I know. of course, that your prime function in life will be to take the next Bioware Press Release, swallow it and turn it into gushing praise for our delectation here but please can the next MMORPG.COM correspondent, writer or blogger who gets down to Austin, TX ask Bioware Senior Producer Dallas Dickinson the following question:

"Hey Dallas, remember four years ago when you were Senior Producer for SWG? You know, when you were jamming the NGE down the throats of your paying customers and telling us that it was a success for which we must be grateful? Anything to say to us former customers now as you ask us to buy the next Star Wars product with your sweaty pawprints all over it? Hmmm?".

No, seriously. Ask him. Thank you.

http://swg.stratics.com/content/?Cat=264&uid=633

If he didn't mind losing his job, he'd probably say...

LucasArts noticed that there was a much larger market out there for Star Wars games, and they believed that we needed to make SWG feel like the movies. So that is what we attempted to do, unfortunately SWG just wasn't designed for that and no matter what we said LucasArts was insistant that it must happen. So when the Trials of Obiwan didn't sell anywhere near enough copies on day one, LucasArts forced it to go live, and obviously those of us at SOE took the brunt of the fallout.

Now though I'm in a position where from day one we've been able to work with LucasArts vision, and obviously BioWare's track record of delivering story driven content and making the player feel like a true Hero has just made this the perfect Star Wars experience.

It is a shame that so many people blame the coders and development team for decisions made by the license holders, I mean LucasArts since long before MMOs were around have been very controlling of their IP, they know what Star Wars is and they know what they want from it. But hey, most people in life only remember the bad things and never the good things. In the time that I worked on SWG there were many great points, but one really bad point has over shadowed everything.

You didn't like the NGE, that is because it wasn't right for SWG, but it is right for SWTOR. So if you still don't like it after playing SWTOR, then you just don't like that type of story driven heroic game, that, isn't our fault.

Originally posted by bobfish

If he didn't mind losing his job, he'd probably say...

 

LucasArts noticed that there was a much larger market out there for Star Wars games, and they believed that we needed to make SWG feel like the movies. So that is what we attempted to do, unfortunately SWG just wasn't designed for that and no matter what we said LucasArts was insistant that it must happen. So when the Trials of Obiwan didn't sell anywhere near enough copies on day one, LucasArts forced it to go live, and obviously those of us at SOE took the brunt of the fallout.

Now though I'm in a position where from day one we've been able to work with LucasArts vision, and obviously BioWare's track record of delivering story driven content and making the player feel like a true Hero has just made this the perfect Star Wars experience.

It is a shame that so many people blame the coders and development team for decisions made by the license holders, I mean LucasArts since long before MMOs were around have been very controlling of their IP, they know what Star Wars is and they know what they want from it. But hey, most people in life only remember the bad things and never the good things. In the time that I worked on SWG there were many great points, but one really bad point has over shadowed everything.

You didn't like the NGE, that is because it wasn't right for SWG, but it is right for SWTOR. So if you still don't like it after playing SWTOR, then you just don't like that type of story driven heroic game, that, isn't our fault.

I see.

Well, your answer has all the classic Dickinsonions in it:

'LA asked us to do this...', 'Fast-paced and heroic...', 'You will be the hero we tell you to be - and like it because you have no imagination...',  'Forced us to go live...', 'Not our fault...', and 'It was your fault..'.

What I'm hoping - and can bet the farm against - is that the real Dallas' answer will contain thje words:

'Sorry' and 'I will now commit ritual seppuku'.

The fact that he's now working on a game that delivers what the NGE was meant to be, surely means that he isn't in the least bit sorry. At worst he's going to be annoyed that it failed to work with SWG, not that he broke a perfectly good MMO.

I don't really know how much of the NGE was Dallas and how much was LA, but I do know that Smed and the rest of SOE would've had very little to do with it, almost nothing in fact.

He'd simply answer "I did it all to spite you personally. Yes it really was all about you. I thrive on your tears. the salt sustains me. Crai moar. "

Originally posted by bobfish

The fact that he's now working on a game that delivers what the NGE was meant to be, surely means that he isn't in the least bit sorry. At worst he's going to be annoyed that it failed to work with SWG, not that he broke a perfectly good MMO.

