14 DAY TRIAL // A number of developers who were involved with creation of the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO at BioWare have announced that they have left the company and are now working on an independent project called The Banner Saga.
Arnie Jorgensen, Alex Thomas and John Watson have left BioWare in order to create a video game studio called Stoic Games, which is set to combine solid story, good art and strategy, something that BioWare-made titles have not often included.
The core theme of The Banner Saga will be built around Vikings and the turn-based battles will be linked to an overall adventure mini-series.
Speaking to the Indie Game Mag, John Watson has stated, “It will include BioWare-style dialog, exploration of gorgeously painted landscapes, and turn-based strategic combat. The story is compelling and epic, and your choices will dramatically affect the outcome of the story.”
He added, “We intend to release the turn-based combat as a stand alone game this spring, followed by the full story based and exploration game in the fall.”
The turn-based combat will be offered for free to all those interested and those who like the mechanics, and the story will then be able to buy the whole The Banner Saga experience, which also delivers the entire adventure.
It is not clear whether the developers at Stoic Games plan to link their entire experience with historical themes or if they will only take the world of Vikings as inspiration for their units, their map and their battle mechanics.
More details on how the turn-based battles will work will be offered in the coming weeks.
BioWare has managed to deliver a highly successful experience with The Old Republic, and a whole team linked to the developer will continue to deliver support for the MMO while others work on other high-profile titles like Mass Effect and Dragon Age.