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Why BioWare Shouldn't Change Mass Effect 3's Ending

By: Laura Parker, GameSpot AU - Posted on Mar 13, 2012

The following article contains no spoilers.

The petition calling for a new ending to Mass Effect 3 currently has 37,714 votes. BioWare should ignore every single one of them.

As any work of art, Mass Effect 3 should be discussed, dissected, and critiqued. It doesn't have to be loved. It doesn't even have to be liked. As paying consumers, gamers have the right to be dissatisfied with a game, its content, or its ending. They are free to comment, rant, or rave. They are even free to start a petition. But none of this requires BioWare to listen.

While this petition only represents the feelings and voices of a very small subset of the gaming community, it is the second time in a month that BioWare has been the subject of large-scale ire.

Imagine we lived in a world where artists regularly changed their art based on audience demands. Imagine Monet repainting Water Lilies in black and white because people objected to color. Imagine Salman Rushdie trashing The Satanic Verses because people objected to its implications. The very idea of allowing any work of art to be changed, edited, reshaped, reworked, deleted, or destroyed because someone, somewhere, didn't like it would render all art meaningless. Art is the creative expression of an artist or a group of artists. It's not a free-for-all exercise in democratic rights.

There are plenty of examples, both in the games industry and outside of it, of fan communities demanding creators change a piece of art for any number of reasons. Making these demands is nothing new. But that does not absolve those that do it. Gamers are consumers, and Mass Effect 3 is a product. Gamers are audiences, and Mass Effect 3 is a piece of art. The two are separated by the process of creation. Mass Effect 3, despite the range of choice it allows players in creating a personal experience, is a preconstructed entity. Every single pixel in the game is owned by BioWare: gamers play the game that was made for them. They can choose to play it how they want, but they do not own those choices.

Some people have argued that in Mass Effect 3, BioWare has delivered something different from what it promised. This is irrelevant. In its role as both an art object and a consumer product, Mass Effect 3 remains the property of its maker. As a final product, it is the expression of those who created it, and its sole objective is to be consumed--not re-created--by its audience. Apart from the times that BioWare asked the community for its thoughts, no one but the development team was involved in creating the game.

Art does not side exclusively with the artist, nor does it side exclusively with the audience. A work of art is brought into being by the creation of a two-way relationship between both entities. A video game like Mass Effect 3 cannot be fully realized until it is played by an audience that must be allowed to react and respond to the work.

But the work of art is done; it is finished. It cannot be altered or deleted. Doing so would fracture the relationship between an artist and the audience, and it would render the original work meaningless. If BioWare does change the end of Mass Effect 3 to mollify a handful of goading voices, the game itself would no longer be the expression of its original creators. It would cease to be art.

1638 Comments

  • stlouisgto

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 3:30 pm GMT

    To all those who say heroes die get over it and other type comments you haven't played the game. I'm ok if my actions led to Shepard dying due to my actions. As AvaterCloud stated what you did in ME1 carried over to ME2. Characters will or won't be in the rest of the series based on decisions you made. Did you sacrifice Kaiden or Ashley, did you have enough paragon or renegade to stop Wrex and keep him alive? Why would every little thing you do matter just up to the end. And to any who say there's 16 or 17 endings.......there's 3, kill, control, merge. That's it.

  • jayd02

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 3:24 pm GMT

    @MrSmarties
    I agree with you 100% I just wish other people could see that. So it didn't turn out the way some people wanted it too that doesn't mean that Bioware should change it. If anything it represents a real life situation. No matter what you do and how hard you try you just can't change something that is inevitable. You can try and push a building all you want. Your life could depend on pushing that building and you worked every muscle in your body to move it but by the end of it you just can't move that building and that is life. If anything this game shows you that you did all you could do but you just can't stop it; but does that mean the journey was for nothing? Did you not learn a lesson? Did you not grow from the experience. Video games are the ultimate form of art (kind of jumping around here) and this game series is one of the few that are a main factor in showing off what video games can really do.