I don't really know how much of the NGE was Dallas and how much was LA, but I do know that Smed and the rest of SOE would've had very little to do with it, almost nothing in fact.

So true.

Nonetheless, I'd like to see the flash of queasy fear and hate that would flicker over his face as the correspondent asks him that question until he manages to recover himself and start spouting a torrent of oleaginous management doublespeak which manages to convey simultaneously that the NGE never happened, that it was the players fault it didn't work, that it had nothing to do with him and that he personally, Dallas the Amazing, invented The Old Republic and deserves the Nobel Prize.

 All those positions can be had by anyone, the OP included. So OP, become a correspondant and get the interview yourself! :)

 Beau

Originally posted by beauturkey

 All those positions can be had by anyone, the OP included. So OP, become a correspondant and get the interview yourself! :)

 

 Beau

 

 

No, because I'd forget the question and jam the comfy executive swivel chair on which he was perching right up his puckered fundament. AND THAT WOULD BE WRONG!

Originally posted by hubertgrove

Originally posted by beauturkey

 All those positions can be had by anyone, the OP included. So OP, become a correspondant and get the interview yourself! :)

 

 Beau

 

 

 

No, because I'd forget the question and jam the comfy executive swivel chair on which he was perching right up his puckered fundament. AND THAT WOULD BE WRONG!

Sometime I'd like to see your house... do you keep pictures of your x-girlfriend who left you around?  Does she seem to enter into every conversation about females?  Do you tell new, possible, female companions that they need to be exactly like her?

Why is it ok to do this with games then?

Give it a rest.

Originally posted by zymurgeist

He'd simply answer "I did it all to spite you personally. Yes it really was all about you. I thrive on your tears. the salt sustains me. Crai moar. "

I think he would say QQ moar. But otherwise, yes, that would probably the response.

Originally posted by CaesarsGhost

Originally posted by hubertgrove

Originally posted by beauturkey

 All those positions can be had by anyone, the OP included. So OP, become a correspondant and get the interview yourself! :)

 

 Beau

 

 

 

No, because I'd forget the question and jam the comfy executive swivel chair on which he was perching right up his puckered fundament. AND THAT WOULD BE WRONG!

 

Sometime I'd like to see your house... do you keep pictures of your x-girlfriend who left you around?  Does she seem to enter into every conversation about females?  Do you tell new, possible, female companions that they need to be exactly like her?

Why is it ok to do this with games then?

Give it a rest.

Something many nostalgic MMO'ers need to learn.

They always look back at their first MMO as the best thing ever, and every MMO after must be like it or else it will fail in their eyes.

Thing is, most of those games weren't that good, didn't do well, and were the only games out at the time.

SWG was plagued with plenty of issues before NGE, it just lost the people who thought the bug ridden, unbalanced game before NGE was good.

Originally posted by CaesarsGhost

Originally posted by hubertgrove

Originally posted by beauturkey

 All those positions can be had by anyone, the OP included. So OP, become a correspondant and get the interview yourself! :)

 

 Beau

 

 

 

No, because I'd forget the question and jam the comfy executive swivel chair on which he was perching right up his puckered fundament. AND THAT WOULD BE WRONG!

 

Sometime I'd like to see your house... do you keep pictures of your x-girlfriend who left you around?  Does she seem to enter into every conversation about females?  Do you tell new, possible, female companions that they need to be exactly like her?

Why is it ok to do this with games then?

Give it a rest.

you are my hero

op, no one cares.....its been YEARS.....get out....enjoy the sunshine....get a girlfriend.....or visit a "swg vet" site. You lost the war....

Originally posted by CaesarsGhost

Originally posted by hubertgrove

Originally posted by beauturkey

 All those positions can be had by anyone, the OP included. So OP, become a correspondant and get the interview yourself! :)

 

 Beau

 

 

 

No, because I'd forget the question and jam the comfy executive swivel chair on which he was perching right up his puckered fundament. AND THAT WOULD BE WRONG!

 

Sometime I'd like to see your house... do you keep pictures of your x-girlfriend who left you around?  Does she seem to enter into every conversation about females?  Do you tell new, possible, female companions that they need to be exactly like her?

