Star Wars: The Old Republic PC Games

Released on 20-Dec-2011

• Interview with Ray Muzyka at Gamescom 2011

  At Gamescom 2011 we were lucky enough to get time alone with Ray Muzyka, co-founder and CEO of BioWare. With an impressive array of big-hitters to his name and the upcoming Mass Effect 3 demoing at Gamescom, there was a lot to get our teeth into.

  [GAME] It's great to get the chance to talk to you! BioWare seems to be one of those companies that really gets people passionate.

  [Ray Muzyka] Yeah, yeah, we have great fans. And there are a lot of core fans who buy everything we make.
  

  So, in the industry at the moment all the RPG developers are saying they're building a deeper, richer gaming experience. As you're considered one of the leaders in the RPG field, what does that mean to you? How do you build a deep, rich experience?

  Well, looking at individual games like Mass Effect 3, we got great reception for Mass Effect 2 but we also got feedback that people wanted a deeper experience in some of the aspects of RPG progression and character development. So when you see the build, you'll see that we've taken that apart and we've tried to integrate it into an RPG-action experience. It's very visceral and intense, but you can also do a lot of things that the fans have been asking for, like weapon modifications on the fly. We have a weapons bench and you can put your weapon down and make modifications to really personalise it and make it your own. And it works really well, it gives a sort of in-the-field kind of perspective.

  We've also got some innovations around the way the characters progress. New abilities, and just a more refined system that we've learnt from doing Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2. You can see that there are more interesting, more engaging ways to push your character in Mass Effect 3. The best thing you can do is check it out, then you can see for yourself.

  At the same time it's also got an integrated action experience, so it's an RPG and an action game at the same time. There are better movement controls for Shephard and he has the Omni Blade that kind of extends out of the Omni Tool, and he can jump over obstacles now and vault things, and he can grab enemies now and pull them over, and there are some specialisations.
  

  Everyone's talking about Atlas, the giant machine that you can snipe the pilot and get in.

  Yeah you can get in it! We're not trialling that here yet, but yeah, you'll be able to drive it.
  

  What are you most proud of in Mass Effect 3?

  Well, I think it's more intense in the actual moment-to-moment experience but we haven't lost any depth at the same time, and I think we really nailed the aspects of that. We're in the third iteration now and we're really comfortable with the tools. The team has been able to get to some things that they really wanted to do in the first one and the second one that we now know how to do. You know, we have some things we haven announced yet.
  

  I was going to be cheeky and ask you what they were, but you wouldn't tell me, would you?!

  No, no! But they're really good. They're really big things. They're to do with the campaign. They're in line with the experience that we're showing here today, so they're not separate parts.
  

  In the presentations on Mass Effect 3 that I've been to they've been talking about the emotional side of the game.

  I think that's been key to all of our games, emotional engagement. Mass Effect exemplifies that as well. The intensity of the experience, the personalisation of your actions and how you're going to play your equipment and your character in the deep RPG system.

  And then the story is unusually powerful. It's not the Reapers invading some planet in the galaxy somewhere - now they're invading your home, invading Earth, and they're taking other worlds too. You're still saving the galaxy, but really you're saving your home AND the galaxy, so it a lot more personal. The story arc is very compelling and emotionally engaging.

  It's the end of a trilogy, so it brings the whole story to a satisfying conclusion but at the same time it's the beginning of a new galactic adventure, a new galactic war. So it's kind of launching both things.
  

  Of all your portfolio of games, which was the most challenging in terms of dev work?

  They're big games. We have small games, too. We have social games, but then at the other end of the spectrum we have big MMOs like Star Wars: The Old Republic, which has an amazing amount of rich content that people will be discovering for years and years to come. And then RPGs like Mass Effect and Dragon Age. None of them are easy to build, they're all challenging in different ways, I think.
  

  So how about working with a big IP like Star Wars. Is it challenging? Do you have an awful lot of sign off on what you do?

  Yeah, yeah, well it's a very tight partnership, very close cooperation and they've been great partners. We've worked with them now for like a decade since Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic I, and now the Old Republic for many years, and they've been great collaborative partners.

  We set the game in a period thousands of years before the movies, so it's a really rich period where we get to explore and make new content, and they've been very supportive of that. We've learned a lot about the Star Wars licenses. I mean obviously they're experts on that. They understand the fans, they understand the audiences, and we benefit from that.
  

  So which of your games is most challenging in terms of fan expectation? For example, I notice that RPG fans seem to be much more intense about gaming and all the different aspects of it.

  They do seem to be. I mean, they like an intense, accessible experience, but they also want the depth, the richness, the story and the choice. And it's one thing to give a choice, but you also need to show the impact of that choice in a meaningful way, which means creating new content for different paths and non-linear storytelling. It means investing more time in development to enable that choice in a personally engaging way that means something to the player, and so they can see how their character reacts to their events, and the world changes based on their actions. That's part of what makes an RPG satisfying. You see the consequence to your actions.
  

  So based on that there must be a lot of emphasis put on the writing and the storytelling.

  Yeah, that's certainly one aspect of it. Cinematic animation is another aspect for the games that have that. World building, you have to change the world if something happens in one area. The downstream effects of changing one line of writing can be massive.
  

  You must sit at events like this being interviewed a lot! Is there anything that you're dying for an interviewer to ask you that you've never been asked?

  There probably is but I can't remember right now, it's been a long day! I think someone asked me a question today that I've never been asked which was, 'What were you like growing up?', and I was like, wow, no one ever asked me that before! I used to play a lot of videogames andmy parents let me play whatever I wanted because I got good grades at school. And for me, it was a real motivator, you know. I see it as an art form. I have a passion about the evolution of games. I love the fact that now there so many manifestations of them. It's like movies, there's such a spectrum of different types of games, like there are different movies and books. And those are art forms as well.
  

