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Casey Hudson, Mark Darrah leave BioWare
- Thread starter BigTnaples
- Start date
someone needs to add Respawn hanging on the back of EA, having a pleasant time
That is... quite the headlineBioWare Departures Put The Lead Of The 'Anthem' Reboot In Charge Of 'Dragon Age 4' (forbes.com)
BioWare Departures Put The Lead Of The ‘Anthem’ Reboot In Charge Of ‘Dragon Age 4’
Some massive news out of BioWare as Mark Darrah and Casey Hudson have both left, and now the Anthem 2.0 head is in charge of Dragon Age 4, somehow.www.forbes.com
Well, that can't be good.
And really, why would that crowd even want such a thing when Larian (et al., but mostly them) have been making pretty much exactly what they've been wanting from a modern BioWare? Divinity OS 1+2, Baldur's Gate III, etc. are all games straight out of a timeline where BioWare just kept making the CRPGs that put them on the map in the first place.
...Wait, people actually thought a BioWare renaissance was going to happen? Under the current crew? Hoo boy...
And really, why would that crowd even want such a thing when Larian (et al., but mostly them) have been making pretty much exactly what they've been wanting from a modern BioWare? Divinity OS 1+2, Baldur's Gate III, etc. are all games straight out of a timeline where BioWare just kept making the CRPGs that put them on the map in the first place.
They're least-concern right now. Apex is still doing big business with no real signs of slowing down.
Yes. He seems to have been floating around ever since the hey days of the original trilogy.
I didn't actually mean to enable the fans that kept using those pre-release hype statements against BioWare. I don't hold any of that against them, just the lack of real communication after the game had shipped and people had serious problems with it.
I don't want to bring up this kind of shit again, :/
Larian is fine and I'm glad they exist but they haven't done a game that is my favorite in the same way Dragon Age or Mass Effect are. So yeah I think its fine to root for Bioware to get back on their feet. How realistic that is, is a different debate.
Today has been so strange to me. I was reading up on some Dead Space lore because I never played Dead Space 3. And I remembered how awesome that IP was, and then I got sad that Visceral was killed by EA. Then 3 hours later and this happens, and I was actually starting to become optimistic about BioWare again.
Devs for sure do not deserve harassment. The constructive criticisms was warranted from the fanbase though along with calling out the misleading statements. As a fan of the franchise at the time it really burned me out on gaming and for a long time afterwards I had less enjoyment with videogames in general because of the ending.
From that article:BioWare Departures Put The Lead Of The 'Anthem' Reboot In Charge Of 'Dragon Age 4' (forbes.com)
BioWare Departures Put The Lead Of The ‘Anthem’ Reboot In Charge Of ‘Dragon Age 4’
Some massive news out of BioWare as Mark Darrah and Casey Hudson have both left, and now the Anthem 2.0 head is in charge of Dragon Age 4, somehow.
Anthem came out in Feb 2019 lol. Its almost been 2 years. They should just have killed the 2.0 update and either moved it over towards a new game in the series where they could use everything theyve learned and made a much better Anthem 2.
But, Bioware should just focus on Dragon Age and Mass Effect going forward. Get those out first.
"I have been at BioWare since the 90s. Back when CRPGs were considered a dead genre. Through the last 23 years, I have watched video games evolve and grow into a truly powerful communication medium. We are an important part of so many people's lives. And BioWare has been a part of this journey. Though I remain confident in BioWare's strength and continued place in this conversation, I have decided to retire from my position at BioWare."
That right there sounds to me like a subtle way to come back at whoever decided it was time for him to move on. There's a hint of someone not agreeing with his vision (crpgs being considered a dead genre, something similar could've happened to him now - maybe he wanted a single player RPG and someone else didn't agree with that vision?), and the last bit about "BioWare's continued place in the conversation" sounds like that as well. Really wish someone could tell us what's going on in a bit more detail.
That right there sounds to me like a subtle way to come back at whoever decided it was time for him to move on. There's a hint of someone not agreeing with his vision (crpgs being considered a dead genre, something similar could've happened to him now - maybe he wanted a single player RPG and someone else didn't agree with that vision?), and the last bit about "BioWare's continued place in the conversation" sounds like that as well. Really wish someone could tell us what's going on in a bit more detail.
I REALLY hate thinking this way but yeah.. I think I agree :|
I was somewhat optimistic on the next Mass Effect but Bioware must be such a shitshow for Casey and Mark to just up and leave out of the blue like this.
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...wtf.
...WTF.
BioWare Departures Put The Lead Of The 'Anthem' Reboot In Charge Of 'Dragon Age 4' (forbes.com)
BioWare Departures Put The Lead Of The ‘Anthem’ Reboot In Charge Of ‘Dragon Age 4’
Some massive news out of BioWare as Mark Darrah and Casey Hudson have both left, and now the Anthem 2.0 head is in charge of Dragon Age 4, somehow.
...WTF.
