Poll: Could Bioware actually pull off a good Warhammer 40k game?

[zombiejoe]

http://www.beastsofwar.com/warhammer-40k/bioware-saved-warhammer-40000-space-marine/

Personally, I'm not sure if I believe this rumor, but if Bioware actually did have the Space Marine game, do you think they could pull it off? Could they pull off the atmosphere, work with the lore, avoid pissing off the fans, and of course, make it fun?

 

[mad825]

Well, personally I think warhammer is stupid. That said, you cannot make Satirical Parody into good drama. So no, you cannot appease to both fans.

 

[Muspelheim]

Mixing some humour into a Warhammer 40.000 game shouldn't be too difficult. One way would be to simply pop the player character in as a straight-man to all the Warhammer tomfoolery.

Here's an idea. There must be many worlds rather isolated from the Imperium. The weirdo priest people from Terra haven't called for centuries, and all the nasties are far away enough for the place to cultivate a modicum of functionality and pleasantness. The Sensible System, with planets that are actually decent to live on.
The PC could be a member of a noble family in the System Sensibelus, and given the usual officer title the family has bestowed their children of age for years.

Meanwhile, in an office complex that looks like a morbidly obese Notre Dame with syphillis, a miserable clerk in a robe discovers that the Sensible System exist one day while he's dusting the titanic archives and sorting the skull heap. He notify his superiors and eventually, the Imperium arrives to cash in, and Mr. or Ms. PC from the Sensible System is forced to live up to the officer rank and is sent off to the more ridiculous segments of the galaxy to take command and do ridiculous war on preposterous enemies.

Another idea would be to go a similar route as Brazil the film. You are a robed clerk in a stupidly huge administration complex, tasked with openly pointless busywork, handling files about wars no one remembers and planets dead for centuries. That and lighting candles and wheelbarrowing skulls from place to place.
Then, weird things start to happen. You meet a certain someone who gives a bit of colour to your dystopian life. At which point you are declared a heretic, and need to escape through the Gothic-Ridiculous hive city, on a journey that will take you beyond the furthest stars.

-"Why do the Space Marines over there wear those weird parchment loincloths for? Is there some sort of... Exhaust hatch there that they are modest about?"

-"I do not know... But I know that you can tell the important ones apart from the scrubs, though. They're the ones without helmets."

-"Why? I mean, it's like a big, pale potato on top of a coffeeaneus machinare. Who'd miss that?"

-"Well, everyone, it seems. And they hit the marines that do wear helmets instead. Come to think of it, that armour is useless. They just get shot and fall over anyway, don't they?"

-"Maybe they ran out of all the real armour over the years and made them out of cardious bordae instead..."

 

[Windcaler]

I doubt the legitimacy of the claim since, last I heard, Relic have near exclusive possession of the 40k lisence (and have made some great 40k games already) but stranger things have happened.

Anyway, Bioware and Space Marine? No, I dont think that would be a good fit just because of how the space marines operate. However if this was a game based around the imperial guard or inquisition then were talking something they could pull off. However for their style I kind of feel like making an Eldar game would be more up their alley.

That aside with having Space Marine and 3 campaigns in Dawn of war 2 being marine focused I feel its time to get away from the Imperium of man. By now we know what theyre all about and we've had some good stories with them and the Blood ravens/ultramarines. Its time to move on to something different and interesting

Im still waiting for a Warhammer 40k game focused around orks because orks are hilarious and awesome. The sad thing is with both dawn of war and space marine I felt like orks were an afterthought or just there to be an antagonist not a race in and of themselves

 

[IBlackKiteI]

Heh, no.

40k is at it's core brutal and unrelenting war on a ridiculous scale. Yeah, in DA:O and ME3 there is this sort of thing going on, in the background, but in 40k it's always at the forefront, it's taken above 11 and there's very little room for anything else. No romance or anything resembling romanticism, no space opera, no great questing around the land/galaxy, no single universe shaping individual, no neatly solving every problem you come across without blowing it's head off, Bio's typical character archetypes would not fit without heavy alteration.
None of Bioware's tried and true elements will even remotely fit into this setting.

And from the gameplay side of things Bioware has never done fast-paced combat particularly well, which is absolutely essential for anything that aims to do 40k justice.

 

[MrPeanut]

I hold zero faith these assmasters can pull of a good game of any kind anymore.

 

[Ironside]

I would have thought that Sega would have got their hands on most of the 40k rights when they brought Relic, but if Bioware did manage to acquire Space Marine I have absolutely no faith that they would be able to make a good game out of it.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

To be quite frank I don't think Bioware could pull off a good game, yet alone a Warhammer 40k one.

 

[Reaper195]

Probably, considering Bioware have never released a bad game (Personal preferences on endings and DA aside). But WH40K seems too...not Bioware-ey.

 

[romanator0]

I doubt the legitimacy of the claim since, last I heard, Relic have near exclusive possession of the 40k lisence (and have made some great 40k games already) but stranger things have happened.

