"Would you like some story with that?" seems to be BioWare's talking point these days when it comes to The Old Republic. When talking to CVG, the RPG developer boasted that TOR will contain "50 novels-worth" of story, an impressive number that backs BioWare's commitment to telling a tale, even in a genre where story is seen as disposable.
In fact, BioWare isn't afraid to ruffle the feathers of competing MMOs by claiming that they sacrifice fun, story and interesting content while training players to rush through it all to the end game. Despite studios and players resisting change, Lead Writer Daniel Erickson claims that it's time for MMOs to challenge traditional conventions and return to their RPG roots: "The thing that has been a challenge for us on Old Republic is that people tried to convince us these limitations were canon - that they were to be respected, you know? That you could not, in fact, put interesting bits in an MMO because that was now sacrilege."
Of course, as with any pre-release boasts, the question is if BioWare can make good on their claims, and if these changes will be embraced by the MMO community or rejected. The answer to that is over a year away, but it doesn't seem to stop fans and critics from trying to provide it now. Read Erickson's full quote over on CVG and let us know what you think!
Reader Comments (48)
Posted: Jun 1st 2010 11:33PM alinos said
Great
The only MMO thats ever hooked me for more than 6 months was GW and that was mostly because of the story
i mean finding lore and stuff is good but there needs to be some sort of major overarching story that explains why ive started in Area A and ended up in Area Z
instead you quest a bunch in one area then move to the next when the NPC says hey youve levelled to much piss off
The only MMO thats ever hooked me for more than 6 months was GW and that was mostly because of the story
i mean finding lore and stuff is good but there needs to be some sort of major overarching story that explains why ive started in Area A and ended up in Area Z
instead you quest a bunch in one area then move to the next when the NPC says hey youve levelled to much piss off
Posted: Jun 2nd 2010 9:44AM Pitt said
I won't be rushing to endgame for the first time in a long time, i want the experience to last, i will read every bit of text in the game to immerse myself in the lore of starwars...
lol who am i kidding, it will be like skip skip accept, skip complete..next...
lol who am i kidding, it will be like skip skip accept, skip complete..next...
Posted: Jun 2nd 2010 11:15AM Kalex716 said
Why does the context of 50 novels even come into this?
Novels and cinema have clear plot devices, main characters, beginnings, middles and ends.
in an MMO, everyone(therefore, nobody) is a main character, and their is no end. Story driven MMO's are full of fail unless the COMMUNITY makes their own drama and stories. Player driven immersion, and emergent content from the community is the only way this will work. Otherwise, its just screens people click through (in the exact way the wiki they're reading from suggests) cause they want to level up their alt.
Novels and cinema have clear plot devices, main characters, beginnings, middles and ends.
in an MMO, everyone(therefore, nobody) is a main character, and their is no end. Story driven MMO's are full of fail unless the COMMUNITY makes their own drama and stories. Player driven immersion, and emergent content from the community is the only way this will work. Otherwise, its just screens people click through (in the exact way the wiki they're reading from suggests) cause they want to level up their alt.
Posted: Jun 2nd 2010 11:56AM Phone Guy said
Which is a great point. Allot of the guys involved with ToR believe that by controlling your character growth directly you will worry less about choices and sit back and enjoy the story. Sure they may give you some choices but unless the create a system that allows you to Multi-class what would it matter if your Jedi-Knight makes dark decisions?
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Posted: Jun 2nd 2010 4:19PM RogueJedi86 said
Your storyline can and will have an end. Once you finish your story at the level cap, your story is done, just like a novel. Then you just run around as your character after the story. Like how after you beat Mass Effect 2's main storyline, you can keep playing in the galaxy and do sidequests and stuff. Sure your character may be changed by the storyline, and some characters might be dead and not coming back, but you are still around after the story has ended. I see TOR's story working like that.
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Posted: Jun 2nd 2010 3:24PM (Unverified) said
Of course you can write an "MMO" that has that much content. The vaunted "story-driven", "fourth-leg" comments are nothing more than a veneer for PVE questing. The problem is do people really want an "MMO" that is nothing more than a first person PC game with COOP play? I don't. I want to play this game, like nothing else, but if it's not a true MMO I won't be playing long.
I'd rather Bioware stop talking about all the questing hype -- we get it, really -- and get on talking about how this is going to be an MMO.
I'd rather Bioware stop talking about all the questing hype -- we get it, really -- and get on talking about how this is going to be an MMO.
Posted: Jul 30th 2010 11:23AM Cavadus said
I love how people talk about this game as if it's already been released and they've been playing it for months.
"Yeah, man! Like, there's just tons of story that no MMO has ever even attempted, man!"
I've been following TOR relatively closed and the only thing I've been able to deduce is that it's completely linear character progression, typical themepark questing, heavy use of instancing, and it's combat is typically mundane tab-targeting RPG combat.
Yeah... sounds great :-\
Would have much rather had a Mass Effect MMO... suppose that would have to wait until after 3 though.
"Yeah, man! Like, there's just tons of story that no MMO has ever even attempted, man!"
I've been following TOR relatively closed and the only thing I've been able to deduce is that it's completely linear character progression, typical themepark questing, heavy use of instancing, and it's combat is typically mundane tab-targeting RPG combat.
Yeah... sounds great :-\
Would have much rather had a Mass Effect MMO... suppose that would have to wait until after 3 though.







