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  1. #1

    Daniel Erickson is gone from Bioware

    http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/10/...leaves-bioware

    Is anyone surprised by this? I hadn't heard from Erickson in some time, so it doesn't come as a shock to me in the slightest. Now, the second question "Is Ohlen far behind?"

  2. #2
    Things are clearly bad if he was so eager to leave or had to and did so without a new job lined up. Two very basic ways to look at this, maybe all the ppl in charge of the development and opening of SWTOR leaving will help the game with new or better ppl stepping in or look at it like rats leaving a sinking ship. I hope the game gets stronger but this isn't building confidence.
    "Privilege is invisible to those who have it."

  3. #3
    Not surprised at all. He had not posted anything in months and he posted often for someone involved with SWTOR. Also he was originally the lead writer. With SWTOR moving away from story, there was probably not much work for him. Anyways best of luck to him, I'm sure he will find a job.

  4. #4
    From all the people at bioware, Daniel was my favourite though it was kinda annoying when we heard all the time... "can't talk about, it will be exciting" and it never came.

    With all the people leaving SWTOR.. the only thing I do care about currently is that they are still striving for a successful F2P game though I'm not sure it's a good way to kick out all the people, players got to know over the last few years.

  5. #5
    He had "actively looking for new opportunities" in his Linkedin account for around a month, not surprised he left (or was let go, since that's kinda like, super unprofessional).

    How many of the original senior staff are even left >.>

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by edgecrusherO0 View Post
    How many of the original senior staff are even left >.>
    About the same number as are left at all the other companies EA bought and destroyed.

    I still don't understand why anyone thought that Bioware would be any different from all the other companies they wrecked.

  7. #7
    Yea I like the game but it really does seem like EA has no idea how to support a MMO after launch. That said I hope he lands on his feet, there are alot of cool projects out there from the independants.

  8. #8
    For me, Erickson left a bad taste in my mouth when he said the game wasn't losing any subscribers only a week before we found out they dropped from 1.7 mil to 1.4 mil. I've heard the arguments that he's just a dev and isn't privy to that information to which I replied he should have never made any assumptions as statement of fact. I don't know, it just didn't sit right with me. As for him leaving, I'm not surprised another original is gone. They seem to be jumping ship since the stupid fan backlash from ME3 and the hit TOR wasn't.

  9. #9
    Raymond Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, James Ohlen, and Scott Greig were the soul of Bioware IMHO. These were the guys that brought us the original Baldur's Gate which is the game that made me fall in love with the company in the first place. Who is left? Just James I think. The company Daniel Erickson left stopped being Bioware when Ray and Greg left. If you look at the interview with Ray and Greg you can tell that whatever it is that happened to the company sucked there love of game development right out of them. Yeah my bets are on EA.

  10. #10
    The Lightbringer Arganis's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jbombard View Post
    Raymond Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, James Ohlen, and Scott Greig were the soul of Bioware IMHO. These were the guys that brought us the original Baldur's Gate which is the game that made me fall in love with the company in the first place. Who is left? Just James I think. The company Daniel Erickson left stopped being Bioware when Ray and Greg left. If you look at the interview with Ray and Greg you can tell that whatever it is that happened to the company sucked there love of game development right out of them. Yeah my bets are on EA.
    Nvm the actual consumers who are about as thankful and supportive as your local junkies. Imo EA might have sucked the soul out of Bioware but it's the so-called "fan" backlash that put the nail in the coffin.
    Facilis Descensus Averno

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Arganis View Post
    Nvm the actual consumers who are about as thankful and supportive as your local junkies. Imo EA might have sucked the soul out of Bioware but it's the so-called "fan" backlash that put the nail in the coffin.
    Could be, it isn't like I actually talked to them. However EA bought out Bioware in 2007, look at a list of games Bioware release pre 2007 and post 2007. Every single game in that list pre 2007 was awesome. As you look at the post 2007 you see good games, but you can also see the change in how they treated the customer. The biggest indicator of change to me was when Dragon Origins had a quest in game that said if you want to actually do this quest give me money. That was the most immersion breaking, middle finger to the customer, pile of crap I had ever seen. They just kept going downhill. Is it coincidence that this started happening only after EA took charge? Could be. But it seems like an awfully big coincidence.

  12. #12
    it's not like that it is kinda common to sell new stuff for a small price... I never minded the payable content because it didn't add only "a quest".

