Mass Effect 3: The movement

[martyrdrebel27]

Mass Effect 3: The movement

You dirty bird, Bioware, how could you?

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Note: Apologies for the typo in the news blurb. The rest of the Escapist staff appear to have fucked off to PAX, so no one is around to fix it.

uh way to ignore the fact that andy chalk has insulted us at every turn... act like you, as the media in question, are somehow immune to the same insults you sling our way....

 

[triggrhappy94]

Still haven't had the money to buy Mass Effect 3, let alone play it.
I've been trying to have a complete black-out of ME3 information, but it's nice to hear it doesn't have a happy ending. So far it doesn't sound bad, I can't wait til it tries to pull at my heart-strings.

No one ruin it for me if you're going to quote and respond.

 

[Blind Sight]

So, just to get this straight, you're calling me corrupt? That's a very poor way to start a conversation.

You infer that fans will perform blowjobs for Bioware employees for a 'happy ending' (which isn't really the argument being presented by most, it more has to do with the ending being terribly written and lacking complex choice) and then expect a positive response back? If you've just openly mocked and deliberately misinterpreted a group of people's opinion don't expect them to be nice in response.

To the comic: Clearly the fanboy is meant to be egoraptor, would've been an ok satire on the whole 'Retake ME3' movement if it wasn't just constructed of internet strawmen.

Just remember said group you are defending DONATED money to a CHARITY. Then DEMANDED said money back. I know its not everyone in the group but seriously if you want to go and defend a part of the group that was actually good you also have to remember that another part of the group is bad.

Where did I defend their actions in my statement? I didn't. Read the statement rather then what you want to hear. What I brought up was the complete hypocrisy of both expecting a civil debate after such a 'witty satire' and deliberately misinterpreting the arguments of a group, then calling them out for doing the same thing. I'm just highlighting the inconsistency of the whole thing, if you're going to present either side as some strawman that you can easily attack you can't then criticize them for doing the same thing. Your charity comment has nothing to do with what I actually said and completely misses the point.

 

[Woodsey]

So, 3rd question (Its kind of a rewrite of 2). Do you think keeping the ending, but adding to it is an acceptable option?

(I know you're not asking me specifically, but I share the 'artistic vision, pretentious twat' view point.)I think it's as far as they should go, and I know my real concern was BioWare going for a rewrite, which would have been a big no-no, but if it's purely an addendum providing clarification then... eh. I suppose it's not all that different from a Word of God statement that they could have made instead.

Personally, I know what I think about the ending, and with what I think about the ending I can see what they were trying to do and, even though I don't think it worked brilliantly and it's not what I would have done to end it, I can live with it, and I can see why they might have done it from a creative standpoint. (Although I remain more than a little skeptical about someone higher up deciding they should try and flog some 'Epilogue DLC', before deciding they should probably make it free.)

As for the "choices don't matter in the end" argument, they do it affect it in a sense, and I don't really feel the PR speak given out for the game is particularly different from any other's.

....a joke about the fact the Retake ME protests have been bizarrely nice...

Are you entirely unaware of your comic's insinuation that people who want more to Mass Effect 3's ending are desperate "crack" whores? It wasn't subtle.

The insinuation is that the whole thing took the rather odd-turn of being as nice as possible (charity, cupcakes) whilst trying to 'blackmail' BioWare into doing something about the ending. That's very, very clearly the comic thread through the strip.

And - surprise! - people like blowjobs. So, y'know, think about it. You're trying to make it offensive for the hell of it.

 

[mxfox408]

At this point I say fuck journalists who only look at one side rather than the big picture. They can't see past what they are getting paid to see past. Atleast shamus and Jim sterling see both sides and show why fans feel the way they do.

 

[Imp_Emissary]

That is officially the best protest ever.

That's a very poor way to start a conversation.

What kind of respectful and mature discussion were you expecting to start with "Happy Ending for a Happy Ending"?

Yes, because me making a joke about the fact the Retake ME protests have been bizarrely nice is the same as you saying I have no ethical standards.

To misquote Oscar Wilde:

Satirists gonna' satire.

My god. It's almost like you think you're writing a webcomic. One that tells jokes. You obviously don't understand the meaning of this comic like the fans do. You should change the ending, now.

Hey now!

First. Very funny. Well done friend.

2nd. To hell with that! The ending (of the comic) was great. The written bit after didn't seem to really be connected to the comic, but still making a good point.


3rd. It has been at least a month now. Is the Chevy Sonic really still all-new?

