I am feeling alienated and offended by Bioware

[Saulkar]

I did not say that they ever painted Canada in bad light. I was implying we are never represented by our videogame industry, if and when it happens, would it actually be in a positive light? Is where I was going with this.

Let me get this straight, you feel "alienated and offended" because the videogame industry rarely has Canada in it, period. No representation, no games centered around it, no protagonists from there, almost no references at all. If this is the case, I have a reasoning for this: People don't know you. Quite simple really. America? Everyone knows this Stereotype: the apple pie loving,rough rider gung-ho patriots who valiantly charge into combat and face there problems head on. Or the british stereotype of being of being sneaky, polite and professional. These sorts of stereotypes are what you see in the industry all the time, because they paint a specific picture.
Canada does not have any of these stereotypes. It could, but I can't think of a game who has had the burly, upbeat lumberjack, or the also upbeat crackshot sniper who lives out in the wilderness. These characters are never explored, mainly because most stereotypes people think when they think Canada don't fit the typical protagonist role. in the tradional five man band, the sinper (Lancer, for you tropers out there) and strong guy aren't the main characters.
Ultimately, I come down to familiarity.

Good point. Ultimately after this whole forum topic, I realize that the videogame industry is stagnating by not including enough video game characters from all across the world offering their own unique flavour to the atmosphere. I think a lumber jack would go well in TeamFortress 2.

 

[Saulkar]

Wait, you feel alienated and offended by BioWare for being more American than Canadian?

Well, that's very nice and all, but I feel alienated and offended by BioWare because they're making Dragon Age 2 more hack'n'slash, like how they made Mass Effect 2 more shooter. So what's more depressing? Where a game company that alienates its country, in the era of globalization, or a game company that alienates its own core fanbase?

I would have to say both, I really hate how the guns go against the mythos established. Guns hold 5000+ rounds and recoil does not affect accuracy. To cool down you simply deploy the heat sink/thermal clip, you do not actually need to replace it, just let it cool down. Bleh!

 

[Saulkar]

P.S. I did not forget money is a key factor, but that excuse can only hold for so long.

Canadians aren't so immature as to care about the setting or the flag on the protagonist's coat.

That I understand fully! I do not want to go flashing around "Hey I Am Canadian", but rather if someone asks where I am from and what culture I represent I want to say I am Canadian.

Just curious. Why? (Late comer, missed the original thread)

Want me to give you a whole copy and paste of the original post?

 

[inkblood]

Astually Bioware includes a little bit of everybody. they have references to the bible, treaties made in europe, avian flu, and even named a ship named after a lake in Canada.
http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Athabasca_Class
There might be more in the game as subtle references

 

[turbo4400]

dude don't worry, you've got Justin Beiber

 

[Saulkar]

BioWare gives subtle hints that Shepard's Origins could be Canadian:
1. The voice actor, Mark Meer, has a slight Canadian accent
2. He receives the Blood Dragon Armour from the Edmonton Blood Dragons (although that might be just because BioWare's headquarters are in Edmonton.)

The fact that you keep saying everyone is missing the point leads me to believe you are possibly a troll.
Canada has never been an attention-whore, why should we start now?
And living in Canada I can safely say that we are a boring country with a boring culture(unless you consider our love of beaver, bacon and maple syrup to be exciting).
We're just a country filled with nice people, and if you were a true proud Canadian you wouldn't be making such a big deal out of this. I must wonder if you are even Canadian.

Infact, I thank BioWare for not making Canada out to be a big deal, Canada is not some slutty whore flaunting her ass at every nerd looking to jerk off at lumberjack porn. We are a high-class country that demands high-class games, and BioWare provides them.
I am anticipating a response going along the lines of "Read my post, you've missed the point." After that I can probably write you off as a successful troll for keeping this thread going for 6-7 pages repeating the same thing to everyone's well thought arguments.

Oh for crying out loud, I am not going to repeat the same thing I have been for the past few hours. Oh and one more thing. I AM CANADIAN. I really do not like telling people unless they ask me first.

 

[sanguinator]

i feel kinda bad for saying this but i dont really get what hes trying to say.

 

[VanityGirl]

.

Wonderful avatar!