  • rhymesmatter

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 3:21 pm GMT

    @Dexter2323 a shame...You really didn't understand a thing of what you read or worse you haven't read anything and just posted after seeing the first few lines.at least that's what you show.You don't even comprehend that PPL are NOT discontent with Shepard dying or living. PPL Are discontent that the ending is abrupt and divided into 3 identical variants that only change in color (Blue , Green , Red) and that all their choices from ME 1 till 3 are flushed down the toilet and don't matter to the least..BioWare was promising DIFFERENT THINGS mate.And For a Company that has been closely listening to it's fans' feedback,suggestions and wishes which eventually lead to a steady relationship of trust, to suddenly start doing their own thing Disregarding all those things that we asked and they were promising to give...It's like they only wanted to lie to us to make pre-order or generally get our money and then say: "Hey that's our work!We made it as we pleased!If you don't like it bite us!" That's typical EA behavior and i refuse to see BioWare being reduced to this.If they keep disregarding or worse ignoring our calls as dear Laura suggests they should do ("The petition calling for a new ending to Mass Effect 3 currently has 37,714 votes. BioWare should ignore every single one of them.") then we in our turn will start disregarding and ignoring BioWare as well 1 by 1 and then tell me...Where's the profit for them?.

  • kiopta1

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 3:16 pm GMT

    The only thing i can think of that may fix this outside of a DLC that builds on the endings would be if this ending is all a setup for the next series in the ME universe.

  • kiopta1

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 3:15 pm GMT

    I have been thinking about the endings for some time now as I play through for a 3rd time. Part of me does like them with regards to Shepard...however, it flings poo in the face of every player who really wanted to see their choices play out and leave a solid effect on the galaxy and its inhabitants (not simply the effect of your final choice). The series is amazing and your choices profound and meaningful...until the last lets say 10 mins. This sudden abandonment of OUR choices and OUR Shepard's story just seems wrong. Like waking up and seeing the sky is orange and the sun is blue. Or finding out that your entire life, family, marriage, job was all just a crazy dream. Its way too shocking and I understand how a percentage of the ME fans are burning over it. I really love this series and that may be one of the things fueling the fire for players....but I relly hope Bioware creates a free DLC that expands the ending...leave the final choice but expand on what happens to the universe and it inhabitants....I dont wish pain on my LI but I would like to know what happened to them. Cont.

  • AvatarCloud

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 3:10 pm GMT

    *looks at articles author* ah okay, makes sense now, lol.

  • MrSmarties

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 3:09 pm GMT

    @matty_6666

    Design is art. Art is design. Designers are artists. Artists design. Im going to university for this and im getting a BA in Graphic Design. The argument that design is not art, that Game developing is not art...i disagree with. Designers design things based on purpose but in the end its still an art. Some people differentiate it but i really believe Art encompasses everything, then we break it down to Design (Art with purpose) and Fine Arts (Form of expression of oneself). So essentially Games is an art. This argument though can go both ways but thats what i believe. I see my self as a designer who designs and creates art.

  • AvatarCloud

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 3:04 pm GMT

    lol, this articles logic is basically saying that us the gamers aren't allowed to complain about a game where 99.9% of the game is absolutely brilliant but the ending is pathetic. Sorry but a bad ending is bad and this is not one of those situations where many people like the ending and the other half hate it.

    The outrage is that the game's ending reduces everything that you've worked towards to absolutely nothing. Shepard may as well have done nothing since ME1 and rather retired on a beach or something. Seriously, the entire story and plot leads you to believe that you are a unique character (Shepard) commanding a unique squadron of individuals, sacrifices are made and they are made under the impression that it is for the greater good.

    All the brilliant stories weaved by Bioware are reduced to nothing with the endings, you can't defend that and I echo the sentiments of Testsoul when he said "I hope they paid you well for this article" because if I didn't know any better, it was written by someone who has no clue just how precious the ME franchise was to so many gamers.