  I remember way back to the beginning of gaming when kids used to programme their own little pixelly games on a Commodore 64 and the like.

  Yeah, and people can program those sorts of games on their mobile devices now, so it's almost come full circle!
  

  And is there any question you get asked all the time that you wish people wouldn't ask anymore?

  Well, one question I get asked a lot is, 'What's your favourite BioWare game?' That's a question I can't really answer, and I don't have an answer actually, because I like all of our games. Otherwise, why would we be making them if we didn't like them?! I like them all for different reasons, but I don't like one more than the other.

  I'm pretty passionate about all the things we're doing. We have great teams and they're excited about making games and the opportunities, whether it's a smaller social game or an MMO, or an RPG or the strategy games that come out of L.A. And theres some exciting stuff coming out of all of our teams.
  

  Over all the studios is there something that's a big focus at the moment? We see that motion control is a focus for some companies at the moment.

  Kinect. We're doing a Kinect version of Mass Effect 3. It's not a seperate version, but it's going to be really cool. It's voice control. We're using voice commands to control your squad so you can tell squad members to do different things, different actions like help me or heal me. Or you can read the voice lines, the dialogue.

  I wouldn't say that's an overarching focus though. For our label it's really about our vision, which is emotionally engaging games, and all the games we build are achieving that vision in different ways, but they're all achieving that vision. It's our core value for all our studios, it's how we operate, it's how we build our games, it's how we make decisions.

  We want to make quality games for our fans, andbe a really great workplace for employees, a place they can be proud of, and use their passion and entrepreneurship. For us, all these things are important, and that's what makes us a sustainable business.
  

  Like I said at the beginning, you are one of those companies that people do get really passionate about. Why do you think that is?

  I think it's a trust thing. You can try very, very hard to make games and for us, the quality is very important. And we aren't perfect, we make mistakes and we always take feedback very humbly and say, yeah we can jig that to make our games better. We're only as good as our next game, and we have a promise and an obligation to our fans. And I hope that's how fans see BioWare. I hope they trust our brand to not let them down, and if we ever do we always make sure that we try and improve on it in the next game. It's a promise, I guess, and we want to maintain that quality.
  

  Thanks for giving us the time to talk to you.
  

  Interviewed by Amanda Hepburn
  

  Published: 31/08/2011

• The history of MMORPGs - Where it all began

  
  

  The history of MMORPGs - Where it all began

  Console shooters had their derby match at the start of November, when Battlefield 3 challenged reigning champ Modern Warfare 3 for the hearts and minds of virtual soldiers across the world. On December 20th, a similar clash will take place, with stakes that are arguably even higher.

  That's when the Lucas-approved, Bioware-developed online role-player Star Wars: The Old Republic launches, offering the first serious challenge to World of Warcraft's dominance. And given that World of Warcraft has a population more than twice the size of Norway, and turns around enough money each year to dwarf most real world nations, it's territory worth fighting over.

  But where did massively multiplayer online role-playing games (or MMORPGs) come from?

  To answer that question you need to jump back to Essex University in 1978. It was here that two students, Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle, first took the early Dungeons & Dragons-inspired adventure games and adapted them to allow multiple players at the same time. They called their creation MUD, or Multi-User Dungeon.

  The game remained very much part of the academic and computer science subculture, until the mid 1980s, when commercial publishers made their first efforts at packaging the idea of playing online in a way normal game consumers at home could understand. One of the first pioneers, appropriately enough, was a Commodore 64 virtual world called Habitat, developed by LucasArts.

  The internet was still a basic and clunky thing, however, so these were little more than tentative toes dipped into online waters. It wasn't until 1991 that games we'd now recognise as offering true graphical online multiplayer experiences really took off.

  First off the blocks was Neverwinter Nights, an official Dungeons & Dragons game hosted by the rapidly expanding AOL internet service provider. It was crude by today's standards, with a basic 3D view in a small window and text inputs, but it was a genuine virtual world populated by other players. Other adventure game specialists, such as Sierra, quickly followed suit and released their own spins on the formula.

  In 1995, internet speeds were given a boost and data traffic restrictions lifted in the US, allowing this embryonic genre to really evolve. Meridian 59 was technically the first MMO game to take advantage of the technological freedoms, but it was the 1997 game, Ultima Online, that popularised the genre. Not only did it offer rich, varied gameplay, it boasted a colourful top-down game world to explore. It was Ultima's creator, Richard Garriott, who claims the honour of coining the term MMORPG.

  As player numbers rose, and with them the chance to make serious money from subscriptions, more recognisable names joined the fray. Sony's Everquest debuted in 1999, with full 3D graphics. Sega, meanwhile, brought MMO games to consoles, with the Dreamcast title Phantasy Star Online. Square's legendary Final Fantasy went online-only for its eleventh entry in 2003. Online role-playing was fast becoming one of the most popular game genres around, and just needed one final kick to boot it into the mainstream consciousness.

  Cue World of Warcraft. Released in 2004, this spin-off from Blizzard's fantasy themed real-time strategy series brought a speed and immediacy that previous titles, still clinging to the paper-and-dice role-playing roots and point-and-click adventure elements, had lacked. World of Warcraft was fast and satisfying, character classes were well defined, and progression brought more and more impressive powers and weapons into play. It had the depth and immersion of a true RPG, but the instant gratification of an action game. Needless to say, the realm of Azeroth was quickly filled with addicted fans.

  Since then, many have tried to topple Blizzard's billion-dollar behemoth from its MMORPG throne. Some manage to tempt a few subscribers away, but most eventually return, lured back by the vibrant community and regular world-changing updates.

  World of Warcraft has never faced a rival like Star Wars though. There are millions of fans around the world, who have long dreamed of fighting, working or just living in that galaxy far, far away and The Old Republic allows them to do just that. Will that be enough to cause a mass emigration from the realms of Warcraft? Who knows - either way, it's going to be fun finding out.

