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Mass Effect 3 Spoiler Thread |OT2| Taste the Rainbow

Tookay

Member
More effective from a logical narrative standpoint, yes.

But I was glad I got to kill one of those two in ME1, and I was pissed the other came back to haunt me and waste a roster spot in ME3.

Those scenes just weren't necessary. It's utter shit. Just show him dreaming of Reapers demolishing cities.

Oh I agree that the scenes in general were bullcrap "war is hell" nonsense and that Ash/Kaiden were awful characters in ME1 (and continued to be in ME3).

Just that, if they were going to go down the PTSD route, there was a much better alternative.
 

hateradio

The Most Dangerous Yes Man
Yeah I know this.

But I just wish BioWare wasn't so stupid. In a series that has been about character interaction and building friendships/romances, you just throw in some stupid little kid as a cheap device?

That's a bigger slap in the face than the ending.
Blame Mac Walters?

Could have just had Ashley or Kaiden pop up in your dreams, taunting you for your failures. Would have been more effective.
This would make too much sense. They needed to be abstract and avant-garde and deep.

Also, notice the Inception aspect of the last scene. Shep gets hit by the lasers, goes into a dream, dreams up the rest of the story including the talk with TIM and Anderson. Then Shep goes deeper after falling asleep in that dream. Finally in limbo Shep talks to the Vent Kid in AI form. Then the dream collapses.

A gasp for air!

Inception
 

Minion101

Banned
CD2347D06A5E65071BBDC33A7629D6652FB626F0


E7125B30C242B194AE630A8A94D87CF96E5B799E


Hmmm...
 

Omega

Banned
More effective from a logical narrative standpoint, yes.

But I was glad I got to kill one of those two in ME1, and I was pissed the other came back to haunt me and waste a roster spot in ME3.

Those scenes just weren't necessary. It's utter shit. Just show him dreaming of Reapers demolishing cities.

Nope.

Earth being destroyed and Anderson who has grown to be like a mentor/father figure life hanging in the balance has no effect on Shepard.

Random kid I met for 2 minutes? Oh noes. My life as I know it is over :(

Shit like that is why I believed in the indoc theory at first. Then slowly over time just came to realize that BioWare is just an average-at-best developer.
 

Sojgat

Member
Exactly. The evidence that points to indoctrination may be erroneous, but it isn't just 'wishful thinking' to see it in the game.

Again, at this point I believe the ending we got was the final intended ending, but the remains of other plot points are still in the game, including indoctrination and Illusive Man Reaper Boss Fight. So when people point out the evidence for indoctrination, it isn't just coming from desperation, it's coming from left over plot BioWare didn't end up using.

I agree. It's not "irrational" to theorise about something which is supported by existing evidence.
 

hateradio

The Most Dangerous Yes Man
Nope.

Earth being destroyed and Anderson who has grown to be like a mentor/father figure life hanging in the balance has no effect on Shepard.

Random kid I met for 2 minutes? Oh noes. My life as I know it is over :(

Shit like that is why I believed in the indoc theory at first. Then slowly over time just came to realize that BioWare is just an average-at-best developer.
I guess I didn't save the image. It's a short comic. Basically it shows Shep not giving a damn about other things in the story, but then he/she start crying about the kid.

I would have been struck if it were kitten though. Or a bunny. Oh god no! Not a bunny. :(

That's OT1 olde.
But yes, wheels.

Wouldn't it have been awesome to get into the Mako, drive into the beam, and then go all crazy with it on the Citadel/Crucible? Wouldn't that have been cool? I agree.
 

DTKT

Member

Let me talk to you about reusing assets.

You see, assets are expensive. Both in memory and $. So, anytime you can, you reuse an assets that was previously created!

Welcome to the modern world of video games.

Also, I still don't understand what I'm looking at. I see one burned Mako on a battleground and some round things.
 

Tookay

Member
Is such a thing even possible?

Yes.

It is.

Let me talk to you about reusing assets.

You see, assets are expensive. Both in memory and $. So, anytime you can, you reuse an assets that was previously created!

Welcome to the modern world of video games.

Also, I still don't understand what I'm looking at. I see one burned Mako on a battleground and some round things.

The funny thing is, the Mako wheels/gears on the Citadel aren't even the same assets. This is literally looking at two circles and thinking they have something to do with one other because they are round.
 

rdrr gnr

Member
This is less about the indoctrination theory and more about the fact that the game simply doesn't end properly. It lacks closure. It'd be like if Star Wars ended in the middle of Luke's fight with Vader. Everything still mattered, it just ended in the wrong place. But if the indoctrination theory is correct, shepard should wake up eventually (as he does in the destroy ending) and the game should continue on from there. The theory doesn't make your choices invalid as much as they become self contained: That is, the choices only affect shepard and shepard personally because they are in his mind. And they certainly don't make "every decision you made" in the game mean nothing.
The game would continue with him alive post-culling? Explain that. And, again, no. If Indoctrination Theory is true, it does make your major decisions ultimately meaningless. Every "branching" of all possible paths leads to you never reaching that beam. No decision changes that particular unavoidable outcome. If the choices affect Shepard personally after getting hit with the beam -- as you claim -- we would still need multiple diverse endings to account for how those decisions were viewed and manifested in Shepard's mind. Having the decisions become "self-contained" is inherently a decision-invaliding mechanism; gathering war assets should not end with pseudopsychological douchebaggery, it should mean I have actual tangible war assets. And, again, I had a qualifier to my claims: ultimately.
 

