What's So "BioWare" About C&C Generals 2?

[Sonic 295]

Kotaku have posted a new interview with BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk. They talked about BioWare's other big franchises like Mass Effect and Star Wars: The Old Republic. But they also discussed Command & Conquer: Generals 2. More specifically asking the question What's So BioWare About the Next Command & Conquer?

 

 

Why were we discussing Command & Conquer? More specifically, as I asked both men, why should we think of the upcoming Command & Conquer Generals 2 as a BioWare game? After all, wasn't Generals 2 in development at the former EA LA studio, which was known briefly as Victory Games? And wasn't that studio simply re-branded as BioWare Victory? Is there really anything BioWare about this game other than the name?

 

Should I be so cynical?

 

"I hope not," Muzyka said to me.

 

"We want to bring BioWare quality," he said. "We want to bring a compelling story to a real-time strategy kind of experience."

We're talking about a real-time strategy game that's part of a series that, if it was ever known for story, was known for cheesy live-action sequences starring hammy actors and, once pro wrestler Ric Flair being attacked by a bear. (To be fair, that was from the goofier Red Alert sub-brand of C&C games.)

 

Some interesting reading here. Click here for the rest.

[Nmenth 290]

pro wrestler Ric Flair being attacked by a bear. (To be fair, that was from the goofier Red Alert sub-brand of C&C games.)

To be even more fair, that wasn't actually in the game.

 

Also, sub-brand? More like co-brand...

 

Can't really respect their interview when they say stupid misinformed stuff like that.

[Plok 323]

Yay, another boring interview on something we already know. Big deal.

[Luk3us 63]

I don't know if I'd call that article 'interesting', I think I'd call it filler.

 

But at least they're still thinking of us. Its been a while since we've had any C&C news, so the thought is nice.

[PurpleGaga27 39]

There's nothing special about this article. EA has their choices and their compromises.

[diggär 0]

Someone who calls The Red Alert Universe a "sub-brand" is working on Generals 2????

 

Good Night....

[Doctor Destiny 41]

So much negativity in this thread. I am disappoint.

[Troopzor 5]

I don't get the negativity... I liked the article, sure it's filler, but it's something

 

And what's wrong with calling RA a sub-brand? Command and Conquer is the brand, RA/Tiberian/Generals are the sub-brands. :\

[Sonic 295]

Command & Conquer is the original.... the rest are technically spin-offs. As for the negativity factor, its just the way people are in this community, its been this way for years.

[Troopzor 5]

Command & Conquer is the original.... the rest are technically spin-offs. As for the negativity factor, its just the way people are in this community, its been this way for years.

 

I know, I hope it changes soon

[Inferno 22]

To be honest, I like the critical point of view of this community, even though it sometimes goes a bit too far

[Luk3us 63]

Its hardly unique to the C&C community, its a general trend in all gaming communities.

 

Nothing wrong with demanding GREATNESS!!

[Sonic 295]

You can't demand anything really. The devs are here to make a game they want to make. Craft it in their own image.

 

Seriously guys, the constant negative vibe and nitpicking about every damn thing just reeks of and elitist attitude. You guys work yourself up so much that when the final product arrives, if its not good enough to meet your unreachable high standards or its not 100% perfection, you will proceed to **** all over it. I personally don't understand why your a C&C fan if it generates so much hate for you.

 

Just stating my opinion, nothing more. Disagree with me if so wish (because I know you will). Just try to not spoil the enjoyment for the fans who care.

[diggär 0]

I don't get the negativity... I liked the article, sure it's filler, but it's something

 

And what's wrong with calling RA a sub-brand? Command and Conquer is the brand, RA/Tiberian/Generals are the sub-brands. :\

 

It's the thing that he says that like: "Yeah Red-Alert is not a typical C&C, because it is so crazy."

I'm asking myself: What is he thinking of Tiberium-Universe? Is it too Sci-Fi?

Is the Generals Universe the only Universe, which we can take seriously?