  • GiantsFan2290

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 3:03 pm GMT

    I think that most people are mad(or at least i am) because the fact that the story and feelings that those stories conveyed in mass effect 3 as well as ME1 &2 was such a masterpiece until the final 5 minutes of the third...it feels like it is a waste of the entire series to be honest...i dont want this series to be considered bad because of 5 minutes, however that is exactly what is happening

  • FATHOM569

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 3:03 pm GMT

    The elusive scam At the end of the game, Joker looks up and smiles at you, not with you. Something is missing, not unfinished, not wrong, missing. It's art! The art of the tease! The arrival was the last chapter in ME2, released a year and a half after the game DLC, is a given. A dark matter DLC is certain. And a more expansive ending, not different, but more, is obviously required by the story arc! This is art, Electronic Art!

  • R2C25

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 3:03 pm GMT

    Cronicx-(Laura,Bioware personnel). Listen, in US of A, people have the right to disagree with contents of the products they bought. If some are asking to redo the game I don't know but most of us want a DLC with alternate ending because we believe we helped shape the second and third installment and we want an option where the players get a reward for hours spent. I don't know what you're defending, and I noticed you guys have multiples accounts here thumbing down comments and trying to defend your point of view but this is the last time bioware got my money.

  • Daemoroth

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 3:01 pm GMT

    @Brebber, @Dexter2323, you (And so many of the people defending BioWare) should take a second to understand WHY people don't like the ending. It's not because it's a "sad" ending, which is apparently what you've assumed. It really isn't, we couldn't care that it was a sad ending. It's an ending that didn't deliver on a single thing BioWare promised (Your choices affecting the outcome - they still make that claim on their website), it has some incredible plot holes (How did your squad mates get onto the Normandy?), it leaves so many questions (If all the mass relays are destroyed, what happens to all the aliens gathered around earth?), and just to piss everyone off properly - it provides an ad for DLC right at the end.

    If you're interested in having a PROPER discussion, first read this (http://www.gamefront.com/mass-effect-3-ending-hatred-5-reasons-the-fans-are-right/) article, which explains what most of our complaints are.

  • Dexter2323

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 2:48 pm GMT

    Heroes die get over it!

  • Testsoul

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 2:43 pm GMT

    I hope they paid you well for this article.

  • hirachio

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 2:33 pm GMT

    To go within the vein of this article, I've always felt that when it comes to the Mass Effect series, we, the players, were ultimately the artists. Sure, BioWare may have handed us the canvas and the paint, and maybe some sketches, but we painted the picture through our decisions and actions across the three games. For some of us, it felt like once our painting was done, and we were happy with it, BioWare tore away our canvas and went "nice picture, but here's how it should've looked." In the realm of what GiantsFan2290 said, when you import a ME2 file into ME3, and if that ME2 file was originally an ME1 game, there's a considerably long list of important decisions you made throughout the series. That's the picture of the galaxy you painted, and those of us who are unhappy with the endings are unhappy because that picture seems to not matter at all in a series where your decisions are supposed to have a lasting effect.

  • openup

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 2:31 pm GMT

    Oh nice, the kiddies actually think that Bioware gives a s**t about their opinions....instead of that bright idea of giving money to charity give it to some great modders who can change your ending guys and welcome to the relvolution

  • valeria_victrix

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 2:22 pm GMT

    @ g0nz0j03 said, "Also, for the record, it's not irony when someone smarter than you calls you an idiot." And who can forget, "lambaste whiny little tools who piss and moan."

    Your claims to superior intelligence don't appear to be in alignment with the quality of your comments. Lots of name calling in your post. Have you confused actual intelligence with an ability to cram lots of insults into a paragraph? This is a common mistake.

    Did you know that 75% of people think that 75% of people are stupid? I strongly suspect that you are in both majorities.

  • valeria_victrix

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 2:05 pm GMT

    @ Brebber said, "If you don't like, DON'T FREAKIN PLAY IT!", and "But the work of art is done; it is finished. It cannot be altered or deleted."

