IGN reports that the KoTOR remake is still in development:

Saber Interactive CEO Says KOTOR Remake Is 'Alive and Well'

Still in a galaxy far, far away.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake is one of gaming's most elusive projects. Announced in 2021, the long-awaited remake has changed hands multiple times, seemingly stopped development and restarted again, and after six years of development has yet to manifest. Fortunately, we finally have a real, concrete update on what's going on. Saber Interactive is still working on it, and according to the CEO, it's "alive and well."

Speaking to IGN in an interview today, Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch confirmed that the company took KOTOR with it during its split from Embracer Group, and that the game is still in active development.

"It's clear and it's obivous that we're working on this," he said. "It's been in the press numerous times. What I will say is that the game is alive and well, and we're dedicated to making sure we exceed consumer expectations."

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

Gamerant reports that a KoTOR remake will not be released this year:

Star Wars: KOTOR Remake Gets Disappointing Update

Embracer Group, the former owner of the studio currently working on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, delivers news that should upset fans.

• Don't hold your breath for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake this year.
• The KOTOR remake has been plagued by problems.
• The Embracer CEO has confirmed the KOTOR remake won't release in next 12 months.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

Mobilesyrup looks back at 20 years of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic:

Celebrating 20 years of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic with the iconic RPG’s Canadian creators

How a group of Canadians helped change both gaming and Star Wars forever

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Canada
To say Star Wars is a media giant is an understatement.

Over the course of nine mainline films and three spin-offs, four live-action series, and, give or take, a dozen animated TV projects, not to mention well over 100 games and countless books and comics, Star Wars has dominated pop culture for well over 40 years. It’s the quintessential Hollywood success story, with the series creator, George Lucas, starting off with experimental independent films before making some of the biggest and most influential blockbusters to date.

Clearly, Star Wars has an almost mind-blowingly large legacy, but something many people don’t fully appreciate is the role Canadians played in that. In the late ’90s to early 2000s, BioWare, a well-respected but relatively lesser-known studio in Edmonton, released a string of successful games based on the Dungeons & Dragon tabletop franchise. It’s that RPG experience that attracted Star Wars games publisher LucasArts to BioWare, giving the now EA-owned studio — which started as a medical software project from doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip — the keys to pretty much the biggest kingdom imaginable.

Enter Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the first-ever — and, to this day, a still-rare — Star Wars RPG video game. In the early 2000s, the prospect of creating your own soldier, training to become a Jedi, and assembling your own ragtag party of Force users, Republic soldiers, droids, and scoundrels to fight the evil Darth Malak — or become your own Sith Lord — was novel. Even now, the fact that it’s set 4,000 years before the Skywalker Saga that continues to dominate so much of Star Wars media feels practically revolutionary. KOTOR was big, bold, and fresh, perfectly capturing that magical feeling of going on a grand adventure with Luke Skywalker and friends in the Millennium Falcon, except this time, you were in the pilot seat.

[...]

“Really, Knights of the Old Republic was just this sweet bunch of Canadian nerds getting their hands on the Star Wars IP.” — Steve Gilmour

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

Gizmodo/io9 interviewed project director Casey Hudson about Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic:

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Is Still Blowing Minds, 20 Years Later

io9 talks to project director Casey Hudson about the influential BioWare RPG and shares some exclusive concept art.

The year 2003 felt like a banner one for Star Wars fans. We were coming off the release of 2002's Attack of the Clones, and the wait for the “final” Star Wars film was filled with all manner of books, comics, video games, plus an animated micro-series from Genndy Tartakovsky. Among this deluge, one title managed to stand above the rest.

I’m talking about Knights of the Old Republic, which turns 20 this year. BioWare’s RPG not only shook up the gaming industry, but served as an epoch within Star Wars itself. Between opening up a new era of storytelling and introducing a cast of memorable characters, KotOR became an RPG behemoth whose influence is still felt in Star Wars today.

To celebrate Knights of the Old Republic’s two-decade milestone, I spoke with project director Casey Hudson about bringing the game to life, some little-known details about the development, and the impact it’s had overall. The concept art in this article comes courtesy of artist John Gallagher; we’ll have more to share in an upcoming feature focusing on his work.

