And by we I really mean me. I really don’t speak for Mike or the others that write here at MMOCrunch.com. Each writer here has their own opinion and mine is my own. Anyways onto the article!
I don’t want BioWare to make an MMORPG based off of the Star Wars franchise. Wait! Don’t crucify me yet. I have some explaining to do. Naturally, I would definitely not spit on a Star Wars MMO, let alone one developed and designed by BioWare. Those are some talented guys and I can only dream of what they are creating. And that is the exact same reason why I don’t want what they are creating for their first MMO to be a Star Wars game.
Now I began writing this article mainly because of the recent rumour that is being spread around. Apparently some guy got a sneak peek at some documented script from the game. I don’t know, and to be honest, I don’t really care. Should you want to read about it head on over here.
Now, back on topic, let’s think about what other franchises BioWare has created. Have they ever created something that wasn’t awesome? Let’s take a look:
- Mass Effect, absolutely fantastic.
- Jade Empire, loved every minute of it.
- KoTOR, superb.
- Neverwinter Nights, classic.
- Baldur’s Gate, brought me into the PC RPG world.
So there you have it: four out of their five biggest games have not been associated with Star Wars. This leads me to my point, do we really want a developer such as this to spoil their creative interests on a world that is already so well developed that there can’t possibly be any real customization and expansion? Star Wars is great, but I’d rather these guys come up with their own kick ass world. Mass Effect was a brilliant universe, and I have no doubt that they could make a world for an MMORPG be equally as awesome.
Anyways, thats just my opinion. Take it for what you will, but there are plenty of MMO developers that can do the Star Wars MMO justice, let’s allow the poster child of the RPG industry the luxery of giving us something truly out of their own imagination, ok?
Thoughts? Comments? Flames? You know where to leave em!
I agree that Mass Effect would be a great setting for an MMO. The market is already over-saturated with Forgotten Realms (NWN, BG) and Star Wars games; those settings don’t excite me anymore. Like you, I want something “new” to explore, where the developers are free to build and evolve the world without worrying about prior art.
I actually agree. I’ve commented somewhere once before that I’d really like to see them create a Mass Effect MMO. The universe is ripe for that sort of gameplay, whereas the Star Wars universe really isn’t. When you create an MMO within an clearly defined IP such as Star Wars you limit your creativity or you limit your viability. If you say within the bounds of Star Wars canon you keep the fans happy but risk creating an uninteresting game. If you go outside the Star Wars canon you can be more creative, but risk creating something that’s not-really-Star-Wars.
With Mass Effect, the sky’s the limit. It’s bioware’s own IP, so they can create whatever they want. I liked Mass effect as a game well enough, though I didn’t care for the style of combat gameplay all that much. The universe was fantastic though.
While I was playing ME, I thought it was plainly evident that Bioware invested a ridiculously amount of effort creating an expansive and believable world and lore. It’s far more than necessary for a RPG, even a trilogy. A ME MMO seems like a given.
A well-made argument and I agree wholeheartedly.
While I love the Star Wars films and some of the games, the IP has been somewhat flogged to death over the last few years.
I also think Graktar is right, building a game in the SW universe immediately applies restrictions to the creativity of the developers, and woe betide anyone who tries to play with that universe – SW fans can be particularly resistant to new ideas.
Better Bioware go for an IP they have full control over, then it would be a game I could get truly excited about.
I’m actually disagreeing with you on this post. I love anything that Bioware puts out and I want to see them build a new Starwars MMO for 2 very simple reasons.
1. to get rid of that joke of an MMO called SWG. Sony destroyed that game and ruined for a lot of people. They never had the concept right tos tart with.
2. To knock WoW off its high horse. – the mmo industry is fall apart because everyone is cloning the WoW game and just changing the story lines on it. Bioware actually has the ability to create something that will be much better and updated. A mmo based game makes sense for them because the game is open ended. It will be a cash cow for them. I will gladly pay the 20 bucks a month in subscription fees and expansions just to keep rolling in that universe. While yes, Bioware can create even better games out of single player MMO’s, I want to see what they can do with the license from lucasarts and I want to see it be a SWG MMO.
