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Was the ending a hallucination? - Indoctrination Theory


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#13926
WiNDJAA

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One of my first posts on this forum ever, but I've been following this thread for quite some time now.
I really have no idea if anyone has brought this up, but I found this, its Harbinger his 'speech' and he says the following:

www.youtube.com/watch

Human, you've changed nothing.
Your species has the attention of those infinetly your greater.
That what you know as Reapers are your salvation through destruction.
You will surrender your potentional against the growing void.
We return, and you will rise.
You cannot stop us.
We are the Harbinger of your perfection.
We will bring your species into harmony with our own.
Your species will be raised to a new excistence.

Also, pardon my for my grammar/spelling mistakes, English is not my native language so :)

Modifié par WiNDJAA, 15 mars 2012 - 10:31 .


#13927
Ruhrpottpatriot

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Dobn't know if someone has posted this on the last 500 pages but look here:
Posted ImagePosted Image

The files clearly state that it is Shepard in the rubble, and that he is alive. Except bioware wants to fool us even with the game files itself.

Modifié par Ruhrpottpatriot, 15 mars 2012 - 10:28 .


#13928
Unschuld

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Sad how few seem to consider that the "final hours" thing may be blatant disinformation...

#13929
Guest_simfamUP_*

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Completley out of topic but BG I and II EE have been announced :-)

#13930
Rifneno

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Yeah... I mean it's not like if you take the control or synth ending it makes Shepard's eyes turn like indoctrinated TIM and Saren's, or that the console for the control ending is internally labeled as the bad choice, or Shepard oddly only lives in the destruction ending where the kid tells him he'll die and he winds up engulfed in flames, or...

Yeah no, I'm sure they didn't plan it. All the countless pieces just HAPPENED to fall into place as they did.

#13931
blueboxblues

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lex0r11 wrote...

WHY does the kid in the vent answer: "you can't help me." ? why would a normal, REAL kid say that to shep in that situation? the codex entries in the game state, that indoctrination is best done slowly, because the mind decay will be slower too, and the victim can be of use for months or longer. slow, patient indoctrination through the whole game, maybe the entire series?


This has ALWAYS bothered me, since the demo, the same way no one helps a school-aged boy board a ship IN THE MIDDLE OF TOTAL DECIMATION. Sense: does not has.

#13932
FrostByte-GER

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Ruhrpottpatriot wrote...

Dobn't know if someone has posted this on the last 500 pages but look here:
Posted ImagePosted Image

The files clearly state that it is Shepard in the rubble, and that he is alive. Except bioware wants to fool us even with the game files itself.


This has been posted several times^^

#13933
PlumPaul93

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Hashbeth wrote...

Final Hours provides no hard evidence other than these facts:
The ending was planned. That could mean anything, that indoc was real, or it wasn't. Both would have been 'planned'


It's funny, someone who believes in the indoctrination theory says something about hard evidence.

#13934
jules_vern18

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Martukis wrote...

jules_vern18 wrote...

Guys, are you still seriously sticking to this whole indoctrination thing? It was just bad writing...the "Last Hours" documentary clearly confirms it. They show pictures of Mac Walters' ending development notes and nowhere does any of it mention indoctrination or any other subversive plot lines: the endings we got were the literal endings were were always supposed to get.

I would *not* say, however, that ME3 is "dead" just because they planned these endings from the beginning (which was our original assumption before people started coming up with conspiracy theories in a desperate attempt to hold on to hope).

I'll say it again: it was just bad writing. It was a poorly-constructed, plothole-filled, badly-executed, nonsensical, bad ending to a good game. That's it. Feel free to download the Final Hours app if you don't believe me.

Time to let it go, refocus, and continue lobbying Bioware for alternate ending DLC.

Also, inb4 desperate attempts to make the indoctrination theory "work" in light of the documentary.


 How very imaginative of you, Jules Vern.


Awesome, thank you.  Gonna face reality and join the rest of us in protest, or...?  Hey, I'm just glad that threads are no longer going to by constantly swarmed by "Teh ending was a dream!!!1!!" posts. 

...I should go.

#13935
MissMaster_2

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I can not believe that professorial writers would write something like that and make it canon.

Who knows maybe Final Hours might have been a plant to fake us out.

#13936
Black Master 09

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I Read this quote from The Matrix, and I instantly thought of the final 2 choices.
"You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes."
I think this was mentioned a few pages back.

