I agree with you on the 'what technology do we need to build a game.' Similiar to saying 'what words do I need to express this story' rather than 'I have a dictionary what can I write with all the words in it.'
When it comes to game engine's though, i'm not sure the problem lies with licensing an engine instead of developing your own. It seems more like the problem is either, assuming the engine is the be all and end all of what you can do, or the engine isn't flexible enough. The focus for engines should be they can do a lot for you, but ultimately you can still develop your own tools easily. Image just having to re-write the animation engine instead of the whole thing to achieve a gameplay goal. Development time cut, costs cut. Only a good thing.
Re: Bioware takes the shortcut
I agree with you on the 'what technology do we need to build a game.' Similiar to saying 'what words do I need to express this story' rather than 'I have a dictionary what can I write with all the words in it.'
When it comes to game engine's though, i'm not sure the problem lies with licensing an engine instead of developing your own. It seems more like the problem is either, assuming the engine is the be all and end all of what you can do, or the engine isn't flexible enough. The focus for engines should be they can do a lot for you, but ultimately you can still develop your own tools easily. Image just having to re-write the animation engine instead of the whole thing to achieve a gameplay goal. Development time cut, costs cut. Only a good thing.