Mass Effect 3 Ending Final Thoughts (No Spoilers)
So a lot of people are discussing the end of Mass Effect 3. I beat the game a few days ago, and while I didn’t like the ending, It doesn’t change the fact that I enjoyed 99% of the three games. I had a blast, and if the series wants to end the way it did, then so be it.
This blog post is to address those people who “defend” the ending. They fall into different groups (that I’m aware of).
1) People that defend the ending as art.
a) Person hasn’t played the game = if you’re a friend of mine on twitter, I will unfollow you and limit my interactions with you, because you’re ignorant. Play the fucking game and beat it before you form an opinion on something you don’t understand. If games are art, then they can be judged and criticized as such. It’s not a valid defense if you haven’t experienced it.
b) Person has played the game = I respect your opinion if you’ve experienced the ending and see it as expression of art. I have no beef with you. I would like to hear your thoughts on the ending.
2) People that think people that complain about the ending are spoiled/entitled.
a) Person hasn’t played the game = Fuck you. Unfollowed, blocked, if your name was on Destructoid Volume 3, it has been taken off. I want nothing to do with you. Humans in general are spoiled. This argument is so invalid and it infuriates me.
b) Person has played the game = I would like to hear your thoughts on this opinion. I have yet to see a person who beat the game take this stance, so I reserve judgement.
All I’m trying to say is if you haven’t played the game and you have something to say, shut the fuck up. If you beat the game and either have one of the above opinions, or even one I haven’t covered in this blog post, I would like to chat with you on friendly terms. I’m not looking to change your mind, I just want to hear your thoughts in detail, so I can form a less negative attitude towards the ignorant people that haven’t played the game.
Mass Effect is an amazing series, and I recommend playing all three. While I did not like the ending, I had an amazing journey. I’ve never been so emotionally invested in imaginary characters before. I saw them safely through Mass Effect 2. The combat, for the most part, was very satisfying. Planet scanning was way more fun this time around.
I just needed to get this off my chest. I spent the last few days reading twitter and other sources, and I’m really fucking sick of people chiming in that haven’t played/beaten the game. Your opinion means nothing to me, and if it means not being your friend, I don’t have a problem with that.
If you made it this far in the blog post, beaten mass effect 3, and have any opinion whatsoever, I would love to hear it. If you liked the ending, I would love to hear why. If you still think gamers are acting entitled, I want to hear your thoughts.
This is Not A Life..
I’ve been wanting to make one of these posts for a long time now, so here goes. If it gets posted, I’ll be shocked, but it needs to come out. It needs to be said.
AD Infinitum thoughts (Major storyline spoilers)
I’m not sure if anyone is following the story or not, or really cares, but I’m typing up this paragraph to prevent people from being spoiled. On the other hand, if you do read it, it’ll give you a better idea of my psyche and history.
The bottom line is this, AD Infinitum represents me and different major aspects of my life. I am not just Alphadeus. The memory of people lost live on in me and are a big part of who I am. Every character is a part of who I am.
The story is separate into four parts. Alphadeus (Future), Zars (Past), Asphodel Meadows (Present), and Elysium (End of Time). The story begins in the future, because that is where I am now. Ultimately, time is just an illusion. I strongly believe that we exist in all manners of being at all times.
There are four major characters in the 1st part of the story, the future:
Alphadeus - Represents the Body & the Son. Is a huge part of who I am. The hero of the story. The one that goes on a journey to rid the solar system of an alien invasion. Alphadeus is blind, but wears a special visor that allows him to see objects and people in different shades of color. Similar to detective mode in Batman Arkham Asylum/City. His blindness represents my Asperger’s Syndrome. I have eyes, I can see, but I can’t see what most of the world sees. I can’t read body language, and I can’t tell if someone is upset with me. It has led to many frustrating moments in my life.
Alphadeus’ coin gives him the power to travel through time, but only to places he has been already, and in his body at the time. So if he goes back to his childhood, he is young again. He does not have control over this ability, and only when he is put under extreme stress does it become an issue. During heavy space battles, he finds himself back in the past. What he thinks are flashbacks are actually him going back in time, he accidentally changes certain elements of the past.
Jonquil - Is Alphadeus’ girlfriend. She represents my girlfriend. I love her very much, and she is the reason I’m still around to tell this story today.
