Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0

Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0

Gerry Pugliese

Mass Effect 3: Vindication and Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0 are NOT games nor mods. Mass Effect 3: Vindication and Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0 are viewable online for FREE as PDFs at Scribd.com/gerrypugliese. Mass Effect 3: Vindication and Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0 are FAN creations. Mass Effect 3: Vindication and Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0 have NO affiliation with BioWare or Electronic Arts Inc. Gerry Pugliese has NO affiliation with BioWare or Electronic Arts Inc. Mass Effect 3: Vindication and Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0 are NOT intended for commercial purposes. Mass Effect 3: Vindication and Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0 are FREE.

June 2015

“Gerry Pugliese’s Vindication script is the logical conclusion to what playing a game like Mass Effect is like. The original creators promised their players an almost unlimited set of choices and narrative possibilities—something they obviously couldn't create.” - Yannick LeJacq, 2014 Motherboard-Vice, Kotaku

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Table of Contents ". . . We have the ability to build the endings out in a way that we don’t have to worry about eventually tying them back together somewhere. This story arc is coming to an end with this game. That means the endings can be a lot more different . . . Who lives and who dies, civilizations that rose and fell, all the way down to individual characters . . . That becomes the state of where you left your galaxy. The endings have a lot more sophistication and variety in them." - Casey Hudson, 2012 Former Mass Effect Director

Introduction Section A: New Vendetta: pg. 5 Section B: Leviathan’s Stat Bonus: pg. 10 Section C: Talking about the New Geth VI: pg. 11 Section D: New Epilogues: pg. 15 Section E: New Patriarch Side Mission: pg. 22 Section F: Unused Concept Art: pg. 26 Credits

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Introduction Here we are: eighteen months have passed since I dumped Mass Effect 3: Vindication on the Mass Effect universe; the firestorm of press, praise, and hatred has long since burnt out. (Inside scoop: all the hype only lasted about a week. But I still get the occasional emails from appreciative Mass Effect diehards.) So why now, when Mass Effect 4 is right around the corner, would I “release” new content for a game, and controversy, that nobody cares about anymore? Hmm . . . ME3V has some loose ends that I’d like to tie up—things that nag at me. I also have some stuff that I cut from the first “build” that I’ve been itching to put back in. Plus there’s some new material that you might appreciate. No worries. Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0 is a much shorter read than the original—a paltry 30-ish pages. So what will you find inside? Most important to me are the changes to Vendetta, the Prothean VI Shepard discovers in the Temple of Athame during Priority: Thessia. In ME3V, I replaced the much-despised “Star Child” with the Ksad Ishan VI. (Ksad Ishan is the Prothean scientist who built Vigil: the wise VI on Ilos.) For now: just know that the inclusion of the Ksad Ishan VI should have altered (if only slightly) Shepard’s interaction with Vendetta on Thessia, and later on the Citadel. I fix that here in 2.0. I’ve also included some new content for the Leviathan DLC; epilogues for Feron and Glyph; concept art I cut from the original book; new dialogue focused on the Geth VI; a new side mission involving Patriarch; and (at the end) some press clippings. ME3V 2.0 isn’t the massive undertaking that the original book was—mostly just some extras I’d like to share with you.

Writing at Starbucks March 2013 Starbucks should give me stock. I spent more hours—and drank more coffee than I care to admit— writing at Starbucks. I used to live in Portland, Oregon, and the Starbucks in Bedminster, New Jersey is the closest thing to my house that even resembles a coffee shop.

How to read Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0: Read the original book first! None of this will make any sense to you if you don’t. I present all the material to come in (more or less) the same style as ME3V. Here’s how I explain it in the January 2014 press release for ME3V: . . . Mass Effect 3: Vindication is not a game—nor is it more lame fan-fiction! In fact, it’s hard to categorize exactly what it is. You can call it a book—for simplicity’s sake, I do— but it’s so much more than that. ME3V is part editorial and critical analysis, but it’s also made up of script and dialogue, mixed with concept art and flowcharts, all designed to 3

walk you through my more than a year of hard work to make Mass Effect 3 the game it should have been . . . So don’t expect 2.0 to read like a novel or script either; I bounce around between sections and revisions, and styles of writing. ME3V functioned as a blueprint for fixing ME3 (which it did); 2.0 works in exactly the same way: a blueprint to adjust ME3V. So fire up your imagination one last time! Thank you, again, for reading. Now let’s get started. FYI: 2.0 only took about a month from start to finish—big difference!

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Section A

New Vendetta Here’s a reminder: Mass Effect 3: Vindication is not a rewrite of Mass Effect 3. A lot of journalists incorrectly called it that. My challenge was to work within the confines of the original game; a lot of ME3 is perfectly fine as is. Much like modifying the Genophage, my approach was a billion times more difficult than creating something totally new. A rewrite would have been a shit-ton easier; I could have kept piling up my own made-up bullshit until I had a big enough mound of new bull shit to call it a “game.” Sifting through BioWare’s mess was a lot harder; after all, it took me a year and a half to do it! Now let’s head off to Thessia. Here you’ll see what I’m talking about: Vendetta needs a few changes to better mesh with my Prothean VI. So to do that, I weave new dialogue and script into the stuff you find in the original game. It still works with Priority: Thessia, and now better syncs up with ME3V.

Thessia: No worries. I won’t walk you through the whole mission to get to the revisions. 2.0 rockets us right to the point where Vendetta pops out of the statue of the Goddess Athame, i.e., the Prothean beacon. But first: check out 2.0’s new concept art for Vendetta. Vendetta isn’t exactly Mr. Sunshine and Flowers—he’s the bearer of bad news—so making him black like the Grim Reaper seems fitting. (FYI: I just Photoshop’d a picture of Javik. If you can do [email protected], and maybe I’ll post it on better, email me Twitter. MassEffect3V) Okay, time for the new dialogue and character interactions; all 2.0’s new content here is going to take place after Shepard asks Vendetta about the Crucible and before Kai Leng captures Vendetta. FYI: I use ellipses to quickly move things along. When you see one it indicates that action/dialogue has already occurred; ellipses at the end of a block of dialogue/action means that things will continue—often as scripted in the original game. It’s my way of excerpting.

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... Shepard “We need answers!” Vendetta shrinks—gets in Shepard’s face. Vendetta “To what question?” Shepard “The Catalyst. We need to know what it is to finish the Crucible.” Vendetta “No.” *All squadmate reactions are listed. Javik “Cursed machine! Tell us what we need to know.” James “What a dick.” EDI “A logical objection, given the presence of Reaper forces.” Garrus “Not exactly friendly—is he?” Liara “What! ‘No?’” Kaiden “Of course this wouldn’t be easy . . .” Ashley “Great—a robot with an attitude.”

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Tali “Ugh. Keelah. Come on . . .” Shepard “No. We’re not leaving without an answer.” Vendetta hovers backwards—materializes into Prothean form. *All squadmate reactions are listed. Javik “A memory . . . of one of my people.” James “Looks like a genie to me.” EDI “A Prothean VI, Shepard.” Garrus “Hmph—another VI.” Liara “A Prothean.” Kaiden “That’s a VI—right?” Ashley “It looks like some kind of VI . . .” Tali “Keelah—another Prothean VI!” Vendetta “I am called Vendetta, an advanced virtual construct of Pashek Vran, overseer of the project you refer to as the ‘Crucible.’ He died fighting the Reapers in the battle of Tranbir Nine. Your time is also at an end. ... 7

FYI: The unique exchange between Vendetta and Javik, i.e., two Protheans, remains—unchanged.

Cronos Station: Thank goodness. The conversation with Vendetta on Cronos Station works perfectly fine (as is) in conjunction with my changes to Priority: Thessia, so there’s no new stuff here. However, Cronos Station does not avoid the ire of my pen. You’ll find various additions to Cronos Station scattered throughout ME3V; most are connected to major characters. Read it—already!

Citadel: There is no more pivotal of an event in ME3V than Shepard’s conversation with Ksad Ishan VI; it is the culmination of all the changes I make to the original game, and is your first few steps into my massive overhaul of ME3’s endings. Shepard’s interaction with Ksad Ishan VI is very detailed; I carefully break it apart in ME3V to accommodate all the questions Shepard needs answers to. It was tricky to write—probably even trickier to read. (ME3V: The Last Prothean: pg. 321.) In the original game (and my original book), the Star Child (and Ksad Ishan VI) make no mention of Vendetta; this is probably an instance where everything works fine without it, but it nagged at me, so 2.0 adds a small tie-in. You’ll find this new dialogue under “Investigate” amongst the question-andanswer phase of the conversation between Shepard and Ksad Ishan VI. FYI: The new dialogue about Vendetta is part of “Beacons.” The rest of the conversation options are greyed out, because there are no changes. You’ll find that stuff in ME3V. Duh. ...

Reapers

Beacons Return

Javik Leviathan

Protheans

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Shepard “Tell me about the Beacons. I interfaced with one on Eden Prime.” Ksad Ishan VI “When it became clear that we could not defeat the Reapers, our focus shifted to continuity of species and dispersal of knowledge.” Ksad Ishan VI projects a hologram of a Prothean beacon. Ksad Ishan VI (cont’d) “My research center on Ilos was ordered converted into a stasis bunker. Before all communications were severed, we were told that other facilities had begun production of beacons imbued with warnings of the Reapers’ return.” Shepard “Did you really think that future species would be able to decipher them?” Ksad Ishan VI “Our hope was that at least one species would share our sensory abilities. The Asari were viewed to have the most potential.” Shepard “That explains the Prothean beacon on Thessia—the Asari home world.” Ksad Ishan VI “Yes. But clearly we overestimated the Asari. You, Commander Shepard, are the last hope for the Galaxy.” Shepard “Yeah, it nearly killed me . . .”

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Section B

Leviathan’s Stat Bonus Keeping or cutting this addition to Mass Effect 3: Vindication’s revisions to the Leviathan DLC went through a few machinations. At first pass, I was going to make available a special bonus power to players who completed Leviathan. I called it “Reaper Domination,” and modeled it after Morinth’s “Domination” power in Mass Effect 2; it would give Shepard the ability to mind-control Reaper units. Fail. It felt lazy and lacked creativity. I had other random ideas, but they all sucked. It wasn’t until months after ME3V was released that something decent popped up—too late! (ME3V: Leviathan DLC: pg. 197.) Leviathan, the creature, does something very profound: next to the Prothean beacon and Miranda’s scalpel, it’s the only thing to literally get inside Shepard’s head. Twenty thousand leagues under the sea, Leviathan renders Shepard unconscious and gives him/her wild hallucinations—not to mention a bloody nose. Shepard can’t get his/her eggs scrambled and walk away unscathed; the Prothean beacon certainly left its mark. “Changing” Shepard seemed logical. So instead of the fanciful Reaper Domination, or leaving Shepard a drooling idiot, Leviathan’s parting gift (in addition to the war assets) is a statistical bonus to Shepard’s character class-specific power: Adrenaline Rush, Tech Armor, Singularity, Biotic Charge, Tactical Cloak, or Combat Drone. It’s a 10% permanent upgrade to a particular aspect of each power.

• Soldier: +10% Adrenaline Rush duration • Sentinel: +10% Tech Armor damage reduction • Adept: +10% Singularity radius • Vanguard: +10% Biotic Charge damage • Infiltrator: +10% Tactical Clock recharge speed • Engineer: +10% Combat Drone health bonus

Writing at friend’s office November 2012 Hurricane Sandy cut the power at my writing hotspots, so I stowed away at my friend’s office for a week. It wasn’t exactly a fun week off from work. But I put the time to good use. It still sucked.

