Why do gamers hate games because of one "small" problem?

[OneOfTheMichael's]

Lately I've noticed that there is a lot of controversy because of the game "mass effect 3"'s ending. And I see how everywhere I go, I hear of this and I get tired of seeing all this anger and frustration because of a good games ending or another small thing in a game like it's multiplayer.
I also take note of how the people say that because of the problem they blame the whole game or company because of it.
I wonder why people can't just accept that a game is good and leave it as it is without the need for a huge uproar for change.
So what do you guys thing of people critiquing a game based off a "small problem"?

EDIT: I can relate to how some of you feel about ME3. Though I've not played the entire franchise, I know how gamers can become disappointed because of a games ending. For me it was the ending to rage which was just as bad as its story.

 

[Freechoice]

It's not a small problem. It's like the ending to the Sopranos, but worse in that people had a very strong emotional investment in the characters they were interacting with. This, after dumping hours and hours into the series.

People who cannot see this are fucking blind.

 

[Vault101]

I love ME3

the ending is....well it was awful

but this story isnt finished yet....

It's not a small problem. It's like the ending to the Sopranos, but worse in that people had a very strong emotional investment in the characters they were interacting with. This, after dumping hours and hours into the series.

People who cannot see this are fucking blind.

It is a small problem. Using the "I had a very strong emotional investment into the characters" isn't a valid point. So the fuck what? It's the end of the trilogy, you won't be playing as them again. What does it matter how it ends? Either way you will cease playing as them.

.

actually no...the mass effect series has alot of replay value, ask anyone who calls themself a "fan" and likley hood is they have played more than once. It was satisfying in ME2 to see your actions culminate..in your squad surviving

we expected the same thing..with the war assets, everything leading up to this point...and right up untill the ending everything was coming together great

the ending left people with negative feelings..which for some I imagine would have tainted their veiw on the game, it did make everything feel pointless in the end..the game was almost sadistic in that everything turns to shit from the get go (I dont mean the actual game but the universe)

I finished ME1 and ME2 feeling empowered..like I could take on the galaxy

ME3 left me feeling empty and depressed, and not in a good way, many people dont want to feel that way after their favorite series

 

[TehCookie]

Pretend you're eating a brownie (or whatever you like) and after a few bits you get a mouthful of wasabi. It's nasty and every bite after that may be 100% delicious brownie but you will still have the gross wasabi taste on your tongue.

Then again I never had that happen in a game so it's just a guess. I can overlook the small things.

 

[dumbseizure]

I generally don't hate games because of one "small problem".

However, (not related to Mass Effect 3) in my opinion, a problem ceases being small when it directly interferes with gameplay or storyline.

For me, the Mass effect 3 ending was fine.

However (as an example) GTA4 had a very large problem, not a small one. Because of the engine, the game didn't operate as effectively as it could have. For me and others, caused a large amount of issues for graphics which inadvertently affected gameplay.

I guess that is my definition of when a small problem goes large scale. But yeah, unless it affects gameplay drastically or the storyline, or even the stability of the game itself, it is perfectly fine to me.

 

[Vegosiux]

Oh good, we have an official authority on whether a problem is big or small now.

Guess we can stop worrying.

 

[Vault101]

I never said it was about replayablity, I said you wouldn't be playing as them again as in future titles. This is the end of their journey.

who? shepard and her/his crew mates? thats even worse

because their journey didnt have an ending...it didnt have closure, there was no pay off

no matter how sad or ambiguous an ending is theres always "somthing" Red dead redemption was sad (VERY sad) but it had a point, the Idea that somtimes you cant escape the deamons of your past, now matter how hard you try to make up for it...and the fact that the "wild west" was not romantic..it was sadistic, cruel and bloody

Portal 2 didnt explain much, but thats ok...it explained all we needed and left us with a sense of optimism, even in the face of the unknown

Mass effect 3's ending does nothing, alot of us have no idea what its trying to say, thats not even touching the plot holes

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well first off the ending is not a small problem since it takes a dump on the entire series and it is by no stretch of the word the only one.
But since you are blinded by your fanboy infatuation you wouldn't really see that.

And to explain why it matters, supply and demand, that is how capitalism works and until you kids learned it do not pretend to be a meaningful part of the industry as a whole.
Things will not get better if you put your ignorance hat on and let the infection fester till we lose a limb or two.

 

[Rawne1980]

If it was a small problem then there wouldn't be an issue.