Neaux - Represents her father. My girlfriend’s father helped train me and take care of me in “the future”. He is another major factor in who I am today. I miss him, a lot. He passed away a few years ago.
Although it doesn’t really get mentioned in the story, Neaux is immortal. He is one of 6 coin-bearers (3 known and 3 unknown, the Xuan’s and Neaux being the unknown until the final part of the story).
Present Xuan (The Abstraction) - Represents my fear and torment. Has the ability to freely travel through time anywhere and any time. Has a liquid shadow body that engulfs people and subjects them to illusions to try to break them down.
Xuan is also the name of the character in the past that helps Zars find his coin. The reason for this is because Xuan and Zars are actually Alphadeus’ parents. He was conceived in the past, and is given to Present Xuan (The Abstraction) to take to the future to be trained by Neaux. The trip in total darkness from past to future is what caused Alphadeus to be blind. The only image he has that haunts him is of his parents before he is engulfed by shadow for most of his life, until he receives the visor that allows him to see.
There are 3 main characters and several minor characters in the Past:
Zars - Represents the Mind and the Father. He is the only coin-bearer not born with a coin. He has to earn it through a difficult trial that tests his logic and abilities. His motives are simple, to clear the continent of the cursed mist and liberate the land. In the story, he has a wife named Jean that passes away before his journey begins. He also has two children, Xaromus and Parius, which I will go into more detail about later on in this blog post.
Once Zars has the coin, his powers are the ability to reincarnate himself and others as powerful alien beings. He can also create barriers to protect himself and others, and can negate powerful illusion magic, such as the mist that curses his land.
Xuan - In the past, Xuan is a beautiful young female. She guides Zars to find the coin that gives him the power to clear the mist and save the continent. Once Zars has the coin and liberates his continent, before he goes to defeat the “monster” that cursed the land, he has a child with Xuan. That child is Alphadeus, which as I mentioned, is given up to Present Xuan by Past Xuan to be taken care of by Neaux.
Okinui - He represents the Soul and the Holy Spirit. He was originally created in Asphodel Meadows, and spent an eternity by himself, almost driven mad by loneliness. His coin gives him the power of Immortality, as well as the ability to create illusions and cast powerful offensive magic.
Okinui meets Present Xuan (The Abstraction). Xuan tells him about an incoming threat from the past and Okinui agrees to go back to the Past (where Zars is) and curse his continent with a mist to prevent him from finding the coin. The plan fails and Zars amasses an army of soldiers to do battle with Okinui and his army.
Okinui is almost defeated, but before he could be dealt the final blow, he self-destructs, killing everyone on the planet. Zars manages to get a barrier up to protect himself, but it only keeps him alive long enough to regret his decision to fight such a powerful being.
Zars reincarnates himself and his most trusted allies, and they take over Asphodel Meadows as predicted by Present Xuan. Okinui is nowhere to be found. Present Xuan tells Zars about a “harbinger”, a being from the future, who will come back to the past and destroy him. He reincarnates an army of drones, motherships and grand ships to head out to the future to stop the harbinger.
That is where the story begins. Alphadeus fights the armadas, stuff happens and he gets sent back to the past to fight Zars and his strongest minions, as well as his family.
There are quite a few major characters in the present (Asphodel Meadows):
Alphadeus - He arrives here after being defeated by Present Xuan in the future. When he arrives, there is a book describing the events of Zars’ past. It mentions Xuan, and makes him realize that Xuan must be somewhere in the meadows. He searches for a long time until he finds a tower. Outside is the gatekeeper.
Primortis - He is one of Zars’ main henchmen and the protector of the tower. He does not attack Alphadeus until Alphadeus insists on being let into the tower. Primortis is a large being with a huge spear. He is defeated.
Sheuta - Another of Zars’ henchmen, and a close childhood friend of his. In his reincarnated form, Sheuta can fly (he is the only major character alien that can fly) and shoot beams from his hands.
Syn - One of Zars’ henchmen. Syn was another childhood friend of Zars. His favorite hobby was playing the Clavichord. In his reincarnated form, Syn has hands with several long tentacles, which allow him to play complex music on his organ when Alphadeus meets him.
