BioWare vs. Bethesda

I love March because it means it's time for not only PAX East, but also March Mayhem on the Escapist. We are getting to the final rounds of voting for our favorite developers and there are some really interesting matchups, the most interesting right now being BioWare vs. Bethesda (hence the name of this post). By the way you have been warned; BEWARE OF SPOILERS!!

Despite being a huge fan of both developers, I opted to vote for BioWare mostly because Dragon Age 2 is out right now this very moment and I have been having a blast with it. A very good friend of mine decided to troll me for my public display of favoritism which really got me thinking about both developers. In my opinion Bethesda and BioWare are the two best Western RPG houses the world has ever seen and for two very different reasons.

Bethesda creates the best worlds, period. Despite spending easily 200+ hours with Morrowind I never actually finished the game because I didn't need to. I had more fun exploring Vvarfendel, reading all the amazing books, drinking in the different architecture of Vivec, the Telvani towns, the ashlands, etc. Granted the magic system was pretty useless endgame, the alchemy system was broken, and the hit detection was incredibly questionable; didn't matter. The game was magic with a V8 engine, 12 gig of ram, wrapped in bacon, and pure awesome sauce spread all over. I spent easily as much time with Oblivion and the continent of Cyrodil. The cool, weird architecture was replaced with more familiar high fantasy archetypes, but the game world was so meticulously well crafted that I had an amazing time closing gates, exploring towns, and (like any great open world game) picking flowers. The gameplay trailer for Skyriim looks nergasmically fantastic!!



BioWare games are really fantastic because no one tells a story quite as well as BioWare. From KOTOR to Mass Effect to Dragon Age, no developer has ever written characters that are as vivid and that suck you in. The quests and decisions in BioWare games are also so incredibly well thought out it actually gives one time to pause and really take into account the weight of one's decision and how it will affect the story and the world. When we had to decide between Kaiden and Ashley staying to set off the bomb in Mass Effect, or whether to spare, kill, or enslave Loghain, I never really cared about the characters in any other game like I do in BioWare games.

BioWare have made it pretty difficult to really support their studio as a fan lately. Despite having an amazing time with Dragon Age 2 right now, I am certainly not the first to report the game was obviously rushed. From the same subpar graphics to the environments that are used over and over again, the game certainly would have benefited from another 6 months to a year of development time. The flood of premium DLC as well has been down right disrepctful to fans and consumers willing to spend $60 hard earned USD's (or the local equivilent if you live elsewhere) to play a complete release. Dragon Age Legends on Facebook can cost up to $99.99 (as much as both Dragon Age's 1 and 2 combined on Steam right now) to play consistantly without waiting for energy to refil. Hell, Dragon Age 2's presence in the marketplace this soon really only leads me to think that the game exists soley to fund the upcomming MMO "The Old Republic" (which does have one of my favorite game trailers ever).



One advantage for Bethesda is that they certainly do not have the aggressive release schedule BioWare does. The last full priced entry in their catalogue was Fallout 3, which came out in 2008. Their next release will be Skyriim, which is due to release November 11th this year, approximately 3 years later. Figure the game began development in 2007 I would estimate.
I absolutely love this philosophy. Every game Bethesda releases is always of such high caliber and concept, and despite being hardcore action RPG's always are a commercial success. I would rather wait 5 years for an amazing game then 3 for good enough.

Despite the clear lack of development time for DA2, BioWare still has a huge hit and an amazingly fun, tactical, and deep RPG that has characters that are written incredibly well. The game is certainly compelling despite itself. If both studios ever could join hands and come together to create a game, it would absolutely epic.

Bottom line is there is certainly room in my heart for both. Only thing is Hawke is here now FTW! I mean, that is certainly points for BioWare; their lead character's name is Hawke.

Why I'm skipping the Keynote at PAX East and why Art can't cure Cancer

Jane McGonigal is slated to be the keynote speaker this year and I think I would actually rather see the Kingdom's of Amalur live demo. Granted last year Wil Wheaton was absolutely amazing and his speech definitely was tear jerking-ly amazing to listen to live, but Jane is crazy and not all that smart (and also wasn't on Star Trek TNG, the best iteration of the show by far). For full disclosure I have not followed her career very closely and my opinion is solely based on her performance on Colbert not too long ago, but still she definitely seems to paint a picture of her views and her mission. It seems to me that she see's videogames as some sort of super-media capable of solving world hunger and curing cancer at which I have to laugh. Her goal is to get more people playing videogames because it would better society. I definitely think she is denser then a steel cheesecake encased in Paris Hilton for one reason; games are art.

Art, in any form, is at it's core entertainment; but art is also much more than that. Art is designed to evoke an emotion, any emotion in us for better or for worse. For example I would argue that the jackass movies are art. At their core they are just a bunch of very stupid dudes hurting themselves and each other, but ultimately I believe it is more than the sum of it's parts. Watching a dude get his junk bitten by a snake conjures up feelings of whimsy and escapism; surely I don't envy the poor sod but it makes me feel something I wouldn't normally feel. It pushes my comfort zone and personal boundaries. That is, by my own personal definition, art.

As I have mentioned in almost every post since I started this blog a monthish ago I believe that videogames are an interactive form of art. I think of the feeling when I **spoiler alert** first interacted with Sovereign in Mass Effect or when I beat my freind's high score in Tetris; it evokes an emotional response. When I am beating a hooker to death in GTA it also evokes an emotional response, albeit a completely different one. Bottom line is that is what art in general does; whether it be a book, movie, painting, ballet, or just a really hot chick in a slinky dress.

Not everyone is privy to the immersiveness of good videogames as artistic experiences. Not everyone will be able to play through Portal and enjoy what I consider to be the best artistic acheivement an artist can hope to strive for; leaving the consumer of their art in such a state where they don't know whether to laugh or cry. We as gamers know what is possible and, like religious zealots, some like Ms. McGonigal believe that everyone can and should be privy to the same experiences we are.

Another very important thing about art is that art is subjective. I believe that everyone ever born appreciates art in some form, but for everyone it is different. I loved the movie Fight Club. I made my mom watch it and she hated it. Does that make it bad art? No of course not; it makes our tastes different. Just because I love videogames and I firmly believe they have made a profoundly large and positive impact in my life doesn't mean videogames, in any form, will have the same impact for everyone. Not everyone wants to play games and not everyone should.

Back to my original point; spreading videogames as a way to cure society's woes is really akin to spreading religion to cure society's woes and if it were going to work it would have by now. Ultimately playing games isn't going to change any society, a general desire to change will (see Egypt, Lybia, or Tunisia). Now Ms. McGonigal may mean very well with her crusade, but to me she may as well have a Bible or Koran under her arm instead of a controler. I'm surely a believer, but not everyone will be or should be.

Regardless God of War meets Oblivion sounds way more awesome! Here's hoping I'm wrong about Schil and 38 Studios. Now if only Charlie Sheen were giving the keynote this would be a much different post!