The Mass Effect 3/BioWare Thread

[Clockwork Knight]

^

It's both sad and hilarious how pretty much anyone can dramatically improve the ending

 

[CROmagnon]

Meanwhile on BSN some people things are fighting to change what is really wrong with the game, not just the ending.

Fucking idiots!

 

[Oesophagus]

This fucking thread

 

[Angthoron]

Meanwhile on BSN some people things are fighting to change what is really wrong with the game, not just the ending.

Fucking idiots!

Let's face it, who wouldn't want to skullfuck those empty eyesockets?

 

[RPGMaster]

Meanwhile on BSN some people things are fighting to change what is really wrong with the game, not just the ending.

Fucking idiots!

Fucking necrophiliacs.

 

[dextermorgan]

Those people are hopeless. News of the FTC complaint made it to some obscure (I think) gaming website. What do they do? Flock to the comments section and flood it with apologist commentary. It wasn't us, it was just one guy. Please daddy Bioware don't hurt us any more.

To whomever filed these claims, thank you for making the rest of us look bad. I look forward to your Court Martial from the Fleets.

Ah yes, "Fans filing FTC complaints". The implication that a large number of customers and fans are filing complaints against the company based on the individual posting of one person. We have dismissed this claim.

This is utter ludicrousness. I am a member of the Retake Mass Effect movement, and I can tell you right now that this is NOT an action any of us sanction. This is the act of a single person. This is EXTREME on the side of insanity, and I think I speak for everyone in that we do not support this kind of blatant ignorance. We do not support this FTC complaint, nor do we support the Better Business Bureau filing.

And so on and so forth.
http://www.gamepur.com/news/7426-fa...after-mass-effect-3-ending.html#comment-11198

 

[hiver]

Emotional engagement

 

[CROmagnon]

Those people are hopeless. News of the FTC complaint made it to some obscure (I think) gaming website. What do they do? Flock to the comments section and flood it with apologist commentary. It wasn't us, it was just one guy. Please daddy Bioware don't hurt us any more.

To whomever filed these claims, thank you for making the rest of us look bad. I look forward to your Court Martial from the Fleets.

Ah yes, "Fans filing FTC complaints". The implication that a large number of customers and fans are filing complaints against the company based on the individual posting of one person. We have dismissed this claim.

This is utter ludicrousness. I am a member of the Retake Mass Effect movement, and I can tell you right now that this is NOT an action any of us sanction. This is the act of a single person. This is EXTREME on the side of insanity, and I think I speak for everyone in that we do not support this kind of blatant ignorance. We do not support this FTC complaint, nor do we support the Better Business Bureau filing.

And so on and so forth.
http://www.gamepur.com/news/7426-fa...after-mass-effect-3-ending.html#comment-11198

:hahahaohwow:

What is with these morons from the "Retake Mass Effect movement" they made up so they can pretend they have a purpose in life?

What do they expect? That EA is going to give Bioware 3 mil. $ (at least) to make a new ending with voiceovers and all?

For fuck sake. Even if that happened they would need to rewrite the whole damn game. Judging by the level of competence Bioware presented they would fuck it up even more.

 

[dextermorgan]

It's like a harem of Volourns all screaming their heads off at the neighbor because he called police on their abusive hubby Bioware.

 

[Malpercio]

I'll be honest, i don't even understand what's going on anymore.

But seriously, doesn't Bioware have some sort of PR department? They have been in the business for what, 20 years? And yet they act like they don't know what the company-clients relationship even is. Every time they speak things get WORSE.

 

[Surf Solar]

I'll be honest, i don't even understand what's going on anymore.

But seriously, doesn't Bioware have some sort of PR department? They have been in the business for what, 20 years? And yet they act like they don't know what the company-clients relationship even is. Every time they speak things get WORSE.

Bunch of people caring too much for the game (this includes both Biodrones and Codexers) trying to troll or trying to make shit up in fanfiction ignoring the fact that Mass Effect is just a B-Movie Experience Actiongame.

"Marauder Shields" is just a slightly funny reference to a random enemy that pops up behind a corner to stop you in some semi-cutscene right before the end.

 

[hoopy]

Only 1 Out of 5 Mass Effect Gamers Plays As A Woman

Dear 82% of Mass Effect gamers,

I'm tempted to tell you that you're doing it wrong.

According to The Final Hours of Mass Effect 3, the superb iPad app from journalist Geoff Keighley, the people who make Mass Effect say that only 18% of gamers play as a female Commander Shepard.

And that's not even the worst of it.

I know that feel, bro. I couldn't sleep last night because I kept thinking about all the misogynist pigs who played SMB 2 as Mario instead of Peach.

But even if you play as FemShep, it doesn't mean I'm not shaking my head at you. I play as a FemShep engineer.

Look at that chart from Keighley's app. 64.59% soldiers!

What is with all of you soldier players? Did someone tell you that the Mass Effect games are shooters or something?

Comments from user Archaotic:

Further proof that a significant majority of Mass Effect fans is composed of goddamned idiots. Bro Soldier Shepard is the most boring, generic protagonist in the history of gaming. You people couldn't even pick a character with SOME Biotic powers? I bet most of them played Renegade too.

