I heard the news that BioWare is closing the forums, so I dredged up my account to say a few things.
For those here who aren't ancient like me, my name is Chris Priestly (some used to call me "Evil Chris") and I worked at BioWare for over 12 years. Basically from the end of BG2 till the start of DA:I. I started at BioWare in the QA department and became a prolific poster on the old BioBoards helping people out on Neverwinter Nights, KotOR and Jade Empire. Remember, this was back when the only real way to dialog between studio and fans was message boards. There was no Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, etc. As DA:O and ME1 came closer, the CM at the time (Jay Watamaniuk who is still a writer at BioWare) asked me to join the Community team. Together, along with many staff posters, amazing volunteer moderators and excellent fans, we created a great community on the BioWare forums that ran for years. Not everything was always rosey and there were always bumps in the road when fans/customers would question BioWare decisions, but overall we had a great time. Sadly, DA2 and the endings of ME3 weren't enjoyed by everyone (I'm not bring this up more, you know what I'm talking about if you were here) and things turned much more negative than they had been in the past. Still BioWare and its fans worked to keep these forums going. It wasn't easy. There were people in the studio, some quite powerful, who wanted the forums closed. Yet, there were also those, like me, who wanted the boards to stay open and after much discussion, they remained. And BioWare continues strong with the excellent Dragon Age: Inquisition game restoring fan's faith in the series and the intriguing Mass Effect Andromeda on the horizon (more details on this ASAP BioWare please).
My time at BioWare ended, but I am pleased the forums remained and the community here continues to thrive and grow. I'll always be a huge BioWare fan myself, I loved DA:I and can't wait for Andromeda to come out, and I am sad that the forums will finally be closing. Yet, I have faith in Conal and the rest of BioWare to have a plan ready for what will come next. Remember, these forums were started because there was no other way to talk with fans. Now there are lots of ways and I know Conal and the teams will be talking full advantage of them in time. I know this won't stop fans from worrying because that is in our nature until we see proof, but that's my 2 cents on it.
One last thank you to all of the amazing fans and friends I made during my time at BioWare here on the forums. I was fortunate enough to travel the world for BioWare meeting people including some who met on the boards (more than a few couples who met on the boards only to fall in love and marry in real life) who told me of the strong friendships they have made via the forums over the years. I look forward to being a fan of BioWare in whatever comes next. And a thank you to BioWare for running these forums and they joy they brought me over the years. Cheers.
