massdeflect:

malfcn:

Also, if this had been released as the original ending..Would the game have got as much hate?

No, because at the very least, they fractured enough of the ending so that no single fan group would be able to unite behind the suck of the palette swapped original shitfest. The hate thread for the ME3 went to OT2 in such super fast time it was silly. Major news networks reported on the hate. Cupcakes were made. A doctor weighed in on the phenomenon. Tears were spilt, ashes smeared, vestments sundered. A child died in Milan the same instant an old man saw for the very first time. Somewhere, a sun went supernova and sentient life, new to consciousness, was erased. People were Perma Banned.

The hatred and dislike for the ME3 ending united gamers in a way that we’ve really never seen before. It was an overwhelming, crashing wave of outrage that it tore through the hastily-erected barricades of “artistic vision” and “you just didn’t understand our innovations.” It swept aside complaints of “haters” with a cacophony of questions that sourced comments from the same people who tried to tell us what we really were feeling, and how entitled we all were to feel a different way.

Mass Effect 3 broke down the facade BioWare had created based on the ruins of the company it had once been and the harsh daybreak of truth washed over the crumbling structure. The employees had to rehearse bullet points that contained the words “sorry” “fix” and “thank you.” They, at first, seem confused that we’d react negatively to screens begging shellshocked fans for DLC purchases. But perhaps….all was not lost. For in losing everything, we find the center of what we are, stripped bear of all pretense.

Perhaps this is the turning point for the BioWare that we’ve come to know. Perhaps this debacle will cause them to reevaluate how the approach game development. Maybe they’ve learned that we’re not a bunch of children, to be lead about and told what is good for us. Maybe they’ve learned that a single flat truth would bring the best out of a fanbase that desperately wants to love the products you make - to the extent that they went ahead and created elaborate fictions that explained away was was plainly refuse. Maybe they’ve learned that those truths, told plainly and honestly, would serve their fiduciary responsibilities better than flashy lies that promise the galaxy but linearity and homogeneity.

I’d like to think so. I think all of us would like to think they’ve learned some positive lessons from this. We want BioWare to make great RPGs. We sort of need them too, because few other companies are really striving for that at the moment

WARNING 

ANGER-INDUCED RANT AHEAD

ANGER LEVEL HIGH ENOUGH TO NOT HAVE THE COURTESY TO PUT IN A “READ MORE” CUT

massdeflect:

“I just did another session with them…They were saying there’s a little bit of a problem with the abruptness of the ending,” Hendriksen said. “So we did a whole series of things to add to the end of the game, to live up to the quality they’ve been doing.

After reading that interview and then watching the clip that followed, I thought of something that made me feel a bit…well, sick. Lance Henriksen said the work they were doing on the game was for when the player loses.

At first, I took his words and imagined some chuckle-worthy things. I mean, he’s a great actor and all but I doubt he has a good grasp on what he was actually working on. He was probably confused. Then I thought of Marauder Shields and laughed a bit more. Maybe the work they are doing is actually for the game’s “true” ending where the player allows Commander Shepard to be killed by Marauder Shields instead of going to the Citadel.

The self-amusement was short-lived because I was reminded of the reality of the ending. It was bad. It was obviously rushed. It contrasted with the already established narrative. And worst of all (to many fans) it was a no-win scenario. That’s probably what Henriksen was referring to when he was talking about the player losing and then the game ending abruptly. The hero and legend that often beat the odds, Commander Shepard, fought a war that could not and would not be won. That’s it. That’s the end.

This was not a new realization and I was not one of the retakers that said they are “cautiously optimistic” about the Extended Cut. Old feelings of disgust are being dredged up by remembering two things: (1) BioWare is developing content because they think the ending is 2deep4u and (2) Commander Shepard’s story ended not with the words “The End” but with “…you can continue to build [Commander Shepard’s] legend through further gameplay and downloadable content.”