BioWare talks EA acquisition, Dragon Age perception

by Jason Dobson { Apr 21st 2009 at 8:00AM }

With a sequel, an original IP and now an MMO in the pipeline, it's a wonder that anyone at BioWare gets any sleep these days, least of all company head honchos Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk. Still, if there's one benefit to insomnia it's that it leaves you with a lot of time on your hands to talk about any number of things, including what life is like after being gobbled up by a publishing giant.

"Honestly, I don't think there have been too many changes at all," reflected Muzyka on the state of BioWare following the company's acquisition by Electronic Arts in 2007. "If anything, we feel enhanced." The BioWare co-founder added that given that the company is now a publisher as well, "we control our destiny in terms of both development and marketing now."

Part of that destiny includes Dragon Age: Origins, a game that Zeschuk admits has been a challenge to market as something more than just a Lord of the Rings clone. One difference is the role of elves, which are described as "not special" and "second-class citizens" in the eyes of humans, promising a stark contrast to those scampering about in Middle Earth when Dragon Age rolls onto retail shelves later this year.

Tags: bioware, dragon-age, dragon-age-origins, ea, electronic-arts, elves, greg-zeschuk, lord-of-the-rings, middle-earth, ray-muzyka

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

F1shBone @ Apr 21st 2009 8:09AM

"One difference is the role of elves"

Thats the most unimaginative and pathetic excuse for creativity I've ever heard.

Lookhappy @ Apr 21st 2009 8:18AM

meh.

Averna @ Apr 21st 2009 9:28AM

I wouldnt meh at it... although that screenshot makes the game look almost last-gen.

I'm actually really looking forward to Dragon Age, partly because it reminds me of The Witcher for some reason, partly because Im an RPG freak.

Discotheque @ Apr 21st 2009 10:32AM

It should remind you more of Baldur's Gate. And if it's even a tenth as good as that series we're in for an easy GOTY contender. And a game that blows away Mass Effect you bunch of bandwagon noobs!

skyzbig @ Apr 21st 2009 8:25AM

If BioWare aren't talking about a PS3 version of Mass Effect 2, then it ain't worth reporting!

BoomWav @ Apr 21st 2009 8:31AM

Weren't the Dark Elves in the same position in the Elder's scroll series? However, I really respect Bioware. They always did a good job with the story of their games. Yes, it's tough to advertise but there's no developers doing a better job out there. It's great to see something else than the D&D universe pop out. Everything out there is inspired by Lord of the Rings. As long as the story is original and the characters interesting, people will play it. They shouldn't consider the pre-launch advertising so much. It's much more the post-launch success that will make it works. All I want is an epic and dynamic branching story.

If the game is any good, it'll be an epic success anyway. The PC is in dire need of good RPGs. We've been waiting for ages for a good fantasy games.

I'm pretty confident they'll do it. I hope it will answer my needs!

Ihavepants @ Apr 21st 2009 9:07AM

Oh wow no. Dark Elves are merely inhabiting a land which some of them see as being invaded and they're very reluctant to give away their traditions and bow to Imperial Rule.

The Elves and DA have a history of being enslaved by the human nations and have seemingly only just broken into the rank of lowly serfs- in the cities. Some of them stick out in the wilds and attack humans but mostly try to stick to themselves, depending on clans.

Ihavepants @ Apr 21st 2009 9:18AM

The beast races are those used for slavery. In fact the Dunmer(dark elves) are the ones fighting for the rights to KEEP slaves.

Brad Lee @ Apr 21st 2009 9:22AM

Iddaknow, sounds pretty much like Lord of the Rings so far. When you say that it'll be difficult marketing it so it doesn't look like Lord of the Rings, that means it's similar enough that people will draw the comparison themselves.

It's like saying, "I have this great FPS in the works, but it will be difficult to market it so people don't think it's just another Halo. One important difference is the Cov--err, I mean the alien race is the scientific race, while WE'RE the religious ones--pretty neat twist huh?"

BoomWav @ Apr 21st 2009 9:46AM

@Ihavepants

Thanks for the info! I was never dragged by Elder's scroll story. Story elements are too sparse to really get me to play it long enough.

HitNRun @ Apr 21st 2009 1:37PM

Elves have been "reinvented" in games and fiction pretty much non-stop for the last 30 years.

Bioware needs to stop embarrassing themselves by attempting to differentiate between elves and finish their unabashedly generic and absolutely wonderful looking game.

tenor77 @ Apr 21st 2009 9:11AM

BoomWav- It depends on the game. Remember Morrowind?

Ray's comments sound like the company line to me. Of course everythings just fine here, just ignore the man pointing a gun to the back of my head.

BoomWav @ Apr 21st 2009 9:40AM

Geez, how can people be so negative? As soon as a game is set in a fantasy world it'll be a Lord of the Rings Clone? Bioware tried to break the rules that every RPG should be in the D&D world and people just keep complaining. I actually embrace this change and I hope they deliver and compelling story. People want a fantasy RPG.

In a world where every FPS is a WWII or futurist game. A world where every games are based on the same engine. A world plagged by short 10hrs games, Bioware try to stand out by doing a game based on their own story. A story developped enough to justify writing a prequel novel. A game that is planned to revive the dreams of having a RPG that can compete with BG2 while allowing custom content.

And people keep complaining it's a Lord of the Ring Clone? I mean, they didn't even use Orcs like every other fantasy games out there.

Making the elves secondary citizen actually open a lot of new story opportunity. What we want guys is epic gameplay and fun story. Bioware is actually trying to make something new at the moment. Shouldn't we thank them? When it's released, we'll be able to judge if it's a clone or not. However, right now, it's our best hope for a good RPG in the years to come.

Charlie_Six @ Apr 21st 2009 10:26AM

*in a gruff voice* "In a world... where every FPS game is a WW2 game... one commenter dares to defy the odds. BoomWav. Coming soon to a theater near you!"

BoomWav @ Apr 21st 2009 10:38AM

@ Charlie_Six

Hehe. Good one. I did laugh. A bit.

Lone_Canuck @ Apr 21st 2009 10:28AM

Isn't funny that after CDProjekt licensed the Aurora engine from Bioware and made a dark fantasy story (the Witcher) where racism against non-humans (Elves and Dwarves) exists that Bioware claim to be original, 2 years later, in this.

Move along, folks. Nothing to see here.

Discotheque @ Apr 21st 2009 10:33AM

They didn't say the idea was original at all. They were just trying to differentiate their story from the "LOTR-clone" title it keeps getting apparently.

BoomWav @ Apr 21st 2009 10:46AM

They're still based an orginial story they've written. The Witcher was also based on a book. I agree that there's similarities with The Witcher, however, it'll be much much different in many ways.

Gameplay-wise, it'll be like D2 vs Baldur's gate. For the story, I don't know. I mean, everything have been written somewhere before. It all depend on the twists and the broad storyline. They actually tried to innovate by making the different races have a different beginning. I don't know if it'll influence the rest of the game but seriously, we can't blame them for not trying.

I still wonder how people can already complain about the story when only a tiny parcel was released to the public.