Though it’s been the subject of rumors for months now, it was confirmed today that renowned RPG developer, Bioware, (now apart of Electronic Arts following their acquisition earlier this year) is once again at work on the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic franchise. However, instead of making another single player RPG like the original Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR), Jade Empire, Mass Effect, etc. Bioware is taking the franchise online in their debut outting in the vast world of Massive Multiplayer games. Currently, Bioware is currently in production of Dragon Age: Origins for the PC, and given Bioware’s dedication to perfection as well as the humongous amount of work that surrounds succesfully launching a MMORPG, I can’t imagine that the new KOTOR will be released any time in the immediate future. Regardless, there’s two huge reasons to be excited about even the prospect of a MMO KOTOR being in development.
Knights of the Old Republic is an Awesome Franchise
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is still considered by many as being not only one of the best games on the Xbox, not only one of the best Star Wars games ever made, but also one of the best RPG’s ever developed. Balancing an epic story with in depth gameplay based on the Dungeons and Dragons engine, KOTOR ran away with tons of Game of the Year awards and rightly so. Obsidian made Knights of the Old Republic II, and while it failed to live up to the huge standards set by its predecessor, it was still a great game that served to expand the Star Wars universe even more. With two excellent titles providing a valueable resource for both storyline as well as gameplay inspiration, Bioware has more than enough foundation to begin building what could be the next huge MMORPG.
Star Wars Galaxies Sucked
While maybe “sucked” is a bit of a harsh description, Sony Online Entertainment’s take on the Star Wars franchise as a MMORPG in Star Wars Galaxies left much to be desired. It started off well enough, but all too quickly the plethora of little tweaks and changes watered down the experience into continued to ween the game’s once in depth and expansive content until it was barely recognizable once the billionth expansion pack for it rolled around. Star Wars Galaxies had some great ideas, but most of them were executed so poorly that its fan base quickly lost patience and abandoned it. Hopefully Bioware will be able to borrow the ideas that worked, and learn from the ones that didn’t.
It’s Bioware, Baby
There’s really no denying it -Bioware is an amazing developer. To date, they’re responsible for some of the most groundbreaking and excellent RPG’s ever made. The Baldur’s Gate series, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Knights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect -pretty much everything they touch instantly becomes a classic. Even though they have never worked on a MMORPG before, Bioware has proven themselves time and time again as a company that is comitted to quality and excellence. I’m a bit wary of their recently established association with Electronic Arts, but even still, EA is currently producing the upcoming Warhammer Online. If anything, they can contribute their experience with creating MMORPG’s to the development process.
I can’t wait to hear more about this project. I’m a huge MMORPG junky, and the prospect of the loves of my life (Star Wars, MMORPG’s, and Bioware) combining together in one game has me incredibly excited. Making a succesful MMORPG is no small task, however, and recently, only Blizzard’s World of Warcraft has really been succesful. Tabula Rasa was a flop as was Vanguard. Only Age of Conan has really been able to stand on its own, but even then, they’re struggling in comparison to the ten million strong subscriber base that WoW has. But if anyone can manage to bring down Blizzard, it’s Bioware. It’ll be interesting to see how EA’s Warhammer Online does -hopefully it’ll be some sort of indication of what Knights of the Old Republic the MMO might have to offer.
Mark Fujii: I'm your typical college student who plays too much video games. I also work as an electronic sales associate, meaning I sell Ipods and violent video games to your children when not trying to sneak off and play Super Smash Bros while the boss isn't looking. Oh, and I'm totally awesome. True fact.
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Mark Fujii
I'm your typical college student who plays too much video games. I also work as an electronic sales associate, meaning I sell Ipods and violent video games to your children when not trying to sneak off and play Super Smash Bros while the boss isn't looking. Oh, and I'm totally awesome. True fact.
Steve (Steve) says:
(Posted July 18th, 2008 at 9:01 am)
I’m hoping this will be available for consoles as well as PCs.