Bioware Co-Founder: RPGs Are "Less Relevant"
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Link: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.308591-BioWare-Co-Founder-RPGs-Are-Becoming-Less-Relevant
"It's funny because the RPG in the context of the current world is - well, it's not specifically irrelevant, but it's becoming less relevant in and of itself," he continued. "It's more a function of, 'Hey, this game has a great story.' For us, [it's] having that emotion but also having other great features like combat and persistence of character progression and stuff."
So let me get this straight: The company that's supposedly been making RPGs thus far and for as long as its been in existence has a founder that thinks RPGs are on the road to being irrelevant.
...My brain hurts just thinking about that.
It really puts things like how a Bioware exec for Dragon Age 2 said "Call of Duty is an RPG because you put points into things" into perspective, especially considering said company's co-founder (of what is meant to be an RPG company, if you might've forgotten) said "...For us, having that emotion but also having other great features like combat and persistence of character progression and stuff."
Bioware is run and operated by individuals who can't even talk like adults.
"An RPG is like a thing that has points and stuff." -Bioware
After Mass Effect 3, I have a feeling a LOT of people are gonna be done with Bioware. Many were done with them after Dragon Age 2.
Trust me, the day this "RPG company" finally shows its true colors (as if this didn't) is the day they finally release the title they've wanted to for so long:
"Call of Duty: Totes RPG Stuff"
Because I hate stupid, I picked apart what he said to get at his ignorance towards RPGs and apparently at game genres in general
In conclusion, Bioware has fully been sucked into the black hole of EA and clearly knows nothing about keeping good PR, not letting its executives make themselves look like fools, and especially knows nothing about the RPG genre.
"It's funny because the RPG in the context of the current world is - well, it's not specifically irrelevant, but it's becoming less relevant in and of itself," he continued. "It's more a function of, 'Hey, this game has a great story.' For us, [it's] having that emotion but also having other great features like combat and persistence of character progression and stuff."
So let me get this straight: The company that's supposedly been making RPGs thus far and for as long as its been in existence has a founder that thinks RPGs are on the road to being irrelevant.
...My brain hurts just thinking about that.
It really puts things like how a Bioware exec for Dragon Age 2 said "Call of Duty is an RPG because you put points into things" into perspective, especially considering said company's co-founder (of what is meant to be an RPG company, if you might've forgotten) said "...For us, having that emotion but also having other great features like combat and persistence of character progression and stuff."
Bioware is run and operated by individuals who can't even talk like adults.
"An RPG is like a thing that has points and stuff." -Bioware
After Mass Effect 3, I have a feeling a LOT of people are gonna be done with Bioware. Many were done with them after Dragon Age 2.
Trust me, the day this "RPG company" finally shows its true colors (as if this didn't) is the day they finally release the title they've wanted to for so long:
"Call of Duty: Totes RPG Stuff"
Because I hate stupid, I picked apart what he said to get at his ignorance towards RPGs and apparently at game genres in general
Spoiler:
In conclusion, Bioware has fully been sucked into the black hole of EA and clearly knows nothing about keeping good PR, not letting its executives make themselves look like fools, and especially knows nothing about the RPG genre.
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"It's more a function of, 'Hey, this game has a great story.' For us, [it's] having that emotion but also having other great features like combat and persistence of character progression and stuff."
I must say that this is a pretty good description of most Bioware games though, or even most western RPGs in general. Combat, character progression and great storytelling has been their bread and butter since like, forever; it is what their RPGs are made up by.
Must say I liked their old, d&d style RPGs better than I do the "mostly-a-shooter" Mass Effect or "RPGs-for-lazy-dummies" Dragon Age series.
I must say that this is a pretty good description of most Bioware games though, or even most western RPGs in general. Combat, character progression and great storytelling has been their bread and butter since like, forever; it is what their RPGs are made up by.
Must say I liked their old, d&d style RPGs better than I do the "mostly-a-shooter" Mass Effect or "RPGs-for-lazy-dummies" Dragon Age series.
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Ethil wrote...
"It's more a function of, 'Hey, this game has a great story.' For us, [it's] having that emotion but also having other great features like combat and persistence of character progression and stuff."I must say that this is a pretty good description of most Bioware games though, or even most western RPGs in general. Combat, character progression and great storytelling has been their bread and butter since like, forever; it is what their RPGs are made up by.
Mate, it's what all good RPGs are made up by.
But personal preferences aside, I'm just aghast at how the co-founder of this company speaks and what he has to say about a genre his company is known for.
_It's like if Batman just stepped up to a podium and started saying, "Vigilantes are, well, they aren't irrelevant, but they certainly are less relevant. It's not so much about being a vigilante to me, but more about saving the day, beating up bad guys, and cleaning the streets."
