1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

I had an interesting conversation with Jessica Merizan (UPDATED 5/13/2012)

Discussion in 'Mass Effect 3 General Discussion' started by Geoffrey Scott, May 10, 2012.

  1. Elsbeth Elite Member

    Message Count:
    473
    Trophy Points:
    198
    Credit:
    200.18
    Ratings Received:
    +1,009 / 4 / -0
    Ah, disingenuous statements. How I love them. There is at least one person who liked the ending. The creator of it. Thus, even if he is the only person who liked it, that makes it so that the ending was NOT universally disliked*. This much is true.

    * - Not being universally disliked does NOT equal:
    - Being good.
    - Being well made.
    - Being liked by the vast majority of the paying costumers that, at this rate, will refuse to buy your stuff.

    As nice as this lady is, she likes to play with words too much while putting up her facade of nice and cuddly person. While I wish no hate to go her way, I also find myself having no patience for her attempts at tugging my heart strings. Frankly, she gives us a lot of verbal cotton candy: looks huge and cute, and tastes vaguely sweetish, but when you get down to it, it amounts to nothing but a distraction for the eyes.

    While I understand she can't outright come and say "Yes, we know that it sucks", I had it with her trying to subtly imply that we are in the wrong and that the vast majority actually LOVES the game.
    • Like Like x 5
    • Agree Agree x 4
    • Winner Winner x 1
  2. Vadakin Active Member

    Message Count:
    172
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Credit:
    43.47
    Ratings Received:
    +375 / 20 / -3
    Quick story:

    I have a friend who liked the ending. He wasn't a hardcore ME fan but he liked the games in general. I asked him why he liked it and he told me that he liked that there was no perfect victory, that to save the galaxy, big sacrifices would have to be made. Which is fine. I didn't ask him about EMS, I didn't ask about the Normandy, I went straight to Starchild's logic and asked him what he thought. He said he felt it made sense since he had to choose between the Geth and the Quarian. I nodded and then asked if he'd tried uniting them. He said no. He didn't have that option.

    So I gave him one of my Mass Effect 2 paragon saves to use and he played through the game again, this time uniting the quarian and the geth. I got a text from him yesterday which read: "Finished ME3 again. Kid is wrong. I made peace. Argh!"
    • Winner Winner x 5
    • Like Like x 3
    • Funny Funny x 1
  3. JudgeGreg Moderator

    Message Count:
    574
    Trophy Points:
    463
    Credit:
    653.44
    Ratings Received:
    +989 / 7 / -0
    I agree completely. I know Jessica has a LOT of fans on this board, but from the brief time I followed her on Twitter, she was constantly patronizing and condescending to people who didn't like the ending.

    I stopped following her when she started to get excited about reaching 10K followers. I chose not to be one of them.
    • Agree Agree x 2
    • Like Like x 1
  4. ASC Elite Member

    Message Count:
    332
    Trophy Points:
    218
    Credit:
    101.09
    Ratings Received:
    +676 / 6 / -0
    If you take it literarly, of course they are not universaly disliked.
    There are always people who think differently (or don't think at all).
    Justin Bieber is not universally disliked. There are a lot of people who like his songs. That doesn't mean his songs are good.

    When 90% of people who love your games, dislikes the ending of the game they actually loved, you can't just dismiss them.
    Especially when the people who dislike the ending make logical and elaborate explanations on why they don't like it, while the minority who likes it usually says something along the lines "Yay, I loved it because I saved the universe. What did you expect?" and "You don't understand it".

    Something is obviously wrong!

    Yet they tried to dismiss us as whiners who wanted a happy ending with flowers and rainbows. When that failed they went for artistic integrity and said that we don't understand the ending.

    It has been said for a million times and I'll say it again:
    Mass Effect 3 ending is theme breaking, narratively inconsistent, plot-hole riddled mess. It's broken.
    You don't have to accept that if you don't want to, but that's the truth.

    And no, we are not a minority and they know it. Bioware wouldn't reschedule their plans and make a new free DLC for a "vocal minority who did not understand the ending".

