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BBB Opinion Piece: ME3 ending false advertising ("completely shape... outcome")
- Thread starter Wario64
- Start date
hearsaybear
Member
Seriously though, did the quote about the ending actually being shaped by your previous choices make any of you run out and buy the game? YOU WERE GOING TO BUY IT ANYWAYS.
Imagine if all these fanatics diverted this energy towards something useful...
Imagine if all these fanatics diverted this energy towards something useful...
You could also make the argument that Military readiness changes what happened in the ending.
Cerebral Assassin
Member
I have never played a ME game, & I think the way the game was sold was disgraceful, I understand the point about not buying anymore of their games but that isn't going to make anyone who feels cheated by ME3 feel better.
Is this what we are doing now?
I never said it was a good argument.
Why do you keep going on about fanatics when this thread is based on an entirely reasonable article by someone from the BBB?
bigdaddygamebot
Member
What...like Kony?
Don't lump all of us into the greater unwashed that gets their news from status updates on facebook.
Bioware marketed poorly for a high profile product. They got called out for it.
Wow, the Bioware defense force is coming out strong in this thread. New wave of hiring?
Maybe it's still more clear in my mind since I just finished the game a few days ago, but it's a completely valid complaint that your previous actions, in the end, have basically zero real influence on the outcome.
Maybe it's still more clear in my mind since I just finished the game a few days ago, but it's a completely valid complaint that your previous actions, in the end, have basically zero real influence on the outcome.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
I despise Bioware as much as the next guy but damn I hate Mass Effect diehards. It's a freaking VIDEO GAME! Quit crying about an ending.
This is probably the most disagreed I've been with the general online gaming community in a long time...I just finished ME3 yesterday and I didn't find the ending to be bad, actually some parts of it still surprised me even though I had plenty of things spoiled for me through my Twitter timeline and elsewhere (Even some guy at my work I talked to I asked him "please don't tell me spoilers" and the next thing out of his mouth is a spoiler)
Actually, I feel pretty pissed off that I had to worry about the ending for most of the 36 hours I was playing the single player campaign. Can I make some sort of claim against the gaming community for making a mountain out of a molehill? The entire game is a long and drawn out ending to the series, not just the last 10 minutes.
Actually, I feel pretty pissed off that I had to worry about the ending for most of the 36 hours I was playing the single player campaign. Can I make some sort of claim against the gaming community for making a mountain out of a molehill? The entire game is a long and drawn out ending to the series, not just the last 10 minutes.
its a product that's sold in shops....
like a car,a steak,a house,services....
when it costs money to the consumer to get your product,the companies that sell stuff have some obligations.
bigdaddygamebot
Member
Uhm...sure?
KingItachi
Member
They did not make a mountain out of a mole hill.
KingItachi
Member
The Elite
BOSS
A written, produced, directed work of fiction isn't really comparable to any of those things you just posted.
This is more akin to a tv box set, a film or a book. All of which can have endings filled with plot holes and unfulfilled promises that leave you feeling salty (my favourite new GAF word). This is the first time I've seen an uproar about an ending quite on this scale. I don't think it's warranted.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
bigdaddygamebot
Member
You're setting the bar pretty low when it doesn't need to be.
A masterpiece isn't required.
Something that shows that Bioware respects their product and their consumer base would have been nice though.
That's mostly because Mass Effect save mechanic is unique. I carried my Shepard through all 3 Mass Effect games and I have a strong emotional investment in the franchise. Bioware always provided me with the "illusion" of choice and every pre-release material seemed to indicate that the ending would be shaped by all my decisions in the previous ME games.
This is simply not the case. I can totally understand why the backlash was that strong. Either way, it's a unique situation that probably won't repeat itself because no other game uses the same system.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
Why? What do they owe their customers besides the game itself? The ME fanbase is just horrid. As bad as Twilight fans it seems.
Cerebral Assassin
Member
Misleading consumers to sell your product is false advertising, not all the uproar is to do with the quality (or lack of) of the ending.
oh my...
this means i care for the ending of supermariobros????
the ending matters in mass effect because its a story-driven game.
not a plain shooter or platformer.
you go along through all 3 games and when the times comes for explanation and closure the game fails destroying its story.
if anyone cares about the story in mass effect then it matters to him.simple.
if you play quickly a different game every week and don't care,you don't care.
and also mass effects selling point was the story.not the shooting part.
i can post advertisments in this thread but i don't have time to mess with ea's viral posters.
Well, this wasn't worth a BBB complaint but I sure won't downplay the badness of the ending.
