BioWare: Why Sequels Are Good

With complaints about the heavy load of sequels on E3, Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka talked with Eurogamer about how sequels are a good thing, specifically when referring to Mass Effect 3.

“We talk about how this is probably one of our best demoes ever here for Mass Effect 3, and the game itself we feel will probably one of our best ever. It wouldn’t have been that way if it was just a one off. From a gamer’s perspective it’s a positive.”

E3 showcased the likes of Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3, Uncharted 3 and Halo 4. For some, it was evidence of a lack of innovation, but for BioWare, that’s not necessarily the case.

“You have to innovate,” co-founder Ray Muzyka said. “Innovation means taking some risks creatively. When you’re doing a sequel, if you’re thoughtful and you understand your audience well and you spend a lot of time listening to what they like and don’t like, you take risks sometimes they pay out, sometimes they don’t but if you listen you can continue to refine and make the games better and better.

It’s true that it’s a trade-off, and indeed sequels allow for refining and bigger investments. But Zeschuk seems to be talking around the fact that the amount of “innovations” and “creative risks” are lessened by a game being a sequel.