BioWare co-founders Muzyka and Zeschuk resign

[lucidus]

http://www.shacknews.com/article/758...zeschuk-resign

So how long until Bioware faces the rut Infinity Ward is going through?

[iFRAC7UR3]

I do not believe those reasons tho. this sucks. wonder what happened

[hallryu]

I smell a rat!

[IPlayNaked]

Sometimes I wonder with you guys.

Does anything, ever, happen for just the stated reasons? Is there ever a thing that just happens, people tell you why, and that's just accepted?

If the guys say they wanna pursue other things, I believe them, why not? Because the MMO flopped? Come on. They have been involved with, literally, the greatest games of all time. A fair percentage of them. Yeah, the MMO is a big flop, but they could stay in the game if they wanted.

Basically...Why can't it be possible that the stress of such a big game has simply made them realize they want to do other things? Why can't they realize that anyway?

[lucidus]

Maybe they truly are tired of the video game industry .. it's so much pressure these days with the high expectations and million dollar stakes. Just burned out I suppose.

[PhazeDelta1]

1 of 2 things happened

A) they were forced to resign by EA

or

B) See A

[Sarex]

I read a story a month a go, that they weren't(or one of them) seen for some time in the bioware studio. I think that EA's response was, that he/they were/was taking some personal time to be with their/his families.

[Dustpuppy]

"personal passion-driven projects related to craft beer."

LOL

Well color me surprised

[Anarion]

Originally Posted by Dustpuppy

"personal passion-driven projects related to craft beer."

LOL

Well color me surprised

I was just about to write that.

[KodY]

Originally Posted by IPlayNaked

Sometimes I wonder with you guys.

Does anything, ever, happen for just the stated reasons? Is there ever a thing that just happens, people tell you why, and that's just accepted?

If the guys say they wanna pursue other things, I believe them, why not? Because the MMO flopped? Come on. They have been involved with, literally, the greatest games of all time. A fair percentage of them. Yeah, the MMO is a big flop, but they could stay in the game if they wanted.

Basically...Why can't it be possible that the stress of such a big game has simply made them realize they want to do other things? Why can't they realize that anyway?

But you can't disregard the role EA plays. They put pressure on them to make highly successful AAA games so they can pump out sequels to keep profitability high.

I doubt they have a lot of freedom to experiment and for a creator this can be pretty frustrating.

I'm not saying their statement is a lie, but I'm sure they are not telling us everything.

[RavenMaster]

I've seen this happen before. Rareware - the company that brought us Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark - used to be part of Nintendo. They were full of creativity giving us the best games of that era on the SNES and N64. Then Microsoft put in a bid and bought 51% of Rareware's shares to become majority holder.

As Perfect Dark Zero was already halfway through development, Microsoft allowed Rare to carry on and complete the project so that it could be released on the Xbox360. Then after 2006, Microsoft put a harness and reigns on Rare's creativity and had them create games for their younger audience members rather than let them do what they do best (games with adult humor).

Soon, Rare's co-founders (the Stamper Brothers) left the company and Rare has developed nothing good since 2006. All their games have been huge flops - The new Banjo Kazooie, Viva Pinata, Kinect Sports. Microsoft destroyed Rare.


Now with Bioware, its a little different. EA has owned them since Mass Effect 1 but... they never really interfered with Bioware's creative decisions until recently. When EA realises its got an extremely popular franchise on its hands, it tightens the reigns and sends in its own consultants (goons) to 'oversee' the project. Then they usually force unrealistic release dates upon the companies they are overseeing.

We've seen EA do it to Westwood (founders of Command & Conquer) who were later driven into the the ground to the point where half the dev team quit. We've seen it with Crytek and the Crysis 2 debacle - forced them to release the game 3 months early before the DX11 version of the game was ready and brought out a DX9 only version at release - even though they marketed and advertised the game as DX11 right out the box.

So that leads us up to Bioware and Mass Effect. EA tightens the reigns again and forces Bioware to detract from Single Player and add Multiplayer so they can milk the game for not just DLC, but microtransactions for weapon kits too. Oh and lets not forget the Day 1 DLC (From Ashes). Throughout ME1 and ME2, Bioware NEVER pulled that sh** on us. EA was behind it because their marketing team KNEW people would want that DLC - ME3 being the last game of Shepherd's story, they KNEW people had to complete the final chapters. It was like blackmailing players "buy the day one DLC or you'll miss out on one of the most lore-orientated characters in the game."

Mass Effect 3 was also released too early. A lot of the graphics look like crap whereas in ME2 they looked much more polished. The Character Importer is still broken. Bioware said themselves, they had not settled on an ending for ME3 but had to pick one hastily in time for release even though they were unsure (we all know how that went down). I believe this is one of the main reasons their lead writer for the series left the company during mid-development.

So now Bioware's Co-founders have left too because their creativity is being cramped. Really, what did you expect?

