Jason Schreier of Kotaku discusses Anthem's development in new article, revealing workplace issues

[Burnouts3s3]

http://archive.is/h5wze

It's a story of a video game that was in development for nearly seven years but didn't enter production until the final 18 months, thanks to big narrative reboots, major design overhauls, and a leadership team said to be unable to provide a consistent vision and unwilling to listen to feedback.

Perhaps most alarming, it's a story about a studio in crisis. Dozens of developers, many of them decade-long veterans, have left BioWare over the past two years. Some who have worked at BioWare's longest-running office in Edmonton talk about depression and anxiety. Many say they or their co-workers had to take 'stress leave' 'a doctor-mandated period of weeks or even months worth of vacation for their mental health. One former BioWare developer told me they would frequently find a private room in the office, shut the door, and just cry. "People were so angry and sad all the time," they said. Said another: "Depression and anxiety are an epidemic within Bioware."

"I actually cannot count the amount of 'stress casualties' we had on Mass Effect: Andromeda or Anthem," said a third former BioWare developer in an email. "A 'stress casualty' at BioWare means someone had such a mental breakdown from the stress they're just gone for one to three months. Some come back, some don?t.?

Some current and former BioWare employees feel a lot of resentment toward this group, and in interviews, many who worked on Anthem accused the leadership team of indecision and mismanagement. "The root cause of all this was that lack of vision," said one former BioWare developer. "What are we making? Please tell us. The recurring theme was there was no vision, there was no clarity, there was no single director saying, "This is how it all works together."

"They never seemed to settle on anything," added that person. "They were always looking for something more, something new." Said another: "I think most people on the team felt like we didn't know exactly what the game was or what it was supposed to be because it kept changing so much."

The most common anecdote relayed to me by current and former BioWare employees was this: A group of developers are in a meeting. They're debating some creative decision, like the mechanics of flying or the lore behind the Scar alien race. Some people disagree on the fundamentals. And then, rather than someone stepping up and making a decision about how to proceed, the meeting would end with no real verdict, leaving everything in flux. "That would just happen over and over," said one Anthem developer. "Stuff would take a year or two to figure out because no one really wanted to make a call on it."

[tweet t="https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1113097162597036033"]

[tweet t="https://twitter.com/bioware/status/1113097993685696517"]

http://archive.is/06V9j

As a studio and a team, we accept all criticisms that will come our way for the games we make, especially from our players. The creative process is often difficult. The struggles and challenges of making video games are very real. But the reward of putting something we created into the hands of our players is amazing. People in this industry put so much passion and energy into making something fun. We don?t see the value in tearing down one another, or one another's work. We don?t believe articles that do that are making our industry and craft better.

[tweet t="https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1113101944887934976"]

I will put my biases upfront: I have often thought Bioware's inclusivity and focus on diversity were positive forces in the AAA gaming industry and I have liked previous Bioware titles in the past such as Star Wars: The Old Republic, Dragon Age 2 and Dragon Age: Inquisition.

But, if the article's accusations are true and the company has become a hostile work environment due to poor leadership, I can't feel content with supporting them.

I payed for a month's membership of Origin Access Premiere to play Anthem. I have not played it since completing the game's story mode.

 

[CaitSeith]

For those whose firewall blocks archive: https://kotaku.com/how-biowares-anthem-went-wrong-1833731964

And EA played a big role in making the things much worse. Not only they force Bioware to make everything in the Frostbite engine (which isn't suited for developing this kind of games), but they also denied to Bioware the aid from Frostbite experts (the latter were too busy with FIFA).

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

And EA played a big role in making the things much worse. Not only they force Bioware to make everything in the Frostbite engine (which isn't suited for developing this kind of games), but they also denied to Bioware the aid from Frostbite experts (the latter were too busy with FIFA).

For sure. The idea that all studios should use the same engine sounds good on paper and is a sound theory, but EA's actual execution of the idea has been really lacking. The problem is not so much with the idea as it is with the decision to go with a powerful but limited engine that was originally developed for a really specific set of tasks (to power the Battlefield series of games) and had no allowances for any other type of game and with almost no documentation. To then try to make that engine do everything else (RPGs, sports games, driving games, strategy games etc.) without a major re-work of the back end was bound to cause problems.

On the other hand, while EA certainly deserves some of the blame for Anthem's troubles, we should definitely not let Bioware off the hook here. By the time Anthem's production really got going Bioware had released two games on Frostbite (DA:I, ME:A) and many of the developers on Anthem thus had experience with Frostbite, not to mention a bunch of working solutions when it came to stuff like inventory, group based online play etc.. It was on Bioware to not use any of the code from DA:I and ME:A, just as it was on Bioware that the management seems to have failed at making a cohesive design document and presenting a singular vision for what Anthem was supposed to be. Even if Bioware had gotten another game engine or had gotten tons of support for Frostbite, they would still have been in a position where management was wasting time, money and effort because they didn't know what game they were trying to make.

