Mass Effect 3's Ending Was Intended To Polarize

[Pinky's Brain]

DEEP endings are a crutch for bad writers.

So are cliche endings.

It might be, but it's also the professional choice.

You can put in twists, personal tragedy, heroic sacrifice ... but in the end, you should know that you are marketing your game to people seeking an escapist fantasy with a feel good ending and thus should provide it ... especially if that is what you have been giving them for 2 games. Kicking your customers in the balls at the last moment is simply unprofessional.

 

[zehydra]

Wow, they raised $27,000 to change a game's ending? What the hell is wrong with these people? The absurdity and inanity of fandom knows no bounds I see.

You are completely wrong!
First off, in the meantime, they did raise $55,282..

Secondly, they are not doing it solely for the purpose of getting a new ending!
They are mainly doing it for the kids, all of the money raised has already gone to Child's Play, even if the ending doesn't change, they will have helped a whole lot of children!

In fact I would like to ask you to refrain from calling this effort an absurdity/insanity of fandom, as those donations are actually making a difference completely unrelated to the Mass Effect Universe.
Actually I'm in no position to make demands, but I would like you to read a bit more about the subject before posting crap like that!
http://retakemasseffect.chipin.com/retake-mass-effect-childs-play

Look, I know the money is for a good cause, I get that. But the ultimate motive is to get the writers to change the end of a story, and that is bullshit. It's not you, the player's story, it's theirs. Deal with it.

I don't mind donating to child's play. I DO however have a problem with this kind of petition.

You make it sound like we're threatening Bioware to get what we want. That's not the case. First of all, we can't do that. We've already sunk our money into the game, all we can do is refuse to buy DLC.

Second of all, we're not going to (At least I'M not) do anything if we don't get what we want. We probably won't buy any DLC, but we'll do that for the same reason we buy or don't buy anything, whether we think it'll be worth our time and money. I don't hope they'll change the game because we demand it, I hope that the decision to end the game the way they did was unpopular enough among THEM that someone within the studio decides they can think of a better one, that I hope I'll like to.

It's not about rights or what they "Have to do", I think the ending sucks, they can change it, and most of us would very much like that. Simple as that, just like any other criticism. They don't have to listen at all if they don't want to, but I should point out that Bioware have already built their game based heavily around feedback. They have no problem listening to their fans.

You can't honestly say that Bioware doesn't have a right to do with they want with their art because they can do what they want with their art. That's ass backwards.

They take criticism, not because they have to but because hearing critiques on your work is healthy, and can make you a better writer. Maybe somebody else noticed something that you didn't, or saw things from a perspective that you'd never thought of. Stories don't spring fully formed from the head of Zeus, every bit of fiction is in reaction to something, even if it's just life itself.

To suggest that an outside suggestion will in some way insult or tarnish a story is ludicrous. If you can't have confidence with your work under scrutiny, that's a problem with the work not with the scrutiny. The scrutiny is the result of the work being processed in the context of the real world, the world that we all have to live in, the world that all fiction is based on and therefore already affected by. If Bioware can honestly say that they can't think of a better way to end the series, that's up to them. We at least deserve to know so we can move past the bargaining stage of grief, get through depression, and reach acceptance.

This ISN'T an outside suggestion, it's a petition! It's a form of protest!

 

[zehydra]

Wow, they raised $27,000 to change a game's ending? What the hell is wrong with these people? The absurdity and inanity of fandom knows no bounds I see.

You are completely wrong!
First off, in the meantime, they did raise $55,282..

Secondly, they are not doing it solely for the purpose of getting a new ending!
They are mainly doing it for the kids, all of the money raised has already gone to Child's Play, even if the ending doesn't change, they will have helped a whole lot of children!

In fact I would like to ask you to refrain from calling this effort an absurdity/insanity of fandom, as those donations are actually making a difference completely unrelated to the Mass Effect Universe.
Actually I'm in no position to make demands, but I would like you to read a bit more about the subject before posting crap like that!
http://retakemasseffect.chipin.com/retake-mass-effect-childs-play

Look, I know the money is for a good cause, I get that. But the ultimate motive is to get the writers to change the end of a story, and that is bullshit. It's not you, the player's story, it's theirs. Deal with it.

I don't mind donating to child's play. I DO however have a problem with this kind of petition.

you are wrong, It stopped being "their" story the moment they asked us to pay them for it. The moment they said all our decisions would matter , and then gave us this crappy copy and paste crap. If I commision you to make an impressionist painting and you paint me a modernist, I have every right to tell you it is wrong. and I won't pay you

You didn't commission them to make Mass Effect 3. You didn't pay them to make the game, you paid them to play their game.

