Si les studios Montréalais d’Eidos, Ubisoft et Electronic Arts sont réputés en France, ils sont loin d’être les seuls à avoir participé à votre bonheur et à vous réserver des surprises de taille. Afin de nous présenter le studio  et de parler de son évolution et des projets en cours ou à venir, Yanick Roy, directeur de BioWare Montréal, nous a accordé une entrevue intimiste dans les locaux du studio, hébergé par Electronic Arts.

Qui est Yanick Roy ?
Après avoir occupé les postes de programmeur et chef d’équipes de développement pendant une douzaine d’années, Yanick Roy s’est joint au studio BioWare en Janvier 2006, lorsque le développement de Mass Effect n’en était qu’à ses débuts. Il y a dirigé l’équipe de production tout au long de ce projet et de sa suite, le très attendu sur Playstation 3, Mass Effect 2. Au début de l’année 2009, alors que le studio démarre sa collaboration avec Electronic Arts, il prit en charge la création d’un nouveau studio BioWare à Montréal. Ainsi devenu directeur de ce studio, il s’affaire maintenant à développer un studio digne du pédigrée de BioWare. […]

Lisez le reste de l’article sur Ultimate PS3…

…et un autre article sur CBC.

From Joystiq:

"You may not even see the impact of a decision in Mass Effect 1 in Mass Effect 2, but in Mass Effect 3," BioWare’s Dr. Greg Zeschuk told us while elaborating about the whole Mass Effect franchise. The pedigreed co-founder of BioWare isn’t simply set on promoting the upcoming Mass Effect 2, but a vision for the entire trilogy. "In planning out the overall trilogy, we know what general story beats we want to hit along the entire thing. So we know the key events we want to have in 3, and right now the team is starting to flesh that out, fill in the spaces. And of course, we’re going to be waiting for the fan response to Mass Effect 2, to see what works and what didn’t work, what we can strengthen."

Video after the break:

Read the rest of the article on Joystiq…

Greg Zeschuk, co-founder of Mass Effect  and Dragon Age developer BioWare, says that the sci-fi franchise will live on in other games after the role-playing game trilogy wraps up in Mass Effect 3.

Zeschuk said during today’s episode of Kotaku Talk Radio that the Mass Effect property is a "valuable universe," that the end of the futuristic trilogy does not necessarily suggest an endpoint for the series.

"We’re actually going to continue to use it for stuff and we’re going to continue to make games there," Zeschuk said. "Believe me, we have our work cut out for us for the next little while getting Mass Effect 3 done after this. Don’t worry if you love Mass Effect, there will be more Mass Effect in the future."

Whether that means the series spawning a new BioWare-developed RPG, a spin-off in the vein of Mass Effect Galaxy for the iPhone or a new genre a la Halo Wars, the BioWare co-founder wouldn’t say. Zeschuk neither confirmed nor denied co-host Stephen Totilo’s suggestion for a Mass Effect themed kart racing, but implied that, if one were to happen, it would absolutely feature a big head mode. […]

Read the full article on Kotaku…

Few names carry as much weight in the gaming industry as venerated Edmonton-based developer BioWare—creators of Mass Effect, Baldur’s Gate and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic—yet BioWare Montreal studio director Yanick Roy has found himself battling for respect in the studio’s quiet first year of existence.

“I tried to correct a Wikipedia entry,” recalls the 38-year-old Joliette native. “The entry said Mass Effect 2 was developed in collaboration with EA Montreal. I changed it to BioWare Montreal, only to have the person correct me and change it back to EA Montreal. I thought ‘Well, if you say so.’”

One could understand the confusion, as BioWare Montreal does share a space with EA Montreal in their Place Ville-Marie office, and BioWare was purchased by Electronic Arts in 2007. But beyond real estate and the HR/PR departments, the 23 employees who comprise the BioWare Montreal staff are their own team, working exclusively on the highly anticipated role-playing game Mass Effect 2 alongside their Edmonton big brothers. BioWare’s third studio started with a few employees developing cutscenes for the sci-fi sequel in late 2008, but has since become responsible for all of the game’s vast uncharted worlds, and following the title’s January 2010 launch, will be busy creating downloadable content.

[…]

Read the rest at Montreal Mirror…