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FSS 2011: BioWare Austin Studio Tour

I’m sure I speak for all of the fan sites when I say that one of the highlights of this week’s Fan Site Summit was the tour of the BioWare Austin studio.

Given the situation, I felt like Charlie Bucket visiting the Wonka Chocolate Factory. There were so many things to see… so much to take in… and so many closed doors begging to be opened! The only thing missing was a glass elevator ride at the end.

The group of 30 attendees was split into two, one led by Stephen Reid and the other by David Bass.

As we wound through the maze of hallways that connected all of the workgroups, it was amazing to see works of concept art hung on the walls throughout. Some of these we’ve seen already, and some we haven’t. But all of them were printed and boarded in large-format (2×4 feet or more) and were just jaw-dropping to view in-person.

There were also a few extra-special places that we got a tour of, including the NOC. The NOC was a darkened room with more monitors per-square-foot than I’ve ever seen in one place. They keep track of the health of the game infrastructure from here, and it was quite impressive!

It was very interesting to see how the environment was set up for collaboration; the environments were very open, and almost every workstation had a whiteboard on wheels that offered any staffer to jot down their ideas and take them with them anywhere else in the building! I really hope that Alyson Bridge‘s decapitated Barbie head makes it into the game somehow…

While we couldn’t take pictures or video some areas, we hope the gallery below gives you a feel for the place and the culture of BioWare Austin. We can’t thank BioWare enough for the hospitality and for the invite into their home.

Enjoy!

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Jeff Hickman Joins BioWare Austin As Executive Producer, Live Services

When Gordon Walton departed BioWare Austin earlier this year to pursue other opportunities, the studio was left with some big shoes to fill. The game wasn’t done yet, let alone launched, and some of Gordon’s key responsibilities were critical in the development phases yet to come.

Well, we now know the man who is taking over at least some of the tasks Gordon left behind. This week at the Fan Site Summit hosted by BioWare, we were introduced to Jeff Hickman, who will be taking on the role of Executive Producer, Live Services for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.

Some of you may be familiar with Jeff from his years with Mythic Entertainment where he worked on Dark Age of Camelot as well Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning.

In his new role at BioWare, Jeff will be in charge of the teams that make sure the game is firing on all cylinders and that the service is reliable so that all of the eager gamers like you and I have a smooth experience in TOR.

Jeff is a true MMO veteran whose experience will be a valuable asset as BioWare motors toward launch of The Old Republic™.

Welcome to the fray, Jeff!

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Posted by Lethality | 9 Comments

Fan Site Summit Kicks Off Today!

As you may or may not have heard, this weekend about 15 Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ fan sites from around the world converged on on Austin for 2 days of total immersion in all things TOR.

Last night was epic. It all got started with an early call-to-arms for some drinks at the Westin lobby bar. Once everyone was all nice and talky, we headed over to Maggiano’s restaurant where BioWare hosted an awesome dinner for everyone.

Stepehen Reid, David Bass and members of the community team and creative services team were there, as well as old fan site buds Brandon Miletta and Brooks Guthrie, who made the leap from dreaming about TOR to working on it!

And oh yeah, TOROcast episode 100 happened too! This is a must-listen – all of the fan sites gathered in a tiny undisclosed room at the Westin for a mega-super-cast in the tradition of MER’s PAX East cast! (And, apologies to Samm and Musco for me sitting down in my hotel room chair for a quick rest before heading over.. and then never making it. I am a disappoint.)

We had an awesome time meeting and hanging out with everyone yesterday, and look forward to the next two days at the BioWare Austin studio playing TOR until our fingers fall off (or, slightly just before that point.)

But don’t worry, we’re going to bring it all back right here as soon as we can… and from what we know so far, you won’t want to miss it!

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Posted by Lethality | 2 Comments

Vote For BioWare In The Escapist March Mayhem Developer Showdown

It’s that time of year again… when seemingly hundreds of “bracket” knockoffs crop up from every corner of the Internet in honor of college basketball’s NCAA March Madness. For example, Hershey’s March Sweetness. Congrats to Pay Day bar!

But there’s at least one bracket knockoff that that’s important to us gamers: The Escapist March Mayhem!  And it just got even more important for the TOR faithful, because BioWare has made it to the final round! And they’re up against some formidable competition – none other than Mojang AB, the creators of the mega-sensaton MineCraft!

I don’t think I need to tell you to. Head on over to The Escapist and vote for the fine folks who are making this massively multiplayer online game we’re all chomping at the bit for – BioWare!

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BioWare Addresses Game Testing Scams

Allison Berryman, Senior Community Coordinator for BioWare on Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ has posted an alert for the community regarding potential scams regarding the Game Testing program:

It has come to our attention that there are multiple individuals and sites claiming to sell testing accounts, “beta keys,” or other offers of access to our Game Testing Program. All of these offers are false. BioWare is not issuing invites to Game Testing via any method other than those we outline here on SWTOR.com.

You can read Allison’s entire post here.

In summary, be smart and use common sense!

If you have any doubts or questions, contact BioWare directly at bwacommunitysupport@bioware.com before going forward with any action regarding the Game testing program!

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