Folks, I am teed off right now as much as everyone else. As much as I have yet to play Mass Effect 3, I am angry because there is word that the ending to Mass Effect 3 isn't all sunshine and lollipops.
Many gamers have expressed disappointment with the ending of Mass Effect 3. Some are even demanding that BioWare change it. However, executive producer Casey Hudson said in a new interview that he's simply happy the ending has made an impact.
"I didn’t want the game to be forgettable, and even right down to the sort of polarizing reaction that the ends have had with people–debating what the endings mean and what’s going to happen next, and what situation are the characters left in," Hudson told Digital Trends. "That to me is part of what’s exciting about this story. There has always been a little bit of mystery there and a little bit of interpretation, and it’s a story that people can talk about after the fact."
Hudson adds that they do pay attention to fan's opinions. They'll take this feedback into account when they design additional DLC for the game.
It's like they took an idea from the original Deus Ex and slapped it on there for an ending.
But something has come up. It seems Destructoid's Jim Sterling has decided to go overboard and slap down the true fans. Ladies and Gentlemen, prepare to scream.
I knew that quite a few BioWare fans fancied themselves better writers than the studio's own storytellers, but I didn't realize they'd go to the trouble of crafting their own ending to the Mass Effect trilogy. That's what they've done though, and there is strong demand for it to become more than fanfiction.
Mass Effect 3 currently offers three options to influence the ultimate outcome of Commander Shepard's story, but a significant portion of gamers find every choice too depressing for their tastes. They want the chance for a more positive, hopeful ending. They also want to feel like their choices throughout the game are more influential on its conclusion. There's a popular sentiment that Shepard's actions just don't matter.
A poll on the BioWare Social Network outlines a new way to close out Mass Effect 3, with 77% of the votes in favor of it. Another poll for a more positive end has 97% of 11430 voters in favor. A Twitter and Facebook campaign have also been set up to demand a "better" ending, either in a patch or offered as DLC.
This whole thing reminds me of Misery, where Kathy Bates' character grew so furious that the protagonist of her favorite books was killed off, she held the author hostage until it was rewritten. Obviously, a Facebook page is a little less scary than smashing a writer's ankles with a mallet, but the passion is still comparable.
I suppose it's a testament to how engaging Mass Effect has been, that it's prompted such a heartfelt reaction from fans. Still, to demand a game be rewritten via a patch to suit your own opinion of what makes a better ending could definitely be seen as a little arrogant.
No. Bad Jim Sterling. We have every right to whine and scream about like the Tea Party is to Obama. And now you make me wanna jump up and down whining and screaming till I get my way and no amount of spanking will convince me otherwise. So nyah. I'm betting even Kotaku is 100% agreeing with me, right? RIGHT?
My opinion of Internet petitions remains unchanged: They are worth the paper they are printed on. (Hint: They are not printed on paper.) They're a manifestation of the distorted expectation—cultivated in grade school—that First Amendment rights extend to your relationship with a private business.
That said, there's a particularly amusing poll out there, gathering 20,000 votes, demanding BioWare change the ending to Mass Effect 3. We've had our tips jar blown up with links to this movement. I have no idea where to begin with this.
Let's try to think of how BioWare, if it complied with this demand, would deliver such an alternate ending: Through DLC. That everyone would expect to be free—with all of the writing, voice acting and motion capture that a proper conclusion deserves. But at least we could be sure that it was developed after release! Oooh, but what if it uses characters that are already on the disc?
I think this is the sentiment that Christina Norman meant to impugn with her comments at GDC. Gamers are customers, yes. Customers' opinion of a product absolutely matters, and the maker of it absolutely should pay attention.
But the development of a creative work cannot be democratized and its revision to appease a vocal minority would surrender the creative freedom people claim to value in food fights over modding, takedown notices, trademark disputes, whatever. This is an expression of the writers and designers at BioWare, and if you dislike it, OK—there is certainly a lot of legitimate criticism of the outcome. But it is their statement, not yours.
What right does someone have to demand changes to the end of a story they did not write—and as this would, assuredly, be released as downloadable content—expect all of that labor for free? Because they'll refuse to endorse a product they've already bought?
What we're seeing is the Battlefield-ization of Mass Effect. A community that spews nonstop hatred of a game it bought at full price and plays religiously.
It's amazing to me how unhappy people choose to be in a leisure pursuit.
Aw come on Owen Good. You're suppose to agree with me on the Mass Effect 3 Ending sucks movement, not state your own personal opinion. And just for your consideration, Sonic made hating a franchise good, not Battlefield and not Call of Duty and definitely not Final Fantasy. Who wants to even go criticizing a franchise or touching it with a 100 foot pole when it has a Mama's Boy for a villain?
No doubt if we scream louder than Ann Coulter at a Liberal bar, we should be able to get a better ending courtesy of DLC that we have to pay an Arm and a Leg for. I mean, it's not like you're gonna criticize us for using a charity group to get our message out.
There is a group of people on the internet asking for changes be made to the way Mass Effect 3 ended. They are serious. They are so serious, in fact, that they've attached themselves to the Child's Play charity in the hope this makes them appear less "angry or entitled".
It doesn't work, of course, but bless them for trying.
The group, called "Retake Mass Effect", has a mission statement, which while acknowledging "it is the right of the writers and developers of the Mass Effect series to end that series however they see fit", very quickly goes on to "respectfully request additional endings be added", including "a heroic ending which provides a better sense of accomplishment".
There's a very big line to cross between being disappointed in the creative work of others and actively asking for it to be changed (or added to) to suit your own wishes. It never ceases to amaze me how often people don't see it.
Complain all you want about how a game ends, be as disappointed as your heart can humanly take, but don't ever start asking for story-telling by focus group. If you think game plots are bad now, wait until you see that dark future.
Oh yeah. Real funny. Real, real, funny. We have every right to use a charity to send our message across.
Works Cited:
Cinemablend
Destructoid
Kotaku Link 1
Kotaku Link 2
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