Bioware...

Due to all of the criticism and whining about Mass Effect 3's ending, the co-founder of Bioware announced today that they are currently making a new ending, with new details being released in April.

Calling criticism of Mass Effect 3's ending "incredibly painful," the co-founder of BioWare, the studio behind the game, said today that changes for the game's conclusion are in the works.

He promises an update on those plans next month.

"Since the game launched, the team has been poring over everything they can find about reactions to the game—industry press, forums, Facebook, and Twitter, just to name a few," BioWare's Ray Muzyka said in a post on the company's official forums. "The Mass Effect team, like other teams across the BioWare Label within EA, consists of passionate people who work hard for the love of creating experiences that excite and delight our fans. I'm honored to work with them because they have the courage and strength to respond to constructive feedback.

"To that end, Exec Producer Casey Hudson and the team are hard at work on a number of game content initiatives that will help answer the questions, providing more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey. You'll hear more on this in April. We're working hard to maintain the right balance between the artistic integrity of the original story while addressing the fan feedback we've received. This is in addition to our existing plan to continue providing new Mass Effect content and new full games, so rest assured that your journey in the Mass Effect universe can, and will, continue." [Emphasis added by Kotaku]"

Many Mass Effect 3 fans have been complaining about the game's ending just about since the game launched earlier this month. (See the endings here. Warning: they're full of spoilers.) They've complained that it failed to give the multi-game, multi-year saga closure. Opinions have been sharply divided, even among writers of this site. One writer was for it. One was against.

Some fans started a petition, imploring BioWare to change the ending. Others complained to the federal government.

Muzyka's statement highlights the conundrum BioWare faces: maintain the artistic integrity of their work or accede to fan demands. It's possible in an interactive medium that the two are not incompatible. That's what BioWare will have to figure out now.

Muzyka didn't just extend critics of the ending an olive branch. He also had a word for those who have gotten nasty:

"Some of the criticism that has been delivered in the heat of passion by our most ardent fans, even if founded on valid principles, such as seeking more clarity to questions or looking for more closure, for example – has unfortunately become destructive rather than constructive. We listen and will respond to constructive criticism, but much as we will not tolerate individual attacks on our team members, we will not support or respond to destructive commentary."

Muzyka's full note is worth a read. It's gracious but not a full acquiescence. It reads like the note of someone who's felt some hurt about this and wants to improve his team's game while maintaining a positive relationship with fans. Is there a way that everyone can win? We will find out in April.

We've been asking BioWare for at least a week to comment on the ending. We're happy to see them break their silence.

http://kotaku.com/5895215/bioware-is-wor...t-3-ending


I'm... I think this is stupid. Regardless of how bad the endings were, an ending is entirely the property of the writers and theirs to mold as they see fit. Whining and crying shouldn't be enough to make people change what they wanted the outcome of their story to be. I hope this doesn't set a precedent for a bad trend.

The important part is that Bioware caved in.

People asking for things to change in a game isnt something new after all.

I've been avoiding single player since I started hearing the bad endings. There's no way I wanted to invest how much time I have and get a horrible payoff in the end. While I do think it's kind of silly that they're changing the ending, if done right then it could be really good. Perhaps a free DLC pack that amends the ending or something, but a patch that completely rewrites it would be weird.

Regardless, Multiplayer is addicting. Collecting all the things have proven to be extremely fun.

Others complained to the federal government.

What the royal hell.

I will laugh so hard if they charge money for this new ending. Along with a sigh knowing that this DLC will do amazing in sales.

I'll also laugh if that one theory people speculated is actually right and bioware takes credit for it.

What the royal hell.

Someone actually sent a complaint to the FTC about BioWare failing to deliver on promises made with Mass Effect 3's ending.

Someone actually sent a complaint to the FTC about BioWare failing to deliver on promises made with Mass Effect 3's ending.

by my knowledge, ME3 still had 3 or so endings based on choices. but they were still somewhat similar.

I have no intention of playing the series, but I can't see that complaint holding up since multiple endings DO exist in the game.

... right?

Also, what is it with Sci-fi genre and dissapointing fans on the 3rd go? Matrix, Star Wars Ep 3, Transformers 3 (okay the 2nd wasn't good either too), Spider-Man 3 (ok im stretching at this point but that spider was still radioactive.)

Edit: Just read a very well written article on the problem with the ending posted by one of the commenters. Loaded with spoilers, but Mass Effect never had my interest anyways.

http://www.gamefront.com/mass-effect-3-e...are-right/

I can understand a bit better now. not sure about the whole lawsuit thing though.

The multiple endings are denoted by 3 colors.

That's essentially the difference lol. You aren't given any kind of information as to what happens after. All your decisions from before the final choice are meaningless.

IMAGINATION

by my knowledge, ME3 still had 3 or so endings based on choices. but they were still somewhat similar;

I'm... I think this is stupid. Regardless of how bad the endings were, an ending is entirely the property of the writers and theirs to mold as they see fit. Whining and crying shouldn't be enough to make people change what they wanted the outcome of their story to be. I hope this doesn't set a precedent for a bad trend.

It's not unprecedented, a few offended fans with a particular scene of My Little Pony complained loud enough enough that Hasbro changed the episode for it.

Disregard this post.

Regardless of how bad the endings were, an ending is entirely the property of the writers and theirs to mold as they see fit. Whining and crying shouldn't be enough to make people change what they wanted the outcome of their story to be. I hope this doesn't set a precedent for a bad trend.

I would agree with you, if it wasn't public knowledge that the endings we got weren't because they wanted them to, but because "they needed more time to finish the acutal ending, so the lead writer opt for this." They could have re-schedule a little longer, instead of making a rushed final product.

Still, the lead writer of Mass Effect 3 and some others involved already said they didn't want to make another ending. I wonder if Bioware will hire other people for it.

It does press the question though; where does the self-expression of art end, and the consumer good begin? The term "starving artist" exists for a reason I suppose, but in the market compromises sometimes have to be made for the sake of sales and satisfying the market. I guess it just depends on the size and virtue of the company. Kinda on the fence about this. For example, I'd still like MML3 to go somewhere, even if in the hands of someone else; but would it then be just created for the sake of the fans, or a work it's own trying to convey a message? Hmm... I suppose though any direct sequel by it's nature is just in it to take advantage of a pre-existant demographic. ... Really though, can anything with the express design interest of gaining profits be considered expression, or are we just attempting to make the companies producing these things look better in our own minds? Bah, this just takes me back to that circular question I made a blog about a while back, "What is artistic creation?"


Though seeing as this works, I have a few games I could list that I'd like to see the endings redone for. (Radiata Stories, Epic Mickey (same reason as ME3 to be honest), Star Ocean 3, etc). Though at the same time, the fact that I disliked them actually keeps them in my memory, unlike some games that I actually liked the endings of, but can't actually remember the details of. So I dunno.

I wonder what would happen if they didn't tell anyone they you had to pay for the good "real?" ending. There would be a lot less complaints, I guess.

I'd be laughing if the new ending is paid-for.

marketing geniuses.