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Electronic Arts has responded to a letter-writing campaign by anti-gay pressure groups calling for the publisher to remove same-sex relationships from BioWare’s Mass Effect and Star Wars games, saying it has no plans to censor such content.
The complaints appear to come from the members of two religious groups, the Florida Family Association and the Family Research Council.
One such letter reads: “It was troubling to learn that BioWare and Electronic Arts were pressured into committing to add LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender] content to Star Wars videogames.
BioWare has announced the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, a free downloadable content pack that will expand upon the events at the conclusion of the Mass Effect trilogy.
Available this winter, the Extended Cut DLC will provide additional cinematic cut sequences and epilogue scenes intended to provide fans with "further clarity" and "greater insight" into the game's ending.
The move follows widespread fan outrage surrounding the series' conclusion.
BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka has issued an open letter to fans in which new Mass Effect titles are discussed.
Muzyka has hinted that the Mass Effect 3 development team is set to provide additional content to explain the ending of Mass Effect 3.
"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", writes Muzyka.
Mass Effect 3 executive producer Casey Hudson has responded to fans who were angered by the ending to Mass Effect 3.
Hudson dismissed any notion that BioWare might change the ending via a patch or downloadable expansion, as many campaigners, organised under the “Retake Mass Effect” banner, have requested.
“I didn't want the game to be forgettable,” said Hudson in an interview with Digital Trends. “Even right down to the sort of polarising reaction that the ends have had with people - debating what the endings mean and what's going to happen next, and what situation are the characters left in.”
A former Mass Effect developer has some advice for gamers: “Stop thinking you’re a producer.”
Ex-BioWare staffer Christina Norman, now working for League of Legends developer Riot Games, made the remark at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco following consumer outrage that Mass Effect 3 has day-one downloadable content.
The “From Ashes” DLC has angered some gamers, who believe that if the content is ready to go upon release, it should be included in the game.
In all forms of entertainment, it is criminally dangerous to attempt a trilogy.
The second film in a successful series can often get away with being critically panned and go on to deliver at the box office. In videogames, with larger time and monetary investments involved, sequels are typically harder to sell.
In spite of this, it appears many developers are not only attempting multiple sequels, they're doubling down on existing franchises and squeezing them for all they are worth, with each instalment accompanied by nervous chatter that it will surely be the one that ruins everything.
Earth is burning. Striking from beyond known space, a race of terrifying machines have begun their destruction of the human race. As Commander Shepard, an Alliance Marine, your only hope for saving mankind is to rally the civilizations of the galaxy and launch one final mission to take back the Earth.
