381 réponses à ce sujet

[Beerfish]

Is 'Ship cake' the huge cake that is made when a game is finally finished and is ready to ship and every one can finally let out a sigh of relief that the project is complete?

[RobRam10]

So like uhh my question goes to Jade Empire.
Was there any ideas to visit the other regions of the Empire like Phoenix Gate? Also why didn't you guys include armors? 
Also regarding the cancel Jade Empire 2 was the spirit monk's story to be continue on the sequel and how would it affect if people chose to become a God?

Modifié par RobRam10, 26 novembre 2013 - 09:03 .

[mybudgee]

Did you guys know the first Mass Effect would be a hit?

[Lukas Kristjanson]

Is 'Ship cake' the huge cake that is made when a game is finally finished and is ready to ship and every one can finally let out a sigh of relief that the project is complete?

Pretty much. It's a strange feeling at the end of a project. After all, many of the team will have worked on it for years. The initials in my sig aren't BioWare's releases, they're BioWare releases I've personally written for, and their cakes were each the best until the next one. As a metaphor, it could also be beer. Okay, it's often beer. But "Ship Beer" isn't as funny.

Was there any ideas to visit the other regions of the Empire like Phoenix Gate? Also why didn't you guys include armors?
Also regarding the cancel Jade Empire 2 was the spirit monk's story to be continue on the sequel and how would it affect if people chose to become a God?

Very early drafts of the design doc had other locations, but they didn't fit the need. Likewise, armors mean appearances, and that just wasn't in the achievable scope. Besides, in wuxia, the character's appearance is often representative of larger themes, so they don't change as often.
As for where we might have gone next, the spirit monk's story was over. We would have at least jumped forward far enough so the previous game was a murky legend. The nature of the setting would still have allowed any number of characters to show up. That's one benefit of the laws of science and nature not applying.

I will also say, though, that significant work was done on a more... radical treatment of the franchise. And holy crap was it cool. And then it became something else cool, then something else cool, and then it sadly had to go away. But the systems researched for it have been showing up ever since. Things like Interrupt, and the mobile conversation elements in DAI. Even adaptations of characters I did. So it lives on, in a way. But man, that concept folder.

Did you guys know the first Mass Effect would be a hit?

I know I can't predict a hit. I knew it felt good, and as it came together it started to feel really good. It's hard to visualize the sum of what you're making until later in the project, because so many systems have to work together. For example, there is always a boost in team morale the day music goes live. Every time. Because until things like that appear, it's just not a game yet. To see what I mean, load up your favorite game and go to the Options and shut off all music (or background/ambient effects if available). Maybe also turn down the detail so ambient creatures don't spawn, but music alone is probably enough. It instantly seems "empty." Development feels like that for months and years, if you can play at all. You know that "emptiness" is there, but you try to have the confidence that the sum of the parts will fill it. If you've ever played something that just seemed too busy, that made you tired because it was full of "noisy" design decisions, they were probably trying to fill a hole that didn't need to be filled. Good project leads keep the vision for the team during the dark days when people are too busy to look up and realize the small part they've been working on is a key component of something really cool.

Modifié par Lukas Kristjanson, 28 novembre 2013 - 12:46 .

[Fast Jimmy]

I will also say, though, that significant work was done on a more... radical treatment of the franchise. And holy crap was it cool. And then it became something else cool, then something else cool, and then it sadly had to go away. But the systems researched for it have been showing up ever since. Things like Interrupt, and the mobile conversation elements in DAI. Even adaptations of characters I did. So it lives on, in a way. But man, that concept folder.

LOL This is insanely fascinating, if also insanely vague. Would you care to (or feel comfortable) elaborating any more?

[Ozzy]

How much I'd love to see that concept folder, haha.

[Lukas Kristjanson]

LOL This is insanely fascinating, if also insanely vague. Would you care to (or feel comfortable) elaborating any more?

How much I'd love to see that concept folder, haha.

It's a long road to being able to talk about stuff like that. Wish I could show it. Hell, I wish I could show the fully functioning proof of concept demo. But every company has "the one that got away." And they are all brilliant and perfect and would have sold jabillions, because they never have to go through the phase where you realize your genius ideas need to be hammered into the shape of a game that's actually fun. But this one would have been great, I swear.