    Both silly points. "Don't freaking play it?" Somehow I don't see BioWare issuing a statement saying, "Please watch the ending on YouTube, and if you agree with the large number of fans who think it's crap we encourage you not to purchase the game." Do you think they'll say that? Didn't think so. So much for "don't freaking play it."

    And as far as changing it goes, "It cannot be altered or deleted?" You do realize this is software, right? Last time I checked, software can be changed rather easily. That's where the "soft" part comes in. Lots of companies do it. Really. They got these things called "patches" and "DLC" now. High tech. You should read about them. Maybe there is an article on wikipedia.

  • Brebber

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 2:00 pm GMT

    @ Stan_boyd to work off your premise, if we don't want Dom to die in Gears of War 3, we should have Epic games re-write that part......also, who wanted Dom's wife to die in GoW 2. I didn't. See what happens when you open this can of worms? You give people the freedom to change something that normally they shouldn't be able to be changed you will have so many people wanting something to be changed just because it appeases that single individual.

  • Guest_1001

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 1:58 pm GMT

    "Some people have argued that in Mass Effect 3, BioWare has delivered something different from what it promised. This is irrelevant."

    False advertising is irrelevant ... ? Casey Hudson's exact words were "This story arc is coming to an end with this game. That means the endings can be a lot more different. At this point we're taking into account so many decisions that you've made as a player and reflecting a lot of that stuff. It's not even in any way like the traditional game endings, where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got ending A, B, or C." Guess what we got?

    And, Miss Parker, the relationship between the artist and the audience is already fractured. The ending already rendered OUR work throughout the series meaningless. For all the defenders of the ending who criticise the critics by saying we just want a happy ending or mention some twaddle about "gamer's entitlement", they trivialise a legitimate issue. There are more concerns about the way game developers operate now than there was ten years ago and developers covering their ears to their customers' concerns is going to do more harm than good. For example, right now gamers have raised over \$30,000 for the Child's Play charity, brought together by a desire for the Mass Effect 3 ending to be changed. You don't think a sign of goodwill on their part deserves on in return because of some nonsense about how we're the audience and BioWare are the developers?

  • stan_boyd

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 1:54 pm GMT

    If they don't have Rand survive in Wheel of Time series we should petition them to rewrite the ending.

  • Brebber

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 1:49 pm GMT

    This is horsesh*t. Why the hell would this even be an issue? Why would we even allow petitions to change the ending of a game because a few people didn't like it? When the hell did we allow the general public decide what a piece of art should be, when it is created by a group of people who are attempting to tell a story that is all their own? Leave the game alone, it is perfect the way they did it. The Mass Effect series is one of the best in video game history, and because a few people don't want it to pan-out the way it did is complete crap. If you don't like, DON'T FREAKIN PLAY IT! The last paragraph says it all. "But the work of art is done; it is finished. It cannot be altered or deleted. Doing so would fracture the relationship between an artist and the audience, and it would render the original work meaningless. If BioWare does change the end of Mass Effect 3 to mollify a handful of goading voices, the game itself would no longer be the expression of its original creators. It would cease to be art."

  • matty_6666

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 1:46 pm GMT

    They are not artists they are designers! There is a big difference! Art is something you create no matter the opinion of the fans! Designers create something for the fans! Hence an artist can make art without any consumers (Why many artists are poor before they die!) Designers need consumers to make their work, so in my opinion they need to stop slagging down their own fan base. Again Mass Effect is not art it is a designed product! To be sold to consumers. Do some research on design and art before you talk about it!

  • lordgodalming

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 1:44 pm GMT

    Preach it, Laura. This is well reasoned and thoughtful, and will therefore make idiots shout at you.

  • ThorNF

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 1:24 pm GMT

    It isn't money, per se; if game critics do not withhold criticism they may lose pre-release review access. When a movie is released without allowing any reviews, you can expect a pretty sub-par movie. Gaming companies, especially the big ones with lots of titles, can exert enormous pressure on review sites that rely on getting the review out asap. It seems the growing trend of review-sites actually defending all the creators from seemingly justified fan discontent may be related. GOTY 2013: Over the Road Truckers, prsented by EA Games.

