413 réponses à ce sujet

[Killroy]

What is the difference between a lead writer and a senior writer?

It's like the difference between a manager and a supervisor.

[dreamgazer]

What is the difference between a lead writer and a senior writer?

Walters was lead and Dombrow was senior for ME3, so think about their respective contributions to get an idea. Mac was also once a ME senior writer.

Fingers crossed. It'd be pretty slick for Weekes to be leading DA and Dombrow to take over ME.

[JeffZero]

Please replace "pretty slick" with "the best thing in the heat-life of the universe".

[Undead Han]

Walters was lead and Dombrow was senior for ME3, so think about their respective contributions to get an idea. Mac was also once a ME senior writer.

Fingers crossed. It'd be pretty slick for Weekes to be leading DA and Dombrow to take over ME.

 

I was under the mistaken impression that Dombrow had been brought back as a lead, but it looks like he was brought back as a senior writer. 

 

So it looks like he didn't replace Schlerf. 

[JeffZero]

Well, he could have, in the time since Schlerf's apparent departure. Maybe! Maybe.

 

Maybe.

 

please

[dreamgazer]

I was under the mistaken impression that Dombrow had been brought back as a lead, but it looks like he was brought back as a senior writer.

So it looks like he didn't replace Schlerf.

Been back since April. He's probably writing another isolated arc and scattered dialogue, but I'm not counting the possibility out yet. We really don't know anything beyond the deliberate name-removal shenanigans from that blog post.

[JeffZero]

I can't blame Mr. Dombrow for avoiding social media, but it's kind of a shame from a fan's perspective. I'd love to hit him up and thank him for all his excellent work, and I'm certainly excited for whatever he brings to Andromeda.

[Undead Han]

I can't blame Mr. Dombrow for avoiding social media, but it's kind of a shame from a fan's perspective. I'd love to hit him up and thank him for all his excellent work, and I'm certainly excited for whatever he brings to Andromeda.

 

He is definitely one my favorites among all the writers who were involved in the Mass Effect series, so his being brought back in any capacity was good news for me. 

[JeffZero]

Amen.

 

And frankly, what ever the case may be with all this, just knowing he's still (presumably) on the project quells my fears somewhat.

[Lord Gunsmith 90]

Well I am sure that we'll know what the deal is before the end of the year. Either from an official source or a non official source.

[Puddi III]

 
I am here for this "Link" you speak of.

[Jaquio]

No NDA or contract can legally prohibit anyone from seeking new employment. And no NDA could compel another company not to disclose that they've hired Schlerf.

 

Ah, but what if the person's new position has an NDA that prevent them from disclosing their new job?

 

Chris L'Etoile left Bioware to work as a Content Designer for The Elder Scrolls Online at Bethesda, but couldn't say that for years because of the NDA at his new job at ZeniMax.

[JeffZero]

Here, have several.

 

[Killroy]

Ah, but what if the person's new position has an NDA that prevent them from disclosing their new job?

 

Chris L'Etoile left Bioware to work as a Content Designer for The Elder Scrolls Online at Bethesda, but couldn't say that for years because of the NDA at his new job at ZeniMax.

 

He signed an NDA at BioWare that disallowed him for years from saying he left AND signed an NDA at Bethesda that disallowed him for years from disclosing that he worked there?

[Jaquio]

He signed an NDA at BioWare that disallowed him for years from saying he left AND signed an NDA at Bethesda that disallowed him for years from disclosing that he worked there?

 

No to the first part, yes to the second part.

 

Bethesda was real hush hush about the fact that they were working on ESO.  You can find posts of his on various sites online during those years where he lists working "somewhere in Maryland" because that's as much as he could probably get away with but still be within the bounds of his NDA.  But he was open about the fact that he left Bioware. 

 

My point was more that if Schlerf left and BW doesn't want to mention it, and he can't mention where he's going next, then we might just not hear anything about it.  Heck, for all we know it could be an internal move.  Maybe he got shifted over to work on Gaider's IP.  Unlikely, but we don't know.

 

I just don't think we'll hear much because the games industry is elusive.  EA doesn't even tell its own shareholders how much product they sell, I doubt they're too worried about what random fans think about the writing team's movements.

[lucianorim]

I'm not totally sold to Schlerf's previous work, but at this stage of the process I'd like him to stay and finish what he started. Otherwise it's possible that some flaws will come to the surface when there's nothing that can be done.

[Linkenski]

Walters was lead and Dombrow was senior for ME3, so think about their respective contributions to get an idea. Mac was also once a ME senior writer.

Fingers crossed. It'd be pretty slick for Weekes to be leading DA and Dombrow to take over ME.

Hmm, I still don't know how I'd feel about that but it's certainly better than Mac Walters as Lead.

