Poll: Will bioware be able to pull this year off?
- Thread starter Saviordd1
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True. On the other hand, DA2 might have shown EA that it needed to back off slightly. Well, hopefully it did, anyway. I agree that Bioware is spreading itself thin, and I think that they should perhaps focus on only one or two projects at a time, in the interests of producing a serious, quality game.bussinrounds said:
I was concerned when i learned they were working on 3 games at once. now I have no idea how large BioWare is but ive heard it's large so they should be able to handle it. I'm happy to have Dragon Age 2 released as now they can focus on The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3. now that i think about it they pretty much hit awesomeness with ME2 so they need to smooth out a few things (melee combat for one) and they pretty much redesigning Old REpublic stuff so it's hard to tell what will happen.
That's some interesting wording there. You're right ofcourse. Big dev companies can't make "okay" games anymore. They either re-invent the world and start a golden of age of Blah, Blah, Blah (as with ME2)........or they are mercilessly criticized to within an inch of their lives (as with DA2).Saviordd1 said:
If it were made by anyone else, No-one would give a rat's ass about how Bland DA2 looks....... but since it's Bioware.......
Also, Isn't TOR going to go online next year? I heard they delayed it, I think? Or is it still scheduled for this year?
Bioware's a great adventure/RPG-game company, but I don't think that the strengths that make good adventure games are what a good MMO design needs.
Bioware's reputation and adventure design will surely sell licenses initially, but MMOs make their money from subscriptions -- and players gobble adventure content faster than MMO developers can create it. So in the longer term, a MMO lives or dies by its game economy.
Has Bioware built a good adventure game -and- a good game economy though? Possibly, but it hasn't said much about game economy -- instead it's been promoting just the bits you'd expect an adventure/RPG company to be obsessed by: voice acting, adventure scripts and character progression. That rings warning bells for me.
The other thing is that Bioware has to change its business to support a MMO. Sure, it needs servers, a lot more helpdesk and administration -- and if the game tanks, then those costs will come out of development money for other games -- but more than that, a MMO connects people to people in much the same way that a social networking site does. Is Bioware ready to think of itself that way, or does it still think of itself as an adventure games shop?
The business-cynic in me suspects that in SW:ToR Bioware is trying to create a captive market for its adventure content -- people who'll prepay for its development through subscription. But if it's planning on that, then I think it's using the wrong model. In an MMO your subscription pays for you to be part of a society and an economy. In adventure games, you pay one-off fees for DLC.
Bioware's reputation and adventure design will surely sell licenses initially, but MMOs make their money from subscriptions -- and players gobble adventure content faster than MMO developers can create it. So in the longer term, a MMO lives or dies by its game economy.
Has Bioware built a good adventure game -and- a good game economy though? Possibly, but it hasn't said much about game economy -- instead it's been promoting just the bits you'd expect an adventure/RPG company to be obsessed by: voice acting, adventure scripts and character progression. That rings warning bells for me.
The other thing is that Bioware has to change its business to support a MMO. Sure, it needs servers, a lot more helpdesk and administration -- and if the game tanks, then those costs will come out of development money for other games -- but more than that, a MMO connects people to people in much the same way that a social networking site does. Is Bioware ready to think of itself that way, or does it still think of itself as an adventure games shop?
The business-cynic in me suspects that in SW:ToR Bioware is trying to create a captive market for its adventure content -- people who'll prepay for its development through subscription. But if it's planning on that, then I think it's using the wrong model. In an MMO your subscription pays for you to be part of a society and an economy. In adventure games, you pay one-off fees for DLC.
No reason I can see why not.
Only possible concern about ME3 is that its coming out at around the same time as Skyrim; those with money supplies as dry as mine who are TES fans may go for that first (if I had the money for only one, I would definitely go for Skyrim; far more play time and more fun overall, but I intend to save for both); still, I'll be surprised if it doesn't sell outsell the previous games.
As for TOR, I find it amusing people are being so scathing of it; graphically it looks a darn sight better than WoW's 'plastic' graphics in my opinion and the animations aren't that bad, considering I've seen few games that can do better. In the end, we'll just have to wait and see; I doubt I'll be getting it though, considering I have something of an allergy to subscriptions.
