Indoctrination Theory

Time is a very limited resource, at least to a human being. There's only so much of it in a day, and only so many days before your time runs out. For better or worse, video games tend to take a long time to finish. One of the most distressing problems that this causes is that it makes discussion difficult. A group of friends can go see a movie together, but a video game simply takes too much time for most people to enjoy simultaneously. Someone will get ahead of the other and be left waiting for the rest to catch up. Personally, this problem has helped instill a love of watching others play video games in me. This way I know everything that's happened, and can talk about it immediately. Discussion flourishes under such conditions, but it can be difficult to set up, especially as we grow older (and thus burdened with more responsibilities).

Sometimes it's nice to chat.

Amongst my friends, I tend to lead the front; finishing games months or even years ahead of the others. This gives me a lot of time to analyze my experience, draw conclusions, and generally refine my thoughts on the game in question. Certainly, this has proved true with Mass Effect 3. Of my friends, I'm the only one who even owns it yet. But the internet far outstripped even myself, and I've only recently begun to catch up to the conversation.

My posts last week were written as a way for me to work out my personal feelings on the end of the game. They were a way for me to get the bad taste out of my mouth so that I could enjoy the rest of the otherwise fantastic game. Not taking the time to really analyze my experience, or catch up to the discussion was an error. A mistake. My blunder was not in making my posts, which really did help me deal with my feelings about the end of the game, but in not catching up to the current conversation. My true error was not finding about the Indoctrination Theory until now.

Read on to find more about the Indoctrination Theory and what it has to do with the ending of Mass Effect 3.

The Indoctrination Theory is relatively simple. At its core, it stipulates that Shepard has spent too much time near Reapers and Reaper tech, and has begun to undergo indoctrination (a form of mind control in the Mass Effect universe). Before I say anymore I would like you to watch the video below, which besides being surprisingly well-done, should help explain the theory as well as provide much of the evidence for it.

Do I believe in the Indoctrination Theory? Yes and no. The evidence is certainly compelling, though as a friend pointed out, it's laid out almost exactly like the 9-11 Truth videos. The video does little to account for things that might disprove its message. Much of the 'proof' we see, such as the child disappearing into the building that gets blown up can be attributed to continuity errors. Remember that Mass Effect 3 was delayed several months. It's quite likely that the developers were under a lot of pressure to get the game ready and out the door.

We must also take into account the leaked script, and further leaked notes on Mass Effect 3's development. We know that at some point in the development that Bioware did in-fact plan for Shepard to be indoctrinated, but that the idea was dropped. A large portion of the evidence could simply be pieces that were created for that purpose, and when the idea was dropped were left in due to time and budget constraints (which explains why they work so well as evidence). If this is the case, then the Indoctrination Theory cannot be true, as the idea was dropped earlier in development, and the rest of the evidence matching is mere wishful-thinking.

Wishful thinking, however, can be a powerful tool. Part of why the ending to Mass Effect 3 is so poorly executed, is that it denies hope. The destruction ending in particular suffers from this. The only ending in which Shepard can survive, is the same one where we must sacrifice both the Geth (a race depicted only as sympathetic throughout the game), and the Mass Relays (which precludes any type of reunion for Shepard and their team, and then there's the problems that this causes for the galactic community). If you believe the Indoctrination Theory however, hope still lives on. The Mass Relays are not destroyed. The Geth still live. The Normandy still lies in the Sol system. The Reapers may be still around, but the player can at least imagine that they will beat them. There is still a chance.

The Indoctrination Theory's benefits are not limited to just the end of the game either. Belief causes the most criticized and ham-fisted scenes, the sequences with the boy (including the dream sequences), to be taken in an entirely different direction. No longer are they forced characterization by the writers, instead we can see them as insidious attacks by the Reapers, perhaps by Harbinger itself. The lack of Harbinger's constant threats is negated. The Reaper has been in contact with us the entire game, we just didn't realize it. It certainly makes the theory an attractive one to believe in.

The face of evil.

In all honesty, I don't think that Indoctrination Theory is true, or at least that Bioware didn't intend on such a thing. The masterstroke that turns most of the game's weaknesses into strengths feels beyond their abilities to me. Could I be wrong? Certainly. I was honestly surprised at how much the writing (especially concerning the relationships) improved in Mass Effect 3, and they really could be much better writers than I give them credit for. I know that I tend to err on the side of criticism, especially concerning writers, and video game ones even moreso (likely out of jealousy). However, if they truly did intend for the Indoctrination Theory to be the game's truth, then they have created an unfinished game. The end under the Indoctrination Theory is not the end. Shepard's story is not over. Rather than a finished game with a bad ending, we instead have an unfinished game. Considering the fiasco surrounding the leaked script, this could be an understandable position (even if most people on the internet would be foaming at the mouth). Bioware simply may not have had time to make a proper ending sequence.

Concerns such as these I feel, more than anything else is why Bioware has been so non-commital about a revised ending DLC. Likely they are unsure of how they want the ending to progress. Do they add a fourth option to the existing ending? Do they legitimize the Indoctrination Theory and have the ending continue from the destroy ending? If they do this, then how much can they charge for the DLC? If the Indoctrination Theory is correct, then the current end isn't one, and players have what amounts to an unfinished project. Should they have to pay to see the rest? It doesn't seem right that way, but the team still needs to get paid, and the company still has to make money. Take into account how successful Broken Steel was for Fallout 3, and as a company they have to ask some very difficult questions, and that's without getting into whether the teams are actually available to work on it or not.

I don't envy Bioware's position at all. Personally, I would love to see them create a DLC that legitimizes the Indoctrination Theory, continues the endgame and maybe even puts the player into a better position for more DLC, similar to the position they have in Mass Effect 2 (you've won, but the fight isn't over). Make the ending big enough, well-crafted enough, and people will pay money for it. Many will complain. Some won't buy it out of principle. But if they make it good enough, then much of their bad press will dry up and the vast majority will pay for it. For now though, I'll cling to this theory, because it at least gives me some hope.

Of course, in the time it took me to write up this post Bioware has announced that there will in fact be a 'Director's Cut DLC' free of charge this Summer. Whether this will properly address the audience's concerns will have to wait until it's released. Bioware has proven that they're more than capable of listening to their audience (Shadow Broker DLC and 'calibrations' jokes). I just hope they can pull off something good enough to wash the bad taste out of our mouth.