Mass Effect, developed by BioWare and published by Microsoft

Ever since we first saw the train wreck that was Fox's coverage of its hyped up "SeXbox" controversy surrounding a love scene in the RPG Mass Effect--redeemed only by Gametrailers TV host Geoff Keighley's withering rebuttal--followed by Electronic Arts vice president Jeff Brown's forceful defense of his company's studio, we've had a nagging question in the back of our minds: why didn't BioWare founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk or Mass Effect project director Casey Hudson lead the charge on behalf of their artistic creation? Yes, Keighley and Brown did a more-than-admirable job cutting through the ignorance and explaining the facts, much to the joy of videogame enthusiasts tired of seeing their medium of choice dragged through the mud. But at the end of the day, Keighley is a journalist, and Brown is a publicist. Shouldn't the artists be the ones issuing a full-throated, unrelenting defense of their art?

There are certainly some game developers who wouldn't be able to make a strong case for their work under the hot lights in a TV studio; live television can be a white-knuckle exercise that isn't for everyone. But in our experience, the BioWare founders in particular are not only whip-smart, but highly prepared. When we moderated a panel at the 2007 Game Developers Conference on "Early Lessons In Digital Distribution," not only did Muzyka turn up with a sheaf of documents that he periodically referred to throughout the discussion, he also took copious notes as other panelists spoke, then proceeded to deliver focused, penetrating remarks when it came his turn to speak. Surely he or one of his colleagues could have faced off against the self-admittedly uninformed child expert Cooper Lawrence on Fox News; penned a point-by-point rebuttal in lieu of EA's Brown; or published a statement and/or video response on the Mass Effect community site, rather than the single quote from Muzyka that appeared in the New York Times.

We asked Muzyka about this during last night's D.I.C.E. Summit cocktail party. He told us that he wanted to first let the community respond to the erroneous statements made by Lawrence and other Fox News panelists (which he colorfully likened to having a complete stranger hold a gun to the head of one's newborn baby) and that he'd been heartened by the support that BioWare had received. As for why he and his colleagues didn't take the lead on the rebuttal, Muzyka not only cited the quote he'd given the New York Times, but added that there were different ways to respond to incidents such as these, and that his focus would be to continue to loudly proclaim at every opportunity that videogames are an art form deserving of serious respect.

While we certainly respect Muzyka's stance, and we welcome EA's newly aggressive, forward-leaning posture in dealing with its critics, we can't help but feel as though something is wrong when the loudest and most visible voices in defense of Mass Effect were journalists and suits. If this were a painting, a novel, a play, a movie or a television show being made by an artist or artists as successful in their medium as BioWare has been in videogames, it's hard to imagine that a gallery owner, a book editor, a theater producer or a studio exec would be at the forefront of setting the record straight about their work.