'Players would be very disappointed in the emotional feeling they got because they didn’t create it', says Irrational boss
BioWare should resist calls for a change in the Mass Effect 3 ending and retain control of their work, two leading developers have said.
Speaking at the Smithsonian, as reported by Vox Games, senior creative director of BioWare Mythic Paul Barnett said that the developer has the right to keep the game’s ending unchanged, even if it is against the wishes of the players.
"If computer games are art than I fully endorse the author of the artwork to have a statement about what they believe should happen," said Barnett.
"Just as J.K. Rowling can end her books and say that is the end of Harry Potter. I don't think she should be forced to make another one.”
BioWare has faced an outcry from disgruntled fans following the game's release, with a Retake Mass Effect petition formed to change the ending.
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Its organisers have claimed that Mass Effect 3 “does not provide the wide range of possible outcomes that we have come to expect” from the series.
Irrational Games boss Ken Levine, also speaking at the Smithsonian, said he believed if BioWare gave in to such pressure and altered the ending, users would end up disappointed anyway.
"I think if those people got what they wanted and (BioWare) wrote their ending they would be very disappointed in the emotional feeling they got because they didn't really create it," he said.
"I think this whole thing is making me a little bit sad because I don't think anyone would get what they wanted if that happened."
There is plenty of precedent in other media - see the fads for Directors Cuts in movies, or more specifically what happened with Blade Runner, the death of Sherlock Holmes or the end of Dickens' Great Expectations, to name but a few famous cases. I don't see any reason why games, a media where changes are much easier to make thanks to patches and DLC, should avoid these issues with authorship.
Whether people would get the kind of emotional payoff from an altered ending is another question - with the current ending in there, any radical revision is bound to be seen in a different light. It's up to Bioware to determine if the situation is beyond saving, but I think their fans have been very clear on the issue, and it would be surprising if the effect wasn't noticeable in retail sales, DLC sales and multiplayer usage stats.
When it comes down to it, what happend is that BioWare broke every promise they made.
Their is no choice in the ending, not a single decision matters by the end, it just boils down to what colour of explosion you prefer.
Besides the end even causes many jaring plot holes which are never explained and even go against what Mass Effect stands for and it's themes.
Very much like the deal with Tali's face, it just seems increadibly lazy on Biowares part to just cut and paste at the end and twick a few things and claim its different.
What fans want, is just some closure and the chance to see how the choices made effect the characters in the series. I can't say that it is to much to ask for.
It really just comes down to that Bioware made promises that they didn't deliver. It's been stated several times in interviews and marketing that decisions made in the game will impact the ending. Unfortunatly that isn't true. As a gamer i feel cheated and lied to. I got really disappointed when i saw the ending and realized there was no point in making geth sentient and making peace between the quarians and geth.
For being an aspiering gamedeveloper i really can't defend ME3s ending even if the game right up to the end is amazing. And I also truly belive that EA is somewhat responsible for the ending being what it is. I've lost count of how many times EA has falsly advertised and misslead fans of something only to boost sales. And ME3 somes to prove my point. That is if people arent to lazy to cross reference what's been said advertised to what's in the game.
