[Kotaku] How BioWare's Anthem Went Wrong (Jason Schreier article)
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They need some major help and massive restructuring on the management and executive level with lots and lots of assistance and education. This is a case where EA being hands off was very much not a good thing. Seems without the Doctors those left in charge were ill equipped and not fit for leadership at all.
It's absolutely not an arbitrary time period. EA is one if not the single biggest reason to push for unionization in the industry.
What I don't understand about Schrier's article is how he can definitively absolve EA of blame but immediately point to the hardships of using their engine for most of a decade leading to... hardships.
Sheesh, what a mess.
Apart from the issues with the game engine, this stuck out to me, and was seemingly glossed over a bit.
Why?, was it simply a case of "we need a GaaS" and/or "keeping up with the current trends"?, why not just make the game you want to make and not try to jump onto the coat tails of the latest fad?, was the confidence shaken by Andromeda? or did they simply just not have a core gameplay loop that made the game compelling to play?
Apart from the issues with the game engine, this stuck out to me, and was seemingly glossed over a bit.
Why?, was it simply a case of "we need a GaaS" and/or "keeping up with the current trends"?, why not just make the game you want to make and not try to jump onto the coat tails of the latest fad?, was the confidence shaken by Andromeda? or did they simply just not have a core gameplay loop that made the game compelling to play?
Again. They can patch the game until they are blue in the face, has zero bugs, and runs 4K/60 FPS on the X and Pro and it won't change a dam thing. The underlying gameplay systems are just plain bad, and done better in every looter shooter going back to Borderlands 1.
Bioware Response
OP
OP
Yea EA definitely needs to rethink the policy regarding frostbite. But everything else just seems like a bioware issue. They need to change.
I don't know if Bioware can survive making another AAA game
They basically need a complete restructure and the frostbite initiative needs to die now
They basically need a complete restructure and the frostbite initiative needs to die now
Performance was bad, loot was sparse and boring and there just wasn't anything to do at end game. I actually quite liked the story which most people didn't, and the gameplay was pretty fun, who doesn't want to be Iron Man? But in the end I just had no reason to log in once I'd finished the story.
An article more awaited than the game itself. Since the first alpha some things felt really off, despite many things looking and seeming right. Just like with Destiny, those alphas and betas did indeed show the game's shortcomings. And even then, Destiny was at least a game working mostly well without major flaws aside from the progression system and the endgame. Can't wait to dig into this article.
Yeah I don't understand why journalists still quote Metacritic especially for multiplatform games where the split is stupid
While OpenCritic has 145 reviews for Anthem and average score of 61
Yeah, no. What the fuck is this.
"your depression, broken marriage and health problems are bad and all, but the players though, all those smiling little faces"
just no
Because while EA should definitely rethink their policy regarding Frostbite. A lot of these issues don't seem to be a result of that. Sure it didn't help.
But how does a game be in dev for 7 years, but doesn't go into production until 18 months before it ships? the article cites narrative changes etc. It seems to me they never really had a true vision for the game. Bioware leadership didn't listen to feedback and this is the result.
A 59 and a 55 are both F's in America no matter what school you attend.
This is way too fast lol
I think BioWare knew about this article, not even 30 minutes...
does anyone worry about the future of Bioware, Bethesda and Rockstar after their 3 latest AAA games?
I mention Rockstar, because although RDR 2 is a masterpiece, it didn't do as well sales wise to what was expected after the Juggernaut of GTA V if I am correct
I mention Rockstar, because although RDR 2 is a masterpiece, it didn't do as well sales wise to what was expected after the Juggernaut of GTA V if I am correct
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Jesus. All those interviews the devs have done over the last few years have basically been them trying to save face. I wish that the industry wasn't so focused on smoke and mirrors, and that if studios are going through this much trouble we wouldn't have to hear it after the fact.
Wouldn't an article like this continue to encourage them to improve their studio culture even further though? I know it mustn't be a nice read for them but still.
I'd definitely heard on the down-low back when the game was announced that development was a complete mess, so reading that there was this much stuff going on behind closed doors is enlightening but not all that surprising.
