Mass Effect 3 Outrage Causes Unrelated Game to Change its Ending
- Thread starter Mike Kayatta
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Funny thing. I always thought that it's because of that - this lack of control - one of the reasons we waste countless hours playing video games.
Seriously, some people should write books or direct movies instead of games.
The game isn't complete crap, is the thing. The vast majority of the game, and series, is well put together and a wonderful thing to behold. The fact that the ending contains more plot holes that the rest of the 300+ hour work is not only a criticism, it's a sort of praise as well.OniaPL said:
If Bioware was just a horrible company, we'd just groan, not buy anything from them in the first place, and leave them be. However, they are talented. They do good work, work that we enjoy... but the ending was beneath them. The last 15 minutes of this game was bad enough to ruin the rest of the series for many, but we KNOW they can do better. Easily, without changing very much at all.
I severely dislike your opinion on this matter. You need to change it, then go back and edit your comment to reflect my preferred version of your personal output. You may think, at first, that this is just one person whining about not understanding what you wrote, but if need be, I will continue to stalk the forums, gathering support, and bring this to your attention over and over again with the voices of hundreds. Maybe thousands. Eventually, I hope that you see reason, and why my vision for your comment is better than the one you initially chose.hulksmashley said:
I cant help but think that most people here are misreading what exactly this new ending is trying to reference (Or I unfortunately am), but nonetheless, I might as well point out what I managed to get out of it:
"Yes, this ending sucks. Sure, it doesn't fit your preconceptions of the ending, even after playing through it, but hey! At least some people are happy, so no big deal, right?".
If this is the message they were trying to get across, I thoroughly applaud them for managing to make such a succinct point, even if its a little open to interpretation. That, and the dinosaur really did look happy, which is good.
But, on a semi-related note, the best say Bioware can fix the ending debacle is to make optional, free DLC that gives the vocal fans, which I doubt is just a minority now that I've seen the outrage, the ending they wanted (And quite frankly, I feel the series deserves), while letting those happy with the ending simply not download it.
To avoid using one of the latest buzzwords (Starts with 'art-' and ends with '-tegrity'), I will say this: The ending, to me and many others, felt wrong, and to many it appeared that the ending was not true to the lore and universe of Mass Effect, as well as the recurring themes. Not to mention there was lack of context and closure, which could have made it fit right in. Its like seeing a great painting of a crowd at an old English fair, and you spot Waldo in it. Without context, hes out of place. But in a Wheres Waldo? book, it works amazingly, if making it easy to find the guy. We just want the context and closure if nothing else, we aren't looking to piss off those who happened to like the endings as they are.
But enough ranting, thought this was rather funny, and again: At least the dino really did look happy in his little hat.
"Yes, this ending sucks. Sure, it doesn't fit your preconceptions of the ending, even after playing through it, but hey! At least some people are happy, so no big deal, right?".
If this is the message they were trying to get across, I thoroughly applaud them for managing to make such a succinct point, even if its a little open to interpretation. That, and the dinosaur really did look happy, which is good.
But, on a semi-related note, the best say Bioware can fix the ending debacle is to make optional, free DLC that gives the vocal fans, which I doubt is just a minority now that I've seen the outrage, the ending they wanted (And quite frankly, I feel the series deserves), while letting those happy with the ending simply not download it.
To avoid using one of the latest buzzwords (Starts with 'art-' and ends with '-tegrity'), I will say this: The ending, to me and many others, felt wrong, and to many it appeared that the ending was not true to the lore and universe of Mass Effect, as well as the recurring themes. Not to mention there was lack of context and closure, which could have made it fit right in. Its like seeing a great painting of a crowd at an old English fair, and you spot Waldo in it. Without context, hes out of place. But in a Wheres Waldo? book, it works amazingly, if making it easy to find the guy. We just want the context and closure if nothing else, we aren't looking to piss off those who happened to like the endings as they are.
But enough ranting, thought this was rather funny, and again: At least the dino really did look happy in his little hat.
Source: Kotaku - All I needed to read to know the article is probably false.
