I haven't seen much in the way of marketing for Mass Effect, other than one ad, which, to me, doesn't seem like anything that's aiming for minors. Sci-fi geeks, sure, but not minors in specific.
EDIT: Hah! I just noticed the lawyer's name - Cathy Ruse. Cathy Ruse. Maybe she fell into herself.
"I'm absolutely retarded. Not 100% sure why." - atom
"Dhelor + intarwebs = Great ideas." - wordsmythe
"Do I what I do: hate everyone." - Quintin_Stone
Wow, her entire argument seems predicated around the idea that this is a kid's game being handed out with Happy Meals at McDonald's or something. She doesn't even try to muddy the issue by saying that the industry should be responsible for children who buy games intended for adults. I think she actually believes that the game was built with kids in mind and that BioWare just stuck a lesbian sex scene in between the Bob the Builder Minigame and the Big Bird cameo appearance out of pure malice.
I'm like a flashing lightning and a rolling thunder, I'm like a stepping razor
I haven't played it, but I was under the impression that this is simply flat-out not true.
I guess it could be interpreted as extremely graphic if you were unaware of what sexual intercourse actually entails. Maybe if you had a 3rd grade playground level education on the matter.
Location: Deep in the heart of Texas... Houston that is...
Friday, January 11th, 2008 - 3:59pm
Ahh I thought they where holding hands in a rejuv pod.... you mean they where.. with the.. and her blue...
OHH MY VIRGIN EYES AND BRAIN FOREVER DESTROYED!!A!
Xfire: Pharacon
Tempest says: "A team hat doe snot communicate and talk to each other about what the next move will be is going to lose."
Mex is my hero = "f*ck it, I'll do it. WE'LL DO IT LIVE."
So wait, Jack Thompson is now dressing up as a woman...? Seriously, where are this people coming from... I mean, like specific location, so that we can nuke them from orbit and be done with. If they fail too even look at the cover of the game, then they should be banned from making any kind statement regarding the game! A little research can go a long way... just saying!
There's nudity, but I wouldn't call it graphic sexual intercourse. Of course it's inferred, but no actual images.
Zero Punctuation wrote:
There's only about 1 second of bare ass anyway so it'll hardly make your Mass Erect."
He's completely right.
"We're taught from a young age how to dodge rock hard objects moving at incredible rates of speed while simultaneously beating folks half to death with sticks. We do this for fun." -kung fu grip http://blog.digital-lifeline.ca
I find it hilarious that a PG-13 sex scene is getting so much attention in a game where you can choose to WIPE OUT AN ENTIRE SPECIES.
I'm so completely baffled by the violence=good sex=bad opinions...
You can't do this!
Of course I can, I'm Will Wright, bitch! - The Simpsons Game
--------------------------------------------------
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I find it hilarious that a PG-13 sex scene is getting so much attention in a game where you can choose to WIPE OUT AN ENTIRE SPECIES.
I'm so completely baffled by the violence=good sex=bad opinions...
Interestingly, I'm reading a paper right now that discusses the problem that the Bible may be interpreted to endorse anthropocentrism. Here's a relevant quote from an article by Lynn White, Jr. in an article entitled The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis:
Quote:
Especially in its Western form, Christianity is the most anthropocentric religion that the world has seen"…Christianity, in absolute contrast to ancient paganism and Asia's religions"…not only established a dualism of man and nature but also insisted that it is God's will that man exploit nature for his proper ends.
With this in mind, it's perhaps no surprise that Christian morality (which I assume inspired this woman's rant) has little concern for the genocide of another species. After all, God said it's okay.
Location: I've come to love this American giant, viewing it as the most misunderstood, most underrated city in the world.
Friday, January 11th, 2008 - 6:16pm
Complexmath, does she at any point mention that the account of creation as described in Genesis is also in the Torah and the Qur'an?
Elysium: The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid.
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Bill Harris nailed it a long time ago. Children are hardly playing these games. Teenagers are. But, "Won't someone please think of the teenagers?" doesn't have the same ring.
Complexmath, does she at any point mention that the account of creation as described in Genesis is also in the Torah and the Qur'an?
