I’m very pleased to announce that Dragon Age Legends is available today on Google+! At BioWare, we’re always looking for opportunities to bring our franchises to a wider audience, whether it’s through movies, comics, novels or through extending our games to different platforms.  Our teams continue to innovate in the social gaming space with Dragon Age Legends – providing our existing fans a new way to enjoy the universe of Dragon Age, while also introducing the franchise to millions of new players on Google+ and Facebook. Legends can be played cooperatively as you explore the Free Marches and progress your hero, or competitively against your friends in the Guild PVP arenas; I can attest that however you choose to play it, it’s a fun and highly addictive game

Another reason we’re excited today is because the BioWare studio family is growing. EA2D, the team behind Dragon Age Legends, has recently joined BioWare and become BioWare San Francisco. We’ve worked with this talented team closely in the past on Dragon Age Journeys and Dragon Age Legends, and they are passionate about quality – smart, creative and highly innovative. I couldn’t be happier to bring them on board within the new BioWare Label. We’re working with the team at BioWare SF to explore new ways to bring high quality games to social networks, and we’ll be sharing more news on their cool new projects with you soon.

I look forward to seeing you online in Dragon Age Legends, and other great BioWare titles in the future!

Ray

Google+ FAQ

Are there any differences in content between the Google+ and Facebook versions of Dragon Age Legends?

No. The content of each version of the game is identical, and game updates will launch simultaneously.

Can I import my Dragon Age Legends hero from Facebook to Google+?

No. The Facebook and Google+ versions of Dragon Age Legends are completely independent of each other. If you’ve already played the game on Facebook, you’re able to create a brand-new hero on Google+. Try playing as another class for a very different DAL experience!

Can I summon my Facebook friends into battle using Google+ and vice versa?

No. If you’re playing Dragon Age Legends on both social networks, you will have two separate friends lists.

Can I share crowns between Google+ and Facebook?

No. You maintain a separate crown balance for each social network.

How do I purchase crowns on Google+?

Google+ uses Google Checkout, a service included with your Google account. Google Checkout accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover credit cards.

Note: PayPal cannot be used with Google+.

If I’ve already unlocked the Dragon Age 2 items on Facebook, do I have tounlock them again on Google+?

No. Both games are tied to your EA account, so once you unlock the Dragon Age 2 items on either network, you do not need to unlock them again.

Do in-game redeem promo packs work on Google+ — like the Mass Effect 2 and Dead Space 2 gear — even if I’ve already redeemed them on Facebook?

Yes. Any of the promo packs you can earn in Dragon Age Legends on Facebook can be redeemed on Google+ — even if you’ve already redeemed them on one social network. That means, for example, you’ll be able to wear the Mass Effect armor on both Facebook and Google+.

The only exceptions are items earned by playing Dragon Age Legends: Remix 01, which currently can only be redeemed on Facebook.

For more information on redeeming promo packs, please see this section of the FAQ.

BioWare Ireland has a variety of opportunities available across the following teams:

• Customer Support – at all levels
• Training
• Knowledge Base
• Terms of Service
• Quality
• Fraud & Risk Prevention
• Desktop Support

If you have what it takes to work for BioWare and are eligible to work in Ireland without Employer Sponsorship then please log onto our website to apply, www.bioware.com/careers

Hi everyone, and welcome to another BioWare Facebook Friday.

So did you hear about the two BioWare developers who got engaged through the game Minecraft? Well, for this week’s Facebook Friday update, I asked the recipient of the Minecraft proposal to give us an look into her life and job here at BioWare. I’ve known Heather Rabatich since her start in teh PR department here at BioWare. Since those days, she has moved on to the Dragon Age team and, among other things, met her future husband here at BioWare. She’s a great person and it tickled me to no end to learn that it was Heather and Joel that were the “2 Minecraft proposal” devs here at the office.

I should point out that no matter what Jimmy Fallon thinks, I doubt this will be their first dance at the wedding.

Name:

Heather Rabatich

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan but now call Edmonton home.

Favorite movies:

I have always had a love for the fantasy realm and typically those are my old stand bys when I go to re-watch old movies. I got my nerdish leanings from my Dad who at a young age introduced me to classics like Dune, Blood of Heroes, LadyHawke and Dragonslayer. I’m pretty sure I was the only 10 year old girl in my neighbourhood who knew who Rutger Hauer was.

Favorite TV:

We don’t have cable at home so I rely on the internet to tell me what I should be watching these days. Typically, I tend to lean towards bizarre/funny/fantasy and have been watching True Blood and Damages. My favourite series will always be The Kids in the Hall. I also love cooking/eating shows like Shopping Bags and No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain. I love cartoons too and enjoy the Venture Brothers, Clone High and Futurama.

Favorite books:

I have a pretty diverse book collection with roots again in sci-fi and fantasy, Enders Game is a probably the most re-read book I have, as well as Dune, the Hobbit and more along those veins. My favourite author is Anita Diamant who has written The Red Tent and The Last Days of Dogtown. I also collect cookbooks and cooking magazines. I have a cookbook that was my Gramma’s in the 30’s and it has recipes that teach you more ways to suspend food bits in gelatin than I ever dared dream.

Favorite pizza toppings:

I want a question where gravy can be the answer. This should be changed to what is my favourite mashed potato topping.

