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[DS_Joost]

I look forward to all of Schreier's investigative works. Again, you don't have to agree with the guy's views on anything to recognize that he knows how to put a story together.

Yes, he knows how to put a story together. And there is my problem with this. Is all of it real? Is it really that bad? I like to believe the article, but some part of me is sceptical because the man does know what people like to read and I don't see it above him to twist the truth in such a way that it benefits him as a writer.

 

[Mista]

So the game development actually took 18 months and not 6 years? Seems right from how broken the game is. I’m still pissed that I got hyped and bought this piece of shit

 

[iconmaster]

some part of me is sceptical because the man does know what people like to read and I don't see it above him to twist the truth in such a way that it benefits him as a writer.

To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever come out and challenged the content of any report by Schreier. The feeble non-denial BioWare issued in response to this latest article bolsters his credibility in my view.

 

[mr_kittycat]

Jason Scrier is a turkey, kotaku is a turkey, and so i'll be damned if they'll get a click from me.

Judging from the replies in this thread though, it seems like it paints a very onesided picture of the whole situation. And of course leans into the poor sobby devs side of things. Which is just dumb

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

So I actually read the whole article finally after watching Angry Joe’s breakdown of it and all I can say is Wow.

I definitely like the 40 hours I got out of Anthem was a gift considering the development hell it spawned from.

The whole story of what went down behind this game sounds documentary worthy

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

The issue is that I’m extremely fucking depressed lately and in chronic pain that nobody can help with (which obviously nobody would care about anyways). I’ve been so close to the edge lately. I don’t think I’m worth shit. I’m working my ass off but I don’t know why. Things are not good.

That’s nobody’s problem but my own obviously but the viciousness of people’s reactions to something that they totally misread doesn’t sit well with me and since I’m in bad shape, I’m overreacting like an asshole.

So now that I’ve demonstrated how messed up I am in this state I’m sure I’ll get dog piled for it.

I think very poorly of myself, am hideously ugly, constantly dealing with shitty messages, feel like shit everyday, etc. So I’m not acting rationally currently. That’s basically it.

I apologize for acting like a jerk then. That’s not right. I don’t want to be that way.

Hey man, that sounds really shitty, what you’re dealing with. I don’t have any sagelike advice or wisdom but just keep up the great work over at DF. I appreciate you guys’d

 

[nowhat]

Jason Scrier is a turkey, kotaku is a turkey, and so i'll be damned if they'll get a click from me.

http://archive.is/YmADd

There, you can read it and no clicks will be going to either. You'll probably have more to contribute to the thread if you don't go by gut feel.

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

Why is it that there so much skepticism to this kind of story? I don’t see a reason not to believe Jason’s sources on what they experienced. Isn’t EA known for being shitty like this?

 

[Rentahamster]

Why is it that there so much skepticism to this kind of story? I don’t see a reason not to believe Jason’s sources on what they experienced. Isn’t EA known for being shitty like this?

My initial feeling is that it is due to critics not liking the author or the story, and letting that cloud their judgement. I don't really see much reason to doubt JS' sourcing, especially since other devs on Twitter have also confirmed some things about it.

 

[prag16]

My bad if so. Thrown off by the claim that they get mediocre to low pay.

https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Electronic-Arts-Salaries-E1628.htm

Also being personally insulted, since dark's in journalism.

$57k for QA leads, and $10/hr for bottom level testers?

Not sure if this is why a lot of these games are buggy messes. But $57k is horrendous for a "QA Lead", and paying their testers less than 7/11 employees... that isn't the path to high quality software, I can tell you that.

 

[Halo is Back]

So I actually read the whole article finally after watching Angry Joe’s breakdown of it and all I can say is Wow.

I definitely like the 40 hours I got out of Anthem was a gift considering the development hell it spawned from.

