BioWare - To Bioware's Defense - Editorial @ Forbes

darkling said:
I don't. I want them to make good games that aren't rehashes and repetitive iterations of their one formula. Since DA2 broke their formula-mold and everyone shat on them for it, I doubt they'll ever even think of veering out of their old patterns again. We're now going to be stuck with bioware games where you are A CHOSEN ONE who has to go to a starting area that branches off into 3 other areas that then comes back to a final area that leads to the end boss. :(

Of course, all people seem to want is BG2 again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again.
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That sounds better than going to one area that never changes, people never move and you do nothing interesting. To each their own though.
 
pibbur who said:
pibbur who may have felt he was forced to write this as he's currently in Copenhagen (free info for the americans: it's the capital of Denmark).
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As an American, thanks for this. I was confused as being in chewing tobacco didn't make much sense to me. That cleared things up for me. I hear there is something rotting over there so I would advise to minimize what you bring back.
 
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darkling said:
Of course, all people seem to want is BG2 again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again.
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Yes, I do want BG2 again and again. What are you going to do about it? ;)
 
darkling said:
And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again.
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Funnily enough, that's how I felt exploring DA2 areas.
 
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darkling said:
I don't. I want them to make good games that aren't rehashes and repetitive iterations of their one formula. Since DA2 broke their formula-mold and everyone shat on them for it, I doubt they'll ever even think of veering out of their old patterns again. We're now going to be stuck with bioware games where you are A CHOSEN ONE who has to go to a starting area that branches off into 3 other areas that then comes back to a final area that leads to the end boss. :(

Of course, all people seem to want is BG2 again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again.
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Hmm… you seem to be implying that games like NWN, KotOR, Jade Empire, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect were following "the BG2 formula" and were simply "BG2 again and again." In which case, you could not be more wrong.

The formula you are referring to is the KotOR formula: the BioWare console-game formula with 3rd-person view, a party of characters who spend most of their time at a "camp" or "ship," the "branching" story that you mentioned, and increasingly real-time action-oriented combat.

BG2 had none of those things. The only element it had which you mentioned is the "chosen one" aspect, though I would remind you that in BG2 you this was not a positive thing like in most of BioWare's later games. You were a "chosen one" in the sense that you were prophesied to bring great destruction to the world, not to save it. And in BG2 you were not forced to drag around certain party members, nor were you forced to join some "group" like the Jedi, Grey Wardens, or Spectres.

I agree that BioWare needs to break free of this formula, but I disagree with your assertion that BG2 was part of it. BioWare has only made one BG2 so far, and that's BG2.
 
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figment said:
As an American, thanks for this. I was confused as being in chewing tobacco didn't make much sense to me. That cleared things up for me.
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My pleasure. Always eager to please. :)
I hear there is something rotting over there so I would advise to minimize what you bring back.
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You're quite right, that's why I avoid buying software there. Hardware ought to be safe … I hope. But you never know with the danes - at least not when they're speaking to you.

pibbur who seems to be in offending mode. Kamelåså!
 
OUTSTANDING rebuttal, saber-scorpion. I'm sure it will be ignored by the false claimant. ;)

For me, BG2 is not and never was my favorite bioware game, but I do think they've gone steadily downhill since the EA purchase, and I do think DA2 was the absolute nadir thus far. It was a decent story and a cool CONCEPT for a different take on a familiar world. I have no problem with any of that. The cinematics were of course superb and the Hawke character, despite his stupid name and his stupid face and his holy hand grenade awful haircut, was a decent idea... until you get about six hours into the game and realize... wtf? is this all there is to the game? Areas are uninspiring despite awesome art. Gameplay is uninspiring despite surprising polish. You've virtually hit the level cap about a third of the way in, in that you have done all there is to do with your characters combatwise. combat generally falls apart when you realize normal mode is omg braindead easy and the "harder" levels are just the same thing MORE TIMES. ME2 had this same critical flaw. I could go on, but the point is already clear:

Having found the secret to defeating games "journalists" (you know, people who feel fit to comment on games without really playing them very much), Bioware realized that to maximize profits, they had to elevate production values yet simplify gameplay so that ANY NOOB could brag to their friends about it after the first fifteen minutes. Every week, some halfassed rag that couldnt avoid irrelevancy when the internet revealed its content to be shallow at best (and blatantly sold out at worst) adds a gaming section in a desperate spasm of zombie reflex. Spend most of your budget on the first half hour of every game, and you'll have these noob (faux) gamers eating out of your palm.

Brace yourselves, ladies and gentlemen, the worst is yet to come. Soon enough, I promise you, Dateline will be reviewing Facebook games.
 
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