For more than twenty thousand years, the Galactic Republic has been the most civilized and advanced power in the known galaxy. Governed by the Galactic Senate with representatives from hundreds of star systems and planets, the Republic has been the center of peace and progress, a bright beacon in the darkness of outer space. The revered Jedi Order has sworn itself to defend the Republic, to battle the darkness, and to bring peace and balance to the greater galaxy. The Jedi have served for millennia in this capacity, and in that time they have earned themselves the admiration of their allies, and the hatred of their enemies. Less than a century ago, the greatest of those enemies returned… The onslaught of the Sith Empire caught the Republic and the Jedi completely by surprise, and during a long and arduous war, the Republic was broken. After the capital planet of Coruscant…
The Sith Empire
The true origins of the Sith remain shrouded in mystery. The Sith race was, in fact, largely unimportant until three thousand years ago, when Dark Jedi exiles arrived on Korriban and subjugated the Sith beneath their rule and their philosophy. As the years passed, the Dark Jedi intermarried with those they ruled, and within generations, the word “Sith” took on new meaning. This powerful new civilization began expanding rapidly, led by a growing population of ambitious dark Force-users. Fifteen hundred years ago, the Sith civilization’s boundaries reached the Republic, and the Great Hyperspace War began. Dark Lord of the Sith Naga Sadow led his armies in an aggressive campaign to destroy the Galactic Republic. Though the Sith were successful at first, the Jedi Order rallied back to defeat their dark counterparts, systematically destroying the Sith civilization on Korriban. Unbeknownst to the Jedi however, the last Emperor of the Sith managed…
Hippocratic Game Design on The Escapist
Hippocratic Game Design Try to view the game industry’s never-ending parade of dragons, robots and space marines from an outsider’s perspective, and it’s easy to see why many developers are growing tired of looking inward for inspiration. At first glance, BioWare seems to embody this gripe. Browse their back catalogue of games, and you’ll immediately be struck by their close involvement with the Star Wars and Dungeons & Dragons universes – epicenters for the hardcore gaming fanaticism that have been a stumbling block for the videogame industry as it strives for mainstream cultural acceptance. Yet it was with these intellectual properties that BioWare made their name as a developer, breathing new life into them and creating something uniquely their own. Making a game larger than the sum of its intellectual property is no simple feat. But BioWare founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk are well acquainted with looking at things…
Design Q&A – Lightsabers, The Force, and Space Combat
Exclusive SWTOR Design Q&A – Lightsabers, The Force, and Space Combat What kind of level cap do you have in mind? James Ohlen: We are going to have a level based system, and we are going to have a level cap, When we know what that is we’ll share it with you. Gordon Walton: There are a lot of thing that we aren’t going to be able to share with you simply because they’re still in development. BioWare games go through a lot of iteration before we ever settle on something. We’d rather give you real information than blow smoke up your….whatever. When we share something with the community, we’ve played through that part of the game enough that we’re confident that it’s going to be in the final game. We’re really, really committed to no overhyping the game. Rich Vogel: It’s BioWare and it’s Star Wars. Overhyping the game…
Video Interview with Ray and Greg
After years of secrecy, LucasArts opens the book on its ambitious second MMORPG; BioWare’s Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk explain why it’s a bigger project than all their previous projects combined.
BioWare Blog and Dragon Age Updates!
BioWare has opened a new section on the official website called the BioWare Blog. The theme of the blog will be story-based gaming of all varieties. Make sure to check it out! In addition, the Dragon Age: Origins website has been updated with new content. See a new video showcasing how your choice of Origin Story can affect the game. New Dragon Age: Origins posters are also now available for download, and check out the Fanged Skeleton and Wynne updates, all on the official site.
A Q&A with Daniel Erickson [Ten Ton Hammer]
SWTOR Writing – An Exclusive Q&A with Daniel Erickson Are you looking at putting some of the expanded universe characters into the game that weren’t really mentioned in KOTOR I and II? Individuals like Exar Qun, Nomi Sunrider, and Ulic Qel-Droma? Daniel: Absolutely! It’s really one of the areas that’s important to us. Outside of the guy at Lucasfilm that keeps track of the Holocron – the repository of knowledge that is “true” in Star Wars – we probably have the largest group of experts on the Star Wars history. We never want you to have quest where you listen to a librarian for two hours, but we know that it’s very important to the people that are familiar with the IP. Even the things that contradict other things in the expanded universe, we’ve tried to iron out. One of the things you may have noticed in KOTOR is that…