ANTHEM - failed Destiny clone from BioWare

[Irata]

I bought Destiny 2 (my defense is that it was cheap and I wanted to try a Bungie shooter) and that tries to tell a story too. Just give me things to kill and to loot please.

 

[thesheeep]

Only online shooter with an enjoyable story I know must have been Defiance - and that had a TV series to go with it.
The game itself mostly just has the known characters and quite a few references (obviously).

 

[Gerrard]

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/04/17/ea-exec-says-they-wont-repeat-loot-box-mistakes/

EA exec says they won’t repeat loot box mistakes

Years of growing discontent over loot box monetisation in games came to a head with 2017’s Star Wars Battlefront II‘s lousy loot-based unlock progression system, raising such a stink that governments weighed in on arguments and EA disabled the microtransactions.

“We can shy away from it and pretend like it didn’t happen,” Patrick Söderlund, EA’s new chief design officer, told The Verge, “or we can act responsibly and realise that we made some mistakes, and try to rectify those mistakes and learn from them.” He swears blind that they’ve chosen option B, and they’ll try real hard not to guff up games like Anthem and the mysterious next Battlefield.

“We had the intent that was designed for us to have more people play it over a longer period of time,” explains Söderlund of the decision to include loot boxes. “And like a lot of other games on the market, to be able to afford to do that we had an idea of getting returns from that. But at the same time, we got it wrong.”

They sure did. Battlefront 2’s loot box progression system was a grind with optional microtransactions to skip some of the chore. As nice as it is that EA seem to be stepping back from blasting £45 of DLC, instead releasing new maps and modes for free in several games, that’s a miserable way to fund post-launch additions.

“We have taken significant steps as a company to review and understand the mechanics around monetisation, loot boxes, and other things in our games before they go to market,” Söderlund said. “For games that come next, for Battlefield or for Anthem, [players have] made it very clear that we can’t afford to make similar mistakes. And we won’t.”

With Battlefront 2, at least, Söderlund says the rethink is working out, noting that “players are coming back, and we’re seeing stronger engagement numbers.” EA launched a new progression system in March, which removes that box-based progression and some of the grind. Needing to unlock anything in a multiplayer game still sucks but it is less sucky now. Microtransactions will return this week, but they’ll only be able to buy player skins – far more palatable.

EA will need to back up this friendly chat, though. It’s all good and well ‘fessing up afterwards, but something must be severely broken at the company for them to ever think this was a good idea. As much as big-budget game development is incredibly volatile and looks increasingly unsustainable, this was a damned foolish solution.

“It’s clear to us that players see the company differently than we do,” Söderlund said. “And in that situation, as a member of the executive team, as the guy who runs all of the studios, I have to take that seriously. And we have to continue to listen and understand what’s triggering that. We have to be very cautious of what we do.” And they have to do better.

“We have to take action and show people that we’re serious about building the best possible products, that we’re serious about treating the players fair, and we’re here to make the best possible entertainment that we can. And in the cases where we don’t get it right, we just have to listen and learn from it and be better.”

You really do.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-05-09-ea-commits-to-march-2019-release-for-biowares-anthem

EA commits to March 2019 release for BioWare's Anthem
It's happening.

EA has committed to a March 2019 release for BioWare's Anthem.

During a financial call with analysts last night, EA's Blake Jorgensen said Anthem "will be shipped in the last quarter of the year and in the last month of that quarter". EA's financial year runs from April to March, which means Anthem will be squeezed out just in time to contribute revenue to the company's bottom line for the current financial year.

Anthem is set to release in Mass Effect's traditional launch slot. (Mass Effect Andromeda came out in March 2017, Mass Effect 3 came out in March 2012.) EA and BioWare will be hoping Anthem doesn't suffer the same fate as Andromeda, of course, which failed to set tills alight.

Interestingly, Jorgensen said EA was "being conservative" when it comes to Anthem's potential success - for a few reasons. One, it's a new intellectual property. Two, because Anthem comes out right at the end of EA's financial year, the company will probably have limited restocking of the game, "even if it's extremely successful".

"We're very excited about the game," Jorgensen added. "It's extremely unique, and I think players are going to really enjoy playing it, but we're careful not to put too large of a forecast in there. And clearly, it will impact this year as well as next year as we not only continue to sell more into the next year but start rolling out the live services associated with that game."

 

[Atlantico]

"We're very excited about the game," Jorgensen added

Oh boy. They know it's a dud.

 

[LESS T_T]

http://blog.bioware.com/2018/05/10/creating-worlds-the-future-of-bioware/

Creating Worlds: The Future of BioWare

Fellow humans. Welcome to Part 2 of a 1200-part monthly blog series, where I’ll cover BioWare’s evolution from videogame studio to post-human AI hivemind. Today I want to talk about our vision for BioWare.

Videogames are a unique medium. The only thing that stays the same is that they are constantly evolving. Many of the things we love about games now were not possible a few years ago. And that’s one of the hardest things about making games—continuing to innovate and evolve, while staying true to expectations players have from previous experiences.

To ensure we stay on course, we’ve updated our mission statement at BioWare to something that we believe is true of our best games, and must continue to be true of future BioWare games—even as we take on new technologies and gameplay innovations. Our mission is this:

We create worlds
of adventure, conflict, and companionship
that inspire you to become the hero of your story.

