EA Gave BioWare "Complete Creative Control"

[Sheo_Dagana]

I'm sure EA gave them all the creative freedom they wanted... within the strict deadline.

But I don't hate EA for an ending to a video game that didn't really bother me at all. My gripes with EA lay primarily with their Origin 'service.' I was forced to sign up for Origin, as were many others, but if you're doing any kind of PC gaming, you're stuck with it. This wouldn't be a problem, but has anyone read the Terms of Service agreement? It's pretty fucking stupid. One of the terms you have to agree to is allowing Origin to search your computer whenever it feels like it.

EA has many issues, but doling out creative freedom isn't really one of them.

 

[Goofguy]

I'm guessing profitability was not the only thing EA had its hand in. What about deadlines? Who's to say Bioware didn't require an other few months to polish/improve ME2 and ME3?

There's more than meets the eye with us. Mind you, I'm not going to delve in to this matter, I just don't take it at face value.

 

[RandV80]

Like others have said you can give a developer 'complete creative control' and still enforce a restrictive deadline on it.

It's rather annoying how EA always seems to have these bullshit PR spin jobs. EA is the publisher and handles the business side of things, so if you have a top notch developer like Bioware then it makes perfect sense to to stand back and let them do their job. They're the ones with the creative spark after all. What EA brings to the table is the business acumen, and it's their business decision to rush a game like DA2 that caused it to be a flawed release.

 

[DTWolfwood]

I don't blame the short falls of those Bioware sequels being worst than their Pre-EA predecessors. I do however know it was a scum/dick move on EA's part to make ME3 exclusive to Origin.

 

[Atmos Duality]

You had COMPLETE CREATIVE CONTROL.

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

And that is the principle flaw in EA's business model; has been since they became a major player in the gaming business.
They sow the seeds, and expect to reap halfway into the season.

 

[The]

"Assuming Creative Control."

 

[Canadish]

I'm getting the ol' waft of bullshit from that.

The timing of Bioware turning garbage was just to perfect with that of EA acquiring them. DA: O and MS1 both started development under an independent Bioware, ME1 released first and then DA:O released under EA and we had Project $10 shite start.
ME2 and DA2 both started under EA and they both took their franchise down the generic action game route and away from their RPG roots.

I wouldn't call that "experimental".

 

[Anachronism]

EA aren't evil. They're just idiots.

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.

Mass Effect 2? I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that came out after they were bought. Fair enough on the corporate oversight point, I suppose; it's undeniable that it was made to be much more of a shooter to appeal to a broader demographic, but to be perfectly honest, it was a better game for it. And the other points just don't apply, in my opinion: Mass Effect 2 was a phenomenal game.

-Dragon age 1 was good, DA 2 was better (and before you ask, yes Ive played every BW game and my favorite is Planscape, so eff you if you think I am some CoD-casual gamer)

Planescape was by Black Isle, not BioWare. And the pre-emptive insult to everyone else here was rather unnecessary. However:

And please...make Jade Empire 2!

100% agree with you on this. That world has so much potential that the first game just didn't make the most of. It was too short and too shallow, for which I blame being made late in the Xbox's life cycle. A new Jade Empire game with current technology could be glorious.

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

Neither did I. Wasn't perfect, but I thought it was good enough.

 

[PirateRose]

I know Jessica Chobot has been harassed to hell and back for her role in the game, I feel sorry for her, she's become a product of the industry and her inclusion in this game was a horrible idea. If it's not a EA idea to draw COD/IGN fans to the game, then...well actually my view of Bioware has been really, really, really low to the point now I'm not surprised anymore they would think that was a good idea. Bioware wanted to put in more sexualized tits on top of existing sexualized tits for the sake of sales.

They already had so many characters they had to deal with that various fans loved, why reduce their roles and then add a bunch of new ones at the end of a trilogy? I don't understand, it's like if they took Return of the Jedi, introduced Jar Jar Binks and after Han Solo is freed from the carbonite, he just disappears for the rest of the movie because he's got some random thing more important to do than to join the Skywalkers in saving the galaxy again. "Sorry Leia, you were just a one time thing."

