Overly Positive

Various blogs around the Net are referring to a new interview posted by GamesReactor for GamesCom in which Rich Vogel of Bioware “confirms” the existence of battlegrounds and other things in Star Wars: The Old Republic. I use the air quotes because if there’s anything I’ve learned over the years talking to developers, it’s that offhand mentions aren’t necessarily confirmations. The context of the question was that Rich was asked about various elements from MMOs that might make an appearance in SWTOR in addition to the unique stuff. Rich ticked off a few items, with battlegrounds among them.

Really, what we’re hearing here is not really new information. There’s a lot that Star Wars: The Old Republic has to offer, but this interview was good for confirming that the things that players expect are going to make an appearance. One of the big concerns is that SWTOR is going to be a glorified single-player MMO, and to see at least the consideration of battlegrounds is at least a bit of comfort there.

To be honest, I think there are expectations of this nature that have always been in the back of our minds. We know there’s going to be a grind, we know there’s going to probably be crafting, and we know there will be grouping. These are essentials that make an MMO an MMO, and I doubt SWTOR will be any different. I think the thing to understand and of course, be positive about is the expectations. Having realistic expectations about the usual things we expect in MMOs being in Bioware’s upcoming title is a lot less stressful than expecting world-changing, massively amazing things.