The whole story of what went down behind this game sounds documentary worthy

This could also be a nice case study on the effects of high stress in the work environment. This is some of the worst I have ever heard. Which makes it all the sadder when Bioware officially responded and basically just ignored or glossed over the issue. That statement Bioware gave read like it was made by the senior staff who got butt hurt that they were being thrown under the buss.

 

[Halo is Back]

To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever come out and challenged the content of any report by Schreier. The feeble non-denial BioWare issued in response to this latest article bolsters his credibility in my view.

Exactly not ONCE in the response did they outright deny the claims.

 

[EviLore]

Exactly not ONCE in the response did they outright deny the claims.

It's all sourced anonymously and we don't have many other vectors for insight currently due to NDAs. Only Bioware employees are likely able to deny the claims, and they can't speak freely.

I can tell you that Kotaku's expose on NeoGAF was completely full of shit and that Jason comported himself unethically during all that, but I can't extend that to all of Kotaku's work, only what I have first hand experience with.

 

[mckmas8808]

The Bioware that made the games I enjoyed doesn't exist anymore. I wonder how much longer this one will.

And it seems like the old Bioware was basically gone during the Mass Effect: Andromeda days too.

 

[Rentahamster]

The Bioware that made the games I enjoyed doesn't exist anymore. I wonder how much longer this one will.

I've felt that way much too often regarding a lot of game companies over the last 10 years.

 

[Krappadizzle]

I get were people are skeptical to the unnamed sources and don't blame anyone for having doubt based on that alone, but to me it seems as if you really only need to play the game for about an hour and watch what they previously previewed to see that there MUST have been something bad brewing behind the scenes. What their initial showing was, lines up really well with what was stated in the article and the final product lines up even better. I guess everyone should take any source of news with a grain of salt and confirmation bias can be a finicky bitch, but there's no doubt that the game was very troubled in it's development. I mean, it's a publisher that has been voted many years in a row as the worst company in the world and a studio under that umbrella that seems to be a shadow of it's formal self and it wouldn't surprise me that the corporate culture of it's owner had leaked to the developer.

 

[GhostOfTsu]

#We are talking here about almost 10 year old technology at that point. They used the same engine as Inquisition and the differences are staggering. You can not put this on the time pressure they had. If we would talk about time bugs and glitches sure. But even the design choices were at most on an amateur level. Fact is that there is NO talent left at Bioware and fact is also that this all did happen after Bioware was advertising their diverse teams and one of their director went on an anti white rant on twitter and got later fired for it.

These are the facts and I draw my conclusions around it. It also shows that these people according to Kotaku were totally not holding up to the pressure normal development brings. Millennial especially have lost most of their capabilities to endure stress and pressure at work. Here is the thing. I bet it was not even Biwoares fault that they suddendly were crying like that. They probably just did the same thing they always did. But these people did not endure the normal working environment.,

There was just en Study in Germany recently which showed that young people today can not withstand any form of pressure anymore.

I understand what you mean and I agree with some of your points.

They hired a bunch of soft unskilled SJWs and they were too busy making sure there was nothing sexy, no triggers and other useless stuff. When I read that they were hiding in office rooms to cry I just rolled my eyes. They were crying because they knew they were in over their heads and had no clue what to do. They were paid for years to do nothing and then suddenly they had to show results and it was too much stress.

You bet they were all smiles when their goddess Anita was visiting, posing for pictures etc.

 

[louis89]

I want this for Crackdown 3.

 

[Panajev2001a]

I understand what you mean and I agree with some of your points.

They hired a bunch of soft unskilled SJWs and they were too busy making sure there was nothing sexy, no triggers and other useless stuff. When I read that they were hiding in office rooms to cry I just rolled my eyes. They were crying because they knew they were in over their heads and had no clue what to do. They were paid for years to do nothing and then suddenly they had to show results and it was too much stress.

You bet they were all smiles when their goddess Anita was visiting, posing for pictures etc.

