The team has done a ”really good job of being cinematic,” and BioWare always try an ”innovative twist” where they can. The combat ”feels very Star Wars; even behind the scenes”.
Sure it may be crunching those numbers like most other MMOs in terms of the base math of combat, but ”it just feels different” from the others out there. Fans ”are responding to that.”
”The response I’ve seen has been positive, especially a lot of the media outlets have very positive. They’ve been putting a lot of videos online so I’ve been watching a lot of videos with the commentary which is really interesting for me to see because it’s kind of live,” said Mike Harnisch in an interview. The NDA is officially lifted for the BioWare title.
”I get to kind of see exactly how people are dealing with things visually and technically as they go through the game.”
”I think we’ve done a really good job of being cinematic, for a game that you’re kind of moving through in a non-linear fashion. And people seem to like the combat. Everything that BioWare does, we try to put an innovative twist on it.”
”I think the combat feels very Star Wars; even behind the scenes, if things are working in a similar way to other MMOs visually, it just feels different. And I think people are responding to that,” he continued.
The Old Republic focuses on storytelling for all classes as we progress through acts which have our digital avatars playing a pivotal role in events unfolding in the galaxy. Conversations when in a group are decided by who rolls the highest throw of an invisible dice, as their response directs the dialogue. It’s not in danger of going single-player.
”And it’s really cool because a lot of the multiplayer aspects of the game - especially the multiplayer conversation, which is essentially a dice roll as far as who gets to say certain things and how it affects your dark side and light side points - is going to be really different for fans, but it’s going to be very interactive and not just single-player.”
”This is multiplayer stuff. And I think the PvP zones and the Operations are going to be really exciting for hardcore MMO fans. I think that people are going to go into the deeper content of the game once they go through the story.” Having sampled the beta this weekend I can say without a doubt its story is gripping but best shared with a friend.
”But I don’t want to discredit the single-player experience in the game,” added Harnisch.
”The single-player experience is so massive, and so is Star Wars. One of the things I wish I had said in the presentation is, Daniel Erickson likes to say this is a love letter to Star Wars fans and to Star Wars itself. And I think that the game really shows that off. I think the single-player experience is going to blow away people’s minds, especially fans of Mass Effect and other role-playing games. And then to come to the MMO space with that, I think that is really interesting.”
Other than it being based in the Star Wars universe, the MMOs other unique selling point is its ability to tell a story and to get us caring for what’s going on and why we’re adventuring beyond just better loot. Time will tell if this gamble from EA and BioWare pays off but I don’t doubt we’ll all be better off if it does. It launches on PC December 20th.
Check out the full interview between Mike Harnisch and VideoGamer.com.