QotD: What makes SW:TOR actually Star Wars?

Thursday 15 December, 2011 at 11:47 am / 0 comment

QotD: What makes SW:TOR actually Star Wars?

You’d have to be living deep in the marshes of Degobah to not know that the current MMO-world is abuzz with Jedis, lightsabers and companion pets. Aside from the very healthy reception Star Wars: The Old Republic is getting, it’s also being scrutinized by some that are saying it’s little more than a wolf in World of Warcraft clothing. As a long-time player of Runes of Magic, I’m not one to balk at games for using standards and features from elsewhere in the genre, but it does make me reflect on the sad closing of Star Wars Galaxies. SWG was a throwback in many ways, and in many others it was unique.

One could say everything is a copy of everything else. Nothing is new under the sun. I’d agree with that, if we backed up far enough from the subject, but aren’t there, sometimes, intrinsic qualities to IPs – like Star Wars – that go beyond the lights and sounds and even the dialog? Something about the first three Star Wars movies hits a nerve that can’t be mimicked by any other science fiction story – no matter how good the writing and special effects. There’s a piece of something that feels akin to poetic genius in Star Wars, if I may briefly stray into fandom. Couldn’t you take out the sounds, the lights, the special effect, take out all the parts of the whole and find the secret, unidentifiable sauce? Or perhaps you couldn’t, but you know the magic is there, somewhere.

Todays Question of the Day is a two-parter:

What makes SW:TOR more than the sum of other MMO’s parts? That is: What makes it specifically, uniquely Star Wars – beyond the wrapping. It’s like asking what makes Need for Speed unique, instead of a Mario Kart copy with a different skin.

And part the second:

What made Star Wars Galaxies uniquely, specifically Star Wars, beyond any of the features, mechanics or wrappings? Was it a perfect combination of features that were conducive to specific Star Wars storytelling? What was its magic? Not it’s MMO magic, but its Star Wars magic. Its secret sauce.

This is actually a bit more than two questions, but outside the quotes, they are mostly thought-guides, to get the juices flowing.