• Editor's Choice - Star Wars: The Old Republic

  

  
  

  Star Wars: The Old Republic

  
  

  Feel the force... of thousands of Star Wars fans, all holding their collective breaths in anticipation as SWTOR finally touches down on the PC. It's massive, it's multiplayer but never mind all that it's got light sabres in it. Sold!

  
  

  In keeping with the Star Wars franchise, everything about the title is epic it's not surprising because Electronic Arts and developer Bioware have reportedly blown a whopping $100 million on it, creating a massive universe packed with planets to explore (some the size of Dragon Age: Origins).

  The end result is a game set thousands of years before Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker clashed sabres. Players can choose from eight character classes from those namby-pamby Jedi and the cool Sith through to Han Solo-inspired smugglers and Bobba Fett-ed bounty hunters before embarking on a storyline that offers potentially hundreds of hours of gameplay.

  World of Warcraft's generic missions, Bioware has striven to craft an actual story complete with cut-scenes; SWTOR is the first massively multiplayer online game that endeavours to make every player feel like they are at the centre of the MMO, instead of a teeny-tiny (Force-fed) cog in a vast MMO machine.

  This approach appears to have paid off, having received an overwhelming thumbs-up from the folk involved in the game's beta testing; 78,000 player-created guilds have already been formed. The Force is most definitely strong in this one....
  

  Published: 20/12/2011

• Star Wars: The Old Republic - Review

  Star Wars: The Old Republic

  Reviewed on : PC
  21.12.2011
  

  A New Hope

  Star Wars: The Old Republic is certainly one of the most expensive games ever made. In terms of raw quantity of content, it's one of the biggest. It's also potentially one of the most lucrative. But the premise is very simple: it's World of Warcraft, done in the Star Wars universe.

  How it came about is also plain to see. Publisher EA wanted a massive online subscription game to compete with Activision Blizzard's behemoth, World of Warcraft. Star Wars rights owner LucasArts wanted another stab at online gaming after the failure of Star Wars Galaxies. And EA had acquired BioWare, the famous role-playing-game studio that had already established its own early-years Star Wars timeline with the much-loved Knights of the Old Republic games. The solution suggested itself.

  Hundreds of millions of dollars and almost as many years later, here we are at the launch of this monumental project. Can it be the game to finally topple World of Warcraft's complete dominance of massively multiplayer online gaming?

  Attack of the Clones

  BioWare has taken a pretty simple approach: copy World of Warcraft's formula outright, whilst adding a few elements from its own single-player games, such as a focus on voice acting, personal storylines and the ability to use companion characters.

  The gameplay is standard MMORPG fare. You take lots of missions, fight hundreds of enemies and explore new lands as you level up and develop a character over an immense amount of time. Sometimes you party up with friends or strangers to take on harder co-op challenges, or to participate in simple, team-based player-versus-player Warzones. You're almost always in a persistent online world with other players running around you.

  You can choose whether to play as the righteous Republic or evil Empire, and select character classes on each side that are clearly based on characters from the Star Wars films: not just Jedi Knights and Sith Warriors, but Smugglers (Han Solo) and Bounty Hunters (Boba Fett) and so on, too. Combat is a matter of hard-targeting enemies and clicking on skills in a hotbar, as usual, although the classes are a little more flexible that in some other games (everyone can revive fallen comrades, for example).

  None of this is ground-breaking stuff in fact, it's slightly old-fashioned, being based largely on a game that's seven years old, itself based on a template that goes back even further. But it's all very thoughtful and well executed. Missions flow together smoothly and the classes are all fun to play, although they don't mesh with each other in mulitplayer as well as WOW's classes do.

  And although you can't expect The Old Republic to compete on features with a game that's been running for years, it comes remarkably close. From crafting to trading to user interface, the features and finishing touches are far too many to list here; it's an incredibly complete package. (Also, unlike many MMOs, it's very stable, smooth-running and bug-free. The worst you face is long queues to get online due to its huge popularity at launch.)

  The Empire Strikes Back

  When it comes to what's new, the results are more mixed. Players of Dragon Age, Mass Effect and the original Knights of the Old Republic will recognise BioWare's heavy emphasis on dialogue-led storytelling. Talking-head cut-scenes replace the traditional "quest text" at the start and end of each mission, complete with conversational options and moral choices that affect whether your character tends towards the "light side" or "dark side". (And yes, you can be a mean Jedi or a Sith with a conscience.)

  This works well in the "class story" that forms the backbone of the game for each of the eight character classes. You even get to influence the course of events, rare in an online game, as well as choose a crew of companions and interact with them. The system also works better in multiplayer than you might think, with dice rolls dictating who gets to respond. But for run-of-the mill missions, these conversations and choices can seem boring or trivial, when you just want to get on and level up.

  It's also not very Star Wars-like, sometimes. BioWare's love of dry adult themes and moral grey areas isn't really in the tradition of the films (the original trilogy, anyway). Blasters aside, the action feels like any other fantasy MMO, apart from a throwaway, single-player-only, space-combat mini-game. But the wonderful music and sound effects, fizzing light sabers, cool designs and countless references to the films will be enough for most fans.

  Given the enormity of the task, Star Wars: The Old Republic is a huge success. Star Wars and BioWare fans will lap it up, WOW players in search of a new thrill will feel right at home, it all works beautifully - and across the eight class stories, there's enough content here to keep us all going for months.

  Will players keep going once those stories have run out? That depends on things like PVP, multiplayer content and social features, and it's too early to say whether these are involving enough. But The Old Republic has got a great shot at being the next big thing - and for now, it totally deserves your time.
  