DA2 - didn't buy it, doubt I ever will; didn't like the first one and the second doesn't seem to have anything to offer.
Also, why are people so scared Bioware will fail because of how DA2 came out? You do realise they have different teams making the Mass Effect series, TOR and Dragon Age? One team starts sinking, they can tie it off and keep floating with ease.
Only possible concern about ME3 is that its coming out at around the same time as Skyrim; those with money supplies as dry as mine who are TES fans may go for that first (if I had the money for only one, I would definitely go for Skyrim; far more play time and more fun overall, but I intend to save for both); still, I'll be surprised if it doesn't sell outsell the previous games.
As for TOR, I find it amusing people are being so scathing of it; graphically it looks a darn sight better than WoW's 'plastic' graphics in my opinion and the animations aren't that bad, considering I've seen few games that can do better. In the end, we'll just have to wait and see; I doubt I'll be getting it though, considering I have something of an allergy to subscriptions.
DA2 - didn't buy it, doubt I ever will; didn't like the first one and the second doesn't seem to have anything to offer.
Also, why are people so scared Bioware will fail because of how DA2 came out? You do realise they have different teams making the Mass Effect series, TOR and Dragon Age? One team starts sinking, they can tie it off and keep floating with ease.
I think Mass Effect 3 will be the best game ever made. That's my prediction. Mass Effect 2 had so many plot holes it was completely stupid, but I think they have gone out the other side and those plot holes won't seem as obvious this time around.
The Old Republic? Don't know, don't care. MMO's suck.
The Old Republic? Don't know, don't care. MMO's suck.
plot holes?....I didnt see any plot holes (the plot wasnt exactly complex enough to allow plot holes, it was more doing each crew members quest, and no I dont think thats a bad thing) I made up a general rule in that if you notice it the first time and it annyos you...then yeah its a plot hole...but looking back...it doesnt really matterKortney said:
ME2 did very well regardless of those who didnt like it...Appleshampoo said:
what Im wondering is will Bioware go down the same route as blizard? as in put all their energy into the MMO (if its sucessful) I guess though they are different teams....but still
You have to remember that to Bioware customers "average" is the same as "unmitigated failure", it's impossible to predict how well the games will do considering the expectations of their fanbase.
Be fair, Blizzard made an absolutely phenominal RTS not too long ago and are working on two expansions for it. Bioware will probably do the same, have a department working on each game. Which is the most highly funded department depends on how well the games do.Vault101 said:
Bioware has been demonstrating a downward trend in quality.
[ul][li]Dragon Age 2 was a disaster.[/li]
[li]Mass Effect 2 wasn't as good - less content and more polish. A tumor's worth of cancerous polish.[/li]
[li]Mass Effect was an unrepentant orgy of cliches, but the polish was enough to distract you.[/li]
[li]Knights of the Old Republic was everything they've done before... but in Star Wars.[/li][/ul]
The games were fun and I'm glad I played them, but the further back you look, Bioware games just aren't as good now. The graphics and sound has improved, but the writers are still pushing the same flat characters and the same cliched stories. Fucking hell.
And now we know that The Old Republic isn't even going to have the polish of Mass Effect - they've intentionally made it look like a cartoon. And the gameplay is nothing new or inspired. They're going to try and create "fun" the same way WAR did. Has Bioware ever done anything innovative with gameplay? Ever?
Mass Effect 3 is going to be more of the same - Gears of War with more colors.
Bioware's in a downward trend. The company peaked but now I'm waiting for them to be replaced.
[ul][li]Dragon Age 2 was a disaster.[/li]
[li]Mass Effect 2 wasn't as good - less content and more polish. A tumor's worth of cancerous polish.[/li]
[li]Mass Effect was an unrepentant orgy of cliches, but the polish was enough to distract you.[/li]
[li]Knights of the Old Republic was everything they've done before... but in Star Wars.[/li][/ul]
The games were fun and I'm glad I played them, but the further back you look, Bioware games just aren't as good now. The graphics and sound has improved, but the writers are still pushing the same flat characters and the same cliched stories. Fucking hell.