#13937
Hashbeth

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Rifneno wrote...

Yeah... I mean it's not like if you take the control or synth ending it makes Shepard's eyes turn like indoctrinated TIM and Saren's, or that the console for the control ending is internally labeled as the bad choice, or Shepard oddly only lives in the destruction ending where the kid tells him he'll die and he winds up engulfed in flames, or...

Yeah no, I'm sure they didn't plan it. All the countless pieces just HAPPENED to fall into place as they did.


^ THIS

#13938
MissMaster_2

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jules_vern18 wrote...

Martukis wrote...

jules_vern18 wrote...

Guys, are you still seriously sticking to this whole indoctrination thing? It was just bad writing...the "Last Hours" documentary clearly confirms it. They show pictures of Mac Walters' ending development notes and nowhere does any of it mention indoctrination or any other subversive plot lines: the endings we got were the literal endings were were always supposed to get.

I would *not* say, however, that ME3 is "dead" just because they planned these endings from the beginning (which was our original assumption before people started coming up with conspiracy theories in a desperate attempt to hold on to hope).

I'll say it again: it was just bad writing. It was a poorly-constructed, plothole-filled, badly-executed, nonsensical, bad ending to a good game. That's it. Feel free to download the Final Hours app if you don't believe me.

Time to let it go, refocus, and continue lobbying Bioware for alternate ending DLC.

Also, inb4 desperate attempts to make the indoctrination theory "work" in light of the documentary.


 How very imaginative of you, Jules Vern.


Awesome, thank you.  Gonna face reality and join the rest of us in protest, or...?  Hey, I'm just glad that threads are no longer going to by constantly swarmed by "Teh ending was a dream!!!1!!" posts. 

...I should go.


Did you even read the OP? The real ending is stupid and full of plot holes they can't be for real with that.

#13939
njfluffy19

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Earthborn_Shepard wrote...

PlumPaul82393 wrote...

NReed106 wrote...

The theory is a good spring board for them, but it was not their intention, just that simple.


This. This. This.


Yeah.. I've come to believe that too.


:sick:

So I guess Tali and Garrus starved to death on some garden world. How depressing.

#13940
byne

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PlumPaul82393 wrote...

Hashbeth wrote...

Final Hours provides no hard evidence other than these facts:
The ending was planned. That could mean anything, that indoc was real, or it wasn't. Both would have been 'planned'


It's funny, someone who believes in the indoctrination theory says something about hard evidence.


I dont see how being able to identify what is and is not hard evidence is funny coming from people who have put together a completely reasonable theory without any hard evidence at all.

If anything, we should know hard evidence better than anyone.

#13941
IronSabbath88

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Those of you who originally believed and let a few people who came into the thread ruin your optimism on the ending...

Why? They aren't showing you any concrete proof on the fact that the endings AREN'T this theory. That Final Hours thing showed no signs that there wasn't more coming. Furthermore, they mention a part where Shepard gets taken control of by the Reapers but they cut it.... our theory is basically the SAME EXACT THING except done differently!

#13942
CptData

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njfluffy19 wrote...

Earthborn_Shepard wrote...

PlumPaul82393 wrote...

NReed106 wrote...

The theory is a good spring board for them, but it was not their intention, just that simple.


This. This. This.


Yeah.. I've come to believe that too.


:sick:

So I guess Tali and Garrus starved to death on some garden world. How depressing.


No.
The Normandy never left Sol.

#13943
magica87

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I watched this great video posted a few pages ago ...or are we all crazy or is there something underneath...

#13944
VonJedi1

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In terms of indoctrination and the kid, as well as the hum Vega hears,

The growl has been gone over a hundred times, but in the indoctrination codex entry it states that those that have been or in the process of being indoctrinated can be used as "signal boosters" for the indoctrination. Is it so weird to think perhaps the hum Vega is hearing is from Shepard, and that the Reapers know he's going to be making contact with higher powers of the other races.

Not to mention he's the one beacon of hope everybody has, he's a lot more useful to them as an agent then dead. If Bioware didn't write it this way, then it's the most hilarious stars align screw up in writing ever.

#13945
themidz

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from Bioware facebook:

Mass Effect 2
We appreciate everyone’s feedback about Mass Effect 3 and want you to know that we are listening. Please note, we want to give people time to experience the game so while we can’t get into specifics right now, we will be able to address some of your questions once more people have had time to complete the game. Let’s also remember the man/woman that started this journey for us. What do you love most about your Commander Shepard? Please try to keep the discussion “spoiler-free."

