Let me put on my Moderator hat for a moment to remind y'all that personal attacks, insults, and name-calling are not permitted in this forum. So please let's cut it out and be excellent to each other.
Okay, now let me put on my Stanley Woo hat. First, I'd like to thank everyone for their comment, both positive and negative. This community is here, first and foremost, for our customers and fans to talk about our games. It is also a place to hobnob directly with the developers of the games you love (or hate). Our openness, approachability, and direct access to developers are all reasons why the BioWare forums have always been well loved and critically acclaimed.
That said, a friend of mine this weekend linked me to an article which featured comments I'd made regarding the controversy surrounding the difference in the explicitness of the love scenes between Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2. These comments have made me out to be a condescending jerkface who doesn't appreciate BioWare's customers, its community, or the feedback it says it wants from this community.
Please allow me to clarify the comments which appear in the article (and I've seen no less than two such articles). From the article (and my forum post):
"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."
Folks in this thread alone are under the impression that I'm addressing everyone who sees themselves as "old enough and mature enough to handle sex and nudity in a game" here. I am not. Some people in the thread in which I was posting exhibited this behaviour, certainly not all. Some in our community also believe in the "customer is always right" mentality. If we do something counter to what a customer suggests or prefers, such people rationalize, it has to be due to other factors such as the media uproar over ME1 or wanting to attract a wider audience or, in this case, "self-censorship."
There were many good points made in that thread, good and bad, and I was totally okay with people speaking their mind. For some, however, speaking their mind meant cruel accusations, wild speculation, and feeling entitled to take us to task for daring to not include the features they want.
"They generally don't believe that a game can be called 'mature' without explicit sex and/or nudity."
I've participated in, followed, and locked down many a thread since Mass Effect 1 which equates maturity with explicit sex and/or nudity. There is a small subsection of our community which believes wholeheartedly that an M-rated game with character and story development must needs have boobs and boinking in any and all romances.
"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 think this passage might have contributed to the accusations of arrogance and condescension, but I was merely speaking the truth. I have no doubt in my mind that, if the project directors decided to not have purple-bellied quatloos in Mass Effect 3, it would be very difficult to change their mind regardless of whether you were a customer, fan, media outlet, the government, or Fancypants the Flying Zebra. This makes a lot more sense when you consider that, by the time you hear about some features, they're already a done deal. Or, put another way, by the time you hear that a certain thing isn't in or has changed, it may very well be too late to do anything about it. That's just the way any huge project works. Some stuff, you talk about early in the process. Some you talk about late in the process. Some things can change easily, some things take work to change, and some require extensive breakdown or complete destruction to change.
When the heck did I make that original post they're quoting from, anyway? Sheesh, I can hardly remember. But I will address some of the comments made in this thread, not in the hopes of changing anyone's mind, but hopefully to make them feel a tiny bit less bad and/or to make them think I'm slightly less of a horrendous jerkface than they currently believe. Then, I can take a few questions, since I don't think I'm busy Sunday.
I'll make a new post cuz this one's getting long, and I'm well aware of the TL;DR factor in online message boards.
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Okay, the response to other comments in this thread, starting from the top. Dang, it's past 3am already. Next time y'all have questions or concerns about something I said, just shoot me a message or link me to the thread where y'all are talking about me, okay? Here goes...
From Aquilas:
"Mr. Woo, I don't like being treated as if I'm stupid."
I'm sorry if you felt my comments were addressed to you or, indeed, anyone who presented their arguments in a professional, civil manner. It is never my intention to treat any of our community members as if they're stupid. Misguided or misinformed, maybe, but never stupid.
"BioWare has claimed that omitting nudity or partial nudity in Dragon Age: Origins was an "aesthetic choice." Seriously?...her lovemaking attire was more modest than her walking-around clothes—she had to dress up to have sex. Aesthetic choice? Please."
Just because you don't believe it or agree with it or like it, does not make it false.
"I’d have much more respect if BioWare just flatly stated it abandoned nudity or partial nudity in ME2 because it wanted to enhance ME2’s profitably"
You might have had more respect, but the cries of "sell out" and "bowing to the almighty dollar" would drown out your kudos. And with that would come the cries of "BioWare cares only about money, not its fans," all refrains we've seen many times in these forums in response to decisions we've made.
From AdrynBliss:
"Personally i'd like to see an apology by mr woo for that comment about immaturity when all a large section of those fans were doing was in fact supporting the principles Bioware themselves set for ME1."
My statements were not addressed to everyone who questioned the differences between the love scenes in Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2, only a specific subset of those who did not present their arguments as maturely and professionally and logically as others did. If you did feel as if my comments were directed at you, and you were one of the former group, then I apologize wholeheartedly.