  Our rating 8.0 Use the force

  • An incredibly polished MMO with almost all the features you want at launch
  • An insane amount of mission content to play through
  • Live the Star Wars dream, following your own story in a universe of other players

  Feel the power of the dark side

  • Too much story: the constant cut-scenes slow the pace of the game down and are often dull
  • Sometimes feels more like a BioWare fantasy RPG than a Star Wars game
  • The underlying design is dated; MMOs need to move forward, not copy WOW

• Star Wars: The Old Republic goes live on PC

  Gamers across the world can finally experience Star Wars: The Old Republic in full after the eagerly-awaited MMORPG finally went live for PC this week.

  The long-anticipated PC game from EA and BioWare has debuted in stores worldwide with a series of well-attended midnight launch events, with servers now active and welcoming new players from around the world.

  Star Wars: The Old Republic is the first ever MMO game from BioWare, the acclaimed creator of Mass Effect and Dragon Age, and shakes up the traditional genre with in-depth storylines, compelling characters and fully voiced dialogue.

  Playing as character classes such as Jedi knights, Sith warriors, bounty hunters or imperial agents, fans can explore the Star Wars universe thousands of years before the events of the movies, travelling to distant worlds and engaging in heroic battles.

  The game has already won more than 100 awards and is set to play host to countless new stories over the coming months and years.

  Dr Greg Zeschuk, co-founder of BioWare, said: "We are extremely happy with where The Old Republic stands at launch and we can't wait to grow the game with our community to make it even better in the future."

  Published: 23/12/2011

• Star Wars: The Old Republic - Review

  A new hope

  Star Wars: The Old Republic is a monster of a game. Developed by BioWare, creator of the popular Mass Effect and Dragon Age series, as well as the excellent Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the studio's first massively multiplayer online title is rumoured to have been the most expensive game ever created - and it shows.

  We've sunk over 80 hours into the epic sci-fi adventure and feel as if we've barely scratched the surface. With so much content already available and many planned future updates, it's an MMO that fans will be playing for years, and one that offers the most credible threat to genre king World of Warcraft yet.

  Choose your side

  Set 1,000s of years before the rise of Darth Vader, when war between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire divides the galaxy, players can choose their character class from one of multiple classic roles including Jedi Knight, Sith Warrior, Bounty Hunter, Trooper and Imperial Agent. Keeping with BioWare tradition, The Old Republic is a story-driven adventure which gives players plenty of scope for defining a unique personal tale as they journey down the light or dark side of the Force through their in-game choices.

  In most MMOs, quests can often feel like pointless errands, and while The Old Republic's are structurally no different, generally involving killing or collecting, each is book-ended with a plot with multiple outcomes, meaning every objective feels like it serves a purpose. It also means you can happily play the game on your own without succumbing to boredom.

  Classes and Combat

  Players can assume one of a number of roles when it comes to combat, choosing to specialise in ranged or close attacks, or supporting other players with healing and buffs. The Old Republic uses a traditional click-to-activate ability system that's familiar but enjoyable to play, not least because of the excellent sci-fi animations and effects. Force powers can throw debris and heavy objects at enemies, foes can be fried with lightning or trapped with whirlwinds, while blaster blasts and lightsaber swings feel and sound just like they should.

  The beautifully realised settings are a great part of the game's appeal too. Star Wars fans will love visiting recognisable planets like Hoth and Tatooine, as well as exploring more unfamiliar locations, which are filled with impressive architecture and convincing populations. While the game's initially linear, completing quests will see players gain access to their own starship, which can be piloted across the galaxy at will to uncover new planets and engage in a number of simple but fun space combat missions with enemy fighters.

  Flashpoints

  One of the strongest multiplayer elements of The Old Republic is Flashpoints, story-led missions that can only be completed in groups. An early Flashpoint called The Black Talon, which is playable with up to four players, sees teams attempt to seize control of a starship and ends with a battle against either a Jedi or a Sith Lord, representing your character's first encounter with a powerful enemy from the other side.

  For those more interested in player versus player action, there are contested planets in neutral territory where Empire and Republic forces can face off between completing quests, with a series of scenario-based Warzones offering team-based objectives like capturing and retaining territory. These tend to favour the highest level players at present, but balancing issues will likely be alleviated over time as players of closer skill levels are grouped together more effectively.

  The Force is strong with this one

  We'd estimate it takes a few 100 hours to level up a character to their maximum abilities, and many players will want to see how multiple class stories play out, so it's clear there's an absolutely massive amount of content and longevity on offer here. The Old Republic throws fans into a wonderfully immersive Star Wars universe and delivers confidently on both the single player and multiplayer gameplay fronts, and the best thing is there's still plenty of room for expanding areas like space combat and adding new features with future content updates.

  Game's Verdict

  + Fantastically realised world.
  + 100s of hours of content.
  + Immersive story elements.

  - Space combat could be further developed.
  - A few bugs like broken quests typical of new MMOs.
  - Early player versus player battles can be unbalanced.

  Published: 10/01/2012

• Star Wars: The Old Republic passes two million sales

  EA and BioWare's blockbuster MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic has passed the two million mark in global sales, maintaining its pace as the fastest-growing subscription MMO title in history.

  The acclaimed online sci-fi epic for PC now has more than 1.7 million active users, who have racked up over 239 million in-game hours only a month after launch.

  During their adventures, players have spent more than 148 billion credits and slaughtered in excess of 20 billion non-player characters, with reliable and readily available servers helping to ensure a seamless online experience.

  BioWare has already launched a new downloadable content pack for the game called Rise of the Rakghouls earlier this month, with even more extra additions promised this spring.

  Dr Ray Muzyka, co-founder of BioWare, said: "We're truly honoured and humbled by the incredibly strong support from our players who are enjoying Star Wars: The Old Republic."

  Set thousands of years before the events of the movies, The Old Republic allows fans to pick from a range of character classes and experience endless new stories, with fully voiced characters, in-depth narratives and moral choices.

  Published: 03/02/2012

• Battlefront 3 finally in development?

