I’ve been thinking about Star Wars the Old Republic more and more. The more I think about it the less I really know about the game. Yeah I’ve read all the Bioware/EA press releases like everyone else. I’ve avoided the official forums though in order to not get sucked into the fanboy hype. I want facts, solid opinions from people who have played the game. Not a bunch of forum jockeys who only hope for the best and preach it as gospel. What does Bioware/EA need to do to win me over? I actually think it’s pretty easy. At E3 this year I want Bioware to have 3 versions of Star Wars the Old Republic set up.
The first version needs to be a solo player demo. Give approximately 10 minutes to players to experience one or two quests with your companion. Cut out all the narration and cut scenes. You don’t want this to be a show of how the quests are presented; you want this to be a show of how the quests are accomplished. Bioware needs to shine the light on the game play behind solo play and how you work with your companion.
The second version is a group based PvE demo in a dungeon. Again I think approximately 10 minutes would allow for players to experience the game play and classes enough to make a fair judgment. Putting fans in control of the classes and allowing them to play the game without cut scenes or voice over’s will truly focus on what is going to matter 6 months after launch, the game. The heart and soul of every MMO is how fun it is to control your character and do things. The gamers need to get a hands experience with this.
The last version, and arguably not needed, I would like to see is some group based PvP. Set up a battleground, warfront, whatever Bioware is calling them and let people beat each other’s heads in. Silence the ignorance about TOR PvP, show us exactly what you have in mind.
It’s time Bioware showed its hand with regards to TOR game play. Let everyone, not just the privileged press pass people play Star Wars and judge its merit. If this lack of information from actual gamers about TOR continues everyone is going to start assuming that it means the game is bad. Bloggers and gamers alike will draw the conclusion that the lack of information is because Bioware is scared of the potential bad press. The old phrase “no news is good news” doesn’t apply to MMOs. Silence is a sign of weakness and guild in this genre. Show us your cards or fold.
I would actually like to know what I do in that game once I played through the story?
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I would accept something as minor as a slide show vignette or some prescripted video of the “end game” content. I say Warhammer died for a lot of reasons, and this was yet another. Once you reached max level there was very little to do. End game content is also why WoW does so well in retention; they focus on max level content.
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