EA Gave BioWare "Complete Creative Control"

[StewShearerOld]

EA Gave BioWare "Complete Creative Control"

According to BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk, Electronic Arts "treated them really well" and didn't interfere with game development.

Between <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121817-Electronic-Arts-Suffers-45-Million-Loss>fiscal shortfalls and the resignation <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122761-EA-CEO-John-Riccitiello-Resigns-UPDATED>of its CEO, it might be safe to say that Electronic Arts is not having the best time right now. If that weren't enough the publisher has, for the second year in a row, been selected by voters to be the recipient of The Consumerist's <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123161-Electronic-Arts-Repeats-as-Worst-Company-in-America>Worst Company in America award. While it's <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123116-EA-Really-Doesnt-Want-to-be-The-Worst-Company-In-America>arguable that there are companies perhaps more deserving of the title, it's a definite sign that the EA has a serious image problem.

Perhaps central to this dilemma is the perception that the publisher, in several cases, has ruined good games and the developers that make them. Point in case, BioWare, following its purchase by EA, found itself on the receiving end of fans' wrath, first for flaws with Dragon Age 2 and then for the infamous <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/experienced-points/9506-Mass-Effect-3-Ending-Controversy>ending of Mass Effect 3. In both cases, many were ready and willing to point the finger straight at Electronic Arts. According to Greg Zeschuk, co-founder of BioWare, however, EA was not all that intrusive while he was with the company.

"They don't second-guess you, they don't say you shouldn't do that," said Zeschuck, speaking to GamesIndustry. "We had complete creative control over a lot of it; some fans didn't like some of it and some of it was experimental, quite frankly." Zeschuck admits that profits were a concern, but doesn't hold it against EA. "The one caveat is at the end of the day for any company you have to run a profit, so you have to be thinking of things that actually make you profitable. So while you're taking all these creative risks in trying crazy stuff you almost have to simultaneously focus on the bottom line."

A candid focus on the bottom line, however pragmatic it is, is still likely one of the bigger factors behind EA's public image issue. Moves aimed at boosting profits, such as the rumored rush to release sell five million copies, haven't earned the publisher many points with fans. Likewise, its attempts to further the <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122396-EA-Asserts-Customers-Enjoy-Microtransactions>presence of microtransactions in its games, as well as the <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122711-EA-Removes-Forum-Posts-for-SimCity-Offline-Mod>catastrophic launch of SimCity, have done a lot to sour gamers on the company.

Even so, Zeschuk, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/119650-BioWare-Co-Founders-Retire>who left BioWare in 2012, would likely describe Electronic Arts as being something less than evil ogre many have come to see it as. "I really enjoyed my time at EA. It's interesting, people make a lot of assumptions about us and our feelings and how they treat people, but honestly we were treated really well. I made a lot of friends there, and I respect the people there are ton."

Source: <a href=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-04-09-the-doctor-is-out-greg-zeschuk-on-bioware-ea-and-the-uncertain-console-future>GamesIndustry



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[Legion]

Which they say as if it is a good thing. If anything, knowing that they made all of these godawful decisions without being pressured to, makes me wonder if they know what the hell they are doing.

 

[Amaror]

I wonder how much money EA paid him to say that.
Kind of a surprise how he says that RIGHT after Ea is named Worst company of America, isn't it?

 

[tehweave]

I wouldn't say EA is a bad company, and I'll bet the people are actually fun to work with. It's just from a business standpoint they seem to be doing not so well.

Also, I didn't hate ME3's ending.

 

[TsunamiWombat]

You had COMPLETE CREATIVE CONTROL.

They still controlled deadlines and made you ship ME3 a year early

 

[grey_space]

So it's not EA's fault...


It's his fault?

And if they were such lovely fellahs, did he leave?

Awful smell of bullshit on the internet today for some reason.

 

[Casual Shinji]

He's hiding something in that beard.

 

[faefrost]

ROFL!!!

look I am normally a reasonable individual, perfectly willing to look at both sides of a story, and to give developers and publishers the benefit of the doubt. I will often play Devil's Advocate in their defense. But I'm sorry, I am also capable of applying independent observation to a situation.

In this case it is very easy to see the change in the nature and caliber of Bioware's games that began as soon as they were aquired by EA. They may say that they were given a free hand, and I am sure in many ways they were. But ALL of the games that they have put out since have the unmistakable feel of rushed development, early release, poor QC, and a certain patern of corporate oversight that we have seen far to often in EA acquired companies.

Since being bought out Bioware has released DA2, SWTOR and ME3. And the problems with all of them are quite frankly nearly identical. And they all clearly reek of a company that while they may have had full control of the games content, gameplay and stories, had lost final control on funding decisions, development schedules and release schedules. And the problem is mirrored almost completely in virtually every well known development house that EA has borg'ed. Mythic and WAR anybody? How about what happened to Origin back in the day? The list goes on and on. Yes EA may have left the creative decisions intact. But they started doing the accounting. In some cases that might have been an understandable decision, but the end result is we end up with games who are primarily driven by corporate accountants and MBA's rather than actual creative people. And it shows with every single one of EA's games released in the past 10-12 years.

 

[FogHornG36]

uh-hu, and im sure you don't have a gun to your back at all.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Well it s a good thing that I don't hold Bioware to a higher standard. I don't think I've ever blamed EA for shit Bioware has pulled. I don't blame EA when Gaider acts like a complete asshole online.