The kind of crunch so common in game development is not pressure, it is stupid mismanagement and fake bravado and the greatest trick managers do is make you think you want it and pressure your colleagues into it.

Not saying you both do not have points there, but you are seriously underestimating why 9-17 exists and what happens to you when you are doing 9-22 daily, almost everyday for months. Survivor bias partly explains it, but it goes beyond that.

 

[anthraticus]

Who in their right minds expected anything decent from Bioware anyway ?

Baldur's Gate series was a while ago now and I'm sure the ones responsible for those games haven't had any involvement with Bioware in a long time.

 

[Dontero]

Perhaps most alarming, it’s a story about a studio in crisis. Dozens of developers, many of them decade-long veterans, have left BioWare over the past two years. Some who have worked at BioWare’s longest-running office in Edmonton talk about depression and anxiety. Many say they or their co-workers had to take “stress leave”—a doctor-mandated period of weeks or even months worth of vacation for their mental health. One former BioWare developer told me they would frequently find a private room in the office, shut the door, and just cry. “People were so angry and sad all the time,” they said. Said another: “Depression and anxiety are an epidemic within Bioware.”

Get diversity quotas not related to people skill, get people who never worked hard in their life fail at work and can't cope with pace, thinking that what they did in college could be applied to real life condition where you are on clock and need to deliver product in budget. Hire trans folk into very stressful job who have 40% suecide rate and see how that will work.

Meanwhile CDPR says that crunch is natural part of making great works of art and they are about to release CB2077 which should sell more copies than all of Bioware games in last 10 years. Because they come from Poland which had no successful gaming industry until they have shown up and worked their asses for world acclaim. Not only they come from Poland but also they literally came from communism which was 100 harder time than most of Bioware devs ever experienced in their life. They are stronger humans who out-compete weak humans from Bioware.

If you can't deal with the pace it means you are not fit to be in this industry. There are shitload of other IT jobs which are way batter paid but they don't provide what those devs want, to have their name on great work of art.

 

[bati]

Get diversity quotas not related to people skill, get people who never worked hard in their life fail at work and can't cope with pace, thinking that what they did in college could be applied to real life condition where you are on clock and need to deliver product in budget. Hire trans folk into very stressful job who have 40% suecide rate and see how that will work.

Meanwhile CDPR says that crunch is natural part of making great works of art and they are about to release CB2077 which should sell more copies than all of Bioware games in last 10 years. Because they come from Poland which had no successful gaming industry until they have shown up and worked their asses for world acclaim. Not only they come from Poland but also they literally came from communism which was 100 harder time than most of Bioware devs ever experienced in their life. They are stronger humans who out-compete weak humans from Bioware.

If you can't deal with the pace it means you are not fit to be in this industry. There are shitload of other IT jobs which are way batter paid but they don't provide what those devs want, to have their name on great work of art.

Bruh....lmao. Berlin wall fell 30 years ago and with it the communist bloc in the Eastern European states. Most people working at CDPR today were born after that date or were very young when communists still had any real power.

Also, as someone who was born in the 80s in communist Yugoslavia I can tell you it wasn't all that bad. In fact I'd say the pressure on younger generations, especially during transition to adulthood, is higher now in late stage capitalism than has ever been in the past.

 

[Dontero]

Bruh....lmao. Berlin wall fell 30 years ago and with it the communist bloc in the Eastern European states. Most people working at CDPR today were born after that date or were very young when communists still had any real power.

Also, as someone who was born in the 80s in communist Yugoslavia I can tell you it wasn't all that bad. In fact I'd say the pressure on younger generations, especially during transition to adulthood, is higher now in late stage capitalism than has ever been in the past.

Sorry i am talking about communism + early capitalism in Poland.
And yeah communism was bad if you don't know history. It was so bad in Poland that millions of people show this system middle finger because they couldn't cope with this garbage system.

Communism effects were still felt in early Poland after 89.
Whole economy was going through so called "shock therapy" where every business that couldn't make profit died and there was no social net to pick it up like in communism.