And now we know that The Old Republic isn't even going to have the polish of Mass Effect - they've intentionally made it look like a cartoon. And the gameplay is nothing new or inspired. They're going to try and create "fun" the same way WAR did. Has Bioware ever done anything innovative with gameplay? Ever?
Mass Effect 3 is going to be more of the same - Gears of War with more colors.
Bioware's in a downward trend. The company peaked but now I'm waiting for them to be replaced.
I think TOR will be what Aion was, Rift will be, and every other "WoW-killer" has been to date. They will enjoy a moderate opening from people disillusioned from WoW who will, shortly after starting realize that its another MMO with the standard "Collect X of Y" quests and optimum builds that they will likely be able to make based off assumptions from WoW because, let's face it, every MMO has tried to be a slightly modified WoW. They might do some things better, like Rift's AoE looting or almost any other MMO PvP, but WoW has become too big and has far too much invested to let someone take their market share until they are ready to stop releasing WoW expansions and put out "Titan". People think WoW is ending, but I can see at least 2 more expansions worth of story material, and while I may be on hiatus, I will definitely flock back for at least a few months each time.
ME3 will be like ME2, so a huge payday
And that MMO will be around for a year before everyone notices even the Star Wars name can't improve upon the MMO taste, and then it will die out.
And that MMO will be around for a year before everyone notices even the Star Wars name can't improve upon the MMO taste, and then it will die out.
Except WoW has 12 million (roughly) people who actively play? If any game sells that many copies, it clearly has a fairly broad market place.Mr.K. said:
EDIT: A kitten may kill itself, but how many many games have been called WoW-killers over the years, meanwhile WoW hit a new record for subscriptions as Cataclysm released this last December.
Truthfully? I think they can pull off both projects. I don't care about TOR but I really wanna see it succeed where it must, seeing as a lot of work is being put into it.
ME3 on the other hand is something I don't wanna get my hopes up for. Anybody remember Yahtzee's fanboy diagram? If it sucks, ME2 is still in my top 10 favorite games and I will never stop playing it.
ME3 on the other hand is something I don't wanna get my hopes up for. Anybody remember Yahtzee's fanboy diagram? If it sucks, ME2 is still in my top 10 favorite games and I will never stop playing it.
Oh, I'm not saying it will out right fail, I'm just saying it won't come anywhere close to what some people seem to think. That said, I don't give it a terribly long lifespan since, if I recall correctly, EA has explicitly stated that there will be no expansions for the game.AnythingOutstanding said:
There was an article I saw months back, but I can't find it either and I can't even remember where I came across it so who knows. I hope it does well though, I like competition with good ideas since it can only make WoW, and by extension "Titan" better.AnythingOutstanding said:
EDIT: Titan won't kill WoW until Blizzard is good and ready for WoW to be done, which will likely be in 5 1/2 years. Titan won't be released for another year or 2 either since it's only in development stage now and Blizzard isn't known for speedy release.
I don't think TOR is going to suck, but I don't know if not sucking is enough for a game to survive in the MMO market. I hope it does, because there's a slim chance that BioWare will finally be able to sit back and make a game they want to make without rushing too much.
As for Mass Effect 3, I trust them not to f*ck up. Mass Effect is their signature IP, after all. And a damn good one so far.
It was like my experience with tabletop RPGs. My character was young, bold and desperate for money, he did increasingly complicated jobs, got recognised, got involved with the high-ups, etc. I loved that feel in DA2.
I do think, however, that the final two antagonists were pretty weak (dramatically) compared to the Arishok, whom I had time to understand and respect and hate.
Er, sorry for going off topic.
As for Mass Effect 3, I trust them not to f*ck up. Mass Effect is their signature IP, after all. And a damn good one so far.
Nope, not the only one. People seem to want Tolkienesque epic all over again, while DA2 was more in the vein of the Conan or Witcher short stories, for lack of a better comparison.WouldYouKindly said:
It was like my experience with tabletop RPGs. My character was young, bold and desperate for money, he did increasingly complicated jobs, got recognised, got involved with the high-ups, etc. I loved that feel in DA2.
I do think, however, that the final two antagonists were pretty weak (dramatically) compared to the Arishok, whom I had time to understand and respect and hate.
Er, sorry for going off topic.