Casey Hudson, former general manager at Bioware, announces Humanoid Studios

[TheUnsungHero26]

Also, "Humanoid" is a name Neil Breen would have come up with. props if you got that reference.

To people saying Sony will partner with them, keep in mind that Sony has made announcements with every new studio they've partnered with. That's not the case here.

Casey Hudson has worked at both EA and Microsoft, so he could potentially leverage his relationships there.

 

[SofNascimento]

The biggest question isn't about who leaves, but what the people who stayed and those who are new will do. I'm waiting until the next DA and ME games before I draw any conclusion.

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Well, yes. But how many times we saw people living being a prelude to problems? When Casey Hudson returned I thought it could might mean good things coming to Bioware ways, when he and one more guy left it's only natural that the opposite expectation is created. We will only know what is going on at Bioware when we finally get a new game, which is probably years away still, but we can have expectations in the present.

 

[808s & Villainy]

To be fair, not everyone enjoys working on AAA games, especially if they have worked on them for a long time.

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Yeah, that's why I said it'll be interesting to see what his studio ends up working on

 

[Deleted member 17184]

Well, yes. But how many times we saw people living being a prelude to problems? When Casey Hudson returned I thought it could might mean good things coming to Bioware ways, when he and one more guy left it's only natural that the opposite expectation is created. We will only know what is going on at Bioware when we finally get a new game, which is probably years away still, but we can have expectations in the present.

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We can. But, and I don't mean this as something bad, I don't see the point in worrying about something we have no control of. Casey could've left because of an issue, because his contract expired, or maybe he just wanted to move on. From our perspective, it's impossible to tell. I learned to not worry about these things and enjoy what we have now, otherwise, it's just unnecessary stress. At least on my end.

 

[Quinton]

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Met him at a con once back when I was helping BioWare with that stuff. He was roughly two meters tall, bipedal... the works

 

[EagleClaw]

Kojima is a crazy guy. /jk

Always great to see new studios.

 

[Lukemia SL]

Met him at a con once back when I was helping BioWare with that stuff. He was roughly two meters tall, bipedal... the works

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He's a sensational specimen then.

 

[dreamfall]

It'll be awesome to see what his team accomplishes. Best of luck!

 

[Deleted member 97253]

In retrospect pining for a new studio to make exclusives is in bad taste, so please consider my previous post as unwritten.

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

Cool, I'll keep my eyes on this. The guy who invented Mass Effect has got a lifelong pass in my book.

 

[PolishQ]

Can't wait for the video game adaptation of The Incal!

 

[Deleted member 56065]

Casey's wearing glasses to show that time has passed.

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It's called *character development*

 

[Barnak]

Here's hoping their first game is a space opera like Mass Effect(but different enough to not feel like its the same thing but with brand new aliens and another galaxy wide threat). I need more space opera video games. Not enough of them.

 

[c bweezie]

Exciting news. The Mass Effect franchise is one of my favorites, so any alum opening their own studio is something i'll keep an eye on.

 

[DangerMouse]

Very interesting.

 

[Chopchop]

greetings fellow humanoid

 

[SofNascimento]

We can. But, and I don't mean this as something bad, I don't see the point in worrying about something we have no control of. Casey could've left because of an issue, because his contract expired, or maybe he just wanted to move on. From our perspective, it's impossible to tell. I learned to not worry about these things and enjoy what we have now, otherwise, it's just unnecessary stress. At least on my end.

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I agree. I don't really expect anything from Bioware anymore. We got a great LE remaster and that's all I wanted.

 

[Phellps]

Best of luck to them! I'll keep an eye on this for sure.

 

[Birdito]

Missed opportunity to revive Hudson Soft.

 

[Sanctuary]

I feel like the only people calling their studio Humanoid Studios would be people who aren't humanoid. This is clearly a cover for aliens.

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You mean of the non humanoid type? Humanoid is just a shape.

Missed opportunity to revive Hudson Soft.

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[elenarie]

Are they still alien if they were always on this planet? XD

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What is life but death pending?

 

[GooberDooberCBC]

Casey has worked for Xbox, I wonder if there is something brewing between Microsoft and Humanoid.

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It would behoove MS to reach out and leverage that prior relationship. Casey helped make some of the best games on Xbox in the past with KOTOR and Mass Effect.