CDPR was founded at the time and they publicly spoke how founders of it had to smuggle games from germany to poland with normal shitty small FIAT and sell original games in time when you could just walk to your nearest PC shop and buy pirated version of it for nothing.

This is what i am talking about about strong humans vs weak humans.
Talking to CDPR about "crunch" when founders themselves had to do several times more than "crunch" people just to survive on market in times of shock therapy is why they are superior to someone like Bioware who got weak in times where they don't need to fight for survival.

Hard times create strong people, easy times create weak people. Simple as that.
This is why CDPR doesn't care about crunch and they openly say that it is required for great things to accomplish. And they are right because they are living proof of that.

 

[Screamer-RSA]

My initial feeling is that it is due to critics not liking the author or the story, and letting that cloud their judgement. I don't really see much reason to doubt JS' sourcing, especially since other devs on Twitter have also confirmed some things about it.

Yes but it is all within his clique. His dev buddies. His twitter friends. His narrative. And we already know for a fact how he conducted himself with EviLore 's story. Why anyone would blindly believe JS after that is beyond me. Look at the YongYea indecent. Goes on a podcast, and afterwards tries an smear YongYea's name on twitter.

 

[bati]

Sorry i am talking about communism + early capitalism in Poland.
And yeah communism was bad if you don't know history. It was so bad in Poland that millions of people show this system middle finger because they couldn't cope with this garbage system.

Communism effects were still felt in early Poland after 89.
Whole economy was going through so called "shock therapy" where every business that couldn't make profit died and there was no social net to pick it up like in communism.

CDPR was founded at the time and they publicly spoke how founders of it had to smuggle games from germany to poland with normal shitty small FIAT and sell original games in time when you could just walk to your nearest PC shop and buy pirated version of it for nothing.

This is what i am talking about about strong humans vs weak humans.
Talking to CDPR about "crunch" when founders themselves had to do several times more than "crunch" people just to survive on market in times of shock therapy is why they are superior to someone like Bioware who got weak in times where they don't need to fight for survival.

Hard times create strong people, easy times create weak people. Simple as that.
This is why CDPR doesn't care about crunch and they openly say that it is required for great things to accomplish. And they are right because they are living proof of that.

You're basing your opinion on second hand information and then exaggerating it with the help of your overactive imagination. All former communist countries went through a period of transition that in some cases lasted up to 10 years, Poland is not unique in that.

And it really wasn't that bad, at least outside of Soviet Union. Sure we had to smuggle jeans, electronics, coffee and chocolate from Austria and Germany (before 1989) but for the most part life was pretty comfortable. People who got decent jobs in public sectors were set up for life, police officers were able to retire at 45, etc. It's not like we had mass deportations to gulags for disagreeing with the party line lol. After transition it was wild west for business owners, with many new emerging sectors and little to no saturation of the market.

Edit: and banks were giving out loans like it was going out of style. My working class parents built a very nice house thanks to that, something that would never be possible in today's economy with the same life situation as they had back then.

 

[Dontero]

You're basing your opinion on second hand information and then exaggerating it with the help of your overactive imagination. All former communist countries went through a period of transition that in some cases lasted up to 10 years, Poland is not unique in that.

And it really wasn't that bad, at least outside of Soviet Union. Sure we had to smuggle jeans, electronics, coffee and chocolate from Austria and Germany (before 1989) but for the most part life was pretty comfortable. People who got decent jobs in public sectors were set up for life, police officers were able to retire at 45, etc. It's not like we had mass deportations to gulags for disagreeing with the party line lol. After transition it was wild west for business owners, with many new emerging sectors and little to no saturation of the market.

Edit: and banks were giving out loans like it was going out of style. My working class parents built a very nice house thanks to that, something that would never be possible in today's economy with the same life situation as they had back then.

