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BioWare
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated Doctor of Medicine, medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip. Since 2007, the company has been owned by American publisher Electronic Arts. BioWare specializes in role-playing video games, and achieved recognition for developing highly praised and successful licensed franchises: ''Baldur's Gate'', ''Neverwinter Nights'', and ''Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic''. They proceeded to make several other successful games based on original intellectual property: ''Jade Empire'', the ''Mass Effect'' series, and the ''Dragon Age'' series. In 2011, BioWare launched their first massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), ''Star Wars: The Old Republic''. History Foundation BioWare was founded by Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. Of the founding team, Muzyka, Zeschuk and Yip had recently graduated from medical school at the Un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mass Effect
''Mass Effect'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Casey Hudson. The franchise depicts a distant future where humanity and several alien civilizations have colonized the galaxy using technology left behind by Elder race, advanced precursor civilizations. The franchise originated in a series of video games developed by BioWare and originally published by Microsoft Game Studios on the first two games and its expansions. Later on, the series was taken over by Electronic Arts through its acquisition of BioWare. Each installment is a third-person shooter with Role-playing game, role-playing elements. The first three games form a trilogy in which the player character, Commander Shepard, attempts to save the Milky Way galaxy from a race of ancient, hibernating machines known as the Reapers (Mass Effect), Reapers. The inaugural video game in the series, Mass Effect (video game), ''Mass Effect'' (2007), follows Shepard's investigation of Saren Arterius, one of the R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of BioWare Video Games
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1994 by Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. They signed a partnership with American publisher Interplay Productions to get investment and development resources for their first game ''Shattered Steel'', a mech simulation action game released in 1996. The game was a modest success, but BioWare's second title, ''Baldur's Gate'' (1998), achieved overwhelming critical praise and defined the company's future direction. A role-playing video game (RPG) based on ''Dungeons & Dragons'', ''Baldur's Gate'' sold more than two million copies and became the most successful ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game ever at the time. Two years later, the studio released an acclaimed sequel '' Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn'', which along with the use of BioWare game engines in RPGs such as '' Planescape: Torment'' (1999) and '' Icewind Dale'' (2000) helped propel the studio to the forefront of the computer RPG ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jade Empire
''Jade Empire'' is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare, originally published by Microsoft Game Studios in 2005 as an Xbox exclusive. It was later ported to Microsoft Windows personal computers (PC) and published by 2K in 2007. Later ports to macOS (2008) and mobile platforms (2016) were handled respectively by TransGaming and Aspyr. Set in a world inspired by Chinese mythology, players control the last surviving Spirit Monk on a quest to save their tutor Master Li and defeat the dark forces behind his kidnapping. The Spirit Monk is guided through a linear narrative, completing quests and engaging in action-based combat. With morality-based dialogue choices during conversations, the player can impact both story and gameplay progression in various ways. Development of ''Jade Empire'' began in 2001 as a dream project for company co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, who acted as the game's executive producers. Their first original role-playing intellectual ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the designers and programmers responsible for its games as "software artists". EA published numerous games and some productivity software for personal computers, all of which were developed by external individuals or groups until 1987's ''Skate or Die!'' The company shifted toward internal game studios, often through acquisitions, such as Distinctive Software becoming EA Canada in 1991. Into the 21st century, EA develops and publishes games of established franchises, including ''Battlefield (video game series), Battlefield'', ''Need for Speed'', ''The Sims'', ''Medal of Honor (video game series), Medal of Honor'', ''Command & Conquer'', ''Dead Space'', ''Mass Effect'', ''Dragon Age'', ''Army of Two (series), Army of Two'', ''A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dragon Age
''Dragon Age'' is a media franchise centered on a series of fantasy role-playing video games created and developed by BioWare, which have seen releases on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The franchise takes place on the fictional continent Thedas, and follows the experiences of its various inhabitants. The first game in the series, ''Dragon Age: Origins'', follows the story of a recent recruit to a legendary order of warriors known as the Grey Wardens. Their mission is to save the kingdom of Ferelden from being overrun by the Darkspawn, a monstrous race of subterranean-dwelling beings who swarm the surface world every few hundred years in a movement known as a Blight. A Blight begins when the darkspawn track down and awaken an Archdemon, a powerful dragon that controls the Darkspawn hordes. Its sequel ''Dragon Age II'' is centered around the Hawke (Dragon Age), eldest child of the Hawke family, a B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greg Zeschuk
