Mass Effect 2's Nudity Level Decided by Dictatorship

Tom Goldman

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Aug 17, 2009
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Mass Effect 2's Nudity Level Decided by Dictatorship



BioWare puts what it wants in its games, and doesn't care what you, your mother, or Bunky the Wonder Clown think.

BioWare's Stanley Woo has interjected his opinion into a discussion [http://social.bioware.com/forum/Mass-Effect/Mass-Effect-General-Discussion-NO-SPOILERS-ALLOWED/Sex-and-Nudity-996475-1.html] over at the BioWare Social Network covering the "tame" Mass Effect 2 sex scenes. The original poster lists videogames with sexual content and suspects that sales numbers or EA lawyers could be the reasons why Mass Effect 2 doesn't include similar scenes. Woo's response makes him seem a little annoyed with the whole topic in general, as I might be if I were in his shoes.

"It's kinda funny that this topic keeps coming up over and over again," he says. "People who claim to be old enough and mature enough to handle sex and nudity in a game seem to believe that any lack of sex and nudity in the game is a sign of self-censorship. They generally don't believe that a game can be called 'mature' without explicit sex and/or nudity."

Woo continues: "Let me tell you, folks, that as a developer full of mature individuals, we are also free to not have explicit sex and/or nudity in our games, no matter what you, Fox News, the government, or Bunky the Wonder Clown has to say about it. We have never considered it a "problem," it is simply a choice we have made and we have every right to make that choice." I don't know why he's putting down the pull of Bunky the Wonder Clown, but I do agree that what BioWare wants in it games, BioWare should put in its games, end of story.

To Woo, sex and nudity aren't "what make [BioWare] games great," and insisting on a higher level sexual content only makes those insisting look immature. He says that while BioWare does not perform the job of a parent: "Game development is not a collaborative effort between developers and gamers; it is a dictatorship, where we alone determine what content goes into our game. You the player make the choice whether that content is acceptable to you (and/or your family) or not."

I'm not sure why people persist on the topic of sex scenes in a game like Mass Effect 2 [http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-2-Xbox-360/dp/B001TORSII/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278968926&sr=1-1]. To me, sex scenes in a game or movie are almost pointless, sometimes only included for the thrill, not to add to the story. Mass Effect 2 has a great story, and I don't think nudity would have really added anything, so simply expressing the idea of a sex scene by fading to black works well enough for me. However, I can see the opposite side, where more explicit scenes could further express the unity between two individuals to the viewer... or something. As far as desiring a more explicit sex scene as a "reward" in Mass Effect 2, well, there are plenty of virtual sex scenes outside of videogames to reward yourself with if desired. Woo is right, whatever a creator deems appropriate for his work doesn't always have to be questioned as something toned down to appease "the man," and I couldn't care less if it was anyway in this case.

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MR T3D

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Feb 21, 2009
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nice they say this, and if i were working there, i'd still not want tits in the games mostly because graphics aren't perfect, so it's like a cartoon, and that's kind of sick
 

Boxpopper

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MR T3D said:
nice they say this, and if i were working there, i'd still not want tits in the games mostly because graphics aren't perfect, so it's like a cartoon, and that's kind of sick
What exactly is "sick" about it? They are crafted to look like geniune people (or aliens). Honestly they more resemble real people than "cartoons."
 

Crunchy English

Victim of a Savage Neck-bearding
Aug 20, 2008
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You tell them Woo. Bioware games are flawless, if society was little less preoccupied with sex, then maybe this could just stop.

Also, shut it Woo, and work on making the relationships in video games more emotionally gratifying. You've got talented writers on staff, overcome the challenges involved and make some emotionally stunted chap try to marry one of your game characters.

Also, disregard my self-contradiction.

Also, get me a sandwich, for I am hungry.
 

whycantibelinus

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In my opinion I felt that the love scenes were better in Mass Effect 2, they seemed carried more of an emotional connection between the characters. The scene in the first game just seemed awkward and maybe a little out of place, but that's just me.
 

MR T3D

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Boxpopper said:
MR T3D said:
nice they say this, and if i were working there, i'd still not want tits in the games mostly because graphics aren't perfect, so it's like a cartoon, and that's kind of sick
What exactly is "sick" about it? They are crafted to look like geniune people (or aliens). Honestly they more resemble real people than "cartoons."
we have different eyes, sir, so my opinion pertains to my vision, i see the polygons and bitmaps where it seems that you see flesh.
 

Swaki

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Apr 15, 2009
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i dont need sex and/or nudity in games, but the games that does include it, which can be great if theres a strong romantic sub/plot, should probably not take any notes from bioware, dragon age had some of the most unrealistic and awkward sex scenes known to man.
 

Internet Kraken

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Mar 18, 2009
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Tom Goldman said:
"Game development is not a collaborative effort between developers and gamers; it is a dictatorship, where we alone determine what content goes into our game. You the player make the choice whether that content is acceptable to you (and/or your family) or not."
To me it just seems wrong to call game development a dictatorship. Sure the developers decide what goes into the game, but when you call it a dictatorship it sounds like you're ignoring player feedback completley. Though that's probably not the message that he meant to send.

