Bioware’s online multiplayer loot shooterAnthemhas gotten off to a rocky start. Beyond the expected bugs, the game’s overall systems could use some overhauls and Bioware listed job positions that will be focused on doing just that. The jobs are for game designers that will focus on item creation, combat balance, store management/rewards pipeline, and loot systems.
In mid-March,Bioware posted an updatethat acknowledged thatAnthemhas been a “rougher launch than expected” and stated that the company was dedicated to working on things mentioned in community feedback. It was said then that improvements to endgame loot, progression, and game flow were coming soon, seemingly on top of the many patches the team has already put out forAnthem.
Seeming to fall in with this plan, Bioware listed a handful ofjob openingson April 12: Systems designer (item creation), systems designer II (combat balance), systems designers I (store management and reward pipeline), and senior systems designer (loot systems). Poor rewards were a key to ourthree-star Anthem review, so it will be interesting to see what types of changes are implemented.
All of these roles are specifically for work in the Austin, Texas, or Edmonton, Alberta, Bioware studios to work onAnthem. There’s a new opening for a senior systems and monetization designer that appeared on the same day and is based in Austin, butAnthemisn’t explicitly mentioned in the job description. However, the role is focused on designing “experiences that combine the best of a continuously updated live game and BioWare’s immersive RPG experiences.”
This bodes well for those currently playingAnthem, those that have stopped since launch, and those still on the fence.Diablo 3is a major example of a game that had a rough launch before turning things around with major changes to the game’s mechanics in theReaper of Soulsexpansion. TheAnthemdev team doesn’t seem to want to wait that long, as they’re gearing up for the Cataclysm event for late spring, but we at least can see that the team is seeking candidates that can help improve the game’sexperience. If Bioware can right the ship as Bungie did withDestinyand Ubisoft did withThe Division, it could attract new and returning players down the line.