I don't have the entire article--that's a quote within the paper I'm reading. And I haven't finished the paper so I can't say for sure. However, the intended audience of the paper is such that the Torah and Qur'an likely aren't specifically mentioned, but the reader would be well aware of the fact anyway.
Location: [Start of line][dramatic pause][puts on sunglasses][end line] YEAHHHH!
Friday, January 11th, 2008 - 6:44pm
Stylez wrote:
I find it hilarious that a PG-13 sex scene is getting so much attention in a game where you can choose to WIPE OUT AN ENTIRE SPECIES.
I'm so completely baffled by the violence=good sex=bad opinions...
Seriously. In Europa Universalis III I actually wiped out all of the indigenous peoples of Western Africa. I can assure you, on a moral scale, seeing a naked titty is a much better option.
Quote:
Some might choose to pray, some might choose to snooze
But the style that I use is the style that's mine
If we are to take the crazies at their word, the mere existence of sex in the game isn't what gets their panties in a wad, but that the game's representation of sex isn't sufficiently bigoted. Bioware has the gall to suggest that non-married and homosexual couples are peers with married, hetero couples.
Focus on the Family wrote:
Bob Waliszewki, media specialist with Focus on the Family, told Cybercast News Service, "We never shy away from sexuality in the media. It's just a question of how is that sexuality portrayed. One can use the media to portray some very healthy forms of sexuality. And when done wisely with taste and age-appropriateness, it can be done well."
"Unfortunately," he said, "Mass Effect doesn't do that and even goes so far as to allow homosexuality to be on par with heterosexuality and heterosexuality outside of its proper context of marriage."
So, in the end, Bioware is being accused of representing a world where individuals are allowed to make choices and live with the consequences. They should be ashamed of themselves, really.
*Legion* wrote:
There's not enough bandwidth on a thousand Internets to detail what's wrong with that idea.
Focus on the Family makes me ill. But I will save any further commentary on the matter for the "Everything Else" forum.
As far as the article goes, it is an illustration of the finest forms of scaremongering, logical fallacies and plain old factual ignorance.
Yup. The RAND studies Waliszewki mentioned were actually done for TV and involved exposing participants to 3+ hours a day of programming picked by researchers for its sexual content.
I particularly think the closing paragraphs show how much some people simply don't get it.
Quote:
But he warned that "in many cases, where parents are less involved and oblivious to the world of entertainment these days, an 'M' rating is almost a badge of endorsement."
And since the parent isnt paying attention its somehow Bioware's fault that they buy their kid a game that says MATURE on it. This is almost as good as the mom telling her kid he can get the game since "its only M for blood and violence." (completely true)
EDIT:
heres a link to more coverage of the story with a clip of the scene in question embedded in it. Careful though, I was scarred for life after seeing such gratuitous scenes
It ought never to be forgotten that the past is the parent of the present ~ J.C.Calhoun
"Your broken corpses will taste delicious lightly seasoned with nutmeg." ~ The Creature in the Darkness
This is incredible. We live in a world where almost every game is violent (Mario is a homicidal maniac that kills koopas without remorse), where Disney movies almost always end with the hero tossing the villain off a cliff down a pit, etc. and THIS get their attention? We can't even have a barely PG-13 level sex scene in an M-rated game?
Glad I found a link. This was in my last issue and I was really taken by the following.
Quote:
There is a difference, however, between getting and understanding a Holy Book. Here both Christianity and Islam suffer from serious problems. Americans buy more than 20m new Bibles every year to add to the four that the average American has at home. Yet the state of American biblical knowledge is abysmal. A Gallup survey found that less than half of Americans can name the first book of the Bible (Genesis), only a third know who delivered the Sermon on the Mount (Billy Graham is a popular answer) and a quarter do not know what is celebrated at Easter (the resurrection, the foundational event of Christianity). Sixty per cent cannot name half the ten commandments; 12% think Noah was married to Joan of Arc. George Gallup, a leading Evangelical as well as a premier pollster, describes America as "a nation of biblical illiterates".
I think the Economist is making an important point, but this sort of phrasing always annoys me. No, 12% of people don't think that, but 12% of people given a multiple choice quiz where that's an option will pick that one. It's not the same (not that it speaks well of our education level all the same).
