xerohiro Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 I was reading that Bioware Austin will be releasing a new 5 player RPG 4 players, 1 Villain player. The 4 players will go up against a dungeon master aka bad guy. It will have a modern day setting, and will have content packs released as episodes. The game is called Shadow Realms. Looks like the idea of Fable, and The Secret World combined. From what I saw Bioware Austin let go of employee's before, now with a smaller development team, is any future content for SWTOR in the works? I don't understand how this studio can handle two different games without sacrificing development to SWTOR. Why cant Bioware Austin focus on SWTOR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZionHalcyon Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 Completely different division dude, do you have no idea how it works??? Totally separate dev team. Just under same roof as the SWTOR team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordArtemis Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 (edited) If I were to hazard a guess, it is because they are not meeting goals they have set internally with the rate of income required. That doesn't mean they are not making money, or even that they are not making profit...only that they have perhaps set goals that they can not meet with one product. It is important to note that the studios are in separate locations, so they do not likely share work. Naturally EA could have a hand in those goals. Either way, it is unlikely they will have to divert resources from this game to that one...it is more likely that this effort is being taken in a way that utilizes unused or underutilized assets at the moment. Edited August 13, 2014 by LordArtemis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikinai Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 Most likely the expenditure for that game got the green light a while ago. If it was just given the go ahead obviously EA and Bioware feel confident in the production house in Austin to be able to handle the workload. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthTHC Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 Why can't Blizzard focus on World of Warcraft? Why do they have to keep making Diablo games? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordArtemis Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 (edited) Why can't Blizzard focus on World of Warcraft? Why do they have to keep making Diablo games? You have used the dreaded rolleyes emote. You are therefore fired from the internet. Edited August 13, 2014 by LordArtemis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjonxb Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 I was reading that Bioware Austin will be releasing a new 5 player RPG 4 players, 1 Villain player. The 4 players will go up against a dungeon master aka bad guy. It will have a modern day setting, and will have content packs released as episodes. The game is called Shadow Realms. Looks like the idea of Fable, and The Secret World combined. From what I saw Bioware Austin let go of employee's before, now with a smaller development team, is any future content for SWTOR in the works? I don't understand how this studio can handle two different games without sacrificing development to SWTOR. Why cant Bioware Austin focus on SWTOR? At the beginning of this year they were on a pretty major hiring spree. At the time most of them were "unannounced projects" at Bioware Austin. Most likely they brought over a few people who may not be needed here for a little while (based on expertise in a particular field) and they filled the rest with new hires. There is no reason why a development studio can't have multiple projects happening at the same time. Bioware currently has (that we know of) 5 games in development and 3 studios. Next Mass EffectDragon Age InqusitionShadow Realm (just announced)Mysterious new IPSWTOR This doesn't take into account any work that may be going on for the sequels for those games or the fact that SWTOR currently (or at least recently) had 2 expansions in development. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xerohiro Posted August 13, 2014 Author Share Posted August 13, 2014 If I were to hazard a guess, it is because they are not meeting goals they have set internally with the rate of income required. That doesn't mean they are not making money, or even that they are not making profit...only that they have perhaps set goals that they can not meet with one product. It is important to note that the studios are in separate locations, so they do not likely share work. Naturally EA could have a hand in those goals. Either way, it is unlikely they will have to divert resources from this game to that one...it is more likely that this effort is being taken in a way that utilizes unused or underutilized assets at the moment. Ok heres a quote from the shadow realms site You're going to learn a lot of details about our game in the coming weeks. Studio Creative Director James Ohlen has written a great piece about how we tell stories at BioWare, and how we are pushing that tradition into the future with our Episodic Story. Design Director Gabe Amatangelo has written an overview of our gameplay, talking about why our game revolves around Co-Op 4v1 Shadowlord PvP. Lead Writer Hall Hood has written an overview of our Modern Fantasy setting and the world of Embra.[/Quote] So are you telling me that James and Gabe aren't a part of the swtor development team anymore? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordArtemis Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 Ok heres a quote from the shadow realms site So are you telling me that James and Gabe aren't a part of the swtor development team anymore? No, I'm telling you what I said. Nothing more, nothing less. You INFERRED it to mean something else. The two gentlemen you mentioned are likely capable of handling both projects....as I stated, underutilized. And note....it was clearly a guess. That means I can most definitely be wrong. There is no need for us to argue semantics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xerohiro Posted August 13, 2014 Author Share Posted August 13, 2014 No, I'm telling you what I said. Nothing more, nothing less. You INFERRED it to mean something else. The two gentlemen you mentioned are likely capable of handling both projects....as I stated, underutilized. And note....it was clearly a guess. That means I can most definitely be wrong. There is no need for us to argue semantics. I just hope they have more planned for SWTOR. That's the whole reason for this thread. I just re subbed to the game. Imagine if this game was built using the engine they're going to be using for shadow realms? The frostbite engine is amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerba Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 (edited) All these past few months, I was wondering why we were in such a slow phase of content updates, with just tactical flashpoints and no new planets or operations, and it is definitely reassuring to know now what was going on. I'd guess that they started on Shadow Realms roughly one year ago, when they were nearly done with Oricon, and everything since then was developed by a smaller staff. Most likely they brought over a few people who may not be needed here for a little while (based on expertise in a particular field) and they filled the rest with new hires. I was just at the Shadow Realms event, talking to one of the producers, and this is precisely what he told me when I asked him about Bioware Austin and SWTOR. The experienced producers were taken from SWTOR and now only work on Shadow Realms, but they hired many new people, and kept most of the developers on SWTOR. The Community Team (Musco and co) have always been responsible for BW Austin, not just SWTOR, so they'll be handling both Shadow Realms and SWTOR now. I suppose we'll have to wait and see how 3.0 will play out, and if Bioware is getting back on track with content updates. I definitely hope we won't have to wait a full year for the next operaton past 3.0 again. Edited August 13, 2014 by Jerba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordArtemis Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 I just hope they have more planned for SWTOR. That's the whole reason for this thread. I just re subbed to the game. Imagine if this game was built using the engine they're going to be using for shadow realms? The frostbite engine is amazing! Absolutely. I still hold out hope that this engine can be saved one day, or we see some kind of reboot/continuation in the future on a different engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfa Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 Completely different division dude, do you have no idea how it works??? Totally separate dev team. Just under same roof as the SWTOR team. Wrong, Swtor has lost some long time devs to this game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthTHC Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 (edited) Ok heres a quote from the shadow realms site ===== You're going to learn a lot of details about our game in the coming weeks. Studio Creative Director James Ohlen has written a great piece about how we tell stories at BioWare, and how we are pushing that tradition into the future with our Episodic Story. Design Director Gabe Amatangelo has written an overview of our gameplay, talking about why our game revolves around Co-Op 4v1 Shadowlord PvP. Lead Writer Hall Hood has written an overview of our Modern Fantasy setting and the world of Embra. ===== So are you telling me that James and Gabe aren't a part of the swtor development team anymore? The titles are telling. Studio Creative Director is the guy who oversees all creative within a studio - multiple projects. Design Director might also be a similar position. That doesn't mean that staff or priority has been pulled from one game the studio makes to feed another, though I would imagine that is a common practice within studios. All it really means is that the same studio is working on multiple games. No more, no less, regardless what you choose to read into it. Edited August 13, 2014 by DarthTHC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xerohiro Posted August 13, 2014 Author Share Posted August 13, 2014 The titles are telling. Studio Creative Director is the guy who oversees all creative within a studio - multiple projects. Design Director might also be a similar position. That doesn't mean that staff or priority has been pulled from one game the studio makes to feed another, though I would imagine that is a common practice within studios. All it really means is that the same studio is working on multiple games. No more, no less, regardless what you choose to read into it. its all speculation, but what I'm hoping is that it doesn't take away from the overall future development of SWTOR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianDavion Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 (edited) I doubt it will, that said this is an intreasting approuch for BW (a 4 man co-op with 1 player also playing the villan), I'm curious if it'll take off Edited August 13, 2014 by BrianDavion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xerohiro Posted August 14, 2014 Author Share Posted August 14, 2014 I doubt it will, that said this is an intreasting approuch for BW (a 4 man co-op with 1 player also playing the villan), I'm curious if it'll take off The idea behind it is great, lets just see how Bioware is on the follow