danwarb

Member
This is less about the indoctrination theory and more about the fact that the game simply doesn't end properly. It lacks closure. It'd be like if Star Wars ended in the middle of Luke's fight with Vader. Everything still mattered, it just ended in the wrong place. But if the indoctrination theory is correct, shepard should wake up eventually (as he does in the destroy ending) and the game should continue on from there. The theory doesn't make your choices invalid as much as they become self contained: That is, the choices only affect shepard and shepard personally because they are in his mind. And they certainly don't make "every decision you made" in the game mean nothing.

It'd be better if we saw Shepard barely alive, with or without his own mind, the now hopeless war playing out above. The inevitable end of the universe as we know it. Your choices aren't rendered meaningless because you die. They're recorded in a time capsule, heheheh.

I'd still have liked better motivation for the Reapers and Catylist.
 

Sojgat

Member
I think one main reason the ending disappoints is because it feels like your squad and allies have contributed nothing to the final conclusion. You get all tooled up to go on a final mission and then you just run headlong (literally) into the brick wall of an abrupt ending. The ideas present in the ending would have worked fine if there was an hour or so spent fleshing them out and involving the other cast members in their resolution, instead the whole thing just feels poorly conceived and rushed.
 

Galactic Fork

A little fluff between the ears never did any harm...
This has been said, but moral horribleness about synthesis aside, with red and blue, a wave that disables the reapers, or takes control is fine. It makes sense kinda, but one that alters life through the whole galaxy and gives them random circuits (and does the same to hats)? What the hell? What is this energy?? I know... space magic, but really?? What the hell? It is so ridiculous. Who came up with that Idea?
 

hateradio

The Most Dangerous Yes Man
This has been said, but moral horribleness about synthesis aside, with red and blue, a wave that disables the reapers, or takes control is fine. It makes sense kinda, but one that alters life through the whole galaxy and gives them random circuits (and does the same to hats)? What the hell? What is this energy?? I know... space magic, but really?? What the hell? It is so ridiculous. Who came up with that Idea?
I can't believe it came to space magic in the end. :/

If they do address the issues with a patch, like answering these questions, I'll be fine.
 

Sojgat

Member
Now the wheels thing is just wishful thinking. It seems to me to be nothing more than a coincidental design element, or maybe thats what Bioware want me to think. At this point I'm having trouble deciding whether they are geniuses or just the fucking idiots they appear to be.
 

Sojgat

Member
This has been said, but moral horribleness about synthesis aside, with red and blue, a wave that disables the reapers, or takes control is fine. It makes sense kinda, but one that alters life through the whole galaxy and gives them random circuits (and does the same to hats)? What the hell? What is this energy?? I know... space magic, but really?? What the hell? It is so ridiculous. Who came up with that Idea?

The idea is that green would be symbolic of a compromise between the red and blue options. But since the red option is the only one where it is possible for Shepard to be seen to survive this "compromise" also fits in perfectly with the indoctrination theory. Bioware failing upwards in spectacular fashion.
 

MG310

Member
I took the right hand path...I figure that way Joker and Tali got together on the fancy jungle planet since I killed myself and Edi.
 

Veelk

Banned
The game would continue with him alive post-culling? Explain that. And, again, no. If Indoctrination Theory is true, it does make your major decisions ultimately meaningless. Every "branching" of all possible paths leads to you never reaching that beam. No decision changes that particular unavoidable outcome. If the choices affect Shepard personally after getting hit with the beam -- as you claim -- we would still need multiple diverse endings to account for how those decisions were viewed and manifested in Shepard's mind. Having the decisions become "self-contained" is inherently a decision-invaliding mechanism; gathering war assets should not end with pseudopsychological douchebaggery, it should mean I have actual tangible war assets. And, again, I had a qualifier to my claims: ultimately.

The control ending DOES have him survive. It's a cutscene. Look it up.

And what they have NOW doesn't mean much, no, but I'm talking about how the DLC could fix that. With the indoctrination ending, your decisions still have the chance of mattering because the war is not finished yet, so they still retain value. Hence the star wars analogy. The fact that Vader is his son still matters, that value just hasn't been used yet. That's what I meant, not that the decisions affect shepards mind, because they obviously don't. The point of the indoctrination theory is that the indoctrination should end and Shepard gets back into the fight where, yes, your military assets do matter.

Besides, if they keep the ending as it is, I have no fucking idea how they are going to be able to continue the storyline and account for all the plotholes and errors.
 