Xuan - This is the Abstraction version of Xuan, the reincarnation of Past Xuan (although Zars does not personally reincarnate her, Xuan, Xuan, and Neaux are also coin-bearers and have their own abilities). This Xuan uses the same tricks on Alphadeus as when they did battle in the future, trying to trick him into thinking he has Jonquil captured. Alphadeus realizes it’s an illusion and does something that manages to defeat Xuan, but only wounding her so that she manages to escape up the tower.
Xaromus - The youngest son of Zars. Xaromus is an angry youth upset at the idea that someone is trying to kill his father. His ability is that he can wield 2 swords, while 2 more swords float over his shoulders and fly around on their own. Because of his anger, Xaromus proves to be an easy opponent to defeat, because his attacks are not focused.
Parius - The 1st born son of Zars. His reincarnated form grants him the power of “Mirror Image”. He copies his opponent down to the biological level, including any disabilities and equipment the opponent has. This includes Alphadeus’ blindness, visor, and sword. He does not attack, but responds to any form of attack and ability and copies them perfectly in sync with his opponent. This prevents a stalemate, but Alphadeus figures out a way to beat him.
Zars - In his reincarnated form, he has similar powers to when he was human. He is extremely quick and hard to hit. Zars attacks Alphadeus out of sheer madness, driven insane by the fear created by the idea of a harbinger. Alphadeus manages to wound Zars, but is not willing to finish him off, because he promised Xaromus and Parius he would not kill him.
Okinui - The defeat of the “Mirror Image” and the wounding of Zars gives Okinui the chance to kill and absorb Zars, becoming IKarusZino, the combination of Mind and Soul, Father and Holy Spirit.
Okinui uses his new power to destroy the past, present and future. He extends his arms and points in two directions, sending beams of pure energy that travel through time to annihilate the past and future, and slowly engulf the past. Even with his new power, he is unable to kill Alphadeus and retreats to the end of time.
Okinui was able to travel to Asphodel Meadows because Present Xuan brought him there. Okinui betrays Xuan by attacking her in her weakened state. A conversation takes place between Alphadeus and Xuan after IKarusZino leaves them to die that answers a lot of questions.
There are no new characters added to the 4th part of the story, but it wraps things up:
I won’t really go into too much detail about this part of the story. But I will describe the roles each coin-bearer plays in my story.
Alphadeus represents the body, son, and time.
Zars represents the mind, father, and reincarnation.
Okinui represents the soul, holy spirit, and immortality.
Past Xuan is Hope, and Reincarnation.
Present Xuan is Faith, and Time.
Neaux is Courage, and Immortality.
It’s hard to describe what this all means. I’m not good with words. Zars and Past Xuan are Alphadeus’ parents. He was given up by Past Xuan to Present Xuan to “protect” him from the destruction of the planet by Okinui.
Alphadeus was raised and trained by Neaux to be a good fighter. The armadas represent dark moments in my past attempting to destroy my future. Alphadeus manages to defeat them, but is ultimately defeated by Xuan.
Present Xuan defeats Alphadeus to trigger his coin to send him back to Asphodel Meadows, a place he normally would never be able to reach. Alphadeus then defeats Zars and his minions in search of Xuan.
Okinui kills and absorbs Zars, and destroys the past, present and future. This action sends every living creature to the end of time. It prevents Alphadeus from going back in time to change events. Xuan tells Alphadeus he must learn to use his coin to travel to the end of time, because if he dies in the present, he will be powerless to stop IKarusZino in the end of time.
I guess that’s enough talking for now. I hope some of it made sense. It’s an extremely personal story, and after I’m done with it, I doubt I will have any more story-based albums to release. I hope you at least enjoy the music, even though the story is so full of twists and turns. Take care.
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]Strings Example ~ Random Improv of a new string soundset my best friend helped me buy :)
AD Infinitum (10 Discs)
Yeah you read that correctly. Once all is said and done, AD Infinitum will be 10 discs.
There will be 4 main story discs.
1) Alphadeus
2) Zars
3) Asphodel Meadows
4) Elysium
And 6 bonus discs.
5) From Alpha to Omega (Alpha to Mu)
6) From Alpha to Omega (Nu to Omega)
7) From Alpha to Omega (Boss Rush - Zodiac)
8) From Alpha to Omega (Boss Rush - Greek Gods)
9) Okinui (Deals with isolation and the 5 griefs)
10) IKarusZino (Deals with 7 deadly sins + 6 guardians)
That’s all I can say right now without giving away too much details. It’s 126 tracks, going to take me at least 2 years unless I bum rush it. From Alpha to Omega is already written. Walking in Circles represents a small chunk of the main 4 discs. I have MIDI and Classic songs that fill in gaps in the main story.
