Game News Emotional Engagement Penetrates Strategy Genre

[Turjan]

Only reason that the IRA aren't the first thing that comes to folks' minds anymore when you say 'terrorist' is that they actually WERE successful in pissing off Britain enough to get them to the negotiating table and give North Ireland its own parliament and ability to secede if a successful referendum ever got up. They didn't get there by matching the UK for military power. Most of the time they'd even call up and give people notice to get out of whichever government building they'd set the explosives in. They got there because you can't wipe out terrorism by bombing the shit out of it - if you're going to do that, you may as well have just gotten out of there to begin with, because you're not going to be able to get any resources out of the region and it's going to bleed the fuck out of your national coffers. The terrorists (or freedom fighters, depending on whether you were pro free-Ireland or pro-unionist) didn't need to 'beat' the UK in a direct battle, or occupy any UK territory. They just needed to make it sufficiently expensive to keep Ireland, that the English would eventually go 'fuck it, it's better to give them their parliament and risk secession than to keep having to pay the cost of this war'.

While I agree with your assessment of what terrorism IRA-style is generally about, let's not forget that the goals of the IRA and of the Northern Irish parliament were, historically, diametrically opposed. The abolishment of the Northern Irish parliament 1972/73 was an, lastly unsuccessful, attempt to defuse the conflict in Northern Ireland by ending the constant Unionist oppression of the Catholic minority by laws that the Northern Irish parliament created. Of course, this measure did not do anything for the IRA, as it did not involve the reunion of Ireland, and greatly angered the Protestant majority, which had been happy to use the existing democratic institutions to systematically discriminate against the Catholics.

 

[Mozgoëbstvo]

But how do you simulate asymmetric warfare in an RTS, other than "Zerg rush vs quality units"?

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

This game will be a lot of fun before it even comes out.

 

[Victor Dosev]

Mozgoëbstvo, http://www.sirlin.net/articles/balancin ... tions.html



I guess the factions can use different resources for example, or have different winning conditions. Just a few of the many options available out there I guess.

Hope it was of help.

 

[Kimagure Majo Yousei]

In the near future, world leaders are mere seconds from signing a global treaty and bringing an end to war as we know it when a devastating terrorist attack rips through the peace conference, killing all in attendance. In a world left with no politicians, diplomats, or activists, only the Generals remain.

That's way too retarded even for Bioware.

 

[Mozgoëbstvo]

I'll read carefully, Victor. Then I'll see if it satisfies

 

[Mozgoëbstvo]

Eh, not really. Starcraft was put in as an example, but the differences between races are more like flavour choices than asymmetry; like fast and critical-multiplying build vs strong warrior in some "RPGs".
The only game which depicts asymmetry well - and RTS is an option, not the core playstyle - are the last entries in the combat mission series. Especially Afghanistan. Fighting the fucking ragheads gives me despair - and ungodly satisfaction as I succeed.

 

[felipepepe]

In the near future, world leaders are mere seconds from signing a global treaty and bringing an end to war as we know it when a devastating terrorist attack rips through the peace conference, killing all in attendance. In a world left with no politicians, diplomats, or activists, only the Generals remain.

That's way too retarded even for Bioware.

It's not an RPG, they don't have to go for their usual "great writing".

 

[Black]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-DCFVvV ... e=youtu.be

 

[LoPan]

True BIO is not making either C&C or KOTOR OL. It won't effect what BIO EDM does.

Anyways, why is this RPG Codex news?

Still, major succeses would likely give Bioware reason to pursue further such ventures, something they have already stated that they would like to do.
It's would also be in step with Bioware's own history to move away from the crunchy rpgs, and to focus on the story-driven action games they seem to like.

Bioware has yet to make a game with a story of even basic quality and their action games are even worse. Their most sincere tries at an action game, Dragon Age 2 and Jade Empire, were embarrassments on their own terms let alone if you begin to compare them with proper action games, and they seem to have no concern for writing stories for games.

It seems to me likelier that Bioware is being driven in the direction chosen by the marketeers of either Bioware or EA, they go where the money is and a C&C has a marketeers-approved history of making money. Though what they do with all their money remains a mystery, I am however convinced it is shit.

You and I (and probably a lot of folks here) can probably agree on that, but that's besides the point.

Besides, it was the profit motive i was getting at, and that it is likely that Bioware will abandon crpgs to some degree or another for marketable action crpgs/MMOs or purely action games depending on their succes with SWTOR and this C&C variant.

The real question is who, if any, is gonna move in on the crpg market after Bioware goes full casual.

Whether Bioware set out to make crpg's I'd dispute, their first game was Shattered Steel (a mech action game) and from there they made Baldur's Gate 1&2&expansions which remain of fickle quality, the greater things done with the engine for these games was not made by Bioware; hell, Bioware made the worst games made in their own engine. Then from there on there was NWN which was a hack-and-slash then on to Jade Empire and Mass Effect and so right back in the Shattered Steel saddle.

You could almost say Bioware is returning to their roots, and I'd argue they were never in the business of making RPG's to begin with, the infinity engine was rather a lazy attempt at it. Bioware has been out of the crpg running for some time now, Bethesda is doing something, whatever it is, and what we have left are small studios and indies, many of which seem promising and a few are already rather accomplished.

Bioware, like Bethany, is not a creative assembly, it is just a business now and so the profit motive is the only motive to its existence, much like a coal mine or a paper mill.

 

[Volourn]

"hell, Bioware made the worst games made in their own engine"

No.

And, the est of your post is garbage as well.

 

[Serious_Business]

"hell, Bioware made the worst games made in their own engine"

No.

