OK guys and gals.
I notice there isn't a thread for Choose Wisely Theory, so I thought I'd make one where I could put all CW vids and invite comments.
CW episode 1
https://www.youtube....0E6afZa&index=1
CW episode 2
https://www.youtube....0E6afZa&index=2
CW episode 3
https://www.youtube....0E6afZa&index=3
CW episode 4
https://www.youtube....0E6afZa&index=4
CW episode 5
https://www.youtube....h?v=AsnMY37IF7s
Are they right in where they are going?
Almost four hours long... in order to explain a theory regarding a video-game story? Come on... That´s a strong symptom that the people behind it lack even the most basic common sense. They certainly did not chose wisely. Can´t they simply release a concise version with the main points, lasting no longer than 30 minutes? Objectivity, people!
Is it at least over yet? Should I watch it I will only do it when it´s complete, It took over 2 years to produce part 5. Not gonna waste time now if part six is expected in 2017. Seems to me like another zombie, repacked and re-labeled version of indoctrination theory.
Because if even after close to four hours you still failed to deliver the whole message it´s not because you have a lot to say. It´s because in reality you have nothing to say.
Yeah. Please summarise the main ideas, because the vast majority of us aren't going to dive into four hour youtube series just to understand yet another ME3 ending theory.
calm down peeps.
right..... i'll carry on now.
The basic premise of Choose Wisely is that Shepard isn't where you think he is when he takes his breath scene. They go right back into the narrative and have basically come up with a rather interesting scenario as to what really happened to commander shepard during the events of mass effect 1 2 and 3.
They seem fairly confident that after deconstructing the narrative and the codex that something else is going on, and it all hinges around the asari not exactly being trustworthy (although this may or may not be their fault).
They have made a big play on convergence being the answer to a question that only conspiracy theorists would think about.
The theory centers around the notion that at some point along the journey Shepard ceased to occupy the real world of the Universe of Mass Effect and entered into some sort of dreamscape. This most likely happened during an event (CW calls it, "convergence") this convergence occurs for ALL Shepard's. In which EVERY Shepard is wearing, doing and saying the exact same thing. This convergence happened in Mass Effect 1. How and which event is left for the final episode.
Through gameplay mechanics, 4th wall breaks, illusions and the Codex of the series it is constantly reminding the player that this is a fictional world.... At some point in ME1, this convergence if you will, the game begins to break and begins to contradict itself well beyond the suspension of disbelief. It is not mere "bahd rieting" or retcons, because it seems to have a certain pattern (As the CW team claims they have found...)
As if the game is reminding you (The player AKA Shepard) that this verse is an illusion.
This theory is very, very in-depth and requires the viewer to be well versed in the lore of Mass Effect. BOTH IN GAME AND OUT OF GAME LORE, which as it goes, is part of the theories main hook- Being that Mass Effect is a transcendent and convergent story telling (They explain this type of storytelling in ep. 5). As they have explained 4th wall breaks, point of view, red herrings and many other popular writing tropes and story telling practices in past episodes.
I think the videos are very well done and from a certain perspective very compelling and interesting.
Again, it's just a very, very in-depth SPECULATIVE interpretation of Mass Effect.
Remember, "Speculations from everyone".
remember the wall paintings when you went to search for Ann Bryson? It shows Asari and Leviathan.
I actually think they hit their own 'brick wall' of sorts pretty early on in the speculating, but have turned it around a little. The latest episode (episode 5) is interesting in as far as it really goes into the codex and pulls it apart. Things which seem legit are being pulled apart by CW. It's either brilliant deduction or a complete waste of time.
remember the wall paintings when you went to search for Ann Bryson? It shows Asari and Leviathan.
I actually think they hit their own 'brick wall' of sorts pretty early on in the speculating, but have turned it around a little. The latest episode (episode 5) is interesting in as far as it really goes into the codex and pulls it apart. Things which seem legit are being pulled apart by CW. It's either brilliant deduction or a complete waste of time.
lol the Asari, the true turds of the MEU. Never liked them. And surely I never really trusted any of them, (Including sexpet Liara). Clearly they're lying about their origins. Or.... If they truly are a thrall of the squidy fish fish, then they wouldn't know. As Leviathan explains about Thralls being unaware of their puppet masters true existence.
I'm fairly certain that BioWare will revisit Shepard in future ME titles. How and when..... I don't know, nor really in what capacity. But Shepard and his/her actions will pop up again. It would be foolish for BioWare to not cash in on the success of Shepard both critical and commercial ME1-3 are highly acclaimed. Mostly do to Shepard and his/her pals. Shep will return.
As far as the legitimacy of CW and whether it's a waste of time, I don't think so. Even if it's proven in the future to hold no merit. It's created discourse, serious examination of Mass Effect, so I think it's a positive thing.
