I was fully prepared to watch the battle of the Mass Effect 3 petition unfold from the sidelines, while occasionally asserting my two cents in the form of a tweet. But now that the focus of the backlash has turned from BioWare to the reviewers, I can no longer sit idly by. Since this piece is almost entirely about Mass Effect 3’s ending, there are indeed spoilers. You’ve been warned.

The Background

Here’s some background on the petition in question. If you already know about it, feel free to skip to the next section. An online petition has popped up on Change.org demanding that BioWare produce new DLC that would change the finale of Mass Effect 3. The lead statement on the petition states:

“We demand for EA and BioWare to deliver us an ending DLC that adds what we want and that is for our choices to affect the games ending , so if we want to destroy the universe the cycle of destruction continues and if we get everything perfect we can ( just for example ) see Liara and Shepard get their little blue children and get old .”

Then there is the seemingly unrelated petition from chipin.com entitled “Retake Mass Effect” that states:





“We Believe:

* That it is the right of the writers and developers of the Mass Effect series to end that series however they see fit

However, we also believe that the currently available endings to the series:

* Do not provide the wide range of possible outcomes that we have come to expect from a Mass Effect game

* Do not provide a sense of succeeding against impossible odds

* Do not provide a sense of closure with regard to the universe and characters we have become attached to

* Do not provide an explanation of events up to the ending which maintains consistency with the overall story

We therefore respectfully request additional endings be added to the game which provide:

* A more complete explanation of the story events

* An explanation of the outcome of the decisions made, especially with regard to the planets, races, and companions detailed throughout the series

* A heroic ending which provides a better sense of accomplishment”

The latter petition has actually succeeded in raising $45,000 for the Child’s Play charity.

The argument against BioWare and Mass Effect is two-pronged. One side – the side expressed in the above petitions – is staunchly against the story’s ending, while the other topic of contention focuses on the choice of day-one DLC. Those speaking out in opposition of the DLC believe that day-one DLC should be part of the $60 game rather than supplementary gameplay at an extra price.

Since these petitions have come to fruition, members of the gaming media have been outspoken against the petitions themselves and the gamers who support them. The word “entitlement” has been thrown around, as have the terms “spoiled” and “whiny brats.”

Now the public outcry has a new target in the crosshairs: Gaming media. In fact, I was told via Twitter that this entire breakdown was the fault of us, the reviewers, and not BioWare at all. Concurrently, I was told that the reviewers dropped the ball on their Mass Effect 3 reviews, which caused consumers to wrongly spend $60 on a subpar product.

Now that you have the background, allow me to explain why above petitions and the idea behind them are utterly detrimental to the progression of the video game industry.

The petition is counterproductive to gaming culture

Video games continue to attempt to be considered as art over the course of the last ten years. I’d be willing to say that everyone who enjoys games and has been affected by them on an emotional level believes that they are indeed art. But we can’t call it art, and then proceed to undermine this idea when we see fit, and that’s exactly what this petition is doing.

In an article I was sent from paranoidgamer.com, the writer compares games to a steak ordered at a restaurant or an appliance bought from a store. He states that games are unfortunately not like appliances, and we can’t just return them when we are dissatisfied with the product. In summation, the writer says that we are stuck with a game that we paid $60 for. Such a comparison is patently unfair, and if the writer firmly believes this, then he also believes that games are no longer an art form and are better compared to a blender from Target.

Consumers can't return games if they are dissatisfied because games, like any art form, are subjective. Let’s look at other forms of media that are considered art.

When you buy a ticket to a movie, you don’t have the option to get your money back afterward if you hated the movie. The Andy Warhol museum, a Pittsburgh art museum that is home to some of the most influential art of a generation, costs $20 for adult admission. Adults do not stand to have this fee returned to them if they are dissatisfied with the works on display. Why don’t you try and return an album purchased from iTunes once you find that you hate 90 percent of it?

Art isn’t there simply to be enjoyed. In many cases, it’s there to be considered, discussed, analyzed, pondered, rejected, loved and hated. If it is indeed hated, the observer doesn’t demand that it be altered or changed. Such a request is preposterous, and if the creator caves to will of the observer, then their creation is no longer their own, no longer a work from the creator’s initial inspiration, and no longer a work of art.

