@001011000101101 A lot of people seem to feel the current ending invalidates the previous playthroughs as it is, because it's like a story from a different game for the last 10mins, to the point that the rest of the story feels irrelevant.
I'd agree with you if complaints were just based on not liking the way BioWare chose to end things in terms of mood or emotion, but the complaints are about sense and consistency. If anything so illogical or out-of-place occurred in the middle of the game, or in terms of function/design then it would be seen as a bug or failure, so why can't the ending be held to the same standards? Purely because it's "Art"?
@Chief_Death @001011000101101 Actually I'm pretty sure the word is "clarifying", not "changing", if they make the ending clearer. They'd be "changing" the way the ending is shown, and the extent of the content, but not the content itself or the original idea.
@Cobra5 I think it was singled out because it was supposed to be the climax of the series, where all your major decisions come into play. I agree that taken in isolation the first 2 games' endings look similar, but then they were always leading onto the next part of the story, where they should (at least in theory) have a bigger effect. ME3 can't do that - it's an end to that particular story, therefore some sort of closure is needed, which wasn't given.
Why is it that people defending the original material and condemning audiences think it's OK to use "artistic vision" as an excuse? Likewise, why is it you think it's so black and white - that audiences are either challenged or spoonfed, no middle ground?
I haven't played Doom 3, but if you found yourself in a situation in real life, you'd be damn sure to make sure you can defend yourself AND see your enemies, even if it means gaffer taping or tying a torch to your armor. I'm sure the original design increased intensity and difficulty, but it definitely isn't original or artistic - it's cheap and totally unreasonable. That's not artistic license, it's lazy design.
As for Mass Effect, I haven't heard a single person demanding a happy, hollywood ending, or run of the mill end-game sequences. The issue has never been the artistic vision of ME - we love what it's achieved in that respect - the issue is that the ending is totally ridiculous and contradictory to the rest of the series.
While we're at it, while I definitely believe games - at least as much as books, TV and films - contain art, it is only part of the equation. Actual art is, yes, an expression of the artist's vision and creativity - good or bad. Games on the other hand, like books, tv and films again, are entertainment. They, like products (which games are also), are driven by supply and demand. Shooters become popular - devs release more shooters. Too many shooters on the market - devs look into less crowded genres.
Mass Effect actually raised the bar so high with the quality in the rest of the series, it exacerbated an already appalling ending. I say again, fan's aren't asking for generic happy endings, quite the opposite - they just want an ending which makes some sort of sense. Art doesn't have to make sense - but products do, and video games are both.
You also say that by making changes as a result of demand, devs prove they don't respect their customers. Given how abysmal companies like EA are at handling consumers, I'd say exactly the opposite - devs don't listen to customers enough, BECAUSE they don't respect us. They think it's OK to hide behind artistic visions and big brands to excuse shoddy design.
Finally, I'm a keen product designer, and if there's one thing I can't stand when used in this manner, it's art. Art always seems to be held in high regard as a very cultured and sophisticated pursuit, when 90% of the time it's unnecessary and downright pretentious. Real "art" may not have to answer to anyone, but art can still be good or bad like anything else. Stop making excuses for poor design.
Just read back through the last page of comments and I've come to this conclusion: People like Arturian and Ryouga001 have made superb arguments: By that I mean arguments for why homosexuality in games (and in the mainstream media in general) is a GOOD idea. The sooner people like these two are educated and frankly kicked off their pedestals for the good of society everywhere, the better. The single biggest problem with homosexuality is discrimination from other people who for whatever reason seem to take someone else's personal life as an insult, even though it has absolutely no effect on them whatsoever. Get educated - and I'm not just talking about homosexuality here, I'm talking about learning to be humane in general because discrimination against sexuality is just as bad as racial discrimination, it has no place in modern society - adapt or shut up. Anyway: Loving that there's so many choice's and paths that are likely to cross in ME3, but I have a feeling it's going to be irrelevant for me - every time I played ME2 no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't resist Tali, it's just not possible!
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