Anthem coincidentally the start of "a 10-year journey" for EA and BioWare
It is their Destiny.
EA has said BioWare's ambitious and visually impressive new IP Anthem will be the "the start of maybe a 10-year journey for us" - echoing the decade-long publishing deal Activision signed with Bungie for thematically similar series Destiny.
Talking on the Xbox Daily Show during E3, EA vice president Patrick Soderlund said (from 1:41:30 onwards): "[Anthem is] a social game where you and your friends go out on quests and journeys. It's a game that we've been working on for almost four years now. And it's a game that - once we launch it next year - will be the start of maybe a 10-year journey for us."
Anthem was announced properly at this year's E3 but was first talked about - as a new IP in development at BioWare's HQ in Edmonton, Canada - back at E3 2014. It being a shared-world shooter - a massively-multiplayer online game of sorts - means EA and BioWare will need to invest heavily in building a live online service as well as in building the game itself. In other words, Anthem is a bigger undertaking than a next Dragon Age or Mass Effect game.
How Anthem's development will impact development of the next Dragon Age, if at all, remains to be seen. Remember, the Mass Effect series has reportedly been put "on ice" following the weaker release of Mass Effect: Andromeda earlier this year.
Anthem was shown in greater length during Microsoft's E3 press conference as a showcase for the powerful, and expensive (£450), new Xbox One X console. Digital Foundry has already analysed Anthem's Xbox One X reveal footage to assess whether it was genuinely running on Microsoft's new console.
Regarding Anthem's performance, Soderlund said: "I pushed the development team and told them a lot of these open-world/shared-world games sacrifice fidelity because it's a technical problem. But I challenged them and said, 'Let's think about this in a way where we don't sacrifice fidelity and we can basically get to the same level of fidelity, or higher, as you would in a secluded map but in an open-world map.'
"It took time to get that done, but with some smart investment in technology, some smart design and an incredible art team, we got there. I can firmly say that I haven't seen any open-world game that looks as this, ever, which is what we wanted."
It may read like there's a word missing in the sentence above but that is what he - verbatim - said.
"It's been exciting," he added, "tough. I'm happy that we can finally show it to the world. It's an important game for BioWare, it's an important game for EA as a company. It's an important game for me personally - I've been very invested in this; it's what motivates me to stay in this industry and push as hard as I can for it."
The potential payoff for EA with Anthem, if Destiny is anything to go by, could be huge. But then Anthem also has Destiny 2 to contend with, albeit a year later.
Anthem is due autumn 2018 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Destiny 2 will be released this September on PS4 and Xbox One, then a month-and-a-half later on PC.
Well you could've said "is it gonna be as awesomly optimized as andromeda?" and everyone would've understood your sarcasm.Infinitron Just cant figure out how to use sarcasm on teh interwebz. Would amake it more obvious?
Well you could've said "is it gonna be as awesomly optimized as andromeda?" and everyone would've understood your sarcasm.Infinitron Just cant figure out how to use sarcasm on teh interwebz. Would amake it more obvious?
Looks more Warframe than Destiny to me.
Conventionally approach it all you want, but what speaks loudest is the quality of your previous titles. Looking at how you've treated the Mass Effect franchise, I sure as hell ain't about to touch Anthem with a 10-foot pole. I won't see my money wasted like this again.
Incredible parody. BioWare is fast becoming a serious joke. Congrats!
Lets turn this into a meme and replace the "fucking exo suit" with things like "No Mass Effect Andromeda DLC confirmed", "Anthem is our Destiny" and "Bioware, where long term fandom goes to die"
Bioware intern: "you know what we need to get people excited about this new IP that no one is asking for after we burned ME's corpse? A video about cornfields! That will get them excited!"
Bioware: "Amazing idea"
WE DON'T WANT ANTHEM, GIVE US BETTER DRAGON AGE AND MASS EFFECT GAMES.
Remembering Corey Gaspur
by Author -BioWare Posted on - July 31, 2017
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our friend and colleague Corey Gaspur.
He was a member of our team for over nine years, and worked as a designer on many of our titles, including Sonic Chronicles, Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect 2 and 3, and most recently Anthem.
Corey was a talented designer and an even better person. We offer our condolences to Corey’s family and everyone that knew him.
We will miss you.
No details? Must have killed himself like a faggot.http://blog.bioware.com/2017/07/31/remembering-corey-gaspur/
Remembering Corey Gaspur
by Author -BioWare Posted on - July 31, 2017
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our friend and colleague Corey Gaspur.
He was a member of our team for over nine years, and worked as a designer on many of our titles, including Sonic Chronicles, Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect 2 and 3, and most recently Anthem.
Corey was a talented designer and an even better person. We offer our condolences to Corey’s family and everyone that knew him.
We will miss you.
Appparently Anthem's lead gameplay designer. Ouch.
At least he won't become a meme and a devmug when the shity game comes out.http://blog.bioware.com/2017/07/31/remembering-corey-gaspur/
Remembering Corey Gaspur
by Author -BioWare Posted on - July 31, 2017
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our friend and colleague Corey Gaspur.
He was a member of our team for over nine years, and worked as a designer on many of our titles, including Sonic Chronicles, Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect 2 and 3, and most recently Anthem.
Corey was a talented designer and an even better person. We offer our condolences to Corey’s family and everyone that knew him.
We will miss you.
Appparently Anthem's lead gameplay designer. Ouch.
Four months too late:
Comment section is more enjoyable than the joke:
Conventionally approach it all you want, but what speaks loudest is the quality of your previous titles. Looking at how you've treated the Mass Effect franchise, I sure as hell ain't about to touch Anthem with a 10-foot pole. I won't see my money wasted like this again.
Incredible parody. BioWare is fast becoming a serious joke. Congrats!
Lets turn this into a meme and replace the "fucking exo suit" with things like "No Mass Effect Andromeda DLC confirmed", "Anthem is our Destiny" and "Bioware, where long term fandom goes to die"
Bioware intern: "you know what we need to get people excited about this new IP that no one is asking for after we burned ME's corpse? A video about cornfields! That will get them excited!"
Bioware: "Amazing idea"
WE DON'T WANT ANTHEM, GIVE US BETTER DRAGON AGE AND MASS EFFECT GAMES.
Steven Gilmour has left the Canadian studio.
Anthem, BioWare’s upcoming online-focused open world shooter, has just lost a vital member of its development team. Steven Gilmour, who was working as the lead animator on the project, has left the studio, as per his LinkedIn profile.
Gilmour had spent seventeen years working with the Canadian developer, having worked on several major projects, including Knights of the Old Republic, the Mass Effect trilogy, and most recently Dragon Age: Inquisition. Anthem was his latest project at BioWare, before he left the studio.
With the game still a year away from release, it doesn’t seem like such a change might rock the development process too much. That said, it seems Gilmour had an important job over at the studio, so let’s hope BioWare find a suitable replacement without too much trouble.