9972 réponses à ce sujet

[marshkoala]

Wow What a morning I gave up trying to catch up and was reading the pages backwards, came across Jessica's post and Mr Ray Muzyka's statement and two completely different views of fans.

I felt Mr. Muzyka's statement was (yes I'm simplifying) a little whinny. Bad, bad fans you are mean and cruel and stupid. (Now for people sending curse filled letters/tweets/e-mails I would agree) 

This forum as far as I have followed is CIVIL and CALM.

I feel there is no need to devalue my opinion because it hurts your feelings. I sorry your pride is hurt, but there are more than 2 fans complaining about the same thing. I have constantly praised the writers, developers and anyone involved in the ME universe! No one is stating you didn't put time and effort into your project.
What we are stating is your ending was not what the various producers were quoted as promising.
You're stating that the ending was the one planned then Mr. Hudson and Mr. Walters should have not stated the opposite.

@Forum Sorry for the rant the comment section of the official statement was closed. Sitting back down now.

Modifié par marshkoala, 21 mars 2012 - 06:14 .

[stargatefan1990]

MikeSnipe1692 wrote...

Check out the Mass Effect twitter feed. Said that Casey and Ray's comments say that they will release content to answer questions, not necessarily alter anything. Sounds like they are still trying to keep their endings. I'm not exactly okay with this. What about you guys?

not at all i want the Ai/God child Erased and it's BS logic

[joopark]

MikeSnipe1692 wrote...

Check out the Mass Effect twitter feed. Said that Casey and Ray's comments say that they will release content to answer questions, not necessarily alter anything. Sounds like they are still trying to keep their endings. I'm not exactly okay with this. What about you guys?

I can appreicate the effort, but I think by them "answering questions"... it will make the fanbase more furious because they deem the explainations not "good enough". 

[Enichan]

Sorry for the wall of text, but I had to analyze exactly why the apology more fills me with dread than joy.

While it started off strong there were a few areas later on that just, on a subconscious level, told me they're not really going to address our issues. Maybe I'm a pessimist, but let's review: (key parts will be bolded)

Building on their research, 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.

Right off the bat this signals an issue; I don't believe that the ending can be salvaged by closure alone. Certainly a lack of closure is one of the key issues with the ending, but here clarity and closure seem to indicate to me two things:

1. Clarity: adding more "fluff" to explain the Starchild, the Crucible, other things that seem illogical and maybe adding some token Shepard protest. I might be wrong of course, but fluffing it up and explaining it won't make the ending better. Hell, I don't see how anything could without going with the Indoc Theory.

2. Closure: adding more scenes with former squadmates and other notable NPCs, telling us what happens to them after the end. This is certainly desirable, but it still won't fix any of the issues with the fact that the ending, the way it is delivered through the Starchild and the choices we get, will be bad.

Then I see this:

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.

The words "artistic integrity" stand out to me here, and they seem to basically confirm my suspicion that the Starchild and the Crucible, deus ex machina, mcguffins and a bait and switch to a never before heard of entity at the end that's responsible for it all somehow are here to stay. There will be no sweeping revamp of the ending as it stands.

And maybe it'll be better, but it won't make it good. Not nearly enough to make me wanna play any of the games again, if this is true.

But there's more:

However, most folks appear to agree that the game as a whole is exceptional, with more than 75 critics giving it a perfect review score and a review average in the mid-90s.

I want to read the bolded part and think that he means that, despite all our hate for the ending, most of us loved 95% of the game. And so he's including all of us who loved most of the game and hated the ending, instead of marginalizing us once again. However he immediately goes on to mention their review scores, without as much as a full stop, so I'm very pessimistic that he isn't marginalizing us.

So my analysis of the blog post means they're gonna add some explanatory fluff about why we should feel it should all make sense, maybe some fluff choices during the Starchild convo, and create more epilogue with "where are they now" type stuff.

I hope to god I'm wrong, cause it won't be nearly good enough. Then again, I was never cut from the optimist cloth.

Modifié par Enichan, 21 mars 2012 - 06:15 .

[Wowlock]

When I want to actually relax about these statements, I go to Forbes from now on. Their logical articles and comments that actually make sense and treat us with respect.....

Gotta say it is quite refreshing.

[SweetJeeba]

Jessica Merizan wrote...

Hey guys,
I just wanted to clarify a few things.

