Joystick Division: It's finally time for me to weigh in on the Mass Effect 3 debate. To be fair, I need to paint the picture of where I stand with the series. I liked ME1, loved ME2, and I am currently playing ME3. I do NOT know the ending that has caused so much controversy, mainly because I haven't had time to play the game through. Being the completionist that I am, it's going to take me some time before I get to this allegedly horrible finale, but it's safe to say that I am a fan of the Mass Effect universe. But I don't need to know the ending of the game to have an opinion about the controversy, because this isn't all about Mass Effect.
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You should really consider actually getting to know why fans are upset, before you tell them all why they're wrong. If you're really such a fan of Mass Effect and know anything about the lore and been following the story, I get the impression you'll change your tune of when you see the ending.
People who never played it really seem to underestimate just how piss-poor the ending actually was. Fans are not exaggerating with their disdain. The worst bit of is that its actual fans of the series who get hurt the most. Fans who actually care about the story, the characters, fans who have been playing the series for years, who had tons of game hours poured into the first two games.
The only people I can see supporting this ending and having a justified case is those who either didn't play the first two, or didn't /really/ play the first two. Those that just skip cutscenes and do the bare-minimum just to be about to shoot stuff again. If that's how they want to play, that's there business, but its like basing your opinion on a novel by its summery instead of actually reading all the pages.
Even then, that justification doesn't go very far since those who didn't play or follow the story don't really have much right to take part in an argument they don't understand.
You say you liked the first two games, so you played them good. Before you jump to tell all the fans why they're wrong about wanting to change this great "Artistic Vision" that the DaVinchi's at Bioware regurgitated up on a canvas, wait until you yourself have actually finished it. If you still feel that way, well, I don't agree nor understand how you could, but that's your business so whatever. I have a feeling you'd change your tone once you face the disaster all the fans are upset about.
Mass Effect 3's ending is great to newcomers in the series, those with little attachment or knowledge of the previous titles, and its vague enough that it opens up possibilities for future titles without having to take much into account other than "we say a green/red/blue light then Reapers died". The ones who are hurt by the ending are the fans, the ones who should the main target audience. It's quite depressing really to see such a wonderful franchise get so badly mistreated.
Get treated a hell of a lot better there.
@Frightful,
His issue isn't so much an issue with the fans being upset or that they follow such a story to have it so drastically changed. His issues is like he mentioned, from an artistic standpoint. You can't tell Leonardo to change the Mona lisa because you disagree with it. Bioware put a lot of effort into this franchise that it is a little unfair for the community to demand a change when they had no sacrificing to make the game (ie the hours at work/away from families). It is not the communities property, it's biowares. Same goes for any form of art, Harry potter or star wars. Sure you can be upset but it is a form of art to which a group of people own the rights to. To tell someone what to do with their life/time is not fair. His argument is this my way or the high way system that has developed among society. We should all just agree to disagree.
That franchise wouldn't be anywhere if it wasn't for the people buying it up way back when ME came out. They promised us entirely different endings, a shepard distinct for every gameplay and person. We didn't get that. They simply just didn't know how to end the game.
The fans then even found a way to help them out since they didn't know how to finish the triology and gave them the Indoc theory.
The author hasn't finished the damn game and he is bitching at the people, who feel that bioware LIED to our faces.
Art becomes expensive and valuable when the artist dies, thats the best career move an artist can make, he can die. Its no lie, just how it is. ME is a mass product. It is sold to make tons of profit.
It would be nice if bioware could just come out and say "we didn't know how to end the game sorry" but they're too proud to do that.
Can gamers do anything about it no, you're right its their game. However, just you watch what will happen when they release another game. I would be surprised if they didn't suffer in terms of sales in the future.
However, we the audience have the right to evaluate critique an discuss. If they have the right to make a product, we have the right to praise or insult it. Its the creator-audience balance.
So if anyone thought we were entitled to a new ending, they were wrong. However, there is nothing wrong with the "mass"es ripping into the ending, as it really was just horribly done.
ME1 & ME2 & 95% of ME3 were all brilliantly executed, with clear and concise dialogue. The last 5 minutes felt like they handed off writing duties to some developer's kid and his pals so they could have a week off. The nose dive in quality is legendary.
If you dont agree with the endings lack of quality, that is your right to your opinion. But we, the fans who didnt enjoy the ending by any means, are allowed to think otherwise - and to vocalize those thoughts
But demanding or expecting a change in the product is just counter-productive.
The "artistic integrity" argument is a strawman built by gaming journalists that has no bearing on the actual issues with the end product that we received. Say you pay a painter for a portrait of a dog and get a painting of a banana. I highly doubt you're just going to eat your money quietly and quote his artistic integrity.
@tddog :
Yes, if you commission a painting. I'm just talking about walking up to an artist's shop and buying something they already have completed. In the real world, you can see the painting before buying it. So just assume that it's covered up and he promises that it's a dog.
The lack of a contract does not nullify the act of consciously misrepresenting what you're releasing either. A lot of the statements were made after the game went gold, so they knew they were being less than honest about it. We paid for something that was not as advertised. On the upside, we did get Marauder Shields.
and to the "changing" part, do you expect leonardo's zombie ass to crawl from the great beyond and repaint it ?
i don't understand people who compare a god damned painting(which is painted and that's it, it is done and it doesn't continue or evolve any further) to a videogame which art is contained within hours and hours of storytelling, action, drama and your own decisions which shape your further development in many different ways.
I personally think that the endings were "problematic".
You can alter works while maintaining artistic integrity. Keeps the soul, change the details. Artists deal with that all the time.
The ending made no sence AT ALL. I literally can't believe that was the end. The creation of the Reapers was to kill organics... so organics don't create different synthetics to turn against them... The biggest problem is WTF was Joker doing? Why and how did my entire team just go back to the Normandy and leave the battle?
I don't see any of the sqaud members doing that, escpecially Javik, even if it was possible.
It all felt like a hallucination. I hope new DLC adds the REAL ending soon. And if it was real... Then they just screwed up the whole series. That is not an exaggeration.
*/SPOILERS*
I was thinking that everyone was exaggerating, thinking "how can the last
15 minutes ruin the series?". Then I beat it, and I liked it at first, but I realised how bad it was after 1-2 days. The indoctrination theory still gives me some hope that the ending wasn't the ending.
ME is the best series i've played, but if that REALLY WAS the ending... then it's painful even thinking of playing any of them again. That's how bad the ending is.
It's like a big joke. Just for yourself.