Writers should stand by their work, says Peter Molyneux

In the age of YouTube comments and Twitter, it’s very easy for people to complain when they don’t like something, and to complain loudly. In all-caps, even, LIKE THIS AND OMG WHAT A LOAD OF ****. Is that really always such a good thing, though? In response to fans’ whining about the Mass Effect 3 ending, BioWare released an Extended Cut edition, which might not exactly have reinvented the series’ finale, but perhaps have undermined the writers’ intellectual honesty.

That’s what Peter Molyneux thinks, anyway.

“BioWare are the authors, they are the creators of this world,” he told Gamespot. “They entertain millions of people and we have to put our trust in them. If they believe in what they did, they should stand by that. There has been many times where I’ve watched films or read books and felt cheated at an ending. It’s just today that you can say that about a computer game and then give feedback and that feedback can create a controversy.”

Especially on the internet, where all it takes is one person to decide that they don’t like something before it’s a big deal with a petition, boycotts, lolcat memes, and everything. That doesn’t mean the writers should have to do anything about it, though.

“I think that we as authors of stories and entertainment have to stand by our decisions and justify them and take the rough with the smooth,” Molyneux added.

“If people don’t like it, you can’t just go and change it because if you have any sense of authorship, you’re playing through a plan.”

A plan, people. Don’t mess with the plan. Bad things could happen.