Job or title at BioWare:

Associate Producer

How long have you worked for BioWare?

I just passed the 4 year mark at the beginning of February.

What does an Associate Producer actually do?:

The really rewarding work comes with working alongside the creative teams. I currently work with the tech design and level art groups as well as on the downloadable content teams. To work with such creative and passionate people is a really inspiring part of the job here. I love getting to be a part of the teams who are crafting the gameplay design. Sharing ideas and going through plot flow and the story/lore connections with some of the greatest minds in the industry is more than I could ever ask for in a job.

What is your average day like at the office?

Meetings. Typing. Talking. Planning. Reviewing. Updating. Documenting. More Talking. Brainstorming. Debating. Problem Solving. Counseling. Laughing. More Meetings. Pint-Drinking. Repeat.

Favorite BioWare moment Game related/thing you are most proud of at BioWare:

I have been here for 4 years and had in that time, 3 totally different jobs. Each role has been rewarding and I have gotten to learn so much about the games industry because of these internal career changes. Thanks to my time in Public Relations I have been able to meet fans of BioWare from all over the world. I have been so fortunate to get to hear first-hand about the emotional experiences of people’s playthroughs. On a recent trip to Australia I got to promote Dragon Age 2 as a dev for the first time and I had no idea how much I would end up talking about Dragon Age Origins while I was there. I felt so proud to have worked on that game and so honoured about the kind words from the people I met. It was awe-inspiring to hear about the commitment people had made to their Origins experience and one of my best moments as a developer to date.

Favorite BioWare moment not game related:

The coming of age saga of a low poly cheese wheel…Oh and I guess meeting my future husband while making coffee one day in the office kitchen. That’s turned out pretty ok. What I want to say and what I am supposed to say can be very different things.

What do you do to relax/do you have any hobbies:

I love painting, right now I’m working on a portrait of Joel wearing an ascot and holding a giant ragdoll cat to hang over his exercise equipment (he asked me to do this, I swear). I’m also a summer person but with only 35 minutes of summer a year in Edmonton I can’t do the activities I enjoy year round, but I love to canoe and camp and sit around a campfire and drink beer. I know, it’s such a prairie stereotype, especially when I bring a pil cube with me in the canoe (it just fits right under the seat!). Cooking is probably my favourite thing to do though it’s my ultimate zen time after a long and stressful day.

What game are you losing sleep for right now (that you are not working on)?

I’ve been playing Titan Quest the Immortal Throne with Joel a lot lately and I’ve just gotten into Drakensang – The River of Time. Goodbye friends and family, hello alchemy.

What is the most “nerdy” thing about you?

Right now, I would say being the girl that was proposed to in Minecraft is up there as it went surprisingly viral. But we’ve got nothing on that drunk Las Palmas baby.

If you didn’t work in video games, what would you be doing?

I would own a little café with my own comfort food creations, good beer and wine selection and my favourite music playing all day. In this daydream I am also independently wealthy.

What do you want people to know about you?

I appear smaller in real life than I actually am.

Hi everyone, welcome to another Facebook Friday. Sorry these slipped off the radar a bit (if you have not seen the previous entries, you can look down the blog a ways and check them out)., we’ll try to get these out a lot more frequently from now on. So this week was Valentine’s Day and, since I am a romantic softy, I thought “Who really envisions romance here at BioWare?”. I immediately thought of not one, but two people: Patrick and Karin Weekes. I asked both Patrick and Karin to take part in this week’s Facebook Friday and they happily agreed, even more enjoyably, they did it together.

Name:
P: I’m Patrick Weekes.
K: And I’m Karin Weekes.

Where are you from?

P: I’m originally from Bay Area California, near San Francisco.
K: I’m from New Mexico, near Albuquerque.
P: We met in school at Stanford University, in a volunteer singing group that performed at area nursing homes.
K: I love singing, and the group was a great way to get a break from academic stress and give back to some really deserving people.
P: I was trying to meet girls.
K: Guess it worked out okay for everyone.

Favorite movies:

K: I don’t know that we’re huge movie people, but when we were first dating, Patrick and I bonded over being the only 2 people in the world who like “LA Story”.

Favorite TV:

P: We used to watch grown-up TV, but it’s been a while. We have 6- and 3-year old boys, so our TV-watching has been pretty much taken over by the Backyardigans, Wonder Pets, Pocoyo, Mighty Machines, and Phineas and Ferb.

K: Yeah. We pretty much stay sane by making off-color jokes about all that. And singing along with the music.

Favorite books:

P: I’m reading a lot of urban fantasy these days, so Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, and Jim Butcher are on my “Get everything new with their name on it” list.
K: Mine, too. And we like Nora Roberts. She writes such satisfyingly escapist stories and characters.
P: Well, I don’t really “read” those like you do, Damsel…
K: The “In Death” novels she writes as J.D. Robb?
P: Those are science-fiction mysteries that happen to include well-developed love stories.
K: Blue Smoke and High Noon?
P: Also mysteries.
K: The Circle Trilogy where a group fights vampires using Celtic magic?
P: That was fantasy.
K: The Dream Trilogy set in Monterey, California with no mystery or fantasy elements whatsoever?
P: Please stop.