I recently played Jade Empire for the first time (quite enjoyable) and I saw YOUR name, Luke, as one of the lead writers. However, I've seen your comments here talking about actually writing things in the game. I was under the impression that lead writers and such mostly directed. Is that not true?

You may be thinking more about Lead Design, who governs a lot of departments. Writing Lead at BioWare still writes a lot. In the days of BG1 it was pretty much sheer volume. On other games, it might be who owns the critical path, or who oversees it, even if they don't personally write it. They own the tone and "voice" of the game, and make sure everyone keeps on-theme. We do peer reviews with all the writers, but the Lead essentially has veto.
On Jade, Mike and I split Lead duties with Mike Lead/Writing and me Writing/lead, if that makes sense. I wrote the crit path, some side content, most of the followers, epilogues, etc. It was a fun setting, but we were still struggling with the relatively new tech needs of digital acting. I look back and feel like I could probably trim that sucker by about a third and not lose any content. Always kill your darlings.

[Fast Jimmy]

Lukas, I've got a bit of a random question, if you're up for answering it.

Obviously, KOTOR and NWN2 were created by outside developers. Since their original games were Bioware creations, was their involvement with Obsidian's writing teamsduring the creation? Did you all already have some body of work created that you handed off to the other company? If so, did you find the final product to be a much different beast? If you didn't give them anything, how did you feel they did?

Obviously, the Star Wars and NWN settings aren't Bioware creations, but the events and characters involved certainly overlapped. I was just curious of the Bioware's writing team's influence during the creation of those two projects. And if you had any insight into why they were farmed out?

Again... possibly WAY too many questions there that can't be answered. But I'm fine with throwing things against a wall and seeing what sticks.

Modifié par Fast Jimmy, 11 décembre 2013 - 03:18 .

[Fast Jimmy]

Also Lukas, serious kudos for the solo dialogue in DA2 where Hawke begins muttering to him/herself about Sandal's cooking and how crazy everyone in Kirkwall is (link here in case I'm being too vague).

I just saw that today and LOST it. Well done.

[chris2365]

Lukas, what makes you guys tell such good stories and create such memorable characters?

Little life story: When I was a kid, my Dad got me KOTOR. Clueless as to what the game even was, he gave it to a 7 year old (me) who's only game experience until that point was cereal box games on PC.

Now, I don't know how, but the game just hooked me into playing the whole thing, again, and again, and again (now up to 15 or something...)

Small things like getting T3-M4 was a massive celebration. Big things like finding out that I, the true servant of the light, was in fact my own worst enemy, nearly sent me into a nervous shock. Everything about that game was just perfect. How do you guys do it?

Also, 2  questions, hope you can answer:

1. Who was the primary writer for Bastilla?
2. Any info on the next Mass Effect ?(can you please take a peak into Mac's files, please:crying:)

Modifié par chris2365, 14 décembre 2013 - 07:25 .

[Lukas Kristjanson]

Obviously, KOTOR and NWN2 were created by outside developers. Since their original games were Bioware creations, was their involvement with Obsidian's writing teams during the creation? Did you all already have some body of work created that you handed off to the other company? If so, did you find the final product to be a much different beast? If you didn't give them anything, how did you feel they did?

Obviously, the Star Wars and NWN settings aren't Bioware creations, but the events and characters involved certainly overlapped. I was just curious of the Bioware's writing team's influence during the creation of those two projects. And if you had any insight into why they were farmed out?

Pretty sure we did engine support, but I don't think there were any story suggestions or new art content. If we'd had the time to start doing that, we'd have done it. It would've been fun, as I really liked having a shot at the setting, but the timeline just wasn't there. Obsidian did a fine job in the face of some pretty hardcore challenges. I think I've mentioned before in this thread about the whys, but it just boils down to whether we wanted to keep working with external IPs or come up with our own. By that point we'd done so much lore expansion for other people, we knew we could do the same on our own.

Also Lukas, serious kudos for the solo dialogue in DA2 where Hawke begins muttering to him/herself about Sandal's cooking and how crazy everyone in Kirkwall is (link here in case I'm being too vague).

