BioWare: Your Questions Answered

NewsPosted 17/11/2009 - 3:08pm GMT

Big boss Dr. Ray Muzyka versus the VideoGamer.com community.

Dragon Age: Origins is out. Mass Effect 2 is out in January. Star Wars: The Old Republic is out… well, we don't know when, and there are even "unannounced projects" on the go. Canadian developer BioWare is busy. But not so busy that co-founder and CEO Dr. Ray Muzyka couldn't take the time to do a massive, no-holds barred interview with VideoGamer.com. Here, in the final part of the interview, we put the great inquisitive VideoGamer.com Community's posers to Ray in a special edition of Your Questions Answered. Did we ask yours? Read on to find out. Missed the first part of the interview? Fear not, RPG fans. It's right here.

Karlius: Are you tempted to integrate Natal into your IP? Could it work with the kind of games BioWare makes?

RM: It certainly could. We'd want to approach it from a fresh perspective and design a game around the mechanic of the controller. It's so different. In the same way the best Wii games embrace the control mechanic as part of the core design. It remains to be seen what kind of Natal games will come out. It will be very cool. The best ones will probably approach it as a core part of the game as opposed to an add-on or an afterthought.

VideoGamer.com: It would be a bad idea then to put Natal integration into a game not built from the ground up for it?

RM: I don't know if it would be a bad idea. It might be dependent on how the developer puts it in. But it might be easier to design it from the ground up as the core mechanic. If we were doing it, that's what we would do to push it. But other developers might be able to think of ways to integrate it into an existing mechanic. It remains to be seen.

Mr_Ninjutsu: Is BioWare interested in exploring other genres? The FPS or the RTS?

RM: We are arguably doing that now. I see the definition of RPG as being pretty broad. We look at Mass Effect, I say, and I believe, that it's as much a shooter as it is an RPG. When you play it, it really feels that way. So I'd say we're approaching other genres by expanding what the definition of RPG is, and blending in features of other genres to enrich our game experiences and drawing in new fans.

VideoGamer.com: Mass Effect is a third-person shooter though. Would you consider an FPS?

RM: We would. We haven't announced anything on that front, but yeah, I can see that being a very interesting combination.

robz48: Will there be a Star Wars: The Old Republic beta? If so, when will it begin?

RM: We haven't announced any timing on it, but yes there will be one. In fact, we've already started the sign-up process for closed beta testing. Lots of people have signed up already on the Star Wars: The Old Republic site.

dudester: Do you see Mass Effect making it to the big screen?

RM: Yeah, I could see that happen, for sure. We'd be interested in that happening. We're already doing a ton of ancillary development - books and extensions to the IP. I would love to see Mass Effect go to film or television. We've said that before and it's still true.

VideoGamer.com: Who would you like to play Commander Shepard?

RM: [Laughs] I have no idea. I mean, there are a lot of great actors out there.

VideoGamer.com: Don't say Tom Cruise. What about the guy from Prison Break?

RM: Oh yeah. That would be interesting.

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User Comments

Machetazo

Another Tali fan, is nice to see. :) She was my favourite character throughout the very enjoyable game. I'm looking forward to seeing the state of the world, affected by my progress and choices in the first game. The result wasn't what I wanted at the end, but regardless, for continuity's sake, it's the outcome I'll start with in Mass Effect 2...

Posted 15:09 on 18 November 2009

Woffls

aww, not much love for Tali'Zorah nar Rayya :( I loved Mass Effect so much. I didn't buy it back in 2007, I just borrowed it off my friends and completed it about 7/8 times, including lots of sidequests. I felt guilty about not buying it so ordered a copy of the Collector's Edition earlier this week, even though I have played every single possible scenario out in that game... well, maybe not, whatever :P

Regarding Natal, I think Mass Effect would actually be well suited to it. What most people assume is that your game must either be Natal controlled, or with a standard controller. It's easy enough to combine the 2, and this is where Mass Effect is an appropriate addition. The team based combat is already arguably peripheral to the experience; you can go throughout the game without telling your squad mates want to do.

What Natal would be is an addition to the core experience, using it to command your team. If you want your 1st squad mate to put fire on an enemy, take your left hand and do the Ocelot thing (pretent guns) to make them fire at the enemy. If you want your 2nd squad mate to take cover, just point a single finger at where they should go. Similarly, do the standard military commands like circling your finger to make them regroup, or do a fist to make them stop.

I think there's a lot of potential for this kind of implementation, and, most importantly perhaps, it won't interfere in any way with the normal gameplay and you can completely ignore it.

Posted 00:37 on 18 November 2009