If you're not familiar with the KOTOR universe, it's set thousands of years before the events seen in the Star Wars movies. This is basically the ancient history of Star Wars, but it still features Jedi Knights, Sith Lords, and lightsabers.
We're huge fans of the first two KOTOR games, which were single-player role-playing games. So we decided to put together a list of the 10 things that we'd like to see in a KOTOR MMO.
Player-Run Territories/Stations/Planets |
A guild-owned planet might be a little too extreme, but being able to claim a territory or a station for your guild is an enticing prospect that might make it easier to hold together online allegiances. As a guild increased in rank through group PvP encounters, and by pooling individual achievements both PvP and PvE, it could acquire a territory. If that went well and the guild managed to stay together, manage their property well, etc., they could move onto a moon and, eventually, a planet. In this way the high-ranking players could act sort of like a corporate government, except those at the top would eventually be governing a planet, not just a group of players.
Social Space Travel |
You should be able to move between planets quickly and conveniently, but for the player looking to role-play and experience all the most extravagant starships have to offer, there needs to be something more. It can work so players buy tickets to book passage on unique, gigantic vessels, which leave at specific times and follow a set route. While on the ship there are social activities, unique shops, viewing windows, and possibly even combat arenas. If players get bored of the ship, they just have to use one of the innumerable shuttle ships to move to soar to a nearby friendly system where they could then travel under their own means.
Space Combat |
TIE Fighter remains one of the greatest games of all time. And, frankly, we're all sick of waiting for TIE Fighter II. Sure, the KOTOR universe is set way before TIE Fighters were even developed, but there are still starships and starfighters. The principles are all the same. All you have to do is just design cool looking fighters along the lines of those in the original trilogy, because those Naboo fighters did absolutely nothing for us. BioWare could make space combat cool again, and we can't think of a better universe for it than Star Wars.
Your Spore Creature |
A long time ago, we remember George Lucas remarking that he liked the aliens in Jabba the Hutt's palace far more than the cantina aliens in the first movie. We heartily agree, and we think it could be taken a step further. Star Wars has all sorts of wonderful aliens in it, but there's always room for more. Wouldn't it be cool to saunter into the neighborhood cantina and find your Spore creation in there? Hey, BioWare is owned by EA. Maxis is owned by EA. Someone make this happen.
Real Role-Playing |
A lot of role-playing games don't give you any real choice in the end; you're still the plucky adventurer who has to slay the evil snoozle. BioWare scores with giving players an option to go down one of two paths, and then having the events in the world react accordingly. The original KOTOR was a perfect example of this. We would love to see some shades of gray incorporated into this system, or a third option other than simply "good" or "bad."
Character Differentiation |
Don't you hate it when you show up to a party and you run into people dressed just like you? Well, MMOs often take that a step further. For balance purposes, too many MMOs make all members of a given class fairly identical. It's like running into an army of clones. Sure, while clones have a legitimate place in Star Wars lore, we deserve better. Since BioWare is a company known for memorable role-playing, here's hoping it can add in some meaningful ways to make your character your own.
Not a Jedi |
Yes, Jedi Knights are cool and all, and they have nifty powers and abilities, but if everyone is a Jedi, it loses all meaning. Star Wars Galaxies is a textbook example of this, as it suffers from an overabundance of Jedi. However, BioWare should give the other classes (whatever they may be) a way to compete with Jedi that still maintains the integrity of the setting. Plus, it should be fun playing a bounty hunter, a scoundrel of a smuggler, or even a laser-rifle wielding princess. It might even be cool to be a droid. HK-47, anyone?
PVP Gameplay |
Star Wars is a very bipolar universe. There's the good side of the Force, and then there's the Dark Side. There are Jedi Knights and Sith Lords. BioWare should play with this, plus, it's always fun to play as the bad guys. Let's face it, the Jedi way of life seems a bit too chaste and dull for us. Meanwhile, the Sith have all the great villains. More than that, there's plenty of room for two-sided wars in the Star Wars universe, whether it be Bounty Hunters-versus-Jedi, Jedi-versus-Sith, or Everyone-versus-Ewoks.
Darth Revan |
The Darth Revan character from Knights of the Old Republic was one of the most memorable characters in role-playing, especially what happened to him. Of course, that brings up the inevitable question: Will we encounter Revan again? Or will he be some kind of legendary character referred to in hushed tones, basically the Keyser Soze of the Star Wars universe? Either way would be awesome.
A Good Story |
BioWare made its name making single-player RPGs with deep stories. We hope it can include that here and even bring some sort of system of lasting consequences into the MMO world that far too often depends on instanced missions that don't really offer a sense of permanence or change.