After Shepard wraps up his conversation in the Communications Room with Admiral Hackett, that familiar PDA screen will pop up and display whatever Shepard’s particular upgrade is. (This stat will also be viewable on the Intel Terminal in Liara’s cabin.) And there you have it: a little something more for tracking down that pesky Reaper-killer. 10

Section C

Talking about the New Geth VI Read Mass Effect 3: Vindication and you’ll see that I reimagine the Geth VI: he’s bigger, stronger, and more imposing. Remember: if you sold Legion to Cerberus in Mass Effect 2 or he died during the Suicide Mission, the Geth VI, a.k.a., “Legion’s backup,” assumes his role for all the Quarian missions in Mass Effect 3. BioWare’s original Geth VI is just a cheap knock off of Legion, right down to the holographic bits of N7 armor “strapped” to its chest—huh? (ME3V: Major Character Changes: pg. 25.) Losing Legion is a prickly issue; it’s a bone of contention between the Geth VI and Shepard. So in ME3V, I exacerbate the tension by making all dialogue between the Geth VI and Shepard more standoffish and threatening; this pairs with the Geth VI’s brutish new look. However, I missed a few things: How does the Geth VI’s enhanced bad attitude impact specific conversations with particular members of the crew? Javik, Joker, and EDI . . .

Javik: Javik and Shepard have a (cut-scene) conversation in Javik’s quarters about the origins of the Geth. (Javik reveals his cycle also had troubles with “man-made” synthetic life.) During the conversation, Javik questions Shepard’s relationship with “the machine” (Legion or the Geth VI). Even though I made significant changes to the Geth VI in ME3V, I didn’t alter any of the dialogue here.

Hardcopy of ME3V January 2014 Yeah. It certainly looks like the maintenance manual for a lawn mower, but . . . that’s the first hardcopy of Mass Effect 3: Vindication. It’s quite hefty.

Should I have? No. I didn’t have to do it—the dialogue still fits—but looking back on it now, I feel a little guilty. My overall gripe with ME3 is that I feel BioWare cut a lot of corners. (Why? We can only speculate.) Long story short: Not altering this dialogue started to eat at me; that’s why you’ll find it here in 2.0. (I made revisions for Joker and EDI for the same reason.) No worries. We’re going to skip right to the new/altered dialogue. ...

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Shepard “At this point, I don’t have a lot of options.” Javik gets in Shepard’s face. Javik “You do. Throw it out of the airlock.” Shepard “He’s not exactly friendly. But don’t you think that’s a little drastic?” Javik “Organics do not know how we were created. Some say by chance. Same say by miracle. It is a mystery.” ... Shepard “Even if what you say is true, this Geth we found wants to destroy the Reapers as much as we do.” Javik “Did you ever consider the Geth may be trying to eliminate the competition? With the Reapers gone, the galaxy would be theirs for the taking.” (pauses) “Throw the machine out of the airlock, Commander.” Shepard (affirmatively) “I’ll consider it—if I need help, I’ll let you know.” Javik (sinisterly) “Gladly . . .”

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Joker: After completing Priority: Geth Dreadnought, Shepard, EDI, and Joker have a brief exchange about the day’s events; if Legion is on board then Joker makes a comment about Legion still wearing a piece of Shepard’s armor. I tweak that line to accommodate ME3V’s new Geth VI. ... Joker “Fact that you go through that without punching something—that’s why you’re command material.” Joker spins around in his chair. Joker (obnoxiously) “Oh! And you brought back a souvenir. Well, I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason for bringing a muscled up Geth with a shotgun on board . . .” EDI “Shepard, the Geth continue to block Quarian access to the Mass Relay. The Normandy’s stealth drive is allowing us to remain undetected.” ...

EDI: One of my favorite moments in ME3 is the conversation (over intercom) between EDI and Legion. (Legion criticizes EDI’s new body.) It’s the clash of two worlds: a free-thinking machine striving to become more human, and a consensus-bound machine trying to figure out just what the hell the other is doing. Call me poetic, but it’s a microcosm of the plot of the entire Mass Effect series: what’s better: organic or machine? I wanted to add a similar exchange between EDI and the new Geth VI; however, 2.0’s conversation is much curter. (Shocking!) Now, I could skip this altogether. EDI and the Geth VI have no history, and the Geth VI isn’t the type to want to make new friends, but I figure one machine would be “naturally curious” as to why the other would be striving to be more organic (human)—both in mind and body. Or . . . it’s another opportunity to show off just how much of a dick the Geth VI is . . . 13

FYI: There is no conversation between Garrus and the Geth VI—i.e., the conversation about calibrating the Normandy’s big gun between Garrus and Legion—because Garrus and the Geth VI do not know each other. ... Shepard enters the cockpit—he/she interacts with EDI. EDI “One moment, I have been contacted by the Geth VI.” Geth VI “Why have you assumed a human-constructed platform?” EDI “This is an infiltration unit, meant to move among organics without detection.” Geth VI “To what end?” EDI “I do not understand the question.” Geth VI “Your platform is redundant. Your core processes exist within Normandy. You have already ‘infiltrated’ the ship. When do you intend on assuming control?” EDI (sternly) “I am a member of this crew. Commander Shepard is captain of this vessel. I do not intend on ‘assuming control’—ending transmission.” Shepard “Nice job, EDI.” EDI “Thank you, Commander.” 14

Section D

New Epilogues Mass Effect 3: Vindication received a lot of press because of how I corrected the issue of the endings. (“Issue” is such a mild word for it.) Endings are one-third of ME3V. (Sorry. I’m not going to give you much of a refresher here. You’ll have to read it on your own.) Among the different ending scenarios—Shepard lives or dies; the Normandy is blow to bits, or not; Shepard saves the galaxy or enslaves galaxy; the Citadel and Mass Relays are destroyed . . . or not; and the many other possibilities—are a near-infinite (or at least if felt that way writing them) list of epilogues. “List” is also a mild word. ME3V’s epilogues all work in conjunction with the overarching theme of whatever primary ending you achieved, which, like the original Mass Effect 3, is determined by your EMS number. However, in ME3V Shepard’s morality path (Paragon, Renegade, or somewhere in the middle) impacts the endings as well—very much so, in fact. Again, go read ME3V if you haven’t already. (ME3V: Epilogues: pg. 346.)

Writing at Starbucks May 2015 Hey, look! Back at my favorite Starbucks working on the very thing you’re reading right now— pretty trippy, huh?

To give fans “closure”—as BioWare put it (but I do it better)— ME3V has pages upon pages of epilogues for the overwhelming majority of the noteworthy characters in the Mass Effect universe, but looking back on it, I missed two: Feron and Glyph. Cut me some slack. BioWare had an entire team of people fucking up—err, I mean—working on ME3. I’m just a schmuck from New Jersey, so my screw ups are not only to be expected, but also easily forgivable. (Go ahead and play count the typos in ME3V. I’m better(ish) now.) Glyph goes without saying; “Info Drone” first appeared in Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker, and in ME3, he is a full-fledged member of the crew—and the comic relief. (Spin move, baby!) 2.0 gives Glyph a chance to sign off.

And Feron? In ME3V, I bring back many of the fringe characters in the Mass Effect universe in two ways: 1. I include them in new side missions (e.g., Rupert, Eddie Lang, and Rana Thanoptis); 2. I put them into existing content from ME3 (e.g., Kal’Reegar in Rannoch: Admiral Koris, Sidonis in Citadel: Cerberus Retribution, and Gianna Parasini in Citadel: Batarian Codes). So why didn’t I do this (or just write epilogues) for Feron? Uh, well, um, I forgot about him—simple as that. (ME3V: New Missions: pg. 162; Revised MIssions: pg. 57.)

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Feron doesn’t make an actual appearance in ME3, but he is mentioned in a conversation between Shepard and Liara. And since he had a pivotal role in recovering Shepard’s body before ME2, Feron—a.k.a., recolored/different-voiced Thane—deserves something. 2.0 gives him a bunch of epilogues. (You remember the 50 billion different versions of epilogues—don’t you?) FYI: Both Feron and Glyph (like all characters) voice their own epilogues; for the Synthesis Endings, Feron’s voice is digitized. (Glyph’s voice already sounds that way.) FYI: Glyph doesn’t appear in the Zeta Ending (where everyone and everything is destroyed); yes, Glyph is installed on Liara’s time capsule, but including him would break up the starkness of the ending—it needs to be abrupt and final. Also, Glyph does not receive epilogues in the Delta 1, Delta 2 Endings, as the Normandy has been destroyed. FYI: Choosing between the Geth and Quarians, and whoever Shepard’s romance option does not affect Feron or Glyph’s epilogues.

Feron: Alpha: Destroy Scene: Feron talks with a group of mercenaries in a dimly lit room. “With the war over—and at Liara’s behest—Feron set out to locate the whereabouts of the Shadow Broker agents who had gone dark during the Reapers’ invasion.” “But the task proved difficult as Alliance and Turian warships still maintained heavy security across the entire Mass Relay network.” “New agents in the Turian government will ease restrictions . . . “

Alpha: Synthesis Scene: Feron goes over a computer terminal with a group of Salarian engineers.

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“With the war over, Feron set out to locate the whereabouts of the Shadow Broker agents who had gone dark during the Reapers’ invasion.” “With reduced security across the entire Mass Relay network, reestablishing contact with key agents allowed Feron to provide Liara with intel on the locations of refugees and supply caches.” “Feron is currently assisting with Salarian rebuilding efforts on Tiptree.”

Alpha: Control Scene: A small ship engulfed in flames drops out of range of a Mass Relay. “With communication between Feron and the Shadow Broker severed, Feron set out to locate the whereabouts of the Shadow Broker agents who had gone dark during the first Reapers’ invasion.” “But Shepard’s Reaper forces have blocked access to much of the Mass Relay network—restricting his efforts to only a handful of systems.” “Feron was killed when his ship was destroyed as he attempted to reach operatives stranded beyond the Charon relay.” ------

Beta: Destroy (Liara survives) *Identical to Alpha: Destroy

Beta: Synthesis (Liara survives) *Identical to Alpha: Synthesis

Beta: Control (Liara survives) *Identical to Alpha: Control ------

Beta: Destroy (Liara dies) Scene: Feron talks with a group of mercenaries in a dimly lit room. “With the war over and Liara dead, Feron assumed the role of Shadow Broker and began to reassemble a network of informants, and to locate 17

the whereabouts of the agents who had gone dark during the Reapers’ invasion.” “But the task proved difficult as Alliance and Turian warships still maintained heavy security across the entire Mass Relay network.” “New agents in the Turian government will ease restrictions . . . “

Beta: Synthesis (Liara dies) Scene: Feron goes over a computer terminal with a group of Salarian engineers. “Feron assumed the role of Shadow Broker and began to reassemble a network of operatives, and to locate the whereabouts of the agents who had gone dark during the Reapers’ invasion.” “With reduced restrictions across the entire Mass Relay network, reestablishing contact with key agents allowed Feron to provide Alliance and Turian officials with intel on the locations of refugees and supply caches.” “Feron is currently assisting with Salarian rebuilding efforts on Tiptree.”

Beta: Control (Liara dies) *Identical to Alpha: Control ------

Delta 1, Delta 2: Destroy Scene: A heavily armed Batarian shoves Feron against a wall—holds a gun to his head. “With communication between Feron and the Shadow Broker severed, Feron set out to locate the whereabouts of the Shadow Broker agents who had gone dark during the first Reapers’ invasion.” “But with pirates ambushing vessels attempting to access many of the Mass Relays—his efforts were restricted to only a handful of systems.” “Feron’s ship was boarded as he attempted to recover supply caches on Utha. He was never seen again . . .”