Bioware's creativity has become horrible and severely streamlined to focus on straight, white male fan service. Everyone praises Bioware for mature gay romances, meanwhile lesbian romances are fetishes at best. I mean really, why does Traynor's romance start like a man's lesbian porn fantasy? Why?


Once again, it's not just the ending that stinks about Mass Effect 3. It's just the tip of the craptastic iceberg.

 

[userwhoquitthesite]

Either:
this is bullshit that comes from EA paying the man to try and save something of their image, and EA ruins everything
OR:
This is true, and any company EA acquires simply becomes lazy and fails to deliver a decent product.

Either way, this is appalling

 

[Karadalis]

"Bioware" does not exist at its own entity...


Thats saying that "sprite" is its own entity and the coca cola company just gives them money to do their thing...

So yeah... EA = Bioware

Wich means EA was infact in control since they bought bioware.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

showing that things aren't as simple as people like to think. Though that's still not gonna convince people to put a little perspective on things

 

[Amaror]

Doesn't really Matter. I never expected that EA told them how to make a product, but they told them when.
And the when is the important part. It doesn't matter how good you are, you are NEVER going to make something great on your first attempt. That's just a fact. Art needs tries, many tries for that matter.
If that would not be the case, Film's would get finished in about a week, after all, they don't have THAT much footage to shoot.
If Bioware had had the time to look back at their product, they would have seen the many problems. They are not idiots, and EVERBODY ELSE saw them. But EA told them to release their shitty versions of games, that could have become good or great.
It IS EA's fault.

 

[Little Gray]

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?

The reason Mass Effect 3 had such a shitty ending is because the script got leaked three or four months before it was released and they rushed to change the ending. While the move to change the ending was kind of stupid since the release date was so near its sort of understandable.

 

[AdamG3691]

You had COMPLETE CREATIVE CONTROL.

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

ASSUMING CREATIVE CONTROL

ah harbinger, you made everything involving bioware and the word "control" much more entertaining

 

[Mike the Bard]

I can accept that they gave Bioware complete creative control over their games, it is never wise to mess with your golden goose when there is no need too. But that doesn't mean they were given the proper time to make a golden egg for EA. Doesn't matter how much creative control you have: if your not given the time to exercise your control, then you end up with a crappy game anyway.

 

[grey_space]

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?

All good points and sure you are more than entitled to think that way if you like. I decide not to however.

Both he and his partner decide to finish at the same time for random reasons. Sure. Maybe EA didn't exercise complete control creatively like this guy said but they did create the deadlines. And So after leaving the industry the guy decides to destroy his legacy by admitting that basically every bad decision his company made recently came from...him?his partner? Fairies? Or possibly the corporate monolith whose policies Bioware seemingly started following shortly after being taken over by said corporate monolith.

Like I said, it just seems a bit bullshitty to me. But fair enough it could be just an innocent few positive comments an amateur brewer might say about his ex bosses just after they had been voted most evil company or...whatever.

Call me a cynic

 

[Something Amyss]

Which they say as if it is a good thing.

Well, the developer autonomy is a good thing. The end results in this case are not.

 

[hazydawn]

The reason Mass Effect 3 had such a shitty ending is because the script got leaked three or four months before it was released and they rushed to change the ending. While the move to change the ending was kind of stupid since the release date was so near its sort of understandable.

I also heard that, but believe it was a theory of why they might have decided against the other ending. Forgot where I heard about it.
Did Bioware themselves gave such a statement? Because I doubt that.
Please give me a source.

But even if that was the reason, Bioware might have completed the new ending without rushing the game if not for EA and it's commercial greed.
Or maybe not, we'll never know for certain. It's just that some sort of pattern seems to appear everywhere EA is involved.

 

[Mausthemighty]

Okay this statement doesn't really change a thing. DA2 and ME3 are still disappointing games and I have no more faith in Bioware, and will not buy from them anymore.

I don't believe EA is purposely this evil, but it's obvious they don't have a good track record with the companies they take over and don't have a clue what they are doing wrong.