 

[Nouw]

Well to be fair it's the ending so it's pretty damn big. I won't bother explaining why since everyone else here has already explained and because there have been a few threads about it. A small problem in my eyes is something more like not following canon to the dot. It bothers me yes but it isn't big enough to deter me away. Like having colour in the motion tracker in an aliens game. But let's say if the alien blood didn't do anything? That would bother me greatly. An even bigger problem would be messing up the ending. It's like the beginning of Alien 3. Granted I don't know the ending of ME3 exactly but from what I'm hearing about emotional investments, I think I can relate a bit.

Pretend you're eating a brownie (or whatever you like) and after a few bits you get a mouthful of wasabi. It's nasty and every bite after that may be 100% delicious brownie but you will still have the gross wasabi taste on your tongue.

Then again I never had that happen in a game so it's just a guess. I can overlook the small things.

I like wasabi and I'm offended! I kid, your analogy is actually pretty great.

 

[Palademon]

Yep, the ending to something is a "small" problem in a series based on story.

Edit: Here's an example. In a game like Duke Nukem Forever it is not a "small" problem if the first person controls are shit.

 

[SonicKoala]

It's not a small problem. It's like the ending to the Sopranos, but worse in that people had a very strong emotional investment in the characters they were interacting with. This, after dumping hours and hours into the series.

People who cannot see this are fucking blind.

What was wrong with the ending to "The Sopranos"? I watched the series recently, and as a result I missed all the controversy that surrounded its conclusion. Sure, it was open-ended, and I suppose that's somewhat irritating, but practically every other loose end story-wise was concluded. Furthermore, the ending was thematically appropriate. I'm failing to see the problem...

 

[getoffmycloud]

I do get what the OP is talking about the amount of user reviews I have read that have been giving games 4/10 simply because of something small.

I also see a lot of people on these forums always saying this is the worst game ever due to some arbitrary reason that has very little effect on the game itself.

 

[Iron Criterion]

The problem is how could your choices affect the ending significantly in the first place? We're talking about a war against an ancient race of god-like death machines here. There's only a few ways that could go down.

 

[Hagi]

I think in the case of Mass Effect 3 they are completely and utterly justified.

And while there certainly are people taking it much too far I think the overall movement is a good thing. Not because the ending is actually shit. But because of clear false advertising.

Spoiler: A few examples from http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/10056886/1

Official Mass Effect Website
http://masseffect.com/about/story/

"Experience the beginning, middle, and end of an emotional story unlike any
other, where the decisions you make completely shape your experience
and outcome."

Interview with Mac Walters (Lead Writer)
http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/02/28/mass-effect-3-mac-walters/

"[The presence of the Rachni] has huge consequences in Mass
Effect 3. Even just in the final battle with the Reapers."

Interview with Mac Walters (Lead Writer)
http://business.financialpost.com/2012/03/05/qa-mass-effect-3s-mac-walters-on-how-the-game-tries-to-reach-all-audiences/

"I?m always leery of saying there are 'optimal' endings, because I think
one of the things we do try to do is make different endings that are
optimal for different people"

Interview with Mike Gamble (Associate Producer)
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/334598/interviews/mass-effect-3-weve-brought-back-a-lot-of-what-was-missing-in-me2/

"And, to be honest, you [the fans] are crafting your Mass Effect story as
much as we are anyway."

Interview with Mike Gamble (Associate Producer)
http://www.360magazine.co.uk/interview/mass-effect-3-has-many-different-endings/

"There are many different endings. We wouldn?t do it any other way. How
could you go through all three campaigns playing as your Shepard and
then be forced into a bespoke ending that everyone gets? But I can?t
say any more than that?"

Interview with Mike Gamble (Associate Producer)
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-02-bioware-mass-effect-3-ending-will-make-some-people-angry

"Every decision you've made will impact how things go. The player's also the
architect of what happens."

"You'll get answers to everything. That was one of the key things. Regardless
of how we did everything, we had to say, yes, we're going to provide
some answers to these people."

"Because a lot of these plot threads are concluding and because it's being
brought to a finale, since you were a part of architecting how they
got to how they were, you will definitely sense how they close was
because of the decisions you made and because of the decisions you
didn't make"

Interview with Casey Hudson (Director)
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/04/28/casey-hudson-interview-mass-effect-3.aspx

"For people who are invested in these characters and the back-story of the
universe and everything, all of these things come to a resolution in
Mass Effect 3. And they are resolved in a way that's very different
based on what you would do in those situations."

Interview with Casey Hudson (Director)
http://venturebeat.com/2012/03/02/casey-hudson-bioware-co-created-mass-effect-3-with-the-sometimes-cranky-fans-interview/

"Fans want to make sure that they see things resolved, they want to get
some closure, a great ending. I think they?re going to get that."

