July 15 marks the twentieth anniversary of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR), the influential and highly-acclaimed RPG developed by BioWare. To have fun, io9 spoke with the sport’s director Casey Hudson to debate what it was like engaged on the sport on the time, collaborating with Lucasfilm, and in regards to the legacy of the beloved title. io9 additionally shared a number of the recreation’s unique artwork by idea artist John Gallagher.
BioWare and Casey Hudson are each giant names throughout the online game business. But on the time, BioWare (the corporate most recognized for making the Mass Effect trilogy) was nonetheless a comparatively small crew with about 75 individuals engaged on KOTOR. In his interview with io9 Hudson identified that whereas the studio had made a reputation for itself throughout the RPG recreation world with their earlier recreation Baldur’s Gate, they weren’t anticipating the extent of success that KOTOR obtained.
“We would have been blown away by the participant response that KOTOR has obtained through the years … We had been fairly formidable about making one thing actually particular. We had no expectations about what would occur subsequent. At that point, BioWare had made some good video games already. We simply wished to fulfill the expectations of high quality and make one thing we might be pleased with.”
During the late 90s and 2000s, Lucasfilm was making an enormous push into video video games. Hudson defined the preliminary pitch that LucasArts (now often called Lucasfilm Games) made in direction of BioWare. LucasArts offered two choices.
“One was to set the sport within the timeframe of the films — I feel particularly the unique trilogy. The different was a a lot ancient times. [They] pointed us to the comedian sequence Tales of the Jedi, which explored the Old Republic, a time 4,000 years earlier than the films.”
Hudson then explains why BioWare determined to go along with the second choice. He explains that the setting of the Old Republic being thus far into the previous supplied way more artistic freedom and the power to expand, bolder selections that weren’t potential if it was set within the unique trilogy.
“We wished to inform an important story of our period—meet legendary new characters, kill them off, destroy planets, and so forth. We noticed within the Old Republic a possibility to have … artistic freedom, whereas additionally accessing the important elements of the Star Wars expertise: Jedi, Sith, lightsabers, starships, and so forth.”
Not lengthy after, Hudson was chosen as the sport’s director. While he states that he was nonetheless new to the corporate, and whereas the place carried giant obligations, he was excited for the chance having grown up a Star Wars fan.
“[The great] a part of engaged on a Star Wars recreation was we sometimes traveled for conferences with LucasArts. Sometimes that will contain a visit to Skywalker Ranch. That place is pure magic for a Star Wars fan and we had been completely in heaven every time we went there. It’s arduous to explain the sensation of rising up obsessive about Star Wars after which going to the place the place we may stroll among the many individuals who created it.
The better part was working so carefully as a crew at BioWare; inside such a magical IP. Everything individuals had been engaged on felt extremely thrilling. [From simple things like] lightsaber blur … and stage artwork … It was a thrill simply strolling round and speaking with individuals about what they had been doing!”
While making the sport definitely wasn’t a stroll within the park, Hudson explains how the crew at BioWare rallied across the undertaking with nice enthusiasm.
“We all knew what we wished from the beginning. There wasn’t a lot hesitation or false begins—it’s wonderful looking back how shortly we set to work on such a cohesive imaginative and prescient. Drew Karpyshyn was a particularly quick author and the story developed shortly. James Ohlen knew what he wished from the RPG techniques. Level designs and maps got here collectively actually quick on the design aspect. Derek Watts and John Gallagher have a watch for Star Wars, which allowed us to begin constructing artwork very early. Our first prototypes had been spot-on by way of visualizing the sport all of us wished to make.”
KOTOR definitely has had a big impact on Star Wars and the gaming business. The recreation spawned a sequel not lengthy after, varied books and comics, and an MMO RPG later that continues to today. Beyond that, nonetheless, it was additionally one of many fastest-selling Xbox video games on the time and earned BioWare many accolades. Hudson additionally identified how the sport was a stepping-stone in direction of even bigger cinematic RPGs.
“[We made] a recreation that felt like a cinematic expertise. We conceived of a dialog system that used procedural cameras primarily based on cinematography rules, gave our characters gestures and lip-synch animations whereas they spoke (new for us on the time), and deliberate steady sequences…
[What] stands out about it — even at the moment — is the sense of company. You actually really feel like you’ve a galaxy to discover nonetheless you need. You resolve who you’re taking with you on adventures, make essential selections, resolve what planet to go to, and what to do there. At any time you may flip to considered one of your [companions] and proceed a dialog with them.”
Finally, Hudson shared a few of his ideas on Star Wars: The Old Republic, the MMO RPG launched nearly a decade after KOTOR.
“I used to be lucky to work with that crew, and it was superior to see how they proceed to carry their ardour and dedication to the Old Republic period of Star Wars. It’s nice to see gamers proceed to point out up for it.”
Following the success of KOTOR, BioWare would transfer on to make different critically and commercially profitable RPGs, such because the Mass Effect trilogy and the Dragon Age sequence. Casey Hudson additionally labored because the director for the Mass Effect trilogy, however now works as CEO of a brand new recreation growth crew referred to as Humanoid Studios. In 2021, it was introduced {that a} KOTOR remake was within the works by the holding firm Embracer Group. However, it has been a while since followers have heard something about that undertaking.
For the total interview ensure to go to io9.
Jay Goodearl’s earliest reminiscence is of his father studying out to him the opening crawl to The Phantom Menace when he was simply two years previous. He has been a Star Wars fan ever since.
