Fans vs Creators

This is going to be a short one, but the Laconic statements tend to be a little more meaningful.

For those that don’t know, about four or five days after Mass Effect 3 was released, a shit-storm erupted about how the ending of the game was, in a nutshell unsatisfying. The fan dissatisfaction has grown to such silly proportions that a facebook group has emerged to try and guilt Bioware, the developer, into changing the ending of the game by donating to charity. A single fan has also filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, stating Bioware engaged in dishonest marketing practices.

Here is where I have a problem. Wiser people then me have already come down on fans for being spoiled, falsely entitled, whiny little bitches. What I have yet to see though, is a proper indictment of the game.

I have yet to see a point by point list of charges, and corroborating evidence, on why the ending of the game was bad, and why the developer and publisher of the game in question need to be compelled to change it.

What I have seen can be surmised by commentator MatPat, the developer of webseries Game Theory.

“ Without spoiling anything, the ending of Mass Effect 3 breaks the established lore of the game’s universe, contradicts thematic elements that have been omnipresent throughout all three games, and throws logic out the window. In other words, it isn’t just unsatisfying or “not what we expected,” it’s sloppy and, quite frankly, disgraceful to the brilliantly-crafted world and expertly-handled stories that came before it.”

Therein lies the problem for me. Everyone who is making an attempt to debate this issue, starts by saying “without spoiling anything.” But if players really had the courage of their own convictions, and this games ending was such a crime against art and the creative process that they are saying, then who cares about spoilers.

Drop your emotional baggage, and don’t worry about others having the plot spoiled. If you are seeking to compel a content creator to fundamentally alter their work, then you must stand tall and stand proud and state how they did it wrong.