Three words: Hot. Fuckin. Damn.
Star Wars: The Old Republic, currently in development by BioWare Austin and a supplemental team at BioWare Edmonton, is an upcoming massively multiplayer online role-playing game based in the Star Wars universe. If anyone has played Knights of the Old Republic for the Xbox systems, this is that team.
The story takes place in the Star Wars fictional universe shortly after the establishment of a tenuous peace between the re-emergent Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic, 300 years after the events of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games and 3,700 years before the events in the Star Wars films. The Jedi, held responsible for the Sith’s success, are forced to relocate from Coruscant to Tython, where the Jedi order was founded. The Sith control Korriban, where they re-established a Sith Academy. The game begins as new conflicts arise.
The galaxy is literally cut in half. Members of the two main factions – the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire – will have different moralities; the project’s key focus is to differentiate between the player’s faction and morality. Each faction will contain different classes, each with a distinct backstory and a branching storyline affected by players’ moral choices. Classes will also be exclusive to one faction or the other. Three classes have been confirmed: the Bounty Hunter for the Sith Empire, and the Trooper and Smuggler for the Galactic Republic. Although each class will have a distinct storyline, they will be integrated with the game’s overall arc.
Players’ choices will permanently open or close storylines and affect players’ non-player character (NPC) companions. The game’s developers believe that the game will provide more context for characters’ missions and quests than other MMORPGs offer. Players will be able to choose from a variety of NPCs, although spending time with a single companion will help more in developing story and content than dividing time among several. It is possible for players to “blow it big time” if they fail to meet NPCs’ expectation. Players will also have access to dozens of planets, including Korriban, Ord Mantell, Nal Hutta, and Tython.
Let the galaxy burn…
