The second problem is how to close a story with so many different variables. Meaning some folks would feel unsatisfied either way. RPG game and action game elements blended into a single narrative experience.
The Mass Effect games did try to be all things for all players. Even though this isn’t the case, some players felt shortchanged. It also meant that new players couldn’t get the full narrative experience. So, as EA and BioWare tried to appeal to new players, it felt as if successive games devalued the choices of the previous ones.
It was ported to PCs a year later and didn’t hit Playstation 3 until 2012, the year of Mass Effect 3’s release. Thanks to a now-shortsighted deal on BioWare’s part, Mass Effect 1 came out exclusively for the Xbox 360. The first problem is that gaming, like all commercial art, is a business first. The Two Problems at the Heart of the Mass Effect 3 Controversy Yet, they had a legitimate gripe (unlike fans who want a “new” final season of Game of Thrones or for Disney to disavow The Last Jedi or The Rise of Skywalker). Nothing excuses that, and it remains a huge problem in fandom. Yet, angry fans launched death threats, vile insults, and other horrid behavior towards the developers and the poor EA intern who managed BioWare’s social media. The idea of being fired over an insensitive tweet made as much sense as being fined in the real world for jaywalking in Grand Theft Auto III. (The angry fans appalled at that behavior even did the thing where they all raised money for charity!)Īt the time, Twitter was not a site anyone took seriously.
However, in looking back at what happened, the response from fans to game developers looks very similar to the sort of behavior we call “toxic fandom” today. About a year later, I was able to get through about the first third of it but then life got in the way again. However, unlike the first two games, I never played Mass Effect 3. At the time of the game’s release, I knew people were pissed off, just not why. Faithful readers of Comic Years know that during this time of social distancing, I am replaying the Mass Effect series for Retro Reviews.
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