Within the medical community, there often are those of us who
dream of venturing into other fields of interest, but due to a
multitude of reasons, we are unable to take the first step. We were
pleased to speak to one of the founders of the game development
studio BioWare, Dr Augustine Yip, who did take that step and as a
qualified doctor branched out into game development before
returning to medicine full time. Dr Yip, who is currently working
as a family physician in Calgary, Canada, kindly gave us a candid
insight into what his life was like as a game developer, his
personal views of computer gaming in general, and his transition
back into medicine.
BioWare is a video game developer that was founded in 1994 by
Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip, three doctors who had
recently graduated together from the University of Alberta’s
medical school. The three had met in while studying Medicine and
had collaborated on software for use within the medical field.
After forming BioWare, they made their big break with the game
Baldur’s Gate, released in 1998. From there, BioWare moved from
strength to strength, developing critically acclaimed games such as
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age and Mass Effect.
Dr Yip however, had made the decision to leave BioWare in 1998.
The impact of BioWare on the video gaming world was not only
through its Infinity Game Engine, which was used for other computer
role-playing games (CRPGS), but also through its impact upon the
narrative and structure of future CRPGs. Concepts that are taken
for granted in CRPGs today, such as character relationships and
engaging storylines, were greatly developed and refined within
Baldur’s Gate.
Regarding Baldur’s Gate, Dr Yip said “We were really, really
proud with the storytelling and the idea that you can actually
adventure. Other games tried to do it, but this was our attempt to
have Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) role-playing on the computer.”
D&D is traditionally a tabletop role-playing game, though the
system and its fantasy worlds have also appeared in novels and
video games. “A non-linear storyline that allowed you to explore
everything else: it was a real point of pride.”
The path in game development was not smooth, however, with
occasional discrepancies between the game publisher’s expectations
and BioWare’s vision. “I helped create the graphical user
interface, and that is a special point of pride for me. The
producer--the publisher--they were called Interplay. They wanted a
‘Warcraft 2’-like interface and we had to explain, sort of
vehemently, that this is not that type of game. This is a
roleplaying game and it is Dungeons and Dragons.”
It is often asked how a fledgling developer obtained the rights
to develop a D&D game. “Well here is the actual story,” Dr Yip
explained. “For Baldur’s Gate, we made a demo of the game and we
called it ‘Battleground: Infinity’ and it was supposed to be
different mythologies versus each other, such as Norse mythology
versus Roman mythology versus Aztec mythology versus Chinese
mythology; that kind of thing. That was the demo that we brought to
Interplay. And Interplay had this Forgotten Realms license which
was sitting dormant and was about to be lost.” Forgotten Realms is
a popular D&D setting, which has been licensed for further use
in media such as novels and video games.
“(Interplay) said ‘Yeah, we like the engine but we don’t want
the mythologies; we want to make the Forgotten Realms games.’ We
were such geeks, having played the old D&D games with the dice
and everything, and of course we just jumped all over it. So they
carved out a small point in time in Forgotten Realms for us.”
How did his life as a game developer impact on his decision to
return to medicine? “The journey was good. It was. But business and
software development is all consuming, even more than medical
school.
“To be blunt, we just, we were just exhausted. Game development
was 18-hour days, no exercise, poor nutrition, literally pizzas and
coke for breakfast lunch and supper. You are basically locked in
windowless rooms with 50 other geeks playing games and talking
about games all the time. I am an avid but uncoordinated sportsman;
I play tennis, ski, badminton and golf and everything else. I just
knew that I couldn’t keep doing this.”
Another influence on Dr Yip’s decision to leave BioWare was when
his wife, fellow family physician Monica, and he were expecting
their first child. “Though the games were doing well, we thought
‘You know what, I’d rather live a comfortable life than one filled
with nothing but computer screens, geeks and rooms.’”
Dr Yip feels the role of video games has changed significantly
over the years. “Well, I mean they are so huge now, they are such a
gigantic industry. I feel that--having had three kids and putting
them through soccer, skiing, golf and everything else--I don’t have
anything against video games, but there is a whole world of real
games, sports, skills and musical instruments. You know that these
things matter as well. Being an excellent player for soccer games,
or, whatever, any big shooter games; I am not sure that those
skills would necessarily be transferable to anything else. But
being able to play an instrument or reading physical literature
could be more important to a person in a long run. I have no issue
with gaming in general. It is just the amount of it.”
We moved our discussion onto the existence of gaming addiction
and its introduction in the DSM V. “Easily could be, easily could
be,” Dr Yip said. “I mean, gambling addiction… you can argue
gambling in small amounts is okay, but gambling in large amounts
can affect family and lifestyles. So, easily, gaming could be in
the DSM classification. You can have Facebook DSM classified, and
Youtube DSM classified, and everything. But gaming, for sure.”
On returning back to medicine after his time in BioWare, Dr Yip
reflected on his career and whether he enjoyed the decision he
made. “Oh, very much so. I have been at it for twenty years now. I
have seen babies grow into adults. I have seen a generation of
grandparents pass on. It has been an honour and privilege. I mean,
in 22 years you can imagine the changes in therapy. My wife
actually has actually branched off into psychotherapy and I have
developed an appreciation of psychotherapy and its power. I have no
regrets. It is funny, I have done a few of these interviews
probably every two, three, four years and a lot of the interviews
centre around ‘Do you regret leaving the gaming sector,’ and I say
‘No, I don’t even think about it at all.’ It is not that I am
avoiding it; it just doesn’t even cross my mind.
“The computer world is so random, so much hard work so poorly
paid, and basically only the top producers and developers make the
big money. I mean, it was a blast, but honestly, it was for the
person young, unmarried, no obligation, total freedom to work
insane hours and with a high metabolism for carbs.”
Drawing the interview to a close with Dr Augustine, who was
returning to pick up his children from hockey, I thanked him for
helping us on this article about doctors and gaming, and he left
with “Doctors formerly in gaming… It was a long time ago.”
Following the interview, I thought upon the changes within the
video games especially with regards to its reflection of the
psyche. Talking to a trailblazer who developed a video game where
attempts were made to move away from one dimensional place holder
characters, to thinking about games today that are more confident
and able to reflect the emotions which come with living; there is
now a recognition within the gaming community that games which
emphasise the complexity in human interaction within an engaging
narrative is just as important as nuts-and-bolts game play.
However, on a more personal level, Dr Yip’s story allowed me to
reflect on how this person had explored his various passions and
had come to a decision on the one he most wished to follow. Perhaps
there should be more flexibility for us in exploring alternative
career pathways, as opposed to the streamlined production factory
that medicine can sometimes feel like. That way, we may have a
better sense of contentment in the choices we make, instead of
feeling of “what may have been”.
Authored by Sin Fai Lam
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