Mass Effect 3 Outrage Causes Unrelated Game to Change its Ending

Mike Kayatta

Minister of Secrets
Aug 2, 2011
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Mass Effect 3 Outrage Causes Unrelated Game to Change its Ending


If you beat Frozen Synapse this week, don't be surprised to find a t-rex in a sweet hat waiting near the credits to teach you about personal expectations and moving on.

As a somewhat unexpected consequence to the recent furor over Mass Effect 3's ending, an entirely different, unaffiliated game has rewritten its own final moments while BioWare considers changing its own. PC and iOS tactical shooter Frozen Synapse may have attracted much of its fan-base for its acclaimed multiplayer mode, but the game also boasts a robust single-player experience that, up until recently, didn't conclude with a troll-faced pony, a top-hat-wearing t-rex, nor a snarky yet, perhaps, important message for gamers.

"This is the ending to a computer game," the new final cut scene reads beneath a hand-drawn picture of the aforementioned animal duo. "We don't care if you like it ... but at least the pony and dinosaur are happy." As the screen fades to black, the message continues in a small, but stark white font. "We go through a lot of things in life," it reads. "Not all of them are under our control. But that's ok because it's all water under the bridge, right? We can't expect the outcome of our stories to conform to our own perceptions."

The game then shifts gears, and informs its community that they are both "moist and dolphin-proof."

Yes, this is the new, non-optional, total replacement ending for Frozen Synapse ... at least for about a week. After that, things will supposedly revert to normal. Paul Taylor, co-founder of the game's developer, Mode 7, has already commented on the potentially controversial decision, claiming that the move was mostly a personal experiment.

"This is not a criticism of Bioware or anything they have said/done," Taylor remarked. "It is an experiment: I wanted to know how this felt. Honestly, it felt like vandalizing my own work, which was interesting."

If BioWare eventually caves to the demands of certain outspoken fans(?) of Mass Effect 3, and does change its ending, perhaps Taylor's experiment is one that more developers would be interested in exploring for themselves at some point in the near future. While a decision to alter the conclusion to one of the most successful game series in recent history wouldn't create a stone mandate for other developers' own actions, it would certainly set some kind of precedent that would, at the very least, form a wake sure to attract the industry's acute notice moving forward.

Source: Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/5895829/mass-effect-3-outcry-answered-with-a-new-ending-for-a-completely-different-game]


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DustyDrB

Made of ticky tacky
Jan 19, 2010
8,365
3
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So they are going with the "happy ending" argument. Well then, no real relevant opinion to see here then.

Though as I have said before, I am quite conflicted on how/if this debacle should be resolved.
Mike Kayatta said:
If BioWare eventually caves to the demands of certain outspoken fans(?) of Mass Effect 3, and does change its ending, perhaps Taylor's experiment is one that more developers would be interested in exploring for themselves at some point in the near future. While a decision to alter the conclusion to one of the most successful game series in recent history wouldn't create a stone mandate for other developers' own actions, it would certainly set some kind of precedent that would, at the very least, form a wake sure to attract the industry's acute notice moving forward.
And that's one of the things that makes me conflicted. Someone will probably say "Gotcha! Slippery-slope fallacy, so your concern is automatically wrong!". But we've seen a great number of slippery slope "fallacies" come true in gaming over the last decade.
 

PrinceOfShapeir

New member
Mar 27, 2011
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I'm really getting tired of people saying things when they shouldn't be allowed to. Can we end this whole 'everyone is entitled to their opinion' thing and make it so that you have to pass some kind of test to ensure that people actually learn how to read and comprehend what is being said to them?
 

viranimus

Thread killer
Nov 20, 2009
4,952
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Pure awesome. Now if only I did not absolutely loathe that game from having to play it during the steam winter sale contest Id go off and buy it again, somehow.
 

Lunar Templar

New member
Sep 20, 2009
8,225
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-.- really .....

changing the ending for no reason? wonderful -.-

how about we wait to see if the fans get they're panties in a twist first
 

Scabadus

Wrote Some Words
Jul 16, 2009
869
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Of course, future game designers could avoid having to "sabotage" their work - no matter what precedent has been set - by writing good games. I know that's a bit of an extreme concept, but just putting it out there...
 

nathan-dts

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Jun 18, 2008
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Just change the ending. Game development is a collaborative effort, why not take input from the people that matter, your fans. People need to stop defending Bioware, they fucked up and need to fix it. That ending is not art, Mordin's death was art, Grunts last stand was art. These things evoked emotions, the ending evoked nothing and then because of that nothingness people became angry.
 

Yeager942

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Oct 31, 2008
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Even though I really hate the current ME ending, I have to admit...

