Poll: Bioware fan unfriendly?

[Pyode]

Making some good games is far from an excuse to be cocky and tell your primary customer base that their thoughts and opinions on the games are worthless.

There is a difference between giving someone your opinion, and making a demand. Many gamers seem to forget this distinction and demand the features they want in a game as opposed to suggesting it.

This pisses some developers off, and rightly so. Developers put thousands of hours into their games. I can't blame them for getting a little snappy when some dude on a forum demands that the font size be bigger or, even worse, that there weren't enough ass shots.

 

[Geekmaster K]

I don't have a problem with them toning down the sex scenes in Mass Effect 2. That was their decision, and I respect it. Mass Effect is an excellent game series, and even though you can have sex in the game, it doesn't mean that sex is what the game is all about. Mass Effect is supposed to be a Sci-Fi space opera, not a sex simulator. If BioWare wants to tone down sex scenes or even cut them out completely, I don't care. I can still enjoy the game for all the other stuff it has to offer. People who complain about the choice to have less explicit sex scenes in Mass Effect 2 need to just shut up, get a life, and play the game!

Honestly, I have the feeling that the only people who whine about the sex scenes being toned down are just sex-obsessed pervs who are addicted to porn.

I don't think Stanley Woo was out of line with his comment about the sex scene complaints. I totally agree with him.

 

[Crimsane]

Telling people to get over the lack of nudity/sex in ME2 doesn't make them unfriendly. It needed to be said, especially considering how many topics are created every day about the subject. It's true, sex and nudity do not make games any better than they already are, and are entirely unnecessary. I can't blame them for being annoyed by it; hell, I'm getting annoyed by it myself. Bare breasts don't make a great game. See: AoC. Subject done, people need to move on.

BioWare is one of the most fan-friendly developers I know of. They took nearly all of our complaints about Mass Effect and tried to improve or change them for Mass Effect 2. How's that being unfriendly?

As for the text thing, I don't see the problem personally. I suppose it's a more legitimate issue than lack of nudity, though.

I don't recall Woo ever telling anyone to get a girlfriend, btw. Link, or is this just an example of the OP rephrasing things to try to make his/her point seem more true than it is?

 

[Pyode]

I can understand the difference between an opinion and demand. This whole whining about the sexual content of the game is a rather large waste of time. Yet the font issue? There is a genuine problem in that. Not everyone has a Hi-def TV to play on, and even though you could assume most every gamer has one, it isn't right to say too bad to those who don't have them. I have seen good arguments on for fixing, and why they can't, but unless they give a specific reason why they don't want to, I'll assume they think its financially not worth bothering with, or even rectifying with future titles.

Hell, I have issues sometimes with the colors of the font in ME 1 and 2, they mesh with the background a little too well, so it takes me a bit to read that then, might be a couple of seconds, but it still is annoying with it occurs almost regularly.

But again, the response Bioware gave, or lack thereof, had little to do with whether or not it was a valid complaint and more to do with how people where complaining.

That being said, you can't expect them to cater to an obsolete piece of technology forever. It will eventually get to the point where it no longer makes sense to cater to people who don't have and HDTV or high resolution computer monitor, assuming we aren't already at that point.

Note: I am currently playing Mass Effect 2 on a 13" standard-definition TV.

 

[Sion_Barzahd]

...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.

Very dickish thing to say to the fans, especially when it's so obvious that they really did listen to fan feedback for this one.

Also: He's not the one who told people to get laid, that was just a forum user in the topic.

Its not really a dickish thing to say, but more poorly worded.
What he was trying to say is that the public don't have a right to lecture them about putting a sex scene in a game.

They obviously do listen to a lot of fan feedback from the way ME2 plays and a lot of the characters etc.
I guess they just get sick of people trying to tell them what the can and cannot include in something that only they have the rights to.
Its like someone else coming over to you and telling you how to raise your kid, despite you not asking for their opinion whatsoever.