I just saw that today and LOST it. Well done.

I was very, very tired. As tired as I figured Hawke would be. And the lone character in a party-based game is something of a weirdo, so it seemed appropriate.

Who's idea was it to take away squad helmets for Mass Effect 2 and why did everyone go along with it? I'm sorry, but since my crew didn't wear helmets I decided not to where mine at times to prevent my character from looking like a weirdo.

Don't know, but it was probably because helmets are always a pain. Because if you don't know if they are on or off during certain scenes, you need additional systems to affect voice in real-time, and you can't assume any information will be conveyed facially, because that simply may be impossible to see. Plus, you know, other factors.

Lukas, what makes you guys tell such good stories and create such memorable characters?

Little life story: When I was a kid, my Dad got me KOTOR. Clueless as to what the game even was, he gave it to a 7 year old (me) who's only game experience until that point was cereal box games on PC.

Now, I don't know how, but the game just hooked me into playing the whole thing, again, and again, and again (now up to 15 or something...)

Small things like getting T3-M4 was a massive celebration. Big things like finding out that I, the true servant of the light, was in fact my own worst enemy, nearly sent me into a nervous shock. Everything about that game was just perfect. How do you guys do it?

Also, 2  questions, hope you can answer:

1. Who was the primary writer for Bastilla?
2. Any info on the next Mass Effect ?(can you please take a peak into Mac's files, pleasesmilie)

Wow, 7. That's young for some of the heavy stuff later on, but maybe not if you're running pure lightside I suppose.

I think the focus on character just sort of emerged from the BioWare design core ideals. We were all (and still are) tabletop gamers. D&D, Champions, Shadowrun, you name it. That was an explicit goal of BG: how do we make this feel like a group of friends around the table? And the personal thing for me about role-playing is that it's all about character. Sure, you get rules-lawyers and you need sweet dice (I have 30d6 because that was terminal velocity in Champions, and they got used), but my PCs were always high-concept, deep-lore, how-do-they-fit-in kinds of characters. Stats were only part of what made them effective. So when I'm writing, that's where I start. What is their place? What do they actually think about the plot and PC? Why are they there? From a gameplay standpoint that may start with "They're there because we need a warrior," but it's my job to build on that. Every department has a piece of making these people seem authentic, because that's kind of the goal when I'm around the kitchen table with my friends.
A big one for me, and I simply need this for any story to feel real, is that if something undeniably weird goes on, someone in the setting needs to have a genuine reaction to it. It's also a voice for players who may be having the same reaction. This is often where humor comes in, but also sometimes horror, sadness, joy, or whatever. When a high dragon strafes, the followers are ready, but the player needs to know that some of them are thinking "You've got to be freaking kidding me!"

Bastila was mainly split between Dave and Drew. Dave has a post on KotOR on his tumbler. I had some almost weepy comments on our own blog.
Can't say anything about Mass, except that it looks damn cool.

Modifié par Lukas Kristjanson, 16 décembre 2013 - 05:15 .

[Fast Jimmy]

Can't say anything about Mass, except that it looks damn cool.

I guess confirmation that it exists (and that there is something to see for it to appear cool) is news.

[mybudgee]

Why did you guys change the player character in Dragon age 2 from a cool, custom character to a clone of Shepard?

[SomeoneStoleMyName]

Not sure if you are still answering these but I have a few questions. These questions are aimed at any Bioware employee who wish to answer. Feel free to skip any if you dont feel comfortable answering it!

1) How do you feel the advance of social media has affected the Developer to Fan communication during the years? The good and the bad is?

2) Developers are people too, just like us! But devs tends to act so formal and serious all the time, Rarely loosing up and joke around much. And devs dont tend to join in on regular conversations on their own viewpoints in game discussion and such.

Is this due to being constrained by rules? Is it to act more professional? If it is to act professional, and that is the case - is that from an external reason (I have to act this way cause I can get in trouble) or internal (I want to appear professional personally because I take pride in my job) Just wondering why devs never seem to join more regular forum threads. Im guessing the reason could also be that a dev doesent want to influence a discussion too much in one direction due to the "weight" of their bioware status?

