When BioWare responded to fan protests and announced the release of free a DLC to further explain the ending of Mass Effect 3, many in the industry shook their heads at gamers. Columns sprang up chastising fans for their fickle nature and petulant demands. BioWare became the developer who ‘succumbed’ or ‘kowtowed’ to pressure from whining fans. And then these critics asked, ‘is it right?’ and ‘has this set a dangerous industry precedent?’
Interesting questions with no clear answer.
The argument is that games are art and therefore gamers should not be able to alter or interfere with the artistic vision of the creator/developer. These voices cry, ‘Would you ask Monet to change the colours of his water lilies?’ or ‘would you demand Stanley Kubrick change the ending of 2001: A Space Odyssey because it’s obscure or difficult?’ We wouldn’t dare, is the resounding answer we’re expected to give. Art is a statement and the viewer has no say in it.
Of course, this perspective conveniently forgets the bit where games are interactive. It overlooks the fact that the players maketh the game.
A painting or work of art exists without any input from the viewer, as does a film. It doesn’t cease to be. However, a game will only get so far without the player. By the end of the introductory cutscene the characters are left in limbo ‘ dialogue trees left unspoken and bodies left dead in a combat episode they never took part in. Without the players, the work of art that is a game is locked on a disc, never to be experienced.
Add to this, the fact that BioWare created one of the most successful narratives a game has ever spun. Over five years and three games, players have been left to weave their own tale. My ME3 is very different from GiN editor, John’s ME3. The overall story arc remains the same, but our journeys were very different. We played with a different cast of characters, framed by different decisions and motivations. It’s a true testament to BioWare that fans feel this sense of ownership and feel this deeply about the game.
The protest wasn’t just because fans wanted a happy ending or simply because they didn’t like what happened. They’d invested in a game that delivered an experience that was complex, emotional and felt individual to them and they way they’d played it. In fact, that was the boast from EA; the ending would be shaped by the players’ decisions. The ending we got did anything but that, and fans felt cheated. BioWare didn’t deliver on their promises.
As an interactive medium, games lend themselves to consumer feedback. It’s no rarity to find developers consulting forums and asking fans to vote on aspects that may inform the next title in a series. So why should the ME3 exchange be any more abhorrent? BioWare has actively solicited player feedback and made changes to game mechanics and character arcs as a result. It has openly admitted that Tali and Garrus became key characters because they were popular with fans. And why not?
We continue to compare games to films and art or literature, but they are none of these things. Critics of ‘Ending-gate’ say fans should not be able to place demands on game developers, as artists. These dissenting voices forget that artists have had to bow to the demands of consumers for as long as art has been bought and sold.
Leonardo da Vinci’s art was commissioned by wealthy families and Holbein’s patrons included Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII. You can be sure these wealthy consumers of art voiced their opinion and shaped crucial decisions on the works they paid for.
Games are interactive and we live in a world where consumers have more power than ever, through social media. Publishers and developers use this source of player feedback to their advantage. They are in the business of selling games, after all.
On the flipside, why shouldn’t players use this two-way street to their advantage? Nobody’s taking away BioWare’s artistic integrity. They didn’t have to provide the DLC. Perhaps they wanted to. They encouraged players to take ownership of the game and that’s just what they did.
Mass Effect 3 is no Sistine Chapel or Mona Lisa, so there’s really no need to throw our arms up in horror, when fans demand more closure on a game or hold the developers accountable. Without the gamers, games wouldn’t exist as artistic experiences. So if it’s good enough for Leonardo da Vinci and countless other masters, it’s good enough for BioWare.
And this is my last word on the matter’er’until the DLC comes out.
Most played: Mass Effect 3
Most wanted: Mass Effect 3 DLC