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A little offended by what Co-Founder has said


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#1
Kataigida

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I don't know how others have felt after reading the Co-Founder of BioWare, Dr. Ray Muzyka's statement, but personally it left me feeling a little offended. If you haven't read the article, (though most on this site have by now I'm sure) the link is here:

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

After reading the statement, I felt a little insulted by the way that he worded his statement. While i am not out and out offended, or feel truly insulted, I found that they way that he went about this statement was a little demeaning to fans (that don't like the ending) such as when he said that they want to point to the critics and say that 'These people liked our game and gave it a perfect score.' He then goes on to say that instead, they will allow themselves to be 'humble' by accepting the criticisms and feedback of the fans. I am sorry, but critics and fans will point out two different sets of problems when addressing a game.

Critics:

- Gameplay: How well the game handled, as well as how easy the controls/functions were within the game.
- Graphics: How everything looks and how audio matches up with visual, and watching for any visual bugs
- Sound: How well the music matches the gameplay, and how well sound effects match up.
- Entertainment: How well the story works, and how satisfying it is to solve problems/kill things/do whatever the point of the game is
- Replayability: How likely they are to replay the game after playing through it.

Fans:

- Continuity: How well the game matched up with the game's direct predecessors. This includes matching up information presented in the series of the games, and how decisions/choices in the other games carry over into the current game. 
- Realism: How well the game matches up with how it has been portrayed/how it is compared to logic. This includes matching up how the character(s) act in previous games as compared to the current one, as well as how realistic everything is.
- Practicality: How well the game makes sense. This includes plot holes that may appear in the game, as well as any elements that show up because they were the only way to drive the plot in the way that the game went.
- Replayability: How likely they are to replay thegame after playing through it.
 

Another thing to note about these two, is that a) critics are paid to play these games. This doesn't always mean that they have played the previous games, and if they have, they are more likely to be detached from the game since it is their job to write unbiased reviews. B) Fans pay to play these games. This brings about a sense of responsibility for your character(s) and what they do, as well as a bias towards going 'in-depth' in the game and developing an emotional attachment to the storyline, character(s), or lore.


For this reason, I believe that when a fan has a problem with a game, they should not be pointed at critics, and vice versa. If critics have a problem with a game, they shouldn't be pointed towards the fans of the game. Fans and critics provide two different view points on the game, and how it should be viewed/reviewed.


One thing that also irked be a little about Dr. Muzyka's statement, is that he said that he wanted to preserve the 'artistic integrity of the piece.' I understand what it feels like to want something that you have created/helped create end the way that you want them to, but I have to say that the artistic integrity of Mass Effect 3 fell apart in the ending due to the fact that it strayed so far away from everything else that has happened in the game, in addition to create a couple major plot holes that don't make sense to even some of the most avid players/lore studiers. I mean no offense by this, but I think that if BioWare truly wants to preserve the artistic integrity of the Mass Effect series, they should seriously review the ending and at least try to find ways to close up the plotholes/make the ending more in line with the rest of the game. 


In closing, I would like to discuss the last two paragraphs of his statement. In the second to last paragraph, he sends most of the time discussing how people have become 'destructive' in their criticism and have 'individually attacked members of the team.' I am sorry that people have attacked the team, I truly am, because I know that they hurt how the rest of the fans are viewed, but in all of my time forum-surfing, I have seen very few personal attacks on members of the BioWare team. With this being said, most of the people providing criticism have been civil about their views. If anything, the fans are more likely to start 'attacking' each other as they try to say why their view is 'correct' then they are to attack a member of the BioWare team. If any member of the fanbase is in a minority, it is the people that do what Dr. Muzyka mentioned. However, in his statement it appears as if there are a lot more people that are creating 'attacks' on the BioWare team than there really are.


The final paragraph is one that I find most insulting however. " I urge you to do your own research: play the game, finish it and tell us what you think." --Dr. Muzyka. I am sorry, but I find this to be a rather...distasteful sentence. Everyone that is complaining/providing criticism about the 'ending' of the game, has a) played the game, and B) finished it. How else would they know about the ending/want to complain about it? Sure, there may be some people that didn't play the game and simply went out on youtube or such and watched the ending, but I don't think those people are going to be going around saying how much they don't like the ending as much as someone who actually played the game. 




After all of this has been typed, I would just like to say that I am not trying to attack Dr. Muzyka personally, nor am I trying to be uncivilized. Instead, I have provided feedback on his statement, in what I am hoping was a civilized manner, so that he or anyone else that reads this, can understand that I feel that as a fan, I have been insulted, if not directly/on purpose, but through word play and probably on accident. I felt like posting this because I would like to see what others have to say about this, and whether or not they can understand some of the reasons why I feel a little offended. 

[Editted]

Modifié par Kataigida, 21 mars 2012 - 09:38 .


#2
joe1852

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what aren't u guys offended by?

#3
JeffZero

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It's all strictly PR-based. Don't let it get to you.

#4
Tiax Rules All

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joe1852 wrote...

what aren't u guys offended by?



#5
desert116

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There's just no pleasing some people.

