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[Blood-Lord Thanatos]

Stanley Woo wrote...






And, of course, Dragon Age: Origins originally had three or four origin stories that didn't make the cut. Some were cut early, like a couple of related origins whose art assets wouldn't be used anywhere else in the game, or an origin whose story just didn't strike anyone as being epic enough, not even after several different concepts were tried.

Could you name the Cut Origins? I can't seem to remember if there was ever going to be a Elven Noble or Human Commoner Origin?

[Stanley Woo]

The Human Commoner origin was always being thrown around in discussions because it was a concept that appeared very early on, kind of like the separate elven mage origin. They ultimately didn't work out.

[Blood-Lord Thanatos]

Has Bioware ever considered doing an alternate history kind of RPG? like maybe some of steampunk with Elves?
or a "what if" scenario involving Humans as the villan race and the Elves as the good guys?

Modifié par Blood-Lord Thanatos, 09 mars 2012 - 06:38 .

[Blood-Lord Thanatos]

I'm curious, who wrote Miranda in ME2? I'm a huge fan of Yvonne Strahvoski, so I was surprised to hear her voice in that game.

[Blood-Lord Thanatos]

What was the inspiration for the character of Branka? was there a historical or fictional character that influenced the conceptualization of Gregoire or Cullen? Were there any plans for additional playable races during the Development of Thedas?

[Stanley Woo]

You'll have to ask the writers and designers about specific characters or inspirations, since I cannot speak to what was going through their mind when creating.

[Khayness]

Hm, the recent media spotlight led me to an interesting article which compared Mr. Muzyka's answer to focus-testing, which made me pondering.

Does BioWare use focus groups on their games/part of their games? Are there even such a thing as focus testing products in the video game industry?

P.s.: please do not turn this thread into an ending debate lads, there are plenty of those a few sections up.

Modifié par Khayness, 22 mars 2012 - 11:05 .

[Dominus]

I've always been curious about MDK2. What made the team decide to go with something as goofball and out of the typical RPG category as that? Were they fans of the original, or was there another reason entirely for starting it?

Also, I'd like to vote for an atomic toaster as a DLC weapon.

[Lukas Kristjanson]

This thread lives? Someone should’ve nudged me.

• SWKOTOR and Neverwinter: any different if they stayed in BioWare? Was there any animosity with that decision?

Sure they would have been different. Impossible to say how, though. Development informs so much of the end result you can’t really predict on that scale. There was no animosity, we simply had other opportunities.

• Did you guys ever give much thought to returning to any of those older series at the time? Or were you so focused on current/future projects that the idea never came up? To an extent, I felt like the idea of sequels in Bioware games were always kind of taboo, since you always have to deal with fan worries about past actions having consequences.

We felt we had done what we wanted with the titles and were looking to new opportunities, especially developing our own IPs. Although the lure of Star Wars would prove too tempting for some. SWtoR has a dozen games worth of James Ohlen's love for the setting.
But sequels or not, we’ve never really released the same game twice. Worries about past actions are a recent thing.

• I recall some discussion of a Jade Empire sequel that was eventually scrapped.

We’ve got a concept archive of past potential projects that would blow your mind.

• Has it ever gotten frustrating having a lot of your newer projects held up and compared (often unfavorably) to your old games like Baldur's Gate 2 and KotOR?

Not really. I can compete with what I actually wrote, although it’s a little trickier trying to match rose-coloured memories.

• Are there any voice actors that you wish were in any of your games?

Sure. But you can legally jinx that sort of thing by talking about it. Some of the most fun stuff about past projects hasn’t been the big names, though. It’s been the pick-up sessions where you suddenly realize you have Buttercup Powerpuff as a player voice.

• Which of the Bioware projects has been the most fun to play; not necessarily test?

I played MDK2 on the hardest difficulty and thoroughly enjoyed kicking my own ass. Side note, BG1 was a bear to test. I remember doing 2 or 3 speed runs a day behind Scott Horner, a QA juggernaut who remains more machine than man. All respect to those crazy SOBs.

