Posted by Lethality | 0 Comments

Kotaku: BioWare Co-Founders Reflect On Learnings Of Beta

Gaming blog Kotaku recently spoke to BioWare Co-Founders Dr. Greg Zeschuk and Dr. Ray Muzyka where they had a chance to reflect on the Game Testing (beta) for Star Wars: The Old Republic. They spoke about what the learned from it and what influence the players really had during the process (more than you think.)

Korriban was the very, very first planet we ever did. And it was really funny, because it stayed the same for like four years. Meanwhile, everything else got really, really pretty.” Beta testers noticed the disparity in the art direction, too. Muzyka thinksKorriban looks great now. “That’s a big change that came out of feedback,” he says. “We said, ‘Hey, that Korriban, can we redo that?’ and the team do a major art pass on it.” So, if you’re playing on the Sith homeworld and love the way it looks, you can thank the beta testers for complaining in the first place.

I know I say this a lot, but it’s well worth the read for the discriminating TOR fan. Head on over to Kotaku and check it out!

Read More

Posted by Lethality | 0 Comments

BioWare Doctors Lecture BAFTA (Video)

A while back, we reported on an interview that Eurogamer did with BioWare Co-founders Dr. Greg Zeschuk and Dr Ray Muzyka with BAFTA where we learned that over 1 million players had participated in Star Wars: The Old Republic testing. Well, that wasn’t the only thing the Doctors were there to do.

Today, BAFTA posted two videos, totaling about an hour’s worth of content. First was a lecture on the creation of games and their philosophy and some process behind how BioWare thinks. The second video is a more intimate Q&A between the moderator and the Doctors. You can find both videos on this page (sorry, we cannot embed them here.)

While these videos don’t have to do directly with TOR, they are a great watch for fans of BioWare and people who like to take a peek behind the curtain at the business of making games. Hop on over to BAFTA Guru to watch!

Read More

Posted by Lethality | 4 Comments

Up To 1.5 Million Players Already Online + The Doctors Ring In NASDAQ

Computers And Video Games is reporting that Star Wars: The Old Republic may already have 1.5 million players already queuing up to play the game (as if you didn’t notice ;) Cowen & Company analyst Doug Creutz had this to say:

Based on the number of servers now in operation, and the relatively high densities thereon, we feel fairly comfortable estimating that the game already has in excess of 1 million players, and potentially could have as many as 1.5 million

He goes on to estimate that this is about 29% of the total number of servers that Blizzard operates for World of Warcraft. He also notes that the population density of TOR servers (relative to server capacity) appears to be greater than that of WoW servers.

Off to a great start? I’d say so. Biggest (and Smoothest). Launch. Ever.

In other awesome launch day news for Electronics Arts, BioWare Co-Founders Dr. Greg Zeschuk and Dr. Ray Muzyka were on Wall Street this morning to ring the opening bell and usher in the trading day for the NASDAQ exchange.

Read More

Posted by Lethality | 12 Comments

Grace Period Still A Possibility? Dr. Ray Tweets Some Hope

Last night during the VGA awards (in which BioWare announced both their new studio and new title last night), Co-founder Dr. Ray Muzyka took to the Twitter-verse. One of the tweets proved to be extremely interesting for fans of Star Wars: The Old Republic, particularly those affected by BioWare’s reversal of their plans for a grace period when the game releases.

Responding to tweets from several fans, Dr. Ray had this to say:

@RayMuzyka: We hear you & are taking the grace period issue very seriously. We’re looking at all our options.

It’s extremely cool that someone in his position takes the time to respond in that manner, especially on such a critical issue. But it should be no surprise to those that know him – the BioWare doctors are as down to earth and genuine as could be. Meeting Dr. Ray and Dr. Greg back at E3 for the first time, they took the time not just to shake hands and pose for a picture, but truly wanted to know what I thought about the game. There were tons of executives and industry folks, but they always took time for and put priority on the gamers. Cool.

But secondarily, as for the issue at hand, fans can rest assured this isn’t something that has fallen on deaf ears at Electronic Arts, which I think can be directly attributed to the reasons stated in the paragraph above. Perhaps the EA of years past would have steamrolled, but now gamers have a voice in this. While there weren’t any promises made in the tweet, it seems that we have the possibility of hearing something more very soon on the whole grace period issue.

Stay tuned to Ask A Jedi for more on this breaking story!

Read More

Posted by Lethality | 0 Comments

BioWare: A Force To Be Reckoned With

Fast Company, a magazine dedicated to progressive entrepreneurship and business, takes a look at BioWare and just how big of a bet Star Wars: The Old Republic is for Electronic Arts:

The stakes are as big as the game. For BioWare and its parent company, Electronic Arts, the release of The Old Republic is nothing short of transformational, according to Michael Hickey, senior analyst at National Alliance Capital Partners.

But beyond the financials, the article also takes a nice look at what makes BioWare great, from the writing to the ethos:

BioWare has become something akin to Pixar: a boutique production studio that wins critical acclaim for its rich storytelling, despite the less refined reputation of its parent company. If BioWare’s narrative magic works for the MMO genre, the game could be a blockbuster.

The article closes with the white elephant in the room: what if it fails?

Given the high degree of peril involved with this project, do Muzyka and Zeschuk worry The Old Republic might flop? “We have a pretty healthy sense of paranoia, so when we’re testing a game we know what problems to anticipate,” Muzyka says. “It’s something we’re used to as doctors–there’s always something new to learn in medicine.” His expression is open yet reveals nothing. “Besides,” shrugs the avid poker player, “I’ve played the game. I know it’s fun.”

Head on over to Fast Company for the full read – it’s a must for TOR fans, BioWare fans and entrepreneurs alike!

 

Read More