Mass Effect 3 Outrage Causes Unrelated Game to Change its Ending

[beniki]

You can't talk about the artistic integrity of an ending that was clearly made as a spring board for DLC and future games. As I have said repeatedly, it was a marketing move by EA Bioware, not an artistic one.

Mostly they're pissed they got caught out on it.

Frozen Synapses on the other hand, is intrinsically more artistic, as they will be giving people the real ending for free later. It's a decision made for no reason than of itself... to prove a point, and not to make more money.

 

[klaynexas3]

i love frozen synapse so much, this just proves why i love it so much. i really should play it more again. and maybe they're just saying that just because people complain it doesn't mean anyone will listen or care. notice how you people don't care for their defenses of the game's ending? they don't care for your nerd rage either

 

[jimbob123432]

Okay, my personal argument over why I feel justified in getting pissed at Mass Effect 3's ending is it's not just about "a game/story conforming to my expectations", it's about MY game not meeting expectations. If I wasn't given so much choice and control over the story, I wouldn't care, but the Shepard that I built over the last 2 games would have smacked "God" and walked away, not blindly accepted my "fate" and let Joker sleep with Tali!

 

[Quesa]

You can't talk about the artistic integrity of an ending that was clearly made as a spring board for DLC and future games. As I have said repeatedly, it was a marketing move by EA Bioware, not an artistic one.

Mostly they're pissed they got caught out on it.

Quite so, I don't understand why 'How Dare They Try To Hold Out The Actual Ending For A Fee' wasn't the rallying cry from the start. I was initially happy at the outrage, but now it's simply masking the most egregious issue.

 

[Davroth]

This is just hateful dribble, nothing more. They are just adding fuel to the fire, so.. well done?


DLC for Mass Effect 3 will pull some M Night Shamalamadingdong shit, and we all know it. It's all alright if it's free. Otherwise, they shouldn't have done it, because it really pissed people off, even though it's their own fault for not seeing the signs.

In that spirit:
ASK ME WHAT IT MEANS, ASK ME WHAT IT MEANS!!

 

[lordmardok]

For the last fucking time we're not asking for a happy ending. WE'RE ASKING FOR AN ENDING THAT ISN'T A BULLSHIT DEUS EX MACHINA THAT COMPLETELY IGNORES EVERY CHOICE WE'VE MADE OVER THE COURSE OF FIVE FUCKING YEARS.

Also an ending that doesn't have more plot-holes than a colander made of swiss cheese. That would be nice too.

Because seriously: "We made a race of synthetic gods to destroy all advanced life to... prevent all advanced life from... being... destroyed... by synthetics".

What the fuck?

Seriously, even if the entire thing was a bullshit M. Night Shyamalan dream sequence I know for a fact that Shepard is not that stupid.

 

[Frotality]

i love how the only defenses people can muster for this debacle are "remember MST3K?", and, "it was all a dream."

as ive said before, this is WAY more than a bad ending, and not nearly as unimportant as you think. ME3's ending was just the catalyst to set off people's growing distaste for every dirty, filthy, degenerate business tactic theyve been dealing with, both from EA/bioware and the gaming industry in general. remember when people started trolling jennifer helper? same thing happened there, basically people venting their frustration on the only thing available. it may be a bit misdirected, but i am very glad people are flying off the handle about this. one of gaming's most engaging innovations brought to utter ruin by casey hudson's ego, flanked on all sides by EA's disgusting business tactics like making the last words in the mass effect series, after an edning like that, be "buy DLC".

this is NOT acceptable. the industry cant just keep on like this. SOMETHING needs to change, and for now people think that thing is the ending. we gotta start somewhere...

 

[poiuppx]

Here's what I don't get, and maybe one of the people demanding a change in the ending can help me out with it... what exactly are you expecting to get out of this?

That's not intended to be some insulting leading question or anything. It's me legitimately being unsure what you want at this stage. What could Bioware/EA possibly do, aside from making an entirely new Mass Effect 3, that would legitimately make all this hub-bub worth it? What could they change, what could they expand, that would make all this strife and anguish and anger even vaguely worth the time and energy you invested in it? Because if the answer is, ultimately, nothing, they may as well do what this guy did.

 

[KrabbiPatty]

Here's what I don't get, and maybe one of the people demanding a change in the ending can help me out with it... what exactly are you expecting to get out of this?