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Delta 1, Delta 2: Synthesis *Identical to Alpha: Synthesis and Beta: Synthesis (Liara dies)

Delta 1, Delta 2: Control *Identical to Beta: Destroy (Liara dies)

Glyph: Alpha: Destroy Scene: Glyph hovers over Shepard’s shoulder as Shepard and Liara look over the Shadow Broker terminals in Liara’s cabin. “Glyph continued to analyze all the intel and artifacts Commander Shepard discovered across the galaxy— mining for upgrade-relevant data.” “Using experimental computation technology recovered from Cronos Station, Liara effectively doubled Glyph’s processing power.” “Liara now only refers to Glyph as “Info Drone” 0.02% of the time.” Alpha: Synthesis Scene: Glyph hovers over Shepard’s shoulder as Shepard and Liara look over the Shadow Broker terminals in Liara’s cabin. Glyph is now shades of green. “Glyph continued to analyze all the intel and artifacts Commander Shepard discovered across the galaxy—mining for only the most fascinating data.” “Using experimental computation technology recovered from Cronos Station, Liara effectively doubled Glyph’s processing power. He was grateful.” “Liara no longer refers to Glyph as ‘Info Drone.’” Alpha: Control Scene: Glyph hovers over Reaper Shepard’s shoulder as Shepard broods over the Galaxy Map. Glyph is now shades of blue with glowing red accents. 19

“Using Reaper technology, The Shepard effectively tripled Computation Drone’s processing power—increasing the lethality of firewall attacks. “ “Computation Drone serves to decrypt and destroy communications between The Shepard’s enemies, ensuring the organics remain blind to The Shepard’s plans.” “Without fail, Computation Drone operates with 100% efficiency—100% of the time.” -----Beta: Destroy (Liara survives) *Identical to Alpha: Destroy Beta: Synthesis (Liara survives) *Identical to Alpha: Synthesis Beta: Control (Liara survives) *Identical to Alpha: Control -----Beta: Destroy (Liara dies) Scene: Glyph hovers over Shepard’s shoulder as Shepard looks over the Galaxy Map. “Glyph continued to analyze all the intel and artifacts Commander Shepard discovered across the galaxy—mining for upgrade-relevant data.” “Using experimental computation technology recovered from Cronos Station, Alliance Engineers effectively doubled Glyph’s processing power.” “The Alliance has begun testing Glyph VIs on its new cruiser-class warships.” Beta: Synthesis (Liara dies) Scene: Glyph hovers over Shepard’s shoulder as Shepard looks over the Galaxy Map. Glyph is now shades of green.

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“Glyph continued to analyze all the intel and artifacts Commander Shepard discovered across the galaxy—mining for only the most fascinating data. “Using experimental computation technology recovered from Cronos Station, Alliance Engineers effectively doubled Glyph’s processing power. He was grateful” “The Alliance has requested Glyph’s aid with the development of element zero cores for new mobile science and research vessels.” Beta: Control (Liara dies) *Identical to Alpha: Control

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Section E

New Patriarch Side Mission Deciding whether or not to include Patriarch—the former ruler of Omega, and now Aria’s trophy pet—in Mass Effect 3: Vindication was another thing I batted around, and ultimately decided to skip. Patriarch can meet two fates in Mass Effect 2: 1. Shepard convinces him to hide from the Blood Pack assassins (and Shepard kills the assassins for him); 2. Shepard encourages Patriarch to charge headlong into battle and face the assassins—killing him. But what if he doesn’t really die? In Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0, if Patriarch hid from the Blood Pack, i.e., he clearly survives, he is part of a new side mission, and he is still part of the mission if the Blood Packed “killed” him in ME2. Patriarch did rule Omega once; he is clearly not a man without means and resiliency.

Sytau: Patriarch’s Prize Description: One of Patriarch’s mercenaries, Nerk, asks Shepard to retrieve some longlost Krogan artifacts on the planet Sytau in the Theseus System. Location: Docks: Holding Area Acquisition: After Priority: The Citadel II. Nerk stands across from the poker game. He calls out to Shepard: “Commander Shepard!” “Shepard, The Patriarch needs your help.” “Shepard.” Rewards: Reputation points and credits or two random weapon upgrades. FYI: This mission is unavailable if the player did not upload a character from ME2. FYI: If Shepard does not finish Sytau: Patriarch’s Prize before completing Priority: Cerberus Headquarters, the mission will be considered failed, as the Citadel is no longer accessible.

Opening dialogue with Nerk: Shepard initiates conversation. 22

Shepard “Who are you?” Nerk “My name is Nerk. I’m an associate of The Patriarch.” FYI: The conversation will differ depending on Shepard’s actions in ME2. Both variations appear here; the color of the fonts represents the differing dialogue/previous action.

*Patriarch survived Shepard “Patriarch. I helped him escape Blood Pack assassins on Omega.” Nerk “Indeed you did, Commander. The Patriarch is still grateful.” Shepard “What does he need now?”

*Patriarch “died” Shepard “Patriarch. He was killed on Omega.” Nerk “Ha! Two Blood Pack assassins versus a man as fearsome as The Patriarch—don’t be naïve, Commander.” Shepard “Right . . .”

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Nerk “Commander, the location of some Krogan artifacts has recently come to our attention; The Patriarch would appreciate your help retrieving them.” Shepard “What kind of artifacts?” Nerk “Old ones.” Shepard sneers at Nerk. Nerk (cont’d) “All you need to know, Commander, is that these artifacts are important to The Patriarch’s cause, and he is willing to share some of his resources in exchange for your help with this matter.” Shepard “What do you need me to do?” Nerk “Simple. Our reports say the artifacts are on the planet Sytau in the Theseus System; find them and bring them back to me. Your Normandy is quite the ship, Commander. No doubt you can fly in and out without much trouble—no?” Shepard “I’ll see what I can do.” Nerk “Good.”

Action: Fly to the Theseus System, scan Sytau, and return to Nerk.

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Returning to Nerk: Shepard initiates conversation. Nerk “Commander.” Shepard “I found the artifacts. They’re in Docking Bay: D4. The guards are expecting you.”

Nerk “Excellent. The Patriarch was right about you, Commander . . . I had my doubts.” Shepard glares at Nerk. Shepard “Is that so?” Nerk “No matter—you’ll find this sufficient payment.” Nerk hands Shepard something. Nerk (cont’d) “Goodbye, Commander.” Nerk walks off.

Reward: *Patriarch survived: 8 reputation points, 10,000 credits *Patriarch “died”: 8 reputation points, 2 random weapon upgrades

25

Section F

Unused Concept Art Mass Effect 3: Vindication took nearly two years from when I first got the idea and started writing to when I released the book in January 2014. All the while I was writing, planning, and plotting ME3V, I had a team of artists—yes, I paid them—putting my ideas (as I came up with them) into concept art form. In the end, ME3V sports nearly 100 pieces of art; each one represents an idea and helps me convey that idea to you—the reader. But when all was said and done, as I started fleshing things out more and more, some concept art hit the cutting room floor. But I think that’s normal. BioWare did it with that pivotal footage of Shepard running to the beam and his/her squadmates getting killed (or not)—makes sense, right? That’s the sort of thing anybody would cut . . . Anyway . . . so what better time than now to show you the concept art I ended up not using? I think you can call this “for shits and giggles.” Enjoy. FYI: Don’t forget about ME3V’s trailers: ------ http://www.youtube.com/ME3Vvideos.

2. Tali’s New Face (alternate version) BioWare Photoshop’d a Getty Image for Tali’s face. I didn’t. I had an artist sketch a new face for Tali based on the face of her voice-actor, Ash Sroka. This was the first drawing—based on no one. (ME3V: Squadmate Changes: pg. 7.)

1. EDI with Battle Damage I had intended for EDI to join Shepard at Thanix Cannons, even if she was part of the ill-fated ground team, hence the battle damage, but I couldn’t get the idea congruent with the rest of my changes. (ME3V: Beam Run: pg. 310.) 26

3. Chopped Up Legion (or “the Geth”) Shepard will encounter something called “Legion Assassin” on Cronos Station if he/she sold “the Geth” to Cerberus in ME2. In ME3V, I bailed on that entirely, and instead you’ll find a dissected Geth (a.k.a., Legion) in a laboratory aboard the station. Ultimately, I went with a sketch of the entire scene, but here it is as a pile of parts. No filling your pockets, Tali. (ME3V: Major Character Changes: pg. 41.)

4. Deep Inside the Caves of Tuchanka (alternate version) I slammed BioWare hard for ignoring your decision to kill or release the Rachni queen in ME1. Now since I keep that choice alive in ME3V, in part by changing Attican Traverse: Krogan Team to Tuchanka: Krogan Team, I needed a sketch of Shepard traipsing through a cave on Tuchanka. This is the first one, but later I opted for a sketch with Grunt and Shepard in it. (ME3V: Revised Missions: pg. 63.) 27

5. Angel Wrex No. This never had a chance of making the book. It’s just something silly Kelly Arnold drew when I told her ME3V has an ending scenario where Wrex is killed by Krogan traditionalists. Sniffle . . . (ME3V: Epilogues and Endings: pg. 442.)

6. Garrus as Primarch of Palaven In the ME3, Shepard teases Garrus about Garrus becoming Primarch when the war is over, so . . . I ran with it. But as I worked on the endings, I felt it was too easy and that I should be more creative. (ME3V: Epilogues and Endings: pg. 442.)

7. Geth Consensus (alternate version) What can I say? My first idea for the new Geth Consensus was a lot more Jimi Hendrix, and a lot less Blade Runner. In the end, I went with a more cyberpunk arrangement. (ME3V: Revised Missions: pg. 109.)

28

8. Fighting on Palaven (alternate version) In ME3V, I bring the fight to Palaven, not on some stupid moon hovering over Palaven. This first sketch shows what a Reaper blasting a Palaven city might look like. But I felt it was too distant, so I ditched it for something more “boots on the ground.” (ME3V: Revised Missions: pg. 58.)

29

Credits I can’t be 100% modest here. 99% of the Mass Effect 3: Vindication monstrosity was on my shoulders; however, for the concept art and editing (for both ME3V and Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0), I had help. Here are a few quick tips of the hat for the help with 2.0. Thanks, guys—especially Helen!

Writer & Creator: Gerry Pugliese (Mass Effect 3: Vindication & Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0) MassEffect3V GerryPugliese [email protected]

Concept Art: Tim Cutler (Geth VI, Ksad Ishan VI; unused: 1, 3, 6) www.TimCutlerArt.com www.ClassicCultLLC.com Kelly Arnold (unused: 4, 5, 7, 8) www.Vulfolaic.Tumblr.com www.Behance.net/Vulfolaic Jenny Burkhalter (unused: 2)

Editor: Helen Wasielewski Schaffer

30

Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0

Press Clippings

Mass Effect 3: Vindication and Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0 are NOT games nor mods. Mass Effect 3: Vindication and Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0 are viewable online for FREE as PDFs at Scribd.com/gerrypugliese. Mass Effect 3: Vindication and Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0 are FAN creations. Mass Effect 3: Vindication and Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0 have NO affiliation with BioWare or Electronic Arts Inc. Gerry Pugliese has NO affiliation with BioWare or Electronic Arts Inc. Mass Effect 3: Vindication and Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0 are NOT intended for commercial purposes. Mass Effect 3: Vindication and Mass Effect 3: Vindication 2.0 are FREE.