 

[Phred]

The problem is, anytime a bunch of disgruntled fans become a "movement", it's smack ready for parody and satire. I see a lot of what's being done ripe for such skewering.

I agree with the comment. I have seen people call Angry Joe, the Forbes bloggers (who aren't even staff, they are freelancers), and a few others "Paragons of Journalistic Integrity", while those that are on Bioware's side are "shills", "corrupt", etc. A few have even attacked one of the Forbes people now that he said "if they continue to complain, they deserve the label of entitled and whiners". Yet I've seen intelligent commentary here on the Escapist, and elsewhere, and it gets ignored. I see clear cases of confirmation Bias.

Once "movements" start, they become wrapped up in politics and it's more about the protest and the movement's identity than the actual goals. The fact that the protests feel the need to find any site on the Internet and (if they agree) praise them or (if they disagree) comment bomb them, shows that's there's a massive oversensitiveness on the parts of the protesters.

Which is ripe for skewering, as done here.

 

[Selef]

I'm one of the people who want a new ending, and i still found this hilarious, people really need to lighten up and take a joke. Thanks for making awesome comics Grey, keep up the good work!

 

[Albino Boo]

To misquote Oscar Wilde:

Satirists gonna' satire.

Ah but you forgot the 1st rule of the mobocracy. Its only satire when you attack targets in line with the mobocracy prejudice. When attacking things in line with the mobs prejudice then its illegitimate and unfunny.

 

[Imp_Emissary]

So, 3rd question (Its kind of a rewrite of 2). Do you think keeping the ending, but adding to it is an acceptable option?

(I know you're not asking me specifically, but I share the 'artistic vision, pretentious twat' view point.)I think it's as far as they should go, and I know my real concern was BioWare going for a rewrite, which would have been a big no-no, but if it's purely an addendum providing clarification then... eh. I suppose it's not all that different from a Word of God statement that they could have made instead.

Personally, I know what I think about the ending, and with what I think about the ending I can see what they were trying to do and, even though I don't think it worked brilliantly and it's not what I would have done to end it, I can live with it, and I can see why they might have done it from a creative standpoint. (Although I remain more than a little skeptical about someone higher up deciding they should try and flog some 'Epilogue DLC', before deciding they should probably make it free.)

As for the "choices don't matter in the end" argument, they do it affect it in a sense, and I don't really feel the PR speak given out for the game is particularly different from any other's.

No problem friend.

This is the Critical Miss comment area! No rules! No law! *Runs to the top of a tall building.*(with scissors)

Gravity! Go to HELL! *jumps* and doesn't fall.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha....ha.....ha." *still in the air* "Ummm....how do I get down?"
Cap.: oh wait
Seriously though. Don't worry. The more the.......happier the the ending! Ha!

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Ah yeah, the rage follows the ME3 title everywhere. Personally guys I just laughed at the joke. I don't think he's calling everyone protesting the terrible ending desperate enough to give blow jobs. Pointing out and laughing at the oddities of these protests...

Well I thought it was funny.

 

[Erttheking]

What happened to "this is the last Mass Effect 3 thread"?

 

[lord.jeff]

the angry mob got their wish tho :O

No they didn't, Bioware decided to only extend the current endings, instead of adding new endings. I highly doubt that these new extensions would fix anything, as they still allow player choices and input.

Wait, don't we want player choice and input, wasn't the main problem with the ending that it didn't reflect of choices enough.

As for the comic itself was pretty funny and except for the last panel it paints the Retake movement in a pretty positive light, as some the nicest protesters ever. The comment at the end I do agree with, a lot of people have gone to straight out insults to defend themselves, not saying journalist haven't, but I don't see that as an excess to lose are your civil tongue as well, an insult match doesn't prove your point it just proves which person has the most synonyms for penis.

 

[FFHAuthor]

If media figures who haven't even played the game are going to go around leveling ad hominem attacks on behalf of their sponsors, they're inviting criticism. Frankly, accusing games journalism of corruption is kind of like accusing lobbyists of the same - isn't it essentially their job description? Very few sites even pretend to avoid conflicts of interest.

I believe back in the bygone and much remembered days before Mass Effect 3 that there was a rather large argument made that there was a massive conflict of interest with Jessica Chobit (I think that's her name) was made a voice actor and headsculpt for a character in the game. We laughed and rolled our eyes and made a few jokes about it being a conflict of interest and how it shouldn't have been done.

Think back to when THAT was the biggest issue with the game with happy nostalgia.

 

[Imp_Emissary]

What happened to "this is the last Mass Effect 3 thread"?