Sorry but your parents having enough money to build a house has nothing to do with someone ability to survive in market that is shifting so fast that yesterday could be completely different than tomorrow.

CDPR smuggling games is a FACT not some someone account because what they did wasn't unique back then and if you would actually research them would see pictures of them standing on bazaar selling original games, buying their first car to ship games and so on.

So yes, your anecdotal reference to your parents has nothing to do with what they were experiencing.
I was you know buying pirated copies myself back in 97 and i remember well how that time operated.

What most of people who lead bioware today experiences are ? Living confortable life and getting education.

Most of senior devs in CDPR didn't even get computer education to begin nor they had any school in game design and other garbage studies Bioware devs experienced.

This clearly shows you directly the difference between those who have skill and excell at someting vs those who safely cruise through their lifes but can't accomplish great things because they are spoiled by life.

Which is why you have CDPR stance on crunch.

 

[Halo is Back]

It's all sourced anonymously and we don't have many other vectors for insight currently due to NDAs. Only Bioware employees are likely able to deny the claims, and they can't speak freely.

I can tell you that Kotaku's expose on NeoGAF was completely full of shit and that Jason comported himself unethically during all that, but I can't extend that to all of Kotaku's work, only what I have first hand experience with.

Never even heard about that interesting

 

[angelic]

You'd think schreier would have burnt his industry bridges by now, and if not, very soon. I'm amazed kotaku gets access to anything, their whole operation is built on antagonism, trolling and outrage. Theyre the gawker of videogames.

 

[bati]

Sorry but your parents having enough money to build a house has nothing to do with someone ability to survive in market that is shifting so fast that yesterday could be completely different than tomorrow.

CDPR smuggling games is a FACT not some someone account because what they did wasn't unique back then and if you would actually research them would see pictures of them standing on bazaar selling original games, buying their first car to ship games and so on.

So yes, your anecdotal reference to your parents has nothing to do with what they were experiencing.
I was you know buying pirated copies myself back in 97 and i remember well how that time operated.

What most of people who lead bioware today experiences are ? Living confortable life and getting education.

Most of senior devs in CDPR didn't even get computer education to begin nor they had any school in game design and other garbage studies Bioware devs experienced.

This clearly shows you directly the difference between those who have skill and excell at someting vs those who safely cruise through their lifes but can't accomplish great things because they are spoiled by life.

Which is why you have CDPR stance on crunch.

Lmao dude just stop, you're embarrassing yourself. Smuggling games made CDPR devs into hardened men and women? I'm fucking dying here

I'd love to know where you're from that you have such a warped view of communism in Eastern Europe at the end of cold war.

 

[Ozymandias013]

The irony is that without EA's boss at that time we wouldn't had the flight mechanic ,damn

 

[GhostOfTsu]

The kind of crunch so common in game development is not pressure, it is stupid mismanagement and fake bravado and the greatest trick managers do is make you think you want it and pressure your colleagues into it.

Not saying you both do not have points there, but you are seriously underestimating why 9-17 exists and what happens to you when you are doing 9-22 daily, almost everyday for months. Survivor bias partly explains it, but it goes beyond that.

Of course crunch is awful but all games have that. The most famous recent examples are RDR2, God Of War and Witcher 3. All masterpieces that changed the industry forever.

And then you get stuff like Anthem and Andromeda when the work is being done by high profile diversity hires that got there because "look how woke we are" *poses with Anita*.

There would be less crunch if they actually knew what the fuck they were doing. They had 7 years and they were backed by the biggest publisher (millions $$$)

 

[Handy Fake]

Urgh.

I immediately discount the opinions of anyone who uses the term "SJW" seriously. I can't believe it's come into common parlance.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Of course crunch is awful but all games have that. The most famous recent examples are RDR2, God Of War and Witcher 3. All masterpieces that changed the industry forever.

I understand your point, but for me this is accepting and glorifying something which should not be and hurts people and families and still is a bad practice.

