Bioware Explains Under Which Genre ANTHEM Comes, In Development For 5 Years, Still A Lot Of Work To Do
By now it is very clear to all of us that Bioware and Electronic Arts have shifted their focus from Mass Effect Andromeda to the new IP, Anthem. There are several reports from credible insider sources that the
Story DLC of Mass Effect Andromedahas been canceled, and the development team has been asked to work only of the patch and several multiplayer updates. In a recent interview with CBC Radio, Bioware General Manager Aaron Flynn
talked only about Anthem - how long the game has been in development, under which genre it falls, where does the inspiration to create these worlds that are so layered and so detailed comes from, and many other aspects.
Aaron Flynn revealed that Anthem has been in development at Bioware for FIVE YEARS. Aaron Flynn said: "It's pretty surreal, actually. We've been working on it for, as an idea, it's been close to around about five years now."
And when asked where the idea for Anthem came? Aaron Flynn replied:
"We were sitting around after being wrapping on our last Mass Effect game here at Edmonton, Mass Effect 3. And we just thought about, you get a chance, a new chance to build a new intellectual property in this industry, pretty rarely, and so the fact our parent company Electronic Arts was giving us that meant we had to take it very seriously, so we sat back and thought, "Well, what's really fun now?" My personal anecdote is, after I had two sons, I've always wanted a game I could play with them. And so, this is my chance to build a game that I can play with my two sons, together. We like to play games together now, and I know a lot of the folks and men and women at the studio are finding themselves in that life situation too. So it's sort of an evolution of the studio, we all get a little older, a little more mature. This represents a chance for all of us to build that game we can play with our families."
Bioware at E3 2017 showcased
Anthem gameplay demo running on Xbox One X at 4K resolution. The sequences that were showcased gave us a feeling that it is a shooter game. When asked for a confirmation on it, Aaron Flynn clarified:
"Yeah! So the mechanics are, there are shooting mechanics in it, it's an action game, it's a roleplaying game, it's got a lot of those elements to it that let you just become a character and participate in this. It's co-operative, so it's our first game in a long time that you're going to play with your friends, natively, all through the whole experience. And that makes it a lot more fun nowadays, there are a lot of players out there who really want to play with their friends, so we'll hopefully give them that."
And on the topic of the genre it comes under, Aaron replied:
"the story is that you are part of humanity, and you're a member of a group called the "Freelancers", who are out there to protect and save humanity on an alien planet far away. It's in a genre we call "science-fantasy", it's very much like Star Wars, very much like the Marvel universe where you see a lot of amazing things happening but we don't worry too much about why they're happening or how they're happening, the science of it. Mass Effect is more of a real hardcore science-fiction IP, this one is much more about just having fun in a game world that is lush and exotic and really sucks you in."
So there you have it, folks, the message is pretty clear from Bioware: they have put their heart and soul into creating Anthem, and it still continues as Anthem is scheduled to launch in Fall 2018. What do you guys think: Anthem will bring the lost glory of Bioware back, the one which they have lost after Mass Effect Andromeda controversy? Share your opinion with us in the comment section below.
Microsoft and Electronic Arts have signed a marketing deal for Anthem. It is seen as a Team Xbox's response to marketing deal between Activision and Sony for Destiny franchise.
Can Bioware's Anthem be Xbox's Destiny?