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Psychlon View Post
    it's not like that it is kinda common to sell new stuff for a small price... I never minded the payable content because it didn't add only "a quest".
    Oh I didn't mind the price or the fact that they were selling additional content. I minded that they stuck a big advertisement for it right in the middle of the game, WHILE YOU WERE PLAYING.

  14. #14
    Hm I must have forget about it, could you elaborate on what exactly happened? Might be that I bought it before I restarted the game so I didn't see that add?!

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Arganis View Post
    Nvm the actual consumers who are about as thankful and supportive as your local junkies. Imo EA might have sucked the soul out of Bioware but it's the so-called "fan" backlash that put the nail in the coffin.
    It's always, always the right of the consumer to complain about things they don't like. Of course, the BSN does it with the subtlety and elegance of a nuclear-powered jackhammer, but still - you can't fault fans for negative backlash. Negative backlash stems from unmet expectations, which is either because the product is too poor or expectations were too high, both of which would be EA/BioWare's fault.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Psychlon View Post
    Hm I must have forget about it, could you elaborate on what exactly happened? Might be that I bought it before I restarted the game so I didn't see that add?!
    Been a while since I played too. There is a guy in your camp where all the NPCs are. He looks like he has a quest, when you talk to him you basically get a URL sending you to purchase the quest.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Shrouded View Post
    It's always, always the right of the consumer to complain about things they don't like. Of course, the BSN does it with the subtlety and elegance of a nuclear-powered jackhammer, but still - you can't fault fans for negative backlash. Negative backlash stems from unmet expectations, which is either because the product is too poor or expectations were too high, both of which would be EA/BioWare's fault.
    I'm curious... if your manager tells you about a salary increase and you tell all your friends you'll get 10 grand more a months though it turns out to be only 500 dollars... are you going to blame your manager for making up false expectations?

    Quote Originally Posted by jbombard View Post
    Been a while since I played too. There is a guy in your camp where all the NPCs are. He looks like he has a quest, when you talk to him you basically get a URL sending you to purchase the quest.
    Ah I remember... I played it on ps3 so they wouldn't link to a website but rather you couldn't speak with the guy (as far as I remember).

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Psychlon View Post
    I'm curious... if your manager tells you about a salary increase and you tell all your friends you'll get 10 grand more a months though it turns out to be only 500 dollars... are you going to blame your manager for making up false expectations?

    ...
    Actually if this happened even if the employee didn't directly blame the manager, if it caused the employee to become unmotivated and less productive, or even caused them to quit, it would be the fault of the manager, and that manager would get a good ass chewing if he worked for me. Believe, it or not a managers primary job is to train and motivate employees to keep them happy and productive, there is also a lot of other work a manager may be required to do based on the job but a manager who can't keep employees motivated and productive will be a detriment to your business.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Psychlon View Post
    I'm curious... if your manager tells you about a salary increase and you tell all your friends you'll get 10 grand more a months though it turns out to be only 500 dollars... are you going to blame your manager for making up false expectations?
    Apples and oranges, sir. Apples and oranges. The EA hype machine is nuts, and they talked about SWTOR like it would "change the way we viewed MMOs forever" and other similar hyperbole. If a publisher (because in EA/BioWare's case it is nearly always the publisher, not the actual developers) promises sunshine, rainbows and ponies for everyone yet fail to deliver on those promises, it is most definitely their fault. I firmly believe that consumers need to educate themselves more about the products they buy - especially in the case of gamers - but I don't believe that's an excuse for publishers to overhype their games.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Shrouded View Post
    Apples and oranges, sir. Apples and oranges. The EA hype machine is nuts, and they talked about SWTOR like it would "change the way we viewed MMOs forever" and other similar hyperbole. If a publisher (because in EA/BioWare's case it is nearly always the publisher, not the actual developers) promises sunshine, rainbows and ponies for everyone yet fail to deliver on those promises, it is most definitely their fault. I firmly believe that consumers need to educate themselves more about the products they buy - especially in the case of gamers - but I don't believe that's an excuse for publishers to overhype their games.
    I agree with this on many levels. In reality it is the same thing with election going on in America. People can't be arsed to check the facts, they believe whatever you tell them, they buy the box with sexiest over-hyped ad campaign, when they realize it sucks they complain about it constantly until the next new thing comes along and then they forget everything and start all over again making the same mistakes all over again.

    Edit: Oh and I forgot the important part. The people trying to sell you something just keep on with business as usual, because they know that even if they don't give you anything they promised you are still going to buy the next pile of poop they want to sell you anyway.
    Last edited by jbombard; 2012-10-04 at 06:41 AM.

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