 

[GhostOfTsu]

Urgh.

I immediately discount the opinions of anyone who uses the term "SJW" seriously. I can't believe it's come into common parlance.

This is what they are called. Bioware were all proud to hire SJW-in-chief Manveer (who still backstabs them any chance he gets), Maggs and all the ones that were parading around with Anita. When you develop games in that toxic and sick culture you get shit like Anthem, Andromeda and BFV.

Just unhinged people that breaks down and cry at the first sign of challenge. Just look at how the asylum Era reacts anytime something doesn't go their way. Can you imagine working in that environment?

 

[hariseldon]

My bad if so. Thrown off by the claim that they get mediocre to low pay.

https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Electronic-Arts-Salaries-E1628.htm

Also being personally insulted, since dark's in journalism.

I'm a developer (not games) and looking at that and yeah those salaries are mediocre. The thing is all the kids want to be games programmers so there's an endless supply of wannabes, nobody wants to do the less glamorous programming work and that's where the money is. I don't mind, it works out nicely for me - my salary has tripled over the last 8 years.

 

[Dr. Claus]

To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever come out and challenged the content of any report by Schreier. The feeble non-denial BioWare issued in response to this latest article bolsters his credibility in my view.

You mean, besides the many Rockstar Employees who openly stated he cherry picked the stories given to him for his Rockstar Exposed story?

 

[data_jack]

I think the write-up reads really well. It seems thoroughly researched (internal and anonymous grievances aside) and shows how the game was really doomed from pre-production on with high drama and poor upper management. The part where past issues utilizing Frostbite during Inquisition were brought up to seniority and they were dismissive has to feel so incredibly frustrating and defeating. I know next to nothing about development cycles but is there no singular person with the power to tell Patrick Sodurland to kiss their ass (so to speak) about the disingenuous demo he played where he only gravitated toward the flying aspect? How does it get so backward? Also, labeling teams A, B, and C due to their respective successes and failures is a recipe for disaster in terms of team unity and in-fighting. Reminds me of this from "The Life Aquatic":

 

[iconmaster]

You mean, besides the many Rockstar Employees who openly stated he cherry picked the stories given to him for his Rockstar Exposed story?

That's not really contradicting his reporting, if those stories were still true.

All reporting has a slant; it's good to be aware of what the writer's argument is. But that's not an issue of accuracy.

 

[Dr. Claus]

That's not really contradicting his reporting, if those stories were still true.

All reporting has a slant; it's good to be aware of what the writer's argument is. But that's not an issue of accuracy.

Those employees were openly stating that they *weren't* true. That the bad press was done by members who were either overly sensitive, lazy, or had left/been fired previously. Whether or not these claims were true is one thing, but people have come out against Schreier and his reports. You just won't see them as the gaming journalism scene won't promote them.

 

[iconmaster]

Those employees were openly stating that they *weren't* true.

I did a very cursory search and came up with this Verge article. The employee response is "Thankfully, we grew up since then and I am happy to say things have really improved. We have an entire dedicated HR team who really look after us now, and the work environment is as positive and inclusive as it’s ever been."

To me that reads: everything Schreier wrote was true, but may be outdated.

If you know of a firmer refutation, I'll hear it.

 

[MC Safety]

Why is it that there so much skepticism to this kind of story? I don’t see a reason not to believe Jason’s sources on what they experienced. Isn’t EA known for being shitty like this?

Because it's one anonymous source after another.

There's a reason why the use of anonymous sources is discouraged in professional reporting. Kotaku is okay basing entire stories off unnamed people, but that's not the case with other venues.

 

[Dr. Claus]

I did a very cursory search and came up with this Verge article. The employee response is "Thankfully, we grew up since then and I am happy to say things have really improved. We have an entire dedicated HR team who really look after us now, and the work environment is as positive and inclusive as it’s ever been."

To me that reads: everything Schreier wrote was true, but may be outdated.

