With eight (eight!) studios around the globe as of the end of 2011, BioWare label heads Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk have kind of a lot going on at any given time. When I spoke with them earlier this week at Times Square's NASDAQ building, though, they were remarkably calm after having both rang the financial institution's opening bell surrounded by (and emblazoned in) Star Wars accoutrement, as well as launching the six-years-in-development MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Beyond the aforementioned accomplishments, the doctors' division of EA has been rapidly expanding -- over just the last six months, BioWare has added a Sacramento office, a San Francisco office, and an Ireland office, to say nothing of "BioWare Victory," the studio heading up Command & Conquer: Generals 2. That's a whole lot of people (501 - 1000, approximately, according to LinkedIn)! How do two guys that started out with eight people in a studio apartment manage that kind of expansion without diluting the original values they began with?

BioWare co-founder and Ray Muzyka offered an explanation by way of example:
"You're seeing how we're doing that in The Old Republic. We're merging story in in a really seamless way. It doesn't feel tacked on or added, it's actually there from the ground floor. It's actually adding to the experience and increasing that emotional engagement, which, you go back to our vision, that's what it's all about. Building that emotional engagement." The concept of "emotional engagement" was one that both Muzyka and his long-time business partner Dr. Greg Zeschuk touched on repeatedly during the interview. Muzyka called it a "pillar" of the label's vision, but also emphasized that story - BioWare's traditional method for engaging players on an emotional level - isn't the only way to evoke an emotional response from players.