 

Don't understand me wrong: I don't want to talk bad about Generals 2. I hope that the Developers making a great Game and the Series will have great Comeback.

The only thing I wanted to say is, that I don't like the way he talks about the Past of Command and Conquer.

[Guest Stevie_K]

You guys are taking things to the extremes here. It's complete overreaction to take statements from a small talk interview and paint it up in black and white like that.

 

Good interview. I'm looking forward to see whether "BioWare quality" is what the franchise needs to get back into the fight.

[Plok 323]

You can't demand anything really. The devs are here to make a game they want to make. Craft it in their own image.

We can demand anything we want as a community. If we hate what they made, their game won't sell well at all and they will fall in disrepute as EALA did. We shouldn't be afraid of them - they should be afraid of us. And, related to this and the neighbouring thread about "no new Gens2 news", they should either make something that we can see and/or hear or STFU and get back to their job because they don't seem to be doing it.

 

EDIT: Also, why would the creators do what they want after the franchise switched two studios already? What the hell is the community supposed to do, sit back and eat everything they feed us with?????

 

Seriously guys, the constant negative vibe and nitpicking about every damn thing just reeks of and elitist attitude. You guys work yourself up so much that when the final product arrives, if its not good enough to meet your unreachable high standards or its not 100% perfection, you will proceed to **** all over it. I personally don't understand why your a C&C fan if it generates so much hate for you.

Only the recent games cause that much hate. Why? Because C&C 4 completely changed everything that made C&C (sorry I had to bring this up from the graveyard). Although it was a somewhat playable game that is obviously unfinished, it completely destroyed what was left of the community after RA3 hit the shelves (which I can't understand, RA3 is as loony as it should be). Being a C&C fan doesn't mean we can't be critical over a game that pisses us off. Stronghold 3 didn't end well, especially after the Stronghold Legends fiasco, but do the series' fans still exist? Yes they do. They're playing Stronghold 1 and Crusader.

[Doctor Destiny 41]

When I hear whining, all I hear is blah blah blah because it's never on the merit of the game itself. It's always some pathetic aesthetic or some non-essential piece of bull**** no one in their right mind would give a **** about. Seriously, it gets really annoying hear the same old complaints time and time again ad nauseum. Why not judge the game on the game itself rather than some unachievable state of perfection? Seriously. Play the actual game before passing judgment. The latter half of C&C is not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. Tiberium Wars is fun, so is Red Alert 3; even C&C4 is just underwhelming, rather than inherently bad because it changed a few things. I just get tired of the whining, especially about a product that's not even available yet.

[Inferno 22]

You can't demand anything really. The devs are here to make a game they want to make. Craft it in their own image.

Any customers can and will have demands. And it's very much important to have certain standards when it comes to games, the industry wouldn't be what it is without them. Also, thinking the power is entirely with the devs is just ignorant.

 

Seriously guys, the constant negative vibe and nitpicking about every damn thing just reeks of and elitist attitude. You guys work yourself up so much that when the final product arrives, if its not good enough to meet your unreachable high standards or its not 100% perfection, you will proceed to **** all over it. I personally don't understand why your a C&C fan if it generates so much hate for you.

I don't hate on any C&C game besides C&C4. I do have lots of complaints for most of those games, especially because I like them so much.

 

Just stating my opinion, nothing more. Disagree with me if so wish (because I know you will). Just try to not spoil the enjoyment for the fans who care.

It doesn't seem like "just stating an opinion", it looks a lot more like trying to force your opinion onto others, which is not something I particularly respect.

[Nmenth 290]

DD, I have no idea what you are talking about... I don't see anyone here talking bad about Generals 2. The only "negativity" here is against this article and the misinformed comments the author made.

[Miko101 0]

Lets hope "Bioware quality" doesn't mean "Requires Origin no matter what platform you are on" and "No Steam release" like ME3 is going through with. Every thread talking asking about why ME3 isnt going to be released on steam at launch was locked not too long afterward. This was on Bioware's own forums and not EA's

 

It's a huge concern with me because in my opinion. Generals 2 needs as much exposure in terms of platforms to be offered on as possible and i think Steam could play a big role in getting Generals 2 to the masses. I fear Origin may close out those who don't favor it and may cause some people to simply pass Generals 2 by if it should go Origin only and requires Origin to install.