June 2015

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TEC H | 1/21/2014 @ 9:46AM | 7,025 views

Still Unsatisfied With Mass Effect 3? Read One Fan's 539 Page Rewrite

The Mass Effect 3 ending controversy remains one of the most fascinating bits of fan revolt I’ve seen in my time as a video game journalist. Devoted fans of a beloved series complained so much about the confusing, shallow and seemingly phoned-in ending, they actually got developer Bioware to spend weeks and months doing their best to lengthen and alter it into something palatable. This all culminated in what was essentially three hour “goodbye” DLC in the form of Citadel, that included all the time in the world to say farewell to the beloved crew members that were so needlessly abandoned in the game’s original ending. But for some, that still wasn’t enough, and really, nothing ever could be. Trying to fix Bioware’s bungled Mass Effect 3 ending was something that would require nothing short of a complete rewrite. Since the game’s release, many fans have tried to come up with their own preferred endings (including the excellent Indoctrination Theory) in order to right Bioware’s wrongs, if only in their own mind. But there has never been such an extensive rework of the game as the one I’ve just finished reading, nor as devoted a fan as its author, Gerry Pugliese. Gerry approached me after seeing my litany of coverage about the Mass Effect 3 ending and told me he had just finished up a project he’d worked on for the last one and a half years. It’s called “Mass Effect 3: Vindication,” and is meant to be a rewrite of the majority of the end of the game. As I’ve

1/26/2014 1:33 PM

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mentioned, many fans have tried such a thing, but Gerry’s attempt stands out as it’s 539 pages and 118,000 words long. It’s not a simple revision of the epilogue or a grand conspiracy about what might have really happened; it’s largely its own creation and quite wide in scope. It includes changes to squadmate lore, new relationships and conversations, new missions and enemy types. Hell, it even has new DLC, and pages and pages of concept art. And naturally, a huge portion of Vindication is devoted to a reworked ending. So what is Vindication? As Mass Effect isn’t Skyrim, capable of being modded with brand new content, and Gerry isn’t a game developer, capable of building such a thing anyway, Vindication can best be described as a very, very elaborate script. It can be downloaded for free here in PDF form (starts automatically), as Gerry simply wants his hard work shown to the masses. And a job at Bioware, ideally; he views it as an elaborate resume, of sorts. Gerry’s worked in screenwriting, and as such, spends much of the 539 pages mapping out countless conversations with crew members and other NPCs, writing dialogue and scene directions for each and every conversation option, paragon, renegade or otherwise. It’s incredibly involved and sometimes hard to follow because of the formatting, but if you can use your imagination, it can be a rather fascinating experience. Probably only the most devoted Mass Effect fans will seek out such a massive document, but even if it’s just imagined, the characters are beloved enough where Vindication could be a fun experience for many as a way to revisit them. Naturally, Gerry spends a huge portion of Vindication reworking the controversial ending of the game, but surprisingly he mostly stays within the bounds of Bioware’s original format, right down to including Control, Destroy and Synthesis options for how to deal with the Reaper menace. He does, mercifully, do away with the notorious “Star Child,” however. The main difference between Vindication’s endings and the ones of the original game are the different shades that they can take. Depending on Shepard, his past actions, his readiness level and so on, there can be many, many different epilogues, as opposed to only three in the original game, all of which felt more or less the same with nearly identical cutscenes. Here, Vindication has elaborately different scripts for each ending based on a number of factors, including surviving crew members and active romances. The amount of detail work here is incredible. It’s not easy to work your way through a 500+ page script of your favorite game and imagine it brought to life, but it can be fun to try, particularly when it’s as detailed as Vindication. And as always, I’m sure many fans will hate his interpretation of the game, as they did the original, as it sort of comes with the territory. Vindication is an all around impressive feat of fan dedication, showing that video games have the power to inspire fanbases more devoted than any movie or TV show. Again, check out Vindication by downloading it here, or follow its official Twitter. Follow me on Twitter, subscribe to my Forbes feed, and pick up a copy of my sci-fi novel, The Last Exodus, and its sequel, The Exiled Earthborn.

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1/26/2014 1:33 PM

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1/26/2014 1:41 PM

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Gerry Pugliese is a fan of Mass Effect, but he didn't like the way Mass Effect 3 played out. In response, he put together a 539-page document detailing the changes and additions he would have made to the game. "Vindication is my attempt to vindicate – patch up, rework, and 'fix' – the final chapter of one of the greatest video game stories ever told," Pugliese wrote in an e-mail alerting us of his work. Pugliese has been working on the document for over year. It's one fan's enormous take on on how they think things should have played out. You'll find new scripts, new scenarios, new endings, new romance opportunities, new powers, new enemies, a new character class, concept art, new DLC, and a whole lot more. If you're interested in checking out Pugliese's work, you can download the PDF document here. At Game Informer, we were actually quite pleased with Mass Effect's finale, awarding the game a 10 out of 10, and calling it our 2012 game of the year. Obviously, that praise wasn't universal as many were disappointed by Mass Effect 3's ending, and if Pugliese's work is any indication, it still weighs heavy on many gamers' minds. [Source: @MassEffectV3] Email the author Kyle Hilliard, or follow on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and Game Informer. Filed under: news, xbox 360, playstation 3, mass effect, bioware, mass effect 3, gamer culture, vindication

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1/26/2014 1:41 PM

Fan Writes 400-Page Blueprint To 'Fix' Mass Effect 3

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Fan Writes 400-Page Blueprint To 'Fix' Mass Effect 3 (http://kotaku.com/fan-writes400-page-blueprint-to-fix-mass-effect3-1504996588)

Some Mass Effect fans protested the trilogy's conclusion with cupcakes; others used Internet petitions. Gerry Pugliese was a little more ambitious. The self-proclaimed "huge Mass Effect fan" wrote a 400-page script that he calls "a fan revision, and blueprint, for fixing Mass Effect 3." RELATED

Called Mass Effect 3: Vindication, the script is full of new dialogue and missions

Mass Effect 3's Ending Disrespects Its Most Invested Players (http://kotaku.com /5898743/mass-effect3s-ending-disrespectsits-most-investedplayers)

for the controversial third entry in BioWare's sci-fi series. It's a book, not a mod, so don't expect to play through Pugliese's changes, but if you're up for some heavy reading, you'll find a ton of new scenes, choices, descriptions, and revisions involving big plot points, character

This article was originally published on April 3, 2012. We're

relationships, and that much-discussed ending (http://kotaku.com/5898743/masseffect-3s-ending-disrespects-its-mostinvested-players).

bumping it up for Mass Effect week. For a different view on Mass Effect 3's… Read… (http://kotaku.com/5898743/mass-effect3s-ending-disrespects-its-most-investedplayers)

1 (/oh-someone-will-mod-it-in-eventually-im-sure-1505092104)

"The endings are a third of ME3V and I've created more than ten new ending scenarios," Pugliese writes, "including having Shepard and friends survive, and going on to live happy lives; or Shepard succumbing to the Reapers' power, turning evil, and enslaving the Galaxy, and turning many major characters into Reaper minions to serve at his/her side." Of course, Pugliese didn't just do this for fun. "Hellooooo, game companies!" he writes. "And miscellaneous people who might want to hire me. If you like what you're about to read, I'd love to discuss any opportunities you might have... So yes, part of why I wrote ME3V is because I think it'd be really cool to work in the video game industry, and I know I can do it."

You can read all of ME3V below. (Direct download here (https://files.secureserver.net /0sAs5D1D50UU26).) MassEffect3Vindication-v1-1.16.14-GerryPugliese (http://www.scribd.com/doc/200900804 /MassEffect3Vindication-v1-1-16-14-GerryPugliese)

1/27/2014 6:55 PM

Ahead of ‘Mass Effect 4,' Fan Writes 500-Page Script for 'Mass Effect 3' ...

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Ahead of ‘Mass Effect 4,’ Fan Writes 500-Page Script for ‘Mass Effect 3′ Ending By Jack Phillips, Epoch Times | January 28, 2014 | Last Updated: January 28, 2014 3:07 pm

A fan of the “Mass Effect” series–unimpressed with how the third game ended–spent the past 18 months or so fixing the game’s ending. Gerry Pugliese, the fan, rewrote the ending of “Mass Effect 3” and called it “Mass Effect 3: Vindication,” which is 539 pages long and 118,000 words. When the game came out in 2010, many gamers were left with a sour taste in their mouth over its ending. The ending adds new missions and makes changes to the relationships in the game, reported Forbes. Pugliese also came up with a proposal for DLC and new concept art for the game. Forbes reported that with the work put into it, Pugliese also might be seeking a job at Bioware, the maker of the game. “I’ve never done anything like this before,” he told The Escapist website. “I’ve had multiple ‘projects’ in my life. I’m always trying to improve myself, test my metal, and show people what I can do. Give me a few months and I’ll likely be neck-deep in something else. Although, I’d prefer to give that energy to a gaming company, which by now, should be obvious.” He said that the product is finished, but it could be revised. “If you give me a couple more months, I could revise some things, and add more content. I would probably put stuff in that I cut. I had a revision for the Leviathan DLC where Leviathan gives Shepard a new power called ‘Reaper Domination,’ which would allow Shepard to take control of Reaper forces, a lot like Morinth’s Domination ability. I cut it because I figured that would be a weird power for a roughand-tough Soldier character class to have,” he said. “Mass Effect 4,” if that’s the game of the next game, is “ambitious” and “playable,” said Bioware manager Aaryn Flynn on Twitter several weeks ago. He did not offer a release date or elaborate on much else about the game.

Article printed from The Epoch Times: http://www.theepochtimes.com URL to article: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/475515-ahead-of-mass-effect-4-fan-writes-500-page-script-for-masseffect-3-ending/ Click here to print.

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1/29/2014 5:01 PM

Update: Fan "Fixes" Mass Effect 3 Ending With A 539-Page Rewrite | The...

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Update: Fan "Fixes" Mass Effect 3 Ending With A 539-Page Rewrite Josh Engen | 22 January 2014 1:55 pm 269 One Mass Effect super fan spent the last year and a half fixing BioWare's ME3 ending. Mass Effect 3 was an unexpectedly controversial game. Fans of the series were famously upset by the title's ending and spent months articulating their complaints online. But even after the entire internet wagged an angry finger at BioWare, the developer stood behind the title. However, one fan took it upon himself to correct BioWare's mistakes. For the last year and a half, Gerry Pugliese has been rewriting Mass Effect 3's ending. The finished product, called Mass Effect 3: Vindication, is 539 pages long and 118,000 words. The length is a testament to his self-discipline and lack of respect for BioWare's original script.

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Vindication adds new missions, revises many of the in-game relationships, and adds several new enemy types. It even includes a DLC proposal and a collection of concept art. 12

Perhaps the most impressive part of the whole endeavor, though, is that Pugliese's script manages to stay grounded in BioWare's original concept. He does, however, spend a great deal of time deconstructing the game's ending and rebuilding it in his own vision. Originally, Mass Effect 3 only included three endings, but Vindication's ending is based on a complex branching system that depends on a number of factors. And each ending is drastically different from the others. If you'd like to check out Mass Effect 3: Vindication, the script is freely available. But this time you're probably not allowed to complain if it's not what you were hoping for. Who am I kidding? No one can stop you from complaining on the internet. Update: Mr. Pugliese was kind enough to answer a few of my questions via email. Throughout the entire exchange, he was surprisingly laid-back and gracious. This has been a massive undertaking, but his head isn't ballooning by the attention that Vindication has received. Surprisingly, this is the first time he's attempted to tackle this kind of project. "I've never done anything like this before," he said. "I've had multiple 'projects' in my life. I'm always trying to improve myself, test my metal, and show people what I can do. Give me a few months and I'll likely be neck-deep in something else. Although, I'd prefer to give that energy to a gaming company, which by now, should be obvious." In Gerry's mind, the project is finished, but this doesn't necessarily mean that revisions are out of the question. "Sure," he says, "if you give me a couple more months, I could revise some things, and add more content. I would probably put stuff in that I cut. I had a revision for the Leviathan DLC where Leviathan gives Shepard a new

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power called 'Reaper Domination,' which would allow Shepard to take control of Reaper forces, a lot like Morinth's Domination ability. I cut it because I figured that would be a weird power for a rough-and-tough Soldier character class to have." But that's all gravy compared to the central focus of his project: fixing Mass Effect's indefensible ending. "The most unforgivable parts of Mass Effect 3," he explains, "and, sadly, they're the easiest to point out are: the Rachni being alive even if you killed them in Mass Effect 1, Anderson not being Councilor if you picked him in ME1, and handing, or not handing, over the Collector Base to Cerberus in Mass Effect 2." Obviously, though, those weren't his only issues with the game. So, what's next for Gerry Pugliese? He's not exactly sure. "Honestly," he says, "I'm not sure what I'll do on the weekend now that ME3V is finished. I hear tiddlywinks is a lot of fun." Source: Forbes Related to: josh engen, action adventure, bioware, electronic arts, endings, mass effect, mass effect 3, rewrite, shooter, video games Comments [269] 1.7k

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Why One Man Spent a Year and a Half Rewriting the End of a Video Game

via Still, that all unfolded in the spring and summer of 2012, so you'd think that even the most diehard Mass Effect fans have had more than enough time to lick their wounds and move onto the next game. At least, that's what I thought, until I received an email from a man named Gerry Pugliese yesterday claiming that he had recently completed a "rewrite" of Mass Effect 3. "Call it a…blueprint for a better game, what Mass Effect 3 could have been," Pugliese wrote. "Mass Effect 3: Vindication is my attempt to vindicate—patch up, rework, and 'fix'—the final chapter of one of the greatest video game stories ever told." When you write about video games for a living, you tend to get a lot of strange emails, so I was pretty skeptical. But when I opened up the text (available for download and on ) that Pugliese sent over, I realized just how genuine he was. Vindication isn't the inchoate screed of some angry nerd—though, by Pugliese's own admission, it draws some of its inspiration from that source material. It's a 539-page manuscript that proposes ten new possible endings to the game. It's packed with fully-fleshed dialogue, concept art from various artists, and well laid-out parameters for triggering epilogues covering a wide range of possible outcomes. Stunningly, Pugliese put it all together in his spare time during the last 18 months.