• Could you name the Cut Origins?

Stan mentioned a couple. There was a Barbarian as well, but they were all really early edits.

• Has Bioware ever considered doing an alternate history kind of RPG?

Nothing firm. Lots of wonderfully weird things that stall at the one-page pitch for various reasons.

• I'm curious, who wrote Miranda in ME2? I'm a huge fan of Yvonne Strahvoski, so I was surprised to hear her voice in that game.

Early framework was Drew Karpyshyn, but I believe Patrick Weekes became the primary. I had pieces of her in the Crit Path parts I did, along with her crisis with Jack, and I’m sure others had significant sections too. It can't help but be a collaborative thing at this scale.

• What was the inspiration for the character of Branka? Was there a historical or fictional character that influenced the conceptualization of Gregoire or Cullen?

I don’t think there was a specific cultural reference behind those three. Can’t say for certain, though. My passes though Orzammar were much later than Jennifer’s initial writing. Similar with the Circle Tower.

• Were there any plans for additional playable races during the Development of Thedas?

I think Qunari might have been considered in the super-early stages, but they didn’t get anywhere near implementation. Probably would have meant way too many tradeoffs elsewhere.

• Does BioWare use focus groups on their games/part of their games? Are there even such a thing as focus testing products in the video game industry?

Well sure. I'd say most games are focus-tested to some extent, at any number of stages. In fact, until the current stink, a common fan complaint about media of any sort would be how focus-tested it felt, because that is synonymous with watering-down and design-by-committee. Which everyone seems to hate until I guess they think their committee would be different? Like all telemetry, it has its uses.

• I've always been curious about MDK2. What made the team decide to go with something as goofball and out of the typical RPG category as that? Also, I'd like to vote for an atomic toaster as a DLC weapon.

We weren’t strictly an RPG company back then. We were ramping up to something like that, certainly, but we’d only released Shattered Steel and BG1 when we got the opportunity to make MDK2, which was also handled by Interplay. The first MDK was a real breath of fresh air, so I think we all saw interesting possibilities in the IP. We’ve always made the games that we want to play.

Speaking of atomic toasters, behold the MDK2 team gift:

Still works great!

[Dominus]

Ah, thanks for the information My knowledge of the timelines for most BioWare games gets a bit fuzzy before KOTOR. That is one heck of a toaster, by the way. 

Modifié par DominusVita, 28 mars 2012 - 11:00 .

[Nameless one7]

Lukas Kristjanson wrote...

We’ve got a concept archive of past potential projects that would blow your mind.

Could you give us some general info about this concept archive of past potential projects?

Modifié par Nameless one7, 29 mars 2012 - 12:08 .

[upsettingshorts]

Hey, wish I had known this thread was still going too - heh.

Come to think of it, this would be a good thread to put this question:

Do you feel as though you're backing yourselves into a corner - creatively and mechanically - by attempting to implement both branching choice/consequence and save game continuity?

Aren't those two goals, ultimately, in direct conflict with each other?

To clarify:  For a choice/consequence to meet the acceptable standards of this wonderful community, it typically has to be of the big, loud, plot-flag setting variety.  For save game imports not to be derisively admonished for leading to a bunch of emails the results of those big, loud, plot-flag setting choices have to appear in the sequel. At some point, you'd practically have to start writing 2+ games just to keep track of it all.

Modifié par Upsettingshorts, 29 mars 2012 - 12:57 .

[Stanley Woo]

Khayness wrote...

Does BioWare use focus groups on their games/part of their games? Are there even such a thing as focus testing products in the video game industry?

Yes.

[Lukas Kristjanson]

Nameless one7 wrote...

Lukas Kristjanson wrote...

We’ve got a concept archive of past potential projects that would blow your mind.

Could you give us some general info about this concept archive of past potential projects?

Nope. And that's as much a tease for me as it is for you. I really, really wish I could.