  • Gryphes2k

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 1:16 pm GMT

    EA money seems tasteful to Laura Parker

  • ThorNF

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 12:57 pm GMT

    I hope this doesn't lead to a lot of people returning their opened games for a full refund. If you disagree with the EULA and have not installed or used the game, you are free to return it within 30 days. http://help.ea.com/en/article/electronic-arts-warranty-policy

  • rhymesmatter

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 12:56 pm GMT

    Btw ppl Casey Hudson attempted to defend his "Endings" on a literally failed attempt. GS already made a vid out of it.Here:

    http://www.gamespot.com/shows/start-select/?event=startselect20120315%3Ftag&contsessid;=8d6ff8ef1b6a9a5e29db38e1414fdc96&prevBounce;=6366328

    ppl should also come there to comment as Cam asked for our opinion about if it is right for BioWare to "Change" the ending"

  • GiantsFan2290

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 12:46 pm GMT

    BTW if you do not think we were lied to read this
    "This story arc is coming to an end with this game. That means the endings can be a lot more different. At this point we're taking into account so many decisions that you've made as a player and reflecting a lot of that stuff. It's not even in any way like the traditional game endings, where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got ending A, B, or C."
    -executive producer Casey Hudson
    http://www.oxm.co.uk/37677/mass-effect-3-citadel-is-bigger-than-ever-endings-will-be-more-sophisticated/

  • rhymesmatter

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 12:44 pm GMT

    @GiantsFan2290 Why call you immature mate?What you typed right there is EXACTLY what happened to all of us , trusting fans of BioWare! I second your statement.

  • GiantsFan2290

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 12:41 pm GMT

    its art that they convinced me to buy by telling me, "Your choices from the first two games will have a large influence on the third"....which is a total and complete lie, call me immature and self entitled all you want, but the fact is that we were lied to, the first two game were thrown out the window in the final 5 minutes, and the game makes you feel that no matter what choice you make or how hard you work, you always fail....it feels like i failed

  • 1BaguM1

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 12:41 pm GMT

    How much BioWare payed GameSpot to make such article? ? ?

  • ShinwaOkami

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 12:34 pm GMT

    I personally have yet to play ME3 and odds are I won't. I've read quite a ton into ME3's ending and honestly I can see how people feel robbed. In a way, I feel a little discouraged that people are trying to use the, "ZOMG IT'S ART!" excuse to cover for a poorly delivered product. That's what this is in the end, a PRODUCT. If you were to purchase a vehicle and it didn't deliver what it promised you would get your money back. Same with an appliance or any kind of electronics.

    While I agree that they shouldn't change the ending, they already made that decision and need to handle the consequences of that, people should be able to get back the \$60+ they spent. If a company can't stand behind what it promises to deliver then it will lose the support of it's customer base.

  • MrSmarties

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 12:16 pm GMT

    @fiser_daniel

    I suggest you stop trying to determine what art is and isnt. That debate has be going on for a long time but i assure you that designing for that of the public takes a creative process that an artist needs to go through. Creating a product to sell = Art. Art for the people, art for manipulation, art for propaganda, art for anything really. Art isnt just creating something for the beauty of it. Art is creating something for any purpose to achieve what you or others desire using any style, medium or method. I go to school for Design in Ontario. I going into 2D Design where i will be working for people to create whatever they want for their company. My art is for sale, my designs are for sale...and its my work that i choose to sell. I create art for the beauty of it but i also create art for sake of designing for the public.

  • shepp2230

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 12:12 pm GMT

    "Mass Effect" is property of EA/ Bioware. They can do whatever they want with it. However, it is the user/ customer who gives that property value. If they don't want the value of their property to diminish Bioware should deliver a product the customer is satified with. I don't understand how voicing disatisfaction with a purchased product equals whining. Its not like Bioware is giving the game away for free.