Edited March 2, 2012 by Miko101

[recover 2]

We can demand anything we want as a community. If we hate what they made, their game won't sell well at all and they will fall in disrepute as EALA did. We shouldn't be afraid of them - they should be afraid of us. And, related to this and the neighbouring thread about "no new Gens2 news", they should either make something that we can see and/or hear or STFU and get back to their job because they don't seem to be doing it.

Big respect to you. I completely agree with you.

 

The relationship between a game developer and its customers is like any relationship. If you let your partner screw you over, and blindly agree with everything the other says, the relationship is going to fail miserably, and both are going to end up as losers. We must voice our opinion and demand quality, otherwise the game will end up as **** and no one is going to buy it. In the end, EA will be glad we do this, since if we hadn't, the game would be a failure.

 

I'm sorry to say this, but if everyone of us had Sonic's attitude, this community would be doomed for failure.

[Sonic 295]

I just went back to double check what I posted. You will have noticed I had not posted in this thread since then, mostly because well I kind of lost interest in the subject. But I will admit I didn't make my point all to clear. Yes you should be voicing your opinion and telling the devs what they should be doing. But you have be more professional about it I feel. You have every right suggest ideas as so forth.

[Nmenth 290]

I will admit I didn't make my point all to clear. Yes you should be voicing your opinion and telling the devs what they should be doing. But you have be more professional about it I feel. You have every right suggest ideas as so forth.

 

I'm guessing this is the controversial part that you didn't make clear:

 

You can't demand anything really. The devs are here to make a game they want to make.

 

So if I understand what you meant by that, then I agree.

 

Fans should not make demands, but they can and should offer suggestions and constructive criticisms. Demanding things is just plain annoying and will make the devs not want to serve your whims.

[Inferno 22]

Obviously people here have different views on the word "demand". To be honest, I demand a game to have a certain standard before I consider buying it. Devs don't need to obey to my every wishes (and I don't expect them to), but I retain the right to simply not purchase the game if I so desire, give constructive criticism and/or complaints.

[kklkit 0]

I would say this is indeed an interesting article, yet I do not agree with some of the author's viewpoints.

 

Why should we think of the upcoming Command & Conquer Generals 2 as a BioWare game? After all, wasn't Generals 2 in development at the former EA LA studio, which was known briefly as Victory Games?

 

The article did raise the question that everyone has in mind: "Generals 2 is still being developed by the Victory Games team after all, how much difference it could bring by re-branding the studio?

 

Although everything still remains to be seen, I think Bioware+Victory Games is actually a perfect match.

 

BioWare games have always been about story and choice. It remains hard to see how those values would apply to or evolve a Command & Conquer, nor is it yet convincing that the BioWare Victory effort really is anything more than the application of a successful studio brand name on an existing crew of creators.

 

I don't know about "choice" in C&C, but "story" plays a HUGE role in C&C franchise. It is quite depressing to see how people tends to forget what made the original C&C and C&C:TS so famous..... We all know C&C wasn't meant to be a highly competitive RTS game in the first place. It is the STORY which made the original C&C a classic.

 

"Hitler, Einstein, Stalin, Kane, tiberian crystal, post-apocalypse, NOD, Scrin....."

It is still amazing these days how Westwood put so many elements together to build a fictional, yet compelling story. Now, Bioware comes into play, what can be changed?

 

Watch this cutscene....

 

 

....and compare with this....

 

 

You can definitely tell how much better TS was in the story telling or even in the story itself. It is what the original EALA team failed to do AND it is precisely Bioware's expertise! Story telling is especially important when C&C is one of the few franchises with Real Life Cutscene! We don't know about gameplay, but with Bioware's help, one could assume that Generals 2 could stand a chance restoring the former glory C&C franchise has in story and story telling.