Mass Effect 3 Story Leaked, BioWare Accepting Feedback

Greg Tito

PR for Dungeons & Dragons
Sep 29, 2005
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Mass Effect 3 Story Leaked, BioWare Accepting Feedback



BioWare is taking the gaffe in stride by taking the leak as an opportunity for constructive criticism.

The conclusion to the Mass Effect story is hotly anticipated by gamers. No one outside of the BioWare headquarters in Edmonton knows how the final game's conflict with the Reapers will play out - at least, no one did before the beta code was leaked last Monday. Microsoft unintentionally allowed the download as part of the Xbox dashboard update and quickly pulled it down when the mistake was discovered, but not before details concerning the different game modes made its way online. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114063-Xbox-Live-Beta-Testers-Get-Accidental-Peek-at-Mass-Effect-3]

Not only that, but a Russian fansite (Bioware.ru) spent time tinkering with the file and discovered significant story information in Mass Effect 3. After initially being crushed about the possibility of spoilers and making sure people realize that the story is still being revised, BioWare cofounder Ray Muzyka said they are open to feedback from the community on how it all turns out and the more exposure is a good thing. Right?

"In the big picture, some more stories are generated around it and more interest in the game," Muzyka said of the leak. "It's hard to say something like that having a positive benefit, but if it gets more people to check out Mass Effect 3 that would be a positive benefit."

Would they make changes based on people's reaction tothe leaked story? "We listen to our fans all of the time," Muzyka said. "We listen to them on the forums, their feedback from stories. We're reading it all. If we can get ideas out of it that will make the game better, sure. We're not averse to taking feedback. That's part of our core values, is humility. Any time we get a good idea from fans ... they're our audience. They keep us in business."

Muzyka said the writing team working on the game were saddened by the leak. "It was disappointing for them, yeah. They're moving on. They're making a great game. The script, frankly, has changed a little bit from what was released, too. It's been edited. They're always tuning it. They're always making it better. But yeah, it's tough when you see your work displayed. You realize only a small number of people are probably going to look at those spoilers in advance."

He urged fans not to read the story that's been leaked because discovering it organically is what makes the game. "What I would suggest to the fans is ... Don't spoil the story," he said. "The fun of the story is uncovering things and exploring and finding new points to adventure in. I hope they don't lose that joy of discovery."

Source: Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-11-15-bioware-may-tweak-the-mass-effect-3-story-based-on-feedback-to-leaked-script]

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Josh123914

They'll fix it by "Monday"
Nov 17, 2009
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Uhh, Escapist, you do realise that this has been LITERALLY all that's been discussed on the BSN for the past 2 weeks?
Either way, sad to hear it, luckily the site has been effectively spoiler-proofed for the time being.
 
Dec 14, 2009
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It's a good job the Escapist is my only gaming related website, because you can guarantee that spoilers will be all over the likes of IGN, Gamespot etc.
 

ShadowsofHope

Outsider
Nov 1, 2009
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He urged fans not to read the story that's been leaked because discovering it organically is what makes the game. "What I would suggest to the fans is ... Don't spoil the story," he said. "The fun of the story is uncovering things and exploring and finding new points to adventure in. I hope they don't lose that joy of discovery."
Pretty much exactly what I'm doing, yep. People whom have spoiled the story plots for themselves already can give what feedback they can, of course, but Mass Effect 3 us going to be an entirely fresh (in terms of plot and character fates beyond official releases, that is) experience for me come March. Any other way, and I'd just ruin it for myself.

Thank you, Escapist staff, for leaving out any spoilers from your reporting. It's appreciated, you can hardly go anywhere in terms of Mass Effect 3 info on the web now without running into unwanted spoilers, unfortunately..
 

Pandalisk

New member
Jan 25, 2009
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And now temptation has been implanted within my mind, i feel like Eve and the Apple, Must. Resist. Temptation.
 

Beryl77

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Mar 26, 2010
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I haven't even watched most trailers or read any news about it. I want to keep the experience as fresh as possible. So, I'm definitely not going to read the biggest spoiler that is available.
Sucks for the writers though.
 