[Lukas Kristjanson]

Upsettingshorts wrote...
To clarify:  For a choice/consequence to meet the acceptable standards of this wonderful community, it typically has to be of the big, loud, plot-flag setting variety.  For save game imports not to be derisively admonished for leading to a bunch of emails the results of those big, loud, plot-flag setting choices have to appear in the sequel. At some point, you'd practically have to start writing 2+ games just to keep track of it all.

Off topic, shorts. You started this thread to ask about old games. For shame, hijacking yourself.

I think there’s an opportunity for a series that builds a narrative based on absolutely nothing but player action and reference of that action. I would play the hell out of that game. And I would have plenty of opportunity to do so, because it would be very, very short AND/OR very, very weird. And there's room for that in the industry. The current conflict isn’t between branching choice and continuity, it’s between execution and expectation, as you alluded. Different titles/franchises/companies will handle that as needs be. I can only assume the ride will be wild.

So, back on topic?

[starmine76]

First a generic one: What's your personal favorite moment in any bioware game?

Secondly, concerning KOTOR, why choose to go to the Dantooine Jedi Enclave instead of the main temple on Coruscant? Was it budgetary reasons, or did you not want to copy the films too directly?

And lastly, people talk a lot about writing for specific NPC's, but I've always wondered about the process behind writing dialouge options for the player character. Is there typically a set writer who is in charge of PC dialouge?

Modifié par starmine76, 29 mars 2012 - 03:27 .

[upsettingshorts]

Lukas Kristjanson wrote...

Off topic, shorts. You started this thread to ask about old games. For shame, hijacking yourself.

So you caught that, hah.  I was hoping I could get away with it.

Look I just want to know if there are any of these "Jade Empire 2:  It's time to take it to the Zu" posters left and if I can have one. 

I'm all out of ontopic questions.  For now.

[upsettingshorts]

Oh, I know. This is a sort of... "all BioWare games" question as opposed to being simply restricted to old ones but...

What's the deal with the low resolution, poorly compressed Bink-format videos used for prerendered cutscenes? Why is this the standard? Can't we move on?

Modifié par Upsettingshorts, 29 mars 2012 - 04:30 .

[hoorayforicecream]

Upsettingshorts wrote...

Oh, I know. This is a sort of... "all BioWare games" question as opposed to being simply restricted to old ones but...

What's the deal with the low resolution, poorly compressed Bink-format videos used for prerendered cutscenes? Why is this the standard? Can't we move on?

Because it's more efficent to pay Bink for an API that you can drag and drop into the code than it is to spend engineering time writing one yourself when those zots could be much better spent on game-specific stuff. If there were other, better middleware out there to handle FMV, more people would use probably use it.

[Maria Caliban]

hoorayforicecream wrote...

Upsettingshorts wrote...

Oh, I know. This is a sort of... "all BioWare games" question as opposed to being simply restricted to old ones but...

What's the deal with the low resolution, poorly compressed Bink-format videos used for prerendered cutscenes? Why is this the standard? Can't we move on?

Because it's more efficent to pay Bink for an API that you can drag and drop into the code than it is to spend engineering time writing one yourself when those zots could be much better spent on game-specific stuff. If there were other, better middleware out there to handle FMV, more people would use probably use it.

I asked this exact same question about a month ago, and the best answer someone provided was that they compressed the movies to save space.

Thanks horray.

[hoorayforicecream]

Maria Caliban wrote...

hoorayforicecream wrote...

Upsettingshorts wrote...

Oh, I know. This is a sort of... "all BioWare games" question as opposed to being simply restricted to old ones but...

What's the deal with the low resolution, poorly compressed Bink-format videos used for prerendered cutscenes? Why is this the standard? Can't we move on?

Because it's more efficent to pay Bink for an API that you can drag and drop into the code than it is to spend engineering time writing one yourself when those zots could be much better spent on game-specific stuff. If there were other, better middleware out there to handle FMV, more people would use probably use it.

I asked this exact same question about a month ago, and the best answer someone provided was that they compressed the movies to save space.

Thanks horray.

