On Extended Cuts, Open Wounds and Band-Aids

So, the Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut was released today.  I played through it earlier this afternoon, and after a very tearful experience (I swear my tears had tears!) and some dinner, I've now had enough time to think on what I witnessed and reflect.

This is extremely hard to write because I've garnered a considerable amount of notoriety since I started this blog, and I fear that what I'm about to say is going to earn me a lot of hate.  I've been flamed, attacked, and publicly humiliated at times.  On the other hand, I've also received a lot of extremely supportive comments and responses that  I can't even say how thankful I am to have received.  I don't even feel as though I deserve them, but they've been my bread and butter for the past few months, so thank you to everyone who has been so supportive.

With that out of the way, I want to say that in general, like the Extended Cut (which, for simplicity's sake, will be referred to as EC from here on).  It makes the ending of Mass Effect 3 a lot better.  It's a lot more satisfying and a lot less frustrating.  It is by no means perfect, and that is probably the center of what I'm going to say here, but it is at least enough that I no longer feel the big, empty nothing I felt before.

Naturally, it is difficult to talk about it without mentioning spoilers, so, while I intend to avoid spoilers as much as possible, I would suggest not reading further if you are concerned.

The claim that there would be no new endings to the game is a bit of a stretch of the truth.  There is a new option at the end of the game aside from the original three, and it is what most of us wanted from it.  It's even a lot more satisfying than I could have expected it to be, though by no means is it a happy ending.  On top of that, most of the plot holes have been filled in, with one or two being left vague clearly by design, which I'm okay with.  Perhaps not thrilled, but it's enough that I can live with it.

Now here's where things get a little controversial.  I forgive BioWare, and thank them for what they have done with the EC.  A lot of people want to remain angry and stomp around, talking about how they can't forgive BioWare for messing things up so badly.  They'll continue to go on boycotting anything and everything BioWare creates, and that is their right, but I personally feel that is the wrong way to go about it.

Many critics will describe this as a band-aid for an open wound, and they would not necessarily be wrong in that assessment.  However, I personally don't think anyone could have reasonably expected much more than that, nor could anyone have reasonably asked for more than that.  No matter what BioWare did, there will never be any way to satisfy everyone.

Allow me to explain: the ending was set in stone, to some extent, after it was released.  People had formed opinions, developed theories, and become devoted to various clashing ideas.  I witnessed the severity of this on the HTL forums myself.  The Indoctrination Theory had grown to a point that it had an almost rabid following, and while the theory itself is fine, some of the ways in which the people that subscribed to it treated people that didn't were so fanatical and, at times, hateful that it threatened to create a massive rift in the community most of us working with HTL had tried to foster.

The thing is, no matter what happened, BioWare could not undo the endings that had been done.  If the Indoctrination Theory was declared canonically untrue, the IT supporters would have revolted fervently.  In the same way, if it was declared canonically true, then those opposed to it would have had the same reaction.  Essentially, this was a theory that had become so polarizing that to change the endings enough to discredit them both would have made the effort of creating the EC entirely pointless.

That said, BioWare made an honest effort to show they didn't like disappointing their fans, and I think they deserve credit for that.  That's not to say that we can't question how this mess came about in the first place; by all means, I feel that is a fair thing to be concerned about, but I feel it is unreasonable to say that BioWare didn't at least care enough to try.

Don't take that as any means to give BioWare a pass, however.  If anything is clear, there needs to be a closer observation of issues of interest to gamers in the industry.  This is a victory for those of us who were upset by the ending and spoke out, but the fight is far from over.  This is merely the end of this battle, but there will be more.  I intend to stick with the HTL community and continue to stay on the front line, fighting to support the cause of gamers everywhere to the best of my ability.

I have communicated personally with Jessica Merizan, BioWare's Community Manager, and I believe she is being sincere in everything she says.  I take her at her word, and I've gotten a lot of flack from some people for supporting her.  But, the fact remains that she's had a rough time and has worked her ass off, and she deserves credit for that.  She's human, as is everyone at BioWare, and I think it would be cruel not to realize that and appreciate them for the things they have done right while admonishing them for mistakes they might make.

Keelah'selai.