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BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk retire, to exit the game industry
BioWare co-founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka collectively announced their retirement today from the studio they founded nearly 20 years ago, as well as from their positions at parent company Electronic Arts. Each is leaving the game industry altogether, with Muzyka heading into philanthropy, and Zeschuk into the world of craft brewing. Muzyka reflected on his years in game development and management in a blog post. "It's not often that you can truly say you were able to pursue and achieve your dream job; I know how lucky I am to be able to say that now, in my early 40s," he said. Zeschuk was similarly reflective. "Building BioWare over the years with Ray and the many other people involved was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I'll cherish it always," he wrote. The two former doctors founded Bioware in 1995, and developed iconic titles like Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and most recently, Star Wars: The Old Republic (an MMO). BioWare was purchased by Electronic Arts in 2007, and its name has since spread to a variety of EA's other studios.
BioWare founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk announce retirement
The doctors... are out. BioWare announced that Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk, co-founders of the studio, are retiring from the gaming biz. The two have been instrumental in the creation of many hit RPGs, from Baldur's Gate to Mass Effect. For us MMO fans, they're best-known for helming the ship that brought us Star Wars: The Old Republic. The two are taking a break, perhaps indefinitely, from game creation and management. Muzyka is looking to engage in charities and social work, while Zeschuk is going to dive into projects involving craft beer. "This has been an incredibly difficult decision to make; after thinking about it for many months, I made the decision to retire from videogames back in early April 2012 -- at that time I provided six months' notice to EA, to help enable a solid transition for my teams at BioWare," Muzyka wrote in his farewell letter. "This decision isn't without significant pain and regret, but it's also something I know I need to do, for myself and my family. I've reached an unexpected point in my life where I no longer have the passion that I once did for the company, for the games, and for the challenge of creation," Zeschuk said in his. The two maintain that BioWare is in good hands and will continue to excel going forward.
Ultima Forever opens the doors to Druids
While it might not be a full-fledged MMO, Ultima Forever remains on our radar due to its heritage and studio backing. Executive Producer Jeff Skalski revealed a few more details about the title, including the third class to join the character roster. The as-of-yet unrevealed class is a Druid, who will take her place alongside the Mage and Fighter. "She's an interesting one," Skalski said, "but unfortunately at this time we like to hold back on the details behind her for a little longer. I will however say there will be five additional classes beyond these three that we plan to launch every few months following launch." Skalski said that Ultima Forever takes place 21 years after Ultima IV and has a Lady British on the throne of Britannia ("We wanted to be respectful to Richard and his rights," he explained). BioWare's skill as a spinner of yarns will be on full display as well: "At its core is a story of a journey with choice. The eight virtues are threaded throughout the game and your actions will dictate how you progress those virtues."
Mass Effect 3's 'Earth' DLC trailer adds another narrative spin on multiplayer
Mass Effect 3's "Earth" multiplayer content launches today, adding six new characters across three new Earth-based locales. Did we mention it's free?
EA's Paul Barnett: Ultima Forever reboot is not an MMO
So about this Ultima Forever thing. It's a new game from EA and BioWare, and it's currently in alpha testing. We spoke with BioWare creative director Paul Barnett by phone last night to get a heads-up on this morning's official announcement and press release. The game is coming to both PC and iPad platforms courtesy of a thin-client download. The full title is Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar, and gameplay consists primarily of four-person parties and various dungeon crawls set in the world of Britannia. "We're doing what BioWare does well, and we're doing it on an iPad, and the PC, for a more casual player," Barnett said. Did we mention that the game is free? Barnett told us that EA-BioWare is committed to thoroughly exploring the industry's new business model darling. "Here we are: We're going to give you all this stuff, it costs a lot of money to make, and it's really beautiful, so how the hell do we make any money out of it?"