Regarding those "Lies" I think sometimes you need to learn that game development is a balance of creativity and business. Of course you should be careful to hype things too much but everyone were expecting multiple endings with drastically branching outcomes and they did actually attempt it, even in the original, it just wasn't very well done and they were obviously short on time and budget, so I never felt too strongly about Casey/Mac saying things that technically are true but implicitly were dishonest. They were talking to the press, saying those things, and they were trying to convince anybody listening that this was a game they should buy, instead of the upcoming "Call of Duty", "Gears of War", "Halo" or whatever was coming out in close proximity, that's how it is to front-facing figures.
The problem is that they told a story of a trilogy that was incredible, and in the finale of the final game it lands on a sour note. That was cause for complain but the method by which it fails and how suddenly and abruptly it fails was so alienating to anyone following BioWare that there was a serious reason to let them know how we felt about things. It was their call to decide whether to do anything or not. The vitreol was excessive but I still believe it was largely founded on passion in a way I don't think a lot of the vitreol is for The Last of Us 2, for example. There was no implicit promise of an ending to Joel's journey in The Last of Us 1, the sequel is practically an act of charity to even come out. Mass Effect 3 had been "promised" and set people up for excitetement since 2010 before it was even announced. Of course we thought we were going to get something amazing and that turned out true for 90% of the game. But then the final 10 or 5% failed so miserably it was a legitimate shock to most fans, and that turned into a lot of bitter and angry feelings. Some of it regrettable, but I believe the complaints themselves are 100% founded in good faith and reasoning, and I was just alienated by BioWare having previously met fans halfway pretty happily suddenly deciding that this very serious flaw was going to be ignored for their own convenience.
Casey just came back.
Welp, guess I'll enjoy Mass Effect remaster and SWTOR as much as I can before the end.
Welp, guess I'll enjoy Mass Effect remaster and SWTOR as much as I can before the end.
Hudson came in during the end of Anthem's development didn't he? Such a huge blow to Bioware. Mark Darrah leaving is devastating. Especially as I'm a huge Dragon Age fan (more so than ME), but damn it he's been working at that company for such a long time, I wish him the best.
A lot of truly veteran staff is still there and heading their latest projects... but now they have no veteran management, which makes me hope they stay because it's inevitable now that their culture will change over the next years under some new leader that comes from whereever.
Between The Doctors, Hudson, Darrah, and David Gaider gone from the company, they pretty much are don't have their old identity anymore
This sucks.
But Era seems to massively overreact to individuals leaving game companies, as if the other hundreds of employees are now chickens with their heads cut off.
Andromeda and Anthem were unfortunate, but they've still got another chance to return to form. Got my fingers crossed for DA4. And the ME Remasters are hopefully good. If they're not, I guess I live with the heavily modded PC versions til the end of time.
But Era seems to massively overreact to individuals leaving game companies, as if the other hundreds of employees are now chickens with their heads cut off.
Andromeda and Anthem were unfortunate, but they've still got another chance to return to form. Got my fingers crossed for DA4. And the ME Remasters are hopefully good. If they're not, I guess I live with the heavily modded PC versions til the end of time.
it's more like when you open mr. house's hermetically sealed capsule and his dusty ass instantly expires. anyone who didn't think bioware was basically on biomort support was kidding themselves
Huge warning signs are:
- The fact that they don't have a GM already in waiting, ready to replace Hudson.
- That Mike Gamble, the guy doing live services, will be the creative director of DA4.
- That Hudson leaves so soon after just coming back, in the middle of a pandemic
- That Darah is considered to be a fixture at Bioware
If it was just Casey leaving, I think I'd actually understand it. In most ways, he seemed just there to "right the ship" so to speak after the debacle of Andromeda and Anthem's torturous development. I never got the sense that he'd stay there in any long term capacity.
I could also get Mark Darrah leaving since he's just been with the company so long and he might just want to do something different.
Both of them leaving at the same time to the complete surprise of Bioware alumni? That's... worrying.
I could also get Mark Darrah leaving since he's just been with the company so long and he might just want to do something different.
Both of them leaving at the same time to the complete surprise of Bioware alumni? That's... worrying.
The first point is a massive red flag. This isn't a graceful exit.
Has Patrick Weekes left yet? That'll truly be the final nail in Dragon Age's coffin... and Bioware as a whole, most likely.
Good.
I want an entire fucking book dedicated to Bioware's history and backroom happenings. There's so much shit to be told ever since EA bought this company.
Christian Daily, not Mike Gamble*
But yes. Point 1 is alarming, and it probably means their next real GM will be the first person to lead the company who doesn't have a history with them.
Darrah was apparently highly trusted within BioWare and he definitely led Dragon Age to success every time so far. He was also able to get Anthem shipped when it really looked like they weren't going to make it.
But there has got to be many other good studio leaders within EA, and that's what they need here. What worries me is if they find someone who creatively is a bad fit. Culturally I'm sure they will be mindful, but imagine if some guy comes in who's like "Try to make Dragon Age more about violence and death" or something. There's a lot of ways this can hurt their integrity if EA isn't aware of BioWare's creative values.
But otherwise the projects themselves are all in good hands right now. It's a matter of whether they still will be a year from now, now that there's evidently some kind of shakeup going on.
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