After nearly an entire month of angry rants, charity drives, and cupcake making, the hysterical reaction to the ending of Mass Effect 3 is finally winding down, with most of the major groups claiming victor after Ray Muzyaka stated that Bioware has been listening and will be doing something with what they have heard.
This is no victory, and it depresses me greatly that people are thinking of it as such. To be fair, I think it's another sign of just what the gaming community is capable of when it wants to get something done. A lot of people could learn a thing or two from how we do things, and that part of this makes me ecstatic that we once again are showing our stuff.
But the entire idea of this bothers me. A lot of people have spent a lot of time trying to get across the idea that games are in fact art. So much so that there is a temporary exhibit in The Smithsonian currently on display about that very idea. It has taken us a while to get to this point, and there are plenty of people who still aren't convinced. If video games are art, then they are the creative work of others. The entire campaign to change Mass Effect 3's ending is not only refuting the idea that games are works of art, it is supporting the idea that games are a product. Games can be changed yes, but the line that we are crossing is where we are demanding that a creative decision be reversed to fit our desires. Regardless of how that decision was made, it should only be changed if the developers feel it needs to be.
Being a fan of a game is like being a fan of a band. A band needs fans to survive, but the band is the one in control of the music they ultimately For example, take Green Day. They spent a good decade or so playing solid punk music. Then they decide to go in a bold new direction with their album American Idiot, doing a rock opera of sorts that still has it's roots in classic punk. The reaction was very mixed, Green Day became a much bigger band, but many long time fans accused them of selling out and demanded that they go back to their old style. Yes they should at least listen, but ultimately the band creates the music. They are the ones who decide what they should do creatively. The fans can give input, but they can not demand things of the band. Once the band releases it's music, it's released and any changes to it are the bands business. If you created a song, and were happy with it, would you change it based on what other people think? Same thing with game designers and production teams most of the time. Bioware does a better job than a lot of companies at listening to fans and reworking their next game based on that feedback. Hell, they pretty much are starting off with fan comments and ideas on where to go with the next Dragon Age title. But once a developer has decided they are happy with the game as it is, we can not demand they change it for us. They are not obligated to give us exactly what we want from them.
There is truth in the idea that Bioware did not deliver on it's promises, but most games don't in some fashion or another. The idea that we should take a developers word as a written code or commandment is absurd. Developers are people too, and they make changes about their decisions. You don't have to like them, and you are welcome to be angry about them. I am by no means saying that people don't have the right to be upset by Mass Effect 3, but there are lines that are being crossed that bring to mind a lot of somewhat difficult to answer questions. You deserve a quality experience, but does that mean that you are a consumer of art or of a product? Can it be both? Is it the developers responsibility to craft an experience for fans, or to take creative risk?
At the end of the day, Bioware is a creative company. They made creative decisions, and regardless of the way it has been handled and what they told us we were getting, they should not feel obligated to change the ending, or any part of their game for that matter, based on what we think. They have final say as storytellers, and that right needs to be respected. You may hate it with every fiber of your being, but you need to respect the idea that this is the way they wanted to tell their story.
That said, again, I applaud the people who took a stand in a respectful way and simply told Bioware and EA their thoughts, and were not forceful about it. Moving mountains is awesome, and the idea of changing the way companies like EA do business (which really seems to be at the core of the issue) is certainly worth it, but we need to be very cautious of how we approach the issue. Sacrificing creative choice for us to be somewhat happy is not in anyone's best interest.
Now that Bioware has made their decision though, we will wait and see if we end up truly happy, or if we end up in an even worse place than before...
As always please share, post this where ever you can. Comments are always appreciated, any at all. They make me happy.
Until next time!
Image Sources:
#1. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEincgdQ96Kvcj5NFCApCBVZTq5P5x5nW06-G3xh0TYAZQ6fA0jIvtDdOPSmrbsMeeCqZg2cU-VhLz75HuAOj7HjJhsAU5AiNW0HEOFZCYXwU0bzmUIRA5ZNeDCVj2ZcyjLwKNKzTmOiDSY6/s1600/SHEEN-WINNINGMUSTACHE.jpg
#2. http://fourplayer.wpr.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/mass_effect3_review1.jpg
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