#13946
lex0r11

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IronSabbath88 wrote...

Those of you who originally believed and let a few people who came into the thread ruin your optimism on the ending...

Why? They aren't showing you any concrete proof on the fact that the endings AREN'T this theory. That Final Hours thing showed no signs that there wasn't more coming. Furthermore, they mention a part where Shepard gets taken control of by the Reapers but they cut it.... our theory is basically the SAME EXACT THING except done differently!


yes, at least do it for marauder shields.

#13947
blueboxblues

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IronSabbath88 wrote...

Those of you who originally believed and let a few people who came into the thread ruin your optimism on the ending...

Why? They aren't showing you any concrete proof on the fact that the endings AREN'T this theory. That Final Hours thing showed no signs that there wasn't more coming. Furthermore, they mention a part where Shepard gets taken control of by the Reapers but they cut it.... our theory is basically the SAME EXACT THING except done differently!


AGREED. I know someone who said he wouldn't believe the theory and how no one was arguing against it with concrete proof...and proceeded to not argue against it at all.

#13948
CptData

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IronSabbath88 wrote...

Those of you who originally believed and let a few people who came into the thread ruin your optimism on the ending...

Why? They aren't showing you any concrete proof on the fact that the endings AREN'T this theory. That Final Hours thing showed no signs that there wasn't more coming. Furthermore, they mention a part where Shepard gets taken control of by the Reapers but they cut it.... our theory is basically the SAME EXACT THING except done differently!


It didn't even fully get cut: Shepard shots Anderson when TIM does something with his hand.

Shepard is not FULLY indoctrinated but s/he's fighting indoctrination.

#13949
MissMaster_2

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PlumPaul82393 wrote...

Hashbeth wrote...

Final Hours provides no hard evidence other than these facts:
The ending was planned. That could mean anything, that indoc was real, or it wasn't. Both would have been 'planned'


It's funny, someone who believes in the indoctrination theory says something about hard evidence.


Oh evidence you say...wait...here....

Let me just drop this HUGE OP here.


Edit: Figure
I should add this here and in bold red text. If I ignore your PM, its
not because I dont find whatever you sent me interesting or relevant to
the theory (to be fair, it could mean that, but it probably doesnt), its
just that I'm getting tons of PMs so its hard to keep track of stuff.



Also, this is a good read, as it is more a more organized collection of theories and evidence than my haphazardly copy/pasted post is.



Is
it just me, or does the entire ending sequence not feel like it fits in
with the overall theme of the ME universe? It just feels.... off. I
cant really describe it.

It seems otherworldly and kind of unfocused.

And when you talk to TIM, you get those weird black things at the edges of the screen.

I
am of the opinion that once reaching the Citadel, severely wounded, and
losing blood, Shepard hallucinated most of the ending sequence.

It would explain why the kid was there.

The
weird blackness when TIM tried to control you and you tried to fight it
could be Shepard fighting against blood loss and trying not to pass out
(hence the darkening around the edges of the screen)

It explains
how even the crew who were wounded with you near the portal in London
ended up on the Normandy, and even why the Normandy was leaving Earth in
the first place, its because Shepard isnt thinking clearly, and these
are just the images dreamed up by a deteriorating brain.

Also,
there is a likelyhood that having spent so much time around Reapers,
Shepard is slightly indoctrinated. The Synthesis ending really doesnt
make much sense, other than the fact that the little kid seems to think
it is the best option. We never get an explanation on how jumping into a
beam of energy that kills us will do anything like what it is said it
will do.

The Reapers used Shepard's slight indoctrination and
confused state as part of a last ditch effort to get Shepard to take
himself out of the picture, since they knew that if they didnt do so,
Shepard was about to win.

tl;dr blood loss leads to reaper victory

Hallucination makes the most sense, in my humble opinion.

Maybe
Bioware will release a DLC where it turns out the horrible endings were
all just a hallucination that you experienced after you got knocked
unconscious by Harbinger while heading towards the portal thingy, and
then you can go on to have endings that actually make sense.

