BioWare, I love thee, but we gotta talk

In my world, BioWare saved video games.

As I've talked about previously, the entire gaming thing was sagging for me badly in the early 2000s, as most Japanese developers were scurrying away from making games that were intellectual exercises, in favor of dumb, flashy, more action-oriented affairs (excepting the brilliant FFXII).

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic came to my rescue, and after I fell in love with that, I dove into their back catalog, and from there, discovered the cRPG genre.

BioWare was a breath of fresh air in the late 90s and early 2000s. They were bold in their approach, and brought a real sense of humanity to their games. By putting story and characters first, they made their games more engrossing than anyone else's, and really provided a visceral experience.

Choice. Story and choice. BioWare absolutely nailed this holy grail of gaming, and refined it more and more. From Baldur's Gate to KotOR, this concept came to shape the way that their games felt, and they developed a strong brand identity, at least among those that had discovered BioWare.

I think Baldur's Gate made a huge impact among the cRPG crowd, but KotOR on Xbox really brought BioWare to the masses. Jade Empire was also a really solid game (one that I would love to see sequelized), but Mass Effect is what, I think, made them a global brand.

Meanwhile, Dragon Age: Origins became my favorite game ever. I should write a post explaining my affection for this game, but it really is my favorite gaming franchise (despite having a lot of gripes about Inquisition).

Star Wars: The Old Republic is also a favorite of mine, but let's set that aside for a moment.

BioWare is now a part of EA, and has been for quite a while. I was concerned when EA bought them, but things to seemed to go pretty well at first.

As a side note, while I know it's been fashionable for a long time to call EA 'the evil empire,' and at times, they do things to actually earn that title, they got nothing on Activision. Seriously. Not even close.

Anyway, fast forward to now. The Mass Effect trilogy became more and more an action series. The first game was pretty clunky, the second game was waaay too streamlined, and the third game hit the sweet spot. ME3 is one of the most mechanically sound games I've ever played.

Dragon Age, meanwhile, has had a bumpier ride. As I said, the first game is one of my all-time favorites. The second game ... had some very real issues, but also suffered from the fact that most so-called 'gamers' are lemmings and love to hate-gangbang anything that appears weakened. Dragon Age II reused the same environment over and over, in a bold attempt to tell a smaller and more intimate story, which I really appreciated, but I also got a little tired of Kirkwall. I understood the complaints from the lemmings, but the means by which they expressed these complains was unhelpful, hurtful, and I think it honestly affected the Dragon Age team in a way that actually diminished their ability to make good decisions about the series going forward.

The BioWare community was a great one, for a long time, but became among the worst I've ever seen somewhere around the ME2/DAII era. These people made personal attacks based on outlandish conspiracy theories, and the forums became a circlejerk of the worst fanboys one can imagine.

The interviews leading up to the release of Dragon Age II troubled me. I kept hearing things like 'when you press a button, something awesome happens.' The demos were all using a controller. The menus were console-centric and thus diminished in ease of use.

Ultimately, the PC version of the game was fine. Yeah, like I said, the constant reusage of assets and environments got a bit tiresome, but I liked the game, and not nearly as much as I did DAO.

The interviews leading up to the release of Dragon Age Inquisition were even more troubling. It was the first time that I heard BioWare talk about trying to do things that other studios were doing, namely Bethesda.

I like Bethesda, and I think that their use of open worlds is great, and I think that the types of games that they make suit an open world very well.

BioWare, on the other hand, doesn't really do that. They tell more linear stories with choice-driven sections and interchangeable parts that can be played in any order. And I love it.

DAI, ultimately, had some great aspects, but I think it may be the worst game BioWare has ever made.

My first time through, it was cool. I loved the reactivity of the save import, the various environments were really neat-looking, and I thought the overall structure was cool. And the story was awesome.

I did, however, feel that the story lost a LOT of steam with the endless slog through the big environments.