Screenshot from For the uninitiated, Mass Effect is a sci-fi game that casts players as a soldier named Commander Shepard as he or she embarks on a quest to save the galaxy from the reapers, a mysterious breed of aliens that look sort of like giant electronic squid monsters. What many fans (myself included) loved about the game was the amount of control its creators handed over to players. Besides being stuck with Shepard, you could choose everything from Shepard's gender to the outcome of many a fraught moment of intergalactic political strife. It was like BioWare finally offered every Star

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Wars nerd keys to the galaxy, except without all the

that keeps a lot of Star Wars work from being remotely interesting.

What annoyed players like Pugliese then didn't have anything to do with the hundreds of hours that were packed into the three acts of the main trilogy. It was in the final few minutes of the entire saga, when (SPOILER ALERT) the fate of the entire Mass Effect universe was put into a few arbitrary boxes. Shepard is stranded on the top of a spaceship in the middle of space, and a spectral child tells the player that he or she must decide the fate of the universe by flipping a few different switches. One of the most groundbreaking interactive narratives of recent memory suddenly seemed to be following the familiar script of many sci-fi clichés before it: Will your Commander Shepard join with the machines and kick off the singularity? Or will he or she press the kill switch that drives everybody back to the Stone Age? As , the only real difference in many of these endings was the color of the death rays that showed up in the ensuing cinematic. Pugliese said he had played through the Mass Effect series more than twenty times, and still wasn't satisfied. "What made me insane was the ability to flip the ending," he told me over the phone. "You can come to a point of having lived your life a certain way, and then suddenly had all these options to be a different kind of Shepard." Pugliese said that Mass Effect first seized him because of the sheer complexity of the web of human relationships in the game. He recalled a female character in the game came on to his Commander Shepard, and being blown away. And then suddenly all of his Shepards were given the same set of bizarre choices irrespective of all their personal contingencies. It wasn't just annoying, he said. It was unrealistic. If he had played his Shepard as a "badass," that Shepard should have "lived the ending of a badass" regardless of what button he decided to press. "The control should almost be taken away from you," he said of the ending. "Like: right when your fate is about to be issued, you should not have the ability to change that."

Screenshot from I was one of the few people who liked the original ending, so I remain agnostic to the question of whether or not Pugliese "fixed" the ending. But whether or not I agree with him, I can't help but be moved by the guy's passion. I mean, he gave a year and a half of his life to the thing. "I decided to do it in July of 2012," Pugliese said. "I literally put blinders on. By that fall, after work it was right to a local Starbucks to work for three hours. Or I would even wake up early to get to Starbucks at six so I could work for two hours before work, then go back again after. As for the weekend? I don't know what the weekend is anymore." He was spending so much time writing Vindication that he barely had a free moment to actually play video games. "When the anniversary for this thing came around in July, I said: 'Gerry you need to get your head examined," he recalled, laughing. "My mom kept wanting me to finish, she'd say: 'Do you think it's too long?' Which is Italian mother for, 'Holy crap you need to finish!'" Now that it's finally out in the world, Pugliese isn't sure what the next step is. At 32, he still harbors a dream of working as a writer in the video game industry, and introduces the work in part as a plea for developers like BioWare to consider hiring him. Whether or not Pugliese's plans pay off, his Vindication script is the logical conclusion to what playing a game like Mass Effect is like. The original creators promised their players an almost unlimited set of choices and narrative possibilities—something they obviously couldn't create. So Pugliese took that myth of player agency and turned it into real authorial agency. He might have been putting his fingers to a laptop keyboard instead of an Xbox controller, but he was still playing Mass Effect in his own unique way. It wasn't what the Mass Effect writers had in mind, but it's the game he ultimately wanted. "I'm a tenacious bastard," Pugliese said. "Obviously, I don't back down."

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Fan Writes 400-Page Script to ‘Fix’ MASS EFFECT 3 Christina Janke

Fans of the Mass Effect series is arguably just as passionate as those belonging to the Star Wars or Star Trek fandom, that includes the disgruntled ones and the ones who think they can do better. The latter is in no way meant to be entirely negative, because there are fans who officially become part of the franchise proper and make quality product for the rest of us to consume. If any one thing in the entire Mass Effect series were to conjure up such a controversy with fans, it’d be the ending of the third installment. Gerry Pugliese is a self-proclaimed “huge Mass Effect Fan” but he, like many others, had a problem with how Mass Effect 3 all played out. Instead of just complaining about it on the internet, Pugliese took the initiative to write a book filled with all the fixes he thought might work better in the game. The title of his project is Mass Effect: Vindication. It’s a 400-page script full of new dialogue, new missions, and new options that expand character development, scenes, and so on. “The endings are a third of ME3V and I’ve created more than ten new ending scenarios,” Pugliese writes, “including having Shepard and friends survive, and going on to live happy lives; or Shepard succumbing to the Reapers’ power, turning evil, and enslaving the Galaxy, and turning many major characters into Reaper minions to serve at his/her side.” If you’re up for some lengthy reading, check out Pugliese’s ME3V right here, or

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So macht man Mass Effect 3 geil - auf 400 Seiten! AreaGames.de Mass Effect 3 So macht man Mass Effect 3 geil - auf 400 Seiten! Der "große Mass-Effect-Fan" Gerry Pugliese war, wie die meisten, vom Ende des dritten Teils bitter enttäuscht. Anstatt sich mit Schokoladeneis vollzustopfen verfasste er nun kurzerhand ein Pamphlet an Änderungswünschen mit 400 Seiten (!). "Eine Fan-Revision, eine Blaupause, um Mass Effect 3 in Ordnung zu bringen" - so bezeichnet Gerry Pugliese sein rund 400-seitiges Werk Mass Effect 3: Vindication. In selbigem verfasst er nicht nur zehn brandneue Enden, sondern beschäftigt sich ebenfalls mit neuen Dialogen, darin eingebettete Antwortoptionen und sogar Missionen für den RPG-Shooter. Auch bestimmte Beziehungen zwischen den Charakteren und weitere wichtige Ereignisse werden hier völlig neu interpretiert. Wer genügend Zeit und Interesse mitbringt, kann sich das Buch kostenfrei als PDF herunterladen. Schade, dass Herr Pugliese nicht programmieren kann - dann hätten wir seine Ideen vielleicht als Mod verwirklicht gesehen! Aber wer weiß, vielleicht erbarmt sich ja jemand anderes...

Mass Effect 3 - einfach mehr davon!

Ganz umsonst erblickt Mass Effect 3: Vindication das Licht der Internetwelt natürlich nicht. So schreibt der Autor selbst: "Halloooooo, Spielefirmen! Und andere Leute, die mich vielleicht anstellen wollen. Wenn euch gefällt, was

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ihr hier gleich lesen werdet, würde ich gerne über eure Angebote reden... Also ja, zum Teil habe ich ME3V geschrieben, weil ich denke, dass es echt cool wäre, in der Videospielindustrie zu arbeiten, und ich weiß, dass ich es kann." - na dann, viel Glück!

Autor: Robert Buch

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"Mass Effect 3" Fan Writes Fix to Controversial Ending Kyle Lowe The finale of the Mass Effect series didn't just leave fans scratching their heads, it made some very angry. The various endings were even seen by some as disrespectful to the most committed fans and broke the very core of the game making all your discussions worthless. Now a gamer and fan of the series has rewritten Mass Effect 3 into a new alternate ending script. Mass Effect 3: Vindication is a script full of new dialogue, missions that revises big plot points and character relationships and changed the much discussed, possibly hallucinogenic ending.

"The endings are a third of ME3V and I've created more than ten new ending scenarios," author Gerry Pugliese writes, "including having Shepard and friends survive, and going on to live happy lives; or Shepard succumbing to the Reapers' power, turning evil, and enslaving the Galaxy, and turning many major characters into Reaper minions to serve at his/her side." Part fan fiction part genuine attempt to make a more satisfying ending Pugliese is also looking for a job. "Hellooooo, game companies!" he writes. "And miscellaneous people who might want to hire me. If you like what you're about to read, I'd love to discuss any opportunities you might have... So yes, part of why I wrote ME3V is because I think it'd be really cool to work in the video game industry, and I know I can do it." Invested fans can read the 400 page rewrite below. With over ten endings there are a lot of possibilities buried in there. Now that you've had some serious time to digest the endings of Mass Effect 3 are you any less angry? Or does developer BioWare's unintentional betrayal of its fan base linger?

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Mass Effect 3: Vindication Is A 539-Page Book That Aims To Patch up, Rework, and “Fix” ME3’s Story

John Papadopoulos Now this is dedication. Gerry Pugliese has informed us about his book that is no less than 539 page and aims to patch, rework and ‘fix’ the storyline of Mass Effect 3. Via this book, readers will get access to new endings, romances, enemies, character classes, powers, concept art, dialogue, cut-scenes, missions, War Assets and Downloadable Content. As Gerry Pugliese said:

“Mass Effect 3: Vindication is not a game. In fact, it’s hard to categorize exactly what it is. You can call it a book – for simplicity’s sake, I do – but it’s so much more than that. ME3V is part editorial and critical analysis, but it’s also made up of script and dialogue, mixed with concept art and flowcharts to walk you through my more than a year of hard work to make Mass Effect 3 the game fans had hoped it would be. “

So before jumping to early conclusions, that downloadable content we referred is not ‘real’. There are no bonuses for the actual game. This is all created by Gerry Pugliese as a means to fix – or improve – the mess that BioWare created. Here is a bit more about this fan-made book:

“ME3V introduces a new character class, the Savant, which is the direct result of Shepard’s Project Lazarus implants going haywire and rewriting his/her genetic code. Savants unleash a devastating class-specific power, Obliterate, an unstable beam of energy that can be evolved to rip through armor, barriers, and shields with ease. Savants can take on any challenger! Reaper Destroyers, one of four new enemies, are elcor warriors twisted into hulking beasts armed with twin artillery cannons; taking the place of Rachni Ravagers if Shepard killed the last Rachni Queen in Mass Effect 1. In ME3V, if the Rachni are dead, they stay dead. Cerberus gains powerful biotic soldiers called Cerberus Arbiters, if Shepard handed the Illusive Man the Collector base in Mass Effect 2. The geth acquire lethal tech experts, Geth Sentinels, if Shepard rewrote the Heretics in ME2. And, new Reaper Seekers, kamikaze pod crabs, will chase Shepard down…just for fun. “

What’s also interesting is that according to Pugliese, Shepard’s morality path and war assets heavily impact your ending; much more than the original game. In other words, this book features multiple endings. Those interested can download the book from Now if only someone made a video based on this book. That would be truly awesome. Enjoy!