Edit: fixed my weird formatting
Edit 2: Adding a list summarizing the theories that people have come up with in the thread, compiled by Turtlicious:


recap:

Thought on the ending:

THE THEORIES. (by Turtlicious)

There
are two theories for WHEN Shepard's subtle indoctrination starts, these
theories will be numbered, there are two theories when his full blown
hallucinations start. These are lettered. Simply pick a number and a
letter, or just a number, or just a letter. This way, you can have your
special theory.

theory 1 is that indoctrination is at the start
of ME3 and that during the whole game every dream is more and more
indoctrination. Also, there is an indoctrination device on the normandy,
(supported by Vega mentioning a Hum all throughout the game) This is
supported by the re-apperance of the RGC all througout the game. People
disagree because people believe Indoctrination, (from now on condensed
to ID) is not as subtle as that, and would not only affect dreams.

Theory
2 is that it happens on the Normandy, that the child is real in the
beginning, but once on the Normandy, you start to get indoctrinated,
which is supported by Vega hearing the Hum. The same reasons as above
but SLIGHTLY more credible due to the poster of the missing earth child.
People disagree with Theory 2 for the same reasons as theory 1.

Theory
A is what I like to call the "Ilos Run" theory, that you're ID is full
blown on the shuttle as soon as you leave the shuttle. This theory
concludes that the shuttle was blown up at some point, that you were
buried beneath rubble, and harbinger is trying to indoctrinate you to
retrieve the body. It is supported by the dreamy quality of the run
itself, and the lack of squadmates following you, soon as the ID gets
stronger, you go full on dream mode. This is to compensate for the
"Dream Trees" at the very beginning of the run

Theory B is that
your full blown indoctrination is not until you get pwnt by the laser.
and that at that point you are passed out at the crucible, and Harbinger
is doing what he has always wanted, (ID of Shep) This is supported due
to the realistic look of the run down the hill.

THE PROOF:

Parts 1-12 by kyleh619

1.
The endgame scenario is Indoctrination/Manipulation from the Reapers
(Harbinger) trying to force you into choosing to let the Reapers live.
Shepard is not awake during the final sceens!

2. Choosing to control the Reapers allows them to live. Reapers win. They will still exist.

3. Choosing to combine organic and synthetic life: Reapers win. They will still exist.

4. Choosing to destroy all synthetic life: Reapers loose. Shepard lives. Reapers die.

5.
Choosing to destroy all synthetic life option is more Renegade in
appearence. Controlling the Reapers is more Paragon in appearence. The
Illusive Man's choice should not be Paragon colors, just as Anderson's
choice should not be Renegade.

6. Shepard awakes at the end of
destroying Reapers. But Shepard is not awaking from the aftermath. He is
awaking from either after he is hit by Harbingers lazer attack on Earth
or after the scene with Anderson and the Illusive Man.

7.
Stating that all sythetic life will be destroyed will give you pause;
destroying the Geth can force you to a different conclusion. This choice
exists for the illusion of choice; the other choices are ment to sound
better.

8. Shepard does not awake in the other 2 "endings"
because you are fully indoctrinated by the choices you made to allow the
Reapers to win. "Assuming Control!"

9. Never trust any child construct, be it a ghost or artificial intelligence, or heck even human. They are just creepy.

10. Shepard awakes at the end because he has broken hold of the Reaper's control.

11.
Shepard has spent alot of time around Reapers. Soveriegn, various
Reaper artifacts, the Human Reaper, 2 Reaper destroyers, the Artifact
from "The Arrival." Its foolish to assume there is not some level of
indoctrination.

12.
Bioware not only get more $$$ for DLC for the final battle, but big
props for INDOCTRINATING A LOT OF ITS OWN PLAYERS! I do not know of
another gaming company that has tried to fool all of its consumers, but
they look to be the first and reap all of the attention.

13. Look
at these screenshots. I believe the 1m1 is a clue, because of how often
it shows up, and how human it is, when the ship is supposedly older
then the ancients.

14. Definitions:


Catalyst =
One that precipitates a process or event, especially without being involved in or changed by the consequences


Crucible=
A severe test, as of patience or belief; a trial. See Synonyms at trial.

15. Shepard is not wearing his armor when he wakes up in the Citadel, implying that this is a dream.

Deklan_Caine wrote...