Honestly, nearly everything I love about Dragon Age was diminished in Inquisition.
 - the story was great, but lost a sense of urgency and I'd even forget major plot details because it was so long between major plot points.
 - the world felt less alive; this is hard to quantify, but I rarely got the sense of really being in a place with living people
 - combat was awful; yeah, the pause and play was still there, but it felt button-mashy and boring; I loved the combat in the first game so much; in DAI, even the dragon fights got dull; what I really want is the KotOR battle system, where you could queue up actions and make awesome shit happen; I also want the AI programming from DAO and DA2 back
 - it just didn't feel like Dragon Age; I understand the value in being inspired by another artist, but dawg, don't lose yourself in the process; I come back to BioWare over and over, and will continue to do so for at least a few more games, because of what BioWare brings to a game.

I love BioWare so much, and have had so many good memories with them, but I'm worried.

Today, there was a piece in PCGamer in which they acknowledged an issue with the side quests in DAI, which I think was a good thing to say, and then they pointed out that the side quests in MEA are going to be more The Witcher 3, and I kinda threw my hands up again.

I love The Witcher 3. It's one of my all-time favorites. But I worry when I see things like this, because I didn't used to see things like it, which is BioWare pointing at other studios for inspiration, instead of looking within.

Yeah, I'm probably overreacting. I'm sure they cribbed ideas from other studios back in the glory days, but it seemed like they also played it less safe. They were more OK experimenting in their releases. Yeah, being a big earner for EA probably restricts their ability to gamble a lot more, since they're putting more dollars into their games now than ever.

And I get that, with FOUR teams going now (Edmonton x 2, Montreal, Austin), they're potentially flooding the market with 'BioWare games,' and are worried about diluting their brand.

It would be very refreshing to see them take a step back, though, and make a cheaper and more risky game.

Maybe that's what the new IP is? I don't know. I keep hearing that it's not an RPG, and is instead an action game. That disappoints me, but I still have faith in BioWare to surprise me, and in a good way.

What say you? What do you think? Have you been down this road with a studio before? What's your opinion of the direction BioWare has gone?

Also, I'll be streaming tonight at 2000 central, and will continue my Road to Andromeda series!

-Blaine

Yeah, it's like that, but whatever

I'm a bad bloggist today. I'm almost in awe of how busy I've been lately.

Regardless, I wanted to share my enthusiasm for the upcoming Star Wars Celebration, and in particular, its live stream.

SWC starts tomorrow, and they'll be streaming from London live. The SWC stream last year was TREMENDOUS. In particular, the Force Awakens panel, and the on-stage stuff with Mark Hamill, and especially Carrie Fisher were fantastic. This year's looks just as awesome. Check it out.

Otherwise, I'm just hoping to catch my breath. Fuck being busy. I hate being busy. I don't mind moving fast, but I'm a very deliberate person, and I badly need to just chill.

I'm much looking forward to kicking back with some Star Wars interviews, trailers, and more all weekend. While I play some games. Maybe some Shadowrun Dragonfall? More Blood and Wine? My second Dragon Age Inquisition playthrough? Hmm. I still haven't played the latest Knights of the Fallen Empire chapter.

And, I wanna stream some of my own stuff. Anything you wanna see me play?

Alright, back to work. What do you got going on this weekend?

-Blaine

Aaand we're back!

I got back last night from my weekend in exile. Good times were had.

They live in northern Illinois, about 90 miles outta Chicago. Close enough that driving into Chicago for a day isn't too bad, but far enough out that everything smiles like pig farm everywhere.

I got lucky with the in-laws I got. I don't have the horror stories that a lotta people have. That being said, while I like them just fine, I'm not one for rural living, or the lack of creature comforts. I've spent every moment of my adult life living in either the city or the suburbs, so the rural thing is, even after fifteen years of visiting them, still a drag.

Regardless ...

... we drove up Friday, got to eat dinner at my favorite restaurant, The Corner Grill, I got to meet my (hopefully) future brother-in-law, who's cool as shit, and then I wound down the evening with some Witcher 3: Blood and Wine.

Oh, and the my in-laws don't have AC or clean water (well water is not clean, sorry), but they do have broadband + wifi now, which was a HUGE game-changer. I also grabbed some brief time with Chrono Trigger on iOS, because I forgot my fucking Vita.