  • rhymesmatter

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 12:09 pm GMT

    There is no conspiracy or anything of that short about the ending...it's a flat stupid ending that only changes colors between the three available ones and GOD it just Brushes away all the "CHOICES" that we invested in all of these games..This is not right.This is absolutely not right ... EA is to blame for this fiasko and BioWare should go about and release a DLC that will somehow be an alternate ending or in fact a "REAL" ending to our Shepard chronicle that we so much wanted to experience.They idd took a huge gamble with this ending..A huge stupid gamble as a matter of fact that was OBVIOUSLY gonna raise the sh-itstorm that it raised!It's not logical to change the ending from the game itself.That's impossible and stupid!What IS logical and easy is to give us a DLC Real Ending on this one so plz BioWare...Give us what we paid and hoped for.(although we will probably have to pay again for the DLC but oh well...As long as we get a closure)

  • g0nz0j03

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 12:00 pm GMT

    @valeria_victrix I have no problem with people who want to discuss whether or not the ending was good or bad on subjective terms. But the sense of outrage and entitlement of people who got butthurt that the ending wasn't the balls out fireworks laden roller coaster ride they were expecting, and therefore have the audacity to demand that Bioware alter their vision of the game because they didn't like it are immature at best and idiots at worst.

    I'm not here to worship Bioware, but I am here to lambaste whiny little tools who piss and moan while claiming their voice represents the only voice worth hearing.

    Also, for the record, it's not irony when someone smarter than you calls you an idiot. Nor is it irony to insist that the vocal minority exists in an echo chamber of nerd-raging commenters. Go look at the definition of irony again, champ.

  • fiser_daniel

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 11:56 am GMT

    @isahunt

    well friend this is incomplete painting

    "order now and reveal Whistler's Mother's face and the top left corner of the painting"

  • Stonesourpuss

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 11:56 am GMT

    I sped full speed toward the end of Mass Effect 2 in a marathon attempt to get it done before the coveted Mass Effect 3 release. Good times, the ending really got me pumped up for the next in the series. Snagged the midnight release and everything, then ran through the game in 3 days... just to hit a brick wall of an ending that revealed absolutely nothing. I can't say I won't ever buy another Bioware game, but that ending... oh, that ending... If Bioware is indeed going the rumored route of this being an artificial ending, I just wonder when they'll safely be able to reveal it. Can't do it too soon, too many folks still haven't played ME3 to its conclusion yet, and they run the risk of anyone on the fence about buying the game to not buy it at all. Can't wait too late, or everyone will think Bioware just caved to the pressure and that this is some stupid plea to get more money. Bioware took a huge gamble on this ending, to be sure, but I'm loving all the conspiracy theorists and how they're making me look at the ending again to see things I didn't see before.

  • kage_53

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 11:49 am GMT

    The ending for mass effect 3 was the worst one I can think of and I've been playing video games for about 20 years if not a little more. So many questions unanswered and so many plot holes too. All the ending are the same: Pick a color and watch the same scenes and everything else. What sucks about it is that until the last 5-10 minutes of the game ME3 was really good outside of waves of enemies.

    The last paragraph is completely false because Bethesda released Broken Steel which was additional hours of gameplay and had a new ending for Fallout 3 and was well recieved by fans and critics because Fallout 3's was also very bad. See Bethesda develops game for the audience not for themselves which is a far better business model.

  • Daniel6792

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 11:47 am GMT

    Im sorry.. but what is wrong with the ending?? why even discuss it?