    @Vadakin, I'd also like to emphasize that even if you don't make peace between them and kill off the Quarians, the geth are still peaceful.
    They are forced to kill the Quarians in order to save themselves. They do it in self-defence.
    They are at peace with other races and they are helping you and fighting alongside other races against the reapers.
    EDI is still helping you although she is not bound by any restrictions. She does it because it is her will.

    So even I there was no peace option between Quarains and the geth, the starbrat is still wrong.
    And the reapers are still his tools.
  5. Captain Pants Member

    Message Count:
    64
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Credit:
    54.23
    Ratings Received:
    +65 / 0 / -0
    I'm sure some people do like the ending, and not wanting to change it to avoid upsetting them is a perfectly valid concern, but surely there is a way to work around that, you could not dl the EC for example as others have suggested here, or more simply just leave the original endings as they are and just add in other possibilities for those of us that find them non-sensical or just plain ridiculous
    • Agree Agree x 3
  6. Awesomologist Editorial Team

    Message Count:
    614
    Trophy Points:
    253
    Credit:
    252.24
    Ratings Received:
    +909 / 1 / -0
    Absolutely. Let me know how they respond and PM me if they want to do this.
    • Like Like x 2
  7. Geoffrey Scott Active Member

    Message Count:
    126
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Credit:
    43.47
    Ratings Received:
    +210 / 43 / -7
    bump for new info.
  8. Breefolk Creative Team Leader

    Message Count:
    838
    Trophy Points:
    1,643
    Credit:
    1,644.76
    Ratings Received:
    +1,210 / 6 / -0
    Once again, like I said before, it's PR spin. There's nothing good or bad about that, necessarily - no matter how good your PR is, you'll never be able to sell something that is just obviously bad - but it is about putting everything in the best possible light imaginable, usually without saying anything that can be confirmed to be untrue.

    This is why I like to describe myself as "cynically optimistic" about the Extended Cut. I do believe it is possible to save the ending with just closure and clarification. The problem is, of course, that it would take an ENORMOUS amount of work to be able to create the level of closure needed to truly "save" the ending, in my eyes, and as this is all being done after-the-fact, I'm doubtful that there is much of a budget for it, let alone the time and effort to put into it, unless they want to seriously reassess their "DLC schedule".
  9. JudgeGreg Moderator

    Message Count:
    574
    Trophy Points:
    463
    Credit:
    653.44
    Ratings Received:
    +989 / 7 / -0
    She put quotes around "plot holes." Because clearly, the issue is that we just didn't get it. Of course Liara and Garrus were on Earth one second then fleeing with the Normandy another second. They had to flee. The green DNA-merger energy was destroying the Normandy and only the Normandy for some reason. Not because of "plot holes," though. We just didn't get it.

    Seriously, I think Jessica Merizan is the Turian counselor. Has anyone ever seen them together?

    Sorry, Jessica fans. That girl dances on my last nerve.
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Creative Creative x 1
  10. Elsbeth Elite Member

    Message Count:
    473
    Trophy Points:
    198
    Credit:
    200.18
    Ratings Received:
    +1,009 / 4 / -0
    I admit that I wasn't aware of her until I joined the movement -- and I could never actually like how she acted. I'm all for cuteness, but hers is, as you said, laced with a lot of patronizing and treating people as if we were dumb. Take for instance the whole "it's not universally hated". Of COURSE it's not. That'd be stupid. We KNOW it's not because it'd mean EVERYONE in the world wouldn't like it.

    And yet, she speaks as if the person was dumb and she had to clarify it.

    You know who she reminds me of? (not to say that she's exactly like or morally evil or cruel or anything, mind you -- just saying what her posts and twits give out) -- Dolores Umbridge of Harry Potter fame. The same cutesy, sweet, "Look at me I'm so nice" approach, laden with an unnerving sense of moral and intellectual superiority. I'm not saying she's a sadist, but rather that she treats us as cute (but stupid) children she needs to (patiently) educate into proper people.