Why is it ok to do this with games then?

Give it a rest.

It's an entertaining analogy.  But I think whether spoken or not, previous relationships teach us about what our preferences are, what we like and what we do not. 

But this is a forum board.  That's what we do here: we discuss, we compare, we praise and we critique.

Originally posted by beauturkey

 All those positions can be had by anyone, the OP included. So OP, become a correspondant and get the interview yourself! :)

 

 Beau

 

 

The editor and admins of this site would never approve of that question to be asked in the first place, so it wouldn't matter. mmorpg.com takes a very "middle of the road" stance in every interview they do. This is not a site known for it's hard hitting interview questions.

Originally posted by hubertgrove

I know. of course, that your prime function in life will be to take the next Bioware Press Release, swallow it and turn it into gushing praise for our delectation here but please can the next MMORPG.COM correspondent, writer or blogger who gets down to Austin, TX ask Bioware Senior Producer Dallas Dickinson the following question:

"Hey Dallas, remember four years ago when you were Senior Producer for SWG? You know, when you were jamming the NGE down the throats of your paying customers and telling us that it was a success for which we must be grateful? Anything to say to us former customers now as you ask us to buy the next Star Wars product with your sweaty pawprints all over it? Hmmm?".

No, seriously. Ask him. Thank you.

http://swg.stratics.com/content/?Cat=264&uid=633

 

UMMM!! how about NO!  And here is a couple of questions for you OP.....WHY DON'T YOU GET OVER IT? Stop being whinney and a cry baby?  maybe ask your mom to change your crapy diaper?

I was a beta player in EvE. Caldari and I flew the Raven with its 7 launcher turret slots. then CCP changed it at Release to a missile boat...I didn't go to the forums and whine! then CCP changed missiles(notice I didn't use the word NERF?) and the Raven became less effective with only 6 launcher slots..... That game went through so many changes that its not the same, Did I post whinny threads over and over and over again? 

NOPE!!! I got over it and moved on!

Every MMO gets changed Patch after Patch and you waisting your time on here about being a paying customer does no one any good. it changes nothing! GO PLAY WOW!!!

Originally posted by CaesarsGhost

Originally posted by hubertgrove

Originally posted by beauturkey

 All those positions can be had by anyone, the OP included. So OP, become a correspondant and get the interview yourself! :)

 

 Beau

 

 

 

No, because I'd forget the question and jam the comfy executive swivel chair on which he was perching right up his puckered fundament. AND THAT WOULD BE WRONG!

 

Sometime I'd like to see your house... do you keep pictures of your x-girlfriend who left you around?  Does she seem to enter into every conversation about females?  Do you tell new, possible, female companions that they need to be exactly like her?

Why is it ok to do this with games then?

Give it a rest.

You've obviously never had a girlfriend then, have you? Don't bother answering, we already know the answer.

And, buddy, this is the internet. People are allowed to make jokes and sound off. Mmmmkay?

:wink:

Originally posted by miagisan

 

you are my hero

op, no one cares.....its been YEARS.....get out....enjoy the sunshine....get a girlfriend.....or visit a "swg vet" site. You lost the war....

'War'?

This is a forum where people can argue about computer games. Lighten up.

Originally posted by Tivian

Originally posted by hubertgrove

I know. of course, that your prime function in life will be to take the next Bioware Press Release, swallow it and turn it into gushing praise for our delectation here but please can the next MMORPG.COM correspondent, writer or blogger who gets down to Austin, TX ask Bioware Senior Producer Dallas Dickinson the following question:

"Hey Dallas, remember four years ago when you were Senior Producer for SWG? You know, when you were jamming the NGE down the throats of your paying customers and telling us that it was a success for which we must be grateful? Anything to say to us former customers now as you ask us to buy the next Star Wars product with your sweaty pawprints all over it? Hmmm?".

No, seriously. Ask him. Thank you.

http://swg.stratics.com/content/?Cat=264&uid=633

 

UMMM!! how about NO!  And here is a couple of questions for you OP.....WHY DON'T YOU GET OVER IT? Stop being whinney and a cry baby?  maybe ask your mom to change your crapy diaper?

