With a penchant for weaving engaging complex characters and engaging storylines into their products, BioWare has become one of the premier creators of role-playing video games in North America.
Now the Edmonton-based developer is hoping a strong narrative – and a heavyweight licence – will set its first massively multiplayer online game apart in a highly competitive market when “Star Wars: The Old Republic” hits store shelves Tuesday.
The PC game takes place thousands of years before the popular “Star Wars” films. The Galactic Republic has forged a tenuous peace with the despotic Sith Empire, and the Republic’s Jedi knights are seeking to rebuild after being decimated their enemies in the last war. Peace does not make for an engaging video game plot, however, and soon the universe is again swept up in a conflict between the two sides.
Players can choose to either serve the Republic or Empire as their characters embark on a journey that will take them to several far-flung planets, including “Star Wars” favourites such as icy Hoth or arid Tatooine. Along the way players will take on a multitude of quests to progress their individual stories, either alone or with a group of friends. Players have a choice in what kind of characters they want to be, from an honourable Jedi knight wielding an iconic lightsaber to a bounty hunter for hire.
With interactive dialogues storylines influenced by players’ decisions, the focus on the game’s story is immediately apparent. BioWare has taken the role-playing elements that made their games “Mass Effect” and “Dragon Age: Origins” popular and integrated them into a video game genre where narrative often takes a back seat.
“One of the key things right from the start is that we wanted to bring story to the MMO space,” said Greg Zeschuk, co-founder and vice-president of BioWare. “There’s always been bits and pieces of stories, sort of story arcs in these games but the actually active storytelling is kind of mundane. We wanted to bring some of the things we learned, like cinematic storytelling and dialogue.”
Each of the eight character classes has its own storyline, and players are thrown into the mix right away with an introductory cutscene that begins the narrative. Even within the eight storylines, the narrative can deviate significantly depending on a player’s choices.
At first glance, the results appear seamless. When fighting enemies or wandering the universe, players on a server will exist in the same space. When a player reaches a point where a cinematic sequence is necessary to advance a storyline, the player enters an exclusive copy of the world called an “instance” where the drama unfolds without fear of the player getting attacked or otherwise distracted.
“The ultimate choices you make are very personal, and part of that goes back to the structure,” Zeschuk said. “We have developed instancing technology, that allows you to exist in areas by yourself or with other people you’re playing with directly. There’s no strangers. So when the story part unfolds its personalized.”
While many MMO standards are present in “The Old Republic,” the way they are integrated through instances is unique. A player may be tasked with destroying 10 berserk robots, but the mission will be framed by a cinematic introduction and ending that puts the quest in the context of the overall story.
“The real crux, the defining difference from other games, is actually a sense of choice,” Zeschuk said. “A typical MMO game will say ‘get five of these,’ and you’ll go get five of them and the guy goes ‘here’s your prize.’ And that’s it. In our game there’s usually a context, there’s some story set up for it.”
The player can choose to be rude or gallant when dealing with characters, and can even make decisions that will alter the course of the story. The player’s character is fully voiced, giving a sense of individual personality largely not found in the genre. There’s also plenty of latitude when it comes to character development, regardless of what side you choose. You can be a scheming and deceitful smuggler who is allied with the Republic for convenience, or an honourable warrior who just happens to work for the Sith.
Along the way players will meet non-player characters called companions, who will fight alongside them and take part in their stories. The types of companions are varied, ranging from helpful robots to hulking creatures from a long-forgotten evil race. Having a companion to help out in battle is nothing new for MMO games, but in “The Old Republic” the characters have distinct personalities. They react to things you say and do, and can either become friendly or resentful as a result.
“The fundamental thing about companions is that they serve a purpose as they reflect your choices,” Zeschuk said. “At a point, you actually do feel for them. You get attached to them and they’ll describe events around you and they’ll participate in the conversations, and there’s an enormous amount of backstory and involvement for each of them.
They feel like an entity to themselves, and even though you can direct their actions in combat a little bit they feel independent. You don’t play them at any time, they’re hanging out with you. It’s really cool. You can also make them very unhappy, and things can happen as a result.”
BioWare is not the first developer to bring the “Star Wars” franchise into the multiplayer gaming world. Sony Online Entertainment launched the highly anticipated “Star Wars Galaxies” in 2003, but the game failed to live up to expectations and was ultimately cancelled, with the servers going offline for good last week.
Time will tell if BioWare’s attempt at bringing “Star Wars” to the massively multiplayer universe will fare better. It will be a while before players experience the end-game content and discover whether it’s worth paying a monthly fee once the narrative has run its course. For now “Star Wars: The Old Republic” makes an excellent first impression, bringing innovation to a genre that sorely needs it.
Included with purchase is 30 days of access to the game, after which players can continue to play for about $15 a month depending on length of subscription.
“Star Wars: The Old Republic” is rated T for Teen for PC.
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