Favorite pizza toppings:

P: We’re vegetarians, so veggie-special stuff. I like feta and artichoke hearts.

K: My absolute fave is green chile and pineapple, but I haven’t found a pizzeria outside of New Mexico that actually makes that.

Job or title at BioWare:

P: I’m a senior writer. I’m currently working on Mass Effect 3.
K: I’m a senior editor. I’m back on Mass Effect 3 after working on Dragon Age II for the last part of the year.

How long have you worked for BioWare?

P: I’ve been here six years.
K: And I’ve been here five.

What does a “your job title” actually does:

P: “Writer” is one of the rare jobs that maps pretty well to my actual duties. I help develop plots and characters, and I write the dialog for my storylines. I also work with a lot of non-voice-over text that is important to the game, like journal entries, and some gameplay systems that are tied to writing, like the Paragon/Renegade meter. Other writers work on other systems, like planet descriptions or codex entries.
K: BioWare’s editor positions are pretty multifaceted. I edit game dialogue–proof, voice and plot consistency, and IP accuracy. I liaise with our voice-over and localization departments: let those teams know when dialogue is ready for recording/translating; record pronunciation guides for the new terms  we make up, answer questions from VO directors during recording sessions and from the EA translating team in Madrid (our games are generally recorded in 6 languages).  I also back up our marketing department to provide IP and character information as needed for various publicity and ancillary products (like strategy guides and art books). And documentation for all kinds of game details.
P: Basically she comes in and CHANGES MY PRECIOUS WORD BABIES.
K: I consider it nurturing your precious word babies so they can be healthy and strong and have productive, independent, correctly-spelled lives.
P: Like I said.

What is your average day like at the office?

P: My day changes based on what phase the project is in. Early on, we’re always in meetings, planning plots and making sure we’ll have the resources to get it done. We go heads-down to do the actual writing, and then once we’ve finished rewrites and edits, we get back to working with a team, running each scene by level and cinematic designers to make sure that it fits the requirements and limitations of the level and the budget. It’s usually meetings in the morning and writing in the afternoon.
K: Per my novel-length job description, I honestly don’t think I have an average day: edit dialogue, attend meetings, tackle random departmental editing requests, tweak our SharePoint site, document dragon life cycles… it really could be anything at any given moment.

Favorite BioWare moment Game related/thing you are most proud of at BioWare:

P: When Mass Effect 2 shipped, someone got hold of a store copy had broken the street date by a day. He was broadcasting his playthrough online, and a bunch of people were watching him and commenting in a little chat room attached to his video stream. He was doing a serious Renegade Shepard playthrough — every Renegade option, every time — and people were cheering as he shot half the characters and generally took the most Renegade option on every mission.
And then he got to Tali’s loyalty mission. When the big reveal came, and Tali begged Shepard not to turn over the evidence that would exonerate her but brand her father a war criminal, the chat room went crazy. Everyone started saying, “Wait, dude, don’t do it! Hang on, man, be cool, you can’t do that to her!” The guy gets to the trial, hits the dialog option, and as the chat room goes crazy with people yelling for him not to do it, he pauses and then types: “I don’t know what to do, guys. I don’t want to hurt Tali.”
He was enjoying having his Shepard be the most ruthless Renegade possible, as was everyone watching. At that moment, all of us who had worked on Tali’s loyalty mission — the writers and editors, the cinematic and level designers, the character artists, the VO team and fantastic voice actress Liz Sroka — we created an experience that made this person care about the character enough to modify his playing style. Creating ways for players to maybe be emotionally hooked like that… that’s what gets me out of bed every morning.
K: When Time Magazine said that ME2 was “the Avatar of video games — except it’s better written”… that created some joy in the writer room.

Favorite BioWare moment not game related:

P: I was planning to be a stay-at-home dad after our first son was born in California, and I got a call from BioWare asking if I wanted to interview with them on the day we brought our new baby home from the hospital. We flew up for the in-person interview in Edmonton in the middle of January with our two-month-old son. It was -30 Celsius, and all the very tan Canadians on the plane coming back from vacations in Mexico gave us blankets to keep our son warm.
While Karin and our son sat in the hotel room watching the weather channel report the record-breaking cold, I spent the day in interviews. When I came back, I said to her, “Thank you so much for doing this. I really hope it works out, because I think I have found my people.” Seeing everyone with swords on their walls and action figures on their desks, having intelligent conversations about when to spawn the bad guy or what the right line was…
K: If I may, I’d never seen him so content. He’d found a group of kindred spirits, and that was pretty much the kicker for me. Everyone we knew thought we were crazy to pick up and move to a new country with a 3-month-old baby. Maybe it was, but we’ve never regretted it. We work with the best people in the world. BioWare is such an inclusive, creative place.
Which segues nicely to my “thing”: BioWare employees and families are an amazing group of people. For all that Patrick was describing the passion for creating games that is common to everyone, we are a group with such varied interests. With these great folks, I’ve enjoyed experiences like dragon boating, running a leg of the Great Canadian Death Race, belly dancing, theatre, and high tea. Closest to my heart is the honor of being present for the births of four “BioBabies” over the past three years. We are so lucky to a part of this special camaraderie.

