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However, I read Ray's statement again and actually did some deconstruction on it. Ray is an extremely clever spokesman, I'll give him that. It took me around two hours to actually tear apart the statement word for word and analyse the meaning. But, I think I have it and it's much less swallowable to me now.
It's cleverly disguised, but it's all there. It's not a typical PR punch that's for sure but it remains a nagative filler.
It's a very well hidden "defensive/scared/lashing out" kind of letter that implies that something else is going on here besides what he is telling us, and it can't be good. At first it comes off as genuine, heartfelt and to the fans. But in reality it's the exact opposite, it's a very derogatory and inflammatory response to us, the fans. So here we go.
As co-founder and GM of BioWare, I'm very proud of the ME3 team; I personally believe Mass Effect 3 is the best work we've yet created. So, it's incredibly painful to receive feedback from our core fans that the game's endings were not up to their expectations. Our first instinct is to defend our work and point to the high ratings offered by critics - but out of respect to our fans, we need to accept the criticism and feedback with humility.
This is the only paragraph in his statement that isn't projected malice or lashing out, it's the only genuine part about his statement. Notice he uses the words "We've" and then very quickly swithes to their "Reviews and ratings." It's a classic defense mechanism in rebuttles to defend your argument with irrationaln praise. By doing so you reassure yourself that your argument is not flawed and holds water. It's mental switchplay, to assure and project dominance. The next line is the predicted followup statement of deflection and goodwill. To adress the other side of the argument with ingenuine humility and guile. By doing this you are more likely to be taken seriously than not, and continue the argument with tame ears.
I believe passionately that games are an art form, and that the power of our medium flows from our audience, who are deeply involved in how the story unfolds, and who have the uncontested right to provide constructive criticism. At the same time, I also believe in and support the artistic choices made by the development team. The team and I have been thinking hard about how to best address the comments on ME3's endings from players, while still maintaining the artistic integrity of the game.
This is where it starts to fall apart and become an aparent projection of emotion. It controdicts everything in the first paragraph by stating the "artistic value" of the work. Not just a paragraph ago did he use disingenuous remarks about how the fanbase is important and that they should take their voice with humility. The entire point here however is that artistic worth comes before the fanbase's voice. Again, it's a classic method of subtly cutting down not an argument, but the other side as a human being. It's akin to a supiriority complex that is projected in moments of fear or irrational logic to back up one's flawed argument. He finishes with another reassurance however, about how the team is taking into consideration how to handle the issue.
Mass Effect 3 concludes a trilogy with so much player control and ownership of the story that it was hard for us to predict the range of emotions players would feel when they finished playing through it. The journey you undertake in Mass Effect provokes an intense range of highly personal emotions in the player; even so, the passionate reaction of some of our most loyal players to the current endings in Mass Effect 3 is something that has genuinely surprised us. This is an issue we care about deeply, and we will respond to it in a fair and timely way. We're already working hard to do that.
Same as the previous paragraph, projecting and using subtle cutdowns to undermind the issue. Right down to ending the sentence with a reassurance that it will be dealt with.
The reaction to the release of Mass Effect 3 has been unprecedented. On one hand, some of our loyal fans are passionately expressing their displeasure about how their game concluded; we care about this feedback, and we're planning to directly address it. 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. Net, I'm proud of the team, but we can and must always strive to do better.Some of the criticism that has been delivered in the heat of passion by our most ardent fans, even if founded on valid principles, such as seeking more clarity to questions or looking for more closure, for example - has unfortunately become destructive rather than constructive. We listen and will respond to constructive criticism, but much as we will not tolerate individual attacks on our team members, we will not support or respond to destructive commentary.
These are the two paragraphs I want to respond to. These two are cleverly disguised "digs" at the fanbase and they come from an asolute fear of the unknown and outcry. The first paragraph is again self reassurance, praising the work and ignoring the user reviews. It is not surprising that he mentions only professional reviews and not user based reviews, it's just a scared tactic that is more or less PR "hit and run." You use a small advantage and spin it into a large one, don't fall for it. The second paragraph is the fear in full force. He negates everything he previously stated about caring for the fanbase and uses a broad geralization to blanket the entire movement. Even by using the word "some" he manages to cover the a large portion of the fanbase citing "destructive" remarks on our part but giving no evidence of said remakrs. It's something that is said again, out of fear and irrationality and he's grasping for anything that can put him in a positive light.
Thank you for your feedback - we are listening.
So no Ray, I do not believe you are listening. What you are doing is deflection and regurgitation out of fear and possibly corporate influance. After reading your statements I feel nothing more than pitty for your position. If you fix this glaring flaw in your game, which we were blatently lied to about, than good on you. If you seek to only explain the ending (singular) we were given than I have no sympathy for you once the fans turn their back and walk away. If this was truly "to the fans" you would have wrote it from the heart, not off a PR checklist.
Modifié par Reptilian Rob, 22 mars 2012 - 04:34 .
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