There's a lot of middleware out there that various studios use, and outsourcing is really popular. Things like environment art and props are very commonly outsourced from international companies, like studios in China or Russia. Code packages are also very popular, like havok, scaleform, or various networking suites. Activision liked the Demonware networking software package so much they actually bought them.

It's invariably a question of efficiency - it will cost this much to develop it yourself, or you can spend the money up front to buy a license for a software package. Often, the development time saved is more valuable the money you spend on the middleware (which is the point).

[RoninTX]

So I shall be completely honest, I used to be a lurker on these forums ( mainly DA,DA2 and ME3) since the whole debacle about ME3 ending, I did some searching of my own of how much of a fan I actually am of Bioware and what they brought to my enjoyment.

I came to a somewhat surprising conclusion: I actually own and have played ALL the games which has ever made except for the Sonic game ( dont own DS)

Now my questions actually goes to any and all Bioware people:

which games from Bioware have you played?
Which one is your favorite and why?

[Lukas Kristjanson]

• What's your personal favorite moment in any bioware game?

I usually know the game backwards and forwards before I get to play, so I don’t get plot discovery like you guys. My favorite moments are either incredibly specific things like how a particular element was used, or broad swaths that came together because of really cool collaboration. I really enjoyed the sum total of the “playing as Joker” part of ME2. So many elements combined for an incredibly tight experience.

• Secondly, concerning KOTOR, why choose to go to the Dantooine Jedi Enclave instead of the main temple on Coruscant?

There may have been some concerns of overlap I suppose. After all, a major reason for going that far back in the setting in the first place was to have room to move without clashing with canon. Plus we open with Taris, a major urban environment in its own right. Hitting both could have been a bit much.

• I've always wondered about the process behind writing dialogue options for the player character.

The PC is of course player defined, but operates within a range so they aren’t an alien in their own world. Unless they need to be, I suppose. Our editors are often assigned as guardians of the player voice, making sure the various writers stay on the same page. Editors are the unsung heroes. They do a hell of a lot of support writing in and out of the game.

• Look I just want to know if there are any of these "Jade Empire 2:  It's time to take it to the Zu" posters left and if I can have one.

I printed three. They are jealously guarded and full of swipey photoshopery, so sadly not seeing the light of day any time soon.

• What's the deal with the Bink-format?

I couldn’t tell you why that specific tech is used. But rest assured that for every spot where you’ve said “This could look better,” there was probably someone here screaming the same thing, even as they had to do X in Y way. Tradeoffs are a necessary evil if you actually want to ship.

• Which games from Bioware have you played?

Played? All of them. But the ones in my sig are the ones I personally wrote for.

• Which one is your favorite and why?

So, which is my favorite child then? Oof, nasty. They all had their appeal at the time (and still do). Like I said, we make the games we want to play. Which corny copout answer is worse: "All of them," or "the next one"? 

[RoninTX]

Lukas Kristjanson wrote...

• Which games from Bioware have you played?

Played? All of them. But the ones in my sig are the ones I personally wrote for.

• Which one is your favorite and why?

So, which is my favorite child then? Oof, nasty. They all had their appeal at the time (and still do). Like I said, we make the games we want to play. Which corny copout answer is worse: "All of them," or "the next one"?

Just my luck I find myself with a senior writer for nearly all the games 
I noticed in your sig that you help write on nearly all of Bioware's games except for SS. Not to sound mean or anything, but your old compared to me when I first played SS in '96 and I can totally understand your answer on which you like best. Neither could I choose between my children which one I like best.

This might sounds silly but will there ever come another SS? I really liked the story behind it ( yeah it had a story if you paid attention to it ). when it comes to mech games SS and Heavy Gear are my favorite ones.

Modifié par RoninTX, 30 mars 2012 - 10:01 .

[Blood-Lord Thanatos]

Was the concept for Anders in Awakening done by Mary Kirby? I can't seem to remember.......

Who Wrote the story behind Warden's Keep?

Modifié par Blood-Lord Thanatos, 31 mars 2012 - 04:30 .