Despite impressive sales numbers and overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics (read our Mass Effect 3 review), BioWare’s conclusion to the Commander Shepard trilogy has been marred by a myriad of fan complaints – most notably the game’s underwhelming finale. Especially passionate fans have even called for BioWare to develop an entirely new set of Mass Effect 3 endings – endings that actually reflect the hours upon hours that gamers spent individualizing their Shepard’s narrative.
To head-off this groundswell of fan outcry, Mass Effect 3 game director, Casey Hudson, recently opened up regarding how the designers at BioWare feel about the ending – as well as how the team is reacting to fan frustrations.
Hudson addressed the issue in an interview with Digital Trends, among a number of other topics – including the “From Ashes” DLC controversy (a topic Hudson previously addressed) as well as how the BioWare team implements fan feedback in DLC and future games (something the Mass Effect 3 director has also touched on before).
Usually Hudson is able to calm raging gamers who might disagree with a development choice; however, this time, the game director comes across as though he: a) doesn’t entirely understand why fans are upset or b) doesn’t want to paint himself into a corner – given that any updates to the ending (via DLC or otherwise) would require very careful planning by the studio.
Here’s what Hudson had to say about BioWare’s attempted goal with their Mass Effect 3 endings:
I didn’t want the game to be forgettable, and even right down to the sort of polarizing reaction that the ends have had with people–debating what the endings mean and what’s going to happen next, and what situation are the characters left in. That to me is part of what’s exciting about this story. There has always been a little bit of mystery there and a little bit of interpretation, and it’s a story that people can talk about after the fact.
Given the complicated and rich mythos, as well as overall quality of the Mass Effect series storytelling, it’s hard to disagree with the interpretive idea that Hudson had in mind; however, some might argue that the actual endings aren’t so much interpretive as flat-out incomplete. It’s one thing to leave a reader, viewer, or in this case player, with some questions to ponder, such as “where do we go from here?” (we’re looking at you Alan Wake) but the endings in Mass Effect 3 don’t balance those questions out with much closure – and largely leave the fates of fan-favorite characters unresolved.
That said, even if the developers can’t entirely make-up for initial frustrations, as pointed out by Hudson, the studio has a history of implementing fan feedback:
Oh, we pay very close attention to [fan feedback]. It’s very important to us and we will always listen to feedback, interpret it and try and do the right thing by our fans. That’s why if you look at Mass Effect 2 we knew that people wanted to spend more time with a character like Liara, and so we created an ongoing storyline with her as part of the comics and then built it into the DLC stuff, and we’re always listening to fans. We have some really great multiplayer content and some really great single-player content coming over the air, and their feedback will become part of how we design that.
BioWare has a large DLC strategy planned out for the game – and it’s certainly possible that some of these questions will be addressed with add-on content; though, for many, that’s hardly a solution – given the amount of people who won’t be able to download or pay for future expansions.
That said, the most telling aspect of the interview is actually occurring in the comment section – where the one-time Mass Effect 3 faithful are directly calling out the game director:
“Really? this is the slap in the face response they give us after the huge ending controversy?”
“You lied, Casey. You lied to all of us, especially those who have been with you since the beginning. This is not the vision you gave us.”
“So, reading between the lines I got, “DLC. DLC. DLC. SHUT UP AND BUY FUTURE DLC.” I, for one, will not be purchasing any DLC. Didn’t I just pay 60 bucks the the game!?”
While some readers might simply dismiss frustrated gamers as little more than Internet trolls, the overarching tone of the conversation is universally pretty tense – meaning that these aren’t just a few isolated people that have been disappointed. There is a very large demographic of players who aren’t just frustrated – they feel misled.
As mentioned, fans are calling on the development team to offer-up a more satisfying ending – and it’ll be interesting to see how BioWare responds. Unfortunately, it’s hard to imagine that the studio will just sink a couple million dollars into developing a free epilogue.
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Source: Digital Trends
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BEFORE YOU READ, MASSIVE SPOILERS AWAIT. MIGHT WANT TO SKIP THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN’T FINISHED THE THIRD GAME YET. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
I really hate this. I really downright hate this.
