SPOnG: Did you always plan to do DLC that would continue Fallout 3, or did that come about due to fan criticism about the game ending? To what degree did fan reaction to Fallout 3 ending motivate the making of Broken Steel?
Pete Hines:That was specifically in response to folks reacting to the fact that the game had an ending, and they wanted to keep playing. So yes, I'd say fan reaction played a big role.
"(The presence of the Rachni) has huge consequences in Mass Effect 3. Even just in the final battle with the Reapers."
“There are many different endings. We wouldn’t do it any other way. How could you go through all three campaigns playing as your Shepard and then be forced into a bespoke ending that everyone gets? But I can’t say any more than that…”
"It’s not even in any way like the traditional game endings, where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got ending A, B, or C.....The endings have a lot more sophistication and variety in them.”
"Of course you don’t have to play multiplayer, you can choose to play all the side-quests in single-player and do all that stuff you’ll still get all the same endings and same information, it’s just a totally different way of playing"
And this, whose story is ME?
"“Um… You know, at this point, I think we’re co-creators with the fans. We use a lot of feedback.”"
[In 2007, several radio stations, both domestic and international, banned music artist Sean Kingston's hit song "Beautiful Girls." Concerns over the "copycat" nature of suicides led to a surprisingly high percentage of listeners requesting the song be either altered or removed entirely. The song, while perhaps not the most artistic intellectual property, nonetheless had part of the lyrics changed from "You'll have me suicidal, suicidal when you say it's over" to "You'll have me in denial, in denial when you say it's over" in acquiescence.
Why did no one argue "artistic integrity" over Sean Kingston's lyrics? Because it was being sensitive to a popular culture issue? Because it was "just another song" about how pretty girls are? Either way, why do we not use these same reasons for Mass Effect 3? Would it not be prudent for BioWare to be sensitive to a popular, consumer issue? Do we intend to hold Mass Effect 3 up as art when it stars, as many deriders of the series would describe, "just another bald space marine"?
Films are also frequently edited and changed. Advanced screenings for test and press audiences will often gauge a potential film's success. After receiving feedback, filmmakers may cut, re-arrange, or insert or remove scenes entirely. Even post-release, films can be changed. Don't think so? Well, let me ask, who shot first, Han or Greedo? Regardless, the point remains that cinema, often considered one of the greatest forms of modern art, can be, and often is, changed.
Remember Van Helsing, starring Hugh Jackman? I know, it's kind of painful for me too, but stick with me. We're going somewhere with this. Recall how the character Van Helsing is bitten by a werewolf, causing him to transform into one of those great, lumbering moonbeasts himself? At the climax of the film, Van Helsing is stabbed with a curing serum. Originally, in his transformation back to human form, Hugh Jackman wasn't wearing any clothes. BAM! Wolverine ass! Sweet, delicious... I'm sorry, what was I saying?
Actually, reactions like mine to un-clothed Jackman are why the digital effects team added pants in the final version of the film. Director Stephen Sommers figured the audience would be too distracted by the taut buttocks on-screen that they couldn't pay attention to what was actually happening. And since this all occurs at what is supposed to be a heart-touching moment, it was kind of awkward to be staring at bare man cheeks. Artistic vision changed? Hardly.
Maybe we should look towards the gaming industry, if that's what we're really talking about. Has anything like the compromise of "artistic integrity" happened before in the same medium? Well... yes, actually. The ending of Fallout 3 originally had the player's avatar sacrifice him- or herself, thus putting a definitive period at the end of the story. However, western RPGs are known for their open-world design, including the ability for players to complete quests and explore at their leisure. Gamers were hardly satisfied with Bethesda's return to a classic franchise if it didn't let them explore the world they knew and loved.
Therefore, Bethesda changed the ending with the addition of the "Broken Steel" DLC. It never made sense, anyway. By that point in the story, you had a companion immune to radiation poisoning, and you yourself likely could've swam in radiation like a fish.]
wcleung9's comments