 

[hazydawn]

We had complete creative control over a lot of it; some fans didn't like some of it and some of it was experimental, quite frankly." Zeschuck admits that profits were a concern, but doesn't hold it against EA. "The one caveat is at the end of the day for any company you have to run a profit, so you have to be thinking of things that actually make you profitable. So while you're taking all these creative risks in trying crazy stuff you almost have to simultaneously focus on the bottom line.

Exactly, and that's why Bioware had to finish Mass Effect 3 off with a shitty, half-assed, unlogical and plothole filled ending. And Dragon Age 2 also did seem kinda rushed didn't it? What might have been the reason for that?

Zeschuck admits that profits were a concern, but doesn't hold it against EA.

So he is basically admitting that EA influenced them in that concern. I mean who would have thought...

 

[SecondPrize]

I'm sure that's totally true. On another note, wasn't it a crazy coincidence that Zeschuk and one of the other docs just happened to announce their retirements on the same anniversary of Bioware's sale to EA?

 

[Sean Kay]

Here's the thing, EA aren't evil. No one really thinks they are out to destory the industry and all that other bollocks
EA's problem is that they are fucking stupid. They are so earth shatteringly dumb I genuinely wonder if EA execs forget to breathe on occasion.
They set deadlines to tight to make a proper ending, they tigthen the budget to much and they try and copy their EA sports model onto games that cannot support it

 

[VoidWanderer]

Ever considered he got sick of all the stink we raise over EA? I mean they have done a LOT to deserve such criticism, but people have tried to point out that it is the developers, not EA, coming up with these 'genius' ideas.

I am sure EA's reins have forced the decisions like, ignoring single-player games and encouraging micro-transactions have angered a lot of people, and rightly so. But as long as EA stick to their analysts and fail to realize that they are looking at ALL platforms of gaming which horrendously distorts their data, EA will keep digging themselves a hole so deep they will never get out.

I do hope that EA have people checking forums for tips on how to get their company to improve, because while there is a lot of bile aimed at them, I do want to be excited when I see EA on a game cover, not groaning about it.

I miss when EA made great games...

 

[TsunamiWombat]

Here's the thing, EA aren't evil. No one really thinks they are out to destory the industry and all that other bollocks
EA's problem is that they are fucking stupid. They are so earth shatteringly dumb I genuinely wonder if EA execs forget to breathe on occasion.
They set deadlines to tight to make a proper ending, they tigthen the budget to much and they try and copy their EA sports model onto games that cannot support it

This. And the reason for this, primarily, is the executives who run the company aren't FROM the Digital Media industry, they're based out of older consumer driven mediums like film, music, or even retail. All of which are inherently different, less finnicky beasts then videogames.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

So it's not EA's fault...


It's his fault?

And if they were such lovely fellahs, did he leave?

Awful smell of bullshit on the internet today for some reason.

You know that there are plenty of other reasons for someone to move on from their job other than 'their bosses are arseholes' right? If I remember rightly, this was the guy who left to start brewing beer, so just maybe, after so many years of working in the videogame industry, he was just burned out and wanted to try something new. Even if that not the case, the possibilities are still wide open. Perhaps he moved house somewhere further away and didn't want to commute, or perhaps there was a change in family priorities, and so on and so forth.

Remember, this guy isn't beholden to EA anymore. They're not paying him, he's not under contract. In short, he owes them nothing. So, if he had anything majorly negative to say about the company, what exactly would be stopping him from coming out and saying it?

 

[ThriKreen]

I wonder how much money EA paid him to say that.

Nothing, he's a standup guy and won't succumb to bribes. I mean, he's probably made enough money from the two studio buyouts and such, he doesn't need more.

Kind of a surprise how he says that RIGHT after Ea is named Worst company of America, isn't it?

Which means the interview was probably held a week ago, went through transcribing then the article itself was probably written and edited a couple days ago.

And regarding the article, I'd like to point out this section:

The best analogy I use, in a positive way, is EA gives you enough rope to hang yourself.

One can translate that as the publisher going "Here's your budget, here's your deadline. Go." Thing is, if you consider that line, then with what CliffyB said about sequels [http://dudehugespeaks.tumblr.com/post/44082100724/the-problem-with-sequels], where the studio was operating lean for the previous game and/or before being bought, then got lots of funding from a publisher or sold lots and worked on a sequel:

Now, by all accounts, a sequel is usually a more refined experience. I?m going to let you in on a little development secret. The first features to often go into a sequel are the ones that we cut out of the first one. Shocking, I know, but towards the end of a development cycle a good producer knows to keep cutting in order to get the core of the title out the door. (Remember, this is a business.)

You can see how sometimes too much funding can be a bad thing, let alone a sequel and too much funding.

 

[Frostbyte666]

Right I believe you about having complete control...hang on didn't EA say they wouldn't green light a single project that didn't have multiplayer in it? Who is paying your wages? Who is making your deadlines? Also I would keep quiet if you had that control considering the controversy (love em or hate em) of Bioware's releases since being acquired by EA. Also yes this is odd timing for such an announcement due to the golden poo award I do wonder why are you bringing this up now and not a couple of months to a year or so back?