Oh, not the endings. I thought the endings were just fine and they need not be changed.
I just hate the conflict between fans.
Okay, before I start ranting, i’m gonna lay down the facts:
I’ve played the first Mass Effect about 4 times with various decisions and difficulties, I’ve played the second about 5 times (the fifth was a run on the PS3), and I’ve finished the third and am working on my second time through. So, no labeling about me not being a “true fan” or some stupid stuff.
Okay, I get it. You wanted your choices to have more impact. That’s perfectly fine.
HERE’S THE THING: THEY DID.
You think you would have as strong as an alliance with the Krogan had you killed Wrex on Virmire and didn’t keep Maleon’s data? NO. Wreav would attempt to destroy the galaxy and Eve would die.
You think you would have had the oppurtunity to have both the Geth and Quarian fleets with you on the final assault, had you not awoken Legion and saved Tali’s honor and kept her part of the Migrant Fleet? Nope. Your link to the Quarians would be severed as would your allegiance with the Geth.
Now, I think I know why people are so upset. You couldn’t have had those people come back and save your Shepard’s ass for helping them in the past. I’m not saying your upset that Shep died, but just at the fact no one you allied yourself could help you. The effects weren’t direct, but they were there. Oh, they were there.
Now, we have the ending. Control, destroy, or synthesize. This is where the trouble starts. We get slightly altered and rehashed ending cutscenes. Well, here’s how I see it: the endings were presenting to give a moral. No matter how hard you try, no matter how much you prepare, somethings you just can’t change.
I took the synthesis ending. I sacrificed my Shep for the greater good of the galaxy. Because sometimes you’re hopeless against what the higher powers had demanded.
Now, i’m not trying to go all religious on you, I’m Atheist. But we’ve got little brother, us, the galaxy in general, and big brother, the Catalyst, demon-reaper-child, whatever the eff you want to call em. Big brother says you got these choices, what are we supposed to do as little brother here? Beat him up? Tell him, “thats not fair!”
Nope, nope, nope. WE whine. WE complain. WE run to mother, the creator of Mass Effect. That’s right. Bioware. Little brother whines to mommy, big brothers being a jerk, yada yada yada. Change his mind, make it better for me!
SO. IF I NEED TO SPELL IT OUT: YOU GUYS ARE ACTING LIKE SPOILED CHILDREN.
CUT IT OUT. THIS IS AN M RATED GAME. M FOR MATURE. MATURE PEOPLE DON’T ACT LIKE SPOILED CHILDREN.
Thats what I have to say about the subject.
Marry me lol
What was it that reapers said “our reasons are beyond your comprehension.”
Kidding aside, there are legitimate grips in that ending. I still feel slightly insulted by the peace token gesture of Normandy getting away, and seeing crew member getting off that should have died in the ground war. I would have been more ok with everyone dead. You have to admit the ending was lazy they could have made at least 3 different cinematic at the end and given just a little bit more info in each of those. As is though people do have every right to be upset. Each one will have to decide how mature they will handle this disappointment. Doing nothing can be a sign of mature acceptance but doing something can also be sign of intelligent action to attempt change in the world in which we live. There many choices you choose.
You obviously didnt pay attention to the story. If you had you would understand the anger people have. All those choices you wrote down are a waste of space cause at that end they did not matter. Who cares if wrex dies same ending, who cares if you had the geths with tali or not didnt matter.
You are the only one acting like a spoiled kid. Do not post unless you understand the flaw with the ending to the game.
So what if it didn’t matter in the end? Isn’t it the journey that counts?
Life is like that too dude, no matter what you do, you end up dead and, no, your choices wouldn’t matter because you’re dead.
This man deserves a Nobel Prize, a Medal of Honor, and a Pulitzer.
I hate the endings for none of the reasons you listed. I’m okay with a sad or morbid ending, but i would prefer an optimistic and happy one instead.
I have a problem with the fact that the ending of ME3 took everything that made ME series so unique and threw it out the window. None of your choices meant anything in the final battle, no matter if you rushed through the game or if you took your time to complete everything, you get the same ending experience with no variations. And part of why Mass Effect is (Was?) a great series because we the players had the option of creating the ending we wanted with our decisions. Which in ME3 our decisions suddenly didn’t matter any more.
