Mark Darrah, a long-time BioWare veteran, now talks in detail about the development of Anthem and why the AAA blockbuster became one of the biggest flops in video game history.
What does Darrah reveal about the development of BioWare? So much that the BioWare veteran divides his personal insights into several videos, which are very comprehensive. Part 1 alone runs for nearly 60 minutes and covers the years 2011 to 2017.
In the first video’s commentary, Darrah makes it clear that the project has struggled with a number of issues from the very beginning, starting with lead developer Casey Hudson’s pitch to the executives at Electronic Arts.
Who is Mark Darrah? The experienced developer has worked at BioWare for nearly 24 years and was, among other things, the lead developer on Baldur’s Gate II and Jade Empire, as well as project director for the entire Dragon Age series and Anthem.
According to Darrah, Hudson promised the future of storytelling, combined with live service, mandatory online access, and a completely new business model. In other words: Hudson promised a BioWare blockbuster that would generate FIFA-level revenues. That was exactly what EA wanted to hear and have.
That the development then didn’t progress for years had several reasons, according to Darrah:
- The other projects (Dragon Age Inquisition and Mass Effect Andromeda) took up developer capacity for a long time, so there was little progress on the development of Anthem for years.
- The game lacked an identity for a long time. What was clear was only what Anthem did not want to be: not Destiny, not Mass Effect, not Borderlands.
- But what should Anthem be? The future of storytelling, according to Casey Hudson’s original pitch. However, no one in the team knew what to make of that. There were no concrete goals for a long time and no clear direction.
- A lot was tried accordingly: At first, Anthem focused on survival, but at times climbing was also a focus of the gameplay. Sometimes you could fly, sometimes you could only glide, and sometimes none of that.
- Since no one really knew how Anthem could advance the future of storytelling, there were repeated conflicts between the narrative level and multiplayer.
Oh yes … the launch trailer for Anthem:
The Boss, a Keeper of Secrets
According to Darrah, the team’s aimlessness was exacerbated by poor communication, triggered by the secrecy surrounding the project. Only a few people had access to important password-protected documents. Hard drives were secured. Only selected people were allowed to attend meetings.
The fear of leaks was omnipresent. Everyone was trapped in a “world of secrets” that was exemplified by BioWare management.
Casey Hudson, who held the very centralized leadership in the Anthem team during the early years, initially decided which information was released to whom. What did not apparently belong to this was, according to Darrah, the small detail of what Anthem was supposed to exactly be and how it was supposed to advance the future of storytelling.
When Hudson left in 2014, there was no one to take over this information flow until 2016, nor did anyone know what the former lead’s plans for Anthem were supposed to look like. The project was virtually leaderless during this phase. This was exacerbated by the fact that the team had grown compared to the initial period, making good communication even more important.
Instead, each area worked independently on its part of the game, without making significant progress. No one had the big picture in mind. There was no one to make clear decisions and set the direction.
That only changed in 2017 when Darrah took over leadership and opened the communication channels. As the veteran developer states, Anthem was supposed to be nearing completion that year…
Here you can watch the first part of the video series for yourself:
First Dylan, then Beyond, then Anthem
How did Anthem get its name? Internally, Anthem had only one project name for a long time: Dylan. When it finally came to choosing a final name, the team first considered Javelin, based on the namesake exosuits.
However, EA’s management did not like the name, it didn’t sound grand enough. Then they landed on Beyond, which symbolized stepping out of the safe base into the unknown and unfamiliar. That there was already a game by Sony with that name didn’t matter. They would certainly be able to come to an agreement regarding the rights.
Now, when E3 2017 was approaching, Darrah stated that they hadn’t yet reached an agreement. Therefore, shortly before the official announcement of the game, a new name was needed. In the end, it was Anthem, due to lack of better alternatives, a reference to the Anthem of Creation, or the Creation Hymn, a kind of mysterious power in the universe of the game.
How and when will it continue? In the second part of the video series, it will be about the time when Mark Darrah pushed the development of Anthem as lead up to its launch on February 22, 2019. However, it is still unknown when exactly the video will go live.
Since we have some Anthem enthusiasts sitting in the editorial office, you can assume that we will keep you updated about every new anecdote on MeinMMO. By the way, you won’t be able to play this action MMO for much longer; anyone who wants to indulge in nostalgia has to hurry: EA wanted to create the perfect MMO with Anthem, but instead of rescue, the death blow now follows