Yes

 

[Wyrmlord]

THIS IS NOT A BIOWARE GAME

EA JUST HAPPENS TO OWN THE BIOWARE LICENSE

THEY SLAPPED THE BIOWARE NAME ON A SUBSIDIARY WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CANADIAN BRANCH

Not that I am emotionally invested or anything, but I wondered why nobody pointed this out.

 

[Roguey]

THIS IS NOT A BIOWARE GAME

EA JUST HAPPENS TO OWN THE BIOWARE LICENSE

THEY SLAPPED THE BIOWARE NAME ON A SUBSIDIARY WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CANADIAN BRANCH

Not that I am emotionally invested or anything, but I wondered why nobody pointed this out.

But you're typing in all caps. Also a skimming failure on your part:

Bioware Victory

This isn't Bioware, get with the times, Bioware is dead, this is just generic games studio #253 where they slapped the Bioware label on.

It's not BioWare proper making the game though, it's a studio called "BioWare Victory". Which is actually just the same studio (Victory Games) under a new name in order to leverage the BioWare label. Definitely no Westwood though.
Nothing to see here really.

EDIT: the_unshaved_masses beat me to it goddamn

So EA decides to take the Father of the RPG series Might and Magic....... have him make a RTS...... and have this game under the guidance of The Doctors (who do nothing but make the teams know what EA's Marketing Department demands like make game Mass Accessable, no complexity, AWESOME BUTTAN etc....).

Profit?

True BIO is not making either C&C or KOTOR OL. It won't effect what BIO EDM does.

Anyways, why is this RPG Codex news?

 

[Wyrmlord]

Sorry.

Anyway.

Jon Van Caneghem is now officially producing his games under a BioWare name? AAAAAARRRGGGHH!

Van Caneghem is to BioWare what Marlon Brando is to Leonardo diCaprio. He is a god damn pioneer, not one among the many folks who followed in the trend and style much later. It's just a very strange reversal of fate, that the pioneer now stays behind the shadow of the most famous also-ran.

 

[WetWorks]

Whether Bioware set out to make crpg's I'd dispute, their first game was Shattered Steel (a mech action game) and from there they made Baldur's Gate 1&2&expansions which remain of fickle quality, the greater things done with the engine for these games was not made by Bioware; hell, Bioware made the worst games made in their own engine. Then from there on there was NWN which was a hack-and-slash then on to Jade Empire and Mass Effect and so right back in the Shattered Steel saddle.

Whether or not Bioware set out to be an rpg-developer or not is irrelevant. Fact is that they for the last 10-12 years has been one of the major players on the rpg field. Their departure would leave a void.
(i disagree on Baldurs gate though, but perhaps i am being nostalgic)

You could almost say Bioware is returning to their roots, and I'd argue they were never in the business of making RPG's to begin with, the infinity engine was rather a lazy attempt at it. Bioware has been out of the crpg running for some time now, Bethesda is doing something, whatever it is, and what we have left are small studios and indies, many of which seem promising and a few are already rather accomplished.

Oh, they have been continuing with ME and DA so i wouldn't call them out of the crpg genre yet, 8regardless of what we amy think of these games).
So your prediction would be Bethesda and a scattering of indie studios? No major player stepping up?

Bioware, like Bethany, is not a creative assembly, it is just a business now and so the profit motive is the only motive to its existence, much like a coal mine or a paper mill.

That much is obvious.

 

[LoPan]

I find Bethany has become worse as time goes on, and like Bioware they have since Oblivion been making action games not RPG's; just because your game has stats and experience points doesn't make it an RPG, just makes it a game with 'rpg elements' (if ME or Oblivion are RPG's then so is Borderlands, but Borderlands is called a sandbox shooter/FPS-sandbox, its just marketing--what you want your game to be considered as being which is easy to manipulate nowadays as all genres start to blend for no good reason). I don't see a reason any major player should step up, big studios put out the worst games of our time so if any one of them proclaimed to be making an RPG not only do I doubt it could ever turn out well I also doubt they have any idea what an RPG is.

Dragon Age could be counted as an RPG, if an exceptionally poor one, but largely Bioware writes dialogue trees not actual games. Since BG the Doctors have proclaimed they are designing games from something they refer to as the four pillars of something or other. These pillars are four categories of players, these four categories, the doctors believe, encompass any type of player in existence. The four categories are in essence four types of flaws found in some minds of humankind, so Bioware, from the off, have set out to exploit the weaknesses of the sort of intellectually repressed human you'll find playing Farmville.

Troika left a void, Bioware just keeps Biowaering--Baldur's Gate 1&2 are arguably decent but they are a piddle of an attempt that Bioware, what with NWN, abandoned once milked dusty dry. Not saying they should have made more IE games--goodness no--but that the notion of making CRPG's, with all that means, they almost immediately relinquished to making dialogue trees and experience generators and calling it an RPG. It is indeed irrelevant whether Bioware set out to make RPG's or not, point is they don't seem concerned with making them at any point, the fact that almost all of their games are so very similar shows just how zealously the doctor's four pillars guide them into profit.

I may just have my knickers in a twist over the fact that in a world where games exist of actual quality or at least bold and adventurous semi-failure Bioware is considered to be anything other than a filthy suspect-schadenfreude. This is all rather noisy and I don't really know if I have a point, but I don't know what your point is either. That Bioware is a legitimate CRPG developer I've argued but the notion that someone is to step up leaves me blank because why should anyone step up and to what exactly? If you think someone should step up and take Bioware's place when they go all-out on action games, RTS and SWKOTORMMO then all that company would really be stepping up to is making dialogue-tree-based games as that is the sole thing Bioware has to their name over any other studio.