"BioWare Magic" is a term used in the video game industry to refer to the EA subsidiary's penchant for creating iconic narrative-driven adventures. However, even the most hardcore of fans have to agree that the "magic" has long departed BioWare after back-to-back duds in 2017's Mass Effect: Andromeda and 2019's Anthem. Now, it appears that a former BioWare producer is not a huge fan whenever people use the term BioWare Magic.
Many consider the Dragon Age games as BioWare's finest works. The trio of narrative-driven RPGs featured branching storylines, consequences, and gameplay that helped tie everything together. It's one of the best examples of a game where BioWare Magic worked and everything clicked for the once-pristine studio. But, for former Dragon Age executive producer, Mark Darrah, the term is nothing but a farce.
Darrah used a hockey stick graph to describe what the term BioWare Magic means. The way that Darrah puts it, it's a process that starts off slow and steady. Then, at some point, management decides to ramp things up. Darrah blames this sudden uptick in forced productivity on the lead management, and says that forcing developers to work the studio's now-infamous BioWare Magic leads to unhealthy crunch conditions or delays if not both.
Darrah's video is also another evidence of the already-open industry secret about the prevalence of crunch.