I was a beta player in EvE. Caldari and I flew the Raven with its 7 launcher turret slots. then CCP changed it at Release to a missile boat...I didn't go to the forums and whine! then CCP changed missiles(notice I didn't use the word NERF?) and the Raven became less effective with only 6 launcher slots..... That game went through so many changes that its not the same, Did I post whinny threads over and over and over again? 

NOPE!!! I got over it and moved on!

Every MMO gets changed Patch after Patch and you waisting your time on here about being a paying customer does no one any good. it changes nothing! GO PLAY WOW!!!

I think gamers SHOULD be vocal about what they like and dislike.  That way developers can never use the excuse they didn't know what the players thought.

And just to use an analogy, some people feel very passionate about certain laws or policies.  They continually rally and lobby the law for change.  Moving on for them is simply not an option in some cases.

When people are passionate about something, whether it's gaming or some other aspect of their lives, they speak up.  And that's a good thing.

Originally posted by Tivian

UMMM!! how about NO!  And here is a couple of questions for you OP.....WHY DON'T YOU GET OVER IT? Stop being whinney and a cry baby?  maybe ask your mom to change your crapy diaper?

I was a beta player in EvE. Caldari and I flew the Raven with its 7 launcher turret slots. then CCP changed it at Release to a missile boat...I didn't go to the forums and whine! then CCP changed missiles(notice I didn't use the word NERF?) and the Raven became less effective with only 6 launcher slots..... That game went through so many changes that its not the same, Did I post whinny threads over and over and over again? 

NOPE!!! I got over it and moved on!

Every MMO gets changed Patch after Patch and you waisting your time on here about being a paying customer does no one any good. it changes nothing! GO PLAY WOW!!!

Beautiful satire! Very funny! Well done.

:mittens:

 Hubert,

   I'm hearing your anger and don't see myself interviewing someone just for the sake of asking pointed questions. But I do have a solution, if it bothers you so much then write a letter to him. Get the address, which I think you already have some of it, and clean up the langaue a bit. Take out words such as "paws" and you might actually get a response, but don't be surprised if you get a canned response letter or none at all. The company is in the midst of getting ready for release and they are probably flooded with mail right about now.

However, BT did bring up a good point and I even looked into game correspondent. There's a banner on the top of the site, look...

Just click it, fill out the info and see what happens. As for blogs, anyone can open one, It's free and easy.

I for one are not going to jump on the SWTOR landspeeder right away, I have some other games I am focused on and it comes down to a choice. And remember, we all have a choice what we are going to play. Noone says, "PLAY THIS OR ELSE!", so if you don't feel comfortable, don't do it. Also consider that 1) people make mistakes and 2) game developement has a certain learning curve.

Lastly, don't "not" play a game because of a resentment towards so and so, resentments are like peeing on your own leg. Only you feel it.

Play safe,

Ink

Originally posted by Inktomi

 Hubert,

   I'm hearing your anger and don't see myself interviewing someone just for the sake of asking pointed questions. But I do have a solution, if it bothers you so much then write a letter to him. Get the address, which I think you already have some of it, and clean up the langaue a bit. Take out words such as "paws" and you might actually get a response, but don't be surprised if you get a canned response letter or none at all. The company is in the midst of getting ready for release and they are probably flooded with mail right about now.

However, BT did bring up a good point and I even looked into game correspondent. There's a banner on the top of the site, look...

Just click it, fill out the info and see what happens. As for blogs, anyone can open one, It's free and easy.

I for one are not going to jump on the SWTOR landspeeder right away, I have some other games I am focused on and it comes down to a choice. And remember, we all have a choice what we are going to play. Noone says, "PLAY THIS OR ELSE!", so if you don't feel comfortable, don't do it. Also consider that 1) people make mistakes and 2) game developement has a certain learning curve.

Lastly, don't "not" play a game because of a resentment towards so and so, resentments are like peeing on your own leg. Only you feel it.

Play safe,

Ink

Thank you for your advice, friendly and delivered in a courteous manner.

Some threads in mmorpg.com especially those in the General Forums, are specifically intended to be ironic or refer to in-jokes.

This is one of them.

Cheers,

H. Grove