That's not intended to be some insulting leading question or anything. It's me legitimately being unsure what you want at this stage. What could Bioware/EA possibly do, aside from making an entirely new Mass Effect 3, that would legitimately make all this hub-bub worth it? What could they change, what could they expand, that would make all this strife and anguish and anger even vaguely worth the time and energy you invested in it? Because if the answer is, ultimately, nothing, they may as well do what this guy did.

With all due respect, that's just wrong. I get that you're maybe someone with no skin in the game but you must also understand that a "whole new Mass Effect 3" is completely unnecessary and not at all what EA, Bioware or the fans are asking.

Two words: Broken Steel.

This has happened before, a company tacks on a retarded ending with no closure, everyone hates it, so they release a half-assed DLC map pack with some extra missions and a retcon to make the ending a non-retraded one. It takes all of maybe six months to do, uses 99% of the same assets, recycles half of it anyway, and completely fixes the ending of Fallout 3.

And guess what: it was met with rave reviews from fans, because as long as the ending wasn't an insult to their intelligence they didn't care how half-assed the lead up was. And that's all it takes. Like I said in another thread, I expect nothing from Bioware but a slapped on retcon, MAYBE a couple extra missions (not a necessity!), and a new end cinematic. Basically, what people on YouTube have already done...it's literally the easiest, cheapest thing in the world when you take into account that it would win back a HUGE portion of the goodwill they pissed away with this crap.

Everyone talks about how this is some "new, uncharted territory" but the fact is that this has happened before with Broken Steel and NO ONE complained then. Possibly because Fallout 3 was less of a major release (?) or possibly because overzealous internet personalities like Bob Chipman and Max Scoville didn't run around like chickens with their heads cut off when Bathesda said "Wow, yeah, you guys are right this ending sucks...hold on a few months we'll come up with something less stupid, promise!" and then they DID IT! With no media firestorm or staunch opposition from hipster indie game companies! How novel!

 

[irishda]

I don't buy that the entire galaxy is destroyed forever. Clearly, the Relays exploding didn't destroy solar systems (which I suspected would always be the case because how many times have Relays been destroyed?). People existed without the Relays, they'll manage. But Shepard's goal was always "stop the reapers", and he managed to do that. So you can't say he failed spectacularly.

Unless they do some major retcon, The Arrival DLC from ME2 clearly states that the explosion of a Mass Relay create a super nova big enough to wipe out it's star system from the face of the universe.

Of course, bioware might retcon that and say it didn't go supernova. I don't know, that's their thing. But I'm stating what we know from the ME already established canon.

Also, I didn't said there wouldn't be any civilizations left in the galaxy. Only that the Galactic Society (The one we had in Me 1/2/3, and the protheans before them, and the other before the protheans that are unknown) ended. We can't have it happen again, UNLESS bioware decideds to change the canon/pull out a deus ex machina.

Well, In my opinion, I think he failed. Imagine you go into a war to save your country. You reach the HQ/Bunker/Base where the leader of the enemy faction is. But he's locked in a unrechable room. You can't destroy it or kill him except for a button outside the room.

The button will kill the leader, destroy all supplies of the enemy faction, and pretty much end the war. But doing that will also activate the nukes, which will bombard not only your country, but the entire world.

Sounds a bit like a comic? Sure, but I think it's a valid analogy for the ME3 ending. That's not bittersweet, that's a downright downer ending.

Pyrrhic victories are still victories.

 

[Murmillos]

Everyone talks about how this is some "new, uncharted territory" but the fact is that this has happened before with Broken Steel and NO ONE complained then. Possibly because Fallout 3 was less of a major release (?) or possibly because overzealous internet personalities like Bob Chipman and Max Scoville didn't run around like chickens with their heads cut off when Bathesda said "Wow, yeah, you guys are right this ending sucks...hold on a few months we'll come up with something less stupid, promise!" and then they DID IT! With no media firestorm or staunch opposition from hipster indie game companies! How novel!

I disagree, mostly because FO3 was a stand alone game, nor did it promise non A-B-C endings. It just had a really stupid ending that later got fixed.

The context in how the game is sold (or what the developer says about it) makes a very huge difference when games have similar problems.