What do you do to relax/do you have any hobbies:

P: I’m spending most of my spare time with my boys right now, and I’ve rediscovered the joy of Legos. Beyond that, I do enough reading to have made the Kindle a worthwhile purchase, and I play and occasionally run tabletop or online games with friends. I love superhero games, and I’m really looking forward to Third Edition of Mutants & Masterminds, which is coming out soon from Green Ronin (who also did the awesome Dragon Age pen & paper RPG).
K: I sing with the Richard Eaton Singers (we perform with the Edmonton symphony a lot), run when I can, and do an awesome lunchtime yoga class with fellow BioWarians. I’ve paddled with our dragon boat team, the BioWarriors, for 4 summers, and Patrick joined us this year! I also mostly love spending time with our kiddos–reading or playing or being lectured on the finer points of Diego’s Dinosaur Adventure and Lego Batman.

What game are you losing sleep for right now (that you are not working on)?

P: Red Dead Redemption. I’d be farther along were I not so terribly bad at the game. (This is in no way a reflection on the game. It’s a fantastic game. I am not so good at playing it.)
Being a vegetarian, I decided I would be a Friend of the Earth, and I wouldn’t attack any animals. So I rode around enjoying the scenery and having a great time. Then night fell, and I was killed by coyotes.
I reloaded and decided to be a Friend of the Earth who Fights Back, and while I wouldn’t attack anything, I’d defend myself from wild creatures that came after me. I rode around, saw a coyote, greeted it as a fellow creature of nature, and then accidentally rode over it with my horse. At which point all of its friends showed up, and I was killed by coyotes.
The next time I reloaded, I resolved to be the Enemy of the Wild. I practiced with the rifle. I steeled myself to kill anything that moved. I even read part of the manual.
K: Even game designers don’t read the manual.
P: Nobody reads the manual, Damsel.
K: As one of the people responsible for assembling game manuals, I am aware of this even as I take umbrage.
P: Then I rode back out into the wilderness, found those coyotes, trotted up, raised my rifle, activated the ability that slowed down time… and proceeded to accidentally shoot my own horse. While riding it.
After I was thrown to the ground, I was greeted with a crushing GUI popup indicating I had lost 50 Honor for performing the Dishonorable Action of killing my own horse. I sat there and tried to find some way to apologize to the sad corpse of the animal I’d just killed with my aggression and my hubris.
And then I was killed by coyotes.
K: As much as I’d love to say I’m playing an incredibly immersive, complicated strategy game, right now, most of my gaming time is spent obsessively playing Plants vs. Zombies with my boys. And sometimes without them on my iPhone. I do love my PvZ.
P: And in her case, she is literally losing sleep. If you listened at the door while she gets our oldest son to sleep, you would hear some animated discussion about the appropriate number of sunflowers to use.
K: At LEAST two rows, amiright? He always wants to plant marigolds instead.

What is the most “nerdy” thing about you?

P: I want to bring up my ability to calculate 3rd Edition D&D saving throws for all base classes in my head, but at BioWare, that’s not really that nerdy. Maybe my love of Sondheim?
K: Your ability to immediately conjure ALL things D&D regardless of version is pretty Alpha Nerd IMHO. I think being married to Patrick is the nerdiest thing about me.
P: How many Gilbert & Sullivan productions have you performed in?
K: That’s nerdy?
P: Umm, yes.
K: When I was surprised that not everyone knew what Doppler-shifting was, you just shook your head.
P: Yeah, but that was hot nerdy.
K: …Thank you?

If you didn’t work in video games, what would you be doing?

P: Well, I was an English major, so I’d probably be unemployed and mooching off my wife.
K: Before BioWare, I managed a team of technical editors at a Silicon Valley chip design company, and did nonprofit marketing writing before that. So something writing/editing-related if I didn’t manage to win the lottery and create my theoretical dream homeless animal refuge.

What do you want people to know about you?

P: My half-elven ranger/cleric romanced Jaheira in BG2. I played an elven ranger/bard in NWN because people said those classes were underpowered in 3E. I romanced Carth and took the Star Forge as a scoundrel/consular who redeemed Malak. I was a fan for a long time before I was an employee, and the support we receive from the community is one of best parts about working for BioWare.
K: If I’m worth my editing salt, I know a good closer when I see one. Well-said, good sir.

PS – Evil Chris again. I just thought that I’d point out after Karin sent me their profile, she caught a spelling error and insisted I fix it before this could go up. Now THAT’S an editor.

At the VGA Awards on December 111 2010, BioWare was honored with three prestigious awards. Mass Effect 2 won Best RPG and Best Xbox 360 Game and BioWare won Best Studio.

Today the 3 new awards arrived at the studio and have been added to our trophy wall. Check out our three new blue monkeys.

Bah Humbug! It is the holiday season once again and BioWare is ready to celebrate the holidays. While some of our staff will be working over the break (we have Dragon Age II coming in March and Mass Effect 3 gearing up for next holiday season so everyone is busy), we will all have  time to do whatever it is we each do over the holiday break. Some folks go skiing, some folks spend time with their families and each of us has our own traditions or plans over the break.

I asked the staff to pass along any holiday wishes they had to our Community. Two people even contributed some awesome art based off Mass Effect and Dragon Age II for your holiday viewing.  Here are wishes from our staff to you for the holidays.