As Schreier notes in his article, these were the same problems that Bioware faced during development of DA:I and ME:A so the problem seems structural to Bioware. Frostbite certainly exacerbated the problems, but Bioware's poor management is the core problem. A management so poor that it took five years (!) for Anthem to get out of pre-production, out of a seven year development process.

 

[votemarvel]

I wonder if the higher ups at Bioware and EA believe that sacrificing the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises was worth what Anthem released as.

 

[Kerg3927]

It really is an amazing fall. In 2012, they were on top of the world. The absolute masters of Western RPG's, churning out one successful and beloved compact, story-driven RPG after another. But then they decided to go in an entirely new direction with their games. Massive open world sandboxes. And uh, a looter shooter?

Meanwhile, I just went back and started yet another playthrough of the Mass Effect trilogy. Pure greatness.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

I will put my biases upfront: I have often thought Bioware's inclusivity and focus on diversity were positive forces in the AAA gaming industry

I didn't, because it always felt disingenuous to me. That inclusivity always amounted to having gay romances, which would have been neat if it didn't come from a team of writers that wasn't even very good at writing straight romances, and having that weird thing a lot of developers have where they feel like they have to make most of their characters look ugly so that they look more like real people. Which is a lovely notion but there is a reason everyone in Hollywood has botox dripping from their every pore: We don't enjoy looking at people who look like we could meet them on the street. Would be nice and all, but we expect to have pretty people in our entertainment. Which is pure conditioning, of course, but they aren't gonna get that out of us, no matter their best intentions.

Anyway, there was a very, very low chance Anthem was ever gonna be a very good game. BioWare has never made this kind of game before and, sure, maybe that's secretly where their talents were all along, because it sure as hell isn't RPGs anymore, but I wouldn't exactly have counted on it. Of course hearing that the working conditions at BioWare are so bad is very unfortunate, you get these horror stories from the gaming industry once in a while and it never seems to get better. There needs to be a push for workers rights in the industry. Hell, there needs to be a push for workers rights in general, really.

 

[Kerg3927]

... having that weird thing a lot of developers have where they feel like they have to make most of their characters look ugly so that they look more like real people.

They only uglied the female characters, I guess because they were worried that men might find them sexually attractive (the horror). But they kept their male characters looking like fashion models.

 

[CaitSeith]

snp

Those allegations have been debunked. Move on.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

The thing that struck me the most is the E3 2017 demo/trailer was the first time many of the devs and programmers actually knew what type of game they were working on.

 

[Silvanus]

I didn't, because it always felt disingenuous to me. That inclusivity always amounted to having gay romances, which would have been neat if it didn't come from a team of writers that wasn't even very good at writing straight romances, and having that weird thing a lot of developers have where they feel like they have to make most of their characters look ugly so that they look more like real people.

That's not a problem with inclusivity or diversity, then; it's a problem with poorly-written romance.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

I didn't, because it always felt disingenuous to me. That inclusivity always amounted to having gay romances, which would have been neat if it didn't come from a team of writers that wasn't even very good at writing straight romances, and having that weird thing a lot of developers have where they feel like they have to make most of their characters look ugly so that they look more like real people.

That's not a problem with inclusivity or diversity, then; it's a problem with poorly-written romance.

Well, yes. Because diversity and inclusivity are, for all intents and purposes, very good. Which is why I take issue with it being bogged down by poor writing.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

I didn't, because it always felt disingenuous to me. That inclusivity always amounted to having gay romances, which would have been neat if it didn't come from a team of writers that wasn't even very good at writing straight romances, and having that weird thing a lot of developers have where they feel like they have to make most of their characters look ugly so that they look more like real people.

That's not a problem with inclusivity or diversity, then; it's a problem with poorly-written romance.

Well, yes. Because diversity and inclusivity are, for all intents and purposes, very good. Which is why I take issue with it being bogged down by poor writing.

Sadly the lack of any other alternative options have essentially made bioware *the* lgbt developer

Which says more about the game industry as a whole than biowares own writing

Maybe if gamergate didn't scare everyone off we'd have some better examples

Swery65 is a bit of a goofball but The Missing J.J. Macfield was a genuinely sweet and creative indie game featuring an LBGTQ protagonist. Life is Strange also had a relatively decent portrayal of a friendship turned lesbian romance, as hokey as some of the writing might have been.

There are some other, minor example. It's never explored much but Arcade Gannon from Fallout New Vegas is a really damn good gay character. I'm a bit of an Ubisoft apologist in general but I did enjoy that Watch Dogs 2 simply had a MtF transgender politician as a minor supporting character or that AssCreed Odyssey let you romance characters of the same gender.

Otherwise there's no denying representation could be a lot better. If course, romance in video games is something that's rarely ever done well in general. Which is a shame. I enjoy a good romance. I dislike how sexless a lot of popular entertainment is.

 

[Kerg3927]

snp

Those allegations have been debunked. Move on.

I googled around a bit and couldn't find anything. Do you have a link? Thanks.

 

[Avnger]

snp

Those allegations have been debunked. Move on.

I googled around a bit and couldn't find anything. Do you have a link? Thanks.

