BioWare has seen better days as of late. Last year’s release of Mass Effect: Andromeda wasn’t a best seller as originally planned, and there are reportedly only a few folks working on the next Dragon Age game.
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But, as dismal as some things look now, it could’ve been a lot, lot worse – we could’ve lost BioWare a while back, if it weren’t for a helping hand from Electronic Arts.
Over the course of the weekend, a few BioWare team members attended HavenCon in Austin, Texas, an LGBTQ themed geek and gamer convention. Patrick Weekes, who was a former lead writer for the Mass Effect trilogy; Karin Weekes, who serves as lead editor; and David Gaider, who used to write for the Dragon Age franchise, all spoke at a panel, talking about various points, recapped here on Reddit by ArcherAnders.
There are a lot of interesting little facts here, including notes on building the Dragon Age history, the concept of mages and writing diverse characters within the series. But then the subject turned to Electronic Arts, and it’s here that things got interesting.
First off, the team revealed that Dragon Age 2 was actually very rushed – something a few fans could see when compared to the original Origins. But then they dropped an interesting bombshell, noting that the company originally ran out of money, and would have “gone under” if Electronic Arts hadn’t bought them out.
In addition, they noted that EA’s chief concern is money (something evident from the lack of support for Mass Effect: Andromeda), but, on the other hand, don’t push for specific things, and doesn’t tell BioWare what not to do. The members explained that if the company ever wants to feel like doing something “risky,” they usually get a response along the lines of “do you think you can do it right?”
The panel also touched upon the future of Dragon Age, although no one was allowed to ask about the next game in the series. Finally, it revealed some “other fun stuff,” like which popular characters would or would not twerk. Yes, that was actually a discussion point.
Do you think BioWare would have fared better trying to recover from a loss of money, or are you happy they’re still around under the EA banner?
If you want to check out Mass Effect: Andromeda, it’s available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
