BioWare - The KotOR 2 That Almost Was

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Eurogamer report on how Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 might have turned out if it stayed in Bioware hands in this interview with James Ohlen.

How do you follow a game like Knights of the Old Republic, the most famous original Star Wars tale a video game has ever told? Forget about Obsidian's sequel for a moment and imagine it was BioWare staring at a piece of paper wondering how to follow a twist like Revan's. Because once upon a time BioWare was - and it came up with an idea.

Yoda. Not the actual Yoda, because canonically he's untouchable, but someone a bit like him; we know so little about Yoda's almost nonexistent species even someone in his likeness would have the same effect: trust. "We felt like Yoda was the ultimate - everyone trusts Yoda," James Ohlen tells me, lead designer of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

'Everyone trusts Yoda...'


James Ohlen was also lead designer of Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Neverwinter Nights and Dragon Age: Origins, and director of Star Wars: The Old Republic, the online game. These days he's creative director of BioWare Austin, and he's working on Anthem. He's BioWare through and through.

Yes, Yoda would have been the perfect tool for deceiving you.

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More information.
 
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If Bioware made Kotor2, it would feature the most idiotic code ever made - Tomi Undergallows AI.
 
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I would have loved a Bioware KotOR sequel from the Bioware of those times. Obsidian and Avellone didn't seem to understand Star Wars - and I didn't care for the tone. Also, as per usual, they utterly failed in the polish/atmosphere/visuals department.

Well, except for the music - which was great :)
 
Yea, we already know females can't be the best written villains ever in your games, they need to be passive godess waiting for a dick to save them. If not, then it's "not understanding Star Wars".
 
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I would have loved a Bioware KotOR sequel from the Bioware of those times. Obsidian and Avellone didn't seem to understand Star Wars - and I didn't care for the tone. Also, as per usual, they utterly failed in the polish/atmosphere/visuals department.

Well, except for the music - which was great :)
Yea that is your opinion man.
The people with real taste know Kotor2 blows Kotor1 out of the water.
 
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I would have loved a Bioware KotOR sequel from the Bioware of those times. Obsidian and Avellone didn't seem to understand Star Wars - and I didn't care for the tone. Also, as per usual, they utterly failed in the polish/atmosphere/visuals department.

Well, except for the music - which was great :)

KOTOR2 was great except for the rushed and unfinished ending. The polish wasn't there but I don't know how you can say the atmosphere wasn't and it was the game engine and graphics as the first one so I'm not sure how you says the visuals were lacking.
 
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KOTOR2 was great except for the rushed and unfinished ending. The polish wasn't there but I don't know how you can say the atmosphere wasn't and it was the game engine and graphics as the first one so I'm not sure how you says the visuals were lacking.

That's the thing about opinions…. they differ :)

The engine was the same, that's true - but there's a difference between an engine and the assets used within it.

For instance, I found the Peragus mining station incredibly dry and sterile - and so was Citadel station. Since they were both very big and represented the beginning of the game, that really hurt my impression of it.

They were also a bit heavy on the re-use of KotOR assets for levels, like with Korriban.

I found the original KotOR much more vibrant and varied in that way - which I think is a big part of the Star Wars experience.

Incidentally, I felt EXACTLY the same about New Vegas. Utterly dreary atmosphere compared with Fallout 3.

Obsidian are good at mechanics - and I tend to enjoy their stories and characters more than most RPG developers. However, when it comes to production values and polish - they suck.

However, to each his own.
 
In that case, which game is the most overrated - to which the objectively correct answer would be:

The Witcher 3 ;) (just kidding)
 
Incidentally, I felt EXACTLY the same about New Vegas. Utterly dreary atmosphere compared with Fallout 3.

I share the same sentiment.

Though, I've never played KotoR 2. I've had my eye on it from time to time, but never took the time to commit a solid couple hours to it at least.
 
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Yes, Yoda would have been the perfect tool for deceiving you.

So, they were planning to use the "Yoda image" that was created by Frank Oz as a mere tool to tell a story … and apparingly it did not matter to them at all that as a side-effect, it would have DESTROYED the REAL Yoda forever … ?

I find this disgusting.
 
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Things I liked about KotOR 2:
- The writing
- The plot (priviso being that it did not get resolved as the ending wasn't there)
- The characters (esp Kreia)
- Its Star Wars

Stuff I didn't like
-Level Design. The areas were too big and too empty with not enough things to fill it
-No Ending. The game just ends weirdly when the ending should be ramping up.
-Bugginess in some areas.

Stuff I was meh on
-The combat was okay but nothing to write home about

Overall the game was a pass but left me feeling disappointed. Obsidian almost always does better when they are using a pre-existing engine.
 
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