This episode of Irrational Interviews features two guests. That’s particularly noteworthy, because either one of them alone has a list of accomplishments a mile long.
Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk co-founded BioWare, the RPG-oriented group that now consists of five locations within Electronic Arts. They started out as doctors (actual practicing medical doctors, mind you), and BioWare was once a developer of games as well as medical software.
As a fellow entrepreneur, Irrational creative director Ken Levine chats with the doctors about the challenges and perks of running a video game company–all three have seen their studios grow from small PC-exclusive teams to modern, triple-A, multiplatform dev studios. They also share the experience of starting out in fields not particularly related to games, Ken in screenwriting and Ray and Greg in medicine.
“We were having lunch one day after having made some medical education software,” recalls Ray, “then we realized what we’re really passionate about is video games. Why don’t we just make some video games? Take everything we own, and everything we make as doctors on weekends, to fund the company. …That was the extent of the conversation.”
It seems to have worked out.
- Produced by James Bonney & Chris Remo
- Editing by Ant Bear Audio
- Music courtesy of The Happy Hollows
icegrove | August 30, 2011 5:46 pm
Good work all!
jayakers | August 30, 2011 6:57 pm
I <3 me some pods being cast into my face! Thanks 🙂
blahz7 | August 31, 2011 12:52 am
Thanks!
zwqase | September 1, 2011 5:44 am
Awesome, love these, really interesting!
juan29zapata | September 3, 2011 10:43 am
Oh, I know what I’ll be listening the next few hours! Thanks! I love the fact that they studied medicine and could still get involved in the game industry.
borrego | September 6, 2011 1:52 pm
This was another fantastic listen. I love that you guys do this as often as you do in the middle of everything else.
In my house, two things are obsessed over more than pretty much everything else: Mass Effect and BioShock. I’m the BioShock guy, my wife is the Mass Effect girl. To get the chance to listen in on this conversation as I go about my day really goes to show these really are awesome times to be living in!
blahz7 | September 8, 2011 9:12 pm
@borrego
Yep. Awesome times.
scottevil | September 23, 2011 2:46 pm
Made my day. Thanks to all the hard work you guys put into these which I know can’t be easy as you’re crunching on Infinite. These interviews are always a pleasure to listen to. Looking forward to more!
ramsmeat | September 23, 2011 6:01 pm
Thanks!!!!!!!
buckybit | October 11, 2011 7:58 pm
Wow. This was a rare treat! I hear the “Good Doctors” in the last years only talking “on message” like some Scientology robots, using often the exact same sentences(!) in their presser routines. Hearing them talk to a fellow peer about all aspects of (big) video game business and passion for video games, was very interesting.
Suddenly now, I want their MMO Austin team to succeed. My fear, when it comes to Bioware, is: they are stretching their talent thin. And – for some reason – I think of Casey Hudson as “The Man Who Never Sleeps” (working on Mass Effect now for 10 years straight?) Every game was better than the former one. Dragon Age 2 was a step back for the first time in their history? Playing this ‘industry game’ on the very top must be a big challenge.