Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Soldier On!

Why are video gamers what we are in the first place?

I think the answer to why we're gamers is connected very closely to why there is such a movement for a better ending to "Mass Effect 3". We play video games as a distraction, as escapism. For at least a short time, we can play a game and get our adrenaline up. To see things and do things we otherwise couldn't. To be part of an epic story, or simply exercise our lizard brain and blow away as many digitally-rendered humans and/or monsters we can before we run out of bullets. It's an escape in the same way movies and television are, only we can interact with it. It's an escape from the mundanities, stresses, problems and disappointments we're often subjected to in real life.

But what happens when we're disappointed by what we escape to, what entertains us so?

What happens when we have such a thing as the 'ending' of "Mass Effect 3", to know we can experience disappointment in what we love? It's easy to lose faith, for one thing. What I mean by that is, how can we know the next game we wish to escape into won't also be deeply flawed in some way? And how in the world can we REPLAY a game knowing it disappoints and frustrates so at the 'end'? Speaking for me, I haven't had much heart to get into "ME3" again. I've played through it twice to only receive the payoff of 'red-green-blue'.

It's easy to lose faith, even to give up on what we invest ourselves into.

But giving up is the easy way out...losing faith is also far too quick and convenient a solution. We need to have the strength to believe that we can make things better. We invested so much of ourselves into "Mass Effect", it would be a disservice to ourselves to give up on it now. We have to believe we have the right to a better ending than what we've been given.

Besides, Commander Shepard wouldn't give up...we mustn't, either.

It doesn't matter why it happened, but I hope as a united front we can help BioWare understand what we want. And what we're asking of them isn't much, just to bring a level of completion and closure to the "Mass Effect" trilogy equal to its overall quality, which is amazing. Indeed, we were told by Dr. Ray Muzyka and Casey Hudson that we'd be given much, much more than red, green, or blue. I believe they can live up to their word, and if that's too much to ask for, then BioWare will betray themselves along with their fans. For the sake of their reputation and bottom line, they won't let that happen.

Keep the faith and hold the line!

http://www.facebook.com/DemandABetterEndingToMassEffect3





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