 

I think Weekes's style as seen already in Trespasser is too overblown and lacks finesse, not to mention the awful side-quests he made in ME3. I love Mordin and he definitely has a much better grab on fantasy-writing than Mac who just discards any sense of setting with his "I can write downtown Abbey in Mass Effect because anything goes, herp" and for Dombrow too often his fandom just shows in the writing IMO. Too obvious self-referential humor (I love humor, but not self-referential and pandering with player-made memes -- meta-humor) and he tries too hard to make it cinematic and Christopher Nolan esque; a bad inspirational influence when Christopher/Jonathan Nolan are really overrated as writers.

 

The "38.6" or what it was, start-return in Overlord made me cringe because I felt he was trying too hard to make it deep but nobody would ever say that in such a delivering and "spotlight's on me" kind of way IRL and I dislike writing for cinematic stuff when it becomes too theatrical.

 

That's a lot of dislikes. Other than that both wrote great characters, both saved ME3 from being complete garbage, but both are also IMHO inferior whether you compare them to David Gaider or Drew Karpyshyn's lead-writing contributions, but I understand the non-writers also had great influence on ME1 and DA:O's storytelling; My favorite Bioware-made games in terms of story.

[Addictress]

I'll take Inquisition over ME3 any day. The only thing ME3 has over Inquisition is good MP.

Oh my god

You're on crack

[Addictress]

A shame too. I know you are not a huge fan of the game but Dragon Age 2 is probably their most grounded story so far, and with that, for me at least, one of the more complex ones to boot.

Thank you.

[Ahglock]

Oh my god

You're on crack

DAI had far better story and quests overall. I just hate the gameplay in the dragon age series it's a slog to get through combat for me since origins. I'd prefer a more sandbox style game for open world but I vastly prefer DAI open maps to ME linear maps littered with waist high cover. They both had lack luster boss fights/moments. Though I get with the expansion DAI has a decent end boss fight.

[Killroy]

Oh my god

You're on crack

ME3 has atrocious writing almost end to end. There are a few moments with good writing sprinkled in but it's almost entirely crap. Forced emotions, terrible dialog, "rule of cool" BS, aimless storytelling, Cerberus, the Crucible, the Catalyst. ME3 is propped up by good gameplay. The story is absolute trash.
For all it's flaws(and there are quite a few), Inquisition is a better game.

[Arcian]

ME3 has atrocious writing almost end to end. There are a few moments with good writing sprinkled in but it's almost entirely crap. Forced emotions, terrible dialog, "rule of cool" BS, aimless storytelling, Cerberus, the Crucible, the Catalyst. ME3 is propped up by good gameplay. The story is absolute trash.
For all it's flaws(and there are quite a few), Inquisition is a better game.

I agree, DA:I was alright, alright, alright. Considerably better than the overwhelming majority of ME3 at any rate.

[Linkenski]

ME3 has atrocious writing almost end to end. There are a few moments with good writing sprinkled in but it's almost entirely crap. Forced emotions, terrible dialog, "rule of cool" BS, aimless storytelling, Cerberus, the Crucible, the Catalyst. ME3 is propped up by good gameplay. The story is absolute trash.
For all it's flaws(and there are quite a few), Inquisition is a better game.

DA:I has that too. Apparently you didn't notice it. For starters its premise if contrived and lacks context. We're forming the inquisition of Old to do what exactly? "Restore order" you say? Uh, sure, let's haul in some mage/templar leaders and put them on trial then, that could be an idea... oh, we just have to slaughter them? Uh, problem solved I guess. Then suddenly Red Lyrium and Corypheus and a lot of things that have nothing to do with society being in turmoil as the premise suggested. "We're the Inquisition and we're restoring order by killing things and collecting POWER™, because there's... chaos, and... and... uh what are we doing exactly?", derp.

 

I'd go out on a limb and say DA:I is every bit as incoherent as ME3 or ME2 for that matter. I just happen to like ME2 and ME3 better because they both continued a plot that previously was very well-done and in context to that they still both had some redeeming moments. DA:I set up an entirely new plot and cast not really being too connected to DA:O but it was slightly connected to DA2 which wasn't that good in the first place and then DA:I had the same writing-related problems as ME3 (lack of detail and clarity) and a lot of character-dialogue that seemed like padding, bad jokes, too much self-referential humor based on fan-memes made from DA2 and... ugh. I am looking forward to Andromeda but I'm expecting to like it the first 10 hours until it starts showing its ugly side just like DA:I did upon reflection.

[Ahglock]

Probably did notice since the post ends with has quite a few flaws. Scale it's not just what you step on in the morning.

[Killroy]

DA:I has that too. Apparently you didn't notice it.

Inquisition has a bad villain. There's a difference between a lame villain and 95% crappy writing for the entirety of a game.