“A Good Companion Shortens the Longest Road.”

~~Turkish proverb

When I started playing World of Warcraft in June of 2006, the first character I created was a Dwarf Hunter named Oakheart. Back then, you first learned how to tame creatures at level 10. I picked an Ice Claw Bear--much like the bear and hunter in the Vanilla Cinematic--tamed him (notice, not "it") and named him Arcturus, "Bear Guard," because he fought and guarded me from hostiles.

When I started playing Star Trek Online, I had a whole bridge crew to command and befriend. Even though I increased in rank (level) and gained access to "Epic" crew members, I held on to my original officers. They had backstories at least as detailed as my actual characters, Rowan and Locke. Before I unsubbed, I was even looking in the exchange (auction house) for epic officers of the same races that I could transfer my Bridge Officers' identities to.

Now imagine my delight when I found that Star Wars, the Old Republic, is going to have fully interactive companions that I could talk to, not just envision talking to. It's been said by others, but I do believe that, coupled with the storylines, companions will bring a added sense of immersion that even playing with other players cannot bring. Syp enthused about the subject a month or two ago, when the accompanying video was first published on the SWTOR site.

The developers at BioWare seem to be fully cognizant of the reservations people may have about playing with the companion characters in a massively multi-player environment. William Wallace, Senior Game Designer:

• How do you make each player’s companions unique in a world where other people are experiencing the same story with the same companions?
• How do you make companions a critical part of the player’s combat without stepping on the usefulness of other players?
• How can you make a companion character that is easy to control for players who don’t want to micromanage abilities, while also offering complex options for players who enjoy that style of gameplay?

While I'm not completely sure the toggling of companion abilities in the UI is innovative (actually I'm sure it's not), I welcome the companions having a similar range of abilities to my character. That they are strong enough to round out a group if we're short a player is wonderful.

Scarybooster tried to flirt with his companion right off the bat, but got shot down. As was mentioned in the video, romancing some of your companions is possible, but you will need to woo them for a while, Scary. Some people might find it creepy to romance or develop an emotional attachment to a computer character, but Geordi LaForge did it. [EDIT: Hunter just posted his impressions of companions, as well.] I look forward to the inevitable attachment I will feel toward my characters and my companions. I will care about their fates, develop backstories for them that may or may not completely match up with the lore of the game, and have fond memories of our adventures together.

Some players have said they want to make their own stories, they don't want stories made for them by BioWare or any other developer. I don't think they appreciate the quality of this storytelling. I guess they're entitled to their feelings on the subject. As for me, I like writing my own stories, I also like reading the stories of other authors, and watching movies or going to a play. SWTOR is not a sandbox, but neither is it passive entertainment. Sandboxes can be fun, but so can themeparks and story-driven games.

Do I think this dependence on companions will hurt SWTOR's community? I honestly don't, for people will get a chance to group not because they have to, but because they want to.

QoTD: My Dream MMO?

In the midst of all this SWTOR mania, I came across this tidbit in an article on the evolution of the MMORPG genre from Darth Hater:

Guild Wars 2 is also scrapping the traditional and familiar trinity class system; in Guild Wars 2, all classes can take or deal damage and all classes have the ability to heal others. Guild Wars 2 will also take a page from BioWare’s playbook and focus on story

This should sound familiar to long-time readers of this blog. I had planned to check out GW2 when it comes out eventually, but now I am more eagerly waiting.

Shhh! I Got Into the Beta This Weekend.

I would have had this post out earlier, but I've interspersed writing it with a conversation I'm carrying on with a fellow gamer/work-buddy.

So I got into the SWTOR beta this past weekend. I just want to leave my general impressions on things I saw and did. I only got up to level 11 or 12 on one character and played another one just to get a feeling for the different classes. I also let my lovely bride play, because SWTOR's NDA has nothing on my marriage contract to keep her happy. When Momma ain't happeh, ain't nobody happeh. (Lub you, sweetums.) I did watch as she played, and she watched me. I don't think any spoilers are below, I want to discover as much as I can about the game from actually playing it. If you're looking for story spoilers, this is not the blog for you.

