The Insulting Poison Of Corporate Video Games

It’s no surprise that in the last 7 years, Bioware have lost the majority of their major creative forces. From co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk to various key staff like James Ohlen and Mike Laidlaw - even Mass Effect 2 and KOTOR lead writer Drew Karpyshyn left DURING the creation of Anthem.

I feel sorry for those remaining, or at any studio under a publisher putting corporate interests and shareholder investments over whatever sanctity we ascribe to gaming as a medium.

Yes, gaming is bigger than ever and with larger budgets come drastically reduced risks, but I truly believe those at the top are in gaming for the wrong reasons – especially when it comes to third-party publishers, who don't have to worry about respectable console libraries or the longterm whatsoever. They’ve succeeded in getting millions more pairs of eyes on the medium, sure, but this setup will only ever make gamers treat their games as soulless products; cashing in, and moving on.

What we're seeing - or what these people would like to see - is a return to the arcade mentality; of paying to play. With so much ground covered and so many milestones surpassed to get gaming to where it is today, let's not go backwards.