Daniel Erickson, the lead designer and creative director on Star Wars: The Old Republic, has left BioWare.
It’s been a rough stretch for BioWare. Star Wars: The Old Republic Executive Producer Rich Vogel left in July, BioWare co-founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka quit in September and now Daniel Erickson, SWTOR’s lead designer and creative director, has headed out the door.
Erickson hasn’t offered any specific reasons for his departure, but posts on his new Twitter account suggest that he’s not happy with where the studio was headed. “When 90% of the industry is saying the exact same thing (social, mobile, FTP!) a huge number of people are going to lose that race,” he wrote. “Job hunt thought: If you think a monetization approach is the same thing as a game idea I don’t know why we’re talking.”
In response to a Twitter user who said he was burned out on MMOs and missed games like Monkey Island, Full Throttle and Space Quest, he added, “Not funny at all. There’s a reason Kickstarters for classic adventure games and classic RPGs have done so well.”
It’s a far cry from Erickson’s gushing words about BioWare on his LinkedIn page, which hasn’t been updated to reflect his departure. “Took a step down from Lead Designer role at EA to get into BioWare and learn from the best story designers,” it says. It also contains a recommendation from Vogel, who wrote, “If you need someone to define a vision and build a great game and team around that vision, he is your man.” Vogel is currently putting together a team to work on an unannounced project at Bethesda’s new Battlecry Studios.