1) The twitter account is my personal one. No one is paying me to tweet on it and considering how much people are trying to extrapolate from replies I make that are meant for certain people (Twitter operates in a way that it's assume that while replies are public, people don't see them on their feed unless they follow both individuals -- or unless they camp on someone's profile which is what people are currently doing on mine). There's not a script I'm following and I'm not being "told" anything by PR. PR actually has very little to do with this situation, but I doubt you will believe that.

2) I was speaking to a person who enjoyed the ending (which is very much a personal opinion that I respect just as I respect someone else's opinion that they did not like the endings or even that the endings ruined their ME experience. All opinions are valid.) and I indicated that people who like things do not talk about it enough. People took this to mean that I was indicating that people don't talk about things when they're happy or that word of mouth isn't discussing things. That was not my intention.

2A) Twitter is terrible about having forum like conversations but currently I'm finding that's how people are trying to use it. After sending thousands of tweets this week (no small feat, try it) yes I get fatigued and don't always say exactly what I mean. But it's worse when I know that everyone is camped out on my feed just waiting to pick apart something I've said and prove me to be a liar or the harbinger of hope. Neither of which I am. I am a community manager who is a trained anthropologist and I feel that at times like this having a dialogue is more important than ever. It would certainly be easier if I didn't say anything at all, but I don't think that's the right thing to do.

2B) My intention to that person was to say that more people need to vocalize their opinion, positive or negative. When we insulate ourselves in tight-knit communities, it's harder to see that most people aren't doing that. Not the same most people however, just most people in different situations. An example I used is the 90-9-1 principle or the 1% rule (which is all over the internet and I studied it during my master's coursework in media consumption at University College London, namedrop intentional as people have recently accused me of being unable to read and interpret statistics or data, something I'm very good at and pride myself on).

3) The above rule is quite simple. 90% of consumers will passively engage in the product through consumption (such as playing a video game). They might lurk on forums or read articles. 9% of these people will take it a step further and actively engage in discussions and talk. These are the people that you rely on for WOM sales (word of mouth). They'll "like" a post on Facebook, share it to their wall, reply to a forum thread, RT or reply to something on Twitter. Then you have people who take it one step further and create content based on the original product. These are your fan artists, cosplayers, and even as simple as someone who starts a forum thread or makes a youtube video.

3A) An example I gave of this on Twitter is 3 products that I enjoy: Dominos pizza, the television show The Venture Brothers, and the Mass Effect Franchise. While I spend an embarrassing amount of money on Dominos every month, I don't discuss my purchase online with my friends. I haven't "Liked" their page on Facebook and I'm not a member of their community. I'm still an important consumer and I vote with my wallet. However I'm in that 90% that Dominos is constantly trying to engage with pizza ordering widgets to share on my Facebook wall etc. But I'm not biting. On the other hand, I'm a much more vocal consumer of the Venture Brothers. I'm in the 9% there. I've been a member of several fan sites, tuned into their livestreams and donated money during their charity drives, I tweet quotes from the show and am involved in discussions with other fans I met online. And finally, long before I worked for BioWare, I was in the 1% of this community. Even though I didn't go on the forums much (other than lurk), I created costumes, spread my love of their games at conventions, actively participated in their facebook initiatives etc.

3B) This doesn't just apply to people who like something. This applies to consumption as a whole. The 9% vocal minority isn't a bunch of naysayers. It's literally just the vocal bunch out of the entire group. It includes people who like, dislike, and are neutral. The media has just latched onto "vocal minority" as if it's a bad thing. It's not. It's just the way consumption works. Go look at any Facebook page, specifically their "People Talking About This" (PTAT). We consider 10% a great number. 20% is off the charts. But it rarely goes above that. It's just the way things work.

4) Honestly, if you want people to communicate more, you have to stop ripping apart everything. I'm speaking in generals here, most people don't do this but we remember those people who do the most. I have devs who don't want to write blogs for me because they don't want to lovingly craft a nice post and then watch it get picked apart and analyzed to death. There have been countless times this week that I wanted to stop talking because people were misinterpreting things I said such as my tweet in reply to one specific person that was taken out of context. One tweet that I made when I was tired and it was poorly worded. And seeing people rip it apart in the forums made me want to stop tweeting for good. Make my account private and just use my public one for generic information and boring updates. But I didn't because I know that it's awful when a few people ruin it for everyone.