  Now here's some good news to warm you up on a cold winter morning. Internet sleuths at PlayStation Lifestyle have been hard at work poring over recent developer recruitment drives - as well as posts on the LinkedIn networking site - and have come to the conclusion that the long-awaited sequel to Star Wars Battlefront 2 may finally be in development.

  The first piece of evidence comes from a job that was posted on the website of developer Spark Unlimited.

  "Spark is looking for a senior designer for a 3rd Person Action/Adventure sequel in a high-profile science fiction franchise currently in development for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC markets," it reads.

  Not much in itself, but a former senior software engineer for the development studio cited work on an "unannounced third person sword fighting game (well known IP, Xbox 360, PS3)" on their LinkedIn profile. Another staff members on the networking site mentions their work on a "AAA third person shooter using Unreal Engine and Kynapse AI middleware.

  Featuring epic multiplayer battles across all of our favourite worlds in the Star Wars universe, the Battlefront series has long been held up as a beacon for making very good use of the franchise in gaming. Here's hoping we'll have some concrete details in the near future.

• Skyrim scoops top award at Interactive Achievement Awards

  Bethesda's sprawling and brilliant role-playing monster, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, fus-roh-dahhed it's way to an impressive five wins last night at the Interactive Achievement Awards.

  Skyrim took home the top honours as Game of the Year, as well as awards for best RPG, gameplay engineering, game direction and story.

  Other winners included Modern Warfare 3, which was voted best action game, FIFA 12, named best sports game, and Star Wars: The Old Republic, honoured for its multiplayer achievements. Uncharted 3 took home gongs for its animation and art direction, while the toys-come-to-life family hit Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure was singled out for its contribution to outstanding innovation. Britain's own Stephen Merchant took home the award for outstanding character performance thanks to his superb turn as Wheatley in Portal 2.

  The ceremony was held during the DICE Summit in Las Vegas. Not to be confused with the Swedish Battlefield developer, DICE (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) is an annual gathering for the great and good of the games industry, and the Interactive Achievement Awards handed out at the event are the gaming equivalent of the Oscars. Only without the long emotional speeches, dance routines and dewy-eyed montages of dead celebrities, obviously.

• Star Wars: The Old Republic players 'average four hours per session'

  Star Wars: The Old Republic players are enjoying average play sessions of more than four hours, according to the creators of the hit new MMORPG.

  BioWare co-founder Dr Greg Zeschuk told Kotaku that fans of the game are racking up huge amounts of playtime on the PC title, sinking up to six hours into the sci-fi world at a time, while a small handful have already reached the game's current level cap.

  Sunday is proving to be the most popular day for The Old Republic players, while Dr Zeschuk also observed that the game's official forums tend to see drops in traffic during peak times, as fans focus on playing.

  Launched in December 2011, the Star Wars RPG has sold more than two million copies and won critical acclaim for its moral choice system, diverse array of character options and fully voiced cast.

  Dr Zeschuk promised that the BioWare team is still working just as hard on developing new content as they were before the retail copies shipped.

  "We still have feature stuff that goes out a couple of years in advance. This stuff is all dynamic, depending on what happens and what feedback we get," he explained.

  Published: 27/02/2012

• Couples who play MMORPGs together have better relationships, study claims

  Obsessed with The Old Republic? Still working your way through World of Warcraft? If your other half keeps moaning about your gaming habit, researchers at Brigham Young University say you should suggest a "can't beat them, join them" solution.

  The study, which quizzed 349 couples in which at least one person was a regular online gamer, found that 76 percent of those who played the same games together said that gaming has a positive effect on their marital relationship. Interacting with each other's avatars even led to "higher marital satisfaction". Ahem.

  Conversely, for couples where only one partner plays - usually the man, predictably - there were problems. Three quarters of the spouses of gamers said that gaming habits had led to arguments and domestic strife. Interestingly, arguments tended not to be about the amount of time spent gaming, but that the times chosen interfered with family life.

  "It's not the hours that make a difference," said Neil Lundberg, a professor of recreation who ran the study. "It's really what it does to the relationship-- whether or not it creates conflict and quarrelling over the game."

  So there you have it. You can either argue about it, or sign them up for an account of their own. Problem solved!
  

• Star Wars: The Old Republic to hold free trial

  PC gamers are to be given a chance to try out EA and BioWare's hit MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic over the coming weekend.

  The special Weekend Pass Free Trial begins on March 15th 2012 and runs through to the end of March 19th, giving players who do not have an Old Republic account to sample the experience free of charge for four days.

  Fans will be able to create characters in one of eight classes and explore their planet of origin, take part in quests or maybe even get a chance to visit their faction's capital world.

  Launched in December 2011, more than two million copies of Star Wars: The Old Republic have been sold so far, with critics lining up to praise the game for its revolutionary approach to the MMO genre.

  The Old Republic allows players to embark on character-driven adventures, with all dialogue fully voice-acted by a huge cast.

  It also offers a vast, immersive recreation of the Star Wars universe thousands of years before the events of the movies, with players choosing to become heroes or villains.
  

  Published: 14/03/2012

• Class stories in The Old Republic will continue, says Bioware

  Players who have completed the storyline for their chosen class in Bioware's lightsaber waggling MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic, will soon find their tale continuing "sooner rather than later", the developer has confirmed.

  In an interview with MMO website games.on.net, lead designer Gabe Amatangelo admitted that some of the story arcs are "unresolved". This will change, he promises.

  "That's a big thing," he agreed, "and it's something that will certainly, certainly be used in future story direction. The decisions you make really matter, even the small ones."

  Choices made during the current narrative missions "will certainly carry over into future stories", he added, as well as promising that the more you play, the more you'll see the impact of your decisions reflected in the game. "Some of the Class dialog that you're going to see will be based on your personal choices," Amatangelo explained. "The Class story arcs will be continued with future updates, future content packs and we'll certainly be supporting both threads. Expect more, and expect it sooner than later."

