For 12 long hours I was so psyched! TorWars pointed me to a great interview GameInformer.com did with Dr. Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk from Bioware.
The Interview was original about Mass Effect 3, but the interviewer also had some interesting questions on the chance of an upcoming Star Wars: The old Republic Beta. On this the good doctors answered in the a more possitive way then ever:
“You’ll have to watch our website and see. At this point we’re still in more of a closed beta period. We’re definitely making great progress on it. The feedback’s been great. There’s always lots to do, but it’s really really shaping up. Before too long you guys will get a little crack at it. Keep an eye out for that.”
What was that? Wait a second. You said what? Did I here that right? What was that again?
Before too long you guys will get a little crack at it. Keep an eye out for that.
Oh yeah? Guess it’s time for me to start my Trooper and totally school some noobs!
Then I came home… And Stephen Reid TOTALLY Ruined everything!
As always with interviews, you need to be aware of the context of the question. So here’s the original question and answer:
A lot of people around the office are excited to play it. Are there any plans coming together for a public beta?Greg Zeschuk: Youll have to watch our website and see. At this point were still in more of a closed beta period. Were definitely making great progress on it. The feedbacks been great. Theres always lots to do, but its really really shaping up. Before too long you guys will get a little crack at it. Keep an eye out for that.
In his reply, when he said ‘you guys will get a little crack at it’, Greg was specifically referring to Game Informer themselves. That’s not immediately obvious from the transcript here, but I have confirmed this with Greg himself. It’s not a reference to the community as a whole, it was a reference to the ‘people around the office’, and a direct response to that portion of the question. (And to be clear, Greg was answering this question before Game Informer had been invited to their hands-on play session – hence the future tense of his response.)
So, to strip the entire question and answer down to the part that’s relevant to the community as a whole, you’d get this:
Are there any plans coming together for a public beta?Greg Zeschuk: Youll have to watch our website and see.
That’s all we have to say about any future iterations of Game Testing right now.
Talk about Anti-Climax…. Bummer!