So how was it? In a word, engrossing. I am still thinking of the Trooper story that I only played myself to about level 5 for an hour and a half before the event ended at almost midnight local time. My hunny played her Trooper to level 10. I totally want to continue my Trooper's story now, despite the fact that it was probably the least appealing class to me prior to this event. It's really the main reason I played one, because I figured it would be the last one I'd play after launch. I am very interested in playing one now. That's how well-crafted the story is.

I also played a Jedi Knight, another class low on my post-launch priority list. I found out that the "rage" mechanic for the Knight is called focus, which makes sense. It functions much like rage for a warrior in WoW: certain abilities build focus, and other abilities spend it. (The trooper mechanic is "ammo," a little like mana, but more discreet amounts.) I made Light side choices with the Knight I took to 11, and Dark side choices for another one to about 7, just to see the differences in story. Some differences are subtle; other times choices open or close quest lines. I'll have to see if and how that develops further along in the story, meaning I may have to play the same class twice, if the stories diverge tremendously. (Yes it would be worth it.) I am one of the people Scarybooster mentioned who would like to be able to be chaotic in my moral choices in the game without having to worry about the meta-game of racking up Light or Dark points. If what he says is true and BioWare is endeavoring to keep the middle road as rewarding as the extremes, this player at least will be very happy.

Were there issues with the game? Yes: some graphics glitches; one time when the conversation wheel screwed up and gave me an invalid choice that stalled out the conversation and I had to start it over, this time with different, valid choices on the wheel. Some gameplay aspects were just the other side of the handholding-vs-learning-curve spectrum from where I would like to be. But again, they're trying to strike a balance. Suffice it to say you have to pay attention to the story. This is not going to be a game where you can pick up ten quests at a hub without reading anything and successfully complete them. The biggest single issue I don't think I can talk about, between the NDA and my own reticence about spoilers. I don't think it can be fixed in the way I think it should, certainly not before launch. Was it a show stopper, though? No. I will still play.

I didn't get much chance to see the companion relationships develop. I will save my thoughts on that for another post I have researched but have yet to write.

I won't compare my experience to other games I've played. Plenty of others will draw those comparisons, both positive and negative. Let me just say this, the fourth pillar is alive and well in Star Wars: The Old Republic. [EDIT: The Story is good enough in this game that Chris over at Levelcapped, who only a week ago declared he didn't like story, got sucked into his character story.] If you have read this blog for any length of time, Dear Reader, you know that I place Story and Characterization pretty much at the top of my list of reasons to continue playing a game (beyond an ineffable "absorption" factor--does the game make me want to continue playing?) This SWTOR beta did just that, I want to keep playing. Story, story, and story will keep me coming back for more in this game.

Fatal Alliance, a Review

Fatal Alliance by Sean Williams

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Beware: possible MINOR SPOILERS.

I enjoyed reading Fatal Alliance. As has been said, it is a bit of a showcase for the world and classes of the upcoming BioWare MMO, Star Wars: the Old Republic. However, given what I know about the behavior and personalities of the in-game characters, I felt that FA was a good departure from that template. Ula Vii, the Imperial "Agent" in particular, was not the cool James-Bondish Agent we've seen in videos of the game. I saw someone else's review, critical of the smuggler's name, "Jet Nebula." That it was unrealistic. The person obviously did not pay attention, as it was clearly not his real name from the first mention of it. The book is what it is, a StarWars-based game tie-in. Anyone looking for more will be sorely disappointed.

I am generally fond of game tie-in novels, though I wouldn't consider any to be among my favorite books. This one satisfied my itch for a TOR era book and I look forward to reading Deceived and Revan.

I feel I should mention this is my first Kindle e-book, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it through the Kindle app on my new Android phone.

So It Begins . . .

Just a quick post because I don't know when I'll be posting again. I'm participating in the lunacy that is NaNoWriMo2011. If you don't know what that is I suggest you head on over to the site. If you are participating, feel free to add me as a writing buddy. I'm there as Rowanblaze, same as Twitter.

Good luck, and God help us.