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BioWare should resist calls for a change in the Mass Effect 3 ending and retain control of their work, two leading developers have said.
Speaking at the Smithsonian, as reported by Vox Games, senior creative director of BioWare Mythic Paul Barnett said that the developer has the right to keep the game’s ending unchanged, even if it is against the wishes of the players.
"If computer games are art than I fully endorse the author of the artwork to have a statement about what they believe should happen," said Barnett.
"Just as J.K. Rowling can end her books and say that is the end of Harry Potter. I don’t think she should be forced to make another one.”
BioWare has faced an outcry from disgruntled fans following the game’s release, with a Retake Mass Effect petition formed to change the ending.
Its organisers have claimed that Mass Effect 3 “does not provide the wide range of possible outcomes that we have come to expect” from the series.
Irrational Games boss Ken Levine, also speaking at the Smithsonian, said he believed if BioWare gave in to such pressure and altered the ending, users would end up disappointed anyway.
"I think if those people got what they wanted and (BioWare) wrote their ending they would be very disappointed in the emotional feeling they got because they didn’t really create it," he said.
"I think this whole thing is making me a little bit sad because I don’t think anyone would get what they wanted if that happened."
