Dragon Age's Ex-Narrative Lead Claims Writers Were "Quietly Resented" at BioWare

According to a recent Twitter thread by David Gaider, who served as a narrative lead for Dragon Age until he departed BioWare in 2016, writers at the company were "quietly resented" and viewed as a burden or obstacle.

The writer posted his tweets shortly after film and television writers launched a strike, demanding better payment structures and working conditions from Hollywood studios. Gaider discussed the undervaluation of writing as a discipline, which is also prevalent among those seeking to enter the video game industry. Additionally, he shared an example of how BioWare treated its writers.

"Even BioWare, which built its success on a reputation for good stories and characters, slowly turned from a company that vocally valued its writers to one where we were... quietly resented, with a reliance on expensive narrative seen as the 'albatross' holding the company back," he wrote.

"Maybe that sounds like a heavy charge, but it's what I distinctly felt up until I left in 2016," he went on. "Suddenly all anyone in charge was asking was 'how do we have LESS writing?' A good story would simply happen, via magic wand, rather than be something that needed support and priority."

Prior to the release of the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, a remastered bundle of the first three Mass Effect games, BioWare's most recent game was Anthem. The title received negative reviews and a Metacritic score of 54. Anthem was released a few years after Gaider's departure from BioWare, and many speculate that the company's supposed animosity toward writers contributed to the game's lack of quality.

Gaider is currently working on a roleplaying musical" game called Stray Gods at Summerfall Studio, which he co-founded along with Liam Esler. The game takes place in a modern-day fantasy world and features a sung dialogue, making the game a musical experience from start to finish.

You can find David Gaider's Twitter thread here. Also, don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.