Everyone needs to read this post; the BBB article isn't calling for Bioware to be held legally accountable, it's just saying that their PR department fucked up and gamers are allowed to call them out on it.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
It's still a video game story. People are raising money, sending cupcakes, spending their time and energy contacting new outlets because they're upset about the ENDING OF A VIDEO GAME. There is something wrong here.
Takamura-San
Member
Stopped reading after this:
I enjoy clever puns, not forced ones.
A piece of narrative gets diminished by the medium that it uses to communicate it?
I enjoy clever puns, not forced ones.
A piece of narrative gets diminished by the medium that it uses to communicate it?
Why?
The article should've expanded upon the promises/lies made, beyond the ending, for greater impact:
“In Mass Effect 3, you know you need to take back Earth, but the path to victory is less clear at the outset. You won’t just find some long-lost Reaper “off” button," - Casey Hudson
“Don’t expect to win the loyalty of the galaxy by simply completing a series of fetch quests” - Casey Hudson
“… part of what you’re trying to do is save the universe so you can live in it. That’s part of the promise, I think, for any great IP. It has to be a world worth saving… I think Mass Effect has that quality to it. If you get rid of the Reapers and win that, wouldn’t it be amazing to just live on the Citadel or just take a ship to Omega? That makes sense.” - Casey Hudson
"There are many different endings. We wouldn’t do it any other way. How could you go through all three campaigns playing as your Shepard and then be forced into a bespoke ending that everyone gets?" - Mike Gamble
"It’s not even in any way like the traditional game endings,where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got ending A, B, or C.....The endings have a lot more sophistication and variety in them.” - Casey Hudson
“[The presence of the Rachni] has huge consequences in Mass Effect 3. Even just in the final battle with the Reapers.” - Mac Walters
“And, to be honest, you [the fans] are crafting your Mass Effect story as much as we are anyway.” - Mike Gamble
“Because a lot of these plot threads are concluding and because it's being brought to a finale, since you were a part of architecting how they got to how they were, you will definitely sense how they close was because of the decisions you made and because of the decisions you didn't make” - Mike Gamble
“Fans want to make sure that they see things resolved, they want to get some closure, a great ending. I think they’re going to get that.” - Casey Hudson
“The whole idea of Mass Effect 3 is resolving all of the biggest questions, about the Protheons and the Reapers, and being in the driver's seat to end the galaxy and all of these big plot lines, to decide what civilizations are going to live or die: All of these things are answered in Mass Effect 3.” - Casey Hudson
“There is a huge set of consequences that start stacking up as you approach the end-game. And even in terms of the ending itself, it continues to break down to some very large decisions. So it's not like a classic game ending where everything is linear and you make a choice between a few things - it really does layer in many, many different choices, up to the final moments, where it's going to be different for everyone who plays it.” - Casey Hudson
“In Mass Effect 3, you know you need to take back Earth, but the path to victory is less clear at the outset. You won’t just find some long-lost Reaper “off” button," - Casey Hudson
“Don’t expect to win the loyalty of the galaxy by simply completing a series of fetch quests” - Casey Hudson
“… part of what you’re trying to do is save the universe so you can live in it. That’s part of the promise, I think, for any great IP. It has to be a world worth saving… I think Mass Effect has that quality to it. If you get rid of the Reapers and win that, wouldn’t it be amazing to just live on the Citadel or just take a ship to Omega? That makes sense.” - Casey Hudson
"There are many different endings. We wouldn’t do it any other way. How could you go through all three campaigns playing as your Shepard and then be forced into a bespoke ending that everyone gets?" - Mike Gamble
"It’s not even in any way like the traditional game endings,where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got ending A, B, or C.....The endings have a lot more sophistication and variety in them.” - Casey Hudson
“[The presence of the Rachni] has huge consequences in Mass Effect 3. Even just in the final battle with the Reapers.” - Mac Walters
“And, to be honest, you [the fans] are crafting your Mass Effect story as much as we are anyway.” - Mike Gamble
“Because a lot of these plot threads are concluding and because it's being brought to a finale, since you were a part of architecting how they got to how they were, you will definitely sense how they close was because of the decisions you made and because of the decisions you didn't make” - Mike Gamble
“Fans want to make sure that they see things resolved, they want to get some closure, a great ending. I think they’re going to get that.” - Casey Hudson
“The whole idea of Mass Effect 3 is resolving all of the biggest questions, about the Protheons and the Reapers, and being in the driver's seat to end the galaxy and all of these big plot lines, to decide what civilizations are going to live or die: All of these things are answered in Mass Effect 3.” - Casey Hudson
“There is a huge set of consequences that start stacking up as you approach the end-game. And even in terms of the ending itself, it continues to break down to some very large decisions. So it's not like a classic game ending where everything is linear and you make a choice between a few things - it really does layer in many, many different choices, up to the final moments, where it's going to be different for everyone who plays it.” - Casey Hudson
bigdaddygamebot
Member
They don't owe their fanbase anything.