All the best to our fans and your families.  I can’t wait to show you everything we’ve got in store for 2011 and beyond. -  Aaryn Flynn, Studio GM

Thanks to everyone for all of your support.  Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! – Allan Schumacher Dragon Age QA

From our top secret fortified IS bunker to yours, happy holidays! – Neal Gray, Information Systems

Here’s hoping all you BioWare fans have a great winter holiday, and enjoy DA2 come the new year!   -Matt Powell, QA Tester – BioWare.

To all the people that loved and continue to love our games: may you have the most profoundly beautiful Christmas holiday! You deserve it! – Dave Feltham, Senior Designer ME Team

Happy holidays to all our great and dedicated fans we could not have done it without you, I hope you are as excited as we are for our 2011 line up. – Patrick Demkiw aka Miracl3 Work3r QA

Everyone out there, you make coming to work that much more special. I know I plan to spend some of these holidays playing some of our games, and I hope you will as well, you know in your warmer climates… Bryan Johnson ME team QA

Happy Holidays to everyone! Even the people who adore Varric’s chest hair. And, yes, even the Talimancers.  – Patrick and Karin Weekes, Design, ME3 and DA-II (Mostly Karin)

Holiday customs inefficient. Far easier to simply give a gift card, allow me to purchase appropriate reading material. Have already read the book you were going to get me anyway. Regardless, appreciate the thought.” Dr. Mordin Solus, BioWare Medical R&D (Also by Patrick and Karin Weekes, Design, ME3 and DA-II (Mostly Patrick)

Happy Holidays from one of many BioWare elves working diligently on your late Christmas present! Dragon Age 2 will be yours this March! Zu allen unseren Ventilatoren in Deutschland… Ein frohes Weihnachtsfest und alles Gute zum neuen Jahr! – Tony Evans, Dragon Age 2 team

Hey folks, thanks for all of your love and support.  I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season. – Scott Mitchell, Lead Animator – Mass Effect 3

Hope I get the Sandal Saves Santa DLC for Christmas. – Matthew Eades Dragon Age QA (maybe next year Matt)

I dearly hope your holidays are filled with warm temperatures and people who think you’re awesome. I mean, *I* think you’re awesome, but I was thinking maybe, like, *other people* thinking you’re awesome might mean more to you. Not that I would be hurt, and maybe crying on the inside, if you didn’t value my opinion. – Jay Watamaniuk, Writer, Mass Effect 3

Wishing all of our fans a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season. Eat lots, hug your family, and be excellent to each other.- Stan Woo – QA Ninja

During this holiday season, eat more than you should, live like there’s no tomorrow, and do a good deed for your fellow man.  Happy Holidays!  – Robert Girardin DA Tech QA

Graag wens ik iedereen in onze community een warme en gezonde kerst en jaarwisseling toe. - Jos Hendriks Level Design Mass Effect

Merry Christmas to all of you! – Randy Hildebrand, Studio Ops

Meri kurisumasu minasan! Anzende tanoshii horideeshizun wo motte.  Atarashii geemu ga dete kuru toki 3 tsuki 11~nichi o shinbouzuyoku matte kudasai. -From the lovely-est of lovelies – Celeste Phillips QA

I lurk the forums occasionally and I see a lot of anticipation and enthusiasm.  Some trepidation and uncertainty, but a lot of positivity too!  I’m excited about Dragon Age 2, and I’m working hard to deliver the best game I can for our fans.  Our whole team is.  Thanks for caring and participating in our community: have an awesome holiday and a happy New Year! – Michael Hamilton Dragon Age Programmer

From all of us to all of you, a happy holiday season. Wishing you the most delicious of egg-nogs and/or hot chocolates, – Nathan Willis, DA Team’s QA Audio Listener Monkey

Hope you enjoy the many varieties of cheese available to you over this holiday season. And ham, turnip and fish. – Sheila Nash Dragon Age Level Team

Merry Christmas everyone, and especially to Bean ^_^ - Owen Borstad Dragon Age Programming

I hope your holiday season is filled with thoughts of Hurlocks and Krogans rampaging joyously through your snow covered snowscapes.  – Kevin Loh – Dragon Age II Team

Last Christmas holidays, I spent enrapt in DA:O. This Christmas, I’ve got my Ultimate Edition and some quality time lined up for all the DLC. I hope you too have time this Christmas to do whatever it is you love. Joyeux Noël!  - Jeanne-Marie Owens, Nerdherder

Thanks to all of our staff who took a moment out of their busy days for the holiday wishes. And special thanks to Matthew Clark for the “Santa Varric” picture and to Cameron and Jackie Winston for “Mass Effect Christmas”.

And now one last wish. Thanks for being part of our Community here at BioWare. My job is much easier because we have the best fans on earth. Whether you love Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Star Wars, our past games or what we are coming up with next, we have the best community. Sometimes you applaud us, sometimes you boo, but we know you do it because you care. I hope you all have a great holiday season. I wish you health, happiness and an excellent 2011 with many more great games coming from BioWare. See you next year. – Evil Chris Priestly, BioWare Community Team (whose heart grew 3 sizes while writing this blog).

