Not going to say a lot about all the controversy rampaging through the social media channels these days other than gee, thanks for ruining my anticipation of a game ending for ME3.
Just because you have multiple public outlets for your opinions doesn’t mean you should expect anyone to act on them. Back in the day, before you had a social media outlet, didn’t you just complain bitterly in the privacy of your own home, or to your family or friends if they were so unlucky, and then move on? Just because you’ve now found others who share your opinion and help feed your rage, doesn’t mean there aren’t a whole lot of the rest of us who don’t. I don’t think the mutual enabling is healthy. I think in the past you probably got over it faster and even started thinking for yourself about how it wasn’t as bad as you originally decided. Now, rage, rage, rage, blah blah blah, feed the flames and keep the trolls healthy.
But hey, now we think we own the world and can shape it however the loudest voices decide. What a monster we’ve created.
P.S. I’ve finished ME 3 now. I still don’t agree with the entitlement attitudes or the excessive angst, nor do I think that making an alternate ending is a good idea, but I now understand why there is a controversy. I really don’t know how I feel about the ending. It could have been much worse, all we’ve done could have been cheapened, and it wasn’t. It might be in a DLC alternate ending though.
How do you come up with the just right ending for a conflict of that scale? The sheer number of harvested, the destruction, the overwhelming odds; Those problems don’t get solved easily. So yeah, I’m still digesting the ending. I didn’t hate it, but even knowing there was grief and controversy, it wasn’t what I expected. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It also wasn’t what (I think) I wanted, but I’m not sure how I could have been given what I wanted realistically or with integrity to the epic journey. So yeah, it is what it is…
P.P.S. On further thought, I’m less happy with the ending than I realized. I remembered a codex entry about what happens when you destroy a mass relay and now I’m not sure if I did more damage than all the reapers combined… So yeah, add me to the people who wouldn’t mind a bit more clarification.
Surely it’s much healthier to try to change something you didn’t feel was good enough rather than just accept it? For example, the Retake ME3 movement is not only generating a lot of media interest in the possibility of an ending DLC (much like Broken Steel for Fallout 3) while at the same time raising over $35,000 for the charity Child’s Play. Without social media this would never have been a possibility.
Even before social media outrage like this would still circulate, though back then games weren’t really popular enough to appear on the gossip circuit (social media merely provides the medium for people to hear about less popular controversies). Even as far back as when Sherlock Holmes was new, people complained about plots they didn’t like – forcefully enough that Conan Doyle retconned Holmes back to life in a book he never planned to write.
As for ruining the game, I honestly think you have little to worry about. ME3 is a fantastic experience throughout, and the only bit people don’t like is right at the very, very end. It’s less that 0.1 percent of the game. Don’t worry about it – you’ll reach it and either think “what was all the fuss about” and not care, or you’ll agree and will have people to talk about it with.
I’m not sure I agree on the healthier part, at least for some. 🙂
Good points and thanks for the reassurance on the ending. I’ve been enjoying the entire series and my time with ME3 so far. The controversy has really been bothering me.