  • Damrod14

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 11:46 am GMT

    Here's the thing: Mass Effect 3 gives two goals to the player. Save the Earth and defeat the Reapers. The three ending choices do not allow you to achieve either of these. Does that mean the ending needs to change? Not really, but it does explain why so many people feel betrayed by BioWare, for it took the whole precedent of the Mass Effect series, ie rebel against fate and make your own way, and threw it out the window, giving the players 3 choices, neither of which were well explained or fleshed out. As consumers, it is our right to object to a poorly delivered ending, in the same way that it is our right to object to poorly finished book or painting. The difference is, using patch technology, it is possible for EA and Bioware to rectify this, which they might very well do. (Though they might decide to charge for it as DLC). P.S. Just gotta say, if you ordered a painting from an artist, with certain expectations, and the artist failed to deliver on those expectations, darn right you would demand a change.

  • Ripley77

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 11:44 am GMT

    I don't think they should change the endings either. The product has been completed, packaged and released. At this point it's too late to add anything other than sidestory DLC or multiplayer maps for those who choose to buy it. Like everyone else, I've finished the game and hated the ending(s) as well. I even heard the rumblings beforehand and thought to myself "It can't be that bad...". It is that bad but I still don't think they should change it. What's done is done. It's a crap ending, I feel cheated (as do a lot of you) and the trust I once had for the developer is gone.

    I agree that it is their art, or narrative, and they can do with it whatever they please. As a consumer, I reserve the right to not like it, move on and give my patronage to companies/studios that are more considerate of their fans. Since the buyout from Elevation to EA, the quality of Bioware has declined immensely and this latest release only cements that. I'm done with them. Even if they do agree to change the ending, I honestly don't see the point. The damage has been done.

  • isahunt

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 11:39 am GMT

    @fiser_daniel

    Yes, Shakespeare never asked money from people who wanted to see one of his plays and Michelangelo did the Sistine Chapel fresco for free...

    Grow up.

    @Egotte

    You're entitled to your opinion, but you are wrong about me not playing through all the games with one character.

    Sorry.

  • Egotte

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 11:35 am GMT

    @isahunt

    You're not presenting yourself as someone who played through the three games, rather, someone who wants to just throw stones at the people who invested countless hours into Mass Effect, only to have all of their choices completely disregarded, in a game where choices supposedly mattered.

  • george43

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 11:35 am GMT

    If you like the endings as is, good for you. The people who hate the endings recognize bad writing when they see it. Nobody is going to force you to replay ME3 if bioware patches in new endings and new content. It's just like the homosexuality in the game, it's your option to ignore it.

  • Sonicpan

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 11:34 am GMT

    Irrelevant my A**.

    I'm done here.

  • jaywill75

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 11:28 am GMT

    To start off with, I've played through the entire series. And while I don't think the ending was horrible, I understand the dissatisfaction of the petitioners. In a game series so thoroughly based on the effect of actions taken, not just in individual games, but through the entire series, the ending did feel like it lacked sufficient variance.

    And who cares if they're petitioning? Who cares if Bioware/EA caters to them or not? It is completely the developers and publishers decision, but it is not an "artistic license" issue. What an inane position to take.

    Most video games have artistic elements, but they're not true art because they are mainly functional. Their function is interactive entertainment, not pure aesthetics. As a comparison, compare them to a bridge. Many bridges have artistic designs, but they're not art, they're not for people to sit and look at. They're main function is to make passage easier. Video games are similar. Their purpose is to entertain. Would you call PONG art? If so, you'd have a hard time justifying it. I doubt Allan Alcorn would refer to himself as an artist. He was making a product to sell.

    So ultimately games are products, and as a producer of a product, the developers\publishers should give their customers a product they desire. It is up to them to decide whether they deliver or not. If they don't deliver a good product then they'll lose customers.

    So, this obviously not an "artistic license" issue, but one of economics.

  • grigjd3

    Posted Mar 15, 2012 11:21 am GMT

    Ok, I don't think they should change the ending, but this argument is a load of crap. Art is no more sacrosanct than anything else. Maybe, if you're fifteen years old, you might have the belief that there is some sort of purity in art. Of course, if you're fifteen, you might also still believe love conquers all and perhaps there really is an Easter Bunny. I know many artists and they seem to come in two types, those who realize that they are selling to a customer and those who work at McDonalds. Guess which one this idealism reflects.

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