Star Wars: The Old Republic, You Have My Attention

Let’s begin by making this clear: I’m not a Star Wars fan. I’ve seen the original and prequel trilogies and that’s about it. I haven’t read any of the books or comics, nor have I played any of the games. The expanded Star Wars universe is completely foreign to me.  I don’t know the names of all (if any) of the races which populate that universe and questions about the timeline would be met with a blank look. At the same time, I’m not a Star Wars hater. I appreciate what George Lucas did for sci-fi back in 1977 when Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope surged into cinemas across the world. I adore science fiction and without Star Wars we would be missing a pivotal entry into that genre. So, what then has me interested in BioWare’s forthcoming MMO, set 300 years after the events of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games and 3500 years prior to the Star Wars films?

The first reason is simple – BioWare. Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Dragon Age and Mass Effect, I’ve played each series and enjoyed them all. This likely instantly identifies me as an RPG lover, and that’s true enough. However, I completely skipped BioWare’s previous entry into the Star Wars universe, Knights of the Old Republic in 2003. The reason: I simply wasn’t enough of a Star Wars fan to invest myself in the game. In retrospect, having followed the development of SWTOR these past few months, I very likely missed out on an enjoyable RPG, as well as what could have been a stronger connection to BioWare’s first entry into the MMO market.

Of course, being a fan of BioWare’s games obviously isn’t reason enough to have me interested in SWTOR, else I’d have picked up KotOR all those years ago. The second reason is the fact that SWTOR is an MMO. Having devoted a sizeable chunk of my adult life to MMO’s, I recognize that I enjoy certain aspects. The camaraderie of a guild, the teamwork involved in conquering content and even aspects many would consider more obscure, such as role playing and understanding and benefiting from the server economy.

One aspect which has traditionally been lacking from MMO’s is a gripping story during the leveling process. I’m guilty of simply clicking ‘accept’ at each quest giver, sure, but after a certain point reading the quest dialogue quickly becomes monotonous. More often than not, you aren’t actually missing anything important (or even interesting) by simply skipping to the objective. SWTOR offers the possibility of ending this cycle through fully voiced dialogue, both for your own character and NPC’s. I think most people will admit that it’s a lot more engaging to listen to and watch an in-game cut scene detailing your quest parameters than it is to scroll through a text-based medium. There’s more of a sense of immediacy and the feeling that your character is actually involved in the proceedings. The more immersive the experience, the more likely you are to pay attention to the ongoing story.

Combine BioWare – a studio with a proven track record at creating excellent RPG experiences, with this new form of quest delivery and suddenly I’m interested despite the setting. The setting is in fact ancillary at this point. Fortunately, there are a number of hooks that bring it back into relevance for me. I don’t like Jedi. Or lightsabers. A heretical statement, I know. I do however enjoy the thought of ‘killing’ lightsaber wielding Jedi or Sith. From the brief glimpses we’ve had thus far, PVP in SWTOR looks to give me ample opportunity to do just that. I may not know one Star Wars planet from another but I know I’d enjoy exploring those planets nonetheless. I may not be able to name most Star Wars races, but I’d likely find them as interesting to learn about as I did those of Mass Effect.

Finally, it’s very likely that a lot of my friends and current guild mates will be heading into SWTOR upon its release, giving me another incentive to at least try it out for a month or two. I won’t be rushing in there blindly proclaiming it to be the greatest MMO to date, nor will I be colored or swayed by any pre-existing love for the setting. SWTOR is going to have to prove it has enough going for it beyond its established intellectual property to retain my interest – a task any MMO with dreams of succeeding in the industry must endeavor to deliver.