We all (or should) know about the developer that played the bit at the end and was extremely offended. So do you guys think there will be any uproar? Particularly with religious groups and/or certain news groups over the so called offensive ending? It's been awhile since there has been a good video game controversy in the news.

Whose will?

Spoiler alert: At the end of the game, you have to fight the Mass Effect 2 final boss version of Jesus.

It's insane.

At the end, you stomp on a copy of Persona 4 signed by Jeff and Vinny. So this site, specifically, is gonna freak out.

EDIT: Sadly, I am predicting some controversy. I wish people could just shut up and enjoy games but the last year has shown that a very loud subgroup of people will yell over everyone else trying to talk about the game civilly.

you're will

*There, sorry I just learned the difference between their and there since listening to the last Giant Bombcast, words are fun!

Another Jebus fight? I thought we fought him at the end of the original Bioshock?!

To anyone who might have missed the news.

Probably not, I mean most of you are irreligious dickholes. Yeah okay, a lot of bad shit happened because of organized religion but uh, hopefully the game will touch on some of the good sides if it's already tackling the subject of religion. And I know next to nothing about the game's plot.

Also props to the guy for the strength of his believes? It's a pretty fucking idiotic reason to resign from such a sweet gig, but hey...ideals and principles and shit.

Will it get it's 15 minutes of fame in the media ? Yes.

Will there be any real controversy ? No.

If so that would be kind of interesting considering Ken Levine has already said in at least one interview that they tweaked story elements based on a developer working on the game finding things to be offensive, so much so that he had tendered a letter of resignation. It was a Kotaku article a while back.

Here it is.

So I would say that maybe people could find something offensive, anything is possible, but apparently there has already been some behind the scenes work on some of the material to try and make it better, without lessening what Levine wanted to do with the story. Frankly I think it is really interesting to hear that there was this back and forth between two people with disparate ideals, a Christian and an Atheist, and that they feel that the story was improved based on that conversation. So I guess we'll see if it matters in the end to the people playing the game.

The story claims the offended guy was EXTREMLY religious. So there might be a chance he's easily upset.

Not in the way they're trying to stir people up, no. I imagine the only real controversy will be over the story being super dumb.

Honestly, I really hope there will be. To see a game become controversial because of something other than horrendous violence or sex would be a sign of the medium maturing in the general public's eye.

Like anybody plays the end of Bioshock games.

Who gives a shit either way.

Actual controversy? No.

Made-up bullshit? Yes.

...what are you talking about? Who played what?

It won't leave you indifferent.

Almost all 'AAA releases' receive shitloads of controversy. Lets look at this year's releases alone:

• DmC: Devil May Cry - DOUBLE CHECK (unfaithful aesthetic, too easy/simplistic combat)
• Dead Space 3 - CHECK (microtransactions/freemium $60 game)
• Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
• Aliens: Colonial Marines - DOUBLE CHECK (broken, terrible, developers lying)
• Crysis 3
• Metal Gear Rising: Revengence - CHECK (4 hours long)
• SimCity - DOUBLE CHECK (broken gameplay systems, always-on DRM, disastrous launch)
• Tomb Raider - CHECK (narrative disconnect, sexism, unfaithful reboot)
• Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm
• God of War: Ascension - CHECK (sexism)
• Gears of War: Judgement - CHECK (4 multiplayer maps, campaign scoring system hurting the pacing)

Now we have Bioshock Infinite: the sequel to one of the highest rated games ever, and a game that is that is highly critical of American nationalism AND organized religion? There will be a shitstorm.

I doubt there will be any controversy in the "mainstream media," nor do I think there will be much of an uproar in regards to how Infinite portrays religion. However, having just seen it, I do think there will be quite a bit of commotion as a result of the ending, a la Mass Effect 3.

Even without that part there will be controversy, solely by virtue of it being a video game. A bunch of people will call it the worst game ever created, another bunch of people will call it the best game ever created, a handful of "Am I the only one who thought the end was offensive?" threads will be made on various forums sparking yet another religion flame war each time, a news station will run a quick blurb about Bioshock bringing the end times upon humanity by creating a generation of murderers, Jeff and Ryan will crack wise about the whole kerfuffle, and somebody will Photoshop Vinny's head onto Elizabeth's body.

All of the talk about this game makes me really want to know what the fuck happens plot-wise. I didn't particularly enjoy actually playing the original Bioshock though (yeah I'm a terrible person), so I'm kind of hesitant to pay full-price for this sucker.

If I have a concern about anything it would be people playing through the game and misinterpreting any philosophical or theological themes.

I have seen the ending of the game and there's nothing offensive or controversial about it.

project You didn't add 'developers lying' to the SimCity one... the stuff EA Maxis said about the game needing the servers for the actual simulation aspect of the game to work wasn't true. :)

Somone, SOMEWHERE will be stirrng up a shitstorm. Its the internet.

I'll be genuinely impressed if it makes headline news in the NY Times, though.

Do you draw a picture of of the prophet muhammad at the end of the game? I really hope that's the ending.

Someone somewhere is always offended by something....

@vinny_says: Do you really want to know what happens?

I have no idea what you're talking about, but probably. There's always something that doesn't right with someone.

Is it possible that someone can be offended by no one being offended by an inoffensive ending?

I hope that there isn't, there wouldn't be if it was a book or a movie. I do think that it's cool that it's a game that deals with the themes of jingoism and religion instead of the themes of shooting brown people in blanketyblanketystan.

I would love it if the ending was you cheering and clapping whilst you slowly torture and kill US soldiers just doing their "duty" for whatever final boss they're working for.

Obviously, I'm not offended by this, so no one else should be. My beliefs and values are all that matter. You don't.

See what I did there dickheads.

Remember @mrhadouken after that the head dev dude and the dev who wanted to quit sat down and talked.

Head dev dude went ahead and changed how the ending was put across.

The religious dev found it insulting how a religious person was represented aswell as him being the antagonist. The head dev is not religious and found it hard to write for the character, so after the talk it helped him and now he and the religiouse dec are happy with the ending.

So I think that's all fixed on that end.

How do people want good storytelling in games if anytime anyone trys to write about a subject everyone jumps all over how bad the writing is?

Square Enix isnt going to keep trying if everytime they do everyone freaks out. If you think EA's stories suck now, keep bashing the games that tell stories well, because then you will never have another Mass Effect or Dead Space. You will only get Sim Cities, and the Sims.

@mrhadouken said:

I hope you're talking about mainstream news, because it's only the end of March and there's already plenty of controversy to go around.

@mrhadouken: I'm not expecting much in terms of controversy. From the sound of the previews, and because it is a video game, it would need someone who has a larger public image than any game publisher can put together to elicit that much of a reaction. EA did a few events that would also be super controversial in some limited (IMO unreasonable in terms of those items) sections of the populace lately, and it never really caught on as a mainstream "omg protest" thing.

Games seem to only come up in the media in association with violence anyway.

Im sure someone somewhere will be shocked when they see bathrooms for white and black folk.

At the end the star child appears and columbia becomes the citadel

Spoiler: There is no ending of the game. It was all a ploy to become a Jehovah's Witness.

yeah I expect some fake outrage-and-analysis crapped together to get some page hits.

people can't even muster real outrage over the USA training and deploying Iraqi death squads to run torture centers. I guess people store up all their outrage for thin-skinned victim one-upsmanship sexism articles.

the game will have racial segregation?

To be offended by that wouldn't they already need to be offended by the ending themselves?

Games have yet to offend me. Bring it on developers!

You kill Jesus with a golf club.