 

[rickthetrick]

Okay so what if every game developer started making games that required you to buy the ending?
This is what is really happening here people! It's not about happy endings and artistic integrity ffs. This is EA/Bioware looking at dollar signs. It's all fun and games to mock the nerds raging at this,and honestly I feel that a good majority of them are self entitled d bags, but it doesn't make Bioware any less guilty of pulling this crap. It's a dangerous precedent and it rightly needs to be squashed before we all have to insert more coins to continue.

End of my Rant.

 

[irishda]

snip

Last I checked this INDUSTRY was still producing works of entertainment, which are subjective. People aren't calling video games art, but stories behind them still count as art.

And I guarantee that Mass Effect fans aren't gonna stop buying Bioware guys, regardless of this debacle. In fact I'm pretty sure someone already posted a survey, with surprise people still saying they'd buy. This is purely about the "pro-change" crowd getting what they want. Bioware wouldn't lose business and the customers aren't gonna be happy about anything at this point. It's better for everything if people just move on. If people want their money back they can return it. I hear Amazon has a good deal if the local GameStop stopped having a return policy.

 

[Syzygy23]

Just change the ending. Game development is a collaborative effort, why not take input from the people that matter, your fans. People need to stop defending Bioware, they fucked up and need to fix it. That ending is not art, Mordin's death was art, Grunts last stand was art. These things evoked emotions, the ending evoked nothing and then because of that nothingness people became angry.

Because under no circumstance are you actually part of the creative process. The choices you made throughout those games were designed BY BIOWARE. There is only one type of art where the consumers/fanbase gets a part in creating it: bad art.

Anyway, this is some mighty trolling. Heck, I'd even say it's a proper critique of Bioware's spineless reaction. If they're going to sell their integrity so readily it sets a bad standard for games as narrative media.

I will repeat what I said elsewhere:

The ending is art and it evokes emotion - mostly anger and disappointment. If this is not the emotion the artists intended to emulate, I see no problems with them revisiting their work.

Specially because their work is also treated as a commodity by the artists themselves with a very clear objective to get money from us.

So you consider shit to be art?

 

[irishda]

Oh I beg to differ:http://www.gamefront.com/mass-effect-3-ending-hatred-5-reasons-the-fans-are-right/
Reason 2 if you must know.
And yes it didn't physically assault me, but that would've hurt less than a rushed out, plothole-full ending to a game series spanning 5 years.

Ah, this fun article. Let's go through the discrepancies shall we?

And in fact, the synthesis ending dismantles the idea of tolerance and unity altogether by forcing homogenization on all the life in the galaxy, synthetic included.

Homogenization sounds an awful lot like unity to me. It might be forced, but it sounds like they're all the same now aren't they. The process of reaching that unity might not be so noble, but then the player doesn't always choose to be noble do they?

Doesn?t matter how many alliances you broker or how much understanding you cultivate: it makes absolutely no difference.

Once again, that depends entirely on your viewpoint. No, it doesn't make a difference on the endings. But it does make a difference on the state of the galaxy when you're done with the game. Your choices still reflected the theme of unity. Did your Shephard choose to unite the galaxy at an attempt at betterment, or did he use species for his personal gain, like the Illusive Man?

* Synthetics vs. Organics

This section isn't very well put together. I believe what he's going for here is an extension of the "It makes no sense to have reapers killing the races because these specific synthetics prove their entire purpose is invalid." I never liked that argument because the idea behind is the race that created the reapers were infallible.

Instead, much like the victims of the Reapers themselves, the player is robbed of all free will or even the chance to make the case for it. They must do as they are told, and choose.

There's a fun little contradiction in those sentences, see if you can spot it. The notion that there's no free will because you're forced to make a choice doesn't strike anyone else as odd?

You can disagree with my assertions if you like. But the point is that it's illogical to say "these themes are abandoned" because the themes are only abandoned in YOUR mind. There are connections that can be made. That's why the nature of whether or not these endings are bad are entirely subjective and I've got no respect for the author of this article.

 

[poiuppx]

Here's what I don't get, and maybe one of the people demanding a change in the ending can help me out with it... what exactly are you expecting to get out of this?

That's not intended to be some insulting leading question or anything. It's me legitimately being unsure what you want at this stage. What could Bioware/EA possibly do, aside from making an entirely new Mass Effect 3, that would legitimately make all this hub-bub worth it? What could they change, what could they expand, that would make all this strife and anguish and anger even vaguely worth the time and energy you invested in it? Because if the answer is, ultimately, nothing, they may as well do what this guy did.