#6
cynicalsaint1

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joe1852 wrote...

what aren't u guys offended by?

Kittens?

#7
Calbeb

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This is the kind of comment that makes it clear to me that people will be angry no matter what at this point.

#8
Kanon777

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joe1852 wrote...

what aren't u guys offended by?



#9
Sparse

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It's a press statement not a love letter so I wouldn't worry. They are clearly concerned about sales which is why they are talking up their 75 perfect ratings, and I can't really blame them for that.

#10
jkflipflopDAO

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My eyes are offended by a giant wall of tl;dr

#11
GBJ13

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I wouldn't be offended to be honest. The reason they point to critics is because it's one of the indicators of success. What critics look for and what fans look for is different in some areas, but I think critics still want their reviews to be valued by fans, and I would add that some video game critics are fans. You don't devote yourself to being a movie critic, if you don't love movies.

If you got criticized by your boss for a project, but his deputy said you did a great job, wouldn't you mention what the deputy said? That's what Bioware is doing here. I think sometimes we just see them as people who want $$. In truth, I imagine that while they are motivated by profits, they really want to make a great game first and foremost.

Don't be offended. They're showing you how they feel about the whole endeavor. It's just part of an honest discussion. Hopefully, we can get some progress.

#12
AttaBoyTroy

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Tiax Rules All wrote...

joe1852 wrote...

what aren't u guys offended by?


If they're silent, you're offended. If they answer, you're offended because it doesn't say exactly what you want. If you have enough faith in Bioware to STILL be here, then have a little faith they're going to make this right and stop being so damn cynical about everything they post.

If you don't have faith they'll fix it, then why the hell are you still here?

Modifié par AttaBoyTroy, 21 mars 2012 - 09:25 .


#13
Jamanticarius

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cynicalsaint1 wrote...

joe1852 wrote...

what aren't u guys offended by?

Kittens?

How dare you!  I am offended by kittens and will now tell you what an inferior person you are for not being offended by kittens!

Good day, sir :P

But back on topic, OP, like others have said, it's just public relations.  Stay classy and civil and we'll hold dat line!

#14
Leftyguy

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Try not to let it get to you. It seems to me like a carefully-crafted PR statement meant to divide the Retake movement by both confirming that the ending will be changed while subtly insulting them for making them do it. The fact is we ARE winning and will keep doing so, as long as we don't turn into the haters they make us out as.

I could be completely wrong, but that's my interpretation of his words.

#15
Grasich

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Not really offended, but it is annoying that they are STILL trying to dismiss us as a minority movement, and are STILL trying to play off "artistic integrity", both of which are absolute BS.

Hold the line.

#16
Sesshomaru47

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Replay value. They think because they added MP it has replay value. They didn't take into account that the MP is boring and pretty much pointless after you have finished the actual game. Well I guess it's great if you like boring and repetitive. I'd rather play Uncharted MP at least there is some variety there.

#17
Hexi-decimal

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joe1852 wrote...

what aren't u guys offended by?



#18
Murkman4683

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No, not this again! I really feel like the "Hold the Line" group is just a ploy to troll BSN forums with the same topic 600 times.

#19
ericjdev

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Hexi-decimal wrote...

joe1852 wrote...

what aren't u guys offended by?



As a guy who's considered himself part of retake, I do think this a valid question. Everyone's paranoia is getting to the emarrasing level today. We got some good news, settle down.

#20
Everwarden

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joe1852 wrote...

what aren't u guys offended by?


A lot of things, actually. A sincere message instead of a pile of PR garbage would have been a start. 

#21
Iwillbeback

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Yeah I feel insulted by everyone when they said they understand how we feel about the ending.

By saying we want a "Happy Ending" and we need more closure.

No I just want the plot holes fixed and the magic gone and the laws of physics fixed(a.k.a shepard wounds and where he lands after the explosion).

#22
Lugaidster

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What are you a virgin? Go get laid and chill out.. God. Offended... And you even put minority in quote marks when the word isn't even in the article, there's not even a word starting with "min".

#23
BWGungan

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It was a mostly level headed letter. I didn't appreciate the part where he implies that feedback of any kind can be destructive, or that we all just want a happy ending, but I can let it slide.

Read very closely: 

1) We want an ending that makes sense first and foremost.
2) We want divergent endings like you promised.
3) We want to know what happens to our friends and allies.

If the original ending did even 2/3 of those things, you wouldn't be in this situation.

Modifié par BWGungan, 21 mars 2012 - 09:28 .


#24
x-Killision-X

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Seriously?

    After the lashing they took from the fans and giviing us what we asked for, I firmly believe that they are allowed to vent and maybe slip in a little f*** you to the ones that harassed their employees (hell we should do that for them). I'm fine with what was said.

#25
Tovanus

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joe1852 wrote...

what aren't u guys offended by?


Please, the statement was pure PR. Anything short of an admission that the ending was poorly done, they are sorry, and they will fix it stinks of being insincere PR. He's also right about gaming critics. They're worthless when it comes to plot-related problems, and any citation to them as something worthy of being taken seriously is bound to appear dishonest.