Mass Effect 3 fan files complaint over the game's ending

[MisterBubbles]

People who have bought the game are entitled to whatever they want, good bad or just acting like kids if they want, they paid there money, Bioware should be thanking the fans, how many column inches and stuff has been written on this, maybe some people might even buy the game just to see the ending? ie not played any mass effect games before.

[rmoxon]

Bioware should thank fans for supporting them, but at the same time fans should be thanking Bioware for making great games. Becuase that's what Mass Effect 3 is and its somthing we came probably all agree on.

It's a privalige that we get to play all the great games that are released on an almost weekly basis, to act like spoilt children and demand even more is appalling behaviour IMO.

[Sketcz]

But we're not demanding more (I actually haven't bought ME3 because of all this nonsense).

It's been said repeatedly, but those who disagree with the fans seem to be ignoring an important point: it's not the ending, it's the fact Bioware designers on more than one occasion said stuff like (paraphrasing): "This isn't going to be a generic multi-choice ending, it's going to be based on your actions to the point where there is no specific ending, but rather endless variations of it."

What they released was a generic multi-choice ending where you choose A, B or C.

Even Heavy Rain did a better job at endings than ME3. In Heavy Rain, depending on earlier actions, they stuck together a selection of pre-scripted endings segments. So there were say 8 segments with 3 variations each, leading to what... 512 theoretical combinations? Well, I made that number up (8x8x8), but replaying Heavy Rain, despite its many flaws, it did at least offer the ability to craft your own style of ending through different actions.

ME3 had 3 generic endings. All of which are identical besides the colour of the explosion. Meaning really it had only 1 ending.

If it has 1 ending, why did the developers themselves (not PR people) say that they were crafting a multi-layered kind of ending?

Why would they claim to be doing something they're not?

(right now I'm flying my unicorn)

[rmoxon]

So what you're saying is, it's not about the ending but it is about the ending?

Anyway, I was still always under the impression that Bioware were only talking about how your choices effected things like who lived and who died by the end of the game, rather than some other kind of endings. If you think about it there are no other endings they could possibley do other then either Shepard killing the bad guys or Shepard not killing the bad guys, becuase that's all the story is actually about when you really boil things down.

what did people want from the ending exactly? I'd like one of these "fans" of the series to come forward and actually explain how the game could have ended any differently. And by differently I don't just mean someone should say "what I did should have effected the ending". I'm talking about from a storytelling standpoint, explain how it could have been done differently.

[SuperBeatBoy]

Do love that theory thats been put out there though. Sounds genius, i really do hope its true.

[rmoxon]

You mean the "Its all a dream" rubbish?

Id say its doubtful, and its also awful storytelling if it was true.

Of course by the sounds of it they have already caved and are virtually rewriting the ending for the next DLC they say, so god knows what they will come up with. I have a feeling that the complainers have spoilt it for themselfs here.

Its the equiviliant of everyone in the 70's sending a petition to Steven Speilberg in order to get a New Ending for Jaws and it turns out the shark wasnt really there and everyone was halucinating.

[MartyG]

what did people want from the ending exactly?

Hasn't this already been answered a number of times in this thread? And the reason that so many people are upset with BioWare's product?

To reiterate - BioWare promised an ending that reflected the choices made in the journey from ME1 to ME3 - instead they produced a default ending that reflected none of this. This is why fans have an issue. It's not entitlement, it's not rocket science, it's simply disappointment.

[rmoxon]

Hasn't this already been answered a number of times in this thread? And the reason that so many people are upset with this BioWare's product?

To reiterate - BioWare promised an ending that reflected the choices made in the journey from ME1 to ME3 - instead they produced a default ending that reflected none of this. This is why fans have an issue. It's not entitlement, it's not rocket science, it's simply disappointment.

Not really, no one has actually said what they would have prefered, thats why I was asking.

I keep saying, all your choices in Mass Effect games do nothing but effect who lives and who dies (and who you shag), so your choices in this one were never going to effect anything other than that too. I just dont understand what people expected considering these are fans who have played the previous games.

[MartyG]

Okay - let me state then: People want an ending that BioWare promised that reflects the choices made in the journey from ME1 to ME3.

[rmoxon]

Okay - let me state then: People want an ending that BioWare promised that reflects the choices made in the journey from ME1 to ME3.

But they did. Your choices (which effected who lived and who died) were in effect at the end.

What else did you want? you had no other choices. There was nothing else throughout the entire game that you possibley could have changed through what you chose to do!

[MartyG]

I think we're going circular now

There's a distinct issue here; those who are attached to their Shepard and those who are not - it's one of the few games I've ever played that have made me feel like I'm the director, that I'm in control of the story. It's very unique in that respect and BioWare should be proud of that fact.

It's clear you have no attachment to your Shepard and so how can you ever understand the disappointment? No amount of me laying out the reasons people are upset will alter your point of view because you can't see the issues people have.

If the ending works for you, that's great

[noobish hat]

Ok, I've never played any Mass Effect game, but I think a way that people's choices could have effected the ending would have been to have who lived and who died alter the outcome. So, for example, if you allowed a certain character to die, that character would then be unable to perform some action at the climax, or whatever, thus changing the ending. You know, as opposed to just having the surviving characters standing around while **** explodes in the background. This is just based on what my friend has told me (and he's a big Mass Effect fan who hated the ending).

Think of it like one of the Star Wars movies. If you killed off any of the main characters in the middle of the movie, the ending would have to be totally different. You wouldn't see the same ending each time but with a different set of characters surviving.

[rmoxon]

Ok, I've never played any Mass Effect game, but I think a way that people's choices could have effected the ending would have been to have who lived and who died alter the outcome. So, for example, if you allowed a certain character to die, that character would then be unable to perform some action at the climax, or whatever, thus changing the ending. You know, as opposed to just having the surviving characters standing around while **** explodes in the background. This is just based on what my friend has told me (and he's a big Mass Effect fan who hated the ending).

Think of it like one of the Star Wars movies. If you killed off any of the main characters in the middle of the movie, the ending would have to be totally different. You wouldn't see the same ending each time but with a different set of characters surviving.

What you're talking about is actually what people got. But apparently it's not enough, they wanted more. I've no idea what, all they will say is they wanted more.

[SuperBeatBoy]

Did you watch the YouTube video rmoxen? I think it's nicely done. The all its a dream is describing it simple.

[rmoxon]

Did you watch the YouTube video rmoxen? I think it's nicely done. The all its a dream is describing it simple.

I watched it. Thing is any story ever told could be a dream and simply explained when you think about it. There's a theory like that for virtually every film ever made and one for a few games too.

At the end of the day an intentional "it's all a dream" ending is a cop out. Plus this is mass effect, it's not the latest David lynch movie (yes I understand that several of his films actually ARE dreams from the very beginning, but that's my point, this isn't some surreal experiment). The mass effect games have a very simple story, turning them into somthing they clearly aren't makes them redundant, which is the very thing people were accusing the ending of being anyway.