News Wizards of the Coast opens Archetype Ent. studio led by ex-Bioware vets to work on working on a sci-fi RPG

[prudis]

Wizards of the Coast has now issued a press release regarding Archetype Entertainment, the new name for the Austin-located studio, and it's developing a multi-platform roleplaying game that will be set in an all-new science fiction universe. Ohlen is the head of the studio, and Chad Robertson will be the general manager. Ohlen has discussed the type of game that the mysterious new property will be on the Archetype Entertainment website.

Ohlen worked for Bioware for twenty-two years and was the lead designer/creative designer on such classic games as Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age: Origins, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. He left BioWare in 2018 to found his own publishing company called Arcanum Worlds, but he was snapped up by Wizards of the Coast in 2019 to head their new video game development studio.

OUR GOAL IS TO CREATE THE GREATEST STORY-DRIVEN ROLEPLAYING GAMES IN THE WORLD.

Archetype Entertainment is a game development studio in Austin, Texas led by industry veterans from BioWare and other AAA studios. Founded in 2019, Archetype is an autonomous division of Wizards of the Coast. We are assembling a world-class team to build a multi-platform roleplaying game set in a new science fiction universe.

At Archetype, we believe there will always be a place for story-driven roleplaying games that put the player at the center of an epic personal narrative with impactful choices. We are building games that represent the diversity of our audience. We also believe that game studios should empower top developers and challenge them with ambitious projects that are shaped by a strong, clearly communicated creative vision.


Artworks frm website

 

[Oldschool PC]

Archetype Entertainment is a game development studio in Austin, Texas led by industry veterans from BioWare and other AAA studios.

OUR GOAL IS TO CREATE THE GREATEST STORY-DRIVEN ROLEPLAYING GAMES IN THE WORLD.

 

[Kvik]

Fair point, but since David Gaider isn't on writing duties, I'd say they're already halfway there.

 

[ShadowAUS]

Exciting news, I don't have a lot of trust in BioWare (though it's still my favorite studio of all time) but I've always like Ohlen so I'm interested to see how this goes but I'm not boarding the hype train until there's some concrete results.

Fair point, but since David Gaider isn't on writing duties, I'd say they're already halfway there.

I mean David CAN write good stuff (characters especially), he's just very inconsistent.

 

[Kvik]

I mean David CAN write good stuff (characters especially), he's just very inconsistent.

Another fair point. Granted, I haven't played DA Inquisition, but I'm mostly lukewarm towards his writing since KOTOR. It doesn't help that I much preferred Avellone's writing in KOTOR2.

 

[ShadowAUS]

Another fair point. Granted, I haven't played DA Inquisition, but I'm mostly lukewarm towards his writing since KOTOR. It doesn't help that I much preferred Avellone's writing in KOTOR2.

DA:I has a lot of issues but it's still a fun enough ride. The characters are definitely the best part of the game, the main story is very rote, the gamplay is meh and the world design and quest structure is way too bloated and by the numbers - but it's still worth playing if you ever get a chance, it can be had cheap these days. The Dragon Age books are also pretty solid, surprisingly so since books written by video game writers tend to be very hit or miss, emphasis on the miss. Disclaimer: DA;O is my favourite game of all time and Alistair is my video game husbando whom I will defend till the death (/s not /s).

I also prefer Avellone's writing as far as the KOTOR games goes but it's not like everything he's touched has turned to writing gold either

 

[m_dorian]

I remember reading about the first BG and how enthusiastic Ohlen was about the project. It helped that he was a big D&D fan but I think he is a dev with both passion and commitment.

I wish him all the luck for this new endeavour which has my attention.

I wonder how can Violate replace 22 years of experience and talent but that is probably the least of their worries.

 

[prudis]

Former BioWare scribe Drew Karpyshyn has been appointed lead writer at Archetype Entertainment, the new game studio formed by Wizards of the Coast.

Karpyshyn left BioWare (for the second time) back in 2018 to explore the world of freelancing, and during his time at the studio worked on a number of notable titles including Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect 2, and Star Wars: The Old Republic.

"I haven’t been this excited to work on a project in a long, long time. I’ve been in the video game industry for twenty years now. When I started at BioWare, everything was fresh and exciting. It was a dream job. But as we grew and became more successful, things changed," he wrote in a blog post.

"We became more corporate. We were less able to make what we loved, and the teams were pushed to create games based on market research rather than our creative instincts and passions. My dream job became just a job, and I lost the enthusiasm and excitement I once had. But with Archetype, my passion has been rekindled."

 

[Kvik]

I think that's the other writer of KOTOR, iirc. Are they going to bring Gaider next? It's still too early in the day for yet another pessimistic outlook.

 

[prudis]

 

[texhnolyze]

Where does it say that this newly erected studio is developing a AAA RPG? Who's the investors?

Old talent, new studio, first game, this screams CRPG to me. Shinobi will be disappointed, I'm afraid.