3) What other gaming studios do you guys have most respect for personally?

4) Did being a game developer ever change phases from "I love what I do" to "I dont like it anymore but its my job" and maybe back to "I love it" again?

5) Is time/deadline usually a stressfull factor in your line of work?

6) Do you feel the ME3 ending and DA2 controversy could have been handled better by either devs/bioware and the fans? Personally I think Bioware is great at handling criticism, but I felt horrible when other fans went as far as they did. How do you think we can build better relations between eachother?

[Argentoid]

Here's a question for any former ME writer:

I made a thread long ago about who wrote each Mass Effect character, and I wanted to be sure: Who wrote Joker in ME1 and ME2? What about Harbinger?

EDIT: And who was behind the Cerberus arc back in ME1?

Modifié par Argentoid, 24 décembre 2013 - 06:08 .

[Fast Jimmy]

I'd like to ask another question - was it ever discussed internally how Minsc met Boo?

[Ozzy]

A proof of concept demo sounds even more tantalising, haha. 

 

I'd like to see what Bioware can do with the setting with today's tech. 

[Lukas Kristjanson]

Fast Jimmy wrote...

I'd like to ask another question - was it ever discussed internally how Minsc met Boo?

Little busy with, you know, a game or something. I'll drop back in when I can. In the mean time, here's something dredged from ancient text files, an interview with Minsc I wrote up for GameSpy back in 2000 or so, when GameSpy was a thing that existed.

1) Hey Minsc, thanks for sitting down with us. First off, give us a bit of background on yourself. Where exactly is Rashemen and how did you begin adventuring?

It is not a problem.  Boo likes these quiet moments.  Ahh, Rashemen.  No matter how my mind wanders, my thoughts remain close to home... compared to how far I have walked, anyway.  Rashemen is as East and North as a man can go in this world... well, perhaps not, but it is as far as THIS man has gone and I would wish to go no further, as I am sure you would agree that it would be silly to travel all the way back only to pass by the very home I have long missed.  As nice as the Erech Forest or Icerim Mountains MIGHT be, they can hardly warrant such a trek.  As for why I began my great journey, it was my solemn duty to honor the pledge of service I made to my witch Dynaheir.  Only this could satisfy my dejemma and ensure membership in the Ice Dragon Berserker Lodge.  Of course, it did not go quite as I had hoped...

2) So what's with the berserker in you? Lots of bottled up aggression from when you were a kid? What kinds of things really tick you off and make you go berserk?

Ahh, my battle fury precedes me, and well it should.  It is an effective warning if the villainous can see it coming even before I arrive.  Imagine their sheer terror when confronted in person!  Like a long, slow fall off the peaks of wretchedness, knowing that it is only a matter of time before an abrupt meeting with the enormously wide-fisted ground of virtue! 

What can unleash my mighty wrath?  Well, you know, evil and such...

3) How did you get to be a bodyguard for Dynaheir? And how did you lose her to the gnolls in your original adventure?

Dynaheir was of the Wychalarn, and I was honor bound to serve my witch.  I do not know what her mission was... but I did not need to.  Anyway, we had walked far to reach the Sword Coast, and when we camped near the Wood of Sharp Teeth we woke to an ambush.  It was not the first, but I fear my head had not fully healed from a careless moment in Sembia, and a blow knocked the sense from my mind.  When I awoke, Dynaheir was gone.  It is one of my great shames that she was wrested from my protective sight, and I make no excuses for my weakness.  I tracked the gnolls to a lair west of Nashkel, joining virtuous allies as I went.  Ahh, but you might say that you traveled the Wood of Sharp Teeth and there was not a gnoll to be seen.  Well, of course not NOW.  I righted my wrong, and several others along the way.  Her rescue was quite heroical.

4) What is the Ice Dragon berserker lodge, and why is it so important for you to be a member?

Attaining a place in the Ice Dragon Berserker Lodge is the greatest honor that a warrior of Rashemen can achieve, no matter if you are devoted solely to the sword or to nature as well.  If you swing a weapon then there is no other place you wish to be.  You think Minsc can rage?  I am tea-and-cookies compared to the greatest of the Lodge.  On the darkest nights I see their white-hot fury guiding me in an endless sky full of furiously white-hot stars.  A legacy of warrior-pride is in every swing of my sword-arm, so I swing it a lot!  Why must I do this?  Because I am Minsc, and Minsc must.

