A Star Wars MMORPG – Done Right

Sony’s abysmal attempt at the Star Wars universe in an MMORPG setting was a failure spectacular not only in its inability to implement a key mechanic (becoming a Jedi), but also in it’s ludicrous skill system that forced players to learn and unlearn skills to meet specific character objectives. Star Wars Galaxies has rightfully fallen into the bit bin, hopefully never to return.

Bioware, creators of the wonderful Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic RPG, has recently announced their entry into the MMORPG market. Entitled Star Wars: The Old Republic (KOTOR), Bioware is poised to reap the benefits of one of the hottest intellectual properties in geekdom…if they can get the mechanics correct. KOTOR was designed roughly along the lines of D&D, with feats, skills, and random number “rolls” behind the scenes to determine hits, damage, and saves. The game could be paused and multiple actions queued such that the game took almost a turn-based feel. The story rivaled that of the first trilogy in both scope and originality. Player actions resulted in different dialog trees, different reactions from non player characters, and completely different endings. 

If someone has the intellectual capital to make a Star Wars based MMORPG, it is the folks at Bioware. The other items on their resume are the great Neverwinter Nights RPGs (based on D&D 3.5 edition rules) and Mass Effect, a console crossover along the same lines as KOTOR.

The Web site for the game is live; Blue over at Blue’s News has some concept art and screenshots for your perusal.

The really interesting question is whether this property translates into a similar huge marketing juggernaut that Blizzard’s World of Warcraft has become. Lord of the Rings, a property tailor made for the MMO market, has hardly made a dent in the WoW’s subscription base. Likewise for Age of Conan, the Funcom MMORPG featuring a decidedly adult theme.