BioWare - The Great Bioware Exodus

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@Equityarcade, Matthew Loffhagen examines the exodus of Biowares creative talent and what it means for Bioware and the rpg industry at large.

In addition to losing many of its key staff members (including the company's founders, who departed shortly after the release of Mass Effect 3 in 2012), the studio has also announced the cancellation of several new projects in recent years, including Shadow Realms, a game which was intended to see release last year but which was ultimately canned.

All of this upheaval has led many speculators to wonder how much of the original company's creative spark remains intact.

The Canadian developer, known primarily for a long legacy of immersive choose-your-own-adventure style roleplaying games, was sold to Electronic Arts in 2007. Gamers noted that future titles from the studio were far more visually impressive, but lacked much of the depth that BioWare had previously been known for.
[...]

With so many key members of the BioWare team leaving for greener pastures, though, the studio's future is uncertain. As EA replace more key staff members, the original creative spark that made BioWare games unique becomes further diluted, as BioWare assimilates further into the EA brand.

Meanwhile, with so many veteran RPG makers moving to work on new projects with different companies, fans of the classics may be pleased to see more games emulating BioWare's storytelling style. Chris Wynn, for example, having left the Mass Effect franchise behind, has already found a place for himself working with Daybreak to produce H1-Z1, a zombie MMO. Similarly, Casey Hudson, the creator of the Mass Effect franchise, has joined the team working on Microsoft's HoloLens peripheral.

While the future of what's left of the BioWare company is anything but certain, it's likely that the next few years will see a variety of high quality games and technologies appearing from various corners of the gaming industry, as artists and writers who honed their creative skills at the legendary developer move on to grace other companies with their talents.
More information.
 
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It's the end an Era as BioWare is doomed I tell ya.:end:

Seriously though I love reading these articles just for the comments.:biggrin:

PS: Can't wait for more info on David Gaider & Brent Knowles next game.
 
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Seriously though I love reading these articles just for the comments.:biggrin:
I clicked on the link to the site but I see no comments there?!
 
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PS: Can't wait for more info on David Gaider & Brent Knowles next game.

Yea, me too. I like that Beamdog is becoming a serious RPG developer now.
I hope SoD turns out great and sells well so we can get something great and new from them for their next project.
 
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I clicked on the link to the site but I see no comments there?!
Comments on this forum Joxer as BioWare articles always entertain.

I'll check back tomorrow as it's bed time now.:sleep:
 
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Well, it's not as if skills can't be taught. Patrick Weekes, who used to frequent these forums until a few posters basically made it uncomfortable for him to do so, is the new lead writer of Dragon Age, and he did a fantastic job with characters like Mordin, Jack and Iron Bull. I don't think he was one of BioWare's original writers (like Gaider), but he is still obviously very skilled.
 
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He was last active in 2010 or so I think, so it's quite some time ago.
 
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It's the end an Era as BioWare is doomed I tell ya.:end:

Seriously though I love reading these articles just for the comments.:biggrin:

PS: Can't wait for more info on David Gaider & Brent Knowles next game.



Me either. I remember reading that Brent left largely because of choices made with the direction of DA:2, and that in itself fills me with enthusiasm, in that someone out there who still knows what they're doing.
 
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Well, it's not as if skills can't be taught.

Skills can be taught, but talent is inherent - you either have it, or you don't. How much talent was involved in the "collect all the Shards" quests in DA:I?
 
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Can't blame Greg for getting out of dodge after all the vitriol, deserved or not, he had to put up with.
Beer, on the other hand, will never judge you. It will always be there for you. ;)
 
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Skills can be taught, but talent is inherent - you either have it, or you don't. How much talent was involved in the "collect all the Shards" quests in DA:I?

Sadly, I just have to say, shards collecting looks like a cute kitten compared with horrible ME2 sonar grind revived in DA:I.
But… Isn't that offtopic?
 
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Well, it's not as if skills can't be taught. Patrick Weekes, who used to frequent these forums until a few posters basically made it uncomfortable for him to do so, is the new lead writer of Dragon Age, and he did a fantastic job with characters like Mordin, Jack and Iron Bull. I don't think he was one of BioWare's original writers (like Gaider), but he is still obviously very skilled.

I didn't know that. I found his handle here.

I see he faced a rich selection of the site's premium wankers. What a shame not to keep him as a contributor.
 
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I don't know anything about Patrick Weekes, but it's definitely a bit sad if folk in the industry are driven away from the site.

As far Bioware, it's a different company to the one that gave us BG etc. But that's just time for you. I've worked for the same place for 13 years, and the people and culture here are very different now than in 2003. Worse, better? That's a matter of perspective. For Bioware I guess the question is just whether you still enjoy their games. I haven't enjoyed the last couple but I'm not writing them off yet and have vague hopes for ME:A.

As for David Gaider and Brent Knowles, it's great for Beamdog and hopefully for them too. I see no reason not to be positive about this, at least until we get more info about the new project. If they do a kickstarter on the back of this I'll no doubt throw money at them.
 
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I didn't know that. I found his handle here.

I see he faced a rich selection of the site's premium wankers. What a shame not to keep him as a contributor.
OMG
I just checked two last (closed) threads, it's a disaster. Almost all posters from back then are not posting any more but reading through all that makes me who didn't even participate in those threads to feel ashamed.
And I bet not a single one of them dared to repost any of it on official Bioware forum or e-mail decisionmakers instead of trolling a writer with stuff he's not to blame for. Why people just can't understand that hands don't make a sin if a head didn't think it over? And how come they don't get the idea that those same hands can work miracles if there wasn't such head above?

I wish I was involved in those threads back then. Can only promise if I catch him ever on the official Bioware forum I'll try to get him back.
As for David Gaider and Brent Knowles, it's great for Beamdog and hopefully for them too. I see no reason not to be positive about this, at least until we get more info about the new project. If they do a kickstarter on the back of this I'll no doubt throw money at them.
I won't give a single dime to Beamdog and it has nothing to do with Gaider but with Beamdog's fixation on phones.
Decisionmakers and not writers. Are my reason.
 
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I read a bit of Patrick Weekes later posts and the guy was not much nicer than an average poster.
I don't see why he should be held in a higher regard than others.
 
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It's the end an Era as BioWare is doomed I tell ya.:end:

Seriously though I love reading these articles just for the comments.:biggrin:

PS: Can't wait for more info on David Gaider & Brent Knowles next game.

I'm putting my left family jewel on the line and saying it's Baldur's Gate 3. It's obvious Beamdog has been building up to that with both their finances and expertise.
 
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I'm putting my left family jewel on the line and saying it's Baldur's Gate 3. It's obvious Beamdog has been building up to that with both their finances and expertise.

And I'm putting my both jewels on the line and saying it's yet another phonegame, regardless of the title and fans' wishes.
 
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I read a bit of Patrick Weekes later posts and the guy was not much nicer than an average poster.
I don't see why he should be held in a higher regard than others.

I don't necessarily put a premium on niceness (some of the best people I know are spiky and bad-tempered). For me, I'd quite like to hear more from a professional writer at a major studio, and less of the drivel that bored him out the door.
 
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