An Even Longer Time Ago…
“I can’t believe it’s been 20 years already. That doesn’t make me old though!” Hudson pointed out at the beginning of our discussion. In the time since its launch, the game has continued to influence fans via merchandise, and bits of lore frequently find their way into current projects.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

NoClip presents some of the demo footage from E3 2001 for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. It is safe to say there were many changes before release.

0:00 - Intro
0:43 - Concept Art
6:35 - Model Viewer
9:53 - Tatooine Demo 
14:02 - Combat Demo

Bloomberg reports (subscription required) that the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake development has been stopped indefinitely with two directors let go following a bad demo review. Bosslevelgamer have summarised the Bloomberg news article.

...

Aspyr’s studio heads told staff that the vertical slice wasn’t where they wanted it to be and that the project would be paused, according to two people who were in the meeting. One person familiar with the discussions suggested that a disproportionate amount of time and money had gone into the demo and that the project’s current course wasn’t sustainable. Another point of contention may be the timeline. At the outset of development, Aspyr told staff and partners it would release the game by the end of 2022, according to two people familiar with production. Developers said a more realistic target now would be 2025.

The fate of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic remains unclear. In May, Embracer announced that Saber Interactive would also join the project. Some at Aspyr believe that Saber, which has mainly been doing outsourcing work for the project, may take it over completely.

[...]

Schreier reports that a game demo was shown to Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC and Sony Group Corp. The KOTOR remake development team was excited and confident in the state of the game.

The following week, design director Brad Prince and art director Jason Minor were fired. Minor’s Twitter is currently private, but the Bloomberg report suggests that his firing was not expected. 

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

@DSOGaming Sony has announced that the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake will be a console exclusive for PlayStation 5 which doesn't necessarily rule out a PC release as has been hinted at.

Sony has just announced a remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. While this remake is most likely in an early development stage, Sony has hinted that this remake will release on the PC.

According to Sony’s blogpost, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Remake is a console exclusive on PlayStation 5 at launch. This most likely means that the game will release simultaneously on PS5 and PC.

[...]

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TheGamer reports that the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic animated series made in Unreal Engine 5 by Unreal Cinema is planned to launch mid-October. They had recently cleared the situation with LucasFilm, and released the opening sequence.

Fan-Made Knights Of The Old Republic Animated Series Will Debut This October

The first episode has been delayed slightly, but we've now got a solid release date.

The creators of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic animated series made in Unreal Engine 5 have revealed a new voice cast for the project, as well as its debut premiere date. The first episode will be arriving in mid-October, while the rest of the episodes will follow every few months.

KOTOR fans from Unreal Cinema have detailed their current progress in making the full story of the iconic BioWare game a watchable show. According to the recent update, the series will get three seasons consisting of ten episodes each. This decision was made to make the show easier to watch and give each season its own story arc with a satisfying ending.

[...]

@Unreal Cinema The opening sequence for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has been recreated in Unreal Engine 5.

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First look at the up-coming KOTOR series! This render acts both as a recreation of the original beginning of KOTOR as well as the opening sequence for our KOTOR miniseries using Unreal Engine 5!

I'm currently working on creating a Knights of the Old Republic based Mini-Series using Unreal Engine's Virtual Production Capabilities. Follow along here as the series progresses!

Noah Caldwell-Gervais looks back at the KotOR series:

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2 Vs. Joseph Campbell

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This is a focused retrospective and critique of both of the older Knights of the Old Republic CRPGs from Bioware and Obsidian. It looks to how they interface with the Monomyth template as originally laid down in 1949 by Joseph Campbell in The Hero With a Thousand Faces, one game conforming exactly to it and the next game violently rejecting the entire premise. It also discusses how Campbell's monomyth influenced the philosophies of the Jedi and Sith more than George Lucas might care to admit. Spoilers throughout.

Thanks Redglyph!

TechRaptor has some wishes for the KoTOR Remake:

What We Hope To See In The KOTOR Remake

It's finally happening, Knights of the Old Republic is finally getting an official remake. The team behind the game's various ports to modern PCs and various mobile platforms has been confirmed to be working on a brand-new version of the game with updated visuals and, hopefully, features too. KOTOR is one of the all-time classics of RPG history and is also generally considered to be one of the best Star Wars games of all time. So if they're updating the game, what exactly will that entail? Below are just some of the things that we would love to see come out of this new version. 

