Rated PG 13
I never thought I would hear about Mass Effect 3 that much.
The interesting point is that after reading different point of view, fans are right. Game developers have a long history of promises they can’t keep and the “sixteen different ending” was one for Mass Effect.
Mass Effect is a hardcore game, the business model is based on fans buying on pre-orders or day one. Fans immediately shove 60 bucks or more to satisfy their addiction to stunning spaceships, war and alien sex.
People miss the point comparing a game to TV shows -again-, TV shows producers don’t talk about what’s going to happen or what you should expect, they’re very vague. TV shows are financed by ads, indirectly from people watching, not directly like games are. Movies? It’s not comparable, they use Hollywood accounting and other obscure financing methods. Forget about them. I mean John Carter is a massive flop and Disney is like “it’s OK”, how the hell is this happening? We can’t afford that in the computer game industry.
Arguments for the artist and his masterpiece are biased. Mass Effect 3 and Bioware are not that, they’re the big blockbuster. They aim to please people and listen to fans feedback, nothing auteur-like, really. I guess they didn’t have enough money to polish more. They had to ship the game and make money too.
I don’t buy the argument that the artist is free to do whatever he wants and that you need to bow to his vision. I mean of course, but then there’s no discussion, ever. Games are art, fine but it’s a totally different beast and the discussion between creators and players is unique to this medium. Players interact, they don’t just shut up and watch. The personal investment is far bigger. It creates a very different feeling about what’s happening on screen, or not. Even more when these fans know they are the guys financially supporting their favorite game developer.
Which is the reason why Bioware is probably going back to work on all that.
So the rules would be: Don’t promise shit. Deliver real stuff. Build a community with fans, don’t encourage them to think their wet dreams will come true.