Gregory Zeschuk (born 1969) is a Canadian businessman who was a VP at Electronic Arts and General Manager at BioWare Austin until 2012. He co-founded video game developer BioWare in Edmonton in 1995 with Ray Muzyka and Augustine Yip, after all three earned their medical degrees from the University of Alberta. Zeschuk announced his retirement from BioWare on September 18, 2012. He is currently involved in a number of projects related to the craft-beer industry, including the production of a web-based interview show known as "The Beer Diaries." Greg is also the chairman of the board of the smart playground technology startup, Biba Ventures based in Vancouver, BC. In 2009, he was chosen by IGN as one of the top 100 game creators of all time alongside Ray Muzyka. Early life Zeschuk was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Growing up, Zeschuk played many role-playing games, including Dungeons & Dragons, saying he felt they were "always the strongest experience." During his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Muzyka
Raymond Alexander Muzyka is a Canadian investor, entrepreneur and physician. Originally trained as a medical doctor and practicing as an emergency department and family physician after graduation, he is the co-founder of video game developer BioWare, and was CEO, senior vice president, and general manager of the BioWare label of Electronic Arts. In October 2012 he announced that he was embarking on a 'third career' mentoring and angel investing in technology, new media, medical and social entrepreneurs, and impact investing at ThresholdImpact. Career Muzyka co-founded BioWare, which was incorporated in 1995, with Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip, in the early 1990s after they earned their medical degrees at the University of Alberta. After selling BioWare to Electronic Arts in 2008, Muzyka became a general manager and vice president at EA in addition to his CEO role at BioWare, and subsequently was promoted to senior vice president and general manager of the BioWare label at EA ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baldur's Gate
''Baldur's Gate'' is a series of role-playing video games set in the Forgotten Realms '' Dungeons & Dragons'' campaign setting. The series has been divided into two sub-series, known as the ''Bhaalspawn Saga'' and the ''Dark Alliance'', both taking place mostly within the Western Heartlands, but the Bhaalspawn Saga extends to Amn and Tethyr. The ''Dark Alliance'' series was released for consoles and was critically and commercially successful. The ''Bhaalspawn Saga'' was critically acclaimed for using pausable realtime gameplay, which is credited with revitalizing the computer role-playing game (CRPG) genre. The ''Bhaalspawn Saga'' was originally developed by BioWare for personal computers. Beamdog and its division Overhaul Games developed remakes of the original games in HD. The ''Dark Alliance'' series was originally set to be developed by Snowblind Studios, but ports were handled by Black Isle Studios, High Voltage Software, and Magic Pockets, with the second game ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shattered Steel
''Shattered Steel'' is a Mecha, mech Vehicle simulation game, simulation game developed by BioWare and published by Interplay Productions for MS-DOS in 1996. It was later ported to Mac OS by now-defunct Logicware. It is notable for the deformable terrain effects, and for being BioWare's first developed game.BioWarBioware's Legacy page, accessed November 11, 2007. Story ''Shattered Steel'' takes place in a desolate future where humanity is on the verge of extinction. The single-player campaign takes place over 5 separate worlds (planets); each planet has about 20 missions. The enemy in the game is a group of aliens who are in some way or another organic, mechanical or a combination of both. Examples of this are the Aspis, a spider-like enemy with an organic look and the Wasp, a very mechanical looking air vehicle. As the story unfolds, more is discovered about who controls the aliens, what their purposes are, and how to destroy them once and for all. Gameplay The gameplay is si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interplay Entertainment
Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca Heineman, as well as investor Chris Wells. As a developer, Interplay is best known as the creator of the '' Fallout'' series and as a publisher for the '' Baldur's Gate'' and '' Descent'' series. History Interplay Productions Prior to Interplay, the company's founding developers— Brian Fargo, Troy Worrell, Jay Patel, and Rebecca Heineman—worked for Boone Corporation, a video game developer based in California. When Boone eventually folded, the four got together with investor Chris Wells and, believing they could create a company that was better than Boone, founded Interplay in October 1983. The first projects were non-original and consisted of software conversions and even some military work for Loral Corporation.Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Role-playing Video Game
Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills). Role-playing games almost always feature combat as a defining feature and traditionally used Turn-based role-playing game, turn-based combat; however, modern role-playing games commonly feature real-time Action role-playing game, action combat or even non-violent forms of conflict resolution (with some eschewing combat altogether). Further, many games have incorporated role-playing elements such as character advancement and quests while remaining within other genres. Role-playing video games have their origins in tabletop role-playing games and use much of the same :Role-playing game terminology, terminology, Campaign setting, settings, and Game mechanics, game mechanics. Other major similarities with pen-and-paper games include develope ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neverwinter Nights
''Neverwinter Nights'' is a series of video games developed by BioWare and Obsidian Entertainment, based on the ''Forgotten Realms'' campaign setting of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Aside from also being set around the city Neverwinter, it is unrelated to both the 1991 '' Neverwinter Nights'' online game and the 2013 online game called '' Neverwinter''. Overview The ''Neverwinter Nights'' series take place primarily in the city of Neverwinter, located in the Sword Coast region of the fictional land of Faerûn. Also commonly referred to as the City of Skilled Hands, Neverwinter grew from a multi-racial settlement named ''Eigersstor'' founded several hundred years prior to the start of '' Neverwinter Nights''. At the time the first game takes place, the city of Neverwinter was beset by a magical plague named the Wailing Death, whereas in the second game the city is threatened by an invasion from its ancient enemy named the King of Shadows. Gameplay The ''N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