Add Action, But Don't Lose RPG
KOTOR - Combat The flurry of limbs, blasters, and laser swords is probably going to be a little confusing in an action game, but hopefully the turn-based RPG option will still be available. Source: IGDB

There have been a fair few rumors floating around about the KOTOR remake since it was officially confirmed, and one of them is that the game is apparently going to see some pretty big fundamental changes to the gameplay. It makes sense in a lot of ways. The game industry is a different place from what it once was, and since the game was initially released, millions more people are actively playing video games. Having a more modern style of gameplay with an action focus is a great way of making the game more accessible to these new gamers. 

[...]

DSOGaming reports that the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake is being worked on by Aspyr.

In January 2020, we informed you about a rumored Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic game. And yesterday, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier claimed that this KOTOR game is real, and is basically a remake of the first title.

As Schreier said, Aspyr is currently working on a remake of the first Star Wars KOTOR game. Aspyr ported a number of Star Wars games on various platforms, so this should surprise most of us.

[...]

Wccftech share a rumour about a possible remake/reimagining for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The source revealed that development is being done outside of any EA studio.

"Amongst my digging, I heard there is a Knights of the Old Republic project in development somewhere. I talked to a couple of people, and I also found out that Jason Schreier said that it’s not with EA, and we’ll ‘never guess’ who the studio is that’s making this game."

Well-known insider shinobi602 confirmed that a new Stars Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is in the works, adding that the studio working on the game is not a household name.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Cinelinx reports that Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic maybe getting remade to bring it into current canon.

Unexpectedly, I heard an update from two independent sources (different from ones who’d given me the prior information, and one of whom helped me confirm our Ewan McGregor scoop from last year). This came out of the blue, and caught me by surprise, which is the main reason I’m updating now.

According to one, the previously mentioned Knights of the Old Republic remake is back in development. My other source added to that saying they felt it wasn’t so much a remake, but a “sequel” of sorts. It would be a Knights of the Old Republic project that would integrate elements from the first two games in order to bring certain things into the current Star Wars canon. Not necessarily a remake, so much as a re-imagining.

[...]

Pladio spotted a complete character overhaul for KotOR at Nexus.

RPGFan looks back at Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic:

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

One of the best things about fan communities is an unwavering passion for their beloved properties, and few fandoms are more passionate than the Star Wars community. Whether you are talking about the original trilogy or the prequels, the extended universe or the new Disney continuity, you're always going to find fans who will defend their opinion with the intensity of a Jedi versus a Sith. Sometimes, this kind of passion can lead to poisonous situations, but can also be the catalyst for amazing pieces of art. This includes a video game labor of love which BioWare developed over a decade ago: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

Since its release, KotOR has gone down as one of the most influential and best-regarded games in history; a reputation it well deserves. It introduced revolutionary systems that we take for granted in RPGs today and is still the gold standard of how licensed properties should adapt their subject matter to the video game medium. Even 20 years later, passionate modding communities ensure that KotOR stands the test of time by introducing new quests, updated graphics, and other modern bells and whistles.

[...]

Score: 90/100

@MrMattyPlays Apeiron is remaking Knights of the Old Republic using Unreal Engine 4 and recently showed off some of the planets and Bastila Shan.

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I am proud to present alongside Poem Studios a bunch of unseen clips walking through planets in Apeiron's KotOR. My heart has exploded and my mind is blown.

[...]

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The possible model for Bastila Shan has been made and holy moly...

Techraptor looks back in history to the game that was released 15 years ago, Knights of the Old republic.

The movies were always the primary focus for original fans. For those who grew up in the shadow of Star Wars, however, it sometimes comes from the unlikeliest of places, like a video game. Many games have been made for Star Wars before, but very few take a gamble to allow the player to play in the sandbox of the Galaxy Far, Far Away. For many, that nostalgic memory is strongest with one of arguably the best Star War games ever made, the classic RPG Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

Now celebrating its 15-year anniversary, Knights of the Old Republic was unique as it was one of the few points in the Star Wars fandom to not focus on the current or future events of the films. It instead looked back to the far past—over 4,000 years in fact—to an age where the Empire never existed. LucasArts at the time was expanding, thanks in part to the success of 1999’s The Phantom Menace, and was looking to increase production on Star Wars media into new territories with video games.