Don't worry. The Escapist will stop talking about ME3 as soon as everyone stops caring or talking about it........ Ha ha ha ha.......

 

[Imp_Emissary]

If media figures who haven't even played the game are going to go around leveling ad hominem attacks on behalf of their sponsors, they're inviting criticism. Frankly, accusing games journalism of corruption is kind of like accusing lobbyists of the same - isn't it essentially their job description? Very few sites even pretend to avoid conflicts of interest.

I believe back in the bygone and much remembered days before Mass Effect 3 that there was a rather large argument made that there was a massive conflict of interest with Jessica Chobit (I think that's her name) was made a voice actor and headsculpt for a character in the game. We laughed and rolled our eyes and made a few jokes about it being a conflict of interest and how it shouldn't have been done.

Think back to when THAT was the biggest issue with the game with happy nostalgia.

Ah. Happier days. Oh how we all use to laugh and smile together.

Well who knows. Maybe something worse will come along and make this seem less terrible by comparison?

Hmmmm. Actually maybe we should hope for "the perfect shitstorm" to be finally over, and just pray for Dragon Age 3.

 

[Canadish]

The problem is, anytime a bunch of disgruntled fans become a "movement", it's smack ready for parody and satire. I see a lot of what's being done ripe for such skewering.

I agree with the comment. I have seen people call Angry Joe, the Forbes bloggers (who aren't even staff, they are freelancers), and a few others "Paragons of Journalistic Integrity", while those that are on Bioware's side are "shills", "corrupt", etc. A few have even attacked one of the Forbes people now that he said "if they continue to complain, they deserve the label of entitled and whiners". Yet I've seen intelligent commentary here on the Escapist, and elsewhere, and it gets ignored. I see clear cases of confirmation Bias.

Once "movements" start, they become wrapped up in politics and it's more about the protest and the movement's identity than the actual goals. The fact that the protests feel the need to find any site on the Internet and (if they agree) praise them or (if they disagree) comment bomb them, shows that's there's a massive oversensitiveness on the parts of the protesters.

Which is ripe for skewering, as done here.

Sure, but it's just as easy to do the same thing when mocking the movement if you do nothing but listen to the few obnoxiously loud and extreme voices in the crowd.
At that point, you're doing the exact same thing you're accusing them of and looking at everything in a bias lens.

The road goes both ways.


Anyway, the comic alone was funny but the as someone else rightly said, the comment underneath turned it nasty.
It's unfortunately been a case where not many gaming journalists have actually understood why people are mad, or either refuse to acknowledge their grievances and points.
Worse, many are just throwing outright venomous, nasty comments out there at the crowd and overall acting more immature then the people they're accusing of the same thing.

And I honestly don't see why they've been so offensive, or would have reason to.

And that is probably why there has been such a backlash at the journalists in question. Both in a general sense, and bringing up the issue of many people's integrity.
Which is only causing escalation by getting other journalists mad and causing them to close ranks, like Greg here has been doing.

The fallout of this is that it's become a issue bigger then ME3's bloody ending and also dragged in the problem with gaming "journalism" as a whole.
The whole system is messed up and this has just brought it into the spotlight for many people.

Which is probably causing many sites (not all) to go majorly defensive and try paint the whole crowd as a bunch of nut-case, "entitled" whiny babies by pointing to the few extreme examples, ignoring the overwhelming majority of very civil and rational people.

So, just to get this straight, you're calling me corrupt? That's a very poor way to start a conversation.

It sounded to me as a more general swing at the gaming journalist community as a whole, rather then a personal attack on you.

While I'd be hesitant to lump gaming journalists in the same camp as fucking lobbyists, the rest of his comment was spot on.

Gaming journalists have been (overwhelmingly) intellectually dishonest in their misrepresentation of the Retake movement.

It's been an issue simmering for a while now, and this has just finally burst the metaphorical bubble.

That's probably why the why people who've given both sides of the argument ended up on a pedestal. It's the understandable reaction to the journalists...less then understandable actions.

 

[BreakfastMan]

Ah yeah, the rage follows the ME3 title everywhere. Personally guys I just laughed at the joke. I don't think he's calling everyone protesting the terrible ending desperate enough to give blow jobs. Pointing out and laughing at the oddities of these protests...

Well I thought it was funny.

Honestly, if anyone in anyone in a "position of power", so to speak, mentions the ending to ME3 in a positive light, or disagrees with any part of the retake ME movement, they are going to be flamed to hell. It is pretty much unavoidable by now, unfortunately. :/