Here is a nice quote made by Jessica Merizan, Community Manager for Bioware, on a reddit subforum where she did a ask me anything interview today.
http://www.reddit.com/r/masseffect/comments/q2sl2/i_am_jessica_merizan_community_manager_for/
"[-]jessicamerizan 191 points 4 hours ago
I think there's a lot of misinformation out there and I wish the guy who made the initial video about it would have had an open mind before jumping to conclusions based on a leak we weren't ready to address. Since I'm a BioWare employee, I know people won't automatically trust me, but I hope people will consider that it wasn't cut content from the larger game. I was in Edmonton when we were finishing the game in November/December and I was in Edmonton again last month when they were working on the Day 1 DLC. It definitely was only possible to do because the main game was in certification (which means we had to wait for people to test it and make sure everything was good etc before we could get the greenlight to sell it). I also played the game WITHOUT the DLC in my first playthrough and honestly, it's an awesome addition but I was more than happy with what I was given in the game. It's bigger and more expansive than ever. Of course, I understand the concern but I hope we can all have an intelligent conversation about it and cover what the facts are in this situation.
Hope that helps a little bit. This is an awkward format to answer this question, but I know I could explain it if you were sitting next to me on a couch with some coffee/tea
also this farther down
[-]ZombieWomble 19 points 4 hours ago
The production is one issue, but I think many more people are annoyed by the particular content of the DLC - I expect that if it was a "normal" character, like Zaeed, Shale, Sebastian or Kasumi in Bioware's other titles, it would probably have been met with a shrug and some minor moaning about greedy developers.
But the choice of character is so shocking, given the rest of the ME lore, that it's mind-boggling that it was bundled into DLC. At first glance, the character sounds like they must be plot- and lore-significant, simply because they exist, and the fact that it apparently sits outside the main plotline is baffling. Which raises the question of when the idea of this character was introduced, and if it was taken from the original plans for the main game, or not. The timing of when the team worked on it is really immaterial to its impact on the world and its lore.
So, to sum all that up in a question: There is a lot of anger about the lore surrounding this character. Is it as bad as it looks? Does this character's existence really shake the lore as much as it seems they must, or is it closer in heft to Zaeed or Kasumi?
It's sad, really, because I'm now torn - ME3 really should be a day 1 purchase, given the pedigree, but if this really is significant, plot-shaking content carved off into DLC, then that's not really something that I can get behind.
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[-]jessicamerizan 19 points 1 hour ago
I hope you understand that I'm in a position where to reassure you, it would require me to reveal story spoilers, something that I don't think is acceptable.
Personally, I began my career as an archaeologist (for serious!) and the events surrounding this new character speak to me. However, if it wasn't DLC, it definitely wouldn't have been in the main game. There's other things that didn't fit in the main game that may end up as future DLC.
Again, I think this is a cool edition and definitely intended as a reward for serious fans (many of whom have purchased the collector's edition so this isn't even an issue for them). However, I have played the game without it and the lore surrounding the DLC is in the game already, this character just gives their own take on it.
Was that any less vague or helpful to anyone?
http://www.reddit.com/r/masseffect/comments/q2sl2/i_am_jessica_merizan_community_manager_for/
"[-]jessicamerizan
I think there's a lot of misinformation out there and I wish the guy who made the initial video about it would have had an open mind before jumping to conclusions based on a leak we weren't ready to address. Since I'm a BioWare employee, I know people won't automatically trust me, but I hope people will consider that it wasn't cut content from the larger game. I was in Edmonton when we were finishing the game in November/December and I was in Edmonton again last month when they were working on the Day 1 DLC. It definitely was only possible to do because the main game was in certification (which means we had to wait for people to test it and make sure everything was good etc before we could get the greenlight to sell it). I also played the game WITHOUT the DLC in my first playthrough and honestly, it's an awesome addition but I was more than happy with what I was given in the game. It's bigger and more expansive than ever. Of course, I understand the concern but I hope we can all have an intelligent conversation about it and cover what the facts are in this situation.
Hope that helps a little bit. This is an awkward format to answer this question, but I know I could explain it if you were sitting next to me on a couch with some coffee/tea
also this farther down
[-]ZombieWomble 19 points 4 hours ago
The production is one issue, but I think many more people are annoyed by the particular content of the DLC - I expect that if it was a "normal" character, like Zaeed, Shale, Sebastian or Kasumi in Bioware's other titles, it would probably have been met with a shrug and some minor moaning about greedy developers.
But the choice of character is so shocking, given the rest of the ME lore, that it's mind-boggling that it was bundled into DLC. At first glance, the character sounds like they must be plot- and lore-significant, simply because they exist, and the fact that it apparently sits outside the main plotline is baffling. Which raises the question of when the idea of this character was introduced, and if it was taken from the original plans for the main game, or not. The timing of when the team worked on it is really immaterial to its impact on the world and its lore.
So, to sum all that up in a question: There is a lot of anger about the lore surrounding this character. Is it as bad as it looks? Does this character's existence really shake the lore as much as it seems they must, or is it closer in heft to Zaeed or Kasumi?
It's sad, really, because I'm now torn - ME3 really should be a day 1 purchase, given the pedigree, but if this really is significant, plot-shaking content carved off into DLC, then that's not really something that I can get behind.
permalink
parent
[-]jessicamerizan
I hope you understand that I'm in a position where to reassure you, it would require me to reveal story spoilers, something that I don't think is acceptable.
Personally, I began my career as an archaeologist (for serious!) and the events surrounding this new character speak to me. However, if it wasn't DLC, it definitely wouldn't have been in the main game. There's other things that didn't fit in the main game that may end up as future DLC.
Again, I think this is a cool edition and definitely intended as a reward for serious fans (many of whom have purchased the collector's edition so this isn't even an issue for them). However, I have played the game without it and the lore surrounding the DLC is in the game already, this character just gives their own take on it.
Was that any less vague or helpful to anyone?
