We know that Ray Muzyka, BioWare co-found and one of the “doctors” left BioWare back in September, along with Greg Zeschuk. Both said they were leaving to pursue other passions but we really didn’t have a lot of information at the time about where they were going or what they were doing. Muzyka told the Edmonton Journal that he was seeking a job that would allow him more time at home with his family and less travel. A parent myself, I can fully understand this. It really can take a toll on you and the family when you’re constantly traveling. “I was in the air probably 250 to 280 days the last couple of years,” Muzyka said. “”That was part of the reason why, after five years spent running the division of a public company, I just knew I needed to seek a new beginning and try and do something…
Dr. Ray Muzyka
BioWare Doctors to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at GDC
GDC 2013 is coming up soon and word has it the BioWare founders Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk are getting a very special recognition- the lifetime achievement award. Personally, I’m happy to see them be recognized since the docs have really contributed a great deal to the gaming world, including SWTOR. BioWare founders Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk have been responsible for the formation of one of the top RPG studios in the world. That creation has led to some truly fantastic games such as Knights of the Old Republic, the Mass Effect series, Baldur’s Gate, the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic, and many more. Suffice to say, BioWare has crafted some of the greatest RPGs in gaming history, and at this year’s Game Developer’s Choice Awards at GDC, the founding doctors will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for their contributions to the art and…
Whiners Need to Quit Playing Video Games! Says Pachter
We’ve talked about Michael Pachter here before (many times) and one thing we know about the Pach man is that he does not hold back. He’s passionate about the video game industry and for several years now, GameTrailers has played host to Pach Attack, a weekly, 7-minute Q&A segment featuring games industry analyst Michael Pachter as he answers related questions submitted by viewers. But what he said in this week’s episode, hosted on Saturday, might strike a chord with some gamers. He talks about the closure of Pandemic and the departure of BioWare founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk and says: “”I think that we’ve seen a lot of nasty stuff lately,” he said. “I think that the whining about the ending of Mass Effect 3 really very much could have been the straw that broke the camel’s back for the doctors. I mean, if you look back at the BioWare…
Did Doctors Leave BioWare over Mass Effect Fan Negativity?
It was big news for BioWare when the founders, Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk announced they would both be leaving the company for good, and to pursue other avenues in life. However, as we said when we first brought you the story, it seemed like there may be more to it than that. David Lynch for Now Gamer writes about some reasons why the doctors may have actually left BioWare. After speaking with Ex-BioWare co-founder and Baldur’s Gate developer, Trent Oster they obtained some information that might indicate there is more behind the doctors’ departures. “The last time I met up with [Greg], I felt his exhaustion,” explained Oster. “Punch out, eject, get the hell out”, was my suggestions to him and it hit closer to the mark than I had realised. I also think the Mass Effect 3 fan reaction and the Old Republic fans negativity was just too…
Penny Arcade Report Interviews BioWare Founders
Penny Arcade’s Report column has an interesting interview with the BioWare founders. Drs. Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka visited with Penny Arcade editor in a nice hotel suite in Las Vegas doing yet another interview for the press. These guys never seem to mind talking about what they do and sharing info and fun with the fans. Ben Kuchera interviews the doctors and talks about TOR launch, ending a trilogy and what many people are asking- will there be a Mass Effect MMO: “We’re the fastest-growing MMO in history, and it’s really a credit to our fans,” Muzyka said. “The launch was fantastic.” Taking on World of WarCraft was considered a near impossibility in the world of online games, but Bioware has the strength of the Star Wars brand alongside the company’s ability to tell wonderful stories. It’s a hard game to say no to, even for MMO beginners like…
SWTOR Makes the Record Books
Star Wars: The Old Republic has been officially recognized by Guinness World Records which is a very cool honor indeed. Just shortly after its launch on December 20, 2011, the popular MMO was awarded a spot in the latest Guinness World Records 2012 Gamer’s Edition. The big title? the Largest Entertainment Voice Over Project ever. More than 200,000 lines of recorded dialogue were performed by several hundred voice actors, making it a far more ambitious recording project than any undertaking for a feature film. (via MMOSite.com) Because the record is such an awesome one, it received a full 2-page spread in the book, which I try to get every year because it’s great fun to read and have around. Here you will find a tribute to 30 years of Star Wars gaming with fun facts, new records, figures and more – all about Star Wars. The new Guinness World Records…
BioWare’s Muzyka and Zeschuk defend subscription model of SWTOR