Mass Effect 3 sales in US hit 1.3 million during launch month
Total Mass Effect 3 sales for its launch month of March were 1.3 million units across Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, the NPD informed Joystiq. The number covers purely new physical retail sales, so no digitally distributed product on PC or PS3 is tallied.Although the NPD doesn't publicly share sales breakdowns by platform, Microsoft executive Aaron Greenberg did share that Xbox 360 sales for the space opera were 943K units for the month.Mass Effect 2 had over a half-million sales on Xbox 360 during its debut month, with another quarter million the following month. We've contacted Electronic Arts for further clarification on Mass Effect 3 sales data.Update: "We think the monthly NPD reports are a very poor indicator of the industry's performance given the proportion of digital sales – including digital downloads via Origin, DLC, mobile and social games and much more – that are not captured in their reports," John Reseburg of EA's corporate communications told Joystiq. "Taking these reports as an accurate snapshot of the industry today is a dangerous assumption."
'Retake Mass Effect 3' donations remained largely with Child's Play, 'a handful' requested refunds
When thousands of people took to a Facebook group rallying Mass Effect 3 players to "demand a better ending," their efforts were represented by a "donation protest." The protest raised just over $80,000 in donations to Penny Arcade's "Child's Play" charity, and arguably contributed to BioWare's decision to respond with an upcoming addition to Mass Effect 3: "Extended Cut."Regardless of the group's success, Penny Arcade co-founder Jerry "Tycho" Holkins halted the fundraiser. "Child's Play cannot be a tool to draw attention to a cause. Child's Play must be the Cause," Holkins said of hypothetical future efforts. He also cited Child's Play project manager Jamie Dillion as "buried under mail" from donors who didn't clearly understand exactly what they were giving money to."Apparently some of the people giving to the cause seemed to think that they were paying for a new ending to Mass Effect. She's been asked what the goal is, and how much they need to raise in order to get the ending produced," Holkins wrote. "We've also been contacted by PayPal due to a high number of people asking for their donations back. This is in addition to readers who simply couldn't understand how this was connected to Child's Play's mission. We were dealing with a lot of very confused people, more every day, and that told us we had a problem."That doesn't mean, however, that all of those folks were demanding refunds. "Essentially, there were a handful of people who requested their donation returned, which we did. The large majority of the funds were not returned and will be distributed to the hospitals as normal. If anyone feels that they would like their donation back, we are happy to do so," Dillion told us in a recent email.
PSA: Your Shepard rides again, Mass Effect 3 patched
As promised, Mass Effect 3's face import bug has finally been patched. Among other things, the patch fixes a bug that prevented some Shepards from importing properly, specifically those that were previously imported from Mass Effect into Mass Effect 2. While Shepard's choices across the first two games would carry over, face data was lost. No more!Of course, not everyone made good choices when creating their Shepards, but that's another discussion entirely. Decide for yourself in the gallery below.%Gallery-152928%
'No plans' to pull or charge for Mass Effect 3 'Extended Cut' DLC after expiration date
Regardless of the seemingly arbitrary April 12, 2014 expiration date attached to this morning's announcement of Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, EA told Joystiq it has "no plans to ever pull that content down or charge for it." That goes for "the foreseeable future after the April 12 date." According to a company rep, the expiration addendum was only attached due to EA's internal policy of putting expiration dates "on all 'no additional cost' content."Announced this morning, Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut aims to assuage fan concerns over the trilogy's finale by adding "additional cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes" beyond the content already on the game's disc(s). Following Mass Effect 3's early March launch, fans responded with mixed feelings toward its conclusion, some going as far as to raise a chunk of money in a donation protest (the money was later returned).Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut will arrive on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC this summer for free (and will remain as such, regardless of required legal notes).Update: We're currently clarifying with Child's Play regarding the status of the donated funds.