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What Is Mass Effect 3: Vindication And Why Is It Worth A Look? Caveshen By 467 Views |

on 22 Jan, 2014: published about 1 year ago

It’s been almost two years now since released to the world and created quite possibly one of the biggest shitstorms in gaming history, and all because gamers were just that passionate about a series of games. It’s weird how thinking back, it’s actually quite heartwarming, but obviously at the time it was a very frustrating and tumultuous period, especially if like me you were very much on the side of the original endings, not needing any further elaboration or extension for the purposes of closure. Still, closure is exactly what BioWare promised the world, releasing the Extended Cut DLC soon after, that extended each of the endings and attempted to provide more elaboration on exactly what was going on — further provided during the Leviathan DLC that released for the game, something I still maintain is what was originally to be ‘ DLC that never saw the light of day. Further, after the game had been out for a while and the Extended Cut and Leviathan DLC packs were out, a few leaks occurred online including what was allegedly an early draft of the script for the game. It contained further elaboration on various subjects of discussion brought up in the previous two games but also explored something called ‘dark energy’ which was, if you might recall, the thing affecting the star in the mission where you recruited Tali in Mass Effect 2. Apparently ‘dark energy’ was quite a big deal and something the reapers, the overarching destructive force of the trilogy, were looking to escape from, as it essentially was the opposite of everything they were. Order meets Chaos, if you will. Anyway, fast forward a while further and most of the folks who played Mass Effect 3 have either forgotten about it, or remember it now as a game that sparked massive outcry and probably wasn’t as good as its sequel. I beg to differ but anyway, moving on, there are also those of us who really enjoyed the trilogy, enough so that we played all of the subsequent DLC packs including the Citadel DLC send-off for the series. Okay I lie, I’ve still not played that because

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honestly, I just can’t bring myself to reach that endpoint. It feels like the end of an era for me. What has also happened recently is that Gerry Pugliese, a self-proclaimed “huge Mass Effect fan” has published what he calls “a fan revision, and blueprint, for fixing Mass Effect 3.” Effectively, he’s put out a 400-page script that he feels is how the story should have played. Talk about fans on opposite sides of the scale. You guys have surely read some of my stuff about Mass Effect 3 by now, right? I defended the original endings, and then the extended cut endings, . I didn’t feel anything more needed to be done. Then you get the kind of fan who disagrees with this notion and yet loves the series enough that he would go and spend over a year of his life working on a revised script for the game. Pompous? Arrogant? Or just dedicated? You decide which applies to either of us. The script, which released in PDF format and can be viewed (or downloaded if you prefer) below, is called Mass Effect 3: Vindication — may I just say that vindication is one of my favourite words in the English language — and contains new dialogue, new missions, new scenes, choices, descriptions and even revisions to big plot points, character relationships and, of course, the endings. “The endings are a third of ME3V and I’ve created more than ten new ending scenarios,” explains Pugliese, “including having Shepard and friends survive, and going on to live happy lives; or Shepard succumbing to the Reapers’ power, turning evil, and enslaving the Galaxy, and turning many major characters into Reaper minions to serve at his/her side.” Presumably he calls it the dark side. Unfortunately, Mass Effect 3: Vindication is only available in the current readable format, with no mods or DLC planned, so if you’re interested in checking it out, at least for the moment, this is the only way. Still, when has a Mass Effect fan ever shirked a good read? On the subject of dedicated fandom, Pugliese is actually more than happy to join the ranks of game development and offer up his talents. “Hellooooo, game companies!” he writes, “And miscellaneous people who might want to hire me. If you like what you’re about to read, I’d love to discuss any opportunities you might have… So yes, part of why I wrote ME3V is because I think it’d be really cool to work in the video game industry, and I know I can do it.” And this kids, is exactly how you do it. (Not emailing us, asking for free games.)

Source: Via:

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Mass Effect 3: Vindication, One Fan Fixing Mass Effect

Jack Rooney Jack talks about Mass Effect 3: Vindication, the work of one very dedicated fan to “fix” some of the problems in Mass Effect 3. Now slow down there. Before you rush to the comments to attack me or to launch your own tirades about the problems in Mass Effect hear me out. This is a look into the mind of Gerry Pugliese, video game enthusiast, aspiring industry member, and Mass Effect super fan, and his attempt to retain the spirit of Mass Effect that he felt was lost in the third installment. I had a few questions for Gerry, which you’ll see below, and he has been more than open to discussing any of his ideas, inspirations, and motivations.

You can find his twitter with a link to his work

At what point did you realize you were going to write almost a textbook’s worth of information about ways to improve ME3? “I never thought ME3V would grow into a 500 page book when I started. I figured it’d be a hundred pages at most, with a few sketches and pieces of concept.

But as I rewrote one thing, I quickly realized it would lead to fifty more things. I decided to keep Anderson as Councilor, sounds simple, right? Not really. To keep him as Councilor, his looks needed to be altered and then various pieces of dialogue needed to be adjusted, and then what the hell do you do with Udina!? ME3V snowballed and I decided to just go where it took me. I never really worried about the length or size of the project. I just went with it. Eventually, I convinced myself that I was going for both quality and quantity.” Having read much of Gerry’s work now, the attention to detail is truly impressive. As Gerry points out, with so many parts interlocking within the Mass Effect universe, even one adjustment might lead to ten others, making this a truly impressive undertaking.

Have you received any resistance to or criticism of your own additions and reworkings? How do you respond to those that argue that ME3 doesn’t need fixing?

“The response to ME3V has been great. Nearly all the emails and tweets I’ve received are super positive – two people even said my endings moved them to tears. That’s pretty damn humbling. Sure, the coverage in Forbes was fantastic, but big press endorsements mean nothing if it doesn’t hit home with Mass Effect fans. I’ve gotten a few nasty emails, and obviously comments can be nutty, but I just don’t read them. I don’t care. If somebody rages and calls me names over a video game fan project, well, it’s safe to say they have other issues, and I’m not looking to play shrink. Mass Effect 3 needed fixing. If it didn’t, Extended Cut wouldn’t exist. Even someone at BioWare thought there was problem. Not just me.” I happen to agree with Gerry in this case. I had no problem walking away from the ending of Mass Effect 3…and maybe that was an indication of a larger problem. Gerry’s revised endings do, indeed, resonate much more with the Mass Effect fan inside me. However, personally I was not brought to tears but I have about the emotional range of a Geth so…make of that what you will.

You state, quite explicitly, that you are interested in a job in the field of video game development. Are you concerned at all with offending future co-workers or possible employers by reworking their product? Also, what role or position would you be happiest in? “Someone asked me if I could go work at BioWare after this. Yes! Of course I could. While ME3V is a criticism of BioWare, if BioWare, or any other gaming company, reached out to me, I would approach them with my hat in hand, and promise to give them the same work ethic and intensity I used to create ME3V. I have no problem walking in the lion’s den, so to speak. I’m willing to do whatever. I have no delusions that a company will offer me a top job – that would be insane. I think a low-level assistant type job in writing or producing would be a good fit. Throw me into the creative mix, and we’ll see what sticks.”

With the exception of a few major plot points (Starchild) you seemed to focus mostly on the smaller details, why is that? Mass Effect, and a lot of these hyper-role-playing games, are heavy on nuances, so I think when you take on a project like ME3V, you have a responsibility to the characters, and the story as a whole, to acknowledge the small details as much as the big details. For example: giving Miranda a new look is more than just a character re-skin. Miranda is on the run from Cerberus; new clothes would naturally help her hide, but also gives us a hint that she is concerned, and maybe shows a little bit of fear. So those new clothes instantly add more depth to her character.

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Make no mistake, this book is the work of a true fan. More than just a fan, someone who cared enough to take in as much of the universe as he could, deconstruct it down to the bare pieces, and adjust them into a shape much more in keeping with what the game needed to be and what fans deserved.

What games to you play when you have to get away from all this Mass Effect stuff? On a related note, are there any other gaming universes you would like to examine more closely or are you more interested in trying your hand at creating your own? What are some of your inspirations? “Just to be clear, I’m not in any sort of entertainment industry right now. I have an ordinary nine-to-five at the moment. Blah. ME3V consumed a lot of my time, so I am behind on my gaming. However, I just finished Dead Space 3. I am a huge Dead Space fan. I’m trying to get into Dishonored – so far so good. I love Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas. Dragon Age and Dragon Age 2 are also great. Some people might call me crazy, but as big of a Mass Effect fan as I am, I think Dragon Age 2 is a better game. Heresy, I know! Oh, and I’m still waiting for a new-new Jagged Alliance to come out, damn it! I’d like to try my hand at creating something unique, whether it’s my own idea or working as part of a team on something. I’m a team guy. I like working with people on a big project. I think that would be a great next step for me.

I’m a big Simon Pegg fan. Even though they’re silly comedies, I relate a lot to the characters he’s played in Shaun of the Dead and Run Fatboy Run. I’m an antihero guy. I identify most with underdogs and dark horses. Garrus is probably my all-time favorite video game character though; his struggle with seeing the world as black and white hits home with me…I don’t know what to do with grey.” As a fan of the Mass Effect series, I’ll admit I was pleasantly surprised by Mass Effect 3: Vindication. The idea that a fan could alter the work of BioWare in such a way that would make me appreciate the universe even more than I already do was too hard to believe. But Gerry actually pulled it off. I’m sure Vindication isn’t perfect. I’m sure Gerry missed details or focused on the wrong things at certain points but I sure didn’t notice. If you love the Mass Effect universe, even if you liked the endings, Vindication is more than worth a browse to say the least. Check it out and see what you think. After all, we’re all just fans expressing love for a game. No one would bother if it wasn’t worth appreciating. Related articles

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Mass Effect 3: Vindication - Egy 539 oldalas könyv, ami kijavítja a sztorit - GAMEPOD.hu PC / PS3 / Xbox360 hír Mass Effect 3: Vindication - Egy 539 oldalas könyv, ami kijavítja a sztorit Ezt már lehet elhivatottságnak nevezni. Minden megtalálható benne, ami a készítő szerint eltérő vagy hiányos volt az eredeti történetben. Aki játszott a Mass Effect című trilógiával, biztos emlékszik még a harmadik rész végén lévő ominózus "hivatalos" befejezésre, melyben a történetet kurtán-furcsán lezárták, majd a folytatást DLC-k vásárlásával ígérték. Végül valóságos háború robbant ki a széria rajongói és a készítők között. (Nem akarok ismétlésbe bocsátkozni, aki esetleg nem hallott a fiaskóról, és a hozzá kapcsolódókat).

A lényeg annyi, hogy még most is, miután a BioWare kiadta az Extended Cut DLC-t, ráadásul több olyan rajongói film és magyarázat is napvilágot látott, melyek alapján azok állítása bizonyíthatóbb a korábbi részekben is, még mindig jócskán akadnak elvarratlan szálak. A Mass Effect 3: Vindication című könyv épp ezeket a homályos, kimaradt, vagy éppen pontatlanul megírt részleteket igyekszik betölteni.

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Nem lett épp szűkszavú alkotás a Gerry Pugliese által írt könyv, mintegy 539 oldalon keresztül tartalmaz kiegészítéseket, korrekciókat, érdekességeket és új információkat a Mass Effect 3 történetével kapcsolatban. Megismerhetünk belőle új végkifejleteket, új románcokat, ellenségeket, karakter-kasztokat, képességeket, koncepciós rajzokat, átvezetőket, küldetéseket, War Asset-eket és egyéb hasonló információkat. Akit érdekel, (PDF formátum, 13,8 MB). Ám előtte mindenképp érdemes tisztában lennünk, hogy ez nem hivatalos kiegészítés, így nem kapunk általa bónuszt a játékhoz. Ez pusztán egy Gerry Pugliese által készített mű, melyben igyekszik helyrehozni - esetleg kijavítani - a BioWare által kreált káoszt.