That said, Christopher Hitchens makes a hobby of asking people, especially religious officials, basic questions about their own religion that they can't answer or are misinformed about.
For example, quick (without using Wikipedia!) -- who does the "immaculate conception" apply to?
I think the Economist is making an important point, but this sort of phrasing always annoys me. No, 12% of people don't think that, but 12% of people given a multiple choice quiz where that's an option will pick that one. It's not the same (not that it speaks well of our education level all the same).
"explicitly graphic sexual intercourse"
I haven't played it, but I was under the impression that this is simply flat-out not true.
Fedaykin98 wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
There's nudity, but I wouldn't call it graphic sexual intercourse. Of course it's inferred, but no actual images.
"The light at the end of the tunnel is just the light of an oncoming train." - Robert Lowell
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I haven't seen much in the way of marketing for Mass Effect, other than one ad, which, to me, doesn't seem like anything that's aiming for minors. Sci-fi geeks, sure, but not minors in specific.
EDIT: Hah! I just noticed the lawyer's name - Cathy Ruse. Cathy Ruse. Maybe she fell into herself.
"I'm absolutely retarded. Not 100% sure why." - atom
"Dhelor + intarwebs = Great ideas." - wordsmythe
"Do I what I do: hate everyone." - Quintin_Stone
Wow, her entire argument seems predicated around the idea that this is a kid's game being handed out with Happy Meals at McDonald's or something. She doesn't even try to muddy the issue by saying that the industry should be responsible for children who buy games intended for adults. I think she actually believes that the game was built with kids in mind and that BioWare just stuck a lesbian sex scene in between the Bob the Builder Minigame and the Big Bird cameo appearance out of pure malice.
I'm like a flashing lightning and a rolling thunder, I'm like a stepping razor
I guess it could be interpreted as extremely graphic if you were unaware of what sexual intercourse actually entails. Maybe if you had a 3rd grade playground level education on the matter.
xbl y3llow5 | steam yellow#5 | PSN ForrestTheWicked
Ahh I thought they where holding hands in a rejuv pod.... you mean they where.. with the.. and her blue...
OHH MY VIRGIN EYES AND BRAIN FOREVER DESTROYED!!A!
Xfire: Pharacon
Tempest says: "A team hat doe snot communicate and talk to each other about what the next move will be is going to lose."
Mex is my hero = "f*ck it, I'll do it. WE'LL DO IT LIVE."
That sex scene was nothing, my pants were still partly on by the time it ended.
XBL: elliottxW
WoW: Jozak - 80 Death Knight
Is the sex scene any different between species? I only did the human, because apparently the alien doesn't have any fiddly bits.
Xbox Live Gamercard - bennard
Beer For Ben
Explicitly graphic sexual intercourse!?
So wait, Jack Thompson is now dressing up as a woman...? Seriously, where are this people coming from... I mean, like specific location, so that we can nuke them from orbit and be done with. If they fail too even look at the cover of the game, then they should be banned from making any kind statement regarding the game! A little research can go a long way... just saying!
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To be fair, many nerds classify that as their first sexual experience. There aren't any Leisure Suit Larrys anymore to fill the need.
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Focus on the Family makes me ill. But I will save any further commentary on the matter for the "Everything Else" forum.
As far as the article goes, it is an illustration of the finest forms of scaremongering, logical fallacies and plain old factual ignorance.
Steam ID: biginjapan
He's completely right.
"We're taught from a young age how to dodge rock hard objects moving at incredible rates of speed while simultaneously beating folks half to death with sticks. We do this for fun." -kung fu grip
http://blog.digital-lifeline.ca
I find it hilarious that a PG-13 sex scene is getting so much attention in a game where you can choose to WIPE OUT AN ENTIRE SPECIES.
I'm so completely baffled by the violence=good sex=bad opinions...
You can't do this!
Of course I can, I'm Will Wright, bitch! - The Simpsons Game
--------------------------------------------------
Xfire/Xbox Live: StylezXP
Interestingly, I'm reading a paper right now that discusses the problem that the Bible may be interpreted to endorse anthropocentrism. Here's a relevant quote from an article by Lynn White, Jr. in an article entitled The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis:
With this in mind, it's perhaps no surprise that Christian morality (which I assume inspired this woman's rant) has little concern for the genocide of another species. After all, God said it's okay.
