BioWare reportedly had a James Bond-meets-Jason Bourne spy-themed role-playing game in the works in 2009, but it was not meant to be. Former BioWare producer Trent Oster told Eurogamer all about the project, revealing first that it had a working title of “Agent,” the same as Rockstar Games’ previously announced PlayStation 3-exclusive project.
According to Oster, the concept of the game was to “do the other half of GoldenEye,” in that it was planned to show more than the familiar guns-blazing side of James Bond
“He’s a suave manipulator, he’s a talented martial artist, he’s a secret agent. We wanted to cross that 007 with Jason Bourne, where he’s been modified in some way; you’re not sure what, but he’s definitely deadly,” Oster said.
To achieve this, Oster said it was BioWare’s aim to focus on acting.
“We really wanted to be very high drama, very intense scenes,” Oster said. “I always think of the scene in the second Bourne movie where Jason Bourne’s choking the guy out with a book and he’s right in his face and it’s this very intense moment. That was one of the key things we wanted to carry off.”
Ultimately, though, Oster said the project was short-lived, because “EA didn’t believe in” the idea. “And if the company’s not behind it, it doesn’t matter how hard you struggle, you just can’t make it happen.”
Oster is now the creative director at Overhaul Games, and recently oversaw the development and release of Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition. The developer added that he would not be very excited to return to AAA development.
“I look at the triple-A space and I liken it to a knife fight in a back alley: there’s no way to come out without some serious wounds,” Oster said. “The bets are so big now; it’s $30 million, $40 million to make a triple-A console title. You’ve got to license the engine, you’ve got to have a 100-man team, you’ve got to work for three to four years to make it happen.”