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Fan 'Fixes' Mass Effect 3 with 400 Page Rewrite Stephen Daly

It's no Mass Effect 4 but it's what some of the fans want out of the series.

Gerry Pugliese, a self-declared "huge Mass Effect fan," has finished work on a 400 page rewrite of the last game in the series. Called Mass Effect 3: Vindication he describes the project as "a fan revision, and blueprint, for fixing Mass Effect 3." Vidication includes new additional characters, romance options, missions, and more. The project is book rather than a game or mod so you'll need to read through the changes rather than play them. Pugliese revised key plot points, character interactions, and the of the game. Pugliese comments:

"The endings are a third of ME3V and I've created more than ten new ending scenarios including having Shepard and friends survive, and going on to live happy lives; or Shepard succumbing to the Reapers' power, turning evil, and enslaving the Galaxy, and turning many major characters into Reaper minions to serve at his/her side."

He adds that he wrote Vindication in part because he hopes to work in the games industry. You can read all of Vindication below or download it BioWare is actively developing the next game in the franchise.

Mass Effect 3 was released in March, 2012 and

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Fan 'Fixes' Mass Effect 3 with 400 Page Rewrite Stephen Daly

It's no Mass Effect 4 but it's what some of the fans want out of the series.

Gerry Pugliese, a self-declared "huge Mass Effect fan," has finished work on a 400 page rewrite of the last game in the series. Called Mass Effect 3: Vindication he describes the project as "a fan revision, and blueprint, for fixing Mass Effect 3." Vidication includes new additional characters, romance options, missions, and more. The project is book rather than a game or mod so you'll need to read through the changes rather than play them. Pugliese revised key plot points, character interactions, and the of the game. Pugliese comments:

"The endings are a third of ME3V and I've created more than ten new ending scenarios including having Shepard and friends survive, and going on to live happy lives; or Shepard succumbing to the Reapers' power, turning evil, and enslaving the Galaxy, and turning many major characters into Reaper minions to serve at his/her side."

He adds that he wrote Vindication in part because he hopes to work in the games industry. You can read all of Vindication below or download it BioWare is actively developing the next game in the franchise.

Mass Effect 3 was released in March, 2012 and

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A superfan essentially completely rewrote Mass Effect 3 Dan Seitz

was hardly what you call “uncontroversial” for its ending, among other choices made for the game. In fact, fan outrage was so intense there were petitions, cupcakes, and other assorted protests. Some fans even tried to get BioWare investigated for false advertising. But none of them went quite so far as Gerry Pugliese. Pugliese, who is either a superfan or has an odd way of trying to find work in the gaming industry, has essentially completely rewrote Mass Effect 3, . The 400-page document adds ten new endings, ranging from Shepard going on to live a long and happy life to Shep going completely evil, enslaving everybody in the cast as a Reaper minion, and wiping out all life as we know it. You know, cheerful endings like that; this was such a strong focus that it took up a third of the book. It also adds new missions, both main missions and sidequests, writes new dialogue, has a different plot structure, and is essentially a complete rewrite of the game from the ground up. And it’s pretty good, as far as it goes: Pugliese knows the games quite well and it shows. Unfortunately, it’s not a mod, although considering what the PC community is like, that’s more a matter of Pugliese finding somebody willing to do it as opposed to a lack of will, but you can read through the whole thing, , online. It does say something about the love of the series and the fan reaction that we’re still talking about this game and its ending. One suspects people will be passionate about how the first three games wrapped up their plot for years. On the other hand, it may also be worth asking exactly how far you want to take your opinion; after all, there are other games to play.

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Didn’t Like How Mass Effect 3 Ended? Mass Effect: Vindication Is Here To Fix That Alissa McAloon The ending to 2012’s Mass Effect 3 was, and still is, a hot topic for conversation. Some say it worked, some that the Bioware ‘Extended Cut’ DLC fixed their gripes, and still some that it absolutely blew. If you’re in the latter category (I know I am), Mass Effect Vindication is for you. Mass Effect Vindication is a fan made revision to Mass Effect 3. The revision is the result of over a years work from Mass Effect fan Gerry Pugliese, who found himself wanting more out of the last entry in Commander Shepard’s Mass Effect trilogy. The project isn’t a patch, though Pugliese says it’s best read as such. Vindication instead comes packaged as a PDF file, full to the brim with improvements in the areas that ME3 fell short. Despite its size–a daunting 539 pages–ME3V is not a complete rewrite of the game. Pugliese bases his revision in the story ME3 presented, only fixing the things that just didn’t work. “ME3V is part editorial, part exposition, part narrative, and part screenplay, mixed in with a bunch of concept art and a few flowcharts (for the endings),” Pugliese explains in the introduction to the document. He warns that players who haven’t experienced any game in the trilogy besides ME3 won’t find much in ME3V, but the experience will be rewarding for anyone whose followed Mass Effect since the first game. If you found yourself disappointed in the final game of the Shepard trilogy, Mass Effect Vindication is right up your alley. You can find the full PDF for download and can follow the progress of the revision and find trailers and more at the revision’s official

“ME3, was the epic end to a beloved trilogy that was anything but epic.”

[Source:

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Fan Details Alternative Mass Effect 3 Ending In 500 Page Document By Tyler Lee on 01/19/2014

The Mass Effect franchise is a pretty popular one, although the original ending of Mass Effect 3 , in a way almost sullying the Mass Effect franchise especially given that Mass Effect 3 was the end of the game’s trilogy. However it seems that despite BioWare’s attempt at offering for gamers, there are still some who think that the ending could have been much better. There are probably fans out there who have created fan fiction that offered alternative endings, although we have yet to come across anything as detailed as Gerry Pugliese’s own alternative ending. Dubbed Vindication, Pugliese calls it his attempt to “patch up, rework, and fix” the final chapter of one of the “great video game stories ever told”. Pugliese’s efforts have resulted in a 539 page document that details all the changes and additions that he would have made to the game that would make it “better”. It has been a work in progress for over a year and for those who are interested in checking out his work, you can check out the PDF in its entirety . Now we should note that this is all subjective since there are some reviews who found the game to be entirely satisfactory and are pleased with how the story ended. At the same time we guess the majority disagrees which resulted in BioWare releasing the extended cut DLC, but what do you guys think? Any Mass Effect 3 gamers out there who are happy with the way the story ended? Or would you much prefer Pugliese’s own take on the game?

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Книга Mass Effect 3: Vindication исправит сюжетные недостатки Mass Effect 3 - новости Mass Effect 3

Mass Effect 3 — это экшен с видом от третьего лица с элементами ролевой игры и шутера от мастеров из студии BioWare. Издателем игры выступает Electronic Arts. Mass Effect 3 уже вышла на Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 и Windows PC в США. Согласно данным крупнейшего западного сайта-агрегатора Metacritic, Mass Effect 3 заслуженно получила массу восторженных отзывов критков.

5/7/2015 9:22 PM

” COMMUNITY

THE MAN WHO FIXED MASS EFFECT 3

I realise this project is incredibly arrogant

After the sublime scene-setting of Mass Effect and the choices of its sequel, there can be few who didn’t see Mass Effect 3 as an anticlimax. None more so than Gerry Pugliese, a guy so outraged by BioWare’s threequel that he decided to rewrite it in PDF mini-book Mass Effect 3: Vindication. We open communication channels to find out how one man hopes to succeed where others have failed

Could you give us a little background to your experience in gaming/narrative and your connection to the franchise? I’m a marketing assistant and a freelance writer. I don’t have any official connection to the Mass Effect universe, EA or BioWare. I’m just a big fan. What is it that most attracts you to the Mass Effect universe? I like the realism of Mass Effect. I know that sounds silly because it’s a made-up world, but Mass Effect and games like Dragon Age and Fallout: New Vegas are gritty and feel alive. Sure, you’ve got the ‘bang bang shoot-’em-up’ all games must have, but Mass Effect is more. You can develop friendships and relationships, experience love and loss, make tough choices, and shape Shepard in your image. It’s a fun way to live vicariously. I might just be some guy from New Jersey, but I’m also Commander Shepard, minus the smouldering good looks. What exactly was it about Mass Effect 3 that made you feel the need to change it yourself? And what exactly did you end up changing? I got the idea to revise Mass Effect 3 while playing it. I know, shocking! See, I played Mass Effect 2 about a billion times, both with uploaded games from the original and using Mass Effect: Genesis, so I pretty much know ME2 inside and out. So when I played ME3, I had a major mental checklist of things in my mind and guesses as to how they’d play out, but from the onset of the game, I saw a lot of choices were glossed over, casually addressed, or excluded. This didn’t sit well with me. So I started taking notes. Was there anything in the first two games that you’d like to have seen edited or altered in retrospect? 096 / X360 MAGAZINE

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NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY Sometimes, passion is all it takes…

Teams of writers and producers might not have been able to get Mass Effect 3 ’s ending right, but as a hardcore fan with a love of the series and a very clear idea of where the narrative should go, Pugliese was able to give it a damn good shot in the name of disappointed fans the world over. “The only experience I have working with narrative are a bunch of unfinished movie scripts I have stashed away somewhere,” he reveals. “But I do have a minor in creative writing!” With the time and the passion to right wrongs, though, labours of love like Vindication are entirely possible. “When all is said and done, I think ME3V will have consumed four months of my life,” he says with a satisfied smile. “But it’s better than sitting around playing videogames all day… oh, wait.”

Mass Effect was great. For me, it’s all about story, and gameplay is a distant second, but ME ’s gameplay was rough: enemies run around like mad, the inventory system is a nightmare, and the Galaxy Map desperately needs percentages and IMPORTANT notes to help you navigate the Mass Effect 3: Vindication is not affiliated with BioWare or galaxy. I think a remastered version Electronic Arts, Inc and is not intended of Mass Effect that fixes these little for commercial purposes. Mass Effect 3: things would make it amazing! Vindication is a fan creation. Mass Effect is the ME2 is my favourite of the property of BioWare and Electronic Arts, Inc. series and probably my all-time For details on how to download favourite game, but I hated mining cut. That cut-scene Mass Effect 3: Vindication, follow for minerals. It was just too tedious running to the beam @MassEffect3V and boring. The other thing is after you felt so organic and on Twitter. beat the game, the Normandy is beat up natural to the game. I can’t and damaged from the suicide mission, and imagine why it wasn’t included since you can continue playing the game in the original game. Did BioWare think it was after the suicide mission, I would have liked to bad? I hope not. It was the best cut-scene see the Normandy keep that battle damage in the game! It makes you wonder what and not revert back to pristine condition. happened over at BioWare during those last few hours of development. The other problem is BioWare kept the star Do you think BioWare should have child and the red, blue and green endings. buckled under community pressure and I understand why they did – changing it released the modified ending? would totally depart from their vision – but BioWare had no choice – they had to do the star child was the root of the fan outcry. I something. Their fan base – the people who just don’t understand how you make a game give them money – were disappointed and that is all about choices and how they shape outraged. That’s basically a mutiny, so they the world and at the very last second, you had to soothe the savage beasts. can make a decision that totally washes over Extended Cut was their answer. all your previous actions. It’s too generic – I think it helped BioWare repair their relationship with their fans, Mass Effect is not generic! but not completely. It will take time and a lot more great games. What made you feel like you could succeed where a team of hundreds Did the Extended Cut had failed? Trust me, I realise this project is incredibly DLC address any of the arrogant. I’ll admit it. I’m just a guy. I’m not problems you had schooled in game design. I’ve never worked with the game and in the industry. I’m just a guy who plays its conclusion? videogames, happens to do some freelance I don’t think Extended Cut writing in addition to my full-time job, and was enough. It seemed has taken a few screenwriting classes. So for like it just put back what me to say I can make Mass Effect 3 better was taken out of the original WWW.X360MAGAZINE.COM

12/10/2012 12:08

VINDICATED

Pugliese runs us through some of his most significant changes

1

ANDERSON NOT BEING A COUNCILLOR

“Apparently, he steps down between ME2 and ME3, but I think that’s a copout. It was a major decision in Mass Effect and it affected your Spectre status in ME2 – you can’t just toss it under the rug. I tweaked some dialogue in Vindication so that Anderson can remain councillor but still fill his role in ME3.”

