The Witcher 3 Announcement Intimidates EA, BioWare and Dragon Age III

[Blothulfur]

It's kind of complicated but Interplay was the publisher for both Black Isle and Bioware. Black Isle was their in house company that developed and helped many of their other developers, thus you'll see Black Isles credits on Biowares games as they helped with QA and such. Black Isle were given the rights to use Biowares infinity engine by Interplay the parent company, and used it in Icewind Dale and Torment.

Bioware split with Interplay during the production of Neverwinter Nights and left the company to make independent games, initially published under the Atari label and then a number of others.

Many early Interplay veterans left to form Troika after Fallout/during the making of Fallout 2, others left Black Isle later to form Obsidian Entertainment under Feargus Urqhart. Brian Fargo the original founder of Interplay formed InExile who are currently making Wasteland 2, while Interplay still clings on to life selling what old games they still own the rights to under a bloke called Herve Caen.

Long story short if you want a game like Planescape/Icewind Dale/Fallout 1&2 go with Obsidian or InExile. That's how i've heard it anyway, i'm glad I just dig, shift and lay track for a living, this is all very complicated.

 

[ReptilePZ]

BioWare never acquired Black Isle or Interplay. Icewind Dale was released between BG1 and BG2, it used the same system but had nothing else to do with BG.

Also, what Blothulfur said.

 

[AkiA]

Afaik, Bioware acquired both Black Isle and Interplay. Icewind dale is sort of "sequel" (bad word I know) of BG series (if I'm not mistaken, DnD 3.0 system).

What? Black Isle, rpg branch of Interplay, published all Bioware's Infinity-engine games. Black Isle personally developed Icewind Dale 1&2 and Torment. Only thing Bioware had part in Black Isle's game development was that the Infinyt Engine was made by Bioware and later used by Black Isle.

 

[username_3650709]

If you don't believe that something will be successful, then you don't create it and don't change it afterwards. That's also 1x1 of software development cycle.
DAO was the last game what was mostly created without full control of EA and you can see that also in ME series. ME1 is like DAO more old style RPG. Then after EA took over we got ME2. Basically a third person shooter with squad in corridor levels. ME3 finally added the day one 10 bucks Javik DLC and the MP part with it's micro transactions, the most obvious influence of EA.

They simply have to attract the crowd, which wants action games, like also stated in countless interviews. And their story part is the only and last thing which holds together everything. And if that also fails, we have something like ME3 ending debacle.

I didn't say that Bioware didn't think that DAO would've been successful. I said that they didn't believe DAO to be THAT successful.
Before DAO, Bioware never released a game who sold more than 4 million copies. It's their hugest commercial success. They didn't expect the game to have that huge success. That's why they decided to change direction with DA2.
Not that EA didn't have their fault with the restricted development time, or the MP in ME3. But Bioware had their own fault on the games they released fater DAO-ME2.

 

[Blothulfur]

Yep Icewind Dale 2 did use 3rd edition Dungeons and Dragons rules.

 

[secondchildren]

@Blothulfur
Thanks a lot

BioWare never acquired Black Isle or Interplay. Icewind Dale was released between BG1 and BG2, it used the same system but had nothing else to do with BG.

Not likely. Icewind dale 2 especially uses 3.0 system, just like ToB. BG1 and 2 are still 2.0 and NWN officially 3.5. In fact the THAC0 system disappears in Ice wind Dale and AC is reversed.

NWN2 is still 3.5 extended version. Meaning with all the additional races, classes, prestige classes etc you can find in DnD 3.5 guidebooks.


EDIT: Sorry blothulfur! the forum is messing up things tonite, I have to repost my reply thus yours is coming before mine. It's a mess I know ...

 

[ReptilePZ]

I was only talking about Icewind Dale 1. It uses 2nd Edition rules.

 

[Blothulfur]

It's allright makes me look psychic and clever.

 

[DragomirG]

Can you feel both the greed and the envy of Electronic Arts? They will push Bioware to its limits now in order to try to take gamer's money before CD P. does. The result will be pathetic and hilarious! CD P. above all!

 

[ReptilePZ]

I like it how there are still people taking the article seriously.

 

[DragomirG]

I sense you are an EA employee under cover

 

[ReptilePZ]

I sense you are an EA employee under cover />

Totally.