smexymage Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Does he still work in this game? He used to be all over the forums, and new content videos, interviews but as the game lead up to F2P we never hear from him. It feels like he is probably leaving, or being pushed out as this silence is what preceded other Devs leaving the company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grombrinda Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I think I saw a post on this not to long ago. I believe he might still be here, but don't quote me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZionHalcyon Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 He's in the kitchen baking me cookies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smexymage Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 He's in the kitchen baking me cookies. Whaaaa for all that time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khyle Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Yeah I'm curious about this as well. He hasn't been active on Twitter since July either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SithVeritas Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I haven't heard of him since they pulled the ''What planet do you want? ONDERON! ZIOST! KASHYYYK! DANTOOINE! MUSTAFAR! OK HERES MAKEB LOLOL'' on me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlacke Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Ohlen is one of the few quality people from the Bioware of old who are still working for the company, i would like to see him appear and become more involved with this game once again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nartiuslightlord Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I know it's not the place of moderators to tell us Mr James Ohlens job status, but he is a pretty big name when it comes to TOR and most of us have been super curious since he went silent in July. I think instead of letting internet rumors run rampant, they could just say, "yes he still hard at work on TOR". IF this thread gets deleted or we don't get that reply we have to assume he is no longer employed and has left to pursue a career as a tattoo artist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemmar Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 In an interview Hickman said that he was still in the team with the same rank. He is still very influencial in design decisions, but given that he was accused of beeing a liar because of his statement on E3 beeing retracted it was probably decided that he should have a leave of the media for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlacke Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 In an interview Hickman said that he was still in the team with the same rank. He is still very influencial in design decisions, but given that he was accused of beeing a liar because of his statement on E3 beeing retracted it was probably decided that he should have a leave of the media for a while. That might be the case, however only a malicious fool could accuse Ohlen of being a liar because of E3, it wan't his intention to mislead anyone, the company is at fault there because it changed it's stance regarding said topic, which is also understandable considering the changes this game had over the course of last six months. Besides Ohlen worked on the legendary games like Baldur's Gate for example, he doesn't deserve bad treatment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alec_Fortescue Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 (edited) Mr. Ohlen's Twitter wasn't updated in months He was a lead designer of one of the best 2011 games... Its poor management over 2012 turned out to be fail, not the game itself. And of course EA. Edited January 10, 2013 by Alec_Fortescue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimsPicken Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 He was a lead designer of one of the best 2011 games... Its poor management turned out to be fail, not the game itself. And of course EA. This is 100% accurate. All the good stuff in this game came from the Bioware team who really cared about the project. All the bad came from EA upper management making money decisions in an MMO genre they dont understand, and pressing the Bioware team to launch before they were ready. I think people are way too free in blaming "Bioware" for this games issues, where they actually should be mad at the purse-string overlords...EA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nartiuslightlord Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 That might be the case, however only a malicious fool could accuse Ohlen of being a liar because of E3, it wan't his intention to mislead anyone, the company is at fault there because it changed it's stance regarding said topic, which is also understandable considering the changes this game had over the course of last six months. Besides Ohlen worked on the legendary games like Baldur's Gate for example, he doesn't deserve bad treatment. I agree it's not deserved at all for him. the guy was always asking us what we liked and would love to see in game, so i don't blame him for leaving the spotlight. I hope BW/EA is smart enough to never let him go. I miss him asking that since for what it's worth the guy is the prime face of the game and the last big name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pscyon Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 (edited) EDIT: Nevermind, I mixed the names up, sorry. Edited January 10, 2013 by Pscyon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TUXs Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 All the good stuff in this game came from the Bioware team who really cared about the project. All the bad came from EA upper management making money decisions in an MMO genre they dont understand, and pressing the Bioware team to launch before they were ready. Oh what lunacy. This game, EVERY PART OF IT, IS what Bioware wanted. THEY wanted space on rails. THEY wanted companions useless at 50 for anything other than slave labor. THEY wanted loading screen after loading screen after loading screen...that's how ALL Bioware games are. This game, at launch, was a DIRECT reflection of the company Bioware was...story tellers who didn't know how to finish an MMO. All their games have had ending...just like this game did at 50. The game TODAY reflects EA, with a new cash shop update weekly, game update every other month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smexymage Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 Would really appreciate Biowares input on this, or from the man himself. He is a big figure in this game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beslley Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I would say check his linkedin profile to see if he's still on the project. That would probably be the easiest way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TUXs Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I would say check his linkedin profile to see if he's still on the project. That would probably be the easiest way. James Ohlen VP, Studio Creative Director Austin, Texas Computer Games Creative Director Electronic Arts 2007 – Present (6 years) Game Director BioWare January 2006 – Present (7 years 1 month)Austin, Texas Area Creative Director BioWare Austin 2006 – Present (7 years) I think he's still there guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumedus Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Oh what lunacy. This game, EVERY PART OF IT, IS what Bioware wanted. THEY wanted space on rails. THEY wanted companions useless at 50 for anything other than slave labor. THEY wanted loading screen after loading screen after loading screen...that's how ALL Bioware games are. To be fair, BioWare didn't want companions useless at 50. Originally, they wanted them to be usable in all facets of the game. People were supposed to be running around with a companion out in every bit of content. But they were never able to realize their vision for the companions, they couldn't optimize the engine for high player count content (thus making companions a liability) and many many fans didn't who claimed they were unwilling tobe forced to have a pet out all the time. Combine that with a looming deadline for an incomplete feature and they caved with these as the result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuixupu Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 His last blog post for for 1.4. Most likely he's just stepping back from the spotlight and letting Hickman and Schubert do the talking since he's obviously not calling the shots when it comes to how the content is released and for what cost. It is possible his absence could be a sign of him beginning to move away from the studio since that happened with a couple of other devs, but until we start seeing stuff pop up like "actively looking for opportunities" on his linkedin or from his own mouth, we can safely assume he is still working on SWTOR and has no intention of leaving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeterno Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Give us a wave James! We miss you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemmar Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 (edited) That might be the case, however only a malicious fool could accuse Ohlen of being a liar because of E3, it wan't his intention to mislead anyone, the company is at fault there because it changed it's stance regarding said topic, which is also understandable considering the changes this game had over the course of last six months. Besides Ohlen worked on the legendary games like Baldur's Gate for example, he doesn't deserve bad treatment. Dont get me wrong, i totally agree with you and i would love to hear more from him, but "you know who" would yell "liar" and "deceiver" whenever they have a chance. The poor man would probably get alot of flak if he said anything, be it good or bad. Edited January 10, 2013 by Nemmar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigitalDreamz Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I'd imagine he's still working for Bioware but is just not motivated or energized about the future of his company any longer. The company he started in is long gone, the reputation of the company is gone, his friends are gone and the creators are gone. The MMO he and his team worked on has changed so drastically and probably so far from what they wanted at the year one mark. I imagine him at his desk, hand holding up his head and frowning. He's reading these forums and everytime someone mentions a bug that still isn't fixed it makes him cringe. He thinks about what he can do to make things a bit better but then over a loudhorn you have an EA suit with a whip screaming "MOAR CARTEL PACK NAO!!!" *whip crack* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlacke Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Give us a wave James! We miss you! My sentiment exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echriado Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Ohlen is one of the few quality people from the Bioware of old who are still working for the company, i would like to see him appear and become more involved with this game once again. lol no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts