Mass Effects Original Ending

BioWare's original ending might have had everyone singing a different tune. According to Drew Karpyshyn, the series writer, the ending was to comprise of the spreading of Dark Energy, a force used for mass effect fields and biotic powers.

[Godmars290]

Except as a move meant to continue the series - which still doesn't work given the unedited ending - I don't understand why things where changed.

[TronEOL]

Well this is exactly it. With Mass Effect 3's current ending, it gives the series so much more potential. And I'm assuming the "red" ending is the proper direction you'll see the series go with the next ME (given Shepard still lived at the end).

Since having Reapers on your side would just make it far too overpowered.

As for the old ending, it'd essentially kill off all human life. Or maybe since Dark Energy was the problem, you'd rid the universe of Biotics and such.

Imagine Mass Effect 4 without human characters or Biotics. What would you do? It wouldn't really be that fun anymore.

So they pretty much changed the ending for the good of gameplay and continuity. That universe is far too large to just kill everything off at the third game. I'm glad they changed the ending.

[FCOLitsjustagame]

Or you could choose not to kill off the human race and then the next games could be trying to find the a better solution to stop the spread of dark energy.

[joab777]

I remember reading somewhere why the dark matter wasn't used. I think it's because they were worried that it was never mentioned before (not much) and that it would feel like a cop out. Personally, I feel as though it would have come across as the key to everything and the reasoning we have all been looking for. And it would have been closure with the reapers but opened the door to more mass effect with an enemy bigger than the reapers. It seems too perfect and has me in awe in regards to why they wouldn't have used it. And i thought that it couldn't get worse.

[thegamingadvisory21]

i agree it could of turn into more than just a trilogy.

[Godmars290]

Remember the planet where you had to hide in the shade, fought Geth and picked up Tali in ME2? That was an effect and clue towards the Dark Matter plot. A sun becoming unstable.

Frankly given how ME2 overall failed to progress the main Reaper plot and how ME3 ultimately and originally turned out, that its pretty obvious now that after ME1 the focus was on getting the other games out rather than telling a story, I really question if they could have done the original plot competently.

@TronEOL:
"So they pretty much changed the ending for the good of gameplay and continuity. That universe is far too large to just kill everything off at the third game. I'm glad they changed the ending."

Oh. My. God. (Sorry, thought you meant the new edited ending before all of the massive complaints, which broke my stupid meter. Its still broken, so please don't tell me that is what you indeed meant.)

ME4 and on could have been about finding a solution w/o the Reapers. Dealing with another threat, say someone from another galaxy with the same issue who's solution turned out to be sacrificing other galaxies.

Basic point of fact more imagination went into selling the idea of Mass Effect than its story. ME1 got the lion share of concentration, had lots of time, so its story was the most complete. With ME2 and ME3 they started rushing and that's when plot holes became plot chasms.

[tictac261]

@Godmars290 they did spend more time int o the first game it took over 5 years to make i heard. If true that would explain the story telling being so much better in ME1 and why no plot holes. It seemed as if they were worried more about the game play which it why the story suffered.

[Xof]

Maybe after DA2 they wanted to see just how much they could get away with?

Or maybe they thought they needed the main plot to be just as insipid as the gameplay?

[thegamingadvisory21]

Me either the ending was vague and would of liked to see where things ended. Since he has written the novels and the game i thought Bioware would go with his ending

[versusALL]

Sounds way better than the ending in Mass Effect 3. Same thing goes with the other elements discussed in the article.

[rpd123]

Sounds good, but as he said, things don't always work out when you're developing a game as part of a team. And the fact that he was gone for ME3 probably plays a big role in their decision to not use that.

EDIT: Also, are all of you really saying that you would've liked it better. Wasn't one of the major complaints that you only had 3 choices. Are all of you really saying that you'd be cool with 2 endings? Stop blindly hating ME3's ending. I liked the end alright and this one would've been fine too, but shit.

[thegamingadvisory21]

I don't think we are saying that, i believe it is the concept that we like.

[MacDonagh]

That ending would've meant so much more than what we now all have to live with.

[FrightfulActions]

Granted your choices would be limited with the Dark Energy ending, but at least it would fit the story more. Dark Energy has been foreshadowed before, and not just with Tali's recruitment mission. As early as the first combat mission (outside of Lazurus) you hear from Veetor that the collectors presence left unusual spikes of dark energy readings in the colony of Freedom's Progress. Then there is Haestrom. And Arrival. All biotic and mass relays and FTL travel is using dark matter in some way.

Point is, dark matter and dark energy are at least an established part of the stories lore and has had foreshadowing. Godchild had nothing, it was a completely new element added at the last ten minutes of game. With logic that completely contradicts everything already established in the series so far. In on itself, the ending isn't bad... It's just bad for Mass Effect because it contradicts so much and doesn't fit into the mass effect lore. There are literally lists worth of errors and contradictions and overall lore-defying elements in the ending.

But repeating any at this point would be pointless since if someone doesn't know them, they either didn't really follow the first two games or they don't know how to use google.

[tictac261]

The God child came out of left field the dark matter would of fit a lot better giving us a logical answer of why instead of saying this little child who was not mention at all in any of the games was the controlling them and was the true enemy

[rpd123]

I don't think that you realize that the child was just the form that the Catalyst chose to appear to Shepard as. It's the same child that Shepard watched die on earth and the same child that he chases in his dreams. The catalyst was appearing to Shepard in a form that he knew. And the Catalyst didn't come out of left field. There's a lot of hints that the Citadel is more than just a city throughout the games, the keepers being one of the biggest ones.

[tictac261]

I know that but you never hear about any of this until the 3rd game. We know that the Citadel is more than a city but it is not the catalyst. its just part of the crucible. To me and a lot of people it did not fit it still does not make it a bad thing, i just would of like to see the dark matter ending

[rpd123]

Oh alright. Yeah I agree, it didn't fit as well as it could have. The dark matter would've been a solid ending that fit with the rest of the universe. I still think it'd need to be worked out so that there are more than two options.

[greatcrusader44]

Dark energy ending would have been as bad as the current endings. The only thing better is that dark energy was a bit foreshadowed, but only a few times in me2. For one it makes the reapers renegade good guys, harvesting species to Make a reaper with the combined intelligence to see if they are smart enough to solve the problem, which would have been lame. Plus the ending choice would be let everyone get harvested, cuz humans genetic diversity will make the ultimate reaper to save universe, or destroy reapers and die of dark energy in a few years/decades/centuries, so essentially everyone you love will die no matter what. Current endings are still pretty bad though.