Plus mentions casually that there's a team within the studio currently prototyping or testing something "that's very Dragon Age". Which would be a weird way to say that work is underway on a new Dragon Age title. This is all part of studio-head and Mass Effect creator Casey Hudson's new push for open communication with fans.
In his
latest blog post he goes into BioWare's history and mission statement, which unsurprisingly is focused on creating rich interactive stories for players to feel like they're the hero of. Which naturally turns to the subject of Anthem and how that would fit in with what has been up to know described as a multiplayer shared-world shooter along the lines of Destiny. Which itself features a rich, detailed story. Albeit a barely comprehensible one.
"There were, understandably, some questions and concerns about story in multiplayer," Casey writes about Anhtem. "Specifically, 'what if I don’t want to play with randos?' 'What if I don’t have friends that I play games with?' And, 'I like to be the one making choices in my story—if it’s multiplayer, won’t the story get watered down?'"
"With Anthem we’re taking this problem head-on and structuring the entire game design to provide a specific solution for this. We’ll be sharing details on how it works very soon. We think it creates a unique experience where you have control over your own story, but your story is set in an ever-changing multiplayer world. And yes, even though Anthem is meant to bring out the best parts of playing as part of an online community, you can choose to play through the story with only your friends, or even on your own."
Interesting stuff, and we'd love nothing more for Anthem to feature both compelling co-operative action in addition to the high quality story-stuff we've come to expect from BioWare. Either way we'll find out more at EA Play in June.