By Trent Moore, Source: Blastr.com
A vocal contingent of Mass Effect 3 video game fans did not like the ending for the final game in the trilogy. Admittedly, it’s not uncommon for fans to sometimes disagree with creative decisions in a popular series—but what they’re doing about it is where it gets interesting.
The game, which is a massive, sci-fi genre buster, was released earlier this month. The series has been running for several years, and is beloved by fans for its unique decision-making system that lets gamers craft the story around how they would react in a given situation.
Well, some fans believe the ending(s) for the final game didn’t live up to the freedom they’d been given up to this point, so they’re telling the developer to change it.
Supporters of the “Retake Mass Effect 3” campaign have already raised $30,000 to show their resolve, with the funds going toward a children’s charity. Plus, the movement’s Facebook page has already garnered nearly 30,000 “Likes” and counting.
So, what’s the big deal? Spoilers ahead!
The different endings that are available are all fairly similar (even using a lot of the same cut scenes), and fans believe the somewhat open-ended fate of the galaxy as a whole is not affected enough by the decisions they’ve made over three games to get to this point. The series’ longtime protagonist Shepard also dies, which fans say taints the entire series because they now know he doesn’t make it.
“If we can make them understand that by using the current endings they alienate (no pun) their customers, and destroy the replayability of the trilogy, they are hurting their profits we CAN bring about a change for the better,” the Retake organizers say in their Facebook mission statement.
Though the fans hope their cries will be heard, the game’s director Casey Hudson told Digital Trends that they always intended for the end to be controversial.
“I didn’t want the game to be forgettable, and even right down to the sort of polarizing reaction that the ends have had with people–debating what the endings mean and what’s going to happen next, and what situation are the characters left in,” he said. “That to me is part of what’s exciting about this story. There has always been a little bit of mystery there and a little bit of interpretation, and it’s a story that people can talk about after the fact.”
Boy, did they succeed.