    Sorry, rant over.
    • Agree Agree x 3
  11. Belsnickle Super Moderator

    Message Count:
    278
    Trophy Points:
    208
    Credit:
    161.06
    Ratings Received:
    +257 / 1 / -0
    Isn't it even in Final Hours that the original idea was that they were dead, that that video was made completely, and then cut out as a last minute decision not to punish the player just for bringing people along on a mission where you HAVE to bring people along?

    Hah, found it. Problem with at least that specific thing is they never took the time to write the fix.
    • Informative Informative x 1
  12. JudgeGreg Moderator

    Message Count:
    574
    Trophy Points:
    463
    Credit:
    653.44
    Ratings Received:
    +989 / 7 / -0
    That's the problem with a lot of things in Mass Effect 3. Many of them we forgive because they don't stink so bad standing next to the ending.
    • Agree Agree x 1
  13. Breefolk Creative Team Leader

    Message Count:
    838
    Trophy Points:
    1,643
    Credit:
    1,644.76
    Ratings Received:
    +1,210 / 6 / -0
    Which is exactly why I tend to think the whole ending was rushed. People keep acting like the IT is canon, and when they say they finally "understand" the ending, I ask them to explain it to me, and they start talking about the IT, which is still based on a whole lot of assumptions. BioWare is not stupid; they know how to write things and to properly foreshadow a plot twist like that. There just is not enough conclusive foreshadowing to confirm it. And so, I'm left with Occam's Razor: they didn't have enough time, so they just put as much material as they had together and shoo'd it out the door.
    • Agree Agree x 1
  14. Michael Zack Elite Member

    Message Count:
    1,168
    Trophy Points:
    278
    Credit:
    285.05
    Ratings Received:
    +3,212 / 16 / -0
    I looked through the edited OP.

    I've giving her the benefit of the doubt because it really coincides with my personal experiences. There are just a lot of people who get attacked for liking the ending by those who didn't like it.
    • Agree Agree x 1
  15. Elsbeth Elite Member

    Message Count:
    473
    Trophy Points:
    198
    Credit:
    200.18
    Ratings Received:
    +1,009 / 4 / -0
    Actually, I'm yet to see that happening. Not that I don't believe you, I'm sure people are getting attacked for it, but most of the times (at least involving people from this movement), what I see is one of two things:

    a) If the person who liked the ending is polite about it, ending-dislikers will politely say "good for you, we hope they don't change the ending you liked but we hope they'll give us more endings so we'll like it too".
    b) If the person who liked the ending is an ass\troll about it, and accuse ending dislikers of just being too stupid\immature\whiny to understand it, the aforementioned will point out how the ending makes no sense, is badly plottled, and how likers are acting as EA\Bioware fanboys that think that the company can do no evil.

    And frankly? 9 out of 10 times I've seen scenario b happen. It's always us who're whiny\entitled\dumb. It's always us who are unreasonable and idiotic because we don't like the ending. I've seen like a mere handful of people who liked it actually saying "I liked this ending. I hope they keep it but I also hope EA gives people new endings so others can like it too."

    On the reverse, I've saw most of us saying "I'm glad you liked the ending, I hope they can give us MORE endings so we can enjoy it too."
    • Agree Agree x 3
    • Winner Winner x 1
  16. Milena Elite Member

    Message Count:
    361
    Trophy Points:
    198
    Credit:
    141.54
    Ratings Received:
    +475 / 1 / -0
    Well, this is rich. More obvious proof to the fact that game has been rushed apart from the bugs like spinning heads.Wouldn't mind squad mates running if you order them to. Still, based on your relationship they should either refuse to leave Shepard or just flee thus proving loyalty only to themselves.

    After a game that, not only does it have stamp on every promise producers gave, but is all rigged with bugs. I think they should think twice and actually listen to the fans with cool heads and don't go into anger fits like little children who can't take critics. I was willing to forget the face import bug, but lack of the more dialogue options and terrible endings that don't even make sense.... nope.