Actually it seems that Games Workshop seems to be giving out the 40k license to quite a few developers now.

The new Space Hulk is being made by Full Control.
http://www.spacehulk-game.com/

Slitherine is making Warhammer 40k Armageddon although it doesn't have a site yet.

And Behaviour Interactive is making the new MMO Eternal Crusade.
http://www.eternalcrusade.com/#

On Topic: I honestly find Bioware to be a rather mediocre developer and judging by how they like they're stories to be I think a 40k game made by them would be pretty bad.

 

[infinity_turtles]

I'm a bit doubtful they could have even in their prime. The Mother Theresa/Kitten Devouring moral dilemma doesn't really work very well with Warhammer. As they are now I can't even imagine a game they could make that GW would sign off on.

 

[craftomega]

Bioware is dead, they have been dead since EA bought them.

They will no longer make any good games.

Now ask me if obsidian or inXile entertainment could make a decent WH40k game and I will give you a real answer.

 

[Xukog]

I voted what's a Warhammer 40k, because I know next to nothing about it and so I can't really say either way.

 

[Kingjackl]

I doubt it. Bioware specialise in character writing and a game about Warhammer 40k would be kind of wasted on them. They'd be better off doing a game based on, say...Red Dwarf.

 

[The Forces of Chaos]

Bioware is dead, they have been dead since EA bought them.

They will no longer make any good games.

Now ask me if obsidian or inXile entertainment could make a decent WH40k game and I will give you a real answer.

I would like to know your thoughts on if obsidian or inXile entertainment running the franchise if you don't mind.
I think I'm going to miss the old dawn of war series, if its not continued. I thought Sega was making a Warhammer fantasy game like shadow of the horned rat.

As for Bioware making a 40k game, they could get away with Inquisition or Rogue Trader RPG but they would have to remain within the IP (no ridiculous Xeno loving, No co-out 3 coloured retarded endings, No tolerance for the mutant, the traitor, the heretic). Although I think the Radical Vs Puritan view would be more interesting then paragon or renegade.

Both would be killing people but the focus would not just be on morality but the method used. Do you use a forbidden daemon host to wipe out a chaos cult or Adeptus Arbites unit raid (FBI). One might clear out the cult completely but leave other problems and repercussions.

Acolytes would be cool to have as well. Who would you recruit to be your chosen band of operatives . Hell multiplayer could involve rival inquisitors counter operations. I guess we will wait and see what happens.

 

[Sangnz]

Could bioware do it, no probably not, these days I don't think they have the writing chops to pull it off let alone the ability do do a good combat system.

In regards to people claiming biowares typical formual wouldn't fit, I kinda disagree.
Could easily base the game around say an inquisitor and his retinue, love interest 100% plausible (read the Eisenhorn Trilogy) good/bad morality transplanted into puritanical/radical mindset of inquisition class, story based around your mission to track down heretics/psykers/aliens leads you into a plot to destroy an entire sector mix in a bit of the political machinations between the Ordos and you're done.

 

[spartandude]

To be completely honest im not confident Bioware can pull off a good game right now.

also in terms of Warhammer 40k definitely not. Bioware simple doesn't have the writing style for it. Warhammer 40k really requires a very very dark tone with very questionable morals and bioware simply doesn't do that very well. DA:O was pretty good but it wasn't very dark even if they claimed it so

Heh, no.

40k is at it's core brutal and unrelenting war on a ridiculous scale. Yeah, in DA:O and ME3 there is this sort of thing going on, in the background, but in 40k it's always at the forefront, it's taken above 11 and there's very little room for anything else. No romance or anything resembling romanticism, no space opera, no great questing around the land/galaxy, no single universe shaping individual, no neatly solving every problem you come across without blowing it's head off, Bio's typical character archetypes would not fit without heavy alteration.
None of Bioware's tried and true elements will even remotely fit into this setting.

And from the gameplay side of things Bioware has never done fast-paced combat particularly well, which is absolutely essential for anything that aims to do 40k justice.

you dont need to have a Warhammer 40k story based purely on large scale war at all. The Eisenhorn trilogy is ofter claimed to be the best in the black library and there really isnt any large scale battles, the only 2 in it are also focused very much on a couple of characters who dont get into the thick of the fighting so i do disagree with you here.
as such i would like to see someone like Obsidian or CD Projekt Red do something like that.

I would however like to see a Space Marine 2 which does focus on large battles, i think for that what they really would need to do is essentially (and if i may quote Cliffy B) make it bigger, better and more badass. and also fix the god damn net working (does anyone still play SpaceMarine?)

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

To be completely honest im not confident Bioware can pull off a good game right now.

also in terms of Warhammer 40k definitely not. Bioware simple doesn't have the writing style for it. Warhammer 40k really requires a very very dark tone with very questionable morals and bioware simply doesn't do that very well. DA:O was pretty good but it wasn't very dark even if they claimed it so

DA:O was sunshine and lollipops compared to the "best" day in the 40k universe.

No, Bioware doesn't have what it takes to do a 40k game.