Enter BioWare, who at the time in 1999 were in early talks with LucasArts for delivering a game. In 1999, BioWare was a rising star on the PC market after the success of Baldur’s Gate. The faithful adaptation of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Rules, along with their team working on two concurrent projects—Baldur’s Gate II and Neverwinter Nights—gave them enough clout to correspond with LucasArts, who asked the company to help co-develop an RPG.

Gamasutra looks back at a Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic postmortem from 2003.

The article "Combat System Development on BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" initially appeared in the December 2003 issue of Game Developer magazine.

CASEY HUDSON | Casey was producer and project director on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

RAY MUZYKA | Ray was joint-CEO of BioWare Corp. and was executive producer of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

JAMES OHLEN | James was the lead designer of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

GREG ZESCHUK | Greg was joint-CEO of BioWare Corp. and was executive producer of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Many of the design decisions made, and project management methodologies used at BioWare during the development of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) were built on the experience of our exceptional staff from our past projects such as Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Neverwinter Nights, and MDK2. We set our high goals for the combat system: first, we wanted our system to leverage the fun of BioWare's past RPGs and the experience we gained from them. In addition, the combat system needed to look as exciting as the battles in the Star Wars movies. Finally, the combat system and the game in general had to feature an interface that was very accessible; we wanted any player who likes Star Wars, likes playing Xbox or PC games, or likes console or PC RPGs, to have fun with the combat techniques in KOTOR.
[...]

Thanks rjshae!

@PCGamer A new Star Wars: Kotor could be in development. It is just a rumour at this stage however.

Here's a rumor, courtesy of industry insider guy Liam Robertson, that BioWare Austin, which was originally created to develop the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO, is now in the early stages of work on a new Knights of the Old Republic game. Robertson revealed the info, based on his anonymous sources, as part of his Patreon-exclusive podcast last week, the good bits of which were then shared with the rest of us by The Star Wars Game Outpost. 

“I’ve learned now that [BioWare Austin is] pretty much now exclusively working on Star Wars games and they’re going to be doing that for the indefinite future,” he said. “What they’re currently working on right now—and I have this on good authority—is a sort of remake/revival of Knights of the Old Republic. I don’t know when this is set to come out, but it has been in development for a little while now.” 

The game apparently began as a remake of KOTOR but has now evolved into its own thing, although what exactly that "thing" will ultimately be isn't nailed down yet. Roberston described the project as "sort of like wiping the slate clean," in order to embrace the new Star Wars canon.
[...]

@GameRant they discuss a recent episode of Star Wars: Rebels which has opened the door for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic to be canon again.

While that decision has done little to hurt the developer's relationship with Lucasfilm and Disney - the team at BioWare wants to make another Knights of the Old Republic, after all - it has left fans of the games a little sour. Luckily for devotees of Revan and the Mandalorian Wars everywhere, however, the latest episode of Star Wars Rebels just kicked open the door for the entirety of Knights of the Old Republic‘s history to be re-added to the Star Wars universe. Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus says this to another character:

"History lesson: the Jedi won the war with Mandalore."

It might not seem like much to go on, but Jarrus' remark is actually a huge deal for fans of Knights of the Old Republic. It's a nod toward the conflict that much of Knights of the Old Republic‘s story revolves around, and, given Revan's presence in the Mandalorian Wars, is an acknowledgement of his existence within canon as well. Disney certainly hasn't confirmed that Revan will be a major presence in any multimedia projects going forward, but it's the flicker of hope that fans have been waiting for for years.

The quote is also a sign that Disney could be reconsidering its stance on the various Expanded Universe projects as canon. It's possible that the multimedia giant noticed the passion Star Wars fans had for BioWare and Obsidian's RPGs, most recently brought back into the spotlight by a massive fan under-taking to remaster Knights of the Old Republic. That kind of dedication from gamers can be hard to ignore, even for a company as all-encompassing as Disney.