Bonjour! Bienvenue à un autre BioWare Facebook vendredi. Deux pampelmousse! Qui a coupé le fromage? Ok, that’s enough really bad french out of me (can you tell I don’t speak french?) I was trying to speak french as this week’s update features an employee who not only speaks french, but actually comes to BioWare from France! BioWare employs the best staff from all over the world and Jeff is an awesomely talented individual, so we brought him from sunny France to icy Edmonton. I did ask Jeff for a real french language greeting for our french speaking fans. If this translates to something like “Priestly is a doofus” I shall hunt him down and crack his aces at the next poker game.

Fans de BioWare des quatres coins du monde, bonjour a tous! Voici mon profile, je suis un des rare francais a BioWare. Etant donne la majorite de fans Anglophone, je continue en anglais. Bonne lecture!

Name:
Jeff Vanelle

Where are you from?
I am originally from Dunkerque, in the North of France, 20 minutes away from the Belgian border, which is probably where my taste for good beer comes from. I’ve been away from home for 13 or so years now, spent 7 years in England, and the last 6 years in sunny Edmonton.

Favorite movies:
Tron, it’s gonna be a great one right? Right???!! Recently, I really enjoyed “The girl with the Dragon tattoo”, “Inception”, “Red”. Oh, I nearly forgot: “Skyline”! Ahaha! Nah… kidding.

Favorite TV:
Anything except cable TV, I much prefer watching documentaries on any topics.

Favorite books:
Hyperion’s saga from Dan Simmons, Carion Comfort from Dan Simmons, The nine princes of Amber from Roger Zelazny.

Favorite pizza toppings:
Ask any Famoso in town, they will tell you that good cheese, with some extra gorgonzola, mushrooms and basil is my sweet spot.

Job or title at BioWare:
It says “Principal Technical Lead Artist” which is way too convoluted to my taste.

How long have you worked for BioWare?
Very close to 6 years now.

What does a Principal Technical Lead Artist actually do?
My job title itself doesn’t do much. Ask anyone “Go talk to the Principal Technical Lead Artist”… you will most likely get an answer along the lines of “Who? The what now?”. Day to day conversations sounds much more like “Your stuff is broken, go see Jeff, he’ll help you out”. In a nutshell, I sit somewhere between the artists and the programmers. At the end of the day, I am a game developer generalist, spending most of my time figuring out problems, better work flows, teaching whatever I know to the content creators, and fixing their problems because they don’t read my documentation.

What is your average day like at the office?
I come in the office early, to secure a couple of hours of uninterrupted work on longer term tasks. When 10am rings, the day becomes highly unpredictable, and random requests start pouring.

Favorite BioWare moment Game related/thing you are most proud of at BioWare:
Obviously, the completion of any of our games is something to be very proud of as a team, but I love the excitement and the sense of achievement we get out of a small prototype, whether it is a new project or a new feature we introduce.

Favorite BioWare moment not game related:
Definitely too many to list here, and since I tend to organize a number of social activities with the BioWare crew, there are many, many great stories to be told (although, most should remain confidential). Given the diversity of personalities we have here, any sort of gathering outside work will generate a storm of hilarity. It is awesome to see the game’s team behaving as a team outside work.

What do you do to relax/do you have any hobbies:
You won’t see me at the gym, I hate it! But I get involved in a number of sports activities such as Volley Ball, Dragon Boat, Squash, Dodgeball, Skiing, Skydiving.

I also do a fair bit of photography, feel free to browse!
I am just putting this site together, so there is only a small selection of my work. For the whole thing check HERE

What game are you losing sleep for right now (that you are not working on)?
Super Meat Boy. This game makes me realize that even though I am an old school guy who grew up playing extremely punishing platformers, your reflexes don’t get better with age!But I refuse to let that damn game beat me!

What is the most “nerdy” thing about you?
Did you just call me a nerd???! Meet me in the parking lot once the sun is down.

If you didn’t work in video games, what would you be doing?
Full time pro photographer.

What do you want people to know about you?
I live through my friends, the more the better! Stop by say hi!

Edit: Evil Chris here again. Jeff didn’t mention it, but he was also the winner of the office’s Movember fund raising contest to see who could grow the best mustache. Below, I present to you Jeff’s awesome “Full Head Mo”.

Let me start off by thanking Derek Larke for posting the past 2 weeks’ Facebook Friday updates. I was on vacation and Derek valiantly stood up and got the blogs out to you readers while I was away. Now, not to complain, but he didn’t get them 100% right in that he forgot to include pictures of the 2 staffers, Nick Thornborrow and John Winski, who contributed their updates. So, just so you know who you were reading about (in case you meet them at a convention or something), here are Nick and John.

Nick Thornborrow

John Winski

OK, on to this week’s Facebook Friday where we have stolen Matt Rhodes away from his art tablet for a few moments to provide you with his thoughts and experiences here at BioWare. Even if you haven’t met Matt in person, if you are a fan of our games, or the lithographs available on the BioWare store, you have probably seen his work at some point. Matt’s latest lithograph, The Kirkwall Gate, is currently on sale if you are looking to decorate your room or cubicle with some awesome Dragon Age II art.

Name:
Matt Rhodes

Where are you from?
Calgary Alberta

Favorite movies:
At the top of my list are The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen, The Prince of Egypt, Dark City and The Fifth Element.

