect field" which alters the mass of anything inside the field; a positive current causes increases, and a negative current decreases. This allows the creation of "kinetic barriers," science-fiction style artificial gravity, and faster-than-light travel, among other things.