  Star Wars: The Old Republic is out now for PC.

• Star Wars - The Galaxy Where Every Kind Of Game Is Played

  
  

  

  

  "The Force will be with you, always..."

  Obi-Wan's words at the end of the original Star Wars arcade game have certainly proven to be true - and then some. The release of Kinect Star Wars on Xbox 360 - and the accompanying Limited Edition R2-D2 console - proves that we're still enjoying Star Wars video games today.

  The motion-based controls of Kinect Star Wars shows just how far the franchise has come since the 8-bit action of The Empire Strikes Back on the Atari 2600 and Intellivision back in 1982.

  Which got us thinking - over the past 30 years, Star Wars has appeared not only in a great number of games, but in all kinds of game. From side-scrolling adventures, to first-person shooters to flight simulators, there's almost no genre that has not visited that galaxy far, far away...

  
  

  

  The First Person Shooter

  Dark Forces (1995) took the first-person tactics of Doom and transported them to the Star Wars Universe, adding then-revolutionary features like multiple floors and "looking up and down". Along with its Jedi Knight sequels, gamers were hooked on the adventures of Kyle Katarn and his discovery of the Dark Trooper Project , and the series is notable as the first "Expanded Universe" adventures to be embraced by more mainstream fans.

  First person shooting would return in the Star Wars Battlefront series almost a decade later, with the chance to play as StormTroopers, SnowTroopers, Rebel Soldiers or all kinds of troops and online skirmishing for the first time. We saw the last chapter of this series in 2009 - and are eagerly anticipating its return!

  
  

  

  The Classic Arcade Game

  While not the first Star Wars game, it was certainly one of the most memorable, and indeed laid the foundation of so much to come. Simulating the Death Star attack from the original movie, but with a bigger goal of avoiding enemies rather than shooting them in order to survive, the action played out with glorious wireframe graphics and - in a notable first for games in general - featured digitised voices and sounds from the original movie. It may seem simple by today's standards, but it set the bar for everything that was to come.

  
  

  

  The Combat Flight Simulators

  Arguably the first step in the 90s resurgence of Star Wars was the X-Wing series on PC. A WWII dogfight engine was given a 3D-graphic makeover and used to power the X-Wings, Y-Wings, TIE Fighters and more as the series moved through the events of the original trilogy. For many, these games really cemented just how good, and how versatile, Star Wars could be as a video game property.

  Rogue Squadron picked up where X-Wing left off. The series favoured arcade-style scoring on individual missions over the larger campaign-style approach, and took a much faster-paced approach to match the new power and possibilities offered by the N64 and GameCube. Rogue Squadron II is fondly remembered for its cinematic graphics, helping to usher Star Wars into the 21st Century

  
  

  

  The Side-Scrollers

  In the 90s, PCs had the X-Wing and Jedi Knight series, but Sega and Nintendo's consoles also had their share of Star Wars action. Games like Star Wars on the NES and Master System, Super Star Wars on the SNES and Shadows of the Empire on the N64 were more literal, adventure-driven adaptations, giving the chance to play as Luke, Han, Leia and the gang in ways that had never really been done before, and wouldn't again until the fun and frolics of the LEGO games. For all the fun that the 'Expanded Universe' offered, it actually made a change to just play out the movies!

  
  

  

  The Racing Games

  For all of the Phantom Menace's faults, one thing many agreed was that the Pod Races were cool. Star Wars Episode 1: Racer for the N64 attempted to recreate that coolness, with interesting and inventive tracks that took you off Tatooine and into the wider Star Wars galaxy. But what made it particularly cool was the option to use two N64 controllers as the dual controls of your racer and really feel like little Anakin.

  Star Wars also went down the kart racing route in Super Bombad Racing. It was aimed primarily for children to play, and while it was not the most well-received game that the franchise has offered, it had some fun gameplay and a fun visual style. If nothing else, proved that Star Wars could be adapted to pretty much any style of game.

  
  

  

  The Real Time Strategies

  The Star Wars universe seems an obvious canvas for strategy games, but the results have been mixed. Rebellion, Force Commander and Galactic Battlegrounds all gave it a try and had some interesting campaigns, but never really excited the way Star Wars should.

  Empire at War intended to end all that. A new engine was built from the ground-up, the need to build and acquire resources was removed, and the battles became much more realistic. The game was set between the end of the prequels and the beginning of the original trilogy, was chock full of well-known planets, vehicles and characters, and featured both Rebel and Imperial campaigns, including a scenario where the Empire actually wins! It was the RTS fans had been waiting for, and, thanks to a vibrant mod community, was also the RTS fans could make their own.

  
  

  

  The Beat 'Em Up

  In what seemed another obvious step, Masters of Teras Kasi took Star Wars into the beat 'em up arena on the original PlayStation in 1997. It mixed established stars like Luke and Chewie with lesser-known EU characters like Jodo Kast, giving each an individual style like the fighters of Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. But unlike those games, Masters of Teras Kasi had an inferior fighting engine, and the combination of obscure characters and the use of Lightsabers as little more than clubs did little to win over either casual or committed fans. Darth Vader and Yoda would go on to appear in SoulCalibur IV, but otherwise Masters of Teras Kasi was the first - and last - foray into the beat 'em up.

  
  

  

  The Action/Adventure

  Much like Shadows of the Empire a decade before, The Force Unleashed was part of a massive multimedia campaign to create an exciting new chapter in the Star Wars saga. It introduced 'Starkiller', Darth Vader's secret apprentice, but also introduced Star Wars adventuring to the current generation of consoles - and was the first chance to use a Wii controller to wield a Lightsaber! While it didn't quite live up the 'next big thing' hype surrounding it, the plot, visuals and gameplay won over enough fans to warrant a sequel.