I respect that even if I personally disagree with the end goal of RetakeME, their means to be heard are noble. Even if they have a demand, they aren't coming across as demanding. They try to be polite and fight stereotypes about fandom. And as their community manager, I'm advocating for their opinions to be heard. But this BioWare PR damage control stuff is ridiculous. How can we expect to have a conversation about this when people are slinging around jargon that frankly none of our PR professionals have ever even heard of. You're making yourselves paranoid and rejecting anything we have to say. It's one thing to be skeptical (as a consumer, it's smart to be an informed buyer) but it's another thing to lead yourself to believe that someone is actively trying to pull the wool over your eyes. We aren't. I'm not. I'm losing sleep over this and regardless of what you may think I'm not getting paid to sit and type this out. And any PR person would tell you this entire post is a mistake to write and publish.

Thanks.

P.S. Since I'm trying to be informative, a disclaimer about "this is my personal Twitter. Opinions are my own." don't actually hold up or keep someone out of hot water, so it's a waste of precious characters to have that in your description.

P.P.S. Yes, as someone previously mentioned we are actively monitoring how many people are finishing the game and comparing it to ME2 as a standard. This is the primary reason that we have held off on discussing the endings, for better or worse. You can expect fuller details later, but when I ask you to be patient it's not because I hate you or am scrambling to find the right words to say. I will tell you that I'm really encouraged by the feedback I'm getting and what I'm hearing from the team and I look forward to when that can be shared. Also, multiplayer numbers are a completely separate metric so you don't need to worry about us conflating the two.

I don't understand the point of you even bothering to disagree with the goal of retake ME.  If the fans get what they want then you still have the ending younliked

[LdyBelial]

Lugaidster wrote...

Chronor wrote...

http://blog.bioware....012/03/21/4108/

I'm rather disappointed with Mr. Muzyka. By now, most keeping up with this thread would have seen this blog post. While I respect them taking an "artistic" stance on this issue, he's very careful in not addressing what I find to be a core issue of contention. That is, where are my numerous "wildly" different endings?

Many times he's pointedly stating "endings" in his blog, but for those of us who have finished recognize, for all intents and purposes, there is only ONE "ending." It sounds to me that any new content planned to address this issue will really be more of an epilogue. This is satisfying to a degree, but I'm still (or will be) bummed if they do not choose to give us the other "wildly" different endings as previously promised. After all, that would inherently guarantee replay and generate continued interest in their product. Maybe I'm missing something....

Till then, I will be Holding the Line!

To be fair, do you expect them to surrender any and all defense to their own work? They will, at some capacity, defend their decisions. That's just a fact. And with regards to the "wildly different endings", it was always going to be subjective. If anything, the only mistake they did was to say wildly. Your interpretation is very different than mine on that issue, and both could be different than someone else's. 

I'm not trying to play devil's advocate, but rather stay objective. And I would lose a lot of respect for the guy if he suddenly threw all his workers under the bus. We have to approach the middle ground cauteously from both sides here, one moves too fast and the other one will take a clear advantage.

I respect what he had to say too.  I was also rather touched.  Sure -- maybe it's a PR ploy.  Sure... maybe they will just do up some kind of "explanation pack" and still expect us to swallow that ending.  Sure...  I'm a sentimental sap who really wants to believe in BioWare -- they did give me ME1 and 2 -- both totally awesome games!  And let's be real a good 95-97% of ME3 is awesome!  Do I think they can do better?  Yes.  I think they should have kept the focus on the RPG and not so much on the FPS -- or was that to sell us on the Multiplayer?  I get confused...  ::cheeky grin.:: 

My point is...  I am still touched by what he posted. 

And I do feel for the ME team.  All this backlash?  It has to hurt -- in some ways it's like we turned on them... kinda rabidly.  But -- why did they think that end would stand up though?  I mean..  Again, I can cite ME1 and 2.  ME3's ending is NOT even close to fitting in with the norm of the series... 

What I am taking away from Dr. Ray Muzyka's post -- They are listening, they do hear us and they are planning to make a change...  I guess we'll see if their idea of a change will fit what our ideal is? 

THERE IS HOPE!  Hold the LINE!

