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The making of a diverse game studio
The original name for Manveer Heir's new game studio that focused on stories of people of color was Big Mouth Games. The former BioWare and Raven Software designer embraces his loudness. Now, he's putting his money where his considerable mouth is.
Microsoft Studios creative director dismisses 'always-on' console concerns
Adam Orth, creative director at Microsoft's video game division, doesn't "get the drama around having an 'always on' console." Orth took to Twitter yesterday to publicly dismiss criticisms of always-online consoles, likely in response to Kotaku sources recently saying the next-generation Xbox will require an online connection to play games.While Orth has since protected his account, his tweets were screencapped on Reddit and NeoGAF. Orth, who's been with Microsoft for 15 months having previously worked at LucasArts and PopCap, kicked off heated discussion by tweeting, "Sorry, I don't get the drama around having an 'always on' console. Every device now is 'always on.' That's the world we live in. #dealwithit" Orth went on to say he wants every device to be 'always on.'Orth's comment caught the attention of BioWare's Manveer Heir, who tweeted back, "Did you learn nothing from Diablo III or SimCity? You know some people's internet goes out right? Deal with it is a shitty reason."Orth responded, "Electricity goes out too." He later reiterated his 'deal with it' comment.While Orth made it clear he was expressing his personal opinion, his comments drew a sizable backlash from online communities; his conversation with Heir made it to Reddit's front page. It all follows continued speculation the as-yet-unannounced next Xbox, believed to be codenamed Durango, will feature an always-online Internet connection as a barrier to second-hand games. In contrast, Sony Worldwide Studios chief Shuhei Yoshida said the PS4, expected this year, doesn't need to be always online.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
BioWare developer wants to augment your virtual diversity (still)
BioWare Montreal developer Manveer Heir works on the Mass Effect franchise by day and champions race equality in games by night, having discussed the importance of diversity at the DICE 2010 panel, "Games of Color," and more recently speaking with Gamasutra about the delicacies of developing with race in mind. After little change over this one-year span, Heir is still an advocate for bringing diversity to game development, seeing games as a portal to a broader social commentary: "You can think of fantasy games where if you were the dark elves, you know, the Drow, were always looked upon... They were the black people of the fantasy world, right? And if you played the dark elves, you were treated like garbage by many of the townspeople," Heir said to Gamastura. "So, my only question is, why can't we do that when we're actually talking about real people?"
Ex-Raven dev Manveer Heir joins Bioware Montreal to work on Mass Effect franchise
Manveer Heir isn't just our winner of the coolest name for a game designer ever award, he's also just been hired by BioWare Montreal as a senior level designer for the Mass Effect franchise. Heir stepped down from his lead designer role at Activision-owned Raven Software in mid-June and has been on a mini-hiatus since then, only to announce yesterday -- alongside another big BioWare reveal -- that he would be heading up to Montreal. Heir ... aired his feelings about the change, tweeting, "I'm a big fan of the Mass Effect series, so to get a chance to join the team and help build an amazing game is such a tremendous privilege." When Twitter followers pestered him for specifics, he declined to offer more details, responding, "I cannot elaborate beyond Mass Effect franchise." Next up for the franchise is supposedly that "far reaching" Mass Effect ... thing, which has been teased to arrive early next year.
Raven's Manveer Heir urges industry to address ethnic misrepresentation
If there's one thing that Commander Shepard, Nathan Drake, Agent 47, Marcus Fenix, and ... uhh ... Mega Man all have in common, it's not just that they're all video game characters -- they're also all white dudes. And Raven Software's Manveer Heir takes umbrage with that fact (and, more importantly, the fact that being caucasian is a rather pervasive theme across game characters), telling Develop in a recent interview that "There are a large number of hispanic and black children playing games, percentage-wise more so than white children, but these guys aren't getting into the industry because they are not seeing themselves in the games." Moreover, Heir says it's not just a question of equality, but rather a question of missed market opportunity. "It's not about being fair. It's about bringing something new to the art." The Wolverine/Singularity dev also makes a point of sending out a rally call to the rest of the industry, saying, "I'm sure many people in the game industry are starting work on new IP. If we can ask people to think about it, then they are more apt to say 'hey let's try this.' You just need one game to succeed. The first developer or publisher to do this will enjoy a lot of success." For a much more thorough discussion on the subject, we've embedded a video after the break of a panel from DICE 2010, titled "Games of Color," in which Manveer speaks in far more detail on the subject.
Raven dev to reimburse your Wolfenstein purchase ... if
And folks, it's a BIG if. Raven Software designer Manveer Heir tweets that if the upcoming Wolfenstein manages to surpass sales of Madden 10 this month, he'll happily pay you back for the money you spent on his game. Of course, there are a few stipulations: Offer only applies to sales in August NPD figures will be used to calculate the totals You have to follow Manveer Heir on Twitter Limit one copy per person -- with receipt! Obviously, there isn't a snowball's chance in hell of this happening, but we'd be lying if we said we weren't crossing our fingers for the little nazi-killing-sim-that-could to tackle the gridiron giant.[Thanks, "Sammy Davis Jr."; via Destructoid]