Favorite TV:
Hands down it’s The Venture Brothers.

Favorite books:
Bought used for the awesome Frazetta cover art, The Moon Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs has become my favorite book of all time.

Favorite pizza toppings:
Meat, with some meat stuffed in it.

Job or title at BioWare:
Associate Art Director

How long have you worked for BioWare?
It’s getting close to six years.

What does an Assistant Art Director actually do:
I’m a concept artist but I help out any BioWare project that needs me, rather than working on a single title.

What is your average day like at the office?
Coffee, draw, coffee, draw, coffee, draw…etc… Occasionally it’s broken up with meetings about drawing.

Favorite BioWare moment Game related/thing you are most proud of at BioWare:
I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved in the design of some high profile BioWare characters. It is always great to see those designs take on a life of their own. Fan reaction is particularly inspiring, from fan art to cosplay.

Favorite BioWare moment not game related:
During my first week I overheard a conversation in the halls. While waiting outside a closed office to speak with the occupant, the waiting employee said “I’m just camping his spawn point.” It was then that I fully understood I worked in a tree-house making videogames with a bunch of fellow nerds.

What do you do to relax/do you have any hobbies:
I draw a lot. It’s my day job but I love it too much to leave it at the office. If I can find the time my favorite thing to do is head out to the mountains with my lovely wife.

What game are you losing sleep for right now (that you are not working on)?
I don’t get a lot of time for games these days, there’s just too much to draw. The last game that really kept me up was Fallout 3. Since I don’t have a PC at home (or any consoles) I was staying late at the office to play it. How sad is that?

What is the most “nerdy” thing about you?
I get paid to draw spacemen, dragons, aliens, wizards, etc… Also, I’ve read The Lord of the Rings over a dozen times.

If you didn’t work in video games, what would you be doing?
I’d have to choose between film and comics. I can see the allure in both.

What do you want people to know about you?
I want people to know that I really care about the visuals in these games. We all do here.  The videogame industry is still young and exciting and in many ways we are still learning and experimenting with what can be done. In my opinion, the best art in the industry is the stuff that gets out of the way of the story. If we are doing our jobs right, you shouldn’t be distracted by visuals because you’ll be so invested in the narrative. You won’t even notice that you’re watching the story unfold. We stress over this stuff every day because we care.

Hi everyone. Welcome to another BioWare Facebook Friday. This week, I have asked concept artist Nick Thornborrow to tell us what his life is like here at BioWare.

I have to say, I am doubly impressed with Nick when it comes to his skills. I have long thought that I can write (not as well as our writers, but not too badly either). I’d also like to think I am smart enough that if I went back to school, I could learn the basics of programming. However, I know that I absolutely cannot “art”. I wish I could. I grew up reading comic books and longed to be able to draw them myself. Sadly, I have no skill. I have so much “no skill” when I took introductory art in college, my professor suggested I transfer to Drama. So I am doubly impressed by Nick, not only because he can do “the art”, but because he illustrates comic books and graphic novels. Check out Nick’s blog below, and check out Term Life, in comic shops soon.

Name:

Nick Thornborrow

Where are you from?

I grew up in Waterdown, Ontario; a suburb of Hamilton.

Favorite movies:

The movie that affected me the most was almost certainly JURASSIC PARK. I was ten when I first saw it, and became obsessed. I started collecting any information and watching every making-of special that I could and learned about special effects wizardry and animation. My tastes have changed since then of course, but JURASSIC PARK remains in my influence cannon. Others are THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, THE PROPOSITION, UNFORGIVEN, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and our family has a long standing tradition of watching MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL every holiday so I have to include it as well.

Favorite TV:

I actually don’t watch much TV. I tend to pick up the dvd’s of shows I’m interested in. But DEADWOOD (are we sensing a western theme here yet?) is my favorite series. I just started going through THE WIRE and it’s superb. No spoilers please. For lighter fare, I look no further than THE OFFICE.

Favorite books:

ASTERIOS POLYP by David Mazzucchelli, IF ON A WINTER’S NIGHT A TRAVELER by Italo Calvino, anything written by Kurt Vonnegut. I have a soft spot for Craig Thompson’s BLANKETS, and finally  Scott McCloud’s UNDERSTANDING COMICS is probably the most read and re-read book on my shelf.

Favorite pizza toppings:

A simple margheritta pizza does it. Flat crust, olive oil, sea salt, sliced tomato, fresh basil and mozzarella.

Job or title at BioWare:

Concept artist.

How long have you worked for BioWare?

3 ½ years now.

What does a concept artist actually do:

We design all of the characters, costumes, set pieces and anything you see in game as drawings and paintings. As for what I do specifically, I do the bulk of the 2D artwork that appears in Dragon Age, such as the fresco sequence seen in the prologues of Dragon Age: Origins, and Awakening.

What is your average day like at the office?

Coffee and check email. Pick the tunes for the day. Most of the time I’ve been assigned something specific to work on, such as designing a load screen. Usually it’s pretty open ended how we approach whatever it is we’re tackling, but sometimes the art director will have something very specific in mind. I get away from my desk at lunch with work mates. After lunch I’ll come back to my desk to find that I left my computer unlocked and someone has drawn something unsavory on whatever art asset I was working on. Control – Z.