[Danny_K_1]

Finished this game last night and couldn't believe what was put in front of me, I'd played through three games and made ridiculous amounts of desicions to be told "Here's three choices no matter what you did". To say I'm disillusioned with the company at the moment is a bit of an understatement - all that hype about consequences and to be hit with this is simply unacceptable; as consumers and fans we deserve better. As for this new announcement, I don't know if my interpretation's off but I have percieved this as them wanting to provide 'closure' and not outright change anything. I don't know about you chaps but that isn't on for me.

Consider me a new member of The Line.

[Nisus]

I have been a long time lurker and only recently felt
compelled enough to comment. I’ve been following this thread for a while now
(since page 10 or something like that) and I have found this to be one of the
most well thought out and articulate threads I have ever come across. Granted
my exposure is quite limited, as soon as I see people raging I tend to skip off
and find another niche but this thread has continually held my attention and on
more than one occasion made me think and evaluate where I stand on these issues
and has definitely encouraged me to get involved.

That being said, I apologize for the potential wall o’ text.
Feel free to skip/skim/or completely disregard. It’s all opinion.

I think one of the best things people have been doing is not
having a knee-jerk reaction to posts by BioWare employees. We have all been
hurt, and feel extremely misguided by their previous statements but we only do
ourselves harm by lashing out. I feel this needs to be continually reinforced
as a good thing. I (think) I have read most of the posts put out by BW and I
will admit to being offended, angry and irrational at times. The best thing to
do is take a breath. Remember to be understanding, I firmly believe that the
people working on the ME series consider this their baby. I don’t doubt for a
minute that this was labor of love and our reactions have thrown them for a
loop. (If I wanted to be poetic I would draw on similarities to how I felt as
soon as my Shep was lifted up with the plot device elevator on the Citadel).

We are asking for big changes, and that takes time to craft.
The acknowledgement we’ve gotten from our community manager, Jessica Merizan
and BW co-founder Dr. Muzyka speaks volumes.
They can’t outright say that they messed up – that’s just bad business (for the
moment, that can quickly change). But the fact that they have taken time to
specifically address the movement and recognize its presence (mentions of it
being a minority notwithstanding) is movement in the right direction. There are
definitely things they need to answer for but as of right now I’m not expecting
them to come out with cut and dry answers. Their responses do indicate that
they’re listening.

That being said, everyone is entitled to his or her own
opinion when it comes to the statements made but I’m looking at it this way
(for now); if I’m asking BioWare to alter the endings I need to tentatively
trust them. If I don’t I’ve completely shut down any kind of conversation. This
is my game plan until April. With my meager knowledge of game development and
company practices I think this is more than a sufficient amount of time for
them to articulate a game plan (probably at PAX). But this is an uphill battle
that is far from over. So I plan to Hold The Line. 

-- end personal rant/opinion. This is what I get for not
posting sooner 

Modifié par Nisus, 21 mars 2012 - 06:18 .

[LdyBelial]

Wowlock wrote...

When I want to actually relax about these statements, I go to Forbes from now on. Their logical articles and comments that actually make sense and treat us with respect.....

Gotta say it is quite refreshing.

I totally agree with you!  I love Forbes and their writers are fair and honest. 

[Siegdrifa]

joekickass666 wrote...

MikeSnipe1692 wrote...

Check out the Mass Effect twitter feed. Said that Casey and Ray's comments say that they will release content to answer questions, not necessarily alter anything. Sounds like they are still trying to keep their endings. I'm not exactly okay with this. What about you guys?

have to wait and see what they do, until then it's "lot's of speculation"

This how i understand it, new contant for the main game but no promise of contant post game.

Having "closure" with your LI for exemple isn't about watching a movie with him / her on citadelle before you finish the game.
I don't want "closure" before the end, i want closure after the end.

Modifié par Siegdrifa, 21 mars 2012 - 06:19 .

[UKillMeLongTime]

April we get told 'more' but how many will have traded in their games before then?
April 17 i believe Witcher 2 drops and I will be playing that.Will I pay for the 30 i owe with my CE ME3?
Not sure yet but it's up to BW to change my mind

[DoctorCrowtgamer]

People thank you for holding the line and please continue until we get new endings released that reflect our choices. Thank you.

Please check out this group and join in.

http://social.bioware.com/group/7102/

Thank you for your time.