I
have a couple of observations to contribute to the theory that it
doesn't seem like others have caught (apologies if someone else caught
these already and I missed it...):

16) As soon as Shepherd "wakes
up" after being blasted by the Reaper laser, he's limping. If, as
you're playing, you try to look/aim down at Shep's feet, you can't. The
view angle get's blocked so that you can't see  below his/her knees. If
you watch the pace of the legs moving, though, it becomes really obvious
that Shepherd is moving considerably faster than he is actually
walking, almost floating as it were. At first when I noticed this in the
my second play-though I just figured it was designed that way because
making Shepherds speed the same as his walk would make the last moments
in the game take 3 times longer (and it already seemed to take forever).
But if we're rolling with the hallucination/indoctrination theory, then
the fact that he's practically floating on his feet just adds more fuel
to the fire...

17) The line Harbinger repeated over and over in
ME2 was that the Reapers would be "your salvation through destruction."
Well, the synthesis and control options are literally salvation for the
galaxy through Shep's destruction, buying into a compliance mindset. The
only option that  leaves Shep breathing is to destroy the Reapers,
which has been the point since ME1. All the evidence points to the last
sequence being a battle for Shepards mind that is only won when Shep
chooses the path that the god-kid tries to convince him not to take.

by Luc0s

18)

Check this footage:


Listen carefully and you'll hear 3 very distinct voices when the Catalyst speaks. Strange you say? It's getting even stranger...

Listen REALLY carefully and you'll hear that the
3 voices are a kids voice, femShep's voice and maleShep's voice.

The first voice you'll hear is the kid's voice. His voice is the loudest and panned in the middle.

The
second voice is femShep's voice. Her voice is panned to the left.  If
you carry a headphone, you'll hear her only in the left speaker of your
phone.

The last voice is maleShep's voice. His voice is rather
hard to hear because he's almost whispering, but it's clearly manShep's
voice. If you carry a headphone, you can hear that his voice is panned
to the right speaker.

19) Anderson is clearly killed by the laser

20) No squad members are scene once you're hit by the laser

21)
after being hit by the laser, you see shadowy whisps on the floor,
similar to the much larger whisps seen in the dreams during the game.


Kitten Tactics:

-The
endgame scenario is Indoctrination/Manipulation from the Reapers
(Harbinger) trying to force you into choosing to let the Reapers live.
Shepard is not awake during the final scenes.

-Choosing Control - You can not control them, they control you. Shepard says as much to the Illusive Man moments earlier.

-Choosing
Synthesis - Allows everyone in the galaxy to be manipulated by Reaper
code, like they have done to the Geth multiple times now.

-Choosing Destroy - Breaks the hold the reapers have on Shepard's mind.

-Choosing
to destroy all synthetic life option is more Renegade in appearence.
Controlling the Reapers is more Paragon in appearence. The Illusive
Man's choice should not be Paragon colors, just as Anderson's choice
should not be Renegade. The reapers are saying that Destroy is the
worst, Control is worse, and Synthesis is the best. They want you to
fail.

-Stating that all sythetic life will be destroyed will give
you pause; destroying the Geth can force you to a different conclusion.
This choice exists for the illusion of choice; the other choices are
ment to sound better.

-Shepard wakes up after Destroy, because
the Reaper's hold is diminished. Shepard does not awake in the other 2
"endings" because you are fully indoctrinated by the choices you made to
allow the Reapers to win. "Assuming Control!"

-The child does
not actually exist. He is an attempt to indoctrinate Shepard. Nobody but
Shepard ever sees or interacts with the child.

-When Anderson
calls for Shepard at the beginning of the game, when Shepard is talking
to the child, Shepard turns back and the child is gone. Shepard has been
"snapped out of it".

-When Shepard turns towards Anderson after
being "snapped out of it", a growl is heard. In the third novel, when
Greyson resisted the reapers they would make a growling noise once they
realized they didn't have him under complete control.

-During
Shepard's final dream with the child, chatter can be heard over the
radio about nobody making it to the beam. Shepard is still in London.

-When Shepard catches the child in the final dream, they are both engulfed in flame. Going with the child (the
reapers) means Shepard's destruction.

-Shepard
has spent alot of time around Reapers. Soveriegn, various Reaper
artifacts, the Human Reaper, 2 Reaper destroyers, the Artifact from "The
Arrival." Its foolish to assume there is not some level of
indoctrination.

-When Shepard wakes up at the end of Destroy, he/she is waking up in London, after being hit with the laser.