Keen Gamer checked out if Knights of the Old Republic is still worth playing:

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Review

Considered one of the best Star Wars RPG games in history, we revisited this famous game to see how well it has aged and if it is still worth playing in 2016.

[...]

PROS
+ Well written story
+ Easy to use but extensive combat system
+ Dozens of hours of content
+ Lots of replay value
+ Lots of choice in conversations
   
CONS
- Outdated gameplay mechanics
- Basic character customisation

SCORE: 8.8/10

Couch spotted this first video of Apeiron's Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic:

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MrMattyPlays:

Today, I am proud to present the FIRST EVER gameplay footage for the upcoming remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic by Apeiron. Be sure to share with all the Star Wars fans as well as leaving your feedback for the development team down below in the comments!

You can get both Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2, together with a number of other Star Wars Games for just slightly more than $8 at Humble Bundle.

Thanks Lucky Day.

Fans try to recreate KotOR with the Unreal 4 engine:

Knights Of The Old Republic Gets Fan Treatment, Unreal Engine 4-powered Remake Under Development

KOTOR fans, get ready for a treat. Poem Studios is currently working on a fan remake/reboot of Knights of the Old Republic in Unreal Engine 4. According to the team, this game will be 100% free, will be called Apeiron, and is described as a remake and remastering of the original game with added content, new worlds, missions, HUD, inventory, items, and compainions.

[...]

Thanks Couch!

Straight from the rumor mill: A Knights of the Old Republic HD remake is in the works!?Cinelinx writes they've been sitting on the story for quite a while but have decided to post it now because suddenly 3 independent sources confirmed it.

But I keep hearing this bit of info and where there's smoke, there's typically fire of some kind...Though even these plans can change. I've heard from multiple sources that Knights of the Old Republic is getting an update for the current generation consoles...and I'm not talking about a resolution remaster; an actual upgrade to the game to make it enjoyable for both new and returning gamers. Better yet, I'm hearing it'll be coming sooner than you think: [...]

Interesting. KotOR is no longer canon, but it was a huge hit. Let's hope it's true.

GamerHubTV has new video interview with Michael Blair from GDC 2015.

BioWare's epic RPG, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, is coming to Nvidia Shield devices from Aspyr. The massive Xbox game has been ported to Android and enhanced for Tegra technology. Check out this exclusive gameplay interview with Michael Blair from GDC 2015 in San Francisco.

And yes it's about the game being released on Nvidia Shield.

High Score Reviews has posted a late review for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic that reads more like a retrospective article  in my humble opinion.

Set 4,000 years before the rise of the Galactic Empire as seen in the film saga, KOTOR was a truly remarkable achievement in how it was able to expand the and deepen the history of the Star Wars universe, whilst still managing to weave a gripping narrative to call its own. Opening with a Republic vessel under siege from the Sith, with one particular shot deliberately evoking memories of A New Hope’s unforgettable introduction of Tantive IV, KOTOR was instantly engaging by wasting no time in presenting a galactic war between the Republic and the Sith, and placing you right in the middle of it. It really didn’t take long for it to be established that KOTOR was going to tell an infinitely more enjoyable tale than that of The Phantom Menace’s trade disputes and planetary blockades.

KOTOR took everything that was so fantastic about Lucas’ original creation, and crafted what, in my mind at least, will always be the true Star Wars prequel. An epic war between the Jedi and Sith, gloriously well realised planetary escapes, iconic spacecraft, great characters, a mind bending plot twist and a satisfying conclusion. Heck, even the cover art was awesome. The way the narrative was structured made it feel like one long trilogy contained within one fantastic game, and it was without a doubt the best Star Wars experience I’ve ever had in gaming.

If you’ve never played it, failed, you have.

Well not the usual news post but never the less one I decided to share.  A poster by the name of Corbin Hunter has released six new images of a painting of Bastila Shan.

Bit-Tech has a new retrospective for Knights of the Old Republic that covers all ten years of the game franchise.

Since the first screening of The Phantom Menace, some might even argue as far back as Return of the Jedi, a curious inverse correlation has become apparent with regard to Star Wars, namely the more lightsabers a Star Wars film features, the worse it tends to be. The earlier films feature far more space dogfights and hanging out with alien gangsters than they do fighting with magic laser sticks, whereas the prequel trilogy are so abundant with lightsabers you'd think they grew on really dangerous trees.

