Former BioWare dev, James Ohlen, has been a hot topic on the internet since his departure from BioWare, a studio he worked hard in for 22 years. It seems that while the RPG studio’s main interest is working on their upcoming game Anthem, that hasn’t stopped them from supporting their long-running Star Wars MMO, Star Wars The Old Republic. Yet no matter how well the MMO has done, Ohlen admitted that he had one big regret.
Speaking to Game Informer, Ohlen spoke about his successes, failures, and regrets. The first thing he mentions is how he wished that he had “pushed a little bit more toward making it kind of Knights of The Republic online rather than “Star Wars World of Warcraft.” While some may not see the problem with that, it seems as though most of Ohlen’s feedback was due to fans feeling disappointed that The Old Republic did not have the same feel as Knights of the Republic.
We can see why it would be a regret of Ohlen’s as, like World of Warcraft, The Old Republic’s progression system was largely based around quest-based gameplay, as well as the eventual monetization of the game through a monthly subscription. It didn’t last very long, with BioWare dropping the model due to low player numbers, but it was enough for the game to get a bad name for itself. And that isn’t without even going into the whole ‘Gay Planet’ schtick.
Nonetheless, in spite of the criticism that the game received, Ohlen stated he was “proud of where Star Wars: The Old Republic got to” in the end and other than that mentioned above, “has no regrets.”
In other BioWare news, the developers of Forza Horizon has recently hired veterans from BioWare (as well as other studios) to work on an upcoming action RPG. Fable 4, is that you?
