Building on their research, Exec Producer Casey Hudson and the team are hard at work on a number of game content initiatives that will help answer the questions, providing more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey. You’ll hear more on this in April. We’re working hard to maintain the right balance between the artistic integrity of the original story while addressing the fan feedback we’ve received. This is in addition to our existing plan to continue providing new Mass Effect content and new full games, so rest assured that your journey in the Mass Effect universe can, and will, continue.
The reaction to the release of Mass Effect 3 has been unprecedented. On one hand, some of our loyal fans are passionately expressing their displeasure about how their game concluded; we care about this feedback, and we’re planning to directly address it. However, most folks appear to agree that the game as a whole is exceptional, with more than 75 critics giving it a perfect review score and a review average in the mid-90s. Net, I’m proud of the team, but we can and must always strive to do better.
And I disagree with the notion that to be a good RPG series, you have to tie up every loose end with a neat little bow. Some of the best storytelling, video game or not, comes with open-ended storylines and leads to huge fan speculation.
Jerykk wrote on Mar 23, 2012, 12:40:Because ME3 isn't the last ME (just the last Shepard story), leaving some things open ended is fine.
Again, you're assuming that ME4 will resolve anything. For all we know, it could be a prequel to the Shepard series.
“whatever we do would likely happen before or during the events of Mass Effect 3, not after,”-Casey Hudson
but now they can't use it because they wrote a few lines of canon back in a silly slide in ME3
But DAO explained those things just fine.
Because ME3 isn't the last ME (just the last Shepard story), leaving some things open ended is fine.
Why must everything have perfect closure and a neat tie-up of all storylines?
Writers don't want to write themselves into a corner, but it's clear that you're not concerned about that. Well, life is full of small disappointments, and this is one of them.
The real issue here isn't that people don't like the ending, and the people that don't mind it (or at least, don't mind it much) aren't telling anyone that they have to like the ending. The issue is that people are blowing it way out of proportion and creating all kinds of crazy plans of action that would be much more productively channeled towards real issues, either in video games or in the real world.
Ruffiana wrote on Mar 22, 2012, 19:12:merloid wrote on Mar 22, 2012, 15:19:However, most folks appear to agree that the game as a whole is exceptional, with more than 75 critics giving it a perfect review score and a review average in the mid-90s.And yet the average user score is a whopping 4.8 out of 100. Most folks seem to be juuuuuuuust a little upset.
But Day 1 DLC for $10 and now possible New Ending, or whatever it is they have in mind DLC for another $10? Thanks, but no thanks.
User scores are bullshit. There was a war between the 0 score and 10 score crowd on day one, largely over the day 1 DLC and Origin.
Jerykk wrote on Mar 22, 2012, 20:00:But DAO explained those things just fine. And DA3 is still on the way. Because ME3 isn't the last ME (just the last Shepard story), leaving some things open ended is fine. After all, when do you stop telling stories and let the community start speculating? Why must everything have perfect closure and a neat tie-up of all storylines? Why is it OK to go on a ridiculously overblown warpath when they don't?
That's not really a reasonable assumption. Just look at DA2. It barely had any connection to the first game and didn't resolve any of the potentially significant choices you could have made in DAO. Given the underwhelming ending of ME3, why would I have any reason to assume that Bioware will properly resolve anything in future sequels?
They told you plenty. They just didn't take it as far as you'd have liked. Presumably, you wanted the Fallout-style endings that gave us the full remainder-of-life story of every major character, and you don't care whether BioWare might eventually invent a different storyline for that character in a future ME game, but now they can't use it because they wrote a few lines of canon back in a silly slide in ME3. Writers don't want to write themselves into a corner, but it's clear that you're not concerned about that. Well, life is full of small disappointments, and this is one of them. You'll make it through, though.No, we don't see what happens 20 years down the road; why, was that really necessary?
Yes? Like I said, you can make a number of significant choices in the ME series. Choices that have long-term implications. As the person making these choices, I want to know what these consequences are.
Ruffiana wrote on Mar 22, 2012, 19:09:
Just so we're clear, I've played all of the ME games on the 360. The ending is not any more palapatable because it's on a proprietary mini-PC hooked up to my HDTV. There's no need to turn this into a PC vs. console debate. The ending is equally bad across all platforms.
Sepharo wrote on Mar 22, 2012, 20:25:
Misunderstandings extravaganza!
Sepharo wrote on Mar 22, 2012, 20:14:Creston wrote on Mar 22, 2012, 11:15:
Uh it did for everyone... Unless the wiki is wrong. Care to explain what happened in yours?
The wiki's wrong. I saved the queen in ME1, chastised her for falling victim to the Reapers again, let her live AGAIN, and she gave 75 War Assets worth of workers to the Crucible... woot?
She never betrayed me.
I addressed that later on in the thread. I was replying under the assumption that everyone in the discussion knew about the "saved" vs. "aritificial" queen and that he was implying a third possibility.
edit: Well I guess there are 4 story possibilities but 2 war asset outcomes.
Creston wrote on Mar 22, 2012, 11:15:Sepharo wrote on Mar 22, 2012, 01:46:
Uh it did for everyone... Unless the wiki is wrong. Care to explain what happened in yours?
The wiki's wrong. I saved the queen in ME1, chastised her for falling victim to the Reapers again, let her live AGAIN, and she gave 75 War Assets worth of workers to the Crucible... woot?
She never betrayed me.
Seems reasonable that this is what future sequels would cover. Let that writing happen then rather than now. One thing that the developers have never wavered on is that the first three games is Shepard's story, and it ends in ME3 (and presumably the DLC).
