UPDATE
What do you think of the words of David Gaider? Does Bioware need to “return to form” and trust their narrative squad? Let us know below!
ORIGINAL STORY
The topic of writing is very poignant in the entertainment industry today. This is because many industries are questioning the “worth” of writers and “how much experience” you need to be a certain kind of writer. You likely know of the writer’s strike that’s going on in Hollywood right now that threatens to shut down that entire industry. Unfortunately, however, the gaming space isn’t much better. There has been a movement to make less single-player narrative-focused games and replace them with “more profitable” live service games. Many aren’t happy with that, including some of the former members of Bioware.
At one point in time, Bioware was easily one of the greatest video game developers on the planet. They started out small with classic RPGs that banked on narrative mixed with great gameplay. Then, they go the chance of a lifetime by getting to create a unique RPG set in a galaxy far, far away. After that, they made their own series via Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Both series were praised for their deep narratives, compelling characters, and great sales success, especially at their start.
However, the creator of the latter series, David Gaider, and former lead writer at the company, dropped a bombshell regarding how Bioware views writers nowadays. On Twitter, he said:
That’s not only some harsh words. It’s ones that many people honestly need to hear. While writing might simply be viewed as “putting down words,” it’s so much more than that. It’s about weaving those words through characters, scenes, and environments, creating worlds and universes full of history, etc. Look at Mass Effect as a great example. The writing team didn’t just write the story of Commander Shepherd. They had to write the histories of every single race that existed, map out their personalities, and then see how they fit into the overall narrative.
A narrative that won the company numerous awards made them lots of money, and again, made them a favorite developer of fans. So to hear that they slowly lost their way and felt that their writing team “held them back” is not only tragic, it’s a perfect tagline for the fall of the company. After Commander Shepherd’s ending, everything went wrong for them. Their big releases were delayed or failed at launch, and the company has lost so many people it doesn’t even come close to resembling what was before.
The lesson here is to respect the power of a narrative because it can be the difference between something bland and something great.