From lookingglassmind:



In defense of the
Hallucination/Indoctrination theory: the BioWare/Player Indoctrination
Theory

With the assistance of my peers throughout
the rest of this thread, I have collated a series of facts that I would
like to present to the community as being evidence for a a priori
intention for the endings of ME3. Some of this information will not be
new to a lot of you, and it may seem downright strange to a lot of you. 
It does require a strong and disorienting amount of suspension of 
disbelief, so if you cannot engage in this type of thought process, I
encourage you to skip over this post. :) It will hurt your brain. Or
make you think that I'm crazy. Likely both. (I'm okay with either.)

With
the assistance of countless others' highly important observations in
this thread, I sumbit to you that possibility the endings of ME3
represent the highest form of the metagaming experience. The highest
form of BioWare's "giving the player choice that matters, from ME1 to
ME3". The highest form of player interaction that we have yet seen from a
video game. This has never before been attempted by a company, and it
represents the ballsiest dedication to story and lore that may exist.

I
believe that the endings may be indicative of BioWare attempting to
allow the player the real-time experience of what indoctrination would
be like. This theory explains (in a highly weird, impossible, and
completely insane way) all of the missing pieces in the hallucination
sequence, and also explains BioWare's real-world actions (such as
complete silence since the fan sh*tstorm broke in response to the endings).

If
you have not been keeping up with the thread, or if you have not read
Byne's/Kitten Tactics/Turtlicious' amalgamation of all of the evidence
we have accumulated for the originial hallucination theory on page 1,
then I  would urge you to do so before you read any more of this post.
Due to time constraints, I won't be posting all of the evidences that we
have located in this post to confirm or contradict this theory: I leave
it in your capable and self-aware hands to attain this information
yourself. I am posting this as an add-on to page 1, as I don't think it
was properly represented there in its entire grand scope.

So, to the meat of the issue:

We
have already established as much evidence as we can that 'proves' that
Shepard is either hallucinating/dreaming just prior to/immediately after
he runs into Harbinger's beam/Conduit. The hallucination/dream sequence
has been quite well fleshed out, with a lot of compelling environmental
evidence to support it (again, please see page 1 for further analysis).
I am going to use this particular vehicle of suspension of disbelief to
propose that BioWare's intention during this sequence is to flag the
player with as many markers as they can: This current reality playing
before
your eyes (the Citadel, the Catalyst, TIM, Anderson) is a reflection of
Shepard. It is the product of his/her mind. The meeting with the
Catalyst may or may not be rooted in reality; they may meet in some
metalphysical dimension, or Shepard may just hallucinate the entire
thing. Either way, this theory would argue that it essentially doesn't 
matter, because what truly matters is the role of the player in this
sequence. Your role. The scene is set in a way that urges the player to
become aware of things just not being right, of being a place that
mirrors (literally) Shepard's experiences throughout the game. The
reality presented on the Citadel is an amalgamation of archetypes of
every thing Shepard has seen in the series, which this theory challenges
the player to understand as being a
direct prompt from BioWare to
understand that what is truly happening during this scene is all within
Shepard's mind. His/her reality. Under her/his control.

Understanding that the reality on the Citadel as being a cerebral concoction that is entirely of Shepard's creation is
important
when we arrive upon the Crucible. It becomes a vital understanding when
we are faced with these three, seemingly bizarre and unexpected choices
that the Catalyst gives us. This theory submits that BioWare is asking
the player to actively question EVERYTHING that happens once Shepard
runs into Harbinger's beam. The cost of not
questioning, or making the right choice even if you do?

Real-time player indoctrination. Shepard's literal death.

Think
about it carefully. We arrive on the Crucible, and are faced with an
archetype of manipulation, the Catalyst. Taking the form of a child that
has come to represent everything that is horrendous about the Reapers
to Shepard, the Catalyst/Harbinger provides Shepard with three strange
and disorienting choices. He first presents Shepard with the option of
Destroy, making swift and empty assertations about how it is the wrong
choice because it would kill all synthetic life and Shepard
herself/himself. At its surface, this seems like the renegade/chaos
option, and is even insidiously portrayed in Renegade Red, a direct nod
to the Player himself/herself. Directly appealing to your experiences
with how the game works. He then goes on at great length about the
Control and Synthesis options, portraying Control as the blue
paragon/order option. Again, directly appealing to the Player. He argues
that
Control is the best option, implies that Shepard is the new Catalyst,
and leaves us to contemplate the possibility that we could use it to try
and save the people we love; after all, we are Shepard, and we would
never become like TIM.