5) OK, I want the real scoop: How did you find Boo? What sort of counsel does he provide when he "speaks" to you?

You ask how he speaks with your tongue in your cheek, but I say to you that he talks like the best of any of us, with words that ring true for those that wish to hear, and far clearer too, for the only thing in his cheek is the occasional nut.  His counsel is my focus when I find it... difficult... to think clearly, either from the guile of villainy or some long persisting headache.  Certainly there are rangers that prefer the company of perhaps a giant bear or some great cat or another, but I am large enough on my own and need not compensate. 
As for how Boo and I met, I owe that to a nameless traveling merchant.  Dynaheir and I had been drawn to rout a nest of villainy while traveling through Sembia, and though we were victorious, I suffered what I agreed was "an astounding blow to the head."  For weeks I was a shadow of my former self.  A large shadow perhaps, but still not nearly as effective.  When we met the merchant he directed my stumbling gaze to a small cage, and explained the special nature of what was inside.  It would be grand to say that Boo came to me from his home amongst the stars, but, in truth, I purchased him for a goodly sum and we have been together since.

6) What makes you think he is a miniature giant space hamster? Does he have any special abilities associated with his extraterrestrial nature?

What makes you think he is NOT a Miniature Giant Space Hamster?  Who would have more insight into the attributes of my animal companion than I, Minsc!  Besides, the merchant had an honest face.  He was very insistent too, waving his pipe as he named the stars that Boo might have seen.  There were many more words amidst his "thee"s and "thou"s that I did not even recognize, but everything became clear to me as he spelled it out.  His price seemed more reasonable as well, even as he raised it once or twice.  But enough about Boo, he is blushing because of the attention.  He is pink under his fur regardless, but I can tell when he is nervous.

7) Any advice for burgeoning rangers who want to walk the path of righteousness?

Evil is a maze of deceit, and the cheese it hides is never worth the running.  Oh, and never trust an ice weasel when your hamster is on the line.

8) You are a pretty good-natured fellow. What is it that sets you off .. any pet peeves? What bugs you most about evil?

What bugs Minsc and Boo most about evil is that it is THERE.  We need not dwell on tiny details trying to decide if someone is "a little evil" or "very evil".  Ask a villain if Minsc is "a little large" or "very large" when I am in their face and they will not have an answer.  Why?  Because all that matters is that I am there and they are there, and that I will learn their nefarious heads a thing or six about justice before they become so utterly villainous that we must comprehend their deeds in bite-sized chunks of bad, instead of all together as a depraved whole that must be filled! 

I have no peeves, only a hamster.

9) What the hell's the deal with that purple tattoo on your head?

Many warriors of Rashemen bear such trophies, mostly as scars from battle, but not everything important happens at the end of a sword.  Yes, that surprised me too.  On the journey with Dynaheir I met many people, and one was a valiant warrior from a land with traditions like my Rashemen, if a bit more reserved.  She was well impressed with Boo and I on the battlefield, but was concerned that my fury might some day overwhelm Boo’s calming influence.  She had proven herself to me, so when she offered an exchange, I accepted.  I am told the marking stands for balance and is well respected in her home.  I wear it proudly, just as she wears the symbol of the Ice Dragon Berserker Lodge, though not placed quite so prominently... ahh, but Boo’s stare has reminded me of an oath long promised, and I will speak no more of it.

10) If you had to choose between kicking evil in the head or the behind, which would you choose, and why?

I’m not sure I understand the question.  I have two feet, do I not?  You do not take a small plate when the feast of evil welcomes seconds.

11) What is your favorite sword and why? Bow or crossbow?