The trend is evident in games too. Many of the better Star Wars games; Dark Forces, the X-Wing series, Galactic Battlegrounds and Republic Commando are all devoid of po-faced Jedi wielding deadly neon tubes, opting for more novel ways to explore and expand the Star Wars Universe (and George Lucas' wallet). It isn't simply the case that lightsaber = bad Star Wars game, there are exceptions such as the excellent Jedi Knight games. It's more that those films and games which don't really understand Star Wars immediately reach for the lightsaber as a crutch, which is a terrible idea as it will burn straight through your armpit.

Knights of the Old Republic is something of an anomalous result, as it probably features more lightsabers than the rest of the canon combined, yet it is astonishingly good, and not just in the "a lot of silly fun" way that the Jedi Knight games are good.

James Ohlen the Creative Director at BioWare talks about the tenth anniversary of KOTOR.

I’m James Ohlen, Studio Creative Director at BioWare. You probably know me as the Game Director on Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, but I’ve also been the lead designer of older BioWare games such as Baldur’s Gate 1+2, Neverwinter Nights, Dragon Age and Star Wars™: Knights of the Old Republic™.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic turns ten years old today. Due to the influence KotOR had on the vision of The Old Republic, we’re celebrating the day in several ways. We’re putting a KotOR related player title up for sale in the Cartel Market for 10 Cartel Coins. In addition, we’re giving away free Cartel Coins on Facebook at 10:00 am today and throughout the day worldwide, but that is not all! For more, make sure to read our announcement here.

I’d like to take the opportunity to discuss the influence Knights of the Old Republic had on SWTOR.

Back in 2006, when we first discussed doing a MMORPG we threw around a lot of different ideas. We wrote up pitches for a number of other very popular intellectual properties. Some pitches never made it past BioWare, while others went a little further.

We eventually decided on a Star Wars MMORPG set in The Old Republic era. Why? It was clear that SWTOR was what our fans wanted and the obvious best choice. Knights of the Old Republic is one of the games that defined what BioWare is to modern fans. It didn’t just influence SWTOR; most of the team that worked on it went on to create the Mass Effect franchise.

There are many reasons why Knights of the Old Republic resonated so much with fans. But a simple one was the fact that the Star Wars IP is a natural fit for RPGs. Since the first movie was released in 1977, fans have wanted to live in that universe. As children, a lot of you probably used action figures to create your own stories in the Star Wars galaxy. RPGs are just a more sophisticated way of immersing yourself in another world. Knights of the Old Republic also drew inspiration from the original trilogy. A lot of fans were looking for a story that evoked the spirit of the original trilogy and Knights of the Old Republic seemed to give them that. And of course there was the famous twist.

To celerbate the tenth anniversary of KOTOR GameAgent has an interview with Lead Designer James Ohlen.

Jon Carr: Can you introduce yourself to our readers and explain the role you had in creating Knights Of The Old Republic?

James Ohlen: My name is James Ohlen. Currently I’m a VP/Studio Creative Director at EA/Bioware. I’ve worked as Game Director on Star Wars: The Old Republic as well as lead designer on Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2, Neverwinter Nights and Dragon Age: Origins. I was the lead designer on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. In that role I handled story, level design and game systems.  

JC: You were also lead designer on Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights. How did your role in creating those games influence the development and vision of KOTOR?

JO: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was built on all of the learning we gained about storytelling and level design from the Baldur’s Gate games. The Neverwinter Nights engine was used to build KOTOR, so that game had a big influence on the game systems we put into KOTOR.

JC: Given the large amount of Star Wars movies, games and books, how did you decide on the timeframe and story for KOTOR?

JO: We wanted a timeframe that gave us the freedom to tell an epic story where the player’s choices could impact the entire galaxy. That would be difficult during the movie era as Luke, Han and Leia were the movers and shakers of that time period. So we decided to base the game in The Old Republic era. Even though the game takes place thousands of years ago, we felt it was important that it feel similar in tone to the original trilogy, both in story and in art style.

Gamersbliss has a brief retrospective for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. In the articles own words better late than never.