Saturday was party time. We went and saw some friends and their new baby, and then my in-laws hosted a big-ass blowout. My oldest son drove my youngest son around on a tractor, which was hilarious. Lotsa people smoked in front of me, and I didn't smoke, which was cool. I wound down that evening with a new character in Dragon Age Inquisition. A female Qunari rogue that grew up in Thedas, and resents the other species because of it. The imported saves feature strongly anti-Mage choices. Should be interesting.

Sunday, we drove into Chicago and saw The Book of Mormon, which was AMAZING. Go see it. Now. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Also, it helps that my family was among the founders of the Church of LDS, but my faction split off about the middle of last century. Grandpa fell in love with a Catholic girl. A man's gotta do what he's gotta do to win the woman, ya know?

Anyway, the musical is fantastic. Everything about it. The performances, the music, the humor, the social commentary, the choreography, and on and on. SO GOOD.

And then dinner at D'Agostino's, one of my favorites from when I did my undergrad in Chicago. We met up with some old friends, and good times were had by all.

I love visiting Chicago. I cannot say enough about how incredible my undergrad years were there, living downtown, meeting my wife, partying my ass off, using public transit, getting into the local scene, and ... it was a remarkable time in my life. I'm also glad I left when I did. I'm from St. Louis, and it was time to come home and start a family.

But, I really need to spend like a week in Chicago some time. It would be cool to head over to the Columbia campus while school is actually in session, soak some of that in, check out some of my old haunts. I'd have no intent of reliving the past, but I always find it fascinating to see the ravages of time in person.

And Chicago is just a fun place to visit. I'd never live there again, as it wore on me after a while. It's an incredibly negative town with an almost oppressive atmosphere, and Cubs fans are bandwagon-jumping jackasses, even if their team is the beloved darling of ESPN and Fox Sports.

And, for a dumpy little league park, Wrigley is a fun place to hang out and see how the Cubs are going to complete fuck it up yet again.

And then, yesterday, we came back. And today I had a REALLY intense day at work. And now I'm writing at you. And now I'm ready to sneak in a little gaming.

Remind me, I wanna talk about alternate playthroughs of BioWare games some time this week. Word.

*HUGGLES!*

-Blaine

I Love Torment (but it's not what you think, sicko)

I tend to stay away from backer betas.

If I back a game, it's because it's filling a need that I don't see being filled by publishers, or it's a need that I want filled without publisher intervention. I don't want it to have mass appeal. I want it to be very specific in its audience.

Pillars of Eternity is a fantastic example of this. It was the game that first got me excited about the possibilities of Kickstarter, and it absolutely fulfilled its promise, and then some. It's one of the best games I've ever played. It was part of this magical time in which Dragon Age: Inquisition, Pillars, and then Witcher 3 all released in short succession, and I got to play my two favorite series, and a new favorite in the middle, all one after another.

Anyway, I'm really getting off-topic. Sorry, but it was a very magical time.

So, yeah, I backed the hell out of Pillars, and kept adding to my 'backing,' so that I'd get more and more stuff. Including the beta.

What's funny, though, is that I did play a little of the beta, but I put it down rather quickly. I didn't want it spoiled. I wanted my entry into that world to be one that was new, and fresh, and utterly magical.

And it worked out. I held off on playing much of the beta, which was a vertical slice that was early in the game, but not at the beginning. It filled in some lore, but then, like I said, I backed off pretty quickly, and saved myself for release night. When I got the game, it was magical, and many months later, we were both left panting.

And, then along came Torment: Tides of Numenera.

I fucked up. I played a bit of the first beta release, but did the same thing I did with Pillars. I got a bit of lore, and then set it down.

Well, they updated it. A lot. I got kinda curious last night, and ... I made a mistake. I fell in love. This game is utterly incredible. I need to stop. The beta is so good, and so complete, and beautiful, and exactly the kind of game I so badly need ... but the finished product is in 2017. If I keep going, it's only going to hurt both of us. We have to stop. It's what's best for both of us.

But, I played more today. And it was so good. I'm worried. I'm worried that I can't stop.

That's it. I'm exhausted. I'm going to get in bed, and ... read one of the novellas that's part of the mega-backer package that I put down for. I need more Numenera.

-Blaine