Mass Effect 3 'Extended Cut' DLC free this summer, offers 'further clarity to the ending'
EA this morning announced Mass Effect 3's "Extended Cut" DLC, which adds to the game's ending and will arrive for free at some point this summer. According to the publisher, the content will add "additional cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes," which will apparently offer fans "further clarity to the ending of Mass Effect 3" and "deeper insights into how their personal journey concludes."The additional content comes as a response to a group of fans who felt the third game ended in an unsatisfactory manner. That outcry apparently had a serious effect at BioWare internally, as project lead Casey Hudson says the team has, "reprioritized [its] post-launch development efforts to provide the fans who want more closure with even more context and clarity to the ending of the game, in a way that will feel more personalized for each player."No specific information is given about what said content will be, but we sure hope it means we won't see other DLC packs delayed or scrapped as a result. Studio co-founder Ray Muzyka notes,"With the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut we think we have struck a good balance in delivering the answers players are looking for while maintaining the team's artistic vision for the end of this story arc."Extended Cut will arrive on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC "this summer." It will remain free for download until April 12, 2014, at which point who knows what'll happen.
The Soapbox: The inevitable Mass Effect MMO
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. I don't know about you, but I've yet to play Mass Effect 3. This is not by choice, mind you, and now that I've returned from the wilds of last week's GDC, it's time to settle in for another 30-hour tour with Shepard and company. What does this have to do with MMOs? Well, nothing really, except that BioWare hasn't exactly closed the door on a Mass Effect title. On the contrary, the company's dynamic doctor duo have hinted at the fact that this, ahem, theoretical game would need to be somewhat different from the firm's maiden MMO voyage. At this point I think an ME MMO is inevitable, so join me after the cut to discuss whether BioWare can really break the mold with its second effort as well as what that effort could look like.
SWTOR's lead PvP designer answers community questions
Star Wars: The Old Republic's launch may be old news in Europe and North America, but our friends down under are just now getting a chance to partake of BioWare's first foray into the MMO space. Fan site Toroz.com cornered lead PvP designer Gabe Amatangelo for an extensive interview, the bulk of the questions for which came direct from the Oceanic community. The audio is spotty in a couple of places, but the questions have also been transcribed below the embed. Among the queries are bits about DPS meters, general thoughts on the state of warzones, and ongoing issues with kill-trading. Head past the break for the full interview.
Drew Karpyshyn set to pen another Star Wars: The Old Republic novel
Drew Karpyshyn, a lead writer for Star Wars: The Old Republic and the author of the tie-in novel Revan, is no longer with BioWare. That's old news. What might be somewhat more surprising news is that he is still penning novels for the game, with new information about the second novel having finally surfaced from a Facebook posting by Del Ray Books. If you've been eagerly awaiting more details about the bridge between Knights of the Old Republic and the MMO's setting, it's your lucky day. Titled Annihilation, the novel will focus on agent Theron Shan and his companion Teff'ith as they investigate an Imperial counterattack spearheaded by an apprentice of Darth Malgus. The posting goes on to confirm that the novel is currently on target for release on November 13th of this year. So if you can't get enough of your story in the game, it looks like it won't be too much longer until you can get even more story out of game as well.
SWTOR launches in the Asia Pacific region
Jury-rigged methods to create an Oceanic server are needed no longer: Star Wars: The Old Republic has officially launched -- a day early! -- in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore. BioWare is offering both the standard and digital deluxe version (the latter through Origin) for sale to interested space jockeys. The prices for both the client and subscriptions are in step with what we've seen from the North American and European product. Asia Pacific players who not only jump on board but either subscribe or use a 60-day game card by the end of April will also receive a Founder's Medal, which grants an in-game title. BioWare is aware that many players in these countries have already begun to play on NA servers, and as such the studio is offering a "limited-time opportunity" to transfer for free to a local server in late April. Entire guild transfers, however, will not be possible. The SWTOR FAQ page has more information about the transfer process and payment methods available.
BioWare doctors discuss Mass Effect MMO
The fast-approaching Mass Effect 3 hype bomb doesn't have much to do with MMOs, except maybe it does. Gamespot cornered BioWare doctors Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka and asked the duo point-blank about a Mass Effect MMO, and the answer might surprise you. "It's daunting, but the neat thing is it would lend itself to a different type of gameplay. It's fun to think about," Zeschuk told the website. Does that mean that the so-called fourth pillar of MMO story won't factor as heavily into the theoretical title as it does in Star Wars: The Old Republic? It's anyone guess at this point, but Muzyka offers a further fanboy nugget that hints at the possibility of a new direction for BioWare MMOs. "When you deliver a game, and you deliver it for a player, you have to capture what they think is the possibility space," he explains. "You need to let them do everything they think they should do, and you can't block them from doing anything they think they should be able to do. You have to nail all the features and content that should be in that possibility space."
