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The Doctors Speak To Gamasutra

Gamasutra has posted a nicely done, full length interview with BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk. You can call them The Doctors.

In the interview, they muse about the everything from Dragon Age to Mass Effect, the BioWare process and what sets them apart from other development studios, including the importance of  their employees.

But of course, what interview with the Doctors would be complete without some talk about Star Wars: The Old Republic? Here’s just a preview:

Gamasutra: There are a lot of experienced people that have worked on MMOs in the past working on The Old Republic, but it’s just hard to imagine how incredibly difficult it could be for a company that hasn’t released an MMO yet to support an MMO. I think players trust the design choices that BioWare is going to make, and innovations in that area, but the support for a game like that — a game as a service — how are you guys approaching that leading up to launch?

Greg Zeschuk: The preparations are as massive as the game. It’s interesting. It’s a good point. It’s something that’s been foremost in our minds for quite a while. Obviously, we have a certain level of confidence on the game side, because that’s very familiar territory for us. There are subtle nuances of how it’s different, server-based gameplay and that sort of thing.

But the whole service piece has probably been the thing we’ve learned most about. And I think the good thing there, though, is we have a lot of people who really do have a lot of experience. The folks at BioWare Mythic, a lot of them are part of the team, and they did it for 10 years, 15 years. They ran game services.

Head on over to Gamasutra for the whole read!

 

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GameInformer: A Talk With The Doctors

[UPDATE] – Stephen Reid took the time to clarify some of the statements made by Dr. Greg Zeschuk in the GameInformer interview.

Earlier today, GameInformer posted a brand new interview with BioWare co-founders Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk. The talk was general in nature, covering all of the major properties of the studio including Mass Effect and Dragon Age. That doesn’t mean it was without some tidbits for the TOR faithful, however!

Interviewer Bryan Vore poses the question:

What have been the exciting and challenging aspects of getting into the MMO business with The Old Republic?

Greg Zeschuk: Obviously, MMOs are an enormous undertaking. There are a lot of technical challenges that you have to accomplish. It’s just the size. Historically, Bioware’s been known to make a lot of big games. Now working on an MMO, it’s very eye opening to see just how big they are.

This next question was interesting (well, not the question as much as the answer!):

A lot of people around the office are excited to play it. Are there any plans coming together for a public beta?

Greg Zeschuk: You’ll have to watch our website and see. At this point we’re still in more of a closed beta period. We’re definitely making great progress on it. The feedback’s been great. There’s always lots to do, but it’s really really shaping up. Before too long you guys will get a little crack at it. Keep an eye out for that.

Dr. Greg’s response is open to all kinds of interpretation, but it’s always exciting to hear him use words like “Before too long” :)  Does this mean the game is progressing toward a wider testing period? Let the speculation begin!

The article is a great read for all BioWare fans, so head on over to GameInformer to check it out!

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DICE 2011: The BioWare Method

Last week at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas, BioWare Co-Founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka gave a presentation to attendees entitled “The BioWare Method.”

G4 TV has made a video of this presentation available for viewing online, where you can see the good doctors discuss the business philosophies and core values that have led to BioWare’s success.

Fans of Star Wars™: The Old Republic,™ BioWare fans in general, and game designers may be interested in  checking it out!

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Doctoring The Story: GameSpot Interviews Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk

During the DICE Summit this week, GameSpot had a chance to sit down with BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk to talk about Star Wars: The Old Republic.

They talk about not just the game, but also the service – how its equally as important as the quality of the game. Good news indeed!

The video is almost 7 minutes long, and well worth a watch. Head over to GameSpot to watch in in HD!

Update: Another video interview with the Doctors has turned up on VentureBeat:

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Greg Zeschuk, Ray Muzyka At DICE Summit

This week, DICE Summit 2011 is taking place in Las Vegas. DICE is an annual conference put on by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences that brings together thought leaders from all over the interactive entertainment world.

Why might this be important to fans of The Old Republic?

This year, the DICE keynote panel included BioWare’s Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka, as well as Blizzard’s Mike Morhaime (in addition to other industry luminaries.) So, it’s a potentially interesting juxtaposition when the chief of the current world’s largest MMORPG (Blizzard’s Morhaime) has a seat next to the leaders of the BioWare, who, in The Old Republic, many predict have the first legitimate challenger to the throne that World of Warcraft occupies.

But Dr. Greg Zeschuk doesn’t see it that way.

GamesIndustry.biz (registration required) has a short summary of the keynote panel, highlighted by commentary from Zeschuk on how World of Warcraft has changed the industry:

It is a touchstone. It has established standards, it’s established how you play an MMO. Every MMO that comes out, I play and look at it. And if they break any of the WoW rules, in my book that’s pretty dumb

Zeschuk goes on to say, as he and his company have before, that they’re not out to “beat” World of Warcraft, but rather “place” in the marketplace:

It’s not like we’re actually going out there to beat anyone, we’re going out to place. The audience will tell us if we have a place

Later in the panel, Blizzard’s Mike Morhaime had this to say about BioWare:

BioWare is a great developer and obviously Star Wars is a very strong licence. We think it’s good for the MMO genre for additional MMOs to come out that are actually fun and good to play

Morhaime’s final comment to Zeschuk was poignant:

So, do a good job (BioWare)

Do a good job, indeed, BioWare :)

Head on over to GamesIndustry.biz for the entire article. The registration is free, and worth the time!

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