We were promised by Bioware that there was going to be at least 16 different endings and we certainly did not get 16, one could argue that we got one ending with slightly different changes throughout.
I’m also distraught by the ending because of the lack of questions answered and the amount of questions i had raised by the end of it.
**************SPOILERS*********************
Why do the mass relays HAVE to be destroyed? Who is the Starchild thing? If he controls the reapers why is there not a way to shut him down? If a mass relay is destroyed it is supposed to destroy all life in the system that it was located, so what happened to everyone with a relay in the system? WTF was the Normandy doing running from the battle? How did the end up from flying away from the relay explosion to crash landing onto jurassic park planet?
I could go on with the questions i have that are left unanswered, also the ending doesn’t give us any CLOSURE. We get Stargazer talking to a little kid about what shepard did, and then he says “Okay, one more STORY?” this could imply that shepard’s journey is nothing more than fabrication in a fabricated universe, talk about a kick in the groin. Back to the closure, we don’t see how our decision pans out or effects the galaxy, how spending all of our time playing the game and not getting to see the final outcome, we don’t know if the peace between the quarians and geth will last, or if the krogan will obey and not start another war.
We aren’t whining kids about some bad ending, we are consumers who are not content with the crap ending that was made, and if you were actually a fan of the series and had emotionally invested in the story then you too should also be frustrated with this crap ending to a great trilogy of games.
Why did the mass relays need to be destroyed? As others have said this leaves the remnants of the largest galactic fleet ever assembled stuck in orbit of a dessimated earth. This leaves the mass effect series nowhere to go. If there is mass effect 4 it has no choice but to be set before the events of ME3, and then we are left with a franchise stuck in star wars mode. What I mean by that is we never get stories in its original medium set after the battle of endor. Shepard dying is OK but galactic civilisation coming to an end is not.
I love these games but I shouldn’t need DLC to explain why the ending is the way it is.
Such a sense of entitlement. Nerds really bug me sometimes.
The owners of Mass Effect have just as much right to screw up the ending to possibly the best science-fiction series of the new Millennium if they want to… but in doing so, they are really doing a disservice to their fans, the people who shoveled out their hard-earned money to the company, and to themselves even more.
As an artist, performer, or writer, one must be aware of their audience as well as their own tastes.
That said, if Mass Effect 3 is not the real ending of the series, there may be room for interpretation here, but BioWare has made it fairly clear that this is the end. No matter how much Hudson says, “Mass Effect is about uncertainty and mystery,” you don’t end an awesome novel by giving less than 33% resolution to everything that happened. Good stories follow these rules, Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution.
BioWare skipped the Resolution, where the problems and issues are supposed to be resolved and the tension released. Instead, they gave us plot-inconsistency, more conflict and problems, and worse, NO explanation of what actually happened or was going on. We received some quick screens of various things happening to the Normandy.
The only actual conflict that was resolved was the Reaper Struggle, and it can almost not be called a Resolution, since the ending actually presented more problems than it provided a resolution. Primarily, the destruction of the Mass Relays SHOULD have resulted in all of the most important Star Systems being destroyed as well, including Earth’s system. At the very least, it would have meant that half the galaxy was stranded at Earth… including the races that cannot eat Earth’s food. There wouldn’t be nearly enough resources to even care for the needs of 10% of the people stuck there.
Will I pay for new DLC? Depending on the content and the price… I still love the series, but as long as these are the only endings provided, I will not accept them.
i was going to comment but you pretty much hit the nail on the head here
I just don’t have a clue how they think they will sell DLC for this game when the ending pretty much means none of your struggles mattered there is no resolution. I love this series but I have all the DLC for all the games, but I will not buy another piece unless it is a new ending. I am sure other people out there are with me on this. That has got to hit Bioware’s and EA’s bottom line spread sheets. Hell after this ending I am not sure I would be willing to play another Bioware game knowing that they are willing to kill off all you hopes and dreams for the characters they made you love.
Pretty much everything you did in the first 3 games was for nothing because everybodys cut off from one another, and all the aliens stuck at earth are helpless(dead). So everybody lost.
