Those of you who haven’t yet, ought to check out the new Star Wars: The Old Republic Developer Dispatch on Coruscant. It’s a 6-minute reveal on the world that Bioware is planning to set up for its players in its unique part of Star Wars history, and they talk about everything from concept art to possible content.
One of the things that Bioware needs to nail when it comes to an MMO is a proper depiction of the IP. While Bioware is at a distinct advantage with the fact that they’ve worked with this relative time period and the IP of the Star Wars universe before, an MMO is a whole new ball of wax. This is because the world is going to be persistent and present, instead of being played and then put down forever. People who play MMOs are also more invested in the immersiveness of the whole experience as well, which means that every quest and every zone that they travel needs to feel epic, worldly, and in the case of Star Wars, accurate to a T.
The Coruscant reveal was really great because the variety of developers who spoke gave us a sense of an overall theme of making sure Bioware is meeting the goals stated above. Concept artists, designers, and marketing all came together for a presentation that made it feel like the world of Coruscant was going to be as epic as anything in Star Wars: The Old Republic. We also got some curious detail about questing and area division, as Coruscant’s various levels of city condition, from slum gang warfare to beautiful metallic architecture, will provide players with a ton to do on one of the most iconic planets of the Star Wars universe.
Sure, a lot of this stuff is lore and atmosphere, and even the small gameplay details are conceptual and not detailed. But I think that it’s important to set the table before you serve dinner, especially when it comes to MMOs, and Bioware’s continuous referral to story as a main course rather than a side dish really shows in this reveal. I’m personally excited to be able to travel Coruscant and experience all of its content, and if this is only one such planet in the SW: TOR universe, I’m looking forward to seeing more.
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