Now this topic I know well, though I care less for the weapon than the target.  A fine sword will serve for years, but if evil will not wait for the forging then a chair leg will do in a pinch.  Yes, I have held many blades, though I am not fond of those found near Beregost.  They seemed to break faster than the heads I hit with them.  I have heard of something called "Crom Faeyr", but now I hold "Lilarcor", and it is well suited to my battle fury.  All swords are meant for combat, but I never had one actually tell me so!  I tell you, I thought I was hearing things, but Boo assured me I was not. 
It is a good weapon, but my favorite... and you will be disappointed... my favorite was not magical at all.  A simple two-handed blade, now at the bottom of Lake Ashane with the man that gave it, and again I will speak no more.

Bow.

12) Final question: You've traveled much of Faerun. Any favorite vacation spots?

So often Boo and I are at odds with the places and people we meet.  You know, opposing a strange cabal here, deposing some villainous overlord there; it is hard to truly enjoy the sights when they are burning or under siege.  Still, I hold high hopes for the future.  Boo would like to see the jungles of Chult, but that is just the giant rodent in him speaking and he may find it too stressful once we arrive.  I hear good things of Neverwinter, though I prefer my North good and cold.  I have important business here in Amn you know, hero-ing and all, but I might cross the Trackless Sea someday.  I think an old companion went that way.

And, of course, one day we will go home, right Boo?
(squeak)

[Fast Jimmy]

Lukas, you are a gentlemen and a scholar. This had me in stitches.

[Ozzy]

New boards bump!

 

Generally, how do you guys decide on the ending of a game? Is it a collaborative process or is there a set idea that you can play around with? 

[chris2365]

Wow, 7. That's young for some of the heavy stuff later on, but maybe not if you're running pure lightside I suppose.

I think the focus on character just sort of emerged from the BioWare design core ideals. We were all (and still are) tabletop gamers. D&D, Champions, Shadowrun, you name it. That was an explicit goal of BG: how do we make this feel like a group of friends around the table? And the personal thing for me about role-playing is that it's all about character. Sure, you get rules-lawyers and you need sweet dice (I have 30d6 because that was terminal velocity in Champions, and they got used), but my PCs were always high-concept, deep-lore, how-do-they-fit-in kinds of characters. Stats were only part of what made them effective. So when I'm writing, that's where I start. What is their place? What do they actually think about the plot and PC? Why are they there? From a gameplay standpoint that may start with "They're there because we need a warrior," but it's my job to build on that. Every department has a piece of making these people seem authentic, because that's kind of the goal when I'm around the kitchen table with my friends.
A big one for me, and I simply need this for any story to feel real, is that if something undeniably weird goes on, someone in the setting needs to have a genuine reaction to it. It's also a voice for players who may be having the same reaction. This is often where humor comes in, but also sometimes horror, sadness, joy, or whatever. When a high dragon strafes, the followers are ready, but the player needs to know that some of them are thinking "You've got to be freaking kidding me!"

Bastila was mainly split between Dave and Drew. Dave has a post on KotOR on his tumbler. I had some almost weepy comments on our own blog.
Can't say anything about Mass, except that it looks damn cool.

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions, even after all these years. It's these kinds of fan interactions that makes Bioware a great company 

 

Why had I gotten the game so young? I remember I had just gotten an Xbox. I was into Star Wars at the time, so I asked my Dad to get me a Star Wars game. I was probably expecting some FPS or starship game. When I first saw the game's cover, I was confused. Knowing absolutely nothing about this game, I just put it in and just played. I didn't understand the significance of this back then, but KOTOR was probably one of the most influential moments of my life. This game showed me how video games were more than pixels on a screen. The characters, planets, etc. It all just amazed me.

 

I am surprised myself I got into the game as much as I did, given it's complexity. As you said, this game does have some heavy moments. That twist mid-way through the game caused my brain to perfectly fit the definition of ''mind=blown'' and I didn't understand until later what happened. I got the mechanics and the swing of things, and the fact I was barely able to read at the time didn't help much either. I finished on the lightside and have played about 15 times since (don't judge me...) But the game had that something special that made me keep going. 

 

And I remembered that something special once I saw the Bioware logo just below the N7 symbol of a certain someone  And that trilogy was even more special than I thought it would ever be.

[Fast Jimmy]

I'll give a shameless bump and add a new question...


Who was the first Bioware writer to work on a romance? And what character was the first romance written for (I'm guessing it was BG2, but I may be wrong)?