How mass effect 2 came together in 18 months successfully:
- It was the same team that shipped mass effect. Teams often have a lot of turn over, the core team stayed on for mass effect 2.
- We knew the timeline up front (I believe the dragon age 2 team had their schedule pulled in six months or more which was rough(
- We struggled a lot shipping mass effect 1 on unreal and we made a lot of mistakes. We came into mass effect 2 knowing how to build with unreal.
- We were ruthless about limiting scope. Mass Effect 1 was a much higher scope game and we had to cut about half of it just to ship. The team hated that and it was wasteful because a lot of work didn't ship. We cut our scope to the bone early on so no work was wasted.
- We listened to the player feedback on mass effect 1 and used that to decide what to cut, what to keep, and what to improve.
Mass effect 2 was not perfect, but it benefited so much from setting realistic achievable goals given the short development timeline.
What to do When the Petition Slows: A Thread™
TLDR: The #SaveMassEffect petition WILL slow with time; but as seen with Destiny, that's normal; petitioning EA has to be a multilayered approach.
1.) The petition will slow with time; that's normal.
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19 years ago, an ambitious dream to bring an iconic book series into the world of video games came to life with the release of The Witcher.
It was the start of an unforgettable path, which wouldn't have been possible without our friends at @bioware.
From lending us their Aurora Engine and sharing their knowledge, to giving us a spot at their booth at E3, their support helped turn our vision into Geralt’s first interactive adventure.
Thank you to everyone who has walked the Path with us from the very beginning.
Happy 19th anniversary, witchers! ⚔️ 🐺
🚨 WE'RE IN TIMES SQUARE!
Together with @kalaelizabeth, we've managed to get a #SaveMassEffect billboard up in Times Square, NYC, all day today!
📍 1560 Broadway, above the Pelé store (Duffy Square)
⏰ 15 seconds every hour at :35
HOLD THE LINE! ❤️
The #SaveMassEffect petition has surpassed 20,000 signatures!
Keep spreading the hashtag, raising awareness, and sharing the movement. If you're a journalist or have a platform, please help us save Mass Effect.
✍️ Sign the petition: https://t.co/AhcEFDBJ2y
it took a single animator fifteen months to animate this crowd scene from The Wind Rises, and the care and dedication that real artists put into these films can never be replicated.
On the eve of #TheGameAwards I just want to remind you that some of us are striking for better AI protections in our contracts. Please post a memory of a performance in a game that took you by surprise. Big ups to the companies who’ve signed the interim contract! #VideoGameStrike