Like a lot of developers Bioware built its name by developing games for more famous IP’s. Its big successes were tied to making good Star Wars and Dungeons and Dragons games. Knights of the Old Republic and Neverwinter Nights put a cool new spin on old franchises, tried to add more depth and avoided the “Gone Too Many Times to the Well” syndrome that had been haunting both franchises. The difference is that Bioware broke free by creating its own IP with Mass Effect. Now Mass Effect was basically a replay of Knights of the Old Republic. Trade in the Republic for the Alliance, a few new alien races and Biotics for the Force, and Mass Effect emerged as KOTOR 3, or KOTOR 3 emerged as Mass Effect. That made Bioware look tempting enough for EA, the cannibal galaxy of game companies, to snap it up. Dragon Age is the logical extension of the Mass Effect principle, turning Neverwinter Nights into another Bioware IP with a game that doesn’t depend on the Dungeons and Dragons brand. You can’t blame Bioware for doing any of that. Knights of the Old Republic owed a lot more to Bioware’s people than it did to George Lucas. Same goes for Neverwinter Nights. And for now Bioware’s big gamble is paying off.