Gamers, as always, disgust me.

Shame on them for being generic and boring. That's the problem. If BioWare keeps seeing people ONLY picking the dumbest, most generic option, they'll stop putting any effort into the options "nobody" picks.

Soldier is generic, boring and lazy. The more people just make their characters generic, bald male asshole soldier Shepard, the less nuance BioWare is going to bother to put into the games, and the less effort they're going to put into any other options. After all, is it worth it for them to balance six classes when 75% of the userbase never uses the other 5? They'll just make it all about dumbass bro soldier dude Shepard and fuck over everyone who dares to actually be interesting with their character.

It makes me angry because THAT MANY people making the most generic, dull choice means that BioWare will listen to the majority and focus subsequent games on that style of play, weakening or taking away emphasis from Biotic-users.

Do you really want a game where the ONLY choice is bald male Soldier Shepard? Is that fair to everyone else? Because with BioWare's increasing history of terrible decisions, that is entirely within the realm of possibility. Homogenization is bad.

If you really don't understand why that huge of a majority of gamers picking generic renegade male soldier Shepard sets a bad precedent, I don't know what to tell you.

 

[Sulimo]

Haha, oh, wow. It's a shooter, so I play a soldier. Easy as that. ME1 had recharge times that took ages, so if you went biotic you were basically a soldier who died faster, couldn't use as many weapons and was able to use some abilities once in a blue moon. No need to necessarily gimp yourself. After all, isn't it the story that matters so much in bioware games?

This just keeps on delivering. Carry on Bioware, carry on.

 

[Volourn]

FUCK YEAH! I love I N T E R N E T D R A M A !

 

[Sceptic]

Incoming lulz.

http://www.gamingnexus.com/FullNews/Why-youre-wrong-about-Mass-Effect-3s-ending/Item25904.aspx

There's some pretty good stuff by the author in the comments too.

(and if this has already been posted - fuck you too)

 

[Xor]

It follows the same template followed by some of the most beloved and creative works of science fiction that have ever existed. Let's start with Stephen Spielberg.

Is there a man in Hollywood that's more money than Stephen Spielberg or has been stretching all the way back to the 1970's?

 

[CrustyBot]

Casey Hudson speaks about Mass Effect 3's controversial ending

There’s been a lot of discussion and debate about the conclusion of Mass Effect 3, so I thought I’d share my perspective with you here. I’ll avoid outright spoilers, but I’d still recommend finishing the game and experiencing it for yourself before reading this.

For the last eight years, Mass Effect has been a labor of love for our team; love for the characters we’ve created, for the medium of video games, and for the fans that have supported us. For us and for you, Mass Effect 3 had to live up to a lot of expectations, not only for a great gaming experience, but for a resolution to the countless storylines and decisions you’ve made as a player since the journey began in 2007. So we designed Mass Effect 3 to be a series of endings to key plots and storylines, each culminating in scenes that show you the consequences of your actions. You then carry the knowledge of these consequences with you as you complete the final moments of your journey.

We always intended that the scale of the conflict and the underlying theme of sacrifice would lead to a bittersweet ending—to do otherwise would betray the agonizing decisions Shepard had to make along the way. Still, we wanted to give players the chance to experience an inspiring and uplifting ending; in a story where you face a hopeless struggle for basic survival, we see the final moments and imagery as offering victory and hope in the context of sacrifice and reflection.

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.

But we also recognize that some of our most passionate fans needed more closure, more answers, and more time to say goodbye to their stories—and these comments are equally valid. Player feedback such as this has always been an essential ingredient in the development of the series.

I am extremely proud of what this team has accomplished, from the first art concepts for the Mass Effect universe to the final moments of Mass Effect 3. But we didn't do it on our own. Over the course of the series, Mass Effect has been a shared experience between the development team and our fans—not just a shared experience in playing the games, but in designing and developing them. An outpouring of love for Garrus and Tali led to their inclusion as love interests in Mass Effect 2. A request for deeper RPG systems led to key design changes in Mass Effect 3. Your feedback has always mattered. Mass Effect is a collaboration between developers and players, and we continue to listen.

So where do we go from here? Throughout the next year, we will support Mass Effect 3 by working on new content. And we’ll keep listening, because your insights and constructive feedback will help determine what that content should be. This is not the last you’ll hear of Commander Shepard.

We look forward to your continued support and involvement as we work together to shape the remaining experiences in the story of the Mass Effect trilogy.

Thanks for taking this journey with us.

Casey Hudson

But wait, there's more! Commetary to BioWare's PR disaster. Apparently some guy calls all of BioWare's moves out in advance. It's a long thread and I won't read through it or quote anything, just breeze through it and see the butthurt firsthand.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

 

[Dexter]

Hey Codex help me understand one thing...

Wasn't Mass Effect planned as a trilogy right from the start? So how come they didn't have the ending figured out let's say right after the first mass effect. I'm not a writer and never will be but it seems fucking strange when you're working on a story for a multi million dollar AAA games and you don't have the story and it's main outlines for a whole trilogy written and figured out for example during the first game's production...