As far as gameplay goes, the battle system is extremely user-friendly and easy to navigate. The d20 model is appropriate given the different types of weapons and magic used by the various character classes and their unique modifiers. The upgrade interface is quite straightforward, and the lightsaber crystal structure provides a nice degree of customization.

In addition, players have the opportunity to choose the Light side or the Dark side of the Force in various situations. Whether it’s choosing to keep someone alive, helping local thugs or picking unnecessary fights, what you do (or even say) can affect your alignment. You can choose to remain neutral, but your character must be categorized as either Light or Dark to use certain weapons, wear certain armor and gain certain abilities. This aspect of the game gives it strong replayability. I know I’m going to make an “evil” character the next time around.

Overall, I can’t believe I missed out on this game for so long! I can see myself playing through it multiple times and, given the sequel’s reputation, look forward to Knights of the Old Republic II. If it’s anything like the original, it should be a great game too!

EA and Bioware want you to celebrate KOTOR’s 10 Year Anniversary. They are offering the following gifts to players.

We are happy to announce that on July 15th we will be celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Knights of the Old Republic™ from BioWare and LucasArts. To mark this celebration, we will be doing a couple of things both in-game, and out. Here are some of the things you can look forward to:

• A blog from BioWare Creative Director, James Ohlen, where he talks about KOTOR and how it helped set the stage for making Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.
• A brand new title “Revan’s Heir” coming to the Cartel Market for only 24 hours at the low price of 10 Cartel Coins! (July 15 2AM CT to July 16 2AM CT)
• Cartel Coin giveaways throughout the day on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic Facebook Page.

We hope you will join us in celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Knights of the Old Republic.

On top of this there was announced a new recurring event called Bounty Contract Week.

Once per Galactic Standard Month, the Bounty Brokers Association (BBA) posts a list of contracts in the Cartel Bazaar section of the Fleet. Each contract outlines the parameters of a bounty that has been posted on one of many planets across the galaxy, including contact information for the client who posted the bounty and a list of underworld contacts in the sector who may be persuaded to assist you in the hunt. Targets include members of crime syndicates, violent gangs, and various other law-breaking entities. High-profile targets, designated “Kingpins,” may only be hunted through Kingpin Contracts, which are entrusted to professionals who have a proven track record with the BBA.

Bounty contracts will take you far and wide in the search for your target, but the BBA Mission Terminal allows you to select the specific planet on which you wish to hunt. Each day, you may sign up for one standard contract and one Kingpin Contract, and each may take you to a separate planet. Completion of a contract requires the death or capture of your target, but you will also be rated on your investigative technique and your aptitude for handling BBA underworld resources.

The Bounty Broker’s Association is an unaffiliated corporate conglomerate that exists to streamline and standardize the process of posting and fulfilling bounty contracts. Contracts are available to characters at level 15+, and although contracts on some planets have a minimum level requirement, each contract will scale its difficulty and rewards to your level.

A couple of  more reviews for the iPad version of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic have been released.

Joystiq

Aside from the new touchscreen controls, everything else is still here from the original. There's a deep character creation system, the light/dark side morality system that would eventually heavily influence Mass Effect, and just hours and hours of excellent stories and character, all portrayed with perfectly tuned Star Wars dialog (HK-47, if you've never met him, is one of the best droids of all time). The graphics do look like they were made in 2003, because, you know, they were. But the draw here is the story and the experience, and the graphics don't hold either of those back.

Aspyr has done a great job here, and delivered a truly classic experience to the iPad with gusto. $9.99 is a premium price for an iPad app, but this is a premium game if ever there was one, and if you're interested in playing Knights of the Old Republic (or just interested in playing it again), loading this one on to your iPad is worth every penny.

Macworld

While people often have said that Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was the game that finally realized the potential for the Star Wars universe, that's not true: KOTOR is way better written than most of the Star Wars films. If you missed KOTOR the first time it came out, or never had the hardware to run it, you owe it to yourself to check out easily one of the best RPGs of all time, and yes, likely the best Star Wars game, too.