Each word of this mission is carefully chosen. For Example, we believe what we do is first and foremost about creating worlds. Beyond just individual games, we try to create entire worlds that players can really live in, which span many games and media, as well as fan-created work like art, fiction, and cosplay. Creating worlds along with our player community, and seeing them take on a life of their own, is probably the most rewarding part of what we do.

Companionship means that our stories are always presented as shared experiences. You’re not a solitary character walking around by yourself—in a BioWare game you’re always adventuring with a group of friends. Sometimes those friends are other players like in Neverwinter Nights, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Sometimes they are fictional characters, like in Mass Effect and Dragon Age. However we design it, we always want to capture the special feeling of being on a journey with memorable companions.

I talked last time about Anthem being “a story you can experience with friends.” There were, understandably, some questions and concerns about story in multiplayer. Specifically, “what if I don’t want to play with randos?” “What if I don’t have friends that I play games with?” And, “I like to be the one making choices in my story—if it’s multiplayer, won’t the story get watered down?”

As a player, I worry about these things too—which brings us to the last line of our mission: become the hero of your story. In a BioWare game, you should feel like the story is about you. You create your own character, you decide what happens next, and you become the hero. I think the reason people are concerned about whether these things are possible in a multiplayer game is because it just hasn’t been solved well before.

With Anthem we’re taking this problem head-on and structuring the entire game design to provide a specific solution for this. We’ll be sharing details on how it works very soon. We think it creates a unique experience where you have control over your own story, but your story is set in an ever-changing multiplayer world. And yes, even though Anthem is meant to bring out the best parts of playing as part of an online community, you can choose to play through the story with only your friends, or even on your own.

It’s true—we’re trying something really different here. Anthem represents one way to deliver innovation and new experiences in the spirit of our mission. We also have teams envisioning future BioWare games, and they’re designing approaches that are different from Anthem—including one that’s very Dragon Age. As we try new things, I hope that you’ll come on the journey with us, and continue asking questions that will help shape Anthem into something we’ll all love to play.

In a few weeks, we will be showing Anthem live to fans at EA PLAY in Hollywood and will have lots more details to share. The team is working super hard to get ready, and I can’t wait to hear what you think!

Hope to see you there,

Casey

You...

We create worlds

 

[Atlantico]

We create worlds

Mmmm yes Casey, not the phrase that carries the best connotation regarding a studio under EA.

Spoiler

 

[LESS T_T]

 

[Infinitron]

The new hotness: 6 second teaser trailers.

 

[thesheeep]

The new hotness: 6 second teaser trailers.

You got it all wrong, grandpa.
It is a sarcastic vine.

 

[J_C]

The new hotness: 6 second teaser trailers.

Of which only 2 seconds is the game, 4 second is the title logo.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Zer0wing]

This is the end of Bioware as we know it. Not some lesbonigger quota-filled office in Montreal but the original Bioware. RIP, you never was incline.

 

[fantadomat]

Hahahahaha this is sooooo bad. A Destiny rip off at best.

 

[Morgoth]

They tossed away Dragon Age for this gaudy joke of a game?

2019, the year Bioware will be finally put out of its misery. I hope the Docs are proud of themselves selling out their company to the Borg.

 

[Tehdagah]

Bioware can make good combat systems.

 

[LESS T_T]

Sorry for the bad news guys: https://www.gameinformer.com/2018/06/09/anthem-does-not-have-romances

Anthem Does Not Have Romances

If you're a BioWare fan, you probably have an attachment to at least one love interest. Maybe it's the noble Bastila, the charming Dorian, or the chitinous Garrus. However, if you're wondering which characters you can romance in Anthem, you should put an end to those daydreams early.

In our full cover story on Anthem, lead producer Mike Gamble outlines the team's approach to this aspect of the game. “There are no romances. There are friendships. Some of the stuff we did with Mass Effect – the Citadel DLC specifically – there was a lot of friendship moments. You and Garrus sitting up, shooting – that kind of stuff, we want to lean into that. The romantic stuff, we’re moving away from that for Anthem.”

Though you are still building relationships and connections with various characters, they don't have a romantic angle. While that is likely disappointing for some BioWare fans, but Anthem is a different sort of game for the studio, and one advantage of a new IP is the ability to forge new traditions.

Click the banner below to visit our Anthem coverage hub, and check back throughout the month for new stories and information.

 

[vonAchdorf]

Preorders available now.

 

[Rahdulan]

So it really is "you do your story in singleplayer settlements and go outside to group with people".

 

[Infinitron]

Some videos from Game Informer:

 

[abija]

So it really is "you do your story in singleplayer settlements and go outside to group with people".

Yeah like SW:ToR, except in Anthem is all new and innovative.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[fantadomat]

Bioware's magnum opus,a game planed for a decades and developed for half a decade,a game that will revolutionise the gaming industry,a game that is so innovative that it will change the way people look at games. It is a game that is a shitty mmo coop in cliche setting that is done do death. Yeah,sure nobody saw this coming,no wonder that bioware devs are shitting bricks.

 

[Nortar]

Prepare for nuBioware style.

 

[Deathsquid]

idk i can't tell the difference from their previous games and people somehow loved them?