  
  

  

  The RPGs

  Set 4000 years before the events of the movies, Knights of the Old Republic hit PC, Mac and Xbox in 2003. Choosing to play as Jedi or Sith, the pre-movie period setting allowed for a large-scale and versatile universe without having to worry about the established characters and storylines. The intricate plot featured twists and turns with a major shock twist coming at the end of the first game, still talked about as one of the best in gaming history.

  Things expanded with the release of MMO The Old Republic. Bioware promised a larger focus on story than usual for MMOs, a sensible step as the allegiances and politics of the Star Wars universe is more defined than the likes of Azeroth. The Jedi/Sith choice remained, with different classes available to both sides, and the opportunity for player vs player combat in the wider Star Wars universe was more than welcomed by players all over the world - nearly 2 million of them!

  
  

  

  And the rest

  There are plenty of Star Wars games we've not mentioned here - there simply isn't room to write about them all! But we hope this has been a fun trip around the Star Wars Universe, and one that shows just how versatile that universe is.

  If we've missed your favourite, or you have any other Star Wars gaming memories you want to share, feel free to add your comments below. And May The Force Be With You.

  Published: 03/04/2012

• LucasArts unveils new Star Wars game.

  We've been waiting for an announcement on the brand new Star Wars franchise teased by LucasArts recently, and the cat is finally out of the bag. Star Wars 1313 is the name of the third-person adventure game being cooked up by the studio.

  The collaboration between a diverse array of Lucas's companies which include Lucasfilm Animation, Skywalker Sound and Industrial Light & Magic, Star Wars 1313 will result in a mature, 18-rated game. Taking on the role of a bounty hunter, LucasArts is promising "a dark and mature" gaming experience powered by the Unreal Engine.

  A statement from the developer outlined the grand vision for this new adventure:

  "Named for Level 1313, a ruthless criminal underground deep below the surface of the planet of Coruscant, the game puts players in control of a deadly bounty hunter as he uses an arsenal of exotic weaponry to hunt down his marks and uncover the truth surrounding a criminal conspiracy," it read.

  "Star Wars 1313 emphasizes epic set pieces and fast-paced combat with a hero who uses human skills and gadgets, rather than supernatural Force powers, to make his way through this dangerous world."

  According to LucasArts president Paul Meegan, we can expect to find out much more about the game at next week's E3 gaming extravaganza in Los Angeles.

  "We're excited to share one of the projects LucasArts has been hard at work developing," he said.

  "Star Wars 1313 dives into a part of the Star Wars mythos that we've always known existed, but never had a chance to visit. We are committed to bringing the best gameplay experience and visual fidelity to life and I truly believe the work we are showcasing at E3 will speak for itself."

• Rolling The Dice: The History of Bioware

  
  

  

  Role-playing fans are used to risking everything on the roll of the dice, but those gambles are usually reserved for the fictional fantasy tales unfolding on kitchen tables and in college dorm rooms. In 1995, doctors Greg Zeschuk, Ray Muzyka and Augustine Yip rolled the dice in real life when they turned their back on lucrative medical careers and decided to devote their time to making computer games instead. They called their company Bioware, and you only have to look at the games bearing that name today to see if their gambit paid off.

  

  This Christmas week sees Bioware release its first online multiplayer RPG, Star Wars: The Old Republic, while next year brings the third (and final?) instalment in their epic sci-fi saga, Mass Effect 3.

  So how did the Canadian code factory reach the top of the RPG tree? Surprisingly, the first game from the newly formed studio wasn't a role-playing game at all, but a 3D action title about combat mechs. Shattered Steel was the title, and by taking advantage of the power of new PC video graphics cards it offered destruction and 3D scope that was beyond the capability of older hardware. Titles like Quake and Half Life were yet to redefine PC gaming, so Shattered Steel's technology earned the fledgling developer a lot of attention.

  That attention wasn't enough to stop Dr Yip from returning to life in a white coat, but Zeschuk and Muzyka weren't about to let go of their dream. They wanted to make games inspired by the lengthy Dungeons & Dragons sessions that had seen them through medical school. And they already had the game in mind - Battleground: Infinity.

  

  Don't be surprised if you've never heard of it. By the time the game arrived on shelves it had been taken on by Interplay. The publisher held the video game rights to the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons brand, and so almost overnight Bioware went from developing games inspired by the role-playing classic to making an official Dungeons & Dragons game.

  Baldur's Gate was the result, and it was an immediate smash. The RPG genre was in rude health in 1998, with The Elder Scrolls, Fallout and Diablo all well established, but Bioware's relative inexperience was balanced with a deep understanding of what made role-playing fun.

  Dungeons & Dragons remained the company's bread and butter for many years after, with expansion packs for Baldur's Gate leading into the sequel, Shadows of Amn, following in 2000. Neverwinter Nights continued the studio's D&D heritage in 2002, reviving the classic AOL online role-player for a more savvy internet audience.

  While these titles were critically acclaimed and embraced by RPG fans worldwide, they were still very much niche games. Few outside of role-playing fandom were aware of the Bioware name. That changed in 2003, when the company launched its first console game, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. At a time when Star Wars fans were torn by misgivings over the prequel movies, and punchdrunk from a slew of half-baked spin-off games, it was Bioware's narrative nous that saved the Jedi. Epic in scale, and with the freedom to explore the galaxy far, far away, it fulfilled the dreams of many Star Wars fans and earned Bioware a promotion to the ranks of legendary game developers.

  

  Buoyed by this success, the company turned its attention to something new, the first original Bioware title since Shattered Steel, in fact. Jade Empire was the game, and it took the RPG framework and applied it to a tale of rival martial arts masters in feudal China. Kung fu combat added a surprising wrinkle to the familiar cloth, but critics noted that the story was a virtual retread of Knights of the Old Republic, with open-palm strikes replacing lightsabers.

