The idea of devs 'taking their time' has never really sat well with me. It's not that I'm selfish and want all my video games now now now, but it always strikes me as an odd response to game delays. I understand that it's preferable to toxic complaints, or harassing the devs (when 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:God of War Ragnarok was delayed several f🌺emale devs were sent dick pics and taun❀ted with rape threats), and on a human level, it's the polite response. If someone says 'I'll be a little late', and you reply 'take your time', that's a nice thing to say. With games, it's not so simple.
Some games use what's known as Death March, and it’s as cheery as it sounds. Basically, it means you start crunching and you just keep on crunching. A delay doesn't mean less crunch, but rather more time to crunch. When devs have to crunch for another six months because directors and meddling studio executives want to overstuff the game with features designed only to add sawdust to the playtime, 'take your time' feels cruel. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dragon Age Dreadwolf, however, is the ultimate 'take your time' sort of game.
BioWare is in an odd spot right now. In the mid '00s to mid '10s, it was one of the kings of the industry. Its history extended back further, peppered with cult classics and hidden gems. The 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Mass Effect and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dragon Age trilogies made it the envy of every studio around. With Mass Effect 3, it even did the impossible and successfully wedged a fantastic multiplayer mode into a single-player series and made it feel like a natural extension that everyone loved. It could do no wrong! Then it did Mass Effect Andromeda and Anthem, and suddenly it could do no right.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition reminded us of the good times, and the next Mass Effect (4? 5? Subtitle?) and Dreadwolf on the horizon signal a return to what BioWare does best. But Dreadwolf needs to succeed, and I hope it is given the time to do so. By time, I don't only mean chronologically, as in 'take your time'. I mean creatively, I hope Dreadwolf's devs are allowed to do their best work and not work up until the buzzer just to cram in features.
Video games these days are heralded for their storytelling. Sony pushes itself forward as producing prestige games, and a narrative that touches your heart is a key part of the whole 'games are art' defence. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Last of Us and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:BioShock: Infinite are usually held up as the first shot across the bough for this movement, even if one has aged better than the other. However, Mass Effect 2's focus on character building and personal relationships has always felt like the start of the movement in my eyes, and even as games have pushed into narrative further, Mass Effect 2 still remains a crucial starting point in the 'games can make you feel things' canon.
It's difficult to have ideas resonate like this under crunch. You can't quantify a good story the way you can an extra map or a boss battle or new mechanic, so if the devs are up against it, they won't have the time to develop these rich stories, or house them in a world that makes them matter. ‘Take your time’ could mean spending more time making cuts so that the base game works, rather than lifting everything up.
Crunch plays an especially interesting part in BioWare's history. The studio helped pioneer action games where the character made meaningful choices with depth that impacted the world greatly, but as they became blockbuster hits, they still needed to hit targets. Mass Effect 3 diluted Thane's arc and had a famously uninspiring ending as a result of deadlines needing to be hit. Conversely, Dragon Age 2 was forced to reuse assets ad nauseum and rely on smaller, more action driven battles, transforming the series. Many heroic fans consider it to be the most enjoyable in the series. Me, for example. However, it lacks the depth of Origins and the scope of Inquisition, and I'll always wonder what the non-crunch version looks like.
Looking at it from the opposite angle, Mass Effect 2 is considered BioWare's best, and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:was made w✨ith the least crunch of🌳 all of them. It's telling that on a game where the devs really could take their time, something special emerged. Not just in that the game is good, but that in building around characters it's something better than good - it's different. It's brave and it's bold and it's the result of developers being trusted with their own ideas. That's my wish for Dreadwolf. Please, BioWare, take your time. For real.