 

[Dragon Zero]

So let me get this straight, a gaming company is not supposed to want to do what they feel is best for the game, just what a bunch of turkeys with mega-phones think should be in a game? Is that what qualifies as being "fan friendly" because I don't think I'd like that company's product. Lets face it Fans don't know what they want, and its hard to determine what they want from the outside looking in, and in my eyes Bioware does it better than most people in the Biz. I'll admit the whole text thing was kind of a downer when they said they can't fix it, but since they said they'd keep it in mind next time, I wouldn't call them fan unfriendly. The whole "get a girlfriend" thing is actually quite understandable, we are given a fantastic space epic with plenty of great action, a fantastic story, and even better characters, but people are pissed off because "Theyz Shud hvae be3n N4KK3D!" Not only is this incredibly childish, but it just wouldn't feel right, the scenes are very well fine just the way they are and lets not forget the last time they included nudity in a game. How not only was it not really that relevant but it also unleashed a massive outburst against them. As for the whole "dictatorship" comment, please refer to my earlier statement that fans don't really know what they want, sure A Fan does but if you gather five fans in a room, you'll come away with seven opinions. So in short I'd say I don't quite see eye to eye with you on this subject.

 

[Rancid0ffspring]

I've yet to get the "Paramour" achievement so I don't know how explicit the scenes are supposed to be. I also don't fucking care.

Mass Effect 2 is an awesome game. It expanded the base ME had already set out. The story line & universe were developed further as were the characters. We were given an insight in to possibly what the Reapers are doing when they invade & destroy civilisations
[spoiler\] Reproduction anyone? That's my view on it anyway[/spoiler]

If one of the developers has said 'go get a GF' I agree with him because quite frankly there are much more important things you should be concerned with than what colur Talis nipples are or what quad of Krogan balls really look like.

I know why don't these same people play Dantes Inferno instead. You get to see Beatrice butt naked repeatedly & of course if you swing that way you get treated to seeing Satans dick & balls swinging around the entire final boss fight.

EDIT: Think that goat boy from Lion Witch & the wardrobe with Dr Manhattens piece

 

[Booze Zombie]

Whilst I don't really get that bothered over the lack of explicitness, I am bothered by the attitude Bioware seem to be showing to their fanbase.

Now, whilst I don't expect them to be "every gamer's best friends" they seem to have created forums and then are surprised when people make posts on there, almost as if they regret giving their fans a direct line to them.

That all said, Tali should've had a naked face, I worked hard, damn it!

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

They have produced the best video game experiences of the last half decade for me, and this is ALL I ever ask of such an entity. If you want compassion, platitudes and gratis work that harms the bottom line then I cannot sympathize with you even slighly. The data exists to make an informed purchase decision in most any circumstance and while I can understand one being upset when things don't meet their preconcieved notions I will not blame a corporate entity for trying to make a buck in the fasion that Bioware has chosen. I sympathize for those who have trouble reading text in Mass Effect but if these people choose to play on an SD tv for any reason they choose to experience the media presented in a non-optimal fashion. They may have a completely reasonable explanation for this of course, but the fact remains - you are asking a company to produce a software solution to your hardware problem free of charge. That they aren't jumping at the opporunity might seem like you've been spurned (Because you have) but it doesn't mean they hate you - it simply means they do not forsee that the expense required would result in a tangible increase in the bottom line down the road.

 

[Drexler]

I think biowares feeling can be summed up by this picture.

http://www.theultrageeks.com/wordpress2/wp-content/themes/mimbo2.2/images/zeropunctuation.jpg

 

[Soviet Heavy]

you guys are taking the whole "get laid" thing too seriously.

In text, words can imply different emotions than in real conversations.
For all we know, he could have jokingly been going along and it just popped out.

Its not like he was being completely overbearing and going: IF YOU DO NOT LIKE OUR GAME GO OUT AND FUCK A REAL GIRL DUMBASS!

And since they're Canadian, its probably more of a slang thing to say than an insult.

 

[Rusty Bucket]

Yeah, I'll say it now. Telling us we are nothing special, so STFU, play their game, and like it, isn't exactly the way to go.

I'll also say this. They are getting cocky because of their games. ME2, DA:O and its so-called "expansion", and obviously Star Wars: The Old Republic. All big-profile games. Right now they are probably swimming around in a money pit, and aren't worried if someone pees in the pool, because ST:OR will work like STO on crack when it comes to its fan base, and will pay for a few refills of it.

They have every right to be cocky. They have yet to produce a genuinely bad game, and they've produced some of the best games this generation.

Making some good games is far from an excuse to be cocky and tell your primary customer base that their thoughts and opinions on the games are worthless.

Yeah, but as many people have pointed out, they listened to the complaints the fan base had about Mass Effect 1 and fixed, or at least tried to fix, every single one of them.