No, we don't see what happens 20 years down the road; why, was that really necessary?
The bigger picture here is that it's 75 people who gave the game a great review
merloid wrote on Mar 22, 2012, 15:19:However, most folks appear to agree that the game as a whole is exceptional, with more than 75 critics giving it a perfect review score and a review average in the mid-90s.And yet the average user score is a whopping 4.8 out of 100. Most folks seem to be juuuuuuuust a little upset.
But Day 1 DLC for $10 and now possible New Ending, or whatever it is they have in mind DLC for another $10? Thanks, but no thanks.
Creston wrote on Mar 22, 2012, 11:04:Dades wrote on Mar 21, 2012, 22:34:
They made a lot of promises about the ending that turned out to be flat out lies. This is the second time we've seen this recently from Bioware, I am putting them into the penalty bin for a few years and hope that others do the same. No more money until their grandiose claims can be verified.
Oh, absolutely. I was always going to buy ME3, and I'm enjoying the MP a ton, and I enjoyed the SP until you run into Harbinger's laser, but their bullshit attitude towards their most loyal fans has completely soured me on them. If they love their 14 year old Xbox crowd so much, they can go make more retarded "You click a button and something AWESOME happens!" for them.
Maybe some of the old Bioware guard will see all this Kickstart business, tell EA to go fuck itself, and form a new studio that will make the games again that once made Bioware awesome. And they'll leave their fucked up "we're better than you even though you pay our rent" attitude with EA.
Creston
Dev wrote on Mar 21, 2012, 20:26:necrosis wrote on Mar 21, 2012, 15:47:Of course they have more weight, from the money weighing down their pockets. Actually, most of the reviews probably didn't play to the end before writing the review.
I love how he is comparing 75 people liking the game thousands not liking it. These 75 somehow have more weight than your MUCH larger consumer base. The consumer base that is actually paying for the game.
PropheT wrote on Mar 21, 2012, 23:31:finga wrote on Mar 21, 2012, 23:02:
Well, now that we're doing this, I'll be writing George R.R. Martin asking him to change A Song of Ice and Fire so that my favorite character doesn't die. Also, I'll need HBO to go back and re-cut all the show scenes to match. And quickly, too!
You realize this isn't exactly unprecedented, right? Fans were upset about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle killing Sherlock Holmes enough that he brought him back and wrote about him for another twenty some years afterward.
finga wrote on Mar 22, 2012, 17:36:
Seems reasonable that this is what future sequels would cover. Let that writing happen then rather than now. One thing that the developers have never wavered on is that the first three games is Shepard's story, and it ends in ME3 (and presumably the DLC).
We saw plenty of choice and consequence in ME3. No, we don't see what happens 20 years down the road; why, was that really necessary?
finga wrote on Mar 22, 2012, 17:36:Jerykk wrote on Mar 22, 2012, 12:37:Seems reasonable that this is what future sequels would cover. Let that writing happen then rather than now. One thing that the developers have never wavered on is that the first three games is Shepard's story, and it ends in ME3 (and presumably the DLC).Jerykk, I found it pretty easy to figure out the ends to the genophage, Geth/Quarian, and species relations stories in my playthrough. Those choices did make it through from the first through the third game for me, and I don't need the game spelling out every event to their last letter. Maybe future DLC will handle that, but if it doesn't, is it really that difficult for it to be left a little bit open?
I seriously doubt you could figure out the long-term (and by long-term, I mean well past ME3) impacts of curing the genophage, saving the Rachni queen or giving the Geth individuality. If the Krogan Rebellion was any indication, allowing Krogan to breed without hindrance ends badly. However, with Wrex and the Queen in charge, maybe that wouldn't be the case this time. Both possibilities are equally viable but the ending doesn't provide any closure. And I'm sure that saving the Rachni would have implications that extend far beyond getting some extra workers on the Crucible. 20 years after ME3, would they still be so cooperative? Or would they be trying to regain their former glory? And would the newly empowered Geth remain peaceful or would they eventually become the next Reapers?
There are tons of loose ends that ME3's ending doesn't tie up. Sure, I can try and imagine the long-term consequences of my choices but that kind of defeats the whole point of choice and consequence.
We saw plenty of choice and consequence in ME3. No, we don't see what happens 20 years down the road; why, was that really necessary?
Jerykk wrote on Mar 22, 2012, 12:37:Seems reasonable that this is what future sequels would cover. Let that writing happen then rather than now. One thing that the developers have never wavered on is that the first three games is Shepard's story, and it ends in ME3 (and presumably the DLC).Jerykk, I found it pretty easy to figure out the ends to the genophage, Geth/Quarian, and species relations stories in my playthrough. Those choices did make it through from the first through the third game for me, and I don't need the game spelling out every event to their last letter. Maybe future DLC will handle that, but if it doesn't, is it really that difficult for it to be left a little bit open?
I seriously doubt you could figure out the long-term (and by long-term, I mean well past ME3) impacts of curing the genophage, saving the Rachni queen or giving the Geth individuality. If the Krogan Rebellion was any indication, allowing Krogan to breed without hindrance ends badly. However, with Wrex and the Queen in charge, maybe that wouldn't be the case this time. Both possibilities are equally viable but the ending doesn't provide any closure. And I'm sure that saving the Rachni would have implications that extend far beyond getting some extra workers on the Crucible. 20 years after ME3, would they still be so cooperative? Or would they be trying to regain their former glory? And would the newly empowered Geth remain peaceful or would they eventually become the next Reapers?
There are tons of loose ends that ME3's ending doesn't tie up. Sure, I can try and imagine the long-term consequences of my choices but that kind of defeats the whole point of choice and consequence.