Lemme 'splain: My Bioware Conflict

I feel like I've been overly harsh when talking about Bioware's products; to the point that if Mister Karpyshyn happened to read what I wrote, he might kill me. I know how action/sci-fi authors think: he'd know a very creative way to kill me (plus, he's been living in Texas...where Chuck Norris used to call home). But it's not the death at the hands of a formidable Canadian that make me uneasy, it's that he'd feel the need to kill me. The last thing I want to do on this blog, or anywhere for that matter, is give off the impression that I despise this company's products and anyone who works for them. Because that's just not the case. No, sir.

Bioware is my favorite gaming company. They've provided masterpiece after masterpiece, and they've only gotten better. KotOR, to me, is still their magnum opus, but they've still created games that never fall short of expectations (except DA:O - Awakening, but that's because of the price tag).

Mass Effect got me to write again, and got me to think about sci-fi in a different way. Dragon Age: Origins, after much debate, is one of my most favorite games of all time, and that's not an easy list to break into. In no particular order (except for KotOR):

1) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
2) World of Warcraft
3) Starfox 64
4) Mega Man Legends
5) Poke'mon: Red Version
6) Final Fantasy VII
7) Timesplitters 2
8) Empire Earth
9) Fallout 3
10) Dragon Age: Origins

That list is still pretty tentative, since I'm sure a Zelda game should be in there somewhere (probably Wind Waker, probably OoT. Not sure...), but still: DA:O is up there, and its sequel is one of three games that I'm sorta hyped on:

1) Dragon Age 2
2) Fallout: New Vegas
3) Poke'mon Black and White

I think Drew Karpyshyn and David Gaider and fantastically creative people, and are also on the short list of people who have artistically inspired me to an enormous degree (shit, this whole entry's gonna be a bunch of lists. Oh, well):

1) R.A. Salvatore (This guy's like The Wiz; nobody beats him. His "Icewind Dale Trilogy" saved my life.)

2) Drew Karpyshyn (KotOR/Mass Effect)

3) David Gaider (KotOR/Dragon Age)

4) Matthew (Fucking) Stover (His Star Wars books, and his amazing characterization techniques.)

5) Orson Scott Card (though, ya know, his very-vocalized beliefs make it hard for me to admire him so much anymore, but the impact of his works still stands.)

The reason for my constant bashing of Bioware is because I love these guys. They make amazing games and spin amazing stories that could be novels or movies on their own. But what really gets me is their striving to make characters who are very human but, at the same time, can be outrageously badass. The paragon/renegade choices in Mass Effect 2 were the difference between playing through an 80s-style action movie and true sci-fi drama. And in DA:O, most, if not all, of the choices that were presented seemed real; I could believe that I would be forced to make similar decisions in a similar scenario.

That, my friends, is the key ingredient to an "immersive experience," something that's rarely accomplished. KotOR made me feel like a true Sith Lord and DA:O made me feel like a city elf rogue...yeah. For that, I owe Bioware, Drew Karpyshyn, and David Gaider my eternal support and the full contents of my wallet.

I will likely find something I love in every game they make, but when they make an odd decision (see: DA:O - Awakening/Pinnacle Station) I want to let them know what I think. It's not out of disrespect, it's out of loving concern.

But seriously, Awakening, wtf was that?