BioWare: Fully-Voiced Old Republic Was a "Dumb Thing to Try"
BioWare thought that making a fully-voiced conversation system in the upcoming MMOG Mass Effect [http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dvideogames&field-keywords=%22star+wars%3A+the+old+republic%22&x=7&y=20].
Star Wars: The Old Republic was unveiled at the 2009 edition of E3 as the Dragon Age: Origins [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/92101-Star-Wars-The-Old-Republic-to-be-the-First-Fully-Voiced-MMOGs-Ever]. But that plan fell apart when the Old Republic team ran headlong into Mass Effect, BioWare's other, more interesting hit sci-fi franchise.
Fully voicing an MMOG is "a massively insane expenditure and hugely complicated" undertaking, said BioWare Lead Designer and Writer Daniel Erickson. "You have to cast 16 of the best actors ever and then hold them for eternity." But when Mass Effect launched very early in the development of The Old Republic, Erickson gathered up James Ohlen, the lead designer on Knights of the Old Republic [http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dvideogames&field-keywords=%22baldur%27s+gate%22&x=0&y=0] and Dragon Age: Origins and gave it a look.
"We both saw Mass Effect and were like, 'Okay. There is no choice here'. So we rounded up both sides - us and LucasArts [http://www.lucasarts.com/] - and despite it being a huge undertaking, we showed them one with VO and one without and we attached a price tag to it," Erickson said. "We thought they wouldn't go for it. We were like: 'This is a dumb thing to try to go for [in] an MMO'. It came back unanimously from both sides - we had to do it."
"Mass Effect changed the world because you became the hero," he added. "We had to go back and rewrite everything. The storytelling system is totally inked from Mass Effect."
Star Wars: The Old Republic [http://swtor.com/] is currently targeted for release in spring 2011.
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BioWare thought that making a fully-voiced conversation system in the upcoming MMOG Mass Effect [http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dvideogames&field-keywords=%22star+wars%3A+the+old+republic%22&x=7&y=20].
Star Wars: The Old Republic was unveiled at the 2009 edition of E3 as the Dragon Age: Origins [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/92101-Star-Wars-The-Old-Republic-to-be-the-First-Fully-Voiced-MMOGs-Ever]. But that plan fell apart when the Old Republic team ran headlong into Mass Effect, BioWare's other, more interesting hit sci-fi franchise.
Fully voicing an MMOG is "a massively insane expenditure and hugely complicated" undertaking, said BioWare Lead Designer and Writer Daniel Erickson. "You have to cast 16 of the best actors ever and then hold them for eternity." But when Mass Effect launched very early in the development of The Old Republic, Erickson gathered up James Ohlen, the lead designer on Knights of the Old Republic [http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dvideogames&field-keywords=%22baldur%27s+gate%22&x=0&y=0] and Dragon Age: Origins and gave it a look.
"We both saw Mass Effect and were like, 'Okay. There is no choice here'. So we rounded up both sides - us and LucasArts [http://www.lucasarts.com/] - and despite it being a huge undertaking, we showed them one with VO and one without and we attached a price tag to it," Erickson said. "We thought they wouldn't go for it. We were like: 'This is a dumb thing to try to go for [in] an MMO'. It came back unanimously from both sides - we had to do it."
"Mass Effect changed the world because you became the hero," he added. "We had to go back and rewrite everything. The storytelling system is totally inked from Mass Effect."
Star Wars: The Old Republic [http://swtor.com/] is currently targeted for release in spring 2011.
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