I lol'd. Well played Mode 7.
 

Aiddon_v1legacy

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Nov 19, 2009
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nathan-dts said:
Just change the ending. Game development is a collaborative effort, why not take input from the people that matter, your fans. People need to stop defending Bioware, they fucked up and need to fix it. That ending is not art, Mordin's death was art, Grunts last stand was art. These things evoked emotions, the ending evoked nothing and then because of that nothingness people became angry.
Because under no circumstance are you actually part of the creative process. The choices you made throughout those games were designed BY BIOWARE. There is only one type of art where the consumers/fanbase gets a part in creating it: bad art.

Anyway, this is some mighty trolling. Heck, I'd even say it's a proper critique of Bioware's spineless reaction. If they're going to sell their integrity so readily it sets a bad standard for games as narrative media.
 

TheCaptain

A Guy In A Hat
Feb 7, 2012
391
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How unnecessarily smug. And missing the point, I might add, since "Happy End" or not has never been the issue.
 

PingoBlack

Searching for common sense ...
Aug 6, 2011
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Experiment, he says? Nice. It worked ...
I was gonna check out this game, he gave me a very nice reason to stay the fuck away. :)

Oh and My. Synapse (lol) let me say it again: Ending-O-Tron cannot be considered art.

TheCaptain said:
How unnecessarily smug. And missing the point, I might add, since "Happy End" or not has never been the issue.
Yeah, very much so ... Really nice customer relations move, eh? :)
 

Sigmund Av Volsung

Hella noided
Dec 11, 2009
2,999
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Aiddon said:
nathan-dts said:
Just change the ending. Game development is a collaborative effort, why not take input from the people that matter, your fans. People need to stop defending Bioware, they fucked up and need to fix it. That ending is not art, Mordin's death was art, Grunts last stand was art. These things evoked emotions, the ending evoked nothing and then because of that nothingness people became angry.
Because under no circumstance are you actually part of the creative process. The choices you made throughout those games were designed BY BIOWARE. There is only one type of art where the consumers/fanbase gets a part in creating it: bad art.
No we are not, but if the owner of a restoraunt punches you in the face with absolutely no reason whatsover, you will inquire and go "WTF, Man?" and consequently demand at least an explanation or more to the point an apology.

The ending betrays the entire game series, destroys all essence of art that Mass Effect carried, which smells like Bioware rushed it out for no discernable reason, I'm not pointing fingers at the culprits who pressured Bioware(I'm looking at you EA), but people STILL.DESERVE.AN.EXPLANATION.
 

Sigmund Av Volsung

Hella noided
Dec 11, 2009
2,999
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PingoBlack said:
Experiment, he says? Nice. It worked ...
I was gonna check out this game, he gave me a very nice reason to stay the fuck away. :)

Oh and My. Synapse (lol) let me say it again: Ending-O-Tron cannot be considered art.
Truer words have never been spoken.
 

shadowmagus

New member
Feb 2, 2011
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Bravo. Bravo indeed. Guess I'll have to check this out when I get home

Captcha: Face the music...lol irony
 

zinho73

New member
Feb 3, 2011
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If you are going to make any statement you should first:
1. Read through everything Casey Hudson and the lead writer said about the game.
2. Have a basic knowledge of Mass Effect lore.
3. Play the game.

If you still think this is about changing an artistic vision of the ending you are delusional. This is about lack of quality and false advertisement. If this makes a precedent for anything is that consumers are much more aware of PR BS than companies thought they were - the artistic integrity of video-games in the future is completely safe.

If the guy of the game had made his research, he would understand this movement is much more about removing a pink dinosaur than adding one.

It is not the first time media is changed because of public input (Fallout3, movie pre-screenings, Sherlock Holmes, the revised The Witcher, I could be here all day citing examples).

It is not the first time Bioware changes or add to a product because of fan input (Shadow Broker, Deception).

And the only ones accountable for their integrity are Bioware themselves. For all we know the ending could be vague just to sell more DLC (which is not very artistic at all).

Escapist: be more responsible with your writing and stop adding wood to the fire blowing things out of proportion. I understand things getting out of hand with the fans because there is emotion involved. I expect more from a news outlet that I honestly admire.
 

xchurchx

New member
Nov 2, 2009
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It felt like vandalism but he can make that choice because its his piece of work, same as bioware, people will moan if they don't change it, people will moan if they do, even if that change is for the better, people will remark that they fell to the fan boys pressure, when bioware could've taken a new look at the endings and thought, "you know what, that really doesn't make any sense, we should change it", they'll be remembered as the company that gave in to the critics