Pyrrhic Effect

Under normal circumstances, an RPG developer‘s claim that fans are the co-creators of their games should score them a fair amount of brownie points. In case of Canadian developer Bioware and their latest title Mass Effect 3, however, it’s way more likely the company in question will score a fair amount of multicoloured – yet uniflavoured – cupcakes instead.

Since the leak of the three possible endings to the multiple-award winning sci-fi trilogy one week prior to the official release, fans have been demanding a change to be made, as they feel the final three options presented in the game don’t provide neither a sense of closure and a sense of accomplishment against impossible odds – a reoccurring motif in all three games, nor do they actually offer the wide range of possible outcomes the developers have spoken about during the development of Mass Effect 3.

After a few weeks of campaigning for better endings, voicing their opinions in a huge number of discussion threads concerning the topic, petition signing and organising a charity event, the fans have been given an official answer: in summer, Bioware is going to release a free extended cut of the Mass Effect 3 endings, elaborating on the original endings and offering more closure.

And the winner is...
Does this mean the so called Retake Mass Effect movement – named after the official Mass Effect 3 tagline “Retake Earth” – has succeeded and the artists in question will change their artwork based on the demands of their fanbase? Have the Mass Effect fans – at least according to IGN’s Colin Moriarty – set a dangerous precedent in videogame industry, where the consumers could from now on pressure developers into compromising their artistic integrity? The answer isn’t as clear cut as it might seem.

While some consider the Retake movement a success, others argue that fans have actually definitely lost their fight for a more fitting ending for Bioware’s space opera. In a recently released statement made by Bioware’s co-founder Dr. Ray Muzyka, he has claimed that: “since launch, [Bioware] had time to listen to the feedback from [their] most passionate fans and are responding.”

However, Bioware’s response in the form of an Extended Cut DLC won’t probably satisfy all. According to the official press release, the company “strongly believes in the team’s artistic vision for the end of this arc of the Mass Effect franchise”. The original endings, criticised by the fans, will therefore remain after all – albeit hopefully better explained.

Holding the line
As Erik Kain from Forbes points out on his blog, even if Bioware would create a set of completely new endings, they would never be able to please everyone and some fans would still remain upset. At the same time however, the announced provision of clarity and closure won’t likely appease the Retake Mass Effect movement either.

The reasons behind Retake movement’s unlikely appeasement were very aptly – albeit rather crudely – summed up by Joe Vargas in The Angry Joe Show, where he stated: “they are basically telling us why their shit stinks rather than giving you something that isn’t smelly shit”.

Forbes’ Paul Tassi is optimistic about the results of Retake Mass Effect, however. In his recent blog post he claims fans shouldn’t be worried about Bioware releasing an ending just as terrible as the original one, as they now “pretty much have an exact road map of what will make fans happy”.

At the same time, Tassi warns that since the Extended Cut DLC can’t be seen as anything but victory, fans should be careful now. If they continue to complain and claim they wish a new ending instead of a simply changed one, they are likely to be labelled as “entitled” and “whiny” – and at this point, even he, as a supporter of the Retake movement, would agree that such label is true.

Put up/Shut up
While this is of course only Tassi’s personal opinion, it also represents a possible shift in general attitude towards the Retake movement. Retake Mass Effect might lose media supporters – who helped immensely in spreading information about the movement’s arguments and goals – if the fans continue to voice their displeasure now, even though their continued displeasure is understandable, as illustrated in both Kain’s and Vargas’ respective article and video.

Meanwhile, members of Bioware’s official discussion board speculate about how – and if – can elaborations on the endings make the final options presented in the game better. Some fans have also suggested a follow up to the successful cupcake action. After sending over four hundred cupcakes in red, blue and green (yet all in the same vanilla flavour) to the Bioware headquarters in Edmonton, they now suggest sending another batch of cupcakes. This time, with eating instructions included.