Another round of Star Wars: The Old Republic questions answered by the developers
It's been two months since Star Wars: The Old Republic launched, and players have some questions. So it's a good thing that the development team is still hosting a weekly question-and-answer session for the community, with the latest installment addressing several new concerns about future updates. Among the answers are new features that will be coming with the second major patch, including animation adjustments for cross-faction parity and tweaks to docking at planets with orbital stations such as Tython and Korriban. There are also plans for players to gain the ability to roll on equipment specifically for companions; the Need option will be disabled unless the item in question is designed for your advanced class. Amidst all of the good news, however, there is some bad in the sense that new ship models and customization are apparently on the table -- but for much further in the future. Take a look at the full list of answers if you're interested in seeing what players can expect for new features in the near future and the slightly further future.
BioWare: Average SWTOR play session tops four hours
Star Wars: The Old Republic players are consuming game content in four- to six-hour sessions on average, according to Kotaku and BioWare bigwig Greg Zeschuk. "When they play, their sessions are absurd," he said recently. Zeschuk goes on to say both that the retention is a sign of the title's addictive "just-one-more" gameplay and that the firm is pulling an "intense amount of analytics and telemetry" from the title. Finally, he hints at the theory that most SWTOR players are happy due to a general drop in forum tomfoolery. "You can tell when things are going really well in the game," Zeschuk explains. "The amount of forum chatter drops. People don't go to forums. They just play." Take that as you will, and let us know how long your average SWTOR session lasts.
Mass Effect 3's 'Take Earth Back' trailer is finally, seriously, complete (we promise)
It takes more than a sad toddler and a gorgeous sunflower to get us all teary-eyed from the latest Mass Effect 3 trailer. For instance, did you know there's a full extra minute in this version of the trailer compared with yesterday's? The tears, they are flowing.
SWTOR devs leaving BioWare to make indie game
What's next for BioWare's Arnie Jorgensen, Alex Thomas, and John Watson? A new RPG/RTS hybrid called The Banner Saga, according to Kotaku. The trio spent the past half decade slaving away on Star Wars: The Old Republic, and now they're striking out on their own to make an indie title described as "roleplaying meets turn-based strategy, wrapped into an adventure miniseries about vikings." Watson was SWTOR's lead combat programmer, while Thomas and Jorgensen filled the senior environment artist and lead concept artist roles, respectively. The trio has formed an indie studio called Stoic, and the company's maiden offering is apparently "coming soon."
BioWare lead writer Drew Karpyshyn leaves BioWare
Beyond his brief stint in 2000 as a Jeopardy contestant, BioWare lead writer Drew Karpyshyn has spent the last 12 years of his life serving as a story lead on various BioWare franchises. From heading up writing on Jade Empire to creating the world of Mass Effect, Karpyshyn has shaped arguably the most important aspect of BioWare's legacy in the game industry -- its stories. And now, after finishing up work on his latest project, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Karpyshyn is taking his leave."I'm leaving to focus more time and energy on my novels and other non-video game related projects," Karpyshyn wrote in a blog post on his personal site. Though he won't say where he's going just yet (if anywhere), he promised continued work on an upcoming SWTOR companion novel (like his work on the Mass Effect books).To help assuage concerns about BioWare's writing post-Karpyshyn, he points out that, "The story and dialog in any BioWare game is the result of an entire team of writers working together, and I often felt I received an excessive amount of the credit for the games we created." He cites Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age 2 as proof that "BioWare can get along just fine without me." And though he apologizes to those who will miss his work in the gaming world, he promises that he'll finally put the finishing on his own "original fantasy series," should you wish to keep up with his fantastical worlds.