Galactic Fork

A little fluff between the ears never did any harm...
The idea is that green would be symbolic of a compromise between the red and blue options. But since the red option is the only one where it is possible for Shepard to be seen to survive this "compromise" also fits in perfectly with the indoctrination theory. Bioware failing upwards in spectacular fashion.
No no no no, you missed my point. A green wave of energy somehow gave every living thing (and some inanimate objects) circuits and wires. How does that make any sense?
 

hateradio

The Most Dangerous Yes Man
Besides, if they keep the ending as it is, I have no fucking idea how they are going to be able to continue the storyline and account for all the plotholes and errors.
They can fill them with cement and space magic. Besides, there aren't really that many plot holes. There are several inconsistencies, but space magic is real.

No no no no, you missed my point. A green wave of energy somehow gave every living thing (and some inanimate objects) circuits and wires. How does that make any sense?
From now on, we shall use the Space Magic(TM) clause of because I jumped into the lasers, that's why.
 

Sojgat

Member
No no no no, you missed my point. A green wave of energy somehow gave every living thing (and some inanimate objects) circuits and wires. How does that make any sense?

Oh, sorry. No it wouldn't make any sense at all, it would just have to be space magic. Control option might make sense but the other 2 would have to be sorcery of some kind, which again is just awful fucking writing.
 

MG310

Member
If that little kid is The Citadel...doesn't he listen to his own news? I already solved all the space racism...no need to continue grinding humans into a fine paste.
 

rdrr gnr

Member
The control ending DOES have him survive. It's a cutscene. Look it up.
Yes, I've seen it. And what exact quotas do you have to meet in order to trigger that scene? And you have to be reaching for straws in order to convince me that him being "alive" (an ending that only a fraction of people will experience because not all endings that have the potential to have Shepard come out alive actually have him do so) justifies everything else being relatively insignificant. If that split second shot was one of many different split second shots (Shepard alive, Shepard whimpering and dying, Shepard alive but indoctrinated, etc.) I could conceivably understand.

And what they have NOW doesn't mean much, no
I'm glad we had this conversation.

Edit: I misread. I have seen the clip of him living, but I don't know what ending it is associated with.
 

Galactic Fork

A little fluff between the ears never did any harm...
If that little kid is The Citadel...doesn't he listen to his own news? I already solved all the space racism...no need to continue grinding humans into a fine paste.
Do you think he knows all of Commander Shepard's favorite stores on him?
 

Sojgat

Member
The control ending DOES have him survive. It's a cutscene. Look it up.

I just looked this up and it seems to be true. So applying the theoretical logic of the whole thing being an indoctrination doesn't work. Wow. Just, wow. Worst ending ever, it wins hands down. There is no way to even pretend that it makes any sense.
 

hateradio

The Most Dangerous Yes Man
I just looked this up and it seems to be true. So applying the theoretical logic of the whole thing being an indoctrination doesn't work. Wow. Just, wow. Worst ending ever, it wins hands down. There is no way to even pretend that it makes any sense.
Link?

Dude, just roll with the space magic. Higher level of existence and all that.
 

Sojgat

Member
Link?

Dude, just roll with the space magic. Higher level of existence and all that.

On further investigation it appears to be some bullshit that some little punk faked after ign had a misprint in their wiki, so I can totally continue to live in my delusion.
 

Replicant

Member
The control ending DOES have him survive. It's a cutscene. Look it up.
Yes, I've seen it.

Edit: I misread. I have seen the clip of him living, but I don't know what ending it is associated with.
Wait, the control ending has the laying in rubble thing too? I thought it was just Destroy.

Nope. Only Destroy. Control ending turns Shepard into a pulp.

The Best Control Ending (Shepard still dies)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9tg8PncpQw

The Best Destroy Ending (Shepard lives)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AdWqlsQjWo

Notice how in Control, all you get after the Normandy crew is Stargeezer scene.
 

pulga

Banned
Finished the game last night, been slowly working my way up the madness that is this thread and the tumblrs and gifs.

Man, Bioware, when the fuck did you lose your shit? The game was stellar, if not my favorite in the series, up until the end. They retroactively made the previous games meaningless with the bullshit they pulled. DLC better be free.
 

danwarb

Member
Nope. Only Destroy. Control ending turns Shepard into a pulp.

The Best Control Ending (Shepard still dies)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9tg8PncpQw

The Best Destroy Ending (Shepard lives)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AdWqlsQjWo

Notice how in Control, all you get after the Normandy crew is Stargeezer scene.

There's nothing wrong with the control or destroy choices to end it, and the bleaker ME universe it leaves us with. Taking down the Relays and Citadel to stop the Reapers makes some sense.

The third option doesn't make any sense. All they should do, if they do anything, is clear up how your squad managed to escape, and what the Reaper/Catalyst were up to because that was a naff explanation.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Finished the game last night, been slowly working my way up the madness that is this thread and the tumblrs and gifs.

Man, Bioware, when the fuck did you lose your shit? The game was stellar, if not my favorite in the series, up until the end. They retroactively made the previous games meaningless with the bullshit they pulled. DLC better be free.

Even if it is the star child is still gonna talk stupid shit and the relays are still gonna explode and you're still gonna be left sitting there thinking "what the fuck just happened?".
 
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