I've been thinking silently for the last few days, thinking about what I perceive to be a legitamate sociological phenomenon. For the first time in my memory a distinct mobilization of gamers have set forth and demanded answers about something that is either being generally misunderstood or being criticized for an apparent lack of effort. I've summed up the general consensus' of Mass Effect 3's endings.
1. Acceptance- This group has accepted the ending as is, and at this time is the vocal minority.
2. Befuddlement- This group denies any rational plausibility that the current endings are in anyway realistic and have come up with their own theories as to what really happened (Great job on the indoctrination theory guys and gals.)
3. Emotional Devastation- This group consists of people who are legitmatly hurt, confused and frustrated by the lack of intellectual and emotional pay offs. I consider myself to be a part of this group.
All these groups have every right to exist, as opinion is the greatest strength of art.
The Key Issues: Artistry, Verisimilitude and Economic Ramifications.
1. The key concept of art.
Art is first and foremost an expression of the artist and it is wholly up to them how their product is finished. Input can certainly play a part but severe interference is not necessary. No one had the right to tell da Vinci that the Mona Lisa needed to smile or that Michaelangelo needed to put pants on David. Those were not the public's choice to make. However the staggering amount of backlash has put the entire gaming world into the public eye. Is it ethical to demand changes because we find it to be offense? I certainly would never put pants on David, simply because Michaelangelo sculpted his statue that way.
2. Verisimilitude
Truth, I believe is an objective in art and something that everyone should stive for regardless of their genre of output. I consider myself a film student before a gamer and am personally no stranger to artistic scientific expression. I count 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Man Who Fell to Earth and the two Andrei Tarkovsky films Solaris (the original) and Stalker to be the some of the greatest examples of contemplative sciene fiction the art medium has ever seen. These films derive strength from open-endedness and intepretation rather than direct emotional responses (sometimes the emotional payoff comes from the interpretation). I will readily accept these as fact if Bioware will confirm this was their original intention.
In contrast however, I cannot dismiss the overall structure of Mass Effect's very nature. The game by it's very nature feels film-like to me ( cut scenes mimic the hand-held camera effect sometimes and film grain is soooo much nerdy fun). This type of film-making compliments realism and gives the impression that we are "in the moment". A great example of this are the opening twenty minutes or so of Saving Private Ryan.
Everything leading up to the finale suggests a type of hardcore realism ( the descriptions in the codex give credibility to the science!) and quite literally takes a type of Kafka-esque ( or David Lynchian for those familiar with film)180 to something entirely different. This type of expression while certainly an exciting and clever genre has a tendency to alienate people who are not familiar with it. The entire events surrounding the "Indoctrination" Theory give credit to this idea seeing as these are often discussion topics that come up when discussion a film like Mulholland Drive or a novel like The Trial. This shift is quite alarming to some people including myself but not altogether unpleasent.
This distinct 180 has left more unanswered questions than anything I've ever seen before in the gaming medium, some directly contradicting canon logic and sometimes even common sense. (Garrus was with me during the run to the beam but somehow ended up on the Normandy.) This lack of finite structure cripples the game in many ways, simply because we do not know what the intention was. If Bioware's intent was to be artistic, I really wish they would say so.
3. Economic Ramifications
The economic ramifications to the endings are abundantly clear. The game has dropped in price by as much as fifteen dollars. For something as hot and becoming as Mass Effect this comes as a distinct suprise. I will not comment on personal motivations by any company or producer as I feel it would be incredibly inappropriate to do so without all the facts.
Looking forward: The Sound of Silence and Re-taking Mass Effect
The Sound of Silence
I find the amount of silence from developers to me a mixed message, as if they don't know what to do or are secretly planning something to wow us. Occam's Razor however suggests otherwise. I really think that the key issue here is the lack of communication, silence is not comforting to people in this situation and the further lack of communication can only make things worse for everyone involved. People like myself want to know intention of expression for a cleared state of mind.
Re-taking Mass Effect
This campaign should prove to anyone involved that Bioware has some of the greatest fans in the history of gaming. People are literally so involved with your series that they want to make it into their own form of expression. This contradicts my earlier statement about artistic integrity but one cannot dismiss the outpouring of fan responses. This is an unprecedented event in gaming history. At this time the Re-take Mass Effect campaign has over twenty thousand likers on Facebook. Can anyone imagine twenty thousand people? Truly picture it in your head!
If you've read this far ( I talk too much I know), I thank you personally and would like to hear feedback from everyone (devolpers as well if at all possible!). I would also not mind this being shared as I consider this to be a summation of what everyone (hopefully) wants.
In regards to the topic spreading, Peter Gabriel said it best-
You can blow out a candle
But you can't blow out a fire
Once the flames begin to catch
The wind will blow it higher.
Modifié par Taboo-XX, 14 mars 2012 - 06:04 .
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