through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Socialist Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 They are just maximizing the production of value by squeezing their human capital (aka employees, aka labourers) dry. As every other capitalist institution worth its salt (or its capital in this case) does. No biggie, that's how the world roll. Go ask someone who works on BW Austin how's the pressure to accomplish multiple tasks in short periods under imminent chance of being fired at any time, regardless of productivity. So, in a nutshell, that is why studios launch games like a AK-47 fires bullets and also why most games nowadays feel rather half assed. You can thank EA for that as well, by pushing the frontiers in how to make game business thrive and maximize its profits. Can't blame them though, as I said, that's roll the world roll and they exist, ultimately, to multiply their capital, not to make awesome games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaximusRex Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 They are just maximizing the production of value by squeezing their human capital (aka employees, aka labourers) dry. As every other capitalist institution worth its salt (or its capital in this case) does. No biggie, that's how the world roll. Go ask someone who works on BW Austin how's the pressure to accomplish multiple tasks in short periods under imminent chance of being fired at any time, regardless of productivity. So, in a nutshell, that is why studios launch games like a AK-47 fires bullets and also why most games nowadays feel rather half assed. You can thank EA for that as well, by pushing the frontiers in how to make game business thrive and maximize its profits. Can't blame them though, as I said, that's roll the world roll and they exist, ultimately, to multiply their capital, not to make awesome games. Your Sig, Riccitiello hasn't been at EA since March of 2013. If you don't know that the CEO has been gone for over a year, I have strong doubts as to the validity of your, insights, into BioWare Austin business practices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeterno Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 Look at it this way, pretty much all the names connected to that game so far are the names people hare have been bashing and wanted off TOR... Amatangello, Hickman even Ohlen... guess folks got their wish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThorgrimLutgen Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 I was reading that Bioware Austin will be releasing a new 5 player RPG 4 players, 1 Villain player. The 4 players will go up against a dungeon master aka bad guy. It will have a modern day setting, and will have content packs released as episodes. The game is called Shadow Realms. Looks like the idea of Fable, and The Secret World combined. From what I saw Bioware Austin let go of employee's before, now with a smaller development team, is any future content for SWTOR in the works? I don't understand how this studio can handle two different games without sacrificing development to SWTOR. Why cant Bioware Austin focus on SWTOR? It looks excellent actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demotivator Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 (edited) You're going to learn a lot of details about our game in the coming weeks. Studio Creative Director James Ohlen has written a great piece about how we tell stories at BioWare, and how we are pushing that tradition into the future with our Episodic Story. Design Director Gabe Amatangelo has written an overview of our gameplay, talking about why our game revolves around Co-Op 4v1 Shadowlord PvP. Lead Writer Hall Hood has written an overview of our Modern Fantasy setting and the world of Embra. So are you telling me that James and Gabe aren't a part of the swtor development team anymore? Wait... I thought that James Ohlen left BioWare shortly after the launch of TOR when the original dev team started to leave? Edited August 14, 2014 by demotivator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddballEasyEight Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 (edited) I was reading that Bioware Austin will be releasing a new 5 player RPG 4 players, 1 Villain player. The 4 players will go up against a dungeon master aka bad guy. It will have a modern day setting, and will have content packs released as episodes. The game is called Shadow Realms. Looks like the idea of Fable, and The Secret World combined. From what I saw Bioware Austin let go of employee's before, now with a smaller development team, is any future content for SWTOR in the works? I don't understand how this studio can handle two different games without sacrificing development to SWTOR. Why cant Bioware Austin focus on SWTOR? Oh I don't know... maby because that's how the games industry works? No major company focuses exclusively on one product. Not even blizzard. What you are doing is essentially the same as asking why Blizzard had to go and release another diablo game instead of concentrating on WoW exclusively. (also, bioware austin is actually hiring, so it's not like they just dumped alot of staff and then never hired anyone new) Edited August 14, 2014 by OddballEasyEight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Wicked Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 Wait... I thought that James Ohlen left BioWare shortly after the launch of TOR when the original dev team started to leave? He was actually promoted it would seem; Imagine that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TUXs Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 He was actually promoted it would seem; Imagine that. Only in the software business Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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