Bioware's Aaryn Flynn Says "Softcore Space Porn" Comments gave "Wrong Impression" of Andromeda

[ffronw]

Bioware's Aaryn Flynn Says "Softcore Space Porn" Comments gave "Wrong Impression" of Andromeda

After calling Mass Effect Andromeda "softcore space porn," Bioware's Aaryn Flynn has clarified his comments.

If you were worried that Mass Effect: Andromeda might be a little too racy after Bioware GM Aaryn Flynn called it "softcore space porn" [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/169648-Mass-Effect-Andromeda-Softcore-Space-Pron-ESRB-Rating-Change] yesterday, you can relax. Flynn has issued follow-up tweets that clarify that he was just being sarcastic.

[tweet t=https://twitter.com/AarynFlynn/status/836313939294187520]

In a another Tweet [https://twitter.com/AarynFlynn/status/836304494111543296], he said, "Our developers worked extremely hard to bring these characters to life in a responsible way. My bad word choice."

The original post was part of a thread where Flynn was discussing the ESRB's change of the "Partial Nudity" notation on the game to "Nudity." Flynn wrote, "We lost the 'partial nudity' rating and got full 'nudity'." It sounds like the "softcore space porn" line was exaggeration for effect that didn't come across as intended.

We're less than a month from the launch of Mass Effect: Andromeda, which goes live on PC, PS4, and Xbox One on March 21. You can check out the couple of trailers [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/169640-Mass-Effect-Andromeda-PC-Specs] if can't stand the wait.









Permalink

 

[Erttheking]

I had a feeling he was just trying to be cutesy and people were running with it.

 

[Elijin]

There's an escapist topic like 2 threads down where 80% of people were like 'OH GOODIE SOME BIOWARE BASHING' in spite of obvious sarcasm. So excellent.

 

[Izanagi009_v1legacy]

If i was to be perfectly frank, the mass effect games, in terms of how the romance is written are porn. The dialogue and gameplay loop reduce the complex nature of forming relationships into a "give gift and say the right things" mechanic and the fact that sex is seen not as a stepping stone but a culmination of a relationship seems immature and childish. Hell, I've seen eroge with better written romances and relationships than Mass Effect

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

If i was to be perfectly frank, the mass effect games, in terms of how the romance is written are porn. The dialogue and gameplay loop reduce the complex nature of forming relationships into a "give gift and say the right things" mechanic and the fact that sex is seen not as a stepping stone but a culmination of a relationship seems immature and childish.

Except that's not how DA:I did it, so I'd say they've improved greatly since DA:O and ME1's - let alone KotOR or Jade Empire's - very contrived arcs. DA:I had all kinds of fundamental issues, but the romance arcs were done superbly. Sex can occur, and there is partial and full nudity with some, but it's no longer necessarily a culmination of anything, occurs more contextually, and in some instances doesn't feature at all.

...though I think calling ME's romances "porn" is deeply and incongruously inaccurate; more accurate to say it was ostensibly designed just like any other game system, i.e. effort/progress and reward. Simplistic? Absolutely, but this medium is still finding its narrative feet, and what's important is an attempt to improve, which is precisely what BioWare have done.

I'd rather a growing medium tried to deal with relationships than try to avoid it - which is what I'd describe as truly immature and childish/adolescent (i.e. an unwillingness to deal with anything but violence, power fantasies, and sociopathic teflon-psychology protagonists).

 

[Izanagi009_v1legacy]

snip

You are right that i might be a bit strong worded in calling ME's romances porn. I just am in a mood of pretension due to personal issues and the Oscars

But yes, I commend Bioware for improving their narratives with relationships. Lets hope for more.

 

[h@wke]

Pre-order withdrawn

 

[BloodRed Pixel]

"convey the sarcasm"

There was a reason the internet invented smilies that simulate the voice articulation for such occasions... :-/

MassCum Andromance

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Three words; begins with "n" and rhymes with "woe-clit-murdoch"

 

[EnigmaticSevens]

Awww, I didn't even have time to lament the Escapist growing lack of journalistic merit and type up something snarky concerning the group think Bioware Bash this community so adores, and the obvious implicit sarcasm, before lo and behold, we get another stirring tweet based article. I must be getting old.....

 

[American Tanker]

As if I wanted to see softcore pr0nz of these fugly characters anyway...

 

[distortedreality]

I can see why you guys are looking for new content contributors - there's so many unverified tweets out there to report on, assumptions to be made, and jokes to be missed!

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

I wish I could say I was surprised that there are people who don't get joke posts.