Star Wars: The Old Republic
BioWare is currently developing this MMORPG from their Austin studios. Due to the name and info so far it's safe to assume it will be similar to their previous RPG: Knights of the Old Republic. Some significant names associated with the project, including Richard Vogel and Gordon Walton.
Official Website: swtor.com
Finally official, KOTOR as an MMORPG
I suppose I should change my old blog category of "BioWare MMO" to "The Old Republic".
I believe that it wasn't so much of a secret as it was BioWare testing the waters. Star Wars was an obvious choice, but it's a license that's been heavily over-used and has already been attempted as an MMORPG. I think they were measuring just how much anticipation there was. Turns out quite a lot.
The pivotal factor? BioWare themselves.
BioWare has incredible talent to tap from and they have a unique (in this industry) approach towards universes created by others, they delve into them as if they were their own. That's what made Knights of the Old Republic into magic and I think we're all betting they can do it again.
Despite that, I've been pointlessly crossing my fingers, wishing BioWare would use one of their own IPs for their upcoming MMO. At first I thought the chances of Star Wars were slim. Oh how wrong I was. It became more and more obvious it was the fan favourite and earlier this year it was all but cemented in.
I'm still not sure whether to jump for joy or cry. I'd have loved to have seen BioWare use the Mass-Effect universe, or try something altogether new. At the same time, an MMORPG from BioWare comes with excitement and if they must do Star Wars, I'm pretty happy it's in the KOTOR deep-dark-in-the-past setting.
If anyone can do it right, I'd bet my money on BioWare.
What's with the Star Wars rumour?
Over 18 months ago, BioWare announced their plans to make an MMORPG. Rumours of a Star Wars MMO flew, but they didn't make any sense: Star Wars Galaxies had taken a big nose-dive and BioWare themselves have made it clear that they would like to focus on establishing a few of their own properties rather than making more licensed games. I've been fully expecting to see BioWare leverage Mass Effect into an MMO, it's perfect for them and would explain why they're keeping the MMO world under wraps, Mass Effect needs to grab a fanbase first.
But the Star Wars rumours persist, they even grow. Why?
Because BioWare is one of the few companies that gives licensed games both the royal treatment AND adds their own originality to the mix. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was almost the epitome of game licensing.
I still don't think it's going to happen.
But wait! Now LucasArts and BioWare have made a joint statement about an un-named game they're designing together. Could this be the MMO already in progress, could it be the wet dream of Jedi everywhere?
I still don't think it's going to happen.
I'd rather see a Mass Effect MMO. I like Star Wars just fine, but as much as BioWare was the best developer for the lightsaber-licensed product, I still think the movie adaption to games has been shoving a square peg through a round hole. I'd much rather see them create within a universe that they've tailor made for games.
EA acquires BioWare
Yesterday, a msg was forwarded from a friend that felt like they'd "died inside a bit". At first I was boggled, I didn't think they were interested in Gods and Heroes or anything else I'd heard recently. Then I checked the news--
EA has officially begun an acquisition of BioWare and Pandemic Studios. BioWare has the full press release available in PDF format.
It appears that EA's primary interest is increasing their RPG holdings, especially with the unnamed MMORPG from BioWare. A very wise choice for EA for the future. My take on this though is that BioWare is the pinnacle of independent game design, while EA has the notorious reputation of stifling exactly that sort of thing.
Gordon Walton on making MMOs
Gamasutra has posted a paraphrased and quoted version of Gordon Walton's GDC Austin speech. I'm a fan of Mr. Walton, I met him back when he worked at Kesmai on some of their amazing forerunners (namely Air Warrior and Battletech) to the MMO market. He has a pedigree resume and I think he's exactly the right man to produce Bioware's first MMO.
Overall I'd say his speech was hit & miss, some parts read bang-on like an MMO producer & designer's bible, while others demonstrate that he could be dangerously too close to the source, perhaps needing to step back and play like a gamer rather than in designer mode 24/7. Regardless, he's still on my shortlist of good peeps in the MMO industry, so it's well worth a thorough read.
Some highlights (because I couldn't resist):
"Content sucks. Content takes people to build. You can build systems, but systems suck because we pattern match 'em real quick. Content is custom-crafted things for people to do." He described the concept of the "player horizon" -- a player should not perceive all that she can do from the beginning of the game: something tantalizing has to hang out of reach. "If I can visualize everything that will happen to me by the end by level 3, the game's over."
. . .
Simplify the damn GUI!" Walton exhorted. "MMOs have the worst and most complex GUIs because we have so much shit you can do in the game. We want to give players all that stuff!"
. . .
Walton described customization as "a steam release valve" for an audience that can't be satisfied within the bounds of the basic interface. Bringing up another example, Walton cited City of Heroes, another MMO with a strong casual audience. "Conventional wisdom said that their game was missing all these features, but it worked."
. . .
"Don't tune for the hardcore." . . . this stems from "forgetting our object is not to keep people as long as humanly possible, but to provide entertainment." When it comes to grinding, "they will do it, but they will hate you."
I'm betting that Bioware's MMO will be a great game, although it's still a few years away.
Who wants to build a World?
Bioware is holding a World Design Contest. The prize? Possibly a job working on Bioware's own MMORPG in development in their Austin studios. The contest requires using the Neverwinter Nights (1 not 2) adventure building tools to demonstrate your ability to level design all aspects of an independant adventure.
Chop chop, get to it.
