BioWare - To Bioware's Defense - Editorial @ Forbes

EriK Kain from Forbes has written an editorial entitled "In Defense of Bioware."

Here's his main argument:

Personally, I think the gaming industry would be worse for wear without BioWare. Already, many people believe that EA purchasing BioWare in the first place was a tragedy but if BioWare were to be shut down, I think a lot of great potential for new games would be lost. Role-playing games in particular would take a serious blow.

Click to expand...

More information.

Bioware makes RPGs?

Capt. Huggy Face said:

Bioware makes RPGs?

Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly…

Oh and the Forbes guys really know their stuff(taken from the comments section of the linked article).

Alex Knapp - Forbes Staff said:

Dragon Age 2 is better than Dragon Age: Origins. There, I said it. I’m working through DA2 right now – haven’t finished, but love it so far.

Click to expand...

In Response the author of the original Forbes Article comments,

Erik Kain said:

Alex – I had much the same thought after first impressions of DA2, and still don’t understand the hate. But I’ve been told by numerous people that I will find out as the game progresses.

Click to expand...

Yeah, these guys, they're the ones to go to if questioning what makes a good CRPG!

It's like if a lie is repeated enough times people begin to think it's true.

Don't fall for it RPG community!

I agree on that DA2 statement.

edit: And Forbes has had some of the best commentary on the video game industry lately, in general. They're not bought out by the developers and publishers and they actually seem to have an independent voice. It's kinda refreshing to read their articles about gaming after all of the obviously paid for ads on kotaku/joystiq/gamenewsland/hurrfblorfblog.

I guess Forbes needs the advertising?

Likely not, but this is the nature of finance magazines: always promote and never be hating - especially to big money and power. they get willfully blind; although its good to have an alternative to constant cynics.

IMO, the problem lays in two things:
1) The "casual" approach to games. I've got 1hour per day, so I WANNA AWESOME THINGS every corner. This nature of modern games boosts the spectacularity tho makes whole subject shallow (so sayin that DA2 was better than DA:O. most rpg fans will claim that DA2 is shallowed version of DA:O <for me biggest sin was not improving but "making awesome" the combat system, which being party based should be more tactical not h&s style> and DA:O is nerfed BG series)
2) The "hollywood" approach. Having engine and hardware limitations demanded improved storytelling. Even with better graphics we can find games which were using also our capability of reading, imagination, interpretation. Remember Mass Effect ONE? Shitty equipment, shitty side (non companion) quest (in DA:O too.. QUESTBAGS!).. but the main story, the codex, conversations - there was an order in the whole story, there was no hurry to demand the player to spend huge amount of time in citadel only to talk, gather information, building immersion with the world.. (now compare to ME3 and ...).
These are my biggest butthurts about bioware. The problem is, I don't know if they are catch it. And if They don't… well it's time to say goodbye.

edited coz of spoilers in previous version

MasterKromm said:

My thoughts exactly…

Oh and the Forbes guys really know their stuff(taken from the comments section of the linked article).



In Response the author of the original Forbes Article comments,



Yeah, these guys, they're the ones to go to if questioning what makes a good CRPG!

Click to expand...

I think DA 2 is better than 1. I think they both have god awful combat, but I liked the setting and story of 2 more.

Impregnator said:

I think DA 2 is better than 1. I think they both have god awful combat, but I liked the setting and story of 2 more.

Click to expand...

I respect that you have a different opinion, so if I may ask, what was it about the setting and story of 2 that you found so compelling?

I enjoyed DA2 for what it was but DA:O was better storywise. The setting wasn't really that bad and I sort of liked some of the NPCs. The ending sucked but then that is also par for the course. My problem lay with its lack of changes when significant time has passed in the story and you couldn't tell and bad map reuse.

It also was beyond what I would like to call an RPG but inline with ME series. I seem to remember combat for DA2 more fondly with the exception of enemies appearing from nowhere but would have preferred more tactical combat like Misha. Anyway, ME3 was first Bioware game I have not purchased (except MDK2) because of my general disappointment with previous releases and general direction. I might pick ME3 up if it goes on a 75% off sale though but just to finish off the series.

That Forbes guy should not jump to say DA2 is better than DA:O until he's finished it. I thought the same thing at first, because I found DA2's characters and art direction more compelling, and was infinitely grateful to no longer be a Grey Warden, despite my disappointment at being unable to play a dwarf. But then I slowly realized that you spend the entirety of DA2 re-visiting the same areas in the same city over and over, fighting respawning waves of enemies, and you get nearly the exact same ending regardless of your actions. Also, mages are actually kinda jerks.

However, I actually enjoyed ME3 quite a bit, despite its shortcomings and all the Internet rage about the endings. So I mostly agree with the article: I'll still buy BioWare games… for now. I just wish that they would move back in the direction of their RPG roots and away from the current cinematic action-game style. Unfortunately, with EA pushing them even faster down their present course, I can't see that happening.

Both sides are jerks, not just the mages. I thought that was the point. The biggest theme of DA2 seems to be an intense criticism of extremism on all sides.

DA2 had made some improvement in the combat engine. And by that i mean just technical stuff. Not how ruleset works, or spawning out of nowhere enemies.

The pathfinding, animation and responsivness was much better and pretty enjoyable.

I guess they can scrap the rest as trash.

Potential? BioWare's last good rpg went down like a lead balloon because they tried to make it an MMO (SWTOR is really good storywise). ME3 and DA2 were oversimplified… uhm, streamlined to the point of becoming boring, repetitive action games. Seems BioWare got hit with a brain drain, and they have lost the ability to produce quality rpgs. Now, shooters for example, they are probably able to make, seems their technical team is as good as ever.

Bioware has powerful connections.

I must say, it's amusing that the well-deserved feeling that "BioWare is now an awful company" is so widespread at this point, that Forbes (of all places) feels the need to write an article urging people to give them another chance.

We don't have to give them another chance, they just have to make better games. That's all that really matters - and the one and only solution to get the value of their name back.

I agree with Jay Barnson who in his blog wrote about getting players to finish then please let them quit. I hated, yes, literally hated DA:O for not letting me fast travel to plaves I've already been e.g. if you traveled to the west of the Brecilian forest, and then found an exit, and entered the Brecilian forest again, you were at the beginning of the forest again. I do simply not have the time anymore to sit and play for 2-3-4 hours straigyht, maybe 20-30 minutes of free time to play any games is all I have today.

I hated Diablo 2's feature that you could only save&quit at the same time and then you had to do the same area over and over and over. I liked Oblivion's fast travel system, although it could have been better executed and designed, I think. In also liked the way DA2 handled quest design and fast travel design....

I have no issues with DA2 seeming better than DA1 when playing through it for the first time. The problem is, DA2 falls apart later on, as the re-using of areas is extreme and the actual ending is even worse than ME3. For a while it's all good though, until those issues become apparent.

They'll probably change their minds once they've played through the same cave for the 8th time.

I think one of the reasons why there is so much hatred for bioware is that they are trying do defend thier mistakes and convince community that their recent games are good and that they are wrong."As co-founder and GM of BioWare, I’m very proud of the ME3 team; I personally believe Mass Effect 3 is the best work we’ve yet created"(Ray Muzyka on bioware blog there was article on watch some months ago)I think that statements like this just make community more angry.