OT: Since you changed your OP, I have no idea what the original topic was about.... Thanks for giving me the chance to have a good conversation.

*walks off grumbling*

 

[Saulkar]

I am done with this topic, I cannot think of anything to write that would make sense to you! The conepts are too abstract to be relevent to the rational mind. A mind that does not accept that abrstract reasoning is one way humans have succeded where animals fail. Jingoinistic bullshit?! I want Canada to change its practices in the game industry, I do not want any one outside of Canada to change their practices, they can keep them, they do not hurt me. So there you are, you tore away the last bit of entegrity I had left facing the critism Canada and me personally have every day, evidence that overtime even the smallest critism wear away even the most formidable defences. What do you want me to do, what did you expect from your comment? Me to threaten you, feel more little of myself, prove that fiction has no relevence to the maleable human mind, people get angry at the stupidest things while you intentionally target those who already are not able to approach the topic rationally? FUCK! I am done, do not even reply, if you are smart enough to copy and paste a definition you must be smart enough to realise you just frustated someone and you point has fallen on a pair of sore deafened ears that simply stopped caring. You failed to get anything across. I am done. That is a freakout if you cannot recognise it.

Three things...

1. You say you're done with this topic, yet you've posted 9 times since responding to me. (Not counting any posts you may have made since I began writing this.)

2. I only hold one criticism against Canada in that your country thinks socialized medicine is a good idea. I am not Canadian, therefore I do not expect my comment to be addressed with any more weight than any non-American chiming in about my country's policies. Aside from that, Canadians are good people and I was treated quite well last time I visited your country. (Even when I had to buy a soda with US money, the counter girl was helpful in exchanging the money.)

3. The only thing I ask of you is that you realize that the argument you have presented here is rather irrelevant and has devolved into a needless tantrum. For your own sake, I would advise you to cut your losses at this point. Something I say from experience.

I know I keep posting, I have a feeling of responsibility, but to what? I know I said I would not post anymore but I feel it irresponsible not to, not finishing what I am starting. I guess you could say I stopped defending my point of view, right now it is just a matter of clarification. Also it is not a tantrum. I was expecting a nice small number of people to talk to, not 5 dozen people with individual views. Each time getting more stressed and in doing so losing lucidity and credibility. I just want to make sure that I am not missunderstood in my statement. Something that happened immediately, I wish I could be more informative but right now my brain hurts.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Yes and no, did you read the whole thing? If you did you would reaslise I am also targeting the entire Candain videogame industry for never representing my own nation.

What incentive would they have to do so? Why would they need to do so? Just because they're Canadian developers themselves? What's the point in that?

 

[sanguinator]

odds at some point america will take over mexico and canada probably for resources and there is no way either of them could survive the attack so I would call it realistic.

But by doing so it would evoke a militarized response from the U.N. That would not be pretty.

Dude the UN does shit all and it is useless

i dont think that theres anything worth taking in mexico.

 

[zehydra]

P.S. I did not forget money is a key factor, but that excuse can only hold for so long.

Canadians aren't so immature as to care about the setting or the flag on the protagonist's coat.

That I understand fully! I do not want to go flashing around "Hey I Am Canadian", but rather if someone asks where I am from and what culture I represent I want to say I am Canadian.

Just curious. Why? (Late comer, missed the original thread)

Want me to give you a whole copy and paste of the original post?

sure. you can PM it to me if you want.

 

[turbo4400]

odds at some point america will take over mexico and canada probably for resources and there is no way either of them could survive the attack so I would call it realistic.

But by doing so it would evoke a militarized response from the U.N. That would not be pretty.

Dude the UN does shit all and it is useless

i dont think that theres anything worth taking in mexico.

Tequila?

 

[Saulkar]

i feel kinda bad for saying this but i dont really get what hes trying to say.

Do not worry you are not the first, I took on a topic I simply could not handle.

 

[Saulkar]

I guess I am not done, I have finished defending my argument. I just want to make sure that this topic dies peacefully.

 

[Martyr4thecause]

In the case of the States ridiculing, making fun of, or being indifferent to Canada you generally are not supposed to take it seriously as it is in most but not all cases done in jest.

How about a trade? I will attempt to stop Americans from making US's Hat jokes, and you stop Canadians from making US is stupid jokes. If we start now we might have this done in about 200 years.