"Mass Effect 3 is all about answering all the biggest questions in the
lore, learning about the mysteries and the Protheans and the Reapers,
being able to decide for yourself how all of these things come to an
end."

Interviewer: "So are you guys the creators or the stewards of the franchise?"
Hudson: "Um? You know, at this point, I think we?re co-creators with
the fans. We use a lot of feedback."

Interview with Casey Hudson (Director)
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/01/10/mass1525-effect-3-cas5ey-fdsafdhudson-interviewae.aspx?PostPageIndex=2

Interviewer: [Regarding the numerous possible endings of Mass Effect 2] "Is that
same type of complexity built into the ending of Mass Effect 3?"
Hudson: "Yeah, and I?d say much more so, because we have the ability to
build the endings out in a way that we don?t have to worry about
eventually tying them back together somewhere. This story arc is
coming to an end with this game. That means the endings can be a lot
more different. At this point we?re taking into account so many
decisions that you?ve made as a player and reflecting a lot of that
stuff. It?s not even in any way like the traditional game endings,
where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got
ending A, B, or C.....The endings have a lot more sophistication and
variety in them."

"We have a rule in our franchise that there is no canon. You as a player
decide what your story is."


EDIT: Couple more interesting quotes I found, enjoy......or not.


Mike Gamble (Associate Producer)
http://www.nowgamer.com/news/1027650/mass_effect_3_reapers_can_win_bioware.html

Mass Effect 3 will shake up the player's moral choices more than ever
before, even going so far as allowing the Reapers to win the battle
for Earth, according to BioWare's community representative Mike
Gamble.


In an inteview with NowGamer at Gamescom, we asked if BioWare was taking risks with Mass Effect 3's
plot, including a negative ending in which the Reapers win. Gamble simply said, "Yes". We asked him again to confirm what he had just said and he said, "Yes".


Mike Gamble (Associate Producer)
http://www.nowgamer.com/features/1229983/mass_effect_3_developer_interview_shepard_coop_story_details.html


"Of course you don?t have to play multiplayer, you can choose to play
all the side-quests in single-player and do all that stuff you?ll
still get all the same endings and same information, it?s just a
totally different way of playing"


Casey Hudson (Director)
http://gamescatalyst.com/2012/03/casey-hudson-kinect-the-future-of-interactive-stories/

?The whole idea of Mass Effect3 is resolving all of the biggest questions, about the Protheons and
the Reapers, and being in the driver's seat to end the galaxy and all
of these big plot lines, to decide what civilizations are going to
live or die: All of these things are answered in Mass Effect 3."

Casey Hudson (Director)
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/336331/interviews/mass-effect-3-we-cant-go-on-holiday-our-dlc-is-really-good/?page=2

"There is a huge set of consequences that start stacking up as you approach the end-game. And
even in terms of the ending itself, it continues to break down to
some very large decisions. So it's not like a classic game ending
where everything is linear and you make a choice between a few things
- it really does layer in many, many different choices, up to the
final moments, where it's going to be different for everyone who
plays it."

And whilst certainly one shouldn't just believe any advertising they hear I do believe people are justified in not accepting and complaining about a product that clearly does not match what was advertised and promised.

If Bioware had advertised an ABC-choice ending then you would be correct in saying this was a small thing people are overreacting to.
If Bioware hadn't advertised it at all then you would also have been correct.
But Bioware explicitly promised there would not be an ABC ending. Yet that is exactly what the game clearly contained. That isn't a small thing. Consumers do have rights beyond choosing whether or not to buy something. And right now there are people fighting for those rights.

 

[Shadowkire]

Lately I've noticed that there is a lot of controversy because of the game "mass effect 3"'s ending. And I see how everywhere I go, I hear of this and I get tired of seeing all this anger and frustration because of a good games ending or another small thing in a game like it's multiplayer.
I also take note of how the people say that because of the problem they blame the whole game or company because of it.
I wonder why people can't just accept that a game is good and leave it as it is without the need for a huge uproar for change.
So what do you guys thing of people critiquing a game based off a "small problem"?

The Mass Effect series has always been more about the story than the gameplay and without a multiplayer mode until the third game the series has relied heavily on replaying the game a different way to see a different outcome.

The ME3 ending messes that up in 2 ways:
1. If you collected all or nearly all possible war assets you can pick any of the three endings, how you played in the game or in any future playthrough won't change the outcome so there is less reason to play through again.
2. The ending is confusing, frustrating, at times it induces face-palmitis, and overall makes you efforts seem pointless. This saps a person's will to play through the game again.