A smart move would be manage their consumer base's expectations more effectively and encourage them to continue their relationship with Bioware.
They certainly didn't do that with a product that was clearly rushed and the ending was a complete 180 from the previous two games in the terms of the illusion of choice affecting the ending.
We live in a world where people think they are supporting breast cancer by posting the colour of their underpants in their facebook status.
The fact that some fans got together and raised money and sent cupcakes is a huge shock to you?
The truth of it is that it's EASY to organize like minded people these days. Bioware has been so full of shit for the last two years, the fact that they are getting called out on Mass Effect 3...not as big a deal as you might believe it to be. Keep buying their games...or don't.
diffusionx
Gold Member
A lot of people got really upset, felt "betrayed", etc., at the Sopranos ending. They were upset for a while. They spent 6 seasons watching this crew over 7 or 8 years. They felt emotionally attached to the characters and wanted to see what happened to them, definitively.
But then, a week later, they moved on. ME fanbase needs to take a hint. It's a fucking videogame. This is just embarrassing.
But then, a week later, they moved on. ME fanbase needs to take a hint. It's a fucking videogame. This is just embarrassing.
Yeah, I think a lot of people are confused on what the BBB really is.
Nobody is asking for legal action, though. Selling your copy of the game, not buying DLC and spreading the word that ME3 is shit sounds pretty sensible to me.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
EXACTLY!
Banana Kid
Member
You do realize you're on a video game forum, right? If you want to say "YOU SHOULDN'T CARE ABOUT VIDEO GAMES" this is the wrong place.
Videogames are not television. You have no input on a TV show. When a unique feature of a game is letting the player shape the story, you expect that in the game.
Bioware didn't deliver, people react. That would have never happened if Bioware hadn't promised that the player would influence the ending.
Bioware didn't deliver, people react. That would have never happened if Bioware hadn't promised that the player would influence the ending.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
There is a difference between carrying about the industry and medium then obsessing about the ending of a game. There are degrees of carrying, you do realize that, right?
It wouldn't have happened if people didn't try to live vicariously through a character of a video game.
Absolutely. If you're unhappy with the decisions they made, sell your game and get out now.
With fans like this it's no wonder people like George Lucas make broad changes to their creations. He's just trolling the shit out of fans who think they should somehow have control over things.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
Agreed.
bigdaddygamebot
Member
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
They're easily just as bad.
bigdaddygamebot
Member
I dunno...their spirit is clearly not as broken as Sonic fans appear to be. Sonic fans just keep taking it over and over...and over.
WrenchNinja
Member
A lot of people got really upset, felt "betrayed", etc., at The Final Problems' ending. They were upset for a while. They spent seven years reading about this detective over many stories. They felt emotionally attached to the character and wanted to see more of him.
But then, they never moved on and Conan Doyle brought him back. People who think commercial narrative works can't change after the fact need to take a hint. It's not fucking art or special or shouldn't be called out on for poor writing. This is just embarrassing.
diffusionx
Gold Member
... and if you don't get what you expect, you feel disappointed, but move on and try something else. Because hey, let's get real here. This isn't the first disappointing videogame and it won't be the last.
I do blame EA for this - this is what happens with brand-building. A bunch of crazy people latch on to it and feel like it's their own creation.
Zomba13
Member
And you are spending time and energy getting worked up about it on a video game discussion forum. Who the fuck really cares if people care about the ending of a video game or not?
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
Honestly, the type of passion that is being displaying in the hardcore ME fanbase is reminiscent of
Worked up? I'm having a pleasant morning actually. Having some yogurt, listening to Colin Cowherd, I'm quite relaxed. Simply pointing out the ludicrous behavior that is taking place in the hardcore ME fanbase.
Worked up? I'm having a pleasant morning actually. Having some yogurt, listening to Colin Cowherd, I'm quite relaxed. Simply pointing out the ludicrous behavior that is taking place in the hardcore ME fanbase.
Actually from what it seems like to me, they would have been complaining anyway. People were going to bitch no matter what.
so like
is this a contest of who cares less or what
cause i care the least
Well I could care less than you.