 

[Atmos Duality]

You can put in twists, personal tragedy, heroic sacrifice ... but in the end, you should know that you are marketing your game to people seeking an escapist fantasy with a feel good ending and thus should provide it ... especially if that is what you have been giving them for 2 games. Kicking your customers in the balls at the last moment is simply unprofessional.

I like to think of it as being professional.
"Professional trolling" anyway.

 

[jpoon]

Easiest way to stop Bioware from producing more shit, stop buying it...

 

[Simonoly]

What annoyed me most was that they really didn't need to introduce space jesus at the end. The complex, bittersweet endings could have come from the wealth of interesting characters already present.

Personally, in my opinion, the only ending where the mass relays should have stopped working (and not blown up, as that would effectively destroy all the systems with a mass relay in - killing nearly everyone) was the red ending. I like the idea that deactivating the Reapers had the unfortunate consequence of also deactivating the mass relays and the Citadel - being free from the Reaper threat forever, but setting back galactic civilisations by many years. The mass relays blowing up in the other two endings just doesn't make sense.

The blue ending could have only been achievable by not killing the Illusive man after he explains how to control the Reapers and persuades you to help him take control. Maybe he says "Hey, Shepard, don't deactivate the reapers as this will also deactivate everything else and cause a load of issues for space travel etc". To which you instead decide to allow the Illusive man to take control of the Reapers - preventing further Reaper attacks in the galaxy. The consequence of this being you have to let the the Illusive man, who is a bit mental, have control over the most powerful alien/synthetic race in the galaxy. As a result perhaps humans become the dominant species and maybe they're a little tyrannical towards the other species. Maybe this leads to a war between humans and other alien races. Maybe stuff gets a little complicated...

Choosing between these two endings would be a difficult decision. Do I want to set galactic civilisation back, but unite all the species and maintain peace? Or do I want to give control of the Reapers to the illusive man which will inevitably lead to war in the future but will allow all mass relay links throughout the galaxy to stay operational? I think I would find it hard to decide between the two of these.

Hmm I'm tired. What I just wrote might make no sense of might actually be worse than the actual endings. Someone want to tear this apart? Off to bedlum.

 

[Simonoly]

Double-post spaz.

 

[CleverCover]

Its just a bunch of people who have a sad that Shepard actually fucking dies at the end of her trilogy.

Sorry not everything is shit rainbows and vomit skittles in magic fairy wonderland, but sometimes shit just doesn't end that way.

That said; they ought to at least put something in to detail the outcome of the player's choices throughout the game. Other than that the endings were good; leave them alone.

Actually, my main issue wasn't the lack of rainbows. That I expected. I had planned my first save to have Shepard die. My issue was the complete destruction of the Mass Relays and having my ace pilot find himself on some random planet with my romance partner who was with me on Earth just three minutes earlier getting blown to bits by a laser. It didn't bring any closure because I'm more confused about what happened than if it had just ended with Shepard closing her eyes one last time next to Admiral Anderson. Or the fact that I felt like it was just one giant test against some AI god that I managed to somehow pass and decide the fate of the galaxy myself.

Like I passed the test, here's the prize. What?

If they could explain that, then I'd be that much happier.

 

[Ross Fixxed]

I didn't feel much, that's the problem. The ending i got didn't make sense,.and the trippy air to everything made it detached and unreal.

From genuine heartache to just meh. That's not polarizing, that's just a let down.

It literally pulled a deus ex and a deus ex human revolution.

 

[Proverbial Jon]

Hmmm...still not directly adressing how much the ending sucked.
I was actually hoping for a bittersweet ending, a sad ending where Shepard dies, etc, and has some last words with the crew.
A bittersweet ending where the whole mass effect universe actually isn't completely blown up.

I still don't see how/why they would do this, other than to gain more profit, but I think this quote should be added to the main post or something.

I agree. They wanted to provide a bittersweet ending. Fair enough. But it should have been bittersweet for Shepard and not for the player. Shepard should have to make a tough decision at the final stage but the player should still end up with a certain amount of satisfaction from the conclusion, even if Shep does die from it.

What we got was... less than satisfying.

We've had some incredibly positive reactions to Mass Effect 3, from the New York Times declaring it "a gripping, coherent triumph", to Penny Arcade calling it "an amazing accomplishment", to emails and tweets from players who have given us the most profound words of appreciation we've ever received.

That's because its a bloody good game, Mr Hudson. BUT it does not excuse you from the god-awful Tali photoshop nor your dire endings. Two moves that have been seen by many fans as direct betrayals, however good your intentions.