Worr Monger

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Jan 21, 2008
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I'd like to take a moment and say that I am someone that has NOT read any of these alleged spoilers.... so nothing has been spoiled for me yet. I will continue to try to avoid such spoilers.

So let's not try to ruin it for everyone else and start casually discussing these spoilers as if everyone knows, and as if it's perfectly fine... anything discussing these leaked story points should still contain a "**SPOILERS**" of some kind before discussing.

...I know.. It's too much to ask...


P.S. Bioware... I like you and all. But please stop asking fans for feedback... they don't know what's good either. Make you game the way you meant to make it.
 

Tireseas_v1legacy

Plop plop plop
Sep 28, 2009
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Am I the only one who's really concerned that they're five months from shipping and they're still hammering out final story details?
 

The Wykydtron

"Emotions are very important!"
Sep 23, 2010
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Feedback?! WHY WOULD YOU ASK FOR FEEDBACK?!

Hopefully they don't take too much fan feedback into account where the main story is concerned, if it were any other dev i'd be alright with it. But Bioware seems to not realise that their fans aren't professional writers.

And goddammit how difficult is it to not leak your game? It's November for christ's sake you release in March. I punch those numbers into my calculator it makes a sad face
 

Undead Dragon King

Evil Spacefaring Mantis
Apr 25, 2008
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I guess this is the best that BioWare can do in this situation. When life gives you a story leak, make a better story! I, for one, remain blissfully ignorant of the leaks, and am happy to stay that way. No more traipsing over to the BioWare forums until Mass Effect 3 is done!

The Wykydtron said:
Feedback?! WHY WOULD YOU ASK FOR FEEDBACK?!

Hopefully they don't take too much fan feedback into account where the main story is concerned, if it were any other dev i'd be alright with it. But Bioware seems to not realise that their fans aren't professional writers.
BioWare is the one holding the pen, not the fans who chose to spoil themselves on an unfinished story. I'm sure that plenty of those fans will make completely asinine suggestions, like wanting Shepard to charge in against Harbinger while duel-wielding laser miniguns and riding a bearshark. I'm sure that the BioWare writers, who are quite better at their jobs than a bunch of impatient fans, will be able to separate the good from the bad. And even if they do, there's nothing forcing them to co-opt those suggestions.

The Wykydtron said:
And goddammit how difficult is it to not leak your game? It's November for christ's sake you release in March. I punch those numbers into my calculator it makes a sad face
Captain Anderson: "That's Micosoft's fault, not BioWare's!"
 

dessertmonkeyjk

New member
Nov 5, 2010
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So if I give feedback then I have to spoil the story for myself? How does that work anyway?

Then again, I'll let others make this sacrifice for all of us... let's hope Bioware know what suggestions are good ideas. *crosses both fingers*
 

Metalrocks

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Jan 15, 2009
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this is actually old but well. i dint bother to read it. i dont want to spoil my self. i want to play the game and see what i can do. but at the moment origin is stopping me from getting the game.
 

Flying-Emu

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Oct 30, 2008
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It's no surprise that Bioware is asking for feedback. The leaked story can only be described as an absolute mess.

It really does seem like Bioware is trying to ruin its reputation among the players who made them as large as they are today.
 
Apr 28, 2008
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Flying-Emu said:
It's no surprise that Bioware is asking for feedback. The leaked story can only be described as an absolute mess.

It really does seem like Bioware is trying to ruin its reputation among the players who made them as large as they are today.
Tell me about it. I was pissed when reading that story. Just... god dammit Bioware. You're better than this, I know it.

Suppose I should offer my feedback, if they're asking. Just got to find where to start...
 

RatRace123

Elite Member
Dec 1, 2009
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Irridium said:
Tell me about it. I was pissed when reading that story. Just... god dammit Bioware. You're better than this, I know it.

Suppose I should offer my feedback, if they're asking. Just got to find where to start...
So many possibilities there.

I suppose it's a bit too much to hope that the talk of the story being changed from the leaked version isn't just PR fluff.
It's nice of them to take suggestions though, but the game has to be near finished at this point, one wonders how much of a change the suggestions would make.