Jimquisition: Changing A Game's Ending And Destroying Art

[Jimothy Sterling]

Changing A Game's Ending And Destroying Art

Does changing the ending to a videogame destroy it as a creative endeavor? Does altering a videogame to cater to fan demand set interactive art back a decade? How much influence should an audience have over a creator, and are gamers entitled to their opinions? In this spoiler-free video, Jim Sterling tackles Mass Effect 3 for the final time. Yes, it's the FINAL time. No more. Finito. Done. Thank Christ.

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[Qitz]

And that is why the whole "You can't change art!" argument doesn't hold water. Artists change their stuff all the time, sometimes by outside reaction, sometimes by their own accord.

I hope this will be the lasts ME3 shit PERIOD. Then we can start taking bets on what the next "OMG [GAME] IS [OPINION]!" Topic will be.

 

[Mikeyfell]

Who would have guessed, Jim is right again.

So we have Jim and MovieBob with polar opposite opinions, what ever happened to Extra Consideration?

 

[ForensicYOYO]

You wouldn't talk about ME3 again if they did something crazy and stupid with their new ending(s)? Regardless I felt obliged to say in the beginning I was one of those people who couldn't stand your show, but I watched it every week and now its one my favorites. Everything you said today I agree 100% and I do thank God for you =D Keep it up.

 

[RC1138]

Thank God for Jim. He finally said what I've thought every day watching this... situation stew, "The best thing about art is there are no rules." Thank you saying that. Changing/adding more to the game's *ending* does not compromise anything. It just changes/adds an ending. Why is THAT a bad thing or a GOOD thing? It's just an action, the judgements being levied on it are meaningless in regard to artistic integrity because artistic integrity is in the eyes of the beholder.

 

[Mikeyfell]

And that is why the whole "You can't change art!" argument doesn't hold water. Artists change their stuff all the time, sometimes by outside reaction, sometimes by their own accord.

I hope this will be the lasts ME3 shit PERIOD. Then we can start taking bets on what the next "OMG [GAME] IS [OPINION]!" Topic will be.

I'll put my money on it being Bioshock: infinite.

But Mass Effect 3 did set a high controversy bar. It might not be until Halo 4

 

[Raika]

Who would have guessed, Jim is right again.

So we have Jim and MovieBob with polar opposite opinions, what ever happened to Extra Consideration?

That's a really good question. Without that insufferable James Portnoy involved, Extra Consideration can only get better.

 

[Malignanttoe]

Why do half the drawings on here have penises? It just seems a little juvenile and detracts from the intelligent point being made.

 

[Azex]

Biowares intention from the start was to have a crap ending so they could milk us for more DLC. It's a really sad state of affairs and it seems to be the new trend in dlc

 

[ytook]

Thank you Jim, Thank you.

 

[anthony87]

It's actually pretty fucking refreshing for Jim to admit that his initial impressions about the people wanting the ending changed were wrong and that he can even see where they're coming from once he'd LOOKED INTO IT A BIT MORE*

Fair play to you Mr. Sterling.

*Caps'd and bolded on the off chance that Moviebob comes into the thread and gets a clue about the proper attitude to have towards something like this.

 

[XDravond]

He is right, I think, I believe he even gets it...

The ME ending felt rushed and left fans with mostly a "meh"
And from what it sounds like Bioware are able and maybe even willing to make changes to the ending, witch means they were probably not so convinced about the end themselves...

 

[Qitz]

Who would have guessed, Jim is right again.

So we have Jim and MovieBob with polar opposite opinions, what ever happened to Extra Consideration?

With that said, I would love to see a Jim V Movie Bob debate, or shouting match as it could get into, about stuff.

Would be worth a vid or two.

 

[LobsterFeng]

You know in a way I don't want them to change the ending, or at least have an option to play the original if they do. Because when I eventually (eventually) play ME3, I want to see what all the hubbub was about.

 

[Fr]anc[is]

Thank Jim for Jim. At least one professional is understanding, even if it is a little delayed. I'm glad your show improved too, it's one of the best things on this site.

 

[Schoengeist]

I've been wondering about EA's role in this. Could it be that an exec got nervous after reading the fan outrage? Disappointment could put a damper on sales. Most journalists see it as a given that people will buy future DLC nonetheless. That may be true for a core group, but then there are people for whome Mass Effect is not the first choice. I for one won't even buy the game, after reading the fan reviews. And finally there's the merchandise. While not as important as it is with movies, the publisher would surely like to expand on that, and the current ending is not helping.

 

[Dastardly]

Changing A Game's Ending And Destroying Art

Does changing the ending to a videogame destroy it as a creative endeavor? Does altering a videogame to cater to fan demand set interactive art back a decade? How much influence should an audience have over a creator, and are gamers entitled to their opinions? In this spoiler-free video, Jim Sterling tackles Mass Effect 3 for the final time. Yes, it's the FINAL time. No more. Finito. Done. Thank Christ.

Watch Video

It's a good thing that more of the gaming journalists are coming back to the table. I'm not in the "re-take" group, but I really did get the feeling that far too many people were lumping the legitimate grievances together with the small handful of "happy ending advocates" whining because there weren't enough rainbows.

However, I'll see your "Maybe Developers Will Learn" and counter with "...that they can monetize their endings." If BioWare releases this ending fix as paid content, we'll travel farther and faster down that slippery slope where developers sell us an unfinished product at full price, and then charge individually for the missing pieces.

Ending / Epilogue content is not DLC. Prologue? Sure. A bit of "meanwhile" stuff that shows what the rest of the crew was up to while we were chatting with the Big Bad? Also fine. But not the ending, especially not if BioWare is admitting that this is at least partially a fix -- you don't make people pay for patches.

 

[ThreeKneeNick]

An article that has been on the site for days is on the homepage and this is basically hidden. Dear Escapist, I still don't like your new website.

I also never thought about what it must have been like to read all those early comments... Even I was a hater. Sorry about that. I'm glad you kept going, Jim.

I'm very tired of the ME3 debate (or any Bioware related debate for that matter) and don't feel like going into that again.

 

[Sis]

And this is why you truly are a god amongst men, Jim. Also, who are these clowns that made you stop showing us your handsome face for 6 minutes?