Complexmath, does she at any point mention that the account of creation as described in Genesis is also in the Torah and the Qur'an?
Elysium: The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid.
XBL: E Munnie
elementsofmeaning.blogspot.com
Bill Harris nailed it a long time ago. Children are hardly playing these games. Teenagers are. But, "Won't someone please think of the teenagers?" doesn't have the same ring.
JUST PUZZLED YOUR ASS UP, SON! -Mr Crinkle
I don't have the entire article--that's a quote within the paper I'm reading. And I haven't finished the paper so I can't say for sure. However, the intended audience of the paper is such that the Torah and Qur'an likely aren't specifically mentioned, but the reader would be well aware of the fact anyway.
Seriously. In Europa Universalis III I actually wiped out all of the indigenous peoples of Western Africa. I can assure you, on a moral scale, seeing a naked titty is a much better option.
Quote:
XBL Tag: Prederick
It's too late.... they've already spread and begun to multiply. Nothing short of glassing the planet will suffice.
I view these people like i view marmite. Some love them and some hate them. Neither type of people can mix....
A blog: by me!
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Oh god I miss Marmite, please please please someone start mass importing it to the US!
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If we are to take the crazies at their word, the mere existence of sex in the game isn't what gets their panties in a wad, but that the game's representation of sex isn't sufficiently bigoted. Bioware has the gall to suggest that non-married and homosexual couples are peers with married, hetero couples.
So, in the end, Bioware is being accused of representing a world where individuals are allowed to make choices and live with the consequences. They should be ashamed of themselves, really.
*Legion* wrote:
informationgames.info
http://twitter.com/nnschiller
Yup. The RAND studies Waliszewki mentioned were actually done for TV and involved exposing participants to 3+ hours a day of programming picked by researchers for its sexual content.
Aren't businesses supposed to be making money at the expense of their consumers? They take my money. I take their fun videogames. Everyone wins.
Damn dirty conservacommies!
Pepsi profits from thirsty people! Think about that, people!
I`m Artsy Partsy Gun For Hire
I particularly think the closing paragraphs show how much some people simply don't get it.
And since the parent isnt paying attention its somehow Bioware's fault that they buy their kid a game that says MATURE on it. This is almost as good as the mom telling her kid he can get the game since "its only M for blood and violence." (completely true)
EDIT:
heres a link to more coverage of the story with a clip of the scene in question embedded in it. Careful though, I was scarred for life after seeing such gratuitous scenes
It ought never to be forgotten that the past is the parent of the present ~ J.C.Calhoun
"Your broken corpses will taste delicious lightly seasoned with nutmeg." ~ The Creature in the Darkness
This is incredible. We live in a world where almost every game is violent (Mario is a homicidal maniac that kills koopas without remorse), where Disney movies almost always end with the hero tossing the villain off a cliff down a pit, etc. and THIS get their attention? We can't even have a barely PG-13 level sex scene in an M-rated game?
XBox Live: DSGamer GWJ | PSN: DSGamerGWJ
I find this article from the Economist relevant right about now.
Glad I found a link. This was in my last issue and I was really taken by the following.
XBox Live: DSGamer GWJ | PSN: DSGamerGWJ
I think the Economist is making an important point, but this sort of phrasing always annoys me. No, 12% of people don't think that, but 12% of people given a multiple choice quiz where that's an option will pick that one. It's not the same (not that it speaks well of our education level all the same).
That said, Christopher Hitchens makes a hobby of asking people, especially religious officials, basic questions about their own religion that they can't answer or are misinformed about.
For example, quick (without using Wikipedia!) -- who does the "immaculate conception" apply to?
If it's dead, it's probably me.
If it's my blog, it's probably here.
My god... so they were just living in sin? Sick bastards.
"I'm absolutely retarded. Not 100% sure why." - atom
"Dhelor + intarwebs = Great ideas." - wordsmythe
"Do I what I do: hate everyone." - Quintin_Stone
Speaks well of our sense of humor, though.
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