Really hope BioWare can get at least one more classic out of the door, because the double bill of Andromeda + Anthem is an almost hopeless fall from grace considering the studio pedigree.
Really hope BioWare can get at least one more classic out of the door, because the double bill of Andromeda + Anthem is an almost hopeless fall from grace considering the studio pedigree.
Ultimately, the situation behind the development for this game should be a cautionary tale for other developers/publishers.
It sounds as if everything that could (and quite honestly, shouldn't) have gone wrong did.
It sounds as if everything that could (and quite honestly, shouldn't) have gone wrong did.
This article made me physically ill.
What in the name of holy fuck in this, Bioware? How the hell can you go from the developers of Mass Effect trilogy to this depression-inducing cluterfuck of incopetence and ineptitude?
What in the name of holy fuck in this, Bioware? How the hell can you go from the developers of Mass Effect trilogy to this depression-inducing cluterfuck of incopetence and ineptitude?
"One was that in 2016, the FIFA games had to move to Frostbite. The annual soccer franchise was EA's most important series, bringing in a large chunk of the publisher's revenue, and BioWare had programmers with Frostbite experience, so Electronic Arts shifted them to FIFA"
Wow!
This article definitely puts frostbite, and ea management back into the ire of fans
Wow!
This article definitely puts frostbite, and ea management back into the ire of fans
This right here just tells you how mismanaged this whole thing was.
That person was Casey Hudson, aka the guy who invented Mass Effect. Hate it all you want, but it's his universe to create a disappointing ending to.
This is your typical fluff PR response to these kinds of news stories. Blah blah blah it's for the players blah blah blah our developers are passionate blah blah blah we shouldn't focus on how badly we're run and treating our staff blah blah blah
Reading this, EA's continued insistence on using Frostbite just seems so incredibly myopic. How can they not have the self-reflection after repeated issues over and over again? Even in their most successful products, such as FIFA, it has reared its ugly head.
"Frostbite is like an in-house engine with all the problems that entails—it's poorly documented, hacked together, and so on—with all the problems of an externally sourced engine"
How is this still an issue, particularly the poor documentation? EA should put together a Frostbite tech team to pull together documentation and offer assistance whenever there's a weak area that needs improvement. The engine is a major part of their output, it should be a major focus for them - bigger than the current team they're devoting to it.
How is this still an issue, particularly the poor documentation? EA should put together a Frostbite tech team to pull together documentation and offer assistance whenever there's a weak area that needs improvement. The engine is a major part of their output, it should be a major focus for them - bigger than the current team they're devoting to it.
"Beyond" was also their working title for Mass Effect Andromeda for a while. Mike Gamble said this back in 2017.
Just shows how much BioWare has been scrapping since Inquisition, running from project to project and scrambling things together from across their different projects, all hands (all 3, now 2 BioWares) on deck :/
Either EA sets too aggressive expectations on them or BioWare's just overambitious (aka terrible) with their own promises and scheduling.
Just shows how much BioWare has been scrapping since Inquisition, running from project to project and scrambling things together from across their different projects, all hands (all 3, now 2 BioWares) on deck :/
Either EA sets too aggressive expectations on them or BioWare's just overambitious (aka terrible) with their own promises and scheduling.
Oh I've been waiting for this. A good few years sooner than I figured though. Going to dive in later this evening
As a developer (non game) I am on year 5 of a software overhaul. My team was 12 strong 5 years ago. Now, it's Just me.
I get the same feedback that Bioware is getting (wtf are you doing? What are we paying for? Why cant you get anything done? Why is this so shit? Why shouldn't we go to X company?)
And I have to tell you, it blows.
I have some pride in work, and taking it on the chin for the company is what I am doing as I continue to code and change and try to get things done.
Even with a team of 600 divided in half and then fighting... I'm surprised it saw the light of day in any form. Sounds nasty.. but don't ever be surprised by length of development time.
I have this saying on my desk:
99 little bugs in the code, 99 little bugs. You take one down, fix it around, 143 little bugs in the code.
In Yarrows voice *Truth*
Really good article. Some insane stuff, some less insane.
Some even more/less in both cases if you've done gamedev before.
Some even more/less in both cases if you've done gamedev before.