 

[Proverbial Jon]

Snip

I really like your ideas and you make a good point about the mass relays. With the majority of the galaxy stationed above Earth when the relays were destroyed, it means that every race in the galaxy is now stranded in the sol system and can't get back home, essentially dooming everyone anyway. Plot hole anyone?

If the ending really needed boiling down to an A, B or C moment then there were so many other ways it could have been done. I like the trade off idea you mentioned above:

A: Destroy the Reapers but set all civilisations backwards by destroying the mass relays too.
B: Let TIM control the Reapers but end up with an unhinged pro-human control the show.

I would really have to think about this and I feel the ending would be much more satisfying. Especially if they did this before you get to shoot TIM, missing out Space Jesus altogether. I mean damn, what WAS that all about anyway?

And I have the utmost respect for your idea and I mean no offence by this, but the very fact that someone on these forums could write a better ending then Bioware's own writers is frankly a testament to how awful the canon endings were.

 

[sumanoskae]

Wow, they raised $27,000 to change a game's ending? What the hell is wrong with these people? The absurdity and inanity of fandom knows no bounds I see.

You are completely wrong!
First off, in the meantime, they did raise $55,282..

Secondly, they are not doing it solely for the purpose of getting a new ending!
They are mainly doing it for the kids, all of the money raised has already gone to Child's Play, even if the ending doesn't change, they will have helped a whole lot of children!

In fact I would like to ask you to refrain from calling this effort an absurdity/insanity of fandom, as those donations are actually making a difference completely unrelated to the Mass Effect Universe.
Actually I'm in no position to make demands, but I would like you to read a bit more about the subject before posting crap like that!
http://retakemasseffect.chipin.com/retake-mass-effect-childs-play

Look, I know the money is for a good cause, I get that. But the ultimate motive is to get the writers to change the end of a story, and that is bullshit. It's not you, the player's story, it's theirs. Deal with it.

I don't mind donating to child's play. I DO however have a problem with this kind of petition.

You make it sound like we're threatening Bioware to get what we want. That's not the case. First of all, we can't do that. We've already sunk our money into the game, all we can do is refuse to buy DLC.

Second of all, we're not going to (At least I'M not) do anything if we don't get what we want. We probably won't buy any DLC, but we'll do that for the same reason we buy or don't buy anything, whether we think it'll be worth our time and money. I don't hope they'll change the game because we demand it, I hope that the decision to end the game the way they did was unpopular enough among THEM that someone within the studio decides they can think of a better one, that I hope I'll like to.

It's not about rights or what they "Have to do", I think the ending sucks, they can change it, and most of us would very much like that. Simple as that, just like any other criticism. They don't have to listen at all if they don't want to, but I should point out that Bioware have already built their game based heavily around feedback. They have no problem listening to their fans.

You can't honestly say that Bioware doesn't have a right to do with they want with their art because they can do what they want with their art. That's ass backwards.

They take criticism, not because they have to but because hearing critiques on your work is healthy, and can make you a better writer. Maybe somebody else noticed something that you didn't, or saw things from a perspective that you'd never thought of. Stories don't spring fully formed from the head of Zeus, every bit of fiction is in reaction to something, even if it's just life itself.

To suggest that an outside suggestion will in some way insult or tarnish a story is ludicrous. If you can't have confidence with your work under scrutiny, that's a problem with the work not with the scrutiny. The scrutiny is the result of the work being processed in the context of the real world, the world that we all have to live in, the world that all fiction is based on and therefore already affected by. If Bioware can honestly say that they can't think of a better way to end the series, that's up to them. We at least deserve to know so we can move past the bargaining stage of grief, get through depression, and reach acceptance.

This ISN'T an outside suggestion, it's a petition! It's a form of protest!

Protest: an expression or declaration of objection, disapproval, or dissent, often in opposition to something a person is POWERLESS TO PREVENT OR AVOID: a protest against increased taxation.

Petition: A formal written REQUEST, typically one signed by many people, appealing to authority with respect to a particular cause.

And your point is? By that logic, Bioware has openly enabled and requested petitions already by simply creating their social network (An organized forum the purpose of which is for fans to express their opinions directly to Bioware). They don't want people to remain silent. If they did, they shouldn't have handed us a microphone and said "Speak your mind"

You act like people are actively attacking Bioware, like they've brought forth some other point besides that the ending sucks or attempted to force Bioware into submission, when all they've done is be honest ("We want a new ending, we don't want to play anymore without one" The alternative would be to buy new DLC even though we're aware it will disappoint us, you can't ask people to do that just so Bioware don't get their feelings hurt). It's been openly stated on the Facebook page that no insults or attacks on Bioware will be tolerated.