From cerberus1701:
"Making a game [is] not a dictatorship no matter what the folks at Bioware have to say about it...because you're trying to get the consumer to buy your product. This means a game designer can't just go off and do anything they want with millions of dollars and thousands of hours."
That's right, but no matter what the consumer says, that designer is still the one who has to do the job, and his manager is still the one who will plan his time, and the lead designer still has to schedule his tasks, and the project lead still has an overall vision for the game and its development. Yes, we want the players to like the game, but how many people do you expect to change gears just for you? Developers make all the decisions, and the game the customer picks up is the one the developer made. It was not customized by the player, the player wrote no code for it, drew no characters, and didn't pay any animators a single cent. That's what I mean when I say game development is not a democracy (I'm not sure if I was the one who used "dictatorship" but it's the same principle).
"I've seen more racy stuff in soap operas. Yeah, I think it's pretty obvious that they pulled back a bit."
This is a bit of a non-argument. Videogames are not soap operas, for one thing, and for another, there is no sex/nudity measurement you can use to determine just how much sex and nudity is appropriate for a given product. Is it because games need more sex and nudity, or that soap operas need less?
From AntiChri5:
"The problem is that Bioware wants to have their cake and eat it too. Nothing vaugely approaching nudity dring sex scenes but you can get your secretary to give you a private half naked dance."
I'm sorry, this doesn't even make sense. We decided to have no nudity so instead we put in half-nudity?
From Bendok:
" It's not really about the nude pixels... it's about giving in to the man, so to speak. I think most of us just wanted Bioware to flip the proverbial bird to Fox News, Jack Thompson and the like."
That is the absolute wrong reason to put nudity and sex into a game. We have never included controversial material to "flip the proverbial bird" to anyone, nor will we.
From Tleining:
"they call Fans who expected them to stand by that previous statement immature."
I'm unsure of where anyone (me especially) referred to someone as "immature." Can you please direct me to a quote or a link? In this thread, the accusation doesn't start until page 2 but runs really quickly from there.
From Yrkoon:
"last I checked he wasn't a dev, but rather, the QA director)"
I am not, nor have I ever represented myself as, nor claimed to be speaking for, the QA director. On Mass Effect 2, I was working with the QA Story Team.
From tdl84:
" [Stanley Woo's] tone was not a professional one. It is his job to deal with people, and apparently he is not always capable of doing so in a polite and professional way, all he did was fan the flames, not put them out."
It's funny you should say that. I re-read the original post I made in the forum, and I actually meant it pretty lightly. I honestly don't know how it exploded from there to land here in the land of Stan's-The-Biggest-Jerkface-land. I always try to maintain courtesy and maturity in my dealings with the community without losing my bluntness or my love for our community and our fans.
From diskoh:
"That's how Woo has always been. Condescending, I mean. The guy has never even played Mass Effect (by his own admission). It's best to just ignore his posts about the subject, he doesn't have any insight into the game itself. He is quality assurance, not a dev."
It's been a while since I've heard this argument, but I'll respond with a counter-argument. Since very few, if any, people complaining about Mass Effect were game developers, we should have simply ignored their posts about the subject, since they wouldn't have any insight into how games are built? That they are players, not devs?
While I've often been tempted to use this as an argument, I can't possibly be expected to believe that many people have experience with game development. It's not taught in most schools or computer classes, and it's pretty esoteric if you're not technically-oriented and haven't created anything for sale or worked on a multi-million dollar project. So, I no longer use that argument and discourage others from using it, because it's unfair to expect everyone to know what your job entails.
I would also ask why my posts about ME2 should be dismissed so casually. Sure, I only worked on ME1 for a week, but I was on ME2 for 8 months. Should I dismiss our players' comments about the game if they haven't played ME1? Are their praises and criticisms invalid because they didn't pursue a certain romance, or made different choices than you did, or didn't reach a certain arbitrary level? I disagree with you, sir.
Okay, that's the first 4 pages...
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Here's the remainder of my responses to what was posted up until I was directed to the thread. Again, please remember that you can message us directly to comment on something we've said, or to direct us to a thread where you're talking about or complaining about something we've done or said.
From WilliamShatner:
" If Mr. Woo thinks that equates to softcore porn he being hideously flippant and condesending about what his own company achieved with the original game."
ARe you guys having me on? Where did the softcore porn comparison come from?
" I'm talking about the artistic merit of the original game's love scene, something Mr. Woo is degrading by his comments."
I'm sorry, but now I'm saying something against Mass Effect 1? I'm sorry, but I don't see where I'm doing this.
From MGIII:
"It may not be collaborative, but feedback is certainly very important to developers. Why give us forums if you have a problem with our opinion on a certain thing?"
