Former Bioware Dev Responds to DLC Outcry

I’ve heard that Mass Effect 3, the ending to BioWare’s epic sci-fi trilogy, has been pretty well received. However, the same can’t be said the game’s day one DLC pack, From Ashes. BioWare has given the typical response, but ex-BioWare developer, Christina Norman, took it a bit further.

This past week at GDC, Norman went on a small rant about how the game shouldn’t be judged for it’s DLC, but “for what the game is.” She then went to talk about how constant DLC is a must to prevent players from trading in their used copy to Gamestop and/or Best Buy.

There’s no point in releasing DLC a year after your game has come out when most people have already sold your game back to GameStop three times. That means getting it out early; that means even day-one DLC. That is a terrible thing to some players. Players rant–they know nothing about this DLC that’s coming out except its name. But then it’s ‘oh this game must be incomplete, the game must be ruined….Judge the DLC based on what it is. Stop thinking you’re a producer and telling us when and where we should be building our content.

While I respect her general statement about not judging a game by its DLC, she completely missed the point as to why players were upset over this. Everyone understands that DLC is essential in the modern industry, and From Ashes is a solid add-on, but players weren’t complaining about the the content itself; they were complaining that story based content was released on day one and that players who purchased the standard edition had to shell out $10 for it. Ah well, another day and another piece of Mass Effect 3 drama.