When you throw down $60 on a shiny new game, you don't enter into a contract with the developer stating that you are guaranteed to like every facet of the game at hand. In today’s pessimistic gaming culture, you’re probably more likely to be dissatisfied. If and when that happens, you are entitled to voice your opinion using the many outlets you have at your disposal: In personal conversation, Twitter, Facebook, and user reviews on Metacritic. You can even start your own blog. What you aren’t entitled to is a new ending from the creators of the game that is tailor made for your liking.

The money going to the Child's Play charity is the silver lining in all of this, but it doesn't make the original basis of the petition any more reasonable.

(When petitions arise, this is what it makes us look like)

Video games are the cheapest form of entertainment around

A common talking point with this entire debacle is, “We’re paying $60…$60! Paying all this money means we deserve better!” This is the basic argument against Mass Effect 3’s day-one DLC. A closer look at the world of art and entertainment will show that the $60 price of a game is one of the best bargains you can get for entertainment. Look at what the consumer is paying per hour, and compare that to other common forms of entertainment. The Mass Effect 3 single player campaign has somewhere between 25 and 30 hours of gameplay. Even the low end of 25 hours calculates to the price of $2.40 per hour. Keep in mind that this isn’t even considering time spent in multiplayer. How many of you have put more than 100 hours into games like Call of Duty or Rock Band? In those cases, 100 hours for a $60 game comes out to 60 cents an hour.

The average movie ticket price is around $10 for a movie that could be an hour and a half to two hours. A music album is $12 for about an hour of music. Even the Andy Warhol museum’s $20 admission fee would break down to about $10 for two hours of enjoyment. So stop complaining about spending $60 on your games. We have it much better than some choose to realize.

(Fans accepted this finale petition-free)

Don’t shoot the reviewer

In the midst of people grabbing their torches and pitchforks, it seems that they have forgotten that game reviews are the opinion of one person: The reviewer that wrote it. A review doesn’t tell the reader if he or she is going to like or dislike this game. It’s simply the thoughts of one person on his or her personal experience with a game.

In the case of Mass Effect 3, some think that it was the reviewer’s fault that they spent their hard earned cash on a game they didn’t enjoy. Since the reviews were mostly glowing, gamers had to rush out and get it.

Have you ever enjoyed a TV show or movie that was panned by critics? Conversely, have you ever loved a TV show or movie that critics hated? These things do happen and happen quite often. We reviewers don't speak for you. We don’t tell you what to like or dislike. We simply share our own personal thoughts in hopes that you consider what we have to say. I never wish that my reviews become the be-all, end-all final verdict on a game, because I don’t speak for anyone but myself. I don’t possess the power to deem something good or horrible for everyone that experiences it, nor does anyone else. Everyone is entitled (there’s that word again) to his or her own thoughts. Again, it comes back to games being subjective.

And be honest with yourself: Were you really going to pass on Mass Effect 3 if we said it was horrible? No. You would want to experience it for yourself.

(Here's a picture of a petition affecting the video game industry)

Stop complaining and enjoy the experience of gaming

We love video games. We all do. If we stick with the love, in decades we will be like the people meticulously categorizing their vinyl collection, or those showing off an epic home cinema, except we will be the ones going back and replaying old video games to tap that indescribable essence of nostalgia. We do this because we love games. We love their creators for what they give us on a monthly basis. We love to read about them, practice them, and painstakingly research them. So why do we try to tear them down at every turn? And I don’t mean tear down a game or its mechanics. I mean completely undermine the industry as a whole and its professionals.

Is it because we feel all of the social outlets that surround us require us to exude bitterness and resentment? Or perhaps it’s something deeply rooted in our psyches that would better be examined by professional psychologists.

Our gaming culture is headed in the direction that will constantly pit consumers against professionals, and by our own doing. If we as consumers choose to maliciously bash them every time they release a game, what good can come of that? We shouldn’t be enemies, and traveling down this path will create a consumer-developer relationship that will constantly be at odds.

I’m not saying this relationship should always be rainbows and butterflies, but a written request to a developer requesting that they conform to your artistic wishes certainly falls in the category of foolhardy.

Not every video game producer is out to dupe the consumer, and not every major video game news website is in bed with these producers. Believe it or not, ethics still play a big role in the world of video game journalism. The world of video games is not nearly as dark as some choose to make it out to be. Now please go back to enjoying the video games that you claim to love so much, and stop attempting to sully them for the rest of us.