I was just watching a very good You Tube video from "People Who Make Games" about the Mass Effect 3 ending. It got me thinking about my own idea on how I would of concluded the trilogy and then made me think what other endings I might of changed. I'm going to focus on ME3 in my original post because it's my most beloved franchise and it will be fairy long (sorry).
I'd love to know the game endings that you would want to change? I would probably be careful with newer releases though as people are probably still playing them.
My Mass Effect 3 ending - modified from the original ending
I'm only to to look at the end (I didn't like the Earth centric feel due to EA involvement but we'll keep all of that). As the battle around Earth continues we get to Shepard activating what they think is the Reaper killing weapon and nothing happens - Shepard meets the Catalyst AI (now this is where I change things)...
The AI instead of being the Child the entire time changes throughout your interaction to the people who had died during your journey across the 3 games and then finally reflecting Shepard himself. Now we get the origin stories of the Reapers and the cycle itself...
The AI was created by a species locked into a deadly conflict against machines they created and they were losing. There only idea was to create a more powerful AI to help turn the tide of the war and initially it did work. The AI however soon realised should the Organics prevail they would just repeat the pattern again - it was in their nature. Eventually some form of Machine would destroy them and all organic life, while itself creating new machines that would rebel against it as well. A cycle of violence no matter who won between Organics & Machine.
The Reapers were designed as a temporary measure as this AI tried to solve the problem using each cycle to gain new data - When it came up with Synthesis as the idea of merging Organic & Machine life and started building the means to enact this (the Relays and the Citadel) one of the Reapers (Harbinger) evolved unexpectedly from a VI under it's control to AI and refused the solution believing Reapers were the APEX of all life and life itself should be controlled by them. Ironically this mean the Catalyst AI fell prey to the same problem it was trying to fix - creating AI that rebelled against it's creator...
Harbinger modified the other Reapers and while they couldn't destroy the Catalyst AI they locked it away in their network conscious. The Catalyst AI just before this manages to leave the plans it was working on for the next cycle to find. Misbelieving it to be a Reaper killer device they continue to work on it and each Cycle adding to it.
The Protheans discover the true reason for the Catalyst as they get near to building it. They do not agree with the solution either and modify the weapon so it can be used to destroy the Reapers instead. This means they run out of time however and the Reapers harvest them thus we reach our cycle and ending...
The modifications made by the Protheans limit the Catalyst AI ability to use the weapon hence why it didn't fire at the start when turned on by Shepard/Anderson but also hand an unexpected consequence of using the Catalyst AI to take control of the Reapers again by Synthesis but with 1 person (Shepard) rather than Synthesis across the entire Galaxy as intended by the AI to begin with. The Protheans modifications made sure the choice must be made by an Organic though - Shepard.
Control - Using the modified Synthesis: Shepard and the AI merge and take control of the Reapers. The Relays are NOT damaged unlike in the game's actual ending. The Reapers help repair the worlds they attacked and then dismantle themselves so SHEP AI could never potentially lose control of them and the Reaper network is terminated with Shepard included. Synthesis is offered as a free rather than forced choice hopefully to prevent anymore war but a warning remains at the end of the game that one day it could happen.
Destroy - The catalyst destroys the Reapers and all AI but this leaves a battered Galaxy with a much slower recovery time with no Reapers to help. Synthesis is lost and the warning at the end of the game is the cycle of war will one day continue.
Synthesis - Life is merged and the Reapers cease their war. Harmony seems to be restored but the question of free will remains. Shepard and the Catalyst AI are seen discussing since life was forced this merger and while the Reaper threat is over was the price of survival worth it?
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The Synthesis bit was the hardest and probably needs more but this thread is long enough already. Thanks for reading if you did and what endings would you change? I do have a much shorter Dead Space 2 one but we'll leave that for now.
I'd love to know the game endings that you would want to change? I would probably be careful with newer releases though as people are probably still playing them.
My Mass Effect 3 ending - modified from the original ending
I'm only to to look at the end (I didn't like the Earth centric feel due to EA involvement but we'll keep all of that). As the battle around Earth continues we get to Shepard activating what they think is the Reaper killing weapon and nothing happens - Shepard meets the Catalyst AI (now this is where I change things)...
The AI instead of being the Child the entire time changes throughout your interaction to the people who had died during your journey across the 3 games and then finally reflecting Shepard himself. Now we get the origin stories of the Reapers and the cycle itself...
The AI was created by a species locked into a deadly conflict against machines they created and they were losing. There only idea was to create a more powerful AI to help turn the tide of the war and initially it did work. The AI however soon realised should the Organics prevail they would just repeat the pattern again - it was in their nature. Eventually some form of Machine would destroy them and all organic life, while itself creating new machines that would rebel against it as well. A cycle of violence no matter who won between Organics & Machine.
The Reapers were designed as a temporary measure as this AI tried to solve the problem using each cycle to gain new data - When it came up with Synthesis as the idea of merging Organic & Machine life and started building the means to enact this (the Relays and the Citadel) one of the Reapers (Harbinger) evolved unexpectedly from a VI under it's control to AI and refused the solution believing Reapers were the APEX of all life and life itself should be controlled by them. Ironically this mean the Catalyst AI fell prey to the same problem it was trying to fix - creating AI that rebelled against it's creator...
Harbinger modified the other Reapers and while they couldn't destroy the Catalyst AI they locked it away in their network conscious. The Catalyst AI just before this manages to leave the plans it was working on for the next cycle to find. Misbelieving it to be a Reaper killer device they continue to work on it and each Cycle adding to it.
The Protheans discover the true reason for the Catalyst as they get near to building it. They do not agree with the solution either and modify the weapon so it can be used to destroy the Reapers instead. This means they run out of time however and the Reapers harvest them thus we reach our cycle and ending...
The modifications made by the Protheans limit the Catalyst AI ability to use the weapon hence why it didn't fire at the start when turned on by Shepard/Anderson but also hand an unexpected consequence of using the Catalyst AI to take control of the Reapers again by Synthesis but with 1 person (Shepard) rather than Synthesis across the entire Galaxy as intended by the AI to begin with. The Protheans modifications made sure the choice must be made by an Organic though - Shepard.
Control - Using the modified Synthesis: Shepard and the AI merge and take control of the Reapers. The Relays are NOT damaged unlike in the game's actual ending. The Reapers help repair the worlds they attacked and then dismantle themselves so SHEP AI could never potentially lose control of them and the Reaper network is terminated with Shepard included. Synthesis is offered as a free rather than forced choice hopefully to prevent anymore war but a warning remains at the end of the game that one day it could happen.
Destroy - The catalyst destroys the Reapers and all AI but this leaves a battered Galaxy with a much slower recovery time with no Reapers to help. Synthesis is lost and the warning at the end of the game is the cycle of war will one day continue.
Synthesis - Life is merged and the Reapers cease their war. Harmony seems to be restored but the question of free will remains. Shepard and the Catalyst AI are seen discussing since life was forced this merger and while the Reaper threat is over was the price of survival worth it?
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The Synthesis bit was the hardest and probably needs more but this thread is long enough already. Thanks for reading if you did and what endings would you change? I do have a much shorter Dead Space 2 one but we'll leave that for now.
