{"id":3338,"date":"2012-05-06T10:53:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-06T17:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=3338"},"modified":"2012-05-08T09:34:18","modified_gmt":"2012-05-08T16:34:18","slug":"opinion-gamers-should-respect-artists%e2%80%99-visions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2012\/05\/06\/opinion-gamers-should-respect-artists%e2%80%99-visions\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: Gamers should respect artists\u2019 visions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Art has always been open to interpretation, but what happens when that art is also a consumer product? This is what is happening with the recently released Mass Effect 3<\/em> video game, the concluding chapter to a space-opera trilogy by Canadian studio BioWare.<\/p>\n

A furor has sprung up over the ending of the game, with detractors claiming that the conclusion doesn\u2019t respect the themes set up by the preceding two games and dashes the notion of player choice, one of the key tenets of the series.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s been ongoing outcry for BioWare to change the ending to the game to satisfy the demands of its fans, but in doing so would they sacrifice their artistic integrity? While video games are ultimately made for purchase, there\u2019s still an artist\u2019s statement in the product and it\u2019s the combined work of a studio full of talented people.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Campaigns to change Mass Effect 3<\/em> have been ongoing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Because video games are such an interactive medium, as opposed to books and movies, some gamers believe they are well within their rights to request that the ending be changed.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the input needed from the player, most modern video games are still designed to tell a specific story, and the user is just there to push it along. Sure, there\u2019s fun to be had along the way, but games are so carefully play-tested and designed these days that there isn\u2019t much room for deviation.<\/p>\n

Video game designers have a set path they want players to go on, and the story is part of that. Even a game like Mass Effect<\/em>, which is one of the few games where players can influence the storyline, still has an overarching plot beyond the control of the gamer.<\/p>\n

That said, the vocal segment of the fan base that wants the ending to be changed claim that because they\u2019ve invested so much time and energy into the games that BioWare should change the ending to alleviate the disappointment the ending caused.<\/p>\n

As patrons of BioWare\u2019s craft, shouldn\u2019t gamers have a say in this matter? Movies are sometimes test-screened with multiple endings and the one that makes it into the theater is based on audience feedback, so why should video games be any different?<\/p>\n

Well, the problem is that the medium is still in its relative infancy and the process of making a game is much more complicated than making a movie. The story is written months or even years in advance of making the game and there\u2019s a complicated collection of codes and art assets that needs to be built before the game can even take shape.<\/p>\n

While people have a right to complain when they\u2019re unsatisfied with their video game purchase, asking a studio to change the ending of a game is rather unprecedented and, when it comes down to it, nearly impossible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Art has always been open to interpretation, but what happens when that art is also a consumer product? This is what is happening with the recently released Mass Effect 3 video game, the concluding chapter to a space-opera trilogy by Canadian studio BioWare. A furor has sprung up over the ending of the game, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-webexclusive","category-views"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3338"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3358,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3338\/revisions\/3358"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}