 

[Wolf]

Bioware never recovered from his loss. Even with all its shortcomings, ME3 was their last game that can be considered great. And he coming back and leaving again makes me question what is happening inside Bioware right now.

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Sooooo Dragon Age Inquisition, the game that won lots of awards and sold really well... was not great? Wut?

It's funny to me that Bioware/Casey made a big deal about him coming back to the studio... just for him to leave again.

 

[ChaosXVI]

Looking forward to whatever this is in a few years. I'm not sure I have much faith in ME4 without him at the helm honestly.

 

[Deleted member 68874]

So excited to see what they do. Really glad Casey Hudson is back to making games.

 

[dgrdsv]

will their games have ABC ending choices?

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Lots of speculation for everyone!

 

[SofNascimento]

Sooooo Dragon Age Inquisition, the game that won lots of awards and sold really well... was not great? Wut?

It's funny to me that Bioware/Casey made a big deal about him coming back to the studio... just for him to leave again.

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The way I see it, It was very good, but not great. Its awards are more of a result of the lackluster year it was released than anything else. Had it released 2 months later it wouldn't have gotten 5% of those.

But compared to what came after, it was a masterpiece.

 

[Eamon]

Casey has worked for Xbox, I wonder if there is something brewing between Microsoft and Humanoid.

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I think the opposite is more likely, actually.

A Humanoid Studios x Playstation publishing deal would very much track with Playstation's other independent studios partnership announcements. Similar to those, it would fill a void in their portfolio that Xbox clearly has an advantage in (interactive storytelling/western roleplaying games)

 

[F4r0_Atak]

What is life but death pending?

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To be fair, that's not wrong. XD

 

[gothmog]

It's funny to me that Bioware/Casey made a big deal about him coming back to the studio... just for him to leave again.

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It's like reuniting with an old love. You come back because you missed the the things you liked, but over time are reminded why you broke up in the first place.

 

[ConHaki66]

I think the opposite is more likely, actually.

A Humanoid Studios x Playstation publishing deal would very much track with Playstation's other independent studios partnership announcements. Similar to those, it would fill a void in their portfolio that Xbox clearly has an advantage in (interactive storytelling/western roleplaying games)

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Actually, Microsoft has been doing that as well. Avalanche studios most recently with contraband. IO Interactive and Kojima deals reported that are well-sourced.

 

[Mahaveer RaGOATnatan]

Cant wait for the first game in the abundance consequence universe

 

[Eamon]

Actually, Microsoft has been doing that as well. Avalanche studios most recently with contraband. IO Interactive and Kojima deals reported that are well-sourced.

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I was speaking moreso towards new studios - Haven, Deviation, Firewalk/Probably Monsters, and even Kojima Productions fit that template. I can't really recall Xbox doing that recently.

Makes sense too - securing exclusivity for their new IPs must be vastly cheaper than acquiring new studios.

 

[TheUnsungHero26]

I think the opposite is more likely, actually.

A Humanoid Studios x Playstation publishing deal would very much track with Playstation's other independent studios partnership announcements. Similar to those, it would fill a void in their portfolio that Xbox clearly has an advantage in (interactive storytelling/western roleplaying games)

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I was speaking moreso towards new studios - Haven, Deviation, Firewalk/Probably Monsters, and even Kojima Productions fit that template. I can't really recall Xbox doing that recently.

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Microsoft is doing it with From Dusk Fall's studio, INTERIOR/NIGHT.

And I would disagree that this tracks with Sony's independent studio partnerships. All of those partnerships were announced at the same time as the studios, which isn't the case here.

 

[Phellps]

The way I see it, It was very good, but not great. Its awards are more of a result of the lackluster year it was released than anything else. Had it released 2 months later it wouldn't have gotten 5% of those.

But compared to what came after, it was a masterpiece.

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It was a commercial and critical success. I'd say it was great, regardless of the awards it received.

 

[Androidsleeps]

Love the wild speculations out of nowhere about which platform holder will grab them, guess this is gonna be a thing now.

Anyway, after recently discovering the Mass Effect trilogy, I'm so in and really looking forward to their project whatever it is.

 

[Deleted member 97253]

Love the wild speculations out of nowhere about which platform holder will grab them, guess this is gonna be a thing now.