Kotaku

Playing Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on the iPad is like curling up with a dog-eared copy of a beloved book. It's a more personal and immediate means of tripping through a galaxy far away a long, long, long, long time ago. While the overall experience is largely unchanged, those tiny moments between you, Mission Vao, and a raging Rancor beast are much more intimate when you can touch the screen sadly before searching for a FAQ on the internet to aid your failing memory.

GameInformer

Playing on PC with mods that improve a lot of the graphics and core gameplay is still the best way to play KOTOR in 2013, but this release crushes the competition on iPad. Don’t let the unconventional controls scare you away.

Neither EA, BioWare, or Aspyr (which handled this port) responded with anything but a "no comment" when asked about further back-catalog releases or the possibility of bringing this to Android, sadly.

Apparently Bioware's 10 year old Knights of the Old Republic has been ported to the iPad and IGN has a review of it in which they award it an 8.8. As could be expected of a PC to iPad port some of the controls don't work out too well

If the new controls have one Achilles' Heel, though, it’s in the movement. Running from place to place involves dragging and then holding a finger to guide your Jedi in the proper direction. This inevitably blocks a significant chunk of the screen with your hand, and worse yet, makes for awkward running in general. It was not uncommon to find myself hitting pieces of the environment or my fellow party members, and then needing to turn and fumble my way out of that spot. This isn’t a problem during combat, at least, since movement is automated. A trio of brief turret sequences present similar imprecision, since tapping to shoot and dragging to move can’t be done simultaneously. A virtual stick may have actually been preferable in this case.

ElderGeek has a retrospective for this game.  A quote about making the moral choices:

The other half is about talking to people and making the now infamous moral choices. There are a lot of choices you have to make and most of them are either super nice or super nasty. For example, you can give money to someone to help them buy medical supplies, or you can just kill them on the spot because you can. As you make choices your morality meter goes towards the light side or the dark side and you get boosts in certain force powers depending on how much of a dick you feel like being that day.

A new batch of games has had their prices cut on Steam including BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. A digital copy can be purchased for the sum of 2.24€. It might also interest that Majesty 2 is similarly 75% off at the new price tag of 9.99€.

Appendix: All prices depends on your regional currency and there's 23 hours and 40 mins left from this posting on the offer!

Northreign writes in to say Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is now available on Steam and Direct2Drive, according to the LucasArts Twitter feed.

The third part of Bastards of the Old Republic is up at Eurogamer, with John Walker wrapping up his walk on the evil side.  Spoilers apply, obviously:

But Manaan's most glorious opportunity for an utter extreme of wrongdoing is in its main quest. You learn that the Star Map is blocked by a gigantic fish beast previously thought to be only mythological. It lies on the other side of an underwater Republic scientific research facility, in which all the Selkath have gone mad and tried to kill everyone. A couple of surviving scientists tell you two ways it might be possible to kill the enormous shark-thing. One involves polluting the water it's in with an untested toxin, the other overloading the machinery with a special gas that will destroy the enter base.

Part Two of Bastards of the Old Republic has been posted at Eurogamer with John Walker recording his walk on the evil side of KotOR.  The opening:

I need to tell you how I came to be standing on a strange oceanic planet, being asked by a complete stranger to murder people all around the galaxy. And why I had a smile on my face.

"Get over it," I told Mission, the 14-year-old Twi'lek who had joined my party. She was confiding in me about the horror of her home planet being utterly destroyed. The Sith had completely obliterated the population of Taris, countless millions had been slaughtered, and everything she had ever known or loved, beyond one Wookiee, was gone. Move on, whiny child.

That's how I felt, even playing a good character.

Writing for Eurogamer, John Walker has penned a KotOR retrospective titled Bastard of the Old Republic.  Here's his plan:

When I play a BioWare role-playing game, my characters tend to not only lean toward the nicer side, but almost immediately start twinkling with the magical pixie dust of purity. It's embarrassing, but I just make the decisions I believe I'd really make, and end up that way.

The task I set myself was to play the original Knights of the Old Republic, making the worst, cruellest, most spiteful, murderous and downright evil choices available at every choice. I've played the game before - in fact, it's one of my all-time favourites - but I was the most angelic creature in the galaxy. This wasn't going to be easy. This is the story of mysterious Republic Scoundrel, Simon Evil, and his adventures on the planet Taris.