BioWare May, Gasp, Do Something Other Than Fantasy or Science Fiction

Role-playing maestros BioWare, developers behind Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect and Dragon Age, are good with fantasy. They’re good with science fiction. With anything else? Well, that’s up for debate!

In an interview with Gamasutra, BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk is asked whether the developer will ever consider setting something in the modern, real world, to which he replies “That’s something we’ve absolutely debated over time. As we look forward, that’s something we consider more and more. It’s interesting, I think.”

Of course, the blend of action, exploration and dialogue the company has made its secret sauce over the years can be easily transplanted to other times and places. “You can imagine the cop drama set in the Mass Effect sort of framework. You can imagine a spy adventure in that context. I think actually that what’s happened is our ability to conceive and understand different game contexts has evolved. Then that starts opening up new platforms into things that are maybe less traditional than we have historically [done].”

Putting aside the fact there already has been a spy drama in that context – Alpha Protocol – the man makes a promising point. Developers constantly turn to fantasy and/or science fiction as an escape, but as series like Yakuza and Shenmue show, sometimes the mundane and “real” can be just as alluring for gamers.

BioWare 2011: The Doctors Speak [BioWare]