Like video games, medicine requires a steady hand and a nimble mind - but otherwise, the world of medicine and the sensationalistic worlds depicted in video games don't collide. So why, then, did BioWare co-CEO Ray Muzyka leave a career in medicine to cross into the lands of his imagination and produce video games?

Anyone who knows about the self-taught programmer's development of medical education software at the University of Alberta and lifelong affinity for video games wouldn't need to ask.

The 36-year-old Muzyka, who followed up his medical degree with an MBA at the Ivey School of Business, has no doubt that medical training ingrained values in him that have crossed over to business and aided his management style.

His seamless transition speaks to this. The Edmonton native has maintained a doctor's devotion, even while he creates fantasylands where injuries don't matter. He has nurtured the company, along with co-CEO Greg Zeschuk, to become one of the world's premier game producers.

Photo courtesy of BioWare Corp.
Co-CEO Ray Muzyka is aiming to turn Edmonton-based BioWare Corp. into the top producer of story-driven games in the world.

Now Muzyka is aiming to become the top producer of story-driven games in the world. When you're releasing global hits such as Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic in a society that is becoming attuned to settling scores by pushing buttons, that healthy goal might be as much fun for Muzyka as playing his own games.

1. Why did you choose to study medicine?

"That's something I've always wanted to do. It's definitely something I really enjoy. I did practise for about six years or so after I graduated, doing emergency medicine in small towns up north and all across Alberta. I really found that satisfying. I think that was something I always wanted to do, ever since I was young. The reason that Greg Zeschuk and I formed BioWare wasn't that we didn't like medicine, but it was because of the fact that we just liked BioWare and video games even more. I guess it was a real passion for us."

2. How did you come up with the idea of creating video games?

"In med school (at the University of Alberta), we were actually doing some medical education software for our faculty. We did a couple of projects that were distributed to some medical students and one of them was purchased by a pharmaceutical company. So that was our first endeavour with software development. We are kind of self-taught programmers and artists. We had a third partner (Aug Yip) back then, as well, who helped to form BioWare with us, but he left in 1997 and went back to medical practice full time."

3. How difficult a decision was it for you and Greg to dedicate yourselves to launching this business?

"We always were huge fans of video games, so it wasn't that difficult. When we ran into some talented programmers and artists who were doing what became the framework for our first game, Shattered Steel, we said, 'Wow, this is pretty cool, maybe we should form a company around it and fund it.' And so we did. We've never really looked back since. We managed to hire some really great people here and we've been really fortunate to retain a lot of them. We have a turnover rate that is about three-per-cent annualized, so the experience and knowledge from the team just keeps getting applied to our future games. BioWare is a company of about 230 people and the future has never been brighter."

4. How did you finance the startup?

"Greg and I put in money ourselves - seed capital. We've never had any external investors. We've always grown on retained earnings and profits over the years. We're revenue financed, basically. Greg and I are the majority owners, but we've given a lot of stock options to our staff."

5. When you started the company, did you envision anything as big as what the company has become?

"Frankly, I don't know how much we thought about it. It was a dream to make a video game company and our vision now is to deliver the best story-driven games in the world and entertain a lot of people in the process. I don't think we ever considered an end point. If anything, our best years are ahead of us."

6. What has been your most difficult challenge in building the company?

"I think it relates to the nature of the industry itself. There have never been any specific challenges that we haven't been able to overcome on the actual business side, or in attracting and retaining great people. I've been really lucky with that. I think that is the key to our success. (Our employees) are just such smart, creative, passionate and hard-working people. I suppose the biggest challenge is that the industry itself is one which is based on both technology and entertainment. Both of those aspects continually change over time. As a result, there are a lot of changes every year in terms of the technology you're developing and in terms of the tastes of the end-users. You have to always be aware of those things and try to continually adapt in terms of what your products are, with both the change in technology and the types of games. You have to really try to innovate to evolve the art form."

7. Has your medical training come in handy in this business?

"It has indirectly. We really appreciate the value of education and recognize the value that it can bring when we hire. If people have the experience of education, they are going to be able to apply that to the task at hand. Another thing that medical practice was good for is just learning how to talk to people. Learning how to respect others. Learning how to understand different points of view and understand that different people have different communication styles and different needs. It also gave me a better understanding of the importance of teamwork because a medical team of nurses, physios, pharmacologists, doctors and so on that is successful, is going to be one that has a good team dynamic, has good communication, understands different roles and has good leadership. Those are all the things that you need to have in a successful company."