People aren't upset that the ending wasn't happy they're upset that it was just crap. It was rushed, plagiarized and doesn't make sense. Any developer changing their ending to a happy one because of this is either lying as a publicity stunt or really didn't bother to figure out why people are upset.
Do I think Bioware should have to change their ending. No but don't be surprised or start crying when no one buys Mass Effect 3 DLC and abandons the franchise.
People aren't upset that the ending wasn't happy they're upset that it was just crap. It was rushed, plagiarized and doesn't make sense. Any developer changing their ending to a happy one because of this is either lying as a publicity stunt or really didn't bother to figure out why people are upset.
Do I think Bioware should have to change their ending. No but don't be surprised or start crying when no one buys Mass Effect 3 DLC and abandons the franchise.
Repeat after me, its not about having a "good" ending; its about having a coherent ending that matches the theme and choices of previous 3 games you just played.OniaPL said:
Its like if the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl suddenly was a 15 minutes game of dodge ball. With each team trying to hit each other from the opposing field goal. And the people defending the final 15 minutes are saying; "Well, its still the "ending" of the game. Were you not entertained during previous 16 games, including the previous 45 minutes?"
It would make no sense.
Oh, so it's because you paid for Mass Effect 3. Okay, now I'm following. So you paid for the game, and so did I. We have differing opinions about the ending. What happens now?hulksmashley said:
Murmillos said:
But see, this is partly what I don't understand. Why are the fans being like parents telling their kids "Redo it! You can do better!"? Why is it that they can't take the game as what it is? A decent game with a bad ending?Guardian of Nekops said:
I mean... fans telling the people who made the thing to redo it to suit their tastes? I mean, cmon...
And what has puzzled me is that how will it be any better even if they do change the ending? Won't that leave a bad taste in your mouth from the whole series?
Demarcation.Simonoly said:
Given how things around the game has been handled, throughout, I lean more and more towards the supposition that the ending (...as well as other aspects...) of ME3 has in truth almost zero artistic aspirations and was instead tailored, first and formost, to lay groundwork for DLC sales, compromising any actual artistic integrity in the process.
Conspiracy theory would imply that EA has gambled the impressive brand recogition and customer loyalty, that Bioware and their Mass Effect series enjoy, in order to test the boundries and see just how far they can push the will of consumers to spend on getting all the pieces of a fragmented product. (EDIT: ...and from their own, single, monopoly marketplace, at that.)
Well, the weight of the fandom, that they had intended to capitalise, has proven a double-edged sword. EA thought the inertia of the last part of a popular trilogy could tear open any wallet in its way, but are now faced with that same inertia turned back at themselves -- that is: one could make the guess that people make so much noise now, this specific time, because the high profile of the case could allow them to draw a very deep line in the sand.
That said; Any publicity is good publicity and maybe even this public outcry was planned all along. I expect the lion's share of complainers will line up to purchase any followup DLC, that was also planned all along -- even more eagerly because they believe its very existence is somehow an achievement of their own.
The ending has an emotional impact, certainly, but from what I can see, the emotions exist entirely on a meta level -- none of them arise from the the story told, but from how it ill fits the tone of the series, as it has been up to that point and the exploitative market tactics that has shaped it, moreover the very fact that they have been allowed to shape it.
I'm sure some could argue such "trolling" to be art, in it's own right, but naah.
I really dislike the ending. It was poorly conceptualized, poorly planned, poorly explained, and lazy. It was a weird tonal shift from the rest of the series on many levels. It was a clusterfuck of bad marketing. War assets are a boondoggle on a massive scale.
The best thing that could theoretically be said about it, is that it was supposed to be a statement deconstructing video games and action heroes, but if that was the case, why aren't they defending that more forcefully?
Bioware should not change a thing about the ending.
The best thing that could theoretically be said about it, is that it was supposed to be a statement deconstructing video games and action heroes, but if that was the case, why aren't they defending that more forcefully?
Bioware should not change a thing about the ending.
Because its not even a bad ending, its a insulting ending. Everything this series was to stand for in the concepts of interactive story telling was made null and void in the final moments.OniaPL said:
I'm not sure how we can make this more obvious of what the problem is:
A sports game that changes types in the final minutes of the play offs, and the team that performed poorly for the season is suddenly the champions.