With all due respect, that's just wrong. I get that you're maybe someone with no skin in the game but you must also understand that a "whole new Mass Effect 3" is completely unnecessary and not at all what EA, Bioware or the fans are asking.

Two words: Broken Steel.

This has happened before, a company tacks on a retarded ending with no closure, everyone hates it, so they release a half-assed DLC map pack with some extra missions and a retcon to make the ending a non-retraded one. It takes all of maybe six months to do, uses 99% of the same assets, recycles half of it anyway, and completely fixes the ending of Fallout 3.

And guess what: it was met with rave reviews from fans, because as long as the ending wasn't an insult to their intelligence they didn't care how half-assed the lead up was. And that's all it takes. Like I said in another thread, I expect nothing from Bioware but a slapped on retcon, MAYBE a couple extra missions (not a necessity!), and a new end cinematic. Basically, what people on YouTube have already done...it's literally the easiest, cheapest thing in the world when you take into account that it would win back a HUGE portion of the goodwill they pissed away with this crap.

Everyone talks about how this is some "new, uncharted territory" but the fact is that this has happened before with Broken Steel and NO ONE complained then. Possibly because Fallout 3 was less of a major release (?) or possibly because overzealous internet personalities like Bob Chipman and Max Scoville didn't run around like chickens with their heads cut off when Bathesda said "Wow, yeah, you guys are right this ending sucks...hold on a few months we'll come up with something less stupid, promise!" and then they DID IT! With no media firestorm or staunch opposition from hipster indie game companies! How novel!

Well, now that, I can get behind. As an avid fanboy of all things Fallout, yeah, Broken Steel was indeed met with much adoration. My issue is, I'm not sure if it IS the same situation or not.

Now, yeah, no skin in the game, but consider this; for Broken Steel there was ONE problem; you died. You died stupidly, albeit in keeping with the self-sacrifice theme of the game. People HATED it, cause, well, there was no real warning and lots of Wasteland left to explore. Easy fix; you survived, here's some Enclave to kill and a few post-game quests. Have fun.

Now... is the fix for ME3 really on par with that? People have said what pisses them off most about the ending is a lack of your choices having significant impact and being left twisting in the wind. Which sounds about on par, until you think about how many choices actually existed in the series. To make a new ending or set of endings that takes all that into account strikes me, at the least, as being much more than a quick fix situation with rapid turn-around.

Yes, they shoulda had that in the game from the start. Yes, the lack of it freaking blows and goes against what many have said is the spirit of the ME universe, i.e., your choices matter and they matter all the way through. Yes, the endingtron 2000 is lame, even when done well (Human Revolution did it decently IMHO, but even then it felt clunky and forced). But I question how one retcons this.

When I said a new Mass Effect 3, I perhaps wasn't getting across what I intended to. Again, going back to Broken Steel, with the exception of being able to convince your immune-to-radiation companions to do it for you, the end of the game did not change... the game just CONTINUED past the point where you fell over from radiation exposure. So where's the break point for that here? How do you Broken Steel ME3, where do you start from? It can't be from the ending-ending, since from what I've seen, that mainly involves everything being exploded and/or dead. So at what point does one declare the original game non-canon and start anew?

 

[5ilver]

Everything in life IS under our control.

 

[ObsessiveSketch]

Imagine you go into a war to save your country. You reach the HQ/Bunker/Base where the leader of the enemy faction is. But he's locked in a unrechable room. You can't destroy it or kill him except for a button outside the room.

The button will kill the leader, destroy all supplies of the enemy faction, and pretty much end the war. But doing that will also activate the nukes, which will bombard not only your country, but the entire world.

Sounds a bit like a comic? Sure, but I think it's a valid analogy for the ME3 ending. That's not bittersweet, that's a downright downer ending.

Pyrrhic victories are still victories.

Seems a bit like cutting off your nose to spite your face, to be honest.

"I'd rather kill you and nuke the world than see you nuke the world."
It's like if Luke killed the Emperor, but then the Death Star destroyed the Rebel Base anyways, BECAUSE the Emperor was that only one who could stop it.

A Pyrrhic victory is one that comes at such a great cost as to almost be considered defeat. This one comes at such a cost that it would almost seem foolish to proclaim it victory.

 

[Rheinmetall]

I read the article twice and still I can't understand what exactly did they do in the ending of Frozen Synapse. Maybe my English doesn't help me.