BioWare has responded to Mass Effects 3’s “polarizing” ending earlier this month and have hinted that they are considering making changes. BioWare Co-founder, Ray Muzyka, has confirmed the development for new content to provide additional closure.
According to a post on the company’s official website, Muzyka states that the team has been actively following the reaction of fans and has made the decision to respond.
“I believe passionately that games are an art form, and that the power of our medium flows from our audience, who are deeply involved in how the story unfolds,” Muzyka wrote, “and who have the uncontested right to provide constructive criticism. At the same time, I also believe in and support the artistic choices made by the development team. The team and I have been thinking hard about how to best address the comments on ME3’s endings from players, while still maintaining the artistic integrity of the game.”
“Since the game launched, the team has been poring over everything they can find about reactions to the game – industry press, forums, Facebook, and Twitter, just to name a few,” he added. “The Mass Effect team, like other teams across the BioWare Label within EA, consists of passionate people who work hard for the love of creating experiences that excite and delight our fans. I’m honored to work with them because they have the courage and strength to respond to constructive feedback.”
“Building on their research, Exec Producer Casey Hudson and the team are hard at work on a number of game content initiatives that will help answer the questions, providing more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey,” Muzyka continued. “You’ll hear more on this in April. We’re working hard to maintain the right balance between the artistic integrity of the original story while addressing the fan feedback we’ve received. This is in addition to our existing plan to continue providing new Mass Effect content and new full games, so rest assured that your journey in the Mass Effect universe can, and will, continue.”
Muzyka added “the reaction to the release of Mass Effect 3 has been unprecedented. On one hand, some of our loyal fans are passionately expressing their displeasure about how their game concluded; we care about this feedback, and we’re planning to directly address it.”
Muzyka also addressed the type of recent fan responses, commenting that “some of the criticism that has been delivered in the heat of passion by our most ardent fans, even if founded on valid principles, such as seeking more clarity to questions or looking for more closure, for example – has unfortunately become destructive rather than constructive. We listen and will respond to constructive criticism, but much as we will not tolerate individual attacks on our team members, we will not support or respond to destructive commentary.”
For his concluding remarks, Muzyka reminded fans that BioWare is listening and fans should “trust that we are doing our damndest, as always, to address your feedback.”
Muzyka concluded by reminding fans that BioWare is listening and that fans should “trust that we are doing our damndest, as always, to address your feedback.”
No additional details about the nature of the new content have been provided.
It seems that with BioWare caving to the request of fans for a chance could open up a can of worms for other developers whose fans are not satisfied with portions of their games to demand a change. Let us know what you think about BioWare changing the ending in the comments below.
[Via IGN]