[MustacheManatee]

They can say whatever they want at this point. Fact is, actions speak louder than words. Until the ending is changed to make some kind of logical sense, my trust in Bioware is broken, and my wallet is closed to them. Continuing to wait, and continuing to hold the line.

[The Almighty Ali]

Greetings, I'm back.
I've been reading the announcment from Ray Muzyka, five times from start to finish, aswell as the forbes article, and if I'm going to apply ATGhunters teachings to this, I've reached several conclusions.

1. Providing clarity doesn't needlessly mean providing different endings, for all we know they could make a topic where they tell us why the endings are the way they are. Here's to hoping they don't do that.

2. We will hear more in April which could mean at PAX.

3. All the praise about the staff of Bioware is a way to boost themselves, it's not needed. While we're dissappointed and some downright angry, we all know Bioware has some very talented people.

4. We listen, pretty much the same thing they've said since the start. My take on this, utilize it.
Provide them with ideas, tell them about what part you didn't like but also what you did like.
It's a lot better then just writing "The end sucks" and leave it at that.

5. The fans, While I will agree that I've met some that have gone overboard in anger, I think the Majority are handling it very well. Yes they're angry,frustrated and dissappointed and that does lead to harsh words at times. That said I've held from day one the opinion that lashing out at the staff of Bioware is severely counter productive, it doesn't gain anyone anything.

I'm still going to hold off until I hear just exactly what they have planned before I start to get all giddy.

[GholaHalleck]

Never trust a Doctor who doesn't have a TARDIS.

I'm glad they've said something more concrete, but until I see something, I'll be over here with Kirihie.

[Wowlock]

I won't be fooled by them again. I will wait until I see what this content will carry.
I will look for an ACTUALY review and not a paid-off one until I decide to buy it.

And if they fail with it AGAIN....then this will be my cue to leave Bioware's borders once and for all.

From Dr.s statement, I don't get any ''hope'' for our desired endings. They will try to explain the plot-holes and maybe add some cheap scenes after the endings as ''epilogue'' but non of that will make any sense since the ENDING ITSELF doesnt make sense.

So if they are ''holding to their artistic vision'' ... then I am holding on to my statement '' If we don't get the payoff for our choices and can't actually decide our own ending for OUR journey..... I won't be bringing any of my business to Bioware again. ''

I am actually worried that ,while they said they will ''explain it more'' , all they will do is adding some text to the current ending cutscenes and will say '' here is your closure'' .... and after that kind of slap, no selfrespecting customer should buy their products..

[joshko]

GoldenSkans9 wrote...

MikeSnipe1692 wrote...

Check out the Mass Effect twitter feed. Said that Casey and Ray's comments say that they will release content to answer questions, not necessarily alter anything. Sounds like they are still trying to keep their endings. I'm not exactly okay with this. What about you guys?

if all i get is "justification DLC" all 3 games will be traded in that day and I'm out the door and never looking back.

Yes I think just justification DLC would be worse than nothing at all.

[musicaleCA]

Wildhide wrote...

I would point out to Mr. Muzyka that IGN, the most visited gaming website in the world, received exclusive early access to the game. Their review page was unlike any other review they have ever done, adorned with fancy graphics and links to buy the game over at Gamestop’s online store. Moreover, one of IGN’s employees is featured in the game in likeness and voice, and that same employee presented a prominent preview of the game.

Funny thing is that the when I played through ME3, I didn't know this at all. I thought she was just a bad excuse to not bring back Emily Wong. Now that I know this...if I ever play ME3 again, I'm going to bring her on the ship, and then kick her right off again out of pure spite.

Which is annoying because some of the exchanges between her and Traynor are alright.

[MisterP146]

I just saw the news!

While the fight is not over, we certainly have more hope now than we did before. Let's continue to hold the line.

/salute

[wepeel_]

You know that when they announce more about and eventually release this new content, a lot of people will be looking to this movement to hear a verdict on it, which ought to be powerful incentive for them to try not to mess it up.

In any case, it must be seen as a step forward for us, and evidence that what we are doing is working. So keep at it, with renewed energy.

[Kioux]

Maybe I am a bit too negative about this - but my fear is that 'providing additional closure' could end up in half-baked quests and DLCs that will answer question in definite and unpleasant ways, such as "You wonder what happened to your crew? Well they're all dead!" Of course this is an exaggerated way of putting it. However if they did this, we would no longer have the "lack of closure" argument and would still feel utterly destroyed. Then again, this would certainly not help them to restore trust in their already shaken fans.