A classical concert that suddenly ends with a Rap-Off.
A long romantic novel that ends with a psycho killing everybody on the last 2 pages.
A 5 course dinner that ends with the chief serving rotting raw liver for desert.
A long Caribbean cruise that ends with the ship sinking 10 miles from shore, causing you to lose everything you brought on board.
I think people are missing the point.
I don't care whether ME3 qualifies as art or not. This, for me, has no bearing on the ending and it's content.
What people should be concerned about is that the company provided a product to paying customers. They also promised closure (As i'm sure has been quoted a thousand times), and when many customers felt that they didn't deliver that promise, they desired the product be changed. Bioware also deliver customer service with their products, same as any business, and should at least be expected to listen to their CUSTOMERS' feedback.
I work in a Cafe. If we make a substandard meal and the customer feels it isn't up to scratch, they have 3 options:
-Say nothing
-Request that the meal be redone
-Request a refund
Now, many people are placing themselves in the second boat, as they certainly aren't remaining quiet, but they certainly aren't rushing to get a refund JUST IN CASE Bioware do change the ending. But, as Bioware are a business, they should listen to their customers' feedback, lest they (or rather, retailers) have to start shelling out hundreds of thousands or even millions or dollars in refunds. I don't have to explain the consequences for Bioware.
That's my 2 cents. The question of the game being Art is IRRELEVANT. What matters is customer service.
I don't care whether ME3 qualifies as art or not. This, for me, has no bearing on the ending and it's content.
What people should be concerned about is that the company provided a product to paying customers. They also promised closure (As i'm sure has been quoted a thousand times), and when many customers felt that they didn't deliver that promise, they desired the product be changed. Bioware also deliver customer service with their products, same as any business, and should at least be expected to listen to their CUSTOMERS' feedback.
I work in a Cafe. If we make a substandard meal and the customer feels it isn't up to scratch, they have 3 options:
-Say nothing
-Request that the meal be redone
-Request a refund
Now, many people are placing themselves in the second boat, as they certainly aren't remaining quiet, but they certainly aren't rushing to get a refund JUST IN CASE Bioware do change the ending. But, as Bioware are a business, they should listen to their customers' feedback, lest they (or rather, retailers) have to start shelling out hundreds of thousands or even millions or dollars in refunds. I don't have to explain the consequences for Bioware.
That's my 2 cents. The question of the game being Art is IRRELEVANT. What matters is customer service.
Well, short of Amazon recently doing the unthinkable, for games. There is no refund (only selling it to a used games store).Boyninja616 said:
We don't feel like watching EA slash and burn good developers for short term stock gains, so saying nothing no longer feels right.
The only thing left to do is request the ending be redone. (there is some demanding.. but there are always the demanders in any customer/business relationship)
But yes, you are right.
Personally, I didn't like the ending, and while I may wish it was different, it wasn't. Changing it now would be the equivalent of asking me to pause Titanic and tell you about how the ship didn't sink. The moment that movie was released, the ship sank. That's what "happened." Anything I may say differently now is superflous (then again, I guess there are some people who like Obi-Wan's new krayt dragon roar [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0EUjobdavw]). For a creative producer to offer to sell me a canon-jettisoning patch altering an ending that I may or may not like, to me, is ludicrous. It's an option though. Their option. The important thing to remember is that words such as "need" have no place in this discussion. There is no divine requirement that they shift a story they have spent over five years creating, and nor do we, the players, have a divine right to anything different than what we already got. If they choose to play around with it, so be it. I'm not in favor, but it's not my story.hulksmashley said:
But I think that you don't understand that I don't understand why it has to be changed.Murmillos said:
When a classical concert ends with a rap off and you don't like it, you boo/get up and leave, and don't spend your money at the artist's shows anymore.
With that romantic novel, you don't tell the author to rewrite it, you just throw it into a corner and again, vote with your wallet.
And so on and so on.
Like it or not, this is what Bioware decided to do, whether there were financial or artistic reasons behind the decisions. You don't tell people to re-write it or remake it until it suits your tastes.