While no one actually asked them this time, the BioWare docs found reason to defend their subscription model once again, according to joystiq. In an interview with the BioWare figureheads, they spoke up with a defensive explanation of their subscription model for SWTOR, although the interviewer didn’t actually question them on it. Perhaps they are just so used to be grilled over the subject, it’s like a canned response to interviews. Nonetheless, it was pretty fun and their answers/explanation was interesting. “”You look at the online space in general and it’s fragmenting into all these different areas, but the core still works. The subscription model still works,” Zeschuk said. “”We know a lot of people say, ‘Oh, everything’s just going free-to-play.’ But that’s just one slice. There’s one slice that’s free-to-play, there’s one slice that’s social, there’s traditional subscription still going.” He goes on to talk about the differences between…
TGL Interview: The Doctors from BioWare Talk The Old Republic
The Gaming Liberty did an interview with the Doctors from BioWare about Star Wars: The Old Republic and if there was still anyone left who doesn’t know what SWTOR is, the news is surely getting around more than ever before. They sat down with the founders of BioWare in the newly established BioWare centre in Galway to talk everything from the economy to what fans can expect from Star Wars: The Old Republic. Since they shared the interview on their website, people from all over the world can read it and experience it for themselves. TGL talked to the BioWare doctors, Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk about things like what brought them to Ireland for their new facility, job creation and the economy, aspirations for the Galway facility, SWTOR and how it relates to the Star Wars movies, books and more. They talk Dark Horse comics a bit and the…
BioWare Talks Future of RPGs and Narrative Maturation
What does the future hold for Bioware? They have made a name for themselves in the world of RPGs with titles like Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and Star Wars. What might the future hold for them and the genre? The game environments are changing dramatically and companies that want to keep up will need to be able to move with the progression. Can BioWare continue their trend of successful RPGs? In speaking to Sarcastic Gamer during the Eurogamer 2011 Expo, BioWare boss Ray Muzyka said they intend to “broaden the genre.” These days, there are different approaches to take and more options available. “The vision for us is a broadening of the genre. We see a lot of other genres incorporating features of RPGs and in turn RPGs are incorporating features of other genres. There are more action elements, there’s different ways to tell a story, there’s different ways to…
BioWare: ‘We have an aggressive post-launch plan’
SWTOR fans have been asking “When will the game finally launch?” and now that this massive question has finally been answered, we see new questions creeping up in the minds of players everywhere. One thing that players want to know is what is going to happen post-launch. We already know how much is being put into launching a fantastic game but is it going to last? What happens next? How many other MMOs have we seen launch successfully but fall short post-launch? In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, BioWare’s Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk discussed their plans for the future of SWTOR and they definitely have a post-launch plan. “””We have a really aggressive plan post launch to build content and take the feedback to heart that we’re getting from players and what they want for continued expansions, and use that feedback to build new content,” Muzyka promised. The…
Dr. Ray Muzyka: We are Beta Testing the crap out of SWTOR
pcgamer.com spoke to Bioware co-founder Dr. Ray Muzyka at Gamescom this year about Bioware’s impressive lineup of upcoming games. Apparently BioWare are “testing the crap” out of Star Wars: The Old Republic, trying to squash every bug and glitch that they can find in TOR’s enormous world before it’s eventually released. Send over a few Beta test and we will be happy to help out:) Checfk out the full interview below:
E3: Interview extravaganza
Another day of E3 has gone, and another round of interviews has hit the internet. Yesterday we posted 5 interviews with Daniel Erickson as it seemed like he was the only BioWare employee who was allowed to talk to the camera. I mean no disrespect to the good Mr. Erickson, but it becomes quite annoying here him answer the same questions over and over again. So it was nice to finally see an interview with some of the other top dogs at BioWare Here is a rundown of all the interviews we haven’t covered in other post’s today: CVG – Dr. Greg Zeschuk interview Bioware Greg Zeschuk Interview “Making a different game” GamerLiveTV – Daniel Erickson interview Newsarama – James Ohlen interview James Ohlen thinks you may not ever go back to any other MMORRPG once you play SW Old Republic. It’s epic combat wherein you can play both light…
E3 2011 – EA Analyst Event
Today during E3, EA had an analyst event at Los Angeles. This event covered a large range of questions related to EA’s profile but as is no surprise, SWTOR had a large portion of the revenue stream for the company going forward. A lot of people have a lot of interest in the popularity and success of SWTOR, aside from just those of us who want to play. While there wasn’t really any new information released here that we don’t already know, it’s always great to know the plan is the same, and that they are on track for releasing SWTOR before the end of this year, as projected. In the analyst call, EA’s CFO, Eric Brown talked about how the financial performance of the company is expected to be higher at the end of 2012 when TOR has had a chance to peak in performance. He also confirmed that…