BioWare Focuses On Bringing Story and Emotion to New Genres

Developer BioWare and publisher Electronic Arts have finally managed to launch their MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic but one leading developer working for the two companies says that they are eager to deliver their unique brand of emotion to other, new genres.

Ray Muzyka, who is one of the leaders of BioWare and has recently also taken an executive position at Electronic Arts, told Joystiq that, “You’re seeing how we’re doing that in The Old Republic. We’re merging story in in a really seamless way. It doesn’t feel tacked on or added, it’s actually there from the ground floor. It’s actually adding to the experience and increasing that emotional engagement, which, you go back to our vision, that’s what it’s all about. Building that emotional engagement.”

He added, “BioWare games have a lot of different elements: exploration, progression, customization, and epic, cinematic combat, social interaction in the online games and play-for-free titles. So the emotion comes from all those things.”

The Star Wars MMO is the only one to focus on player choices and has fully voiced NPCs.

At the moment BioWare is working on offering long term support for The Old Republic, which will get at least one major update during 2012, but the company is also working on single player franchises.

In March 2012 the company will launch Mass Effect 3, the conclusion of their science fiction based action role playing game, and there are also rumors that the company is already working hard to create the third entry in the Dragon Age series.

These are games where it is clear how the BioWare vision for story and emotion will be implemented, but recently BioWare revealed that its Victory studio was also developing Command & Conquer: Generals 2, a strategy game that will apparently also integrate a lot of emotional content.