Dear Reader:
BioWare can see a one-console future happening
A portion of a CVG interview with Ray Muzyka, general manager and CEO of BioWare…
CVG: There’s an ongoing debate about the possibility of a one platform future. What are your feelings on the matter?
Muzyka: I can see it going there and I think there are valid reasons to do that. I see Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo maybe having some issues with that [as] they might want to continue their platforms.
Given that they create the hardware and they’re big brands that have a lot of loyal fans I think that it may take a while before you see one platform.
But the idea of a thin client that you could run code over the internet on and distribute to is a possibility in the future that I think could happen.
You’re seeing it on some PC titles now like the flash-based games that are arguably an example of that, where you’re playing a game that’s displayed and rendered and you interact with it on your machine but it may be running somewhere else. It’s an interesting idea in the future.
Do I think it’s the only way games could go? No, I think there are a few valid ways games could go. I’m more interested in seeing the art of games.
I think as technology accelerates and gets better and better it’s less and less about pushing pixels through a technology architecture and trying to find the ways to optimise.
That’s still part of development, but more and more we’re coming to a standard camera, kind of like the movie industry, but while you still iterate the camera it’s more about what you do with the camera, more about the artistry and craftsmanship and how you direct the experience.
I think videogames are pretty exciting because you get to be the actor and the director at the centre of the experience at the same time, unlike a lot of other passive forms of entertainment.