Lol dude, I think we should be friends,and as a Canadian, I would be proud to lay off the jokes, but I'm afraid more must be done than to just stop making fun of our hats (by the way, your referring to toques right? I've never heard anyone make fun of Canadian hats before. It seems kinda silly really). To sweeten the deal why don't we just stop making fun of each other altogether? Or maybe make fun of each other more! Make silly jokes about Canadian's more often, because after all, Canada needs more exposure in the states.

Now, since being on topic is necessary, I think that the fact that Developers like bioware hail from Canada is something we are already proud of (as it grants much revenue to our country), and simply having a Canadian flag appear next to the bioware logo would be sufficient to say "Hey, did you enjoy this game? If you did then support Canadian developers because we have talent too!" (In fact much of this mentality comes from feeling suppressed by how much of our media comes from the states, many Canadians just need something to make them feel "Not American." While this isn't something I agree with in principle, I can see their need to be recognized as coming from a proud independent country, to feel some national pride, as opposed to feeling like the suppressed little brother of the U.S.A.) Going back to my original topic, there is no need to make the character feel particularly Canadian because the character in any game (especially rpgs) is supposed to feel like it belongs to the player, whether that player comes from England, the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, Scotland, Ireland, etc. the in game character of the player should be what THEY want him/her to be, not what the developer wants them to be. I think that bioware recognizes that and this is why they continue to make some of the best role playing games of this age. Its because they allow the character to truly be YOURS, regardless of where your from, that they don't give sheperd, or any of their characters, a specific country from which he hails, and I think that its a smart move, considering that creating a specifically Canadian Hero would likely alienate some of the international audience to their games. After all, what's the point of showing national pride in a game if only Canadians like it?

Quick Summary, what I'm trying to say here (although never really did) is that we need to Support, and show our pride in Canadian game developers because they make great games, and the world will support them as well(if they like the games being developed by Canadians), but not necessarily show so much pride that they market their maple leaf so hard that people think we're all self absorbed pricks. I think that, if the Mass effect character had been particularly Canadian, the series would not be as popular as it is, partly because it alienates the international audience. And if a developer alienates their international audience, they become self absorbed pricks (No offense intended, if any was found, please make any replies respectful and level headed, thanks guys!...and girls!)

 

[Saulkar]

Yes and no, did you read the whole thing? If you did you would reaslise I am also targeting the entire Candain videogame industry for never representing my own nation.

What incentive would they have to do so? Why would they need to do so? Just because they're Canadian developers themselves? What's the point in that?

I am done here, I will just say it as clear as possible, the videogame industry in Canada is rarely shows any love to its nation with an over abundance of American main characters and such. I was not clear from the get go and people did not understand me. Do not look any farther into please because I want to see this forum end soon. Replying does not help that but I am aggressively adherent to the saying, do not start something you cannot finish.

 

[Saulkar]

P.S. I did not forget money is a key factor, but that excuse can only hold for so long.

Canadians aren't so immature as to care about the setting or the flag on the protagonist's coat.

That I understand fully! I do not want to go flashing around "Hey I Am Canadian", but rather if someone asks where I am from and what culture I represent I want to say I am Canadian.

Just curious. Why? (Late comer, missed the original thread)

Want me to give you a whole copy and paste of the original post?

sure. you can PM it to me if you want.

Ok, hold on a second.

 

[Double A]

Wait, you feel alienated and offended by BioWare for being more American than Canadian?

Well, that's very nice and all, but I feel alienated and offended by BioWare because they're making Dragon Age 2 more hack'n'slash, like how they made Mass Effect 2 more shooter. So what's more depressing? Where a game company that alienates its country, in the era of globalization, or a game company that alienates its own core fanbase?

I would have to say both, I really hate how the guns go against the mythos established. Guns hold 5000+ rounds and recoil does not affect accuracy. To cool down you simply deploy the heat sink/thermal clip, you do not actually need to replace it, just let it cool down. Bleh!

In ME, I read somewhere that guns were a small mass effect drive, chipped off a miniscule bit of steel from a block, and shot it out of a barrel. Sure, they overheated, but no clips are WAAAAAAAAAY better than clips.