[Ven0m]

Well, we can hope for their next game @ Kickstarter...

[iFRAC7UR3]

Originally Posted by Ven0m

Well, we can hope for their next game @ Kickstarter...

amen for that! ea's and Activision greed are affecting the industry badly.

go kickstarter and good luck to two of the industry legends

[Loobyluggs]

Welcome to the games industry...

Like many other companies in the entertainment industry, you got marketing on one side and creativity on the other.

More times than many, these two pieces of two different puzzles will never go together.

The job of a CEO in this industry is to hire people that can force them together and make it look like they are one and the same when laid out on the table.

~This takes its toll on anyone, and this is why someone like Gabe is adverse to releasing games when they are not ready and hiring people with the above mindset.

[Ven0m]

Originally Posted by iFRAC7UR3

amen for that! ea's and Activision greed are affecting the industry badly.

go kickstarter and good luck to two of the industry legends

You know... I'm a software developer & architect myself and it really hurts when you have a lot of ideas on how to make the software unique, easy to use and in general helpful for people... then the project manager enters and everything goes out the window, including my fun and dedication.

These BioWare guys are great people who have burnt out. They have to rest and do something refreshing.

Corporations are about gross margin and other money-related aspects. You do stuff to make money so they pay you money. It's as simple as that. That's why there are so many open source projects - ambitious developers and artists want to do something special, what gives them satisfaction.

I do hope that there will be more successful Kickstarter and WMD projects, and other platforms like that will crop up (eg. Steam's Greenlight). I'm not limiting it to games. We're discussion games right now, but think - what if such stagnation is present across whole industry? We do need some new ways to make brainstorming, designing, developing, production, promotion, and funding easier and more accessible. It would be also cool if these creative companies which will crop up, won't be milked and destroyed like so many in gaming industry.

[Redemption80]

It could well be the increasing focus on MP gaming that has alienated them and their heart just isn’t in it anymore.
Can’t blame them, with many people saying they won’t play or will pirate any game without some sort of MP component, and EA announcing that all future games will have some online feature it could be a direction they just don’t want to go in.

It’s probably a lot simpler though, and after years of doing it they could just be bored with the gaming industry, which I imagine is a harder reason to swallow for most people on here as that is likely a dream job for them.

[Nchinmay]

Originally Posted by Ven0m

Well, we can hope for their next game @ Kickstarter...

Oh man.. I would lose all my money now with kickstarters like this. I would put my money down only if they promise to keep the game and its sequels away from EA, Activision, Ubisoft, any other grave digger I missed.

[lucidus]

Originally Posted by Ven0m

I do hope that there will be more successful Kickstarter and WMD projects, and other platforms like that will crop up (eg. Steam's Greenlight). I'm not limiting it to games.

We just need a few incredibly successful hits from Kickstarter & Greenlight. It may start some kind of change in the industry - independence from those publishers. Good luck to Obsidian and everyone involved in those projects!

Originally Posted by Nchinmay

Oh man.. I would lose all my money now with kickstarters like this. I would put my money down only if they promise to keep the game and its sequels away from EA, Activision, Ubisoft, any other grave digger I missed.

Lol .. that's an interesting adjective for the publishers

[IPlayNaked]

Originally Posted by lucidus

We just need a few incredibly successful hits from Kickstarter & Greenlight. It may start some kind of change in the industry - independence from those publishers. Good luck to Obsidian and everyone involved in those projects!



Lol .. that's an interesting adjective for the publishers

Oh yeah, the only thing better than greedy corporations taking your money is an anonymous guy over the internet promising to make you a game if you'll just pay him in advance.

People complain about not paying for games because they don't have demos as it is.

[lucidus]

Originally Posted by IPlayNaked

Oh yeah, the only thing better than greedy corporations taking your money is an anonymous guy over the internet promising to make you a game if you'll just pay him in advance.

People complain about not paying for games because they don't have demos as it is.

Yeah Obsidian is a random nobody and we have to pay the studios on Greenlight...

[Nchinmay]

Originally Posted by lucidus

Lol .. that's an interesting adjective for the publishers

It just popped in my head as I was writing the comment.. Funny how well it fits.. I guess I get too emotional when I think about these big publishers

Originally Posted by IPlayNaked

Oh yeah, the only thing better than greedy corporations taking your money is an anonymous guy over the internet promising to make you a game if you'll just pay him in advance.

People complain about not paying for games because they don't have demos as it is.

Here's the thing with kickstarter. I gave them some money to make a good game. If they deliver thereby proving themselves, I assure you, they will be raking in money magnitudes faster than this time for their next project. If they screw up, they won't be making many decent-budget games again. Its like building reputation. Its the best way to vote with your wallet. And the best way to get the game you want to play.

[Chouji]

One wants to craft beer?
From video games to beer? He's switching from 1 awesome industry to another? Damn some people have all the luck.