Anything that Bioware is going to make is going to rock and I am hoping that the MMO they are making in Austin is something Starwars based and during the timeline of KoTOR. It just makes more sense. Anyone can be anything. Jedi, sith, Dark Jedi, soldier, trader, ANYTHING. When Sony developed SWG they made a fatal mistake. Not allowing jedi. By not allowing jedi, you just took away from what makes the Starwars Universe so awesome. Who really wants to be a medic or a commando. I want to wield force powers and a lightsaber as a sword. My alts would be a Commando, medic, trader or what ever but if I’m playing a Star Wars based game then I’m going to start jedi. How many people at level 10 in KoTOR didn’t go jedi? I mean they give you the option to continue on as a soldier or what ever. Every player i know that has played that game cross classed to a jedi. The new Star Wars MMO will be what SWG should have been at the start. We will see if these rumors are true as the year progresses. My money is on that they will formally announce it at E3 this year but I guess we will wait and see.
Anyway… my 2 cents of a rant.
I completly disagree. I think its about time the fans, receive a great starwars mmo. We had one and the dreaded “nge” ruined it. SOE is a horrible company and that smedley is an absolute moron. I trust bioware would make a fantastic star wars world, that us the fans could enjoy for many years to come.
I do hope they are developing one, I for one will gladly join a sw mmo by bioware. The possiblities from that company and product would be phenominal.
KotOR took place 4,000 years before the Star Wars films so I don’t see how story locked a new game set there could be. 4,000 years is a long time and there’s no limit on what can happen.
Swg at one point, was a great game. When it first came out it was amazing. Even though there was a ton of updates and they pretty much released a very buggy game. It was still fun. In my own opinion… one of the best parts about the game was that you COULDNT select jedi as a proffession. You had to earn jedi. You couldnt select bounty hunter either, you had to earn that by mastering two other proffessions. The fact that you couldnt get jedi was great because the only people that were going to get it was the dedicated ones who put the time in. When you lose over half your subscriptions after a combat upgrade and some new game enhancements….. that tells you right there that the game was great as it was. I loved Mass Effect. I think its one of the greatest games to date. An MMO in that universe would be awsome. But if Bioware can give some of us old swg faithfull a new star wars mmo……..I probably wont sleep for a year!!!
I agree with HateTank. Swg was at one time, the greatest game out there. Tell me one game where you can choose if you wanted to be a dancer, a doctor, a fighter, or a crafter. The possibilities were endless. You can mix match from about 10 different profession trees in which not one player would be identical. You built cities and adventured on vast maps full of creatures and people. The game went as far as you even had to harvest your own Supplies. In which gave this game even more complexity. The Star Wars fan base consist of alot of older players who want complexity. Soe had it right when they first launched the game. What went wrong was they listened those who bought the game and wasnt looking for the complexity in which it offered at one point. Instead, Soe decided to dull the games complexity down to World of Warcrafts level. That lost the SWG fan base. If they would of kept the original game as it was. People like stryder who dwells on simplicity when they play games would of come and gone. What would of been left is the real fans of the game. Those people are not worth keeping around. They are only a small percentage of the subscription base. When they initiated CU and the NGE. Many people had to face the harsh reality that most of their time that they had spent working on their characters, was stripped of those characteristics. If i wanted a game with simplicity, I would of signed up for WOW. Choosing between certain races and classes. That to me and most of the SWG fan base, is boring. Target the adults. Not the children. After all, the adults are the ones with the money.
And a little side comment. Jedi ruined SWG. What they first had implemented in they system was revolutionary. When i had first saw my first jedi sighting I was in complete awe. Kinda like. Oh yea, the star wars universe. In the movies, you didnt see 100 and thousands of jedi running around. There was alot more to the universe than Jedi. When they launched the NGE it had made JEDI and actual class to choose from. Everyone and their brother became jedi and it became one big most pit of robbed men beating each other with colored sticks. ( what a sad sight it was) I’d like to thank all those who whined of the complexity. I applaud you. Go play wow with the million generic other players. We’d had to make you think while playing a game.
Love bioware. Disagree with skepticism. They’ve said they’ve wanted to create an MMO for years but have wanted to wait until they could do it absolutely right. They know the MMOs out there as well as any of us, and I trust they’ll make a game as superb and enjoyable as any of their RPGs. I don’t disagree that a ME MMO would be incredible and possibly more creative than a SW MMO, but I would never doubt their creative genius.