Corinne Busche Is the Ruler of RPGs, Conqueror of Haters
The director of Dragon Age brings her personal journey to life in her games with a rich, messy tapestry of love, life, and romance.
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QED, more insanity fuel. "The Ruler of RPGs" per the headline after a single lead role within the genre on a title that had, charitably, a mixed reception amongst even long time series fans. Some quotes from the article:
From her time with The Sims to Dragon Age, Busche has always brought a deep sense of humanity to the game, putting characters first and never shying away from nuance or complexity in identity, relationships, and existential crises. It’s what makes Busche a leader in the industry, and why BioWare tried so hard to carry on the Dragon Age series’ legacy with Veilguard.
Total nonsense. DA4's depictions of the above are amongst the most blunt, juvenile, gormless and nakedly cynical ever.
Before leading the charge on Veilguard, Busche honed her skills working on an even bigger mega-hit franchise, The Sims. For over five years she worked in designer and creative director roles.
“Working at Maxis and on a game like The Sims, is an incredibly fortunate environment for a designer to really hone their craft, and the reason I say that is they’re deeply complex games,” says Busche, “You’re really exploring underlying systems that drive character behaviors, skill progression, game economies, all allowing for emergent gameplay.”
Busche cut her teeth on the Sims 3: Into the Future expansion.
To Busche, games like The Sims, or even Animal Crossing, continue to flourish because of human nature, the inherent need we have to be social creatures and form connections. They’re deeply relatable games that reflect our real lives, but in a way, that same idea can apply to a complex RPG like Dragon Age — and Busche’s time with The Sims gave her a unique advantage going into Veilguard.
“I love that marriage of simulation and these fantasy worlds full of rich, deep characters that feel lived in. I believe that as RPGs continue to evolve, what you’ll see is an increasing focus on that marriage between simulation and a fantasy storytelling layer,” says Busche “After all, it’s about immersion, it’s about autonomy and relatedness. These are deep common aspects between these two seemingly different styles of games.”
A simulationist's approach and love for emergent gameplay of course being immediately apparent watching Veilguard footage. More nonsense.
For Busche, great games offer a mirror that allows you to reflect on your own identity, preferences, and choices. For Busche, great games offer a mirror that allows you to reflect on your own identity, preferences, and choices. When developing a game, Busche says she is “thinking about the role introspection plays on people in general, and how each of us go through our lives having these moments of crises, epiphanies, and those quiet moments when you’re alone. These are questions that are ripe for personalized experiences like RPGs, especially when you consider our biggest creative pillar: Be who you want to be.”
In Busche’s mind, not embracing the lived experiences of the development team would result in stories and worlds that feel less relatable, less alive. Game developers also need to feel safe in what they do, which ultimately means being able to see themselves reflected in their work.
The most revealing quotes of all. Triumph of the self-insert. Fundamental conflict unaddressed here between the dev team's focus on portraying themselves and what a lot of people like most about RPGs, player choice. A lot of ink spilled already about how little difference dialogue options make in game. No real conflict, no real friction, ultimately no interesting choices either. Laughably, the writer even refers to Rook as a character that the player is able to significantly develop:
To Busche and the team it “felt like the right time” to really take Dragon Age’s exploration of identity further, especially with a character like Rook that’s so molded by the player’s personal feelings and thoughts.
As ever, there's the potential for significant editorialising by the writer. Busche as directly quoted within the text doesn't line up with the sentiments the author attributes. Some of it could even be read as acknowledging failure:
“What I long for is just that opportunity for us as gamers to step back and get in touch with why we fell in love with games in the first place, and recognize how difficult and complicated and messy it is to make games,” says Busche, “To share these vulnerable experience and just approach it with a little greater sense of kindness and curiosity.”
And finally, for a bit of light amusement:
But one of the more interesting strides Veilguard makes is allowing you to share experiences, including romances, with a compelling cast of party members — easily some of the most memorable characters BioWare has ever created.
