We Don’t Play Games – They Play Us
Andy Hartup:
Back in March, BioWare delivered the final chapter of the Mass Effect trilogy. It was meant to be the epic send-off for one of this generation's best-loved series, but instead it caused an internet storm as players complained about the ending.
In the weeks that followed, the official BioWare position went from – and I'm paraphrasing here – 'there's nothing wrong with our ending, we like it' to 'we're making an extended-cut as quickly as possible'. Why the change of heart? The answer lies in this question: who really owns the games we play?
It's a question I asked plenty of developers in the months after Mass Effect 3, and they all came up with different answers. Jen Timms from United Front Games believes they belong to us: "[LBP Karting] belongs to our community." Meanwhile, Rob Jones from Visual Concepts insists that developers own their creations: "I think the game still belongs to us. Because as developers we are the end user. You'd never hire somebody that…