Although for me personally, I'm still of the opinion that Derpy Shep had way to much Reaper tech exposure and stared going all Saren and stuff at the end lol. And you gotta shoot the tube and break free to.....Wake up. I'm pretty much an IT'er at heart and always will be. To me it's very, very clear what's going on with Shepard in ME3 and what the ending really is. So... Yeah.
But I do like CW, it is, as I said.
Very compelling.
A major aspect of CW is that IT and indoctrination itself is just a very clever and well implemented distraction. I don't know if I can agree with that because Reaper Indoctrination is a dominating factor of the MEU, if not THE dominating factor. Every single main villain and antagonist of the games was indoctrinated. Indoctrinated agents cause havoc and chaos were ever they go. Shepard isn't really fighting the Reapers as he's fighting indoctrination, even without IT and just face valuing everything. Reaper indoctrination is Shepard's real enemy.
If Reaper indoctrination wasn't a thing then...... Saren would not have been a problem. The Geth heretics would not have been an issue. TIM would not have been an issue. Kenneson would not have tried to open the alpha relay for Harby and pals. Kai Leng would not have been an issue. Cerberus would not have gone of the deep end. The Collectors would not have been an issue.
Reaper Indoctrination is at the very core of these villains and why they do the things they do.
Shepard is fighting indoctrination. It's his greatest and most challenging enemy.
Hello everyone. Let's keep it civil in here. Thank you.
Ok, but there´s still one thing I´m interested in: Is it over or not? Is part 5 the final part or not? Or is it planned to end at part 6? Or 7?
Based on what you people are saying I think it piqued my curiosity. But I´ll only start viewing after it´s completed.
Also, are they holding a card for the conclusion? Like hiding the main proof or strong indication that could validate the theory?
Because, frankly, if they did such a thing it was a lame way of acting, specially when the attention people give on youtube is usually for less than 15 minutes before giving up on a video. If they really want to convince people, they should have made a quick and superficial exposition for the theory in just a few minutes, and then proceed to the main proofs. And only then starting a more detailed exploration by going through the small points that would reinforce the position.
I have nothing against people speculating, or attempting to conciliate disparities in chronology, or even head-canon, as long as they understand that such attempts - no matter how well-intended they may have been nor how much effort, care, dedication and love they devoted to it - are nothing more than pet projects, personal ideas that don´t raise above the realm of speculation or one´s own version of that particular story and universe. It´s not religious dogma that needs to be accepted by all. Nor their position, simply because it´s a theory or a person´s opinion, is to be regarded as immune to criticism and rejection.
Once (I get confirmation that) the series is completed, I shall at the very least watch part 1. But to be fair and blunt, I really think that four hours is waay too long in order to cover a theory regarding a video-game. If you people are involved with the production of these videos, please, do consider faster expositions in a concise version.
As for the content and the quality of the exposition and the validity of the argumentation, I can only promise that I will keep an open mind and be objective in my analysis.
Dammit. Thing1 deleted my posts.
There is nothing wrong with head canon, so long you don't mistake that head canon for in-game canon and try to impose your ideas on others. Also cutting down the videos explaining your head canon to be no more than a few minutes long each would be great. No one except a true believer is going to sit through hours of commentary on a video game.
Recently I've been listening to commentary on the American Civil War by history professors and park rangers that work the battlefields. Despite discussing perhaps the most important event in American history, none of them have been even half as long as those five videos.
Yeah, even a Master´s degree thesis can be explained in less time.
Like I said, a major lack of common sense.
And these are far from being the words of a hater of a troll.
I do consider myself a major Mass Effect fan. I´m heavily into the series and its story. I must have over 10 entire trilogy runs (not to mention isolated runs of each game) plus thousands of games played on MP (with a complete inventory unlocked and having won all the medals at least twice, including the solo extractions) and all achievements unlocked. And even with all my fascination for these games (one could even say it´s an obsession or sorts) I think I´m still down to earth enough to see from a mile away that a four hour video presentation regarding the story of a video-game is way too much.
I´m sure they can trim it down without any loss of information.
When people like Han Shot, Prof. X or myself - all of us heavily into ME - do say that the video presentations take too long this should speak volumes to the people behind it. Time is a precious commodity. Specially when it comes to time we can devote to superficial, non-important issues like video-games.
If the people behind it want that we pay attention to what they´re saying when explaining their pet fan-theory they should at the very least make it worth our time.
Unless of course it´s being done intentionally so they can dismiss nonbelievers because 99,99999% of the people wont even bother with such a long presentation that won´t even present the main evidence before-hand and delay it for over 2 years. Yeah, you will have to forgive us for being unwilling to spend 4 hours (at the very least) listening to a fan-theory for a trilogy that ended 3 years ago having already gone trough lots of discussions about hidden messages, endings, conspiracy theories and all kinds of flights of fancy. You will REALLY have to forgive us for having better things to do in regards to fun and more serious issues to attend to with our time.