    If we are that stupid about the game, why didn't they explain to us instead of keeping us in the dark and torturing us? To indicate a person is stupid is insulting.
    • Agree Agree x 2
  17. FoolishOwl Active Member

    Message Count:
    222
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Credit:
    43.47
    Ratings Received:
    +405 / 3 / -0
    I've been of two minds about IT all along, but that pretty much settles it for me. Killing off your favorite squadmates is just stupid. Of course they deleted the scene, but it shows what kind of state things were in that they'd put it in at all.

    There are some stronger bits of evidence for IT, but it makes most sense to assume that they had something like IT in mind at one point, and dropped it; the stronger bits of evidence are just debris from earlier versions of the ending. The ending doesn't make sense because they didn't write it ahead of time, they kept rehashing it, and they finally had to push out an inconsistent mess.
    • Agree Agree x 1
  18. Gmandam Strategic Team Leader

    Message Count:
    2,736
    Trophy Points:
    678
    Credit:
    2,078.42
    Ratings Received:
    +2,744 / 8 / -0
    Sorry Micheal I gotta agree with this. In what I've seen the other side is more likely to start a flame bait topic or start baiting people who didn't like the endings. Not to say that the reverse doesn't occur (It's a big enough world for it to happen) but I've not seen it. I've got a obvious bias though and I've not really wanted to go hunting for evidence of flame bait on either sides beyond maybe checking BSN every now and then.

    I gotta say though that from my point of view it seems selfish. I mean I want new endings but I've never advocated removing the old ones (They are there now weather we like it or not and people seem to like them so I don't mind people keeping them) and as I've said before I'd like to chat to those people who enjoy the endings without using such lovely words as "Entitlement and Whiny".
  19. Michael Zack Elite Member

    Message Count:
    1,168
    Trophy Points:
    278
    Credit:
    285.05
    Ratings Received:
    +3,212 / 16 / -0
    Go to facebook. You'll have to go back two months. But the evidence is all still there. Hundreds of attacks against people who loved the ending.
  20. marshkoala Effected Member

    Message Count:
    270
    Trophy Points:
    78
    Credit:
    131.32
    Ratings Received:
    +341 / 0 / -0
    I want to share a story......................I was a regular on the BSN PR thread. Way back in March, Jessica posted on the thread(when ME mods were posting now DA:O mods are) as what will usually happen on the BSN she was verbally assaulted for her comments. Of course a lot of the regulars jumped in and defended Jessica. Wheither it was intentional or not the topic at the time was completely derailed.
    Now as far I can remember(which sometimes can be inaccurate..:()I never received a response from Jessica nor did anyone else for defending her(It was a BIG blowup at the time), and from then on I noticed that was a regular action for her....to be bubbly, chatty, off topic and playing the victim card. (Now I not trying to be negative, just an observation nothing more)

    Micheal in response to your post, there is a very polite pro-ender who started a thread on the BSN titled A Pro-enders Compilation which is a rarity on the BSN at least to my knowledge. I believe both sides of the issue are attacked, I have noticed both types of posters on BSN have disappeared. Is it because everytime they started a thread or posted in a thread they were assaulted? Your guess is as good as mine.
    Now I don't know if the pro-enders who are quick to throw insults are just posters who enjoy pot stirring or who honestly dislike posters who don't like the ending, I couldn't tell you. And the same applies to the posters who dislike the ending.(Do they jump on pro-enders because they are pot stirrers or do they honestly dislike anyone who loves the ending)
    I can say that I try to point out that the attacks should stop because we have things in common like..... our mutual love of the Mass Effect universe and the fact that neither side has been given any love by BioWare or the Media etc.

    In this great wall of text.....sorry.....I guess my point is that both types of posters are treated the same way. I don't believe any side is more quilty than the other.

    edited: To add.... Michael I don't go on Facebook as much as I do BSN and HTL simply because my brain still hasn't figured out how to use Facebook, so I can't say what happens there and I am sorry if it was very one-sided for the posters who loved the ending of ME3.
    • Informative Informative x 1

Share This Page