‘This is the expansion for our players’
BioWare has been at the helm ofStar Wars: The Old Republicfor a fairly long time now. Come December, the game will have been around for four years. All the while, BioWare’s been tweaking, expanding, and enhancing the player experience. As everyone knows, MMOs don’t stay static following release; they’re constantly changing.
Jeff Hickman, studio general manager at BioWare, knows this all too well. But, he thinks that maybe the developer’s strayed a bit from whatThe Old Republic‘s players really want: narrative-driven experiences. This isStar Wars, after all. Most everyone has a special connection to the stories that grace that universe.
As Hickman put it,Knights of the Fallen Empireintroduces a new enemy, “the emperor who’s on his eternal throne.” The expansion will begin with the player locked up and frozen in Carbonite, only seeking to escape. It seems like it won’t be long before the weighty decision-driven narrative branches will begin. Hickman said that during the escape, there will be a Sun Generator that’s on the brink of meltdown. The player will have to choose whether to prevent that or simply save themselves. Regardless of which choice is made, it’s almost a certainty that it won’t sit well with someone in the party.
However, not everything BioWare has in store forThe Old Republicis forward-focused. The developer’s going back and retooling the eight stories in the game to make them more streamlined and to put plot more prominently in the spotlight. Likewise, it’s also upgrading 50 or so operations bosses and boosting flashpoints to level 65.
Throughout the entirety of listening to Hickman speak, he kept stressing the same points over and over: players want story, players want meaningful choices, and players want to be customizable heroes or villains in theStar Warsuniverse. BioWare knows its audience better than anyone, and if it’s right,Knights of the Fallen Empirelooks to be a nice return to form forThe Old Republic. Hickman certainly thinks so, as he concluded the talk by simply saying “This is the expansion for our players. This is what they want.”
