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Here we are, on the threshold. The next episode will wrap up Human Revolution, and I have to say I’m sorry to see it go.
Next week we’ll be doing a special one-off episode. The week after that is right after PAX, so we’re not going to have any Spoiler Warning. Josh and I will both be at PAX, so if you want us to say mean things about video games you’ll have to catch up with us there. I’ll be posting my PAX itinerary next week.
It should be obvious, but this post is going to be complete and total spoilers for Mass Effect 3. Also, most of what I say here is just a re-hash of points that have been made elsewhere. The problems with the ending are very obvious, and I don’t think it takes a keen analysis or a deep understanding of the Mass Effect lore to uncover these issues.
The truth is, my nitpicking skills are wasted on this, and I don’t have a lot to add to the conversation. I’m writing this mostly to get it off my chest.
And to deflect the likely objections: Yes, the rest of the game is often quite good, and there were many “fanservice” moments where players got things they had been hoping / waiting for since the original game. But right now we’re talking about the ending to Mass Effect 3, which I rank as the worst ending I’ve ever personally played. Worse than KOTOR 2. Worse than Neverwinter Nights 2. It fails thematically, it fails logically, it fails at basic coherence, and it fails to be consistent with what has come before.
I know it’s childish and melodramatic when fans say, “This new thing has RUINED this series FOREVER!” I don’t want to go that far, but I will say it’s done a lot of damage. I just finished a re-play of Mass Effect 1, and it’s shocking just how many things seem stupid, contrived, inconsistent, or pointless now that I know how they turn out.
And no, I’m not a believer in the “indoctrination theory“. I think that would be better than the ending we got, but I don’t think it it was ever intended by the writers. This theory involves an incredible level of subtle symbolism, which goes against just how ham-fisted the rest of the story is. To wit: If these writers thought Shepard was indoctrinated in the last stage of the game, we would know it.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Mass Effect 3 Ending Deconstruction”
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So, as far as we can tell, Megan lives in the pure white room, which is directly between the naked muscle man room and the launch pad with the space rocket. Does she even have a bathroom? What does she do on the weekends?
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Deus Ex Human Revolution EP39:Plot Rocket”
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I titled the article with “racism”, but it’s actually a more generalized rant about lack of diversity and who gets blamed for it. Read the whole thing.
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The fight with Namir…
Why is Zao here, hanging out in the naked skinless muscle man room? How did she know you were coming? (Remembering that it’s possible you ghosted everything before now.) Since she knew you were coming, why is she here in the open, waiting for you? Shouldn’t she be worried that you would just shoot her?
Why is Namir here, naked? Really, think about this: Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Deus Ex Human Revolution EP38:
Naked Muscle Man”
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This part was a bit of a head-scratcher for me. Pritchard, if the signal is being jammed, then how are we able to talk at all? One thing that should never happen is people people having a conversation over the internet about how they can’t establish a connection over the internet.
And yes, this episode title is a jab at the bomb in the original Deus Ex.
Here is Spoony’s review of Final Fantasy X. Note that he HATED the game. I mean, I know he kind of rages against everything and that’s part of his charm, but I think he hated this with unusual fervor. I agree with all of the points against the game (Tidus was whiny, the game was too linear, Blitzball sucked, etc) but for some reason I liked it anyway.
Rick recently asked:
Off topic here Shamus, but I'm curious. As a programmer and a writer does it bug you that writing convention has close quotes after the period at the end of a sentence?
Vader explained “Luke, I am your father.”
As a programmer it infuriates me that the quote reaches out past the end of the sentence. It's within the sentence, therefore logic dictates it should finish within the sentence.
I've even seen plenty of books/magazines/websites/newspapers miss the closing quote marks completely when at the end of a paragraph. For it to be that widespread it must be a typographical rule I'm unfamiliar with.
I’m sure a lot of this weirdness comes from the way the written word has evolved. First as pen-on-paper, then typeset, and finally to this digital form. However, that doesn’t excuse the lapses of logic in the system.
One of the problems here is that we’re nesting sentences.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Programming Language vs. Written Language”
Two minutes of fun at the expense of a badly-run theme park.
Game developer Jon Blow is making a programming language just for games. Why is he doing this, and what will it mean for game development?
I really thought one thing, but then something else. There's a bunch more to it, but you'll have to read the article.
An ongoing series where I work on making a 2D action game from scratch.
Let's count up the ways in which Bethesda has misunderstood and misused the Fallout property.
A programming project where I set out to make a Minecraft-style world so I can experiment with Octree data.
This series explores the troubled history of VR and the strange lawsuit between Zenimax publishing and Facebook.
Would you have survived in the middle ages?
Cities: Skylines is bound to have a sequel sooner or later. Where can this series go next, and what changes would I like to see?
No, brutal, soul-sucking, marriage-destroying crunch mode in game development isn't a privilege or an opportunity. It's idiocy.
T w e n t y S i d e d