As for the official statement: I'm not reading too much into it all. We got an official reaction and we received an official and definite time for new: April. What they make out of it is up to them and I can only hope that they finally get off their high horse and stop denouncing us a "some fans" or a "minority". Should it continue - the word will spread, not only over the forums, twitter and facebook but over a massive amount of blogs, reviews and ratings - as well as word-of-mouth advertising (or rather word-of-mouth anti-advertising) that warns possible customers away.

[McGrzegorz]

MikeSnipe1692 wrote...

Check out the Mass Effect twitter feed. Said that Casey and Ray's comments say that they will release content to answer questions, not necessarily alter anything. Sounds like they are still trying to keep their endings. I'm not exactly okay with this. What about you guys?

I strongly believe (I want to believe) that Indoctrination Theory is correct.
So you need to choose a path where Shephard takes this one Breath... and then you'll get to the "real" final ending.

So still they don't have to change the existing "ending" because it was all in your head. You won the "Indoctrination Battle" and now you can proceed...

And let's be honest... this is the only way that all fans will "buy"/accept this story.
This will also create the greatest twist in gaming history

Love and Hate are part of the same coin. And that IMHO would the only option to reverse the "Hate" of the fans to the "Love".

[AloraKast]

Bachuck wrote...

Dr. Ray Muzyka wrote...
On one hand, [color=rgb(255,0,0)">some of our loyal fans are passionately expressing their displeasure about how their game concluded]most folks appear to agree[/u][/color][/u] that the game as a whole is exceptional...

<snip>

I see Bioware is still playing the PR game. 

Apologies for chiming in so late, trying to keep (or rather catch) up with this thread while at work, but I wanted to point something out here.

Bachuck, with all due respect hun, I felt I needed to point out that what Ray is saying is, in fact, true. He's not saying that there are a few fans who didn't like the ending, but on the plus side most folks do like it.

Rather what he is saying in the second part of that quote is that most people seem to enjoy the game AS A WHOLE. Which I find, in my constant perusing of these boards and internet, to be entirely true. Be it fans reviewing the game, critic reviews or editorials (for or against the ending, doesn't really matter).... the GENERAL concensus is that the MAJORITY of Mass Effect 3 is a good (perhaps even wonderful) experience. Yes, there are a few things here and there people don't necessarily enjoy or would prefer certain aspect be handled differently, though that is a much murkier and subjective topic. But OVERALL, the game as a whole is quite good... it's only in the last 10 or so minutes that there is a noticeable shift which, unfortunately, casts a deep shadow on the game experience, perhaps even the franchise as a whole.

I have a lot of respect for the Retake movement and definitely support alternate endings. I also admire you Bachuck and your tireless work, especially the work you've done (and keep doing) in keeping this wonderful and very informative thread updated with all the relevant information.

I also wish to bring attention to a worrying development of hating on and over-analysing of anything and everything that comes from anyone connected to Bioware, be it on the official or individual level. This thread has some amazing and iluminating discussion about PR and its uses. The remarks from the various members of the development team pre-release not jiving with the reality of the product has made everyone cautious (if not leery) of anything we are "told" (as opposed to "shown" - read words vs. actions). That is understandable.

I've read Jessica's posts (it really was wonderful of her to poke in here and attempt some normal communication) as well as Ray's statement. Yes, let's be cautious. Let's take what we are told with a grain of salt and view it with a critical eye... but let's not dismiss anything and everything we are told as outright lies, smoke-screen, whatever else have you. Let's at the very least leave a door open for the possibility that Bioware has been caught off guard by the fan reaction and are honestly wanting to address fans' concerns.

In any conflict between parties, when one side simply refuses to allow for the mere possibility of a compromise, digging in their heels and sticking fingers in their ears... how can there be any hope of resolving the differences to the benefit of all?

In short... let's be cautious but also optimistic... and above all, reasonable.

I will also grant you that I may be terribly gullible and actually falling for Bioware's "PR tactics". That is the risk I will have to take. But I choose to believe... and only time will tell.

Finally, I'd like to quote a politician (of all things). Words of wisdom to live by in any and all aspects of life:

"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair.
So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."

- The Late Honourable Jack Layton