If you know of a firmer refutation, I'll hear it.

https://www.reddit.com/user/AnonRockstarDesigner + twitter. Just look up Timea Tabori, Rich Rosado, or Vivi Langdon just to name a few.

 

[iconmaster]

https://www.reddit.com/user/AnonRockstarDesigner

I think we'll just have to agree to disagree. I'm still not seeing contraction of any facts, just accusations of agenda -- which I've already acknowledged as a factor.

Of course there are employees who had more positive experiences at Rockstar. That seems beside the point, IMO.

 

[DeepEnigma]

That was a very informative article, and if any or all of it is true, which I would not be surprised, then we need to stop buying these scamming ass early access "we promise it will get better" games.

 

[fatty]

The issue is that I’m extremely fucking depressed lately and in chronic pain that nobody can help with (which obviously nobody would care about anyways). I’ve been so close to the edge lately. I don’t think I’m worth shit. I’m working my ass off but I don’t know why. Things are not good.

That’s nobody’s problem but my own obviously but the viciousness of people’s reactions to something that they totally misread doesn’t sit well with me and since I’m in bad shape, I’m overreacting like an asshole.

So now that I’ve demonstrated how messed up I am in this state I’m sure I’ll get dog piled for it.

I think very poorly of myself, am hideously ugly, constantly dealing with shitty messages, feel like shit everyday, etc. So I’m not acting rationally currently. That’s basically it.

I apologize for acting like a jerk then. That’s not right. I don’t want to be that way.

Sorry to hear that, man. I notice that you will react negatively to some of the harsher posts, even if they are in the minority. It's understandable, that is human nature. Even if we get praised quite a bit what we remember are the criticisms. Just know that there are a lot of people here that consider themselves fans of your work, and from all of the responses since your post, a fan on John the person as well.

But you've got to get out of your current mindset, anyway that you can. For some that might be reaching out to friends and family for emotional support, for others it might be a kick in the butt from someone like David Goggins, but something has to change. Focus on the good things in your life that you can be grateful for, which I am guessing some of that involves a beautiful wife and child. And I've seen some of your videos and you are a good looking dude (no homo - sorry, that is just a corny joke, one that I can say I am comfortable making here)...I don't think someone with a PhD in Chemical Engineering is going to settle for some slouch. What I'm trying to say, badly I might add, is to ignore the haters...these people who spew crap to bring others down and troll on Youtube comments are the same ones who criticize women for 'sharp knees'.

Anyways, maybe even with how good you are at your job you still need to step back and re-evaluate your life to see if that is what you should be doing, especially if it is affecting time with your family. Family needs to come first man. Focus on the good things in life and how to change the areas that you don't like.

I'm trying to lose weight. That is one of my problem areas. I hate running. But now I am trying to embrace it. The great thing about this site is that we have a lot of people that can relate with what we are going through, like a disfunctional family that cares for each other. What has helped me is this post in the Weight Loss thread. More specifically this video:



Today, I started my morning with a 3 mile run...clocked in around 37 minutes. I've got a long way to go (would love to get under 30 minutes) but it is a journey I am willing to take.

You're got to find something or someone to help you make that change. I don't know what that is but you have a lot of people here rooting and praying for you so if there is anything we can do to help please reach out, but whatever you do don't keep doing the same thing expecting something different to happen.

 

[Punished Miku]

Who in their right minds expected anything decent from Bioware anyway ?

Baldur's Gate series was a while ago now and I'm sure the ones responsible for those games haven't had any involvement with Bioware in a long time.

To really put it into perspective, all Bioware has really been known for is copy and pasting Dungeons and Dragons rules into game form. They have rarely done any significant design work from the ground up that creates vast game systems entirely on their own. They were good at writing dialogue, compared to many early game creators who never put an emphasis on it. And then they made a TPS with a story in Mass Effect. That's all they've really done.