As for the sex scenes in Mass Effect 2, I really don't give a damn.I've never had an interest in them. I'm surprised to hear that so many people thought BioWare didn't have more explicit scenes because of censorship.

swaki said:
i dont need sex and/or nudity in games, but the games that does include it, which can be great if theres a strong romantic sub/plot, should probably not take any notes from bioware, dragon age had some of the most unrealistic and awkward sex scenes known to man.
Honestly if you are going to have sex in a video game just fade to black. One of the things that always kills romance subplots for me are the awkward character animations.
 

PedroSteckecilo

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Feb 7, 2008
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I like romance and relationships in games, but I can take or leave the sex/nudity. I am neither offended by it or greatly desirous of it.
 

T-Bone24

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But... Bunky the Wonder Clown is a hero...

Anywho, I agree with him wholeheartedly, the maturity in a sex scene lies within the decision of when to cut to another scene, not in the sex itself.
 

Angry_Leprechaun

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Oct 20, 2009
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Seems to me like he's kind of splitting hairs... if you want sex in your game, have sex in your game... if you don't like the idea of having sex in your game, then don't. You can have a meaningful relationship grow between two characters without the relationship ending in the bedroom. I say, if Bioware is going to put sex in thier games, give us something like they did in ME1... and if they feel squeemish about it, then find a way to keep the relationships from leading to a sexual encounter.
 

Swaki

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Outlaw Torn said:
Bunky the Wonder Clown?
hes quite the pervert, he alone is responsible for half the rule 34 content and often spam BioWare with the request of alien boobs.

why he uses his stage name in the mails i dont know.
 

More Fun To Compute

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Nov 18, 2008
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Apparently Bunky the Wonder Clown is a poster on Kotaku.

Even Kotaku are kicking our asses. We need to bribe some industry figures to make references to furburt so that we look more relevant.
 

Brotherofwill

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Jan 25, 2009
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Tom Goldman said:
I'm not sure why people persist on the topic of sex scenes in a game like Mass Effect 2. To me, sex scenes in a game or movie are almost pointless, sometimes only included to for the thrill, not to add to the story. Mass Effect 2 has a great story, and I don't think nudity would have really added anything, so simply expressing the idea of a sex scene by fading to black works well enough for me.
It's just that the scenes are so laughable (especially in DA:O) that I wonder why they included them to begin with. I mean it just seems like they are pandering to desperate shut-ins to get some extra money here. Either leave out the silly romance or do it properly (and by this I don't mean 'show some breasts, make them more important to the story). Actually just leave it out.

The way you hooked up was laughable too:

Mir:'Hey Shepard, I'm genetically superior'
She:'Wanna have..love, make..sex? Penis..vagina?
Mir:'kk'
Crunchy English said:
Also, shut it Woo, and work on making the relationships in video games more emotionally gratifying. You've got talented writers on staff, overcome the challenges involved and make some emotionally stunted chap try to marry one of your game characters.
Shut it Woo, indeed.
 

Booze Zombie

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Internet Kraken said:
Tom Goldman said:
"Game development is not a collaborative effort between developers and gamers; it is a dictatorship, where we alone determine what content goes into our game. You the player make the choice whether that content is acceptable to you (and/or your family) or not."
To me it just seems wrong to call game development a dictatorship. Sure the developers decide what goes into the game, but when you call it a dictatorship it sounds like you're ignoring player feedback completley. Though that's probably not the message that he meant to send.
It's kind of strange to hear a game developer say this, as I have always believed the best games can be made when you listen to the well thought out suggestions of your fans.

Surly sitting around going "this is good, shut up" would be bad for business...
Funny thing, though, this dictatorship apparently decided to trawl the Internet for every comment they could find about the first Mass Effect in order to "refine" the series.

Something doesn't seem right...
 

300lb. Samoan

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Mar 25, 2009
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swaki said:
Outlaw Torn said:
Bunky the Wonder Clown?
hes quite the pervert, he alone is responsible for half the rule 34 content and often spam BioWare with the request of alien boobs.

why he uses his stage name in the mails i dont know.
It's part of his fetish. Bunky is the embodiment of my his twisted desire.
Internet Kraken said:
To me it just seems wrong to call game development a dictatorship. Sure the developers decide what goes into the game, but when you call it a dictatorship it sounds like you're ignoring player feedback completley. Though that's probably not the message that he meant to send.
Precisely what I intended to mention, thanks a lot ninja!
 

Wildrow12

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Mar 1, 2009
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I haven't said this in a long time.

But....Mr. Woo, well said. I am glad that at least some people in the gaming industry have the quad to do what they want and elevate the medium at the same time.

Bioware you have earned my hard-earned cash.

Outlaw Torn said:
Bunky the Wonder Clown?
He's the REAL end boss of Dragon Age. He's the real master of the Reapers in Mass Effect. He's the one who shot Bambi's mother, caused the war between the Capulets and the Montagues, and he's the guy who built Unicron. Bunky the Wonder Clown is the ultimate final boss.
 

Amnestic

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Aug 22, 2008
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Internet Kraken said:
One of the things that always kills romance subplots for me are the awkward character animations.
I cannot stress THIS enough. I was quite satisfied with ME2's fade to black.