Bioware Talks "Our World, My Story" for Anthem

Bioware is good at exactly one thing (if even that, according to the haters) – single-player RPGs. Every time they’ve ventured outside of that territory, be it for some ill-advised multiplayer mode or to Facebook games, they’ve proven less-than-skilled at translating their own unique appeal to that new genre. Which is just part of the reason why people are so anxious about the upcoming Anthem game. Bioware has tried to assure people that it’s not just a MMORPG or something equally uncomfortable by saying that it’s a mixture of multi-player and single-player gaming, although no one’s ever been quite sure what they mean by that.

Well, in a new blog post, Bioware’s Casey Hudson gave us a little tease of what exactly they’re talking about: a system they call “Our World, My Story.”

"[Our World, My Story] is one of the most innovative things about Anthem. In the dynamic open world, everything is experienced in real-time by all Anthem players—day/night, weather, and world-scale events that shape the ongoing narrative of the setting. This is 'our world,' which we share as a player community. Then when you return to Fort Tarsis, that’s actually a single-player experience, and it’s where you spend time developing relationships, making choices, and seeing consequences. That’s the 'my story' part."

He admitted that it wasn’t much to go on, but promised that we’d learn more in a Pax panel… of which he was probably talking about the upcoming Pax west, which runs from August 31 to September 3.

Me, though, I’m not feeling much comforted by his assurance. After all, it’s debatable how much of an impact your story choices can have if everyone shares the broader world. Sure, you could probably change your instance of Fort Tarsis, but if you’re not doing anything to the world that surrounds it… well… that’s just kind of shallow, isn’t it?

But hey. Maybe I’m just being paranoid.