  Only a few years later, and with a new console generation to play with, Bioware silenced any doubters with the 2007 smash hit Mass Effect. A slick, thrilling space saga with the pace of an action game and the depth of an RPG, it heralded a new era for the developer. Super-publisher EA swooped in to buy the company, and so began a period of blockbuster genre-hopping that is still in full swing.

  

  Blood-soaked fantasy epic Dragon Age found the company recasting the swords and monster tropes of the D&D years in its own style. Mass Effect 2 reached new heights of cinematic sizzle, showcasing an elastic storyline that allowed any of the characters to pop their clogs during the climactic suicide mission. And Bioware even found time to dabble in less obvious areas, creating a Mass Effect spin-off game for mobile phones and developing Sonic Chronicles for the DS, the first RPG to star Sega's blue spiky mascot.

  Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka are still at the head of the company they found over fifteen years ago, and their passion for role-playing is still tempered by a desire to innovate and stretch the boundaries of what can be done with the genre. With its ties to the developer's first breakout smash hit, and its desire to shake up the world of MMORPG gameplay, Star Wars: The Old Republic is perhaps the quintessential Bioware experience. Enormous in scale, complex in intent yet an absolute joy to play.
  
  Let the dice roll.
  

  Published: 22/12/2011

• The history of MMORPGs - Where it all began

  
  

  

  Console shooters had their derby match at the start of November, when Battlefield 3 challenged reigning champ Modern Warfare 3 for the hearts and minds of virtual soldiers across the world. On December 20th, a similar clash will take place, with stakes that are arguably even higher.

  That's when the Lucas-approved, Bioware-developed online role-player Star Wars: The Old Republic launches, offering the first serious challenge to World of Warcraft's dominance. And given that World of Warcraft has a population more than twice the size of Norway, and turns around enough money each year to dwarf most real world nations, it's territory worth fighting over.

  But where did massively multiplayer online role-playing games (or MMORPGs) come from?

  To answer that question you need to jump back to Essex University in 1978. It was here that two students, Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle, first took the early Dungeons & Dragons-inspired adventure games and adapted them to allow multiple players at the same time. They called their creation MUD, or Multi-User Dungeon.

  

  The game remained very much part of the academic and computer science subculture, until the mid 1980s, when commercial publishers made their first efforts at packaging the idea of playing online in a way normal game consumers at home could understand. One of the first pioneers, appropriately enough, was a Commodore 64 virtual world called Habitat, developed by LucasArts.

  The internet was still a basic and clunky thing, however, so these were little more than tentative toes dipped into online waters. It wasn't until 1991 that games we'd now recognise as offering true graphical online multiplayer experiences really took off.

  First off the blocks was Neverwinter Nights, an official Dungeons & Dragons game hosted by the rapidly expanding AOL internet service provider. It was crude by today's standards, with a basic 3D view in a small window and text inputs, but it was a genuine virtual world populated by other players. Other adventure game specialists, such as Sierra, quickly followed suit and released their own spins on the formula.

  

  In 1995, internet speeds were given a boost and data traffic restrictions lifted in the US, allowing this embryonic genre to really evolve. Meridian 59 was technically the first MMO game to take advantage of the technological freedoms, but it was the 1997 game, Ultima Online, that popularised the genre. Not only did it offer rich, varied gameplay, it boasted a colourful top-down game world to explore. It was Ultima's creator, Richard Garriott, who claims the honour of coining the term MMORPG.

  As player numbers rose, and with them the chance to make serious money from subscriptions, more recognisable names joined the fray. SONY's Everquest debuted in 1999, with full 3D graphics. Sega, meanwhile, brought MMO games to consoles, with the Dreamcast title Phantasy Star Online. Square's legendary Final Fantasy went online-only for its eleventh entry in 2003. Online role-playing was fast becoming one of the most popular game genres around, and just needed one final kick to boot it into the mainstream consciousness.

  

  Cue World of Warcraft. Released in 2004, this spin-off from Blizzard's fantasy themed real-time strategy series brought a speed and immediacy that previous titles, still clinging to the paper-and-dice role-playing roots and point-and-click adventure elements, had lacked. World of Warcraft was fast and satisfying, character classes were well defined, and progression brought more and more impressive powers and weapons into play. It had the depth and immersion of a true RPG, but the instant gratification of an action game. Needless to say, the realm of Azeroth was quickly filled with addicted fans.

  Since then, many have tried to topple Blizzard's billion-dollar behemoth from its MMORPG throne. Some manage to tempt a few subscribers away, but most eventually return, lured back by the vibrant community and regular world-changing updates.

  World of Warcraft has never faced a rival like Star Wars though. There are millions of fans around the world, who have long dreamed of fighting, working or just living in that galaxy far, far away and The Old Republic allows them to do just that. Will that be enough to cause a mass emigration from the realms of Warcraft? Who knows - either way, it's going to be fun finding out.

  Published: 07/12/2012

• Star Wars Game License Acquired by EA.

  When Disney acquired the rights to the Star Wars universe, following the purchase of George Lucas's LucasFilm, many fans were left wondering what it would mean for the future of videogames set within the epic franchise.

  Well, it turns out that Disney has decided to license out the property to EA for multi-platform console development, while keeping social, online and mobile opportunities for itself. Frank Gibeau, EA Labels President, confirmed that Dead Space and Battlefield studios Visceral and DICE respectively would be creating games in the franchise - and so will the creators of the Knights of The Old Republic series, BioWare.

  "Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe," began Gibeau.

  "The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay. Powering it all will be the Frostbite 3 development engine - guaranteeing incredible graphic fidelity, environments and characters."

  Well, if the publisher's looking for any suggestions, both Knights of The Old Republic 3 and Battlefront 3 have been clamoured for by fans in recent years, and would surely put the massive publisher back into gamers' good books, following the troubled release of SimCity.
  

  Published: 07/05/2013

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