And the whole time, they rode the wave of unfair press praise western RPGs got in 2007 when journalists tried WRPGs for the first time and pumped them up while putting down Japanese developers. But 12 years later, they are a joke and they're done. They never were very good, similar to Bethesda. Bethesda was just the first to make open world, and now everyone caught up and they look like a joke too.

Shows everyone how inflated these companies were in the 360 era by journalists.

 

[TeamGhobad]

am i the only one that doesn't care if developers are overworked and only cares if the game is good or not?

 

[EviLore]

To really put it into perspective, all Bioware has really been known for is copy and pasting Dungeons and Dragons rules into game form. They have rarely done any significant design work from the ground up that creates vast game systems entirely on their own. They were good at writing dialogue, compared to many early game creators who never put an emphasis on it. And then they made a TPS with a story in Mass Effect. That's all they've really done.

And the whole time, they rode the wave of unfair press praise western RPGs got in 2007 when journalists tried WRPGs for the first time and pumped them up while putting down Japanese developers. But 12 years later, they are a joke and they're done. They never were very good, similar to Bethesda. Bethesda was just the first to make open world, and now everyone caught up and they look like a joke too.

Shows everyone how inflated these companies were in the 360 era by journalists.

Infinity Engine was seminal and Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 are some of the best RPGs ever. They were an interpretation of AD&D 2 but lots of other devs attempted similar projects to mixed results, none being as impactful. I wouldn't put this on games journalism. Fandom propped up these games.

There's also KotOR.

Bioware hasn't made anything good since the doctors left, though.

 

[Alebrije]

am i the only one that doesn't care if developers are overworked and only cares if the game is good or not?

If they were overwroking why not just quit? this story about EA/Bioware being the evils and the developers martirs its lame. Athem bombed thanks to top managers doing awful decisions but developers kept working no matter the outcome. If a guy working in "fast food" industry quits because overworking adn shit income why a developer no? its a matter of dignity or hard to find a another well payed job?

As a customer i care about the final product because if we care about working condititions let start on phones from China.

 

[SonGoku]

Yeah, dark, video game journalist is right behind astronaut, Navy SEAL, quantum physicist, and neurosurgeon IMO.

Why even go that far? The life and training of any type of MD is way harder than a journalist

I understand what you mean and I agree with some of your points.

They hired a bunch of soft unskilled SJWs and they were too busy making sure there was nothing sexy, no triggers and other useless stuff. When I read that they were hiding in office rooms to cry I just rolled my eyes. They were crying because they knew they were in over their heads and had no clue what to do. They were paid for years to do nothing and then suddenly they had to show results and it was too much stress.

You bet they were all smiles when their goddess Anita was visiting, posing for pictures etc.

This is pretty much on point, the amount of soy levels on their offices must be off the charts

People shitting on BioWare developers because the leadership and software tools they had were terrible

People shit on them because they've been making shit games lately.

EA forcing all teams to use the FrostBite engine is clearly one of them.

Why is EA so cheap to do this? if your game is not suited for frostbite just use UE4 ffs

If Andromeda and Anthem would have been good, nobody would even talk about political stuff.

Correct! but it wasn't, its a fair argument to make that they prioritized diversity over skill when hiring. Their political focus and mismanagement might have allienated the skilled staff/devs who opted to leave the company

IIRC the game sold well/won GOTY awards.

Games journalist eat up politic pandering its a good way to get bonus scores, not sure why you are implying political pandering would negatively affect its "critic" response if anything it will boost it.

UbiSoft gave us the option to play AC Odyssey as a lesbian protagonist and they are fine.

I thought AC franchise was on a decline, and to answer your question: because they still have talent. NOT that the latest ac was a critical hit by any means.

How do you even prove something like that?

By looking at their end product.

You believe you know this, those who devote their lives to researching it disagree. I side with the research community.

I was lazy and obese for a long period around 4 years, I've decided to quit being obese and am not anymore.