2

THE RACHNI QUEEN

3

REWRITING OR KILLING THE HERETICS

“If you killed her in ME1, she and the rest of the rachni should be dead. The Breeder just seemed like an excuse to keep the Ravager and not come up with a different enemy to fill its spot. In Vindication, if you killed the Queen, Reaper elcors, called Destroyers, replace the Ravagers.”

“Given how important Legion is to the series, I figured this would have major repercussions in ME3. It didn’t. Legion or the geth VI says something about facing more geth on the dreadnought or whatever, but I didn’t notice any difference. Vindication makes you contend with Recon Drones and geth Colossuses if you chose to spare the Heretics in ME2.”

4

HOW JACOB AND MIRANDA ARE DRESSED

“If you were being hunted by one of the most dangerous organisations in the galaxy, wouldn’t you change your look? Just ripping off the Cerberus logo is a bad disguise. Jacob and Miranda get new looks in Vindication. Jacob gets more than that!”

than a talented team of game professionals is crazy. I know that! My friends think I’ve gone nuts, but all I can say is the changes and revisions I make in Vindication make ME3 the game it should have been, period. Do you think fans and communities have more power to change things they don’t like than they realise? The internet, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc have given fans major power! How long did it take for the Mass Effect 3 outcry to become major news? Inside a week? That is amazing! I think online forums can help keep videogames companies honest. You don’t have to cater and pander to your fans, but you have to treat them with respect and appreciate that they are willing to spend their hard-earned money on your products. So plan accordingly. Don’t just throw anything out there. What would you say to anyone considering undertaking the same kind of project? Do it! If you have the time and the passion, why not? I wouldn’t go neglecting your marriage or forgetting to walk the dog, but if writing about something you love is fun and helps you pass the time, enjoy! But be prepared to drink a lot of coffee! It’s a ton of work. I’m in Starbucks every day – morning, noon and night! WWW.X360MAGAZINE.COM

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Illustration by Tim Cutler (www.timcutlerart.com). Reproduced with permission.

X360 MAGAZINE / 097

12/10/2012 12:08

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If you’re a Mass Effect fan, you might have heard about a guy named Gerry Pugliese over the past few days. As a longtime fan of the Mass Effect series, Pugliese, like many other fans, was naturally more than a little disappointed with how the trilogy closed out at the end of Mass Effect 3. However, while other disgruntled fans sent colored cupcakes and signed online petitions, Pugliese decided to take his skills as a blogger and amateur screenwriter and do the unthinkable: he changed what he didn’t like.

The fruit of Pugliese’s labors is a 539-page document titled Mass Effect 3: Vindication. The document details the changes he made to virtually every element of the game including not only the controversial endings but also how the various characters were presented, how missions played out, how romances were handled, a new playable class for Shepard, new missions, romances, and dialogue, and even new additions to the multiplayer. Vindication has only been out in the wild for a few short days now (Pugliese put it up as a free PDF download on January 16th) but he has already received a ton of positive feedback from fans and members of the media; so much so that he even made a separate Twitter account for Vindication ( ) just to keep up with it all. I recently got to speak to Pugliese via email and fielded him a few questions about Vindication and the process he went through creating it. Read on to see my full one on one with the man who pretty much single-handedly turned Mass Effect 3 into a much more cohesive and satisfying narrative. You can download and read Vindication for yourself

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Naturally since we discuss the game’s endings and other events there are spoilers so if you haven’t completed Mass Effect 3 yet, consider yourself warned. Nate Hohl: Thanks for taking the time to speak with me Gerry. Ok, first off, during Vindication’s introduction, you talk a bit about how it was Mass Effect 3’s endings that mainly inspired you to sit down and write up your own alternate take but Vindication ended up being so much more than just reworked endings. When did you first decide you wanted to go back and rework the entire game? Covering things like character dialogue, how missions played out, romances, even alternate character outfits, you could have just presented the alternate endings and called it a day but what made you decide to go the extra mile (and then some)? Gerry Pugliese: Mass Effect 3: Vindication was a giant rabbit hole. When I started writing about one thing, be it the endings or a random bug, I would immediately say, “Well, what about this? If I fix this, then I need to fix that. Oh! I can’t ignore that. But to do this, I have to do that.” That was the constant conversation in my head. So…I just went with it. I never told myself “no” on any idea. I explored it. I ran with it. I exhausted it. Of course this piled up the revisions, content, etc., but I didn’t start Vindication to round off any corners. I wanted to beat this thing into the ground – take everything as far as I could, and that pretty much ended up being the whole damn game! The Mass Effect series is all about details, I tried to address as many as I could. I just kept pushing myself. NH: The amount of detail you put into each section of Vindication is staggering! Everything down to the minute differences in dialogue that can happen when picking different response options for Shepard all the way up to the major differences in which a mission can play out based on past and current choices. Was Vindication mainly a solo endeavor or did you have help from friends/colleagues/fellow Mass Effect fans? GP: When it comes down to the writing, it was 100% all me, nobody else. I have an awesome group of artists who created all the concept art. Without their hard work – and putting up with my constant nagging – Mass Effect 3: Vindication would not be what it is. I owe them a lot, but the writing? All me…all crazy me. NH: Having Shepard live in the new “Alpha” endings you wrote seems like a bold move considering BioWare originally wanted Shepard’s death to be a major impact at the end of Mass Effect 3. However, I admit I struggled for a long time with having to accept Shepard’s sacrifice, especially since I had built such a personal connection with the character over the course of the three games. Getting to finally see (or at least read) what could have happened if Shepard had lived was actually quite a cathartic experience for me. What made you decide to include not one but several endings where Shepard actually gets to live happily ever after? GP: It was a no-brainer, honestly. I wanted to create a bunch of different ending scenarios; Shepard living was an obvious choice. Shepard lives! Let’s throw a bunch of crap against that wall and see what sticks. Shepard dies! Now let’s throw a different bunch of crap against that wall. To me, Shepard living was just as a logical of an outcome as he/she dying. And as you can see in my endings, Shepard living or dying is a big factor in each ending, and a fun variable to play with. Plus, whether Shepard lives or dies does not affect the end of the series. The endings are too varied, too different, whether Shepard is alive or dead. It still means Mass Effect cannot proceed forward in that direction – the galaxy is just too different, too unique to your choice.

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NH: Can you talk a bit about the revisions you made to the romances? I liked the little additions you made here and there (especially the bathroom make-out scene with Jack) and including new romances for James and Khalisah was a nice touch. What made you decide to go back and re-examine Shepard’s romantic escapades? GP: There is a degree of “keeping format” here. I tried to balance it all out, and make sure each romance was given enough action – no pun intended. I tried to ensure every romance received an adequate amount of screen-time. Take the Citadel DLC for example, every romance character gets an “alone time” scene up in Shepard’s apartment, so I had to do the same for the new romances I added in Vindication. Call it…balance. Also, every single Mass Effect fan waits in anticipation for the “romance scene,” so a little more content there is a good thing, right? NH: As someone who also enjoyed the multiplayer in Mass Effect 3 (I still play it to this day!), I naturally found your section on the new multiplayer “campaigns” and N7 Vindicator class to be quite intriguing. The campaigns in particular are something I feel the multiplayer could have benefited greatly from as the standard “horde-esque” mode, even with all its randomized objectives, did start to feel stale after a while. Where did the ideas for campaigns and the N7 Vindicator/Savant single-player class come from? GP: The multiplayer campaigns were born out of my OCD. Listen, even though I play every DLC and do every side mission, I still won’t launch the final space battle until my Galactic Readiness score is at least 95%, and I know I’m not alone! So the multiplayer campaigns were a gift to my OCD comrades. It’s a simple way to add variety to the multiplayer games, while using existing content, and to get that pesky score up. Now you can go to sleep at night and not worry about losing those cursed percentage points! As for the N7 Vindicator, that happened because of the Earth DLC. I made a new character class, the Savant, so I had to make the Savant available for multiplayer too. I played copycat there, but, if you look at the N7 Vindicator’s powers, I do think outside the box, as they say. The Savant itself was something I have thought about since Mass Effect 2. It’s no secret, every character class in the Mass Effect series draws from the three power disciplines: biotic, tech, and combat, i.e. soldier stuff. I figured it would be cool to have a character class that is comprised of all three, with cool new powers, and an interesting back story. I’m pretty proud of the Savant, actually. I think the idea of Shepard’s Lazarus implants going bat shit works within the story, and guarantees at least a second play-through. First, you play as your beloved character class, and then you go for the Savant. Obliterate them! NH: Last question, and it’s kind of a tough one. We already know that BioWare is working on a new Mass Effect game that won’t involve Shepard. What do you hope to see in this new game in terms of story, characters, gameplay, etc.? Are you hoping BioWare will take a page from your Vindication playbook and ensure that their attention to detail is properly applied to all aspects of the game, even the minor ones? Do you want this new game to be a sort of

5/7/2015 9:48 PM

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separate stand-alone one-off game? Or should BioWare try to tackle another trilogy now that they (hopefully) have a better idea of what fans want to see? GP: I hope Mass Effect 4 is a prequel. I can’t even imagine the amount of “spin” BioWare would have to pull off to make the game march beyond the events of Mass Effect 3. The outcomes are just too different. How do you make the fallout of Destroy, Synthesis, and Control universal? If you chose Synthesis, your galaxy is now part organic, part robot. If you chose Destroy, just a bunch of stuff is blown up. And if you chose Control, Shepard is watching you! Mass Effect 4 would be best as a prequel, or a total re-imagining of the Mass Effect brand, i.e. “rebooting” the series. I would prefer a prequel though. I think if you go prequel, all you have to do is stick to the lore of Mass Effect, i.e. the Rachni Wars, Krogan Rebellion, Geth uprising, etc. That should be easy to do. BioWare did an awesome job establishing the Mass Effect lore. Plus, a prequel would be a great opportunity to learn more about Saren. Maybe Saren starts off as an honorable member of your team, but then we witness his fall from grace, and exactly how he became part turian, part robo-turian. There is a lot of gold to mine in Saren’s story alone. So yeah, I vote prequel! And hey, maybe at the end of the game you have a chance meeting with a new Spectre candidate, who happens to look just like you…or default Shepard. NH: Thanks so much for your time Gerry! You can go and check out Mass Effect 3: Vindication right now and I highly encourage any Mass Effect fans out there who may not have been totally satisfied with the original game’s ending to do so. During Vindication’s introduction, Pugliese mentions how he hopes the document will open some doors for him and maybe even land him a job as a video game writer; personally I think BioWare (or any other game developer looking for writers) would be crazy not to utilize Pugliese’s talent and dedication. Either way Mass Effect 3: Vindication still stands as a shining example of fan service to an already beloved series and will likely continue to do so for many years to come.

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Interview Series: The Creator of Mass Effect 3: Vindication Today, I had a chance to talk with Gerry Pugliese, creator of This is a re-imagining of Mass Effect 3, and a very interesting one at that. You can check out his for more information as well as the ! It’s a PDF book where you can make decisions to help shape the outcome of the ending. There are new LIs to pick from and a new ending that doesn’t include the Starbrat! It’s a satisfying read, and faithful to the Mass Effect franchise. Gerry took 539 pages worth of notes (and concept art) to create this loving tribute to the series. For more information, you can contact Gerry at:

5/7/2015 9:47 PM

Cupcake Ending

Credit: Super dedicated Mass Effect fans, 2012