Apparently there’s an overall distaste for the provided endings. Here’s how ithink it should end. At the last minute Saren returns, and you have to do a rap battle through your dialogue tree.
For anyone who got the secret ending where you see Shepard in rubble, isn’t that a HUGE indication that the events that took place on the Citadel never really happened? Think about it, what’s more likely, Shepard did do all the things on the Citadel, survived that MASSIVE explosion, re-entered the Earths atmposphere and crash landed and survived without any protective gear? Or, after Harbinger blasts you Shepard passes out, and the secret ending where you see him in rubble is CLEARLY still in London meaning he has yet to defeat the Reapers or get to the beam and on to the Citadel, and quite possibly failed to do so, or some sort of DLC will come out that picks up with what really happens after Harbinger lasers Shepard.
boy, I hope your right for I’m really bummed out.At work all I talked about was Mass Effect 3 the past year and the other 2 games that they even knew when the game came out. They would kid me about how many days ,then hours till the game came out, for I had it off and the next several days off, just for the it. When I came back to work they asked how it was , I told them how it ended and now my co-worker who was going to buy the first Mass Effect game for her husband because of all the talk I did on it, will not .
Worst….article discussion…ever
This guy sums it up, it’s a long video but it explains what the gaming community feels is wrong with the game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFq531vkNOY&feature=g-all-u&context=G2d7045eFAAAAAAAAFAA
This video is very good to, slightly less long.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H_A7SeawU4
I agree w/ everything about the ending not being all that great. I was emotionally stuck in the series but then the endings took me out of it. There should be an epilogue to our decisions from Mass Effect 3
I (perhaps foolishly) interpreted the ending as Shep dying after a final reach for the control panel, then lucid dreaming about the cost of this failure with the boy representing the guilt he/she has been dreaming about throughout the game.
Which of course means any future DLC will clarify that somehow Shep got the job done, was picked up, the universe wasn’t destroyed and Bobby Ewing walks out of the shower.
Wait, what’s Family Guy?
As an ending it is fine, BUT only if you didn’t save everyone along the entire series! If wrex died in the 1st, not everyone survived ME2, and you did t get every race to help in me3, then sure I can see the current “perfect” ending being fine. But to those, me included, who saved everyone, helped everyone, everyone surviving me2, and still recruiting EVERY race that you can in me3, then no the ending is a slap in the face.
Online I see, over and over, people who get and share my feelings toward Mass Effect 3′s endings. Then I read Casey Hudson’s comments and it’s absolutely clear they don’t get it. (Obviously they don’t share it.). They think I’m compkainig that I didn’t get enough time to say goodby to my beloved friends. or I wanted a sunshine and daisies ending in which everyone lives and all is rebuilt. And I’m left totally feeling slapped across the face all over again.
If you have to make dlc that weaves in the ending making sense, then you either made the wrong game or the wrong ending.
And they couldn’t even accept the ramifications of their own ending, by the way, with that faux ending of Joker hopping out of the Normandy along with your *smiling* LI.
I’d have been happier if the game ended before the platform rose, looking down at Earth, with the “you did good kid.”. Finally Shepard could pass the torch of responsibility. And the galaxy would deal with her decisions along the way.
All I can figure out is that they wanted to kill the series. Otherwise, it makes no sense.
Google the dark energy ending. It would have rocked – a decision that still funneled the ending, but didn’t undo everything you’d done, AND gave the reapers real reason for existence. Man what an epic story and decision that would have been.
in the end guys….. its just a video game……this talk about change…. hehehe i wish people would think about change where it matters… it’s just a video game man. i love mass effect, passed all three, end for me was definitely incomplete and that is life, sometimes you get what you want…most times not lol. it’s a shame people are this passionate about a game, imagine if people were this passionate about real life maybe s*** would actually change. as far as this game goes here’s my 2 cents. If bioware rushed the ending to release it sooner for profit they should definitely take it back, if it was actually an artistic intent i would say keep it as is. and last but not all, if in 5 years this is the best you can come up with… hehehehe… listen to your fans and make it a little better Bioware