Fan feedback is very important to us, and it's one reason I love our community. Where else can you come and talk to Chris Prieslty about the upcoming NFL game, or ask David Gaider about writing, or give John Winski feedback on certain game features, or talk to Christina Norman about how you played Mass Effect 1?
But the forums has rules, and each and every one of you agreed to abide by those rules when you signed up to participate in our community. Rules such as staying on topic as much as possible, being excellent to each other, and showing some modicum of respect for developers and publishers. It's not your opinions that I will ever have issue with, it's in the way those issues are presented. If an issue is presented constructively and sincerely, you'll rarely see me objecting. If an issue is presented with conspiracy theories, insults, whinging, and swearing, then it's very difficult to deal with constructively. The alternative is to simply not respond to anything, even those subjects of discussion that we as individuals care very much about. As a gamer myself, and a developer who loves what BioWare has done for CRPGs and its community, I usually opt to respond where I can.
From Nathangelion013:
"THIS is about Bioware's spokesperson or whatever he is being completely rude to the people who make him and his company money. The dictatorship comment seriously made me want to never support Bioware again."
Hi, that'd be me. You can use my name if you like. ANd now I've read the quote where I do use the word. Still, it's kinda true. Look at it like this.
Your painting of a portrait of Ernest Borgnine is a dictatorship. No matter what your family and friends suggest, no matter what the Walter Matthau fan community says, no matter what Ernest Borgnine says, you may have taken all of their comments into consideration and read the autobiography and even talked to the man, but ultimately, it is you who paints the portrait, you who decides on the colours, the pose, the expression, the composition, even the material you're painting on. That's what makes you the "dictator" of that Ernest Borgnine portrait.
From Kalfear:
" Mr Woo seems to hold gamers that disagree with him in a rather ill fashion it seems."
The reports of my jerkfacedness are greatly exaggerated, it seems. Indeed, I've been involved in numerous discussions where I have been disagreed with, sometimes vehemently. This appears to be a gradual escalation of outrage stemming from a misunderstanding and perhaps too much bluntness and honesty on my part.
The hysteria, strawman arguments, doomsaying, armchair developing, sarcasm, and sociopolitical sniping between the two sides isn't helping much, either.
From Tikkidew:
"I was bit insulted by the comments of Mr. Woo after I read them. I'm glad someone brought his attitude to light. Someone in EA PR needs to put a leash on that guy. Just him lashing out like that speaks a thousand words. It's obvious what's really going on here."
Actually, it's not at all obvious to me. I'm sorry if I inadvertently insulted you, but could you point out just "what's really going on here"? You didn't clarify.
All right, ladies and gents. It's almost 6am here in Stan-land. I've done a whole lot of reading and writing, but I thought it needed to be addressed. I didn't want this thread exploding into a nuclear fire with me thrown into the centre of it by tomorrow afternoon, which is probably when I'll be awake enough and calm enough to read it again.
Keep it clean and civil in my absence, please, and I'll see you tomorrow... sometime... after I catch up on reading the comments posted while I was reading and writing. Thanks, everyone.
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Okay, I'm caught up as of AdrynBliss' very lovely response. No apologies required.
I (and the rest of BioWare) am well aware that people feel a little more free to speak their minds here for a number of reasons that have made our community one of the best developer communities out there. To put it simply (because I am soooooo sleepy... 5:56am here):
1. We don't automatically remove all negative comments.
2. Developers actually read so people feel they'll be listened to.
3. Developers actually respond so people want to help as much as possible.
ANd now, good night.
:: KKK
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teata moderaatorile
Ootasin rohkemat lõpus. Andersoni saatsin Nõukogusse ja juba Shepard lendaski oma Normandiaga minema. 
Level oli ka mul veel alla 40 :S ja kogu mänguaeg oli ka alla 20h. Alguses küll üritasin uurida teisi planeete ka, kuid poole pealt kadus see huvi ära ja külastasin ainult põhimissiooni planeete. Aga kuidas saab edasi mängida neid tegemata missioone ja saada kätte ikkagi LVL60 ennem kui tegelase ME2 impordin?
olen tähele pannud kohati, et lausetes on ebakorrektset keelt ME2's, võibolla see on ka üks neist kohtadest.
kui see ymir mech ei ole ka synthetic siis kes kurat need syntheticud veel olema peaksid seal mängus???
aga võibolla synthetic tähendab siis mängus vaid mingeid täisroboteid, a'la mingit turret või need gethi lendavad väiksed tulnuku-laevad. neil vist healthi kui sellist ei eksisteerigi.
.Pole nii rahul kui ME1 omaga aga käib kah 
Spoiler 