Synthesis is the last option explored, and
it is portrayed as a compromise or as being the Brave New Hope for the
galaxy. I have a suspicion that Synthesis may actually  be the 'perfect'
choice, but thatis for another theory. :) (If you're curious, read
about the tech-singularity lore within the game, and research humes
spork's posts about the singularity within this thread.) Either way,
Synthesis smacks of strangeness because it seems so inherently
Reaper-oriented. As though it were servicing the Reapers' philosophy
more strongly than the other two options.

This moment, when you
are standing there, agonizing over your choice? This is your
indoctrination moment. This is where, it could be (fantastically and
insanely) argued that this is the moment when indoctrination and all of
its insidious power becomes as real as it possibly CAN be to the Player.
Think about it! We stand there. We
agonize. We freak out about the
ridiculous choices, and we wonder (like Shepard would) why we just can't
ARUGE with the Catalyst (like Shepard would). And then, as this reality
seems to be the only way forward (much like how indoctrination presents
a version of reality to the indoctrinated that he/she sees as being the
ONLY REAL OPTION -- echoes of TIM, Kai Leng, Saren here), we begin to
accept it. Tremulously, we start to make our choice.

If you
choose Control, then you, the player -- the one who moves through the
game though Shepard's eyes; every choice s/he has ever made in the game
has been directly because of you -- have been indoctrinated. It may
have
been because you thought you could save your crew, your LI, or that you
really could gain perfect Control over the Reapers because you are
Shepard. Regardless, you have been duped. Indoctrinated by the game.
Your slow exposure to the Reapers in 2007 culminates to this final choice -- complete and free player agency and determination.

If
you choose Synthesis, you face a fate similar to that of Control. It's
debatable to me at this point as to whether or not you have chosen to
fulfill the Reapers' purpose, but indoctrination is still a heavy
possibility with this one. The only reason that I state this with any
certainty is because, like the ending we see with Control, Shepard is
dead at the final credits.

If you choose Destroy, then the Player
Indoctrination Theory submits that this is you, the player, deciding
whether or not Shepard overcomes the indoctrination attempt being rained
upon him/her by Harbinger/the Catalyst. If you decide this option, and
if you have enough EMS to ensure that Shepard has enough real-world time
to get through the indoctrination attempt/hallucination -- Shepard
lives. We see him/her breathing in the rubble of London streets at the
end of the game. Shepard has defied indoctrination. You, yourself, have
defied indoctrination.

Does this theory make sense? Maybe not.
When we consider BioWare's real-world motivations and risks (profit,
losing a large fanbase over the disgusting wretchedness of the endings
as they currently exist), then the theory is hard to support. But if,
for just one moment, we can let ourselves believe that BioWare may just
have lived up to their celebrated philiosophy of Player Choice and
Player Acutalization, then this theory becomes awe-inspiring. Is it
possible? Could BioWare have sacrificed the potential for safe profits
in order to bring the most insane and beautiful gaming experience of all
time to its fans? The most unprecedented example of player immersion of
our times? Would BioWare have truly allowed the risk for profit and
angering a serious amount of their fan population in pure deference to
the story, and its lore?

It may explain BioWare's silence on the
matter, until "more people have played the game", or until all regions
have the game. It may explain Jess M.'s twitter about fans "reacting
before having all of the facts". It may.... just may explain these super
sh*tty endings in a way that would make BioWare the God of RPGs.

Is it likely? No. Am I reaching, insanely? Yes.

But is it possible?

Yes.

Modifié par MissMaster_2, 15 mars 2012 - 10:40 .


#13950
Hashbeth

Hashbeth
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IronSabbath88 wrote...

Those of you who originally believed and let a few people who came into the thread ruin your optimism on the ending...

Why? They aren't showing you any concrete proof on the fact that the endings AREN'T this theory. That Final Hours thing showed no signs that there wasn't more coming. Furthermore, they mention a part where Shepard gets taken control of by the Reapers but they cut it.... our theory is basically the SAME EXACT THING except done differently!


^THIS

and does it not also say they cut the reaper control option due to UI issues. But again, the specific line 'we wanted it to be like the matrix' seems to suggest something more. And the fact that you do get minimal UI with the Catalyst