I'm going to watch at least some of this, I may post my thoughts on it.
I need all of this summed up. All of these videos together exceed more than 2 hours. The main thing everyone looks for in a video posted on a forum or just anywhere is the time of the video. Even 15 minutes is a lot for someone to dive their interest to unless they actually had the time and the interest to. I decided to randomly browse through one of the videos and came across a part where they talked about Liara taking down the Shadow Broker with or without Shepard. Liara not revealing the SB was meant to prevent spoiling the DLC. T'is was a smart move on Bioware's part.
You want a summary?
"Deception"-nonsense can always be summarized as:
-- My favorite ending is the only correct one.
-- Anything that disproves my theory is just some illusion.
We have to consider that many people (specially among PS3 owners) started playing with ME2. So it´s not unusual for the games to refrain from making citations for elements exclusive to ME1 in non-imported profiles. It´s like the cipher not being mentioned in from ashes, with Liara citing the prothean beacon as the reason why shepard was able to understand the protheans talking.
Same thing happens in the Salarian base in ME3 if you take Liara and in a later conversation with Hackett regarding the former shadow broker species and their planet. If that particular shepard did not play the shadow broker dlc, such info is conveniently omitted. Not because of an in-game ongoing conspiracy, but merely because from a story-telling perspective it serves no purpose to introduce this species at this point with detailed explanations that would make much more sense and fit the pace of the series if it was being a revision of a previously known element.
This is true for many elements, like the people from the colony of Zhu's Hope asking assistance, conrad verner, giana parasini... Even ME3 will omit certain citations regarding ME2 if you´re not importing a profile from the previous game. All it takes is maturity and common sense to figure it out.
Next thing I know someone will say that the squad-mates and even the council constantly saying that they´re counting on shepard is a message saying that they´re inside a game. Because, you know, if the main character dies the squad-mates automatically lose too, and if it´s game over, the entire universe crumbles. Oh, give me a break...
If the people behind the video though there was something shady going on because of this then they really are just virtual versions of inpector closeau. It´s as silly as the nonsensical creator of the IT video thinking that there were hidden elements in the scenes like a certain character model being used under a helmet or being positioned in a scene from a angle that the cameras can´t normally catch unless you hack the game, when there most likely a design reason behind it like having too many people inside the shuttle. I don´t they never catch work of the deceased virmire crew member appearing at the citadel in ME3 as soon as you arrive with the knocked-out survivor being hurried to the hospital. They will think it´s another undeniable proof that it´s a ghost story, or a delirium or something.
If they really are following this line of unreasoning - not understanding that the game is a product that tries to stick to certain conventions regarding storytelling - then the four hours must be simply a collection of stretches, fallacies and asinine fan-boyish behavior. Apparently, some kids can´t even understand when a fictional work allows itself to break the fourth wall. I guess that´s why they think that more and more shepard is having proof that he´s living inside a fictional world.
Common sense is a much scarcer commodity than time nowadays.
I like theories for what they are (essentially being fan-fiction), but I like it when it doesn't take years to tell and has as many holes in it as the actual story itself. 
In other words, I still like Heresy Theory better.
It's not necessarily an irrational strategy. Presenting stuff this way is a thing these days; looks like you intuited why above. Slate has a pretty good discussion of the phenomenon:Almost four hours long... in order to explain a theory regarding a video-game story? Come on... That´s a strong symptom that the people behind it lack even the most basic common sense. They certainly did not chose wisely. Can´t they simply release a concise version with the main points, lasting no longer than 30 minutes? Objectivity, people!
I like theories for what they are (essentially being fan-fiction), but I like it when it doesn't take years to tell and has as many holes in it as the actual story itself.
In other words, I still like Heresy Theory better.
lol, like I said dork. Keep it on that certain forum of that certain theory that shall not be named.
Just come here to trollololol and rustle jimmies. It's about all it's good for.
They were entertaining and well made but ultimately hold an empty hand. It attempts to tie-in ret-cons, bad writing, lazy animations and asset re-use to say that all of ME2 and ME3 are simply an illusion, with all the errors in lore and glitches being the meta-game trying to tell you that it isn't real. From the magic Alliance colonies in the Terminus to thermal clips and Lokis on Aite it covers it all but is ultimately unconvincing.
Here you go Alan:
Though the point of divergence into Shepard's fantasy of this theory is the destruction of the SR1, with Shepard floating in space hallucinating.
the destruction of the SR1 and 'where/when' it happens will I think blow the whole trilogy wide open.
So you play a Computer RPG in a fictional world and your game avatar is caught in an illusion and it will never mentioned that you are in a dreamworld.
What´s the point? You can twist every story in this way. Perhaps Tony Stark was bleeding out in a cave in Afghanistan and Iron man 1 to 3 were just his unconscious doing weird stuff, Cinderella never got the prince, she just dreamed about it, before waking up, facing another day of hard labor.
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