Looking outside of 4chan and KiA might help you with that[footnote]Though you'd miss finding out about the daily oppression of straight male GAMERS then...[/footnote]

Comparison shots: https://imgur.com/gYNJXBn
Model pic: http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000zKyVEzYwqIU/s/650/650/XC-CM-LosAngelesPremiereOf-24Hours-020.jpg
Character pics: https://imgur.com/a/qy3cV

This took <5 min of googling.

 

[Kerg3927]

I googled around a bit and couldn't find anything. Do you have a link? Thanks.

Looking outside of 4chan and KiA might help you with that

Comparison shots: https://imgur.com/gYNJXBn
Model pic: http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000zKyVEzYwqIU/s/650/650/XC-CM-LosAngelesPremiereOf-24Hours-020.jpg
Character pics: https://imgur.com/a/qy3cV

This took <5 min of googling.

You know Google keeps track of your search history and the results vary based upon that, right? They prioritize the results that their algorithm says you probably want to see. And there are a lot of links, so your results and mine could be quite different. And I only spent a couple of minutes, scrolling through a couple of pages. Also, I think I've been to 4chan like once. KiA a few times. Definitely not sites that I hang out on.

Anyway, didn't they do a big patch like a couple of months after launch that made some of the faces look better? Because I remember her being significantly uglier at launch, with bulgier eyes and fish lips. And all of the pics you posted have the same flat, mouth closed expression. Maybe it's when she shows emotion and opens her mouth that she goes all frog-faced.

Of course, I'm sure there's bias on both sides. Those trying to make her look ugly show the ugliest shots possible of her, and those you linked are probably showing her at her absolute best. Oh well, yay polarization and echo chambers. :-/

 

[Gizen]

Anyway, didn't they do a big patch like a couple of months after launch that made some of the faces look better? Because I remember her being significantly uglier at launch, with bulgier eyes and fish lips. And all of the pics you posted have the same flat, mouth closed expression. Maybe it's when she shows emotion and opens her mouth that she goes all frog-faced.

The thing is that that has nothing to do with them 'intentionally' making her ugly, as evidence by the fact that they made the attempt to fix it, and everything to do with them being unable to get the engine to work right because Frostbite is a dumpsterfire to work with for anything that isn't Battlefield. It's not an engine meant for lots of close up face shots and long periods of dialogue and talking.

 

[Bilious Green_v1legacy]

I think that anyone who has been following Bioware over the last few years is not really that surprised. It was pretty clear when Anthem launched that it was not the result of seven years work, so it was safe to assume that it had undergone at least one or two internal reboots. Lo and behold, it was even more incompetent than that; they sat around jerking off for five and a half years, and then threw the game together in 18 months. This is pure leadership incompetence and heads should roll as a result.

 

[Hawki]

Reading this, I get the feeling that BioWare would really benefit from working on smaller scale projects right now - doesn't exclude AAA ones, but reading this, it seems that trying to craft multiple AAA games at the same time isn't working.

That said, I think a lot of studios would benefit from that, to do small side projects rather than repeatedly going all-in. Heck, even Ubisoft seems to get this.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

That is a seriously lengthy read. This will be the first BW game since Baldur's Gate I won't play. I have no interest in games-as-a-service, EA monetisation and lootbox nonsense. Even if I did, by all accounts Anthem is terrible by every measure.

On the topic of the article, it is crazy to think how BW turned out this way. Since the EA buyout, the old studio was gone. Mass Effect went from an RPG to a shooter between 1 and 2, and by 3 was a multiplayer shooter and had Day 1 DLC. Inquisition was terrible, despite that article branding it a success and Andromeda....well the less said about that the better. BioWare hasn't been BioWare for a decade now, just the Canadian branch of EA.

It does contrast starkly compared to Cyberpunk 2077. That game at last year's E3 was described as being "playable from start to finish" as at the time of the show. Further, it's release date is quite famously "When it's ready (TM)". The CP2077 show gave us 40mins of actual gameplay. The Anthem 2017 trailer was a fiction. Contrast with Anthem where the game wasn't even locked down in the last few months, was forced to ship before the end of the fiscal year and released....well, in its "unfinished" state to put it politely, it's very telling what kind of corporate culture these games exist under. One is a labour of love, made for gamers and held to the highest standard. The other is made for EA executives, without coherence or even attention, let alone love.

BioWare have been on a downward trajectory sadly since Inquisition and this feels like an almost inevitable conclusion. The focus on grindy open-world gameplay, social justice, bugs, awful/forgettable writing (formerly their greatest strength), characters we don't care about (their other former strength)...it's added up over time. From the magnificence of Baldur's Gate II to KotOR, JE, DA:O and ME to now is heartbreaking. I was the biggest BW fanboy bar none, almost living in their forums in the earlier Naughties.

Nintendo's famous Seal of Quality is widely recognised for meaning a quality game. They only put it on games that are highly polished, of high standard and fun to play. BioWare's name used to have that same magic. Up until ME2, the BioWare magic described in the article was clearly evident. But since then, the magic is gone.