The donation to charity is a way for fans to express their willingness to put their money where their mouth is without simply throwing it out the window.

Nobodies rights are being violated, and nobodies entitled to anything. We know what we want, now Bioware does, what they do with that information will be up to them as it always has and always will be.

 

[darkfox85]

With fairness, there is a point in the criticisms that some people have towards the fans who hate the ending (though I seriously doubt more than a quarter of these people have actually played the trilogy ? they admit as much in their posts.) The fans remind me less of spoilt children and more of Stephen King?s ?Misery,? but the fans aren?t raging that Shepard died, they?re raging that the umpteen decisions of expression and all the additional missions boiled down to nothing but a baffling and lazy conclusion to a colossal trilogy. It makes both the effort and experience of the player pointless. Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Though I may have a problem with the attitude of the fans, I totally support the sentiment (I got the green ending btw. Do I care? No.) Hell, before I was totally prepared for an unavoidable ?bad ending.? Something to the effect that the Reapers would really be unstoppable and despite your decisions having relative effects you all die. If only this were so.

Anyway, I?m sure we all had a blast with the trilogy and through our protests, let?s try not to take the good times for granted.

 

[Crazy Zaul]

I saw this epic troll from twitter:

Guy: I am colorblind, will there be a colorblind mode for ME3?
Dev: Yes, we will release that in the future.
Guy: Good, I was only getting one ending.

 

[VanityGirl]

Hated the ended. Honestly I'm tired of games assuming that the only way an ending can be good is if the main character dies. It doesn't work like it.
Don't get me wrong, I don't expect sunshine and rainbows but the ending was just shitting all around. WTF happened to everyone else?

No BioWare, fuck you.

 

[Simonoly]

Snip

I really like your ideas and you make a good point about the mass relays. With the majority of the galaxy stationed above Earth when the relays were destroyed, it means that every race in the galaxy is now stranded in the sol system and can't get back home, essentially dooming everyone anyway. Plot hole anyone?

If the ending really needed boiling down to an A, B or C moment then there were so many other ways it could have been done. I like the trade off idea you mentioned above:

A: Destroy the Reapers but set all civilisations backwards by destroying the mass relays too.
B: Let TIM control the Reapers but end up with an unhinged pro-human control the show.

I would really have to think about this and I feel the ending would be much more satisfying. Especially if they did this before you get to shoot TIM, missing out Space Jesus altogether. I mean damn, what WAS that all about anyway?

And I have the utmost respect for your idea and I mean no offence by this, but the very fact that someone on these forums could write a better ending then Bioware's own writers is frankly a testament to how awful the canon endings were.

Why thank you. I really wasn't sure whether I was speaking out of my arse or not. I was so disappointed that TIM wasn't used more at the end. I had no choice but to kill him (even though I've been going for a pure paragon throughout the game which was frustrating). TIM was one of the most interesting characters in Mass Effect. His motives were never made clear and the way he toyed with Shepard was great. Cerberus were a huge threat throughout the whole of ME3, so it was kind of turd how they suddenly vanished and did not factor at all into the various endings in any way.

Of course I think an A, B or C ending structure isn't best and I would have loved to have seen something more complex. Bioware could have come up with a simple algorithm to calculate and give you an ending based on both your choices throughout the series, your total EMS and any choices you make within the last 10 minutes. The game is already capable of recognising your choices from Mass Effect 1 and 2 when you import a character and it adjusts itself accordingly. I don't understand why the ending was not given the same treatment.

Space Jesus was just embarrassing - as were those dream bits. I don't know about anyone else, but chasing young boys through the woods in the middle of night is a questionable activity. Even if it's just a dream.

How do you think the green ending could have been done better to actually fit in better with Mass Effect universe? That one has me stumped. I think I probably would have just removed it.

 

[MarsProbe]

Mind you, I haven't gotten that far yet (just finished dealing with the geth). I might not absolutely hate it. But each time I see a thread of poster talking about how horrible it is, I become slightly more worried...

Well, I've just finished the game and so far have only seen one of the endings (the "middle" ending, if you will) and in my opinion, yeh that was rather disappointing.

Anyway, while I'm here, one thing that irks me about that particular ending:

Spoiler

Ok, so at this point in the game, everyone is hanging around earth fighting the reapers, including the Normandy, right? So, you can't imagine anyone having any real need, or reason, to enter a mass relay, right? So, why is it that when the relays get destroyed, we find the Normandy travelling through a relay? Just seems unlikely that the Normandy would do a bunk at that point in time, as they were effectively still right in the middle of the battle with the Reapers.

Still, probably nothing more than a plot convenience, really.