As I see it they didn't have a clue about the ending of their trilogy right up until the October/November 2011 which seems fucking weird...

This looks like a good theory: http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/s...nged-dramatically-big-big-spoilers.250066288/

 

[Kashrlyyk]

Interesting: Doing it wrong. Biowares salvage of ME3 begins. http://social.bioware.com/1120213/blog/211812/

 

[waywardOne]

I'll be honest, i don't even understand what's going on anymore.

But seriously, doesn't Bioware have some sort of PR department? They have been in the business for what, 20 years? And yet they act like they don't know what the company-clients relationship even is. Every time they speak things get WORSE.

No, their PR department for years were the actual devs, which is what helped build their fanbase. Bioware lost sight of what made them great, and in the process, started sucking their own dick, making the fans superfluous, because they were more than happy to do that for them.

 

[Lord Haw Haw]

Brent Knowles speaks out about ME3 from his home on Elba:

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/10087809/1


Brent Knowles, who was the lead designer on Dragon Age: Origins, and one of the old guard Bioware developers (Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights), and, when he quit Bioware, made the interesting observation that "Bioware is no longer the company I remember". He's talked a little bit about the ME3 situation on his blog, but they're mainly comments to other posts. Check it out at: www.brentknowles.com

One thing he did say, I thought I would share (if it's already been posted, I apologize), as it's a sentiment I happen to agree with:

"I read one recent blog post where the writer basically said "the ending was awesome because it was just like a movie" and I think she was missing the point.

It is a game. Not a movie.

And more specifically, its a role-playing game. The players are *part* of the game. Part of the process of building and experiencing the game, much more so than with most other forms of entertainment.

Entitlement is really a right, for the gamer, because they have participated, actively, in the game itself.

Again, I can't speak to the actual ending myself, because I have not played it but in general I'd say a Role-Playing Video Game Trilogy Ending should (try to) do the following:

1. Reward the player's choices throughout the series. The big stuff they did should be noted. They should *feel* like they had a unique impact on the world.

2. End on a positive note. This is really important for video games...life in general is full of s****y stuff happening all the time. When I invest a hundred hours into a game I need to walk away feeling like a hero.

When you waste a couple hours of a person's life with an artsy/depressing movie or short story or even a novel, it is more forgivable because the time spent is less. And presumably the consumer knew what they were going into when they started. Certain directors create certain styles of movie. Certain writers write specific types of fiction.

On the other hand somebody playing an epic role-playing video-game trilogy is going to *expect* to be the hero and save the universe. That's why they are playing the game. When expectations don't match reality, disappointment is created.

It might be an artistic/creative move to go with a different style of ending but I feel its the wrong choice, especially for a videogame *trilogy*. Make your middle game bleak if you want to, but end the series on a high note."

EDIT: Fixed the formatting of the quote, and for those looking for the original comment, it's in the following link. Scroll down a few comments to find it.

http://blog.brentknowles.com/2012/03/11/mass-effect-3-and-day-one-dlc/#disqus_thread

The comments are beyond gratifying. Perhaps he can escape and retake Edmonton, Alberta. If so I shall join as a partisan.

 

[Serious_Business]

So yeah I've played this

Suffice to say, I fucking enjoyed it. I'm done posting here for now because I don't fit in anymore. I can't be ironic about this, can't play the part of the no-joy frustrated shithead with a critical sense that's out of control. I just really fucking enjoyed this, no irony involved at all

I'm not going to go on a pretentious rant about how the Codex can't figure out not to be entangled with its rationalist-nihilistic perspective on the world, because you're all plebs and couldn't even understand even if you wanted to (well, wanting and understanding is the same thing). Yeah yeah I'm spitting nonsense again, fuck you. I think the point of life is joy and happiness and everything that doesn't reach this is below me, so your shit is below me, I'm afraid, this is why you're inferior. Yeah, I know, you like the melodrama and the pseudo-superiority, you also like sucking my dick. No, I didn't get a girlfriend, get the fuck out of here, I'm too old for your stupid shit.

What I'm saying is, go to hell faggots. Certainly am not going to make a goodbye thread or say I'm leaving forever, but you're not going to see me for while. Who gives a shit right? I guess the people who care will catch it. I'm assuming some of you misguided bozos care because I have over a hundred "brofists" now and frankly that kind of disgusts me, so there it is my nigs, I'm out, you have a good one, if you're still able to. You know. If you still have the capacity to feel, which I doubt you do. Goddamn plebs and parasites. I've always fought fire with fire, but sometimes you get burned with this stupid shit

 

[sea]

Interesting: Doing it wrong. Biowares salvage of ME3 begins. http://social.bioware.com/1120213/blog/211812/

Surprised that post still exists. It must be past the moderators' bedtimes. I think it's a bit overly cynical even for Codex standards, but damn if that's not needed right now. Shame this sort of thing is swept under the rug by just about every media outlet for fear of waking the giant.

 

[Aeschylus]

This is actually becoming rather interesting. I personally don't care much about Mass Effect, but if this whole hubbub gives EA a few black eyes then I will be happy.