Ninja Stan wrote...
I'd consider it external interference because EA is not a part of the development team, nor are they actively creating content for the game.
Makes sense, though if they determine how much budget is available I kinda look at them as honorary members due to their ability to still influence what can be done in the game.
I disagree. Ray's blog post didn't tell people to stop criticizing, nor did it say that any criticisms of the game were wrong. Instead, he focused on his support for the development team at a time when lots of different groups were talking about how bad the game was or how the developers needed to be fired.
In effect, providing support/a shield against the criticism and complaints you mentioned. Ray delivered a sort of counterweight opinion for Bioware's dev team. Using the shield does not tell anyone to stop attacking or that they shouldn't attack.
Again, I disagree. Just because those online could easily band together and create a larger voice, they did not necessarily constitute a majority of players, nor did they necessarily speak for a majority of players. From my experience, the "vocal minority" argument was used to address those stating categorically that "a majority," "most fans," or "everyone" hated the endings (or, really, expressed any other opinion about the game) or wanted this or preferred that, so BioWare just has to change the game or correct their mistake or acknowledge the gamers are right. No one can really make that claim except BioWare, and they had gameplay data to back up their statements.
Even in your post, your "majority" is a subset of a vast minority of players (ie. those who complained online and were "vocal"). This is why most any "majority" claimed by those making a complaint can be considered a "minority" of the total number of players. That doesn't mean the complaints are wrong or not important. It means that they have to be taken in certain context, which includes the number of people making those complaints, because lots of people are saying a lot of different things about the game. (And contrary to popular online belief, repeating an argument louder and more frequently does not magically make it more important, true, or valid.)
The main thing here though is that we're talking about the majority of those that were "vocal." Practically every online place that had a poll or forum viewed ME3's initial endings in a bad light. I understand that those that are "vocal" are a minority of the total number of people who played the game (but you can't count the complaints or praises of those that aren't vocal, so having that perspective to feedback would be a bit disingenuous..), but of the ones that were vocal... the majority of them had a negative reaction. The same groups, polls, forums, etc. did not have that reaction to ME2's ending (for example).
And in my book, talking about how proud someone is of the hard work a team did is just that--talking about how proud someone is of the hard work a team did. Ray Muzyka is not obligated to quell the flames of the internet's opinions, nor does every individual negative comment require or deserve rebuttal or acknowledgement (see again my comment about "vocal minority," above). But if you wish to believe otherwise, that's your prerogative.
Whether intentional or not, Ray supporting the "vision" is a sort of counterweight/shield to the consumer feedback Bioware was getting that felt otherwise (nothing wrong with that per-se). The majority of the vocal population may not have liked where the ending went, but Ray supported it. It's not 'just' the hard work that Ray praised, otherwise I would agree with you.
Modifié par Mr. Gogeta34, 04 septembre 2013 - 06:42 .
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