Because this Mass Effect 3 ending controversy simply refuses to die, here’s the game’s director, Casey Hudson, offering his official take on the matter.
If you’ve been living inside a cave for the past few weeks, you may be the only person on the planet spared the ongoing saga of the ‘net’s collective anger at BioWare over the ending of Mass Effect 3. Seriously, people are pissed about this thing.
In reaction, Mass Effect 3 director Casey Hudson took to the official BioWare forums to offer his opinion on the issue. Odds are solid it won’t quell any rage you might have, but if anyone is benefiting from this hoopla it is we game journalists who subsist entirely on your delicious pageviews.
Have a look:
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.
Continuing, Hudson points out the positive critical reactions the game has received, before adding that BioWare values the opinion of its fans. “Throughout the next year, we will support Mass Effect 3 by working on new content,” he says. “And we’ll keep listening, because your insights and constructive feedback will help determine what that content should be.”
Notably absent from Hudson’s spiel is any word on how BioWare intends to honor fan opinion in the future. BioWare is listening, he claims, but whether the company will make any moves to adhere to your collective opinions on what direction the saga of Shepard et alia should take is still largely up in the air.
Feel any better now? You’re being heard! No idea if that will actually change anything, but at least the company is aware of your existence beyond the idea that you’re all just self-sustaining money fountains, right? That’s something, isn’t it?
Source: BioWare Social Network, via G4