Just... Wow.
Must say I liked their old, d&d style RPGs better than I do the "mostly-a-shooter" Mass Effect or "RPGs-for-lazy-dummies" Dragon Age series.
I was always an Atlus fan myself, but I know what you mean. I agree.
Still, the focus on how this guys talks remains.
What co-founder talks off the top of his head during an interview?
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Doesn't matter what company it is, if you sign on with EA, you're already a massive ignorant retard.
Bioware started out great. DA: Origins was amazing. DAII was fucking not.
I never really liked Mass Effect because of the combat. It never clicked with me. But I watch a friend play a lot of it. I like the combat of ME2 but everything else is really lacking in contrast to ME1.
And now they're making an MMO? That's going to run on EA servers?! Fucking idiots.
I'll play DA3 if it ever comes out. Just because I wanna see how they end the story. But ME3 is a likely no. Still deciding on that.
Bioware started out great. DA: Origins was amazing. DAII was fucking not.
I never really liked Mass Effect because of the combat. It never clicked with me. But I watch a friend play a lot of it. I like the combat of ME2 but everything else is really lacking in contrast to ME1.
And now they're making an MMO? That's going to run on EA servers?! Fucking idiots.
I'll play DA3 if it ever comes out. Just because I wanna see how they end the story. But ME3 is a likely no. Still deciding on that.
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Tegumi
"im always cute"
He's saying that the reason for their success was the fact that the stories in their RPGs is what made them so popular. The assertion here is that the medium of genre is less important than the content.
I can see where your surprise comes from, but it seems to be a very superficial way of interpreting what he said.
I can see where your surprise comes from, but it seems to be a very superficial way of interpreting what he said.
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Tegumi wrote...
He's saying that the reason for their success was the fact that the stories in their RPGs is what made them so popular. The assertion here is that the medium of genre is less important than the content.I can see where your surprise comes from, but it seems to be a very superficial way of interpreting what he said.
Two things bother me about that. Firstly, if that was his goal, than as an adult and a representative of a company, especially a company he owns, he should've planned ahead for making such a statement. He clearly didn't going by how he spoke.
_Secondly, what you stated is not at all what he said.
Operating under that assumption that amidst his fumbling and blatant misconceptions he was trying to say what you said, if he was trying to state that the story and content of a game surpasses the classification of genre, then there are countless other ways of doing so than coming down on a single genre. That is doubled since said genre is the staple of his company. It's then tripled when we the readers recall all the times Bioware execs have gone on record stating that Bioware knows more about making RPGs/what is and isn't an RPG more so than any other (the first that comes to mind is when one of them stated JRPGs aren't true RPGs).
If all he wanted to say was "Let's not pigeonholed our games by sticking them to specific genres", then he simply needed to say so. Or, better yet, hire someone like you to do so.
What he said was exactly what he meant. He was even clearly about to say that RPGs on a whole are irrelevant, but decided to switch it to something akin to "soon becoming irrelevant". This is made obvious by yet another fumble in how he spoke.
Everything he said was as if a kid decided to paraphrase someone smarter than them about a subject they knew nothing about before rambling on, spouting blatant idiocy nearly every other sentence.
I wish the guy was as smart as you, but he clearly isn't, at least not when RPGs and public relations are involved.
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Tegumi
"im always cute"
I'd hard to say he was fumbling and meant something else unless we have an audio recording of the interview. Which I wasn't able to find cursorily, you might have more luck.
The statement "well, it's not specifically irrelevant, but it's becoming less relevant in and of itself" struck me particularly. If I don't sit there and assume it's a fumble, the message it conveys is what I mentioned previously.
As for what other Bioware execs have said and done in the past, we can't assume that everyone from one company is part of a groupthink. It's quite possible for different people from the same group to say different things even if they have incredibly good PR coordination.
"Online persistence" means that the state of something (ie the world) persists even after you log off and do something else (MMORPGs). It doesn't just mean playing online for a while. Newer shooters implement a sort of "online persistence" with ranks, unlockable weapons, etc.
The statement "well, it's not specifically irrelevant, but it's becoming less relevant in and of itself" struck me particularly. If I don't sit there and assume it's a fumble, the message it conveys is what I mentioned previously.
As for what other Bioware execs have said and done in the past, we can't assume that everyone from one company is part of a groupthink. It's quite possible for different people from the same group to say different things even if they have incredibly good PR coordination.
"Online persistence" means that the state of something (ie the world) persists even after you log off and do something else (MMORPGs). It doesn't just mean playing online for a while. Newer shooters implement a sort of "online persistence" with ranks, unlockable weapons, etc.