Favorite BioWare moment Game related/thing you are most proud of at BioWare:

When I first started at BioWare, I was working on Sonic Chronicles. It’s probably not the most fondly remembered BioWare title, but the enormous world map paintings that we did for that game are still a lot of fun to look at.

Favorite BioWare moment not game related:

There are many. So here’s one: In mid-summer, late in the development for Dragon Age: Origins, the power suddenly went out. It was startling how quickly the ensuing nerf gun war escalated. Truly a massacre. The veil that divides us from barbarianism is thin indeed.

What do you do to relax/do you have any hobbies:

I write comics in my spare time. I camp and hike in the summer. I try to get to Crossfit twice a week. We play a lot of board games. CATAN is one of my favorites. Also my girlfriend and I like to cook, but she possesses far more skill than I do in that department.

What game are you losing sleep for right now (that you are not working on)?

Civ V. Although things are so busy I’ve only managed to play through one campaign.

What is the most “nerdy” thing about you?

My vocabulary.

If you didn’t work in video games, what would you be doing?

I’d be making comics. Right now I do both so it’s the best of both worlds.

What do you want people to know about you?

Well, if you’re into comics, that’s what I do with the lion’s share of my spare time. I’m one of the editors of a comic volume called THE ANTHOLOGY PROJECT. The second volume of that is coming out in the spring, and you can order the first volume here: http://www.theanthologyproject.com . If you’re familiar with FLIGHT you’ll find this to be a treat. On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve got a gritty, hard-edged crime noir graphic novel called TERM LIFE that is coming out in January. That one is written by COWBOY NINJA VIKING’s A.J. Lieberman and it’s available for pre-order right now.

Evil Chris note – Term Life received a very positive review from Ain’t It Cool News the other week. Check out the review.

This may come as a shock to some, but there ARE women in the games industry! *GASP* And what is even more shocking, they can be just as “nerdy” as the men. *GASP GASP*. Now, before you go and get all “over gasped”, you should also know that they’re not only nerdy, they’re also really talented. I’ve been really fortunate in that I have been with Christina when she has talked with the press or with our fans and she is among the most knowledgeable people I know. I will say one thing though, when I took the pictures with Christina she would only stand to the left of the pictures as she’d accidentally spilled coffee on her shirt this morning. I mention this as no matter how knowledgeable, smart, nerdy or whatever you are, we’re all human.

Name:
Christina Norman

Where are you from?
Ontario, Canada

Favorite movies:
The Crow

Favorite TV:
Right now I’m enjoying the Anime “Hellsing Ultimate”

Favorite books:
That’s a hard one! The overwhelming theme has always been fantasy.
• As a child I loved the Freddy the Pig series as well as the 30+ books in the Oz Series
• As a young adult I enjoyed anything by Piers Anthony or Margaret Weis
• Recent stuff I’ve enjoyed includes the Wheel of Time series and Labyrinths which are kind of on the opposite side of the spectrum.

Favorite pizza toppings:
BBQ Hanar

Job or title at BioWare:
Lead Gameplay Designer

How long have you worked for BioWare?
5 of your “earth years”

What does a Lead Gameplay Designer actually do?
My team builds all the gameplay systems for the Mass Effect series of games. What is a gameplay system? It’s basically anything you can do in more than one place, like fire a gun, or level up, or use a power, or enter cover. We micro-polish each of these activities until they are ridiculously fun!

What is your average day like at the office?
The great thing about being on the gameplay team is every day there is something new and interesting to review. Whether it’s changes to our cover mechanics, or a new combat animation, a new creature, a new power, or a new programming system for weapons every single day I see something new and awesome that will likely make it into our next game. I tend to spend more time reviewing work done by others and providing feedback, but I also manage to sneak in dev time on my own features.

Favorite BioWare moment Game related/thing you are most proud of at BioWare:
The improvements we made to weapons and cover for Mass Effect 2 are probably my favorite accomplishment. That was a big change for Mass Effect 2, and it ended up affecting the gameplay of the entire game, but I’m incredibly proud of the work my team put into those changes and the end result.

Favorite BioWare moment not game related:
I love hanging out with other developers at BioWare and discussing games in general. For me games are not just my job, they’re a way of life. If I’m not building games at work, I’m playing games at home, and then talking about that with friends at work. I also enjoy playing games with other BioWare employees, like doing random Starcraft 2 team laddering.

What do you do to relax/do you have any hobbies:
I’m very interested in social networking. My name on twitter is truffle, feel free to follow me!

What game are you losing sleep for right now (that you are not working on)?
Fable 3 and The Old Republic (which I’m an alpha tester for) are my main obsessions right now. I also just finished playing Game Dev Story a really awesome iPhone game.

What is the most “nerdy” thing about you?
Wow what isn’t nerdy about me? I spend all my time playing games, posting to twitter, watching anime and programming.

If you didn’t work in video games, what would you be doing?
The fun answer would be to be a writer, I’ve always enjoyed writing short stories, novels, and fiction.
The practical answer is I’d probably be building internet based software which is what I did before I got into games.
I think I’ll stick with games.

What do you want people to know about you?
I love talking with the community so feel free to send me a message on twitter or social.bioware.com. I can’t reply to everyone but I read every message that is sent my way!