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.

 Director Gore Verbinski and Level Up's N'Gai Croal, backstage at the 2008 D.I.C.E. Summit

The Level Up staff is back in the city of sin for this year's D.I.C.E. Summit, described on its fact sheet as "a high-level interactive entertainment conference that brings together the top video game designers and developers from around the world and business leaders from all the major publishers to discuss the state of the industry, its trends and the future." We've always particularly liked this conference for its small scale (there's just a single track, so it's possible to see all of the presentations) and its corresponding intimacy (hanging out just outside the conference auditorium is a who's who of videogame luminaries, each generally both personable and accessible). The sessions can be hit (we still remember Marc Ecko's 2005 talk, which began as bad standup before quickly evolving into a terrifically inspired presentation) or miss (we're trying to remember the bad ones, but we must have blocked them from memory), which is more noticeable in a single-track conference, but we've never failed to get something valuable out of attending.

This year's keynote speaker, "Pirates of the Caribbean" director Gore Verbinski, gave a prepared talk that was inspiring and occasionally poetic, if somewhat light on game-specific content. Verbinski made it clear, however, that a non-stop series of movies had kept him away from games for a number of years, so we'll forgive him as he slowly works his way through such modern classics as BioShock and Halo 3. Less forgivable is his critique of another game--thatgamecompany's flOw--telling us during the post-keynote Q&A (moderated by the Level Up staff) that while he enjoyed it, he found his attention wandering because there wasn't enough action. Gore, Gore, Gore. Can''t you see that flOw is one of the most violent games ever released? Don't let the soothing soundscapes and hypnotic visuals fool you--it's a kill-or-be-killed game where you eat eat everything in sight, including, on occasion, creatures of your own species. If flOw were a movie, it would undoubtedly be rated NC-17 for "relentless undersea mayhem." Hmm. That sounds like something we'd like to see. And since Verbinski and thatgamecompany are both represented by Creative Artists Agency...well, maybe this pipe dream is an example of the "madness" that Verbinski says the game industry needs more of.

1. EGO...trip: Level Up initiates couple's PixelJunk Monsters addiction, sort of
   
2. BIO...wary: Mass Effect DLC coming. Which porn classic will Fox News compare it to?
3. MMO...The genre gets the documentary treatment in "Second Skin"
4. RND...Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige set to tour; somewhere, R. Kelly grits his teeth