Anyway, after recently discovering the Mass Effect trilogy, I'm so in and really looking forward to their project whatever it is.

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Yeah, sorry for the post. I kinda got baited by the Sony orientated posts earlier in the thread and wanted to fire off some counter noise. I will edit my previous post, because in retrospect I feel that kind of speculation doesn't really add anything of value to the discussion.

 

[Skade]

Wait... He left Bioware again ?

Last i heard, he was back to lead the studio and the new Mass Effect game. Guess i missed something..

 

[dex3108]

Honestly I can't get excited for new studios from famous AAA developers anymore. How many od them left AAA studios, started their own thing and managed to make something truly new and exciting?

 

[Tovarisc]

Wait... He left Bioware again ?

Last i heard, he was back to lead the studio and the new Mass Effect game. Guess i missed something..

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Yeah, he keeps going back to kickstart some major RPG project(s) there and then just bails.

I half expect him to bail on this, his own, studio midway through production in order to go back to BW :D

 

[Triggerhappytel]

I feel like the only people calling their studio Humanoid Studios would be people who aren't humanoid. This is clearly a cover for aliens.

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When someone visits the studio:

 

[Samiya]

Dude was the GM back when Bioware had a whole bunch of crunch for decades, I'm not so certain we should be cheering this guy being head of a studio.

 

[Jake3600]

Dude was the GM back when Bioware had a whole bunch of crunch for decades, I'm not so certain we should be cheering this guy being head of a studio.

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Pressures put on by the publisher more than the GM I would imagine. But either way, this new studio I hope will keep a small studio culture for a while. I remember an interview with Casey a few years back saying Bioware had many great ideas for smaller standalone games they would have liked to explore but they did not get the opportunity to make them. Now is his chance, and these certainly wouldn't bring the same big publisher pressure.

BioWare would like to make smaller, more 'experimental' games

Casey Hudson and Mark Darrah want to branch out into other things.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[cyrribrae]

Casey is super talented...I always thought he would go back to Xbox when he was done with whatever project he had going at EA. wish him the best.

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Heh. With how Hololens development died, I'm not surprised. But.. his mention of "advanced sciences" DOES INDEED make me think about his work with hololens. I am curious what will come out of this. It doesn't feel like he wants to return to AAA development. But also.. who even knows with an announcement so bare?

 

[astro]

Honestly not that excited. Dude is no doubt talented, but not sure about his vision. He said "no ABC endings" for ME3, and he was pushing Anthem hard. The last things he did left a sour taste for me.

This could very well be issues with working under EA, and he could come back to life creatively in his own studio and I hope that's the case.

 

[Captain Tuttle]

Man that's a terrible name
Can't wait to see what they come up with though

 

[anexanhume]

Dude was the GM back when Bioware had a whole bunch of crunch for decades, I'm not so certain we should be cheering this guy being head of a studio.

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Pressures put on by the publisher more than the GM I would imagine. But either way, this new studio I hope will keep a small studio culture for a while. I remember an interview with Casey a few years back saying Bioware had many great ideas for smaller standalone games they would have liked to explore but they did not get the opportunity to make them. Now is his chance, and these certainly wouldn't bring the same big publisher pressure.

BioWare would like to make smaller, more 'experimental' games

Casey Hudson and Mark Darrah want to branch out into other things.

www.pcgamer.com

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Most of the industry is complicit or feels powerless to change it. As GM, I would expect him to have the most leverage of anyone on the dev side. I think they were in the camp that crunch works, to some extent. Mark Darrah's video on crunch is a fascinating look into the thought processes and biases regarding the efficacy of crunch, with his experience at Bioware obviously informing most of his observations.

 

[TheUnsungHero26]

Sorry for the bump, but Humanoid just updated its website with new images and information.

Our current project is a multi platform AAA game, focusing on character-driven narrative in an all-new science-fiction universe.

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[GING-SAMA]

it's interesting that The initiative was the first new studios to employ the word "Stay small & agile" for this new AAA prod method but they don't stick with this vision.

/ Innovative tools and technologies unlock interactivity that feels magical

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I think it's the key to make big AAA games with smaller team. Creation engine have some crazy powerful tools.

 

[Deleted member 68874]

Always down for some more scifi.