It shouldn’t be too hard to write the rest of the songs.
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]Just some Improv I did with my favorite strings sound set. To give you an idea of the dramatic sound I’m hoping to incorporate into Man in a Box.
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]Battle with Syn (Classic)
This song is special to me because it was the first song I composed entirely in piano roll. Before that, I recorded all of my instruments manually, which even though I did it to a metronome, led to a lot of timing issues.
Syn is one of Zars major henchmen and I believe the third one Alphadeus will fight in the Tower in Asphodel Meadows. In his human form, he was a man that loved to play the Clavichord. In his alien form, when Alphadeus first encounters him, he is playing the chords you hear in the beginning on a piano.
The piano intro is complicated because it can’t be played with just two hands. Syn has tentacles for fingers which allows him to play more than two hands worth of piano notes.
This is a battle song. I believe it’s in 6/4 for most of the song but I could be wrong. I really love how this song turned out and it opened my eyes to the potential of composing as opposed to performing.
I hope you enjoy.
AD Infinitum - Song Title Thoughts
I’ve been doing some thinking (Skyrim has been keeping me busy :p) and I would like to change the names of most of the titles to better represent the story I’m trying to tell. This is the initial tracklist for the first 2 CDs, Alphadeus & Zars.
101) Walking in Circles
102) Neaux’s Training
103) Mag-U5 (the name of Alphadeus’ ship)
104) Broken Memories
105) Short-Lived Victory
106) Sudden Outburst
107) Mazeophobia
108) Breakdown
109) The Abstraction
110) Distorted Reality
111) Nightmare
112) Drifting Through My Life Again
113) Before the Beginning
201) Okinui’s Curse
202) Secret of the Coin
203) Lines in the Dirt
204) Forest of Dreams
205) All That Remains
206) Above the Mist
207) Open Their Eyes
208) On His Throne
209) March of Zars
210) The Dark War
211) Ultimate Sacrifice
212) Griever
213) Reincarnation
Ad Infinitum - The Magic Coins
I wrote a 6,000+ word summary of the story that I am going to try to grow over time. I want to finalize the details of the story before I begin working on the music.
I wanted to talk about the Coin system. I am going to explain this as if it were a video game.
There are three “Coins” in the universe. Mind (Zars), Body (Alphadeus), and Soul (Okinui). I may not have introduced you to Okinui yet. He is the god on Zars’ planet that curses the continent he lives on to be covered in a thick mist.
The coin’s power is based on a 12-point (like a clock) status system.
STR- Represents Strength. Determines how strong a character looks and is.
INT- Intelligence. Allows the bearer to cast offensive magic, curses and such.
CHR- Charisma. Determines the bearer’s ability to influence others.
SPACE- Unknown. None of the characters have access to this node.
WIS- Wisdom. Allows the bearer to cast defensive magic, such as shields, restoration magic.
FLIGHT- (Story updated): Will be replaced with Immortality.
DEX- Determines the bearer’s ability to use weapons, as well as hand-to-hand.
SHADOW- Unknown. None of the characters have access to this node.
AGI- Determines the bearer’s speed of movement and evasion.
TIME- Allows the bearer to travel through time, but the ability is not known by either Neaux or the bearer of the coin.
RE-LIFE- Allows the bearer to reincarnate himself, as well as anyone he chooses, with no limit.
LIGHT- Unknown. None of the characters have access to this node.
This is Alphadeus’ coin. What is means is that he is Strong, Able to use Martial Arts/Weapons, and can travel through time, although the last ability is not taught, it is used once without knowing, and learned through a later experience.
This is Zars coin. He can reincarnate himself and others, has the charisma to command a huge army, is extremely fast, and can use defensive magic, such as shields and healing abilities.
This is Okinui’s coin. He is strong, can use martial arts/weapons, is immortal, and can cast offensive magic such as cursing a continent to be covered in mist.
During the story, certain characters lose their coins to other characters, and abilities are added and enhanced. Each “node” has 3 levels of power, so if one were to have 2 coins, all of their stats would be at level 2, making them more powerful.
I will probably reveal more details of the story as they are finalized.
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