8. How does BioWare stack up against some of the other major game makers?

"Well, I guess one way we look at that is in terms of unit sales - how many games are getting out there and into the hands of our end-users. We've sold over 12 million games over the last decade and most of those in the last few years. That's pretty good, I think, for a developer. Critical review scores are another thing we look at. If you go to www.gamerankings.com, you will see that we have four or five games in the top 100 games of all time, in terms of the highest-rated review scores. Everything we have ever put out is in the top 10 per cent of the highest-rated games in their database. That's really impressive for a developer from Canada."

9. What do you think it is about the chemistry between you and Greg that has contributed to the success story?

"I don't think either of us likes to take credit for the success. I think it is the great people we have here working with us. We have great teams and they really deserve all the credit for the success BioWare has had to date. If anything, I think Greg and I make up for each other in terms of helping each other see through our weaknesses. We have actually grown a lot more similar over the years. We can pretty accurately predict what the other one is going to say on any given topic. I think if anything, we try to supplement each other's areas that we need help in."

10. So who's the boss?

"We're joint CEOs, so really it is a joint decision-making process in that sense. It's kind of a unique relationship. There are some examples of that out there."

"Partly, it's a recognition of the medical ethic of understanding that you really need to get help on things and that you are always going to be stronger as a team. The team isn't just Greg and me. The team is everyone here at BioWare and it's a very collaborative environment."

11. What's been the key to nurturing and developing a winning team?

"Our core values, I think, are the answer to that. We have two core values. One is quality in our products. By that, we mean that each game needs to be better than the last. We are always striving to improve in pursuit of that vision to deliver the best story-driven games in the world. The other core value we have is quality in our workplace, and by that we mean that we want to create a good quality of life for our staff - one that they feel that they can maintain long-term. It's not just a job, but it's a career. Both of those values are equally important and in some ways, are in conflict. We recognize that we have to balance the two. Those core values are in the context of humility and integrity. By humility, we mean that we recognize we can always improve and that we are not perfect in any sense. Despite past successes, you are only as good as your best game and you are only as good as the company culture that you are maintaining at the moment. The other aspect we always add is that it has to be in the context of integrity, so you have to be honest and forthright with your business partners, your fans and your employees. I think our success comes down to those values. Everything changes. The strategy changes. The external environment changes. The types of games you make and the content that you deliver to your fans changes. The core values have been the same from the beginning."

12. What's your vision for BioWare for 2010?

"We want to continue to pursue our vision and deliver the best story-driven games in the world. We're trying to do that by expanding the types of games we make and expanding into different genre spaces. We're merging into different kinds of action - Jade Empire (the company's newest game) is an example of that, where we're taking a strong story and character exploration that we've had in our past games and then we're merging them with action fundamentals. Jade Empire is an action role-playing game where you get to become a martial arts master and the combat system is quite integrative. It's real-time combat which is combined with a great story and great characters."

13. Do you ever wonder if your games are too entertaining for kids, so they can't put them down to do their homework?

"There's a spectrum in terms of different types of video games. Some are pure action. Some actually have a lot more thought, a lot more storyline and a lot more characters. Our games are on that end of the spectrum. Jade Empire has several hundred thousand words of dialogue in it. It has a rich story. It's kind of like reading and being part of an interactive novel in many ways. They are the kind of games I was playing when I was growing up and I was always able to kind of balance it. I think it comes down to balance. Parents have to be involved with what their kids are doing and ensure they have a nice balance between their schoolwork and physical activities. They should be involved in sports and things like that - and intellectual pursuits as well - and I think some video games definitely fall into that category."

14. What do you think the impact is on youth from the violence portrayed in video games?

"I think there are many factors that have a greater impact on youth. Really, they are challenging issues to think about and a lot of media don't consider them. I think it is important to consider the context. I really believe that. You have to look at mainstream violence. You have to look at TV. You turn on the evening news and you see violent acts being depicted. You watch movies and there's like violence in movies. You consider things like societal neglect and parental abuse, and things like that. Poverty. These are the things that need to be considered."

15. But what about the issue of violence in video games?

"Our games have been rated 'teen' in the past so, typically, I would say that we have avoided gratuitous content. That's been a conscious decision.

Our games are rich in character and storyline. There's a spectrum just like there is in television and movies. There's a range of video games that have violence in them and the games that don't - and frankly, we don't pursue gratuitous content in our games. We do things that help advance the story and the character."

16. How do you see the video game market evolving over the next 10 years?

"Video games are becoming more and more popular. You are seeing more people playing, and the age demographic or age group that is playing them is getting older and older. The average age group now is 17 to 34. I think they (video games) are actually cutting into the entertainment budget that people have and they are reducing the amount of time that people have to spend on TV, on other activities like movies and so on. There are some studies that support that as well. People are actually actively choosing to play video games instead of watching TV, for example. I think that's healthy, because I think I'd rather people spend time on an interactive entertainment form rather than on a passive entertainment form. Myself, I have always chosen video games as my preference, if I am going to choose one or the other."

17. Do you think your games have any beneficial effects on players in terms of hand-eye co-ordination or anything else?

"There have been some studies recently showing that in laproscopic surgery, doctors who play video games actually have better results and fewer complications. I also believe BioWare's games actually are quite good for reading skills, because there is a lot of reading. Half a million words of dialogue is like a substantial novel.

We have published authors that are involved in our writing design team. Our focus really is on making the best stories and creating compelling and memorable characters, and that's why our games are role-playing games."

18. Would you consider selling the company?

"We've never really had an exit strategy in mind, in terms of pursuing a particular path for exit. Rather, what we're trying to do is create value. We're trying to do the right things for our staff. We're trying to do the right things for our games, for our fans and building a community of loyal users. I think we would be open to talking with groups should they make an offer of that sort, but that's not really our goal. There's always interested groups, in terms of the industry. The industry is maturing and there is always consolidation, but there have never been any offers that we've pursued."

19. How has your success with BioWare affected your lifestyle?

"Well, personally, I really enjoy my job. I get to work with the best people in the world here, so I'm very grateful for that."

20. Do you have any other entrepreneurial pursuits in mind or do you plan to focus all your efforts on BioWare in the future?

"Greg and I founded another company, CodeBaby, which we're involved in as directors and co-chairmen. That's developing (technology) that helps to produce support costs on websites, helps drive sales for companies online and generally makes it easier to get through Internet sites. I think it can be bigger than BioWare. It has a tremendous potential. It's something that can really benefit people all over the world."

IN PROFILE: RAY MUZYKA

* Title: Co-CEO/co-executive producer/part owner, BioWare Corp.

* Born/Raised/Age: Edmonton/36.

* Education: University of Alberta, medical degree; University of Ontario, Ivey School of Business, MBA.

* Career: Muzyka co-founded BioWare in 1995 and has been a co-CEO along with Greg Zeschuk since then. In addition to his management duties, Muzyka has helped develop several BioWare game titles, including the soon-to-be-released Jade Empire. He is also co-chairman and director of CodeBaby, a software company that is developing a next-generation interface for digital media and the Internet. Prior to co-founding BioWare, Muzyka practised emergency medicine for six years throughout rural Alberta.

* Hitting pause: Muzyka spends his free time reading and playing video games.

* Favourite childhood game: Wizardry (Apple 2 console).

* Role playing: Muzyka is a board member of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.

THE COMPANY: BIOWARE CORP.

* Brass: Ray Muzyka, co-CEO/ co-executive producer; Greg Zeschuk, co-CEO/co-executive producer.

* Profile: BioWare is a video game producer based in Edmonton with approximately 230 employees. Involved exclusively in the creation of role-playing games, BioWare games are sold in retail stores as well as in the company's online store and are for use on PCs and Xbox gaming consoles.

* Gaming community service: BioWare boasts a global online following of approximately 2.4 million registered users.

* Numbers game: BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic has sold approximately 2.5-million copies.

* Websites: www.bioware.com, www.codebaby.com

* Head Office: 200, 4445 Calgary Trail, Edmonton, T